This new outlet at Toa Payoh serves as an extension of the current outlet that is located at Somme Road. It is high time they did so, especially when the Somme Road outlet is an extremely small shop that was not meant for a F&B establishment (no cooking is allowed, apparently) and the new Toa Payoh outlet would offer familiar bakes from the Somme Road outlet as well as mains and proper cooked food. For now though, they would be serving waffles and a limited selection of ice-cream.Since the Classic Waffles and the ice-cream were the only new items available here, I ordered the Classic Waffles with Earl Grey Latte ice-cream ($6.50) to try. Classic Waffles it was, as the batter was the eggy and buttery type as opposed to the popular Buttermilk these days. The waffle was soft, fluffy and moist. While the aroma of Earl Grey was evident in the Earl Grey Latte ice-cream, it was a tad milky with more spoonfuls of it. I would advise against the Maple Syrup option, which costs $0.50 more but really does not give much an impact to the waffle with or without.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/07/26/the-little-prince-creamery-blk-47-toa-payoh-lorong-6/

Everton Park had seen its fair share of cafe invasions ever since the first one opened its doors; now it is also home to newly-opened ice-cream parlour, Seriously Ice Cream, which was recently featured in various channels such as 8 Days Eat app and recently got filmed for their ice-cream making process in Channel NewsAsia according to their Facebook Page. Being an ice-cream parlour, it serves ice-cream in cups or with waffles. Apart from ice-cream, there is also a savoury waffle on the menu, as well as coffee and a couple of bakes such as brownies and apple crumble.Malibu Pineapple ($4.30) was probably one of the more decent flavours that I have tried from the display freezer. The alcoholic-infusion made this flavour felt rather dreamy, and that the pineapple was able to induce a sweet-sour zest into the ice-cream. We were not really sure if it was made to be this way, but the ice-cream here seemed to be of a ice slush consistency that may not appeal to some.Honey Rosemary ($3.50) is one of those flavours that they serve that seemed a bit unconventional. Rosemary is often seen as a spice that is used in marination of meat to enhance the meat’s flavour. Its incorporation into an ice-cream flavour tricks the tastebuds, as it is a taste profile that is rarely detected in cold desserts. The honey used seemed pretty natural as it came without tasting too artificial, nor was there any cloying sweetness. Due to the fact that the ice-cream here had a ice slush consistency and that this flavour takes two unconventional ingredients that is often not associated together, it seems more of an acquired taste that not all would be able to appreciate.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/08/06/seriously-ice-cream-blk-4-everton-park/

Shaw Lido had been coming alive in the F&B scene of the late, as the mall recently found itself revamped and Food Republic moving in with a number of notable names in the local F&B scene operating the stalls there, such as Sumire Yakitori House and Kimchi Express. Little Hanoi is right at the corner beside Sumire Yakitori House. As the name suggests, it serves Vietnamese fare, with several Pho and Bahn Mi dishes on the menu. Prices at Little Hanoi also seems slightly lower than at the neighbouring stalls as well, which makes it a rather attractive option for lunch.Fresh Spring Roll ($4.90) are a must for me at any Vietnamese stall. Little Hanoi’s rendition came wrapped with fresh prawns, vermicelli, carrots and some other vegetables. In terms of freshness, I found it of rather reasonable quality, though I have had better ones from individually-run Vietnamese eateries. I loved how the dipping sauce came default without peanuts; now I can finally add some sweet-sour spiciness to the simple tasting spring rolls!If anything, I found their Bahn Mi ($5.90) having a unnecessary amount of ketchup over the vegetables as it seemed to cover off the freshness of the ingredients. Despite so, the Pork Belly was tasty and savoury, with ample amount of fats to chew and the bread was toasty as it was crisp but not too hard. Their Bahn Mi are assembled and heated to order, which somehow explains the quality of it.Its rare to find food stalls in food courts also dealing with beverages, so I decided to give their Viet Coffee ($2.90) a go. Condensed Milk came with a surprise as it was not stated so in the menu, but the Viet Coffee was a tad uninspiring as it came without the usual flowery accents in Vietnamese Drip Coffee, and ended up feeling no different from a cup of Kopi except being freshly-brewed.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/07/29/little-hanoi-food-opera-shaw-house/

SIFU is a new dining concept that had been introduced at Bugis Junction which recently just had a revamp of tenants. Claimed to be the “Master Ribs”, Pork Ribs are the specialty here, and the restaurant serves largely Hong Kong fare, though with a bit of twist.For a side, I decided to have the chef recommended Prawn Toast Rectangles ($8.80++). This is rather addictive as a side, for the toast was fried till crispy and had a succulent prawn sitting atop. It even came with this chili which was mildly spicy yet inducing a sweet-sour flavour, which made it even more appealing.I wanted a light meal that day, so I went with the Pulled Pork Rib Chinese Style Slider ($4.80++). The dish seemed like a replica of Kong Bak Pau, with a soft, fluffy bun encasing cabbage leaves and meat pulled from SIFU’s signature Pork Ribs. Marinated with honey, the Pork Ribs were savoury yet sweet; something which I just cannot get enough of.One of my dining partners went for the SIFU Signature Baked Chicken with Shrimp Dumpling Soup Noodles ($10.80++). This dish came with a choice of either Vermicelli or Hor Fun, which he picked the former. Soup base seemed to be similar to our local fish soup, and the baked chicken was succulent despite doused in soup. Shrimp Dumplings were well packed, and the shrimp used were also fresh.The SIFU Signature Baked Chicken with Shrimp Dumplings Dry Noodles ($10.80++) were another story though; the same ingredients but tossed dry with Hong Kong Egg Noodles and soup served at the side, my dining partner commented that it was a replica of Wanton Noodles, but the egg noodles were extremely rubbery and seemed undercooked, and even carried a heavy alkaline taste with it.Another dining partner went with the rice option, opting for Omelette Rice with Pork Chop ($10.80++). Despite it being a Hong Kong restaurant, this dish felt really Japanese as it came with runny eggs cooked in broth; similar to the style of Oyako Don. Pork Chop was however seemed to carry shrimp paste marinade; something we found a tad interesting.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/07/22/sifu-bugis-junction/

The Hideout is a new cafe situated at Cassia Crescent; a stone's throw away from Guillemard Road that focuses on their gelato which is claimed to be made in-house. A mere four days old when we visited, it is already been flooded with patrons who are there to try their cakes and Buttermilk Waffles with ice-cream. For beverages, they serve tea and coffee, the latter using blends from a low-key local coffee roaster named Vittoria Coffee.Since it is one of the specialties, I decided to go for their Buttermilk Waffles with ice-cream ($8.90), going with the Chocolate Hazelnut flavour. Those who prefers their waffles soft would like this rendition; the waffles were so moist it melts-in-the-mouth. While the Buttermilk flavour was evident, we felt that it could be further enhanced as it seemed to stop short of it. The Chocolate Hazelnut ice-cream was fine though; it was smooth and had traces of cookie crumbs to bite and tasted rather similar to Ferrero Rocher.We also tried their Earl Grey Mousse ($4.90) was rather standard fare; the mousse was smooth and the vanilla-base cake went with the Earl Grey accents, though there was nothing much to shout about either.For the photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/the-hideout-blk-32-cassia-crescent/