We were just browsing around Facebook and found out another new cafe that just recently popped up around the private estate of Binjai Park in Bukit Timah which operates around the same basis, and decided to check them out. Taking the space of Taberna Wine Academy, it operates from 9am to 5pm in the day before the wine academy takes over at night. It is interesting to note that this however would be a temporary location, and they would relocate after the barista training is over and a new location for the cafe is being sourced.The Flat White ($5.50) I had was one made of a blend of Brazilian and Sumatran beans. It exudes a milky taste along with the signature acidity of Sumatran blends for it’s body, and that earthy tone Brazilian beans are known for at the end.Each coffee comes with a free croissant, but I was not too keen on it and decided to go for the Chocolate Danish ($2.80) instead at normal prices. Supplied from an unnamed supplier, it was flaky and carried just enough chocolate to taste, which was just sweet enough. The bread itself was alright; not too buttery.

For the full review and more photos, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/04/08/three-hands-coffee-binjai-park/

OMGrill should not be too unfamiliar to most who have watched Wok Stars. Owned by Ng Kheng Siang, he propelled to fame by winning the show, which was Singapore’s first reality cooking competition. The stall was the result of his win, which has his lease being paid for for a year.Soup of the day was Mushroom Soup ($1.50), which was made in house. Not the creamy sort, it was filled with chunks of mushrooms and was very earthy. It also had a distinct flavour of vegetables to break that heavy earthiness.For a side, the Grilled Pineapples ($2.00) were canned pineapple rings with grill marks, it has a charred flavour with a bit of sweetness from the syrup. Not a flavour that some can appreciate, but probably a Hawaiian-grill inspired dish that is a great compliment to the fragrant buttered rice.Being a stall that does not serve pork or lard, much of the dishes revolve around chicken. The Original Chicken Chop ($5.90) can be ordered as a set meal that comes with fragrant buttered rice, garden salad and hand cut coleslaw. The rice was fragrant with a hint of butter and raisins but was slightly too dry for our liking, but we loved the coldness and freshness of the coleslaw and that refreshing combination of corn and cherry tomatoes for the garden salad. The Chicken Chop was juicy and fragrant with a taste of “wok hei”; definitely a unique local touch to a western dish.Pan-fried White Fish ($6.90) was quite a shocker, and not in a nice way. We found it disappointing that they use fillets that were similar to those used in Japanese stalls in food courts, which is known to be not exactly appealing. The saving grace was the garlic cream which was flavourful, but they could have drizzled more of it. One of the dishes to avoid here.The dessert range consists of crepes, both savoury and sweet. Banana Crepe with Coconut Ice-Cream ($4.00) was the dish that secured the Wok Stars win. This is a superbly sweet dish; caramalised bananas soaked in more caramel encased in a crepe. The coconut ice-cream was heavy on pandan flavour without being milky, which makes for a very gula melaka-like flavour for the dessert. Definitely a sort of dessert that’s not expected within a food court.

For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/04/15/omgrill-blk-132-jurong-gateway-road/

Not a new name to the local fast food scene, Arnold’s is a local born and bred fast food outlet that specialises in fried chicken. Established in 1984 with its first outlet located at City Plaza, it has since opened an outlet in Hougang Green, and the latest one in Yishun 10 just less than half a year ago.A quick decision was made when we ordered the two person combo meal. It came with 5 pieces of chicken (usually two breast, two thigh and one wing), fries, coleslaw, two buns and two soft drinks. What’s not to like about a fried chicken with a crispy and tasty skin and a succulent, tender and juicy meat that comes off the bone so easily? The fried batter was similar to KFC’s spicy batter less the overwhelming saltiness and spiciness, and significantly less oily; a rare breed for fast food in recent years.The fries are thickly cut and crispy and contains much potato in them. It also carried a light garlicky flavour in it, hence eliminating the need of salt to make it come to taste. We love our coleslaw fresh and cold and this one is sufficiently so. It carried a milky flavour much like KFC’s but slightly lighter on it, which we thought was more well-balanced.On top of the meal, we added the Soup Of The Day which happened to be Cream of Mushroom. It was decent for a fast-food restaurant as it was not too liquid and seemed fairly rich. A generous amount of mushrooms were added for texture and enhancement of taste.Since we were curious on how would their seafood dishes fare, we also ordered a Fish & Chips. The batter was crispy and the fish was flaky and fresh without any odour. Tartar sauce was also fresh and tart, which somewhat eliminates the need of lemon.

For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/04/12/arnolds-yishun-10/

Coming in, its quite unexpected to find a cafe situated in the heartlands so charming. Clean and minimalist, much of the cafe is made up of brick, cement and wooden accents. For a moment I thought I was in fact in a cafe at Tanjong Pagar. For some strange reason it also bore much resemblance to the old Stranger’s Reunion before the renovation, which is currently reopened as Waffle Slayer.The owners have intentions of serving sandwiches and waffles in the future, but for now only bakes from a homebaker are available. Earl Grey cakes have always caught my attention, and I got myself the Earl Grey Bundt Cake ($3.50). A mistake, I thought, as the cake was so dry it was so hard to cut through, not to mention that extra dry crust which seem to be created as such to replicate a crusty exterior, though it did carry a slight Earl Grey aroma with it.The Lemon Tart ($4.20) was however great with the first few bites. I love how tart it was, until I got till halfway and it seemed a wee bit too sour for me. The crust was easy to cut through, but they used one similar to egg tarts instead. Not my personal preference but honestly nothing wrong with it either.On the other hand, I was blown away by the quality of the coffee here. They use Papa Pahelta Terra Firma for their coffee, and my White 5Oz ($4.00) was fruity and just of a comfortable level of acidity; the right cuppa to perk me up for the start of the day.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/04/03/percolate-blk-136-bedok-north-ave-3/

Having seen pictures of Ramen Burgers from Little Hiro, we decided to make a trip down to try out the latest dish in food fashion. When we finally reached, it turned out that Little Hiro was in fact a reincarnation of Burger Shack, which was a favourite lunch spot for my poly clique.The menu largely remains the same as Burger Shack, with rice plates, burgers and pasta, with the exception of some new items for each category.Not forgetting the point of this return visit, I ordered a Chicken Karage Shio Ramen Burger ($8.90). The burger buns were replaced with ramen patties for this burger, which we found a bit alkaline-tasting though chewy and nicely grilled. The Karage Chicken was crispy, but the fried chicken seemed to have a thick batter. Egg Mayo sits in between, which was refreshing. Upgrading it to a set, you would get canned drinks and garlic fries at an additional cost of $3.00. The garlic fries was crispy and flavourful, pretty much like what Burger Shack used to serve.Two of my dining partners followed my recommendation by ordering the Sanzoku Double Hamburg Steak Teppanyaki Rice Plate ($8.20). It comes with two beef patties which was not gamey and smothered in flavourful black pepper sauce. The Garlic Butter Rice was fragrant as well.We could not say the same about the Flame-seared Teriyaki Salmon Teppanyaki Rice Plate ($10.90). While the salmon was flaky and well-grilled with a crispy skin, the Teriyaki sauce was extremely thick and salty.Flame-grilled BBQ Chicken ($7.50) brought back much nostalgia, which was cajun-spiced and all familiar to what had been served in Burger Shack. Definitely something with the same great taste that we will never mind ordering again.

For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/little-hiro-hawaiian-japanese-bbq-grill-kings-arcade/