Hiding amongst Beach Road is this small space that had recently opened up its doors officially in late April which is rather easy to miss if not paying attention.For a Vietnamese restaurant, the interior is extremely hipster with bare concrete walls and vibrant metal furnishings which somehow seems to replicate a back alley scene rather than simple and clean, which was quite a daring approach.Menu here are the usual suspects; Pho taking up most of it with other small Vietnamese dishes and a good amount of beverages too.Just like in some Thai restaurants, Mrs Pho offers starters to its patrons. These complimentary prawn crackers were thick, savoury and crispy. Best of all? No phoney charges involved!Being in a Vietnamese restaurant, I cannot do without ordering the Fresh Spring Rolls ($3.50). Fresh rice rolls that are tightly packed with vermicelli, vegetable, prawn and a slice of pork, it was simple, light and refreshing as all of the ingredients are fresh with a slight meatiness created by the pork. The Fermented Soy Sauce adds a savoury flavour, but its definitely good on its own.Not having tried Vietnamese fare before, my dining partner ordered the Brisket Beef Noodle Soup ($7.90) which is pretty much an authentic bowl of Pho. The noodles were springy and easy to chew and the soup was just reasonably salted for flavour yet does not make you thirsty and instead leaves you wanting for more; it got me, the person who usually dislike soup noodles really addicted to drinking the soup. Melt-in-the-mouth beef brisket was impressive as it was not a single bit gamey nor grainy as well. It got my dining partner hooked onto Vietnamese cuisine almost immediately!As the other dining partner could not take beef, he went for the Chicken Noodle Soup ($7.90) instead, which uses the same noodles but a chicken broth instead with beef brisket replaced by chicken strips. Despite using strips, tey were rather sizeable and still chewable without the shredded texture, and while it was plain, it was refreshingly so. Yearning for a bit more flavour? Add some chili padi for an extra spicy kick for a boost in taste and it all becomes different!The rice bucket in me could only find one dish to try, which was Rice with Pork Chop, Viet Ham and Fried Egg ($7.00). Even the only rice dish is well-executed here; a pork chop grilled in a sweet marinade which is easy to chew, Viet ham which had a otah fishcake-like consistency yet tasting like a really light version of Ma Ling luncheon meat and a fried egg with jiggly egg white and runny yolk where there is not hint of overused oil. Scoop a bit of the accompanying sweet chili sauce to match the plain rice if you think the rice is too plain; it makes for the sweet-spicy tang that’s just addictive.Vietnamese Drip Coffee ($3.00) is my favourite beverage to have in a Vietnamese restaurant, and the one here comes with an option of Condensed Milk and Iced or Hot. The coffee is aromatic with a strong flowery scent behind, perfect to have for an after-meal chat. I loved the fact that they also supply a cup of warm water on top of the initial cup so you could have as much as you fancy; a small touch on service that really makes the difference.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/05/15/mrs-pho-beach-road/

Technically part of the bicycle shop Coast Cycles, think Coast & Company as the cafe wing of the bicycle boutique. While the concept reminds us of Wheeler’s Yard, the interior decor feels comfortable; bright, simple and minimalist doing away with all that extra hipster bits that everyone had been copying these days.Being affiliated to Papa Pahelta, the coffee-centric menu also contains much of other beverages, such as craft beers, juices and teas. Food menu is rather limited, featuring mainly local fusions with usual cafe grub with some input from Chef Willin Low of Wild Rocket. Muffins and croissants are also available if you are not into the mains.Feeling horribly hungry after walking up as I had missed both buses that will bring you here, I got myself The Coast Breakfast ($12.00). Your usual brunch set with a slight local touch, the well-executee scrambled eggs come mixed in with Chinese chives. It also did not appear to be too creamy and milky, achieving a well-balanced eggy taste that dominated the scramble. Served atop toast, it seemed a tad uninspiring as the toast was a wee bit too charred for my liking, and the use of regular loaves from supermarket just make it lose quite a bit of appeal. The Pork sausage was nicely spiced, juicy and flavourful with a faint taste of grill, while the Mesculun Salad was a refreshing end to the meal.As mentioned, the cafe is affiliated with Papa Pahelta. Flat White ($5.00) was made with their Throwback blend, achieving a creamy, lightly acidic cuppa that was all soothing.

For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/05/20/coast-and-company-siglap-drive/

One of the eateries that had Korean food lovers excited is Yoogane, an actual brand from Korea specialising in chicken on the grill. Since the waiting time was around an hour long, the staff handed us some paper boxes of their mascot to fold to kill some time. Rather innovative, but it really does not take much time to complete anyway; that is if you are not me.Free-flow side dishes are available. Expect the usual few, such as Kimchi and the seasoned radishes. There is also an odd salad that comes with a quirky pink Strawberry-flavoured dressing (not pictured). My dining partners thought it was rather interesting as it was sweet, but it just felt a bit weird for me as it tasted really similar to a certain brand of Strawberry candy out there.Orders are taken outside before being seated so as to shorten the wait. Despite so, our Yoogane Chicken Galbi ($16.90+/serving) took 20 minutes to arrive as the restaurant was full-house. Thereafter, you would have to wait for the food to cook while the wait staff go around mixing the food before it gets properly served. The Yoogane Chicken Galbi comes with a myriad of ingredients; toppoki, chicken slices, leek and vegetables with the signature Korean hot sauce. The sauce was light at the beginning, but becomes quite spicy after a while. The chicken slices were tender, while the toppoki adds a “q” texture. Vegetables were a refreshing treat as well. We thought the portion was somewhat pathetic though; this was exactly how much we got for a two-person portion of the dish.My dining partner was having an ulcer so us kind souls decided to split off the remaining two portions for the Chicken Bulgogi ($18.90+/serving), one of the non-spicy dishes here. The marination was deep for the chicken slices, and the flavour was consistent. This dish was missing of the cabbages from the Chicken Galbi, but came with Straw Mushrooms instead. Again, the portion size was a wee bit little for two, though it was not really as bad.Since it was one of the few times I was in a Korean restaurant, I went for a Grape Demi-Soda ($3.90+). It was rather enjoyable until one of my dining partners had a small sip and told me it tasted similar to Fanta. That quite burst my bubble, but whatever it is, its still a great drink to couple up with all that barbecued meat.

For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/05/25/yoogane-bugis-junction/

For those wondering what happened to iSteaks after the coffeeshop it used to be located in transformed into Tom Yum Kung Fu, they have just been relocated into Level 2 of myVillage @ Serangoon Gardens which is located just opposite the road across where it used to be at. Much of the menu remains similar, with prices kept low despite a small increase due to it being located in the shopping centre now. Apart from grill items, there are also pasta and burgers available as well. Interestingly, the beverages counter located at the side not only offers wine but also canned soft drinks, chrysanthemum tea and even Nanyang Kopi that the uncle manning the counter pulls with a sock, much like in a coffeeshop.My dining partner chose the Mushroom Chicken ($8.40). Each grilled dish comes with two side dishes, or in iSteaks’ terms “complements” like in Aston’s. She went for the Mac & Cheese and Baked Potato; the Mac & Cheese came with a thick though not really gooey cheese sauce that was cheesy, while the Baked Potato was soft and fluffy and came with a slab of butter to enhance its flavour. What would be better is to add bacon bits just for the savoury flavour. The chicken was tenderly grilled and covered with brown gravy that contained much mushrooms for a bite.The other dining partner chose the Barbecue Chicken with Mac & Cheese and Onion Rings ($8.40). Same tender chicken smothered in thick, smoky BBQ sauce. The Onion Rings reminded me of the good ol’ days of Burger King where their Onion rings were crispy and came with strips of onion.Since the ladies opted for chicken dishes, I went for the Lemon & Dill Fish ($9.40) which was not too bad either. The Pan-fried fish was crusty on the exterior and flaky within, with the Lemon Dill providing a light tint of sourness that I found rather refreshing. My choice of Cream Broccoli was a bit of a mistake though; no doubt well executed with soft and tasty greens, the vegetables pretty much seemed like they should not even come with the cream in the first place.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/isteaks-diner-myvillage-serangoon-gardens/

Dulce & Sucre is  the latest venture belonging to the Twelve Cupcakes family owned by former-DJ Daniel Ong and his wife, former actress Jamie Teo which also operates brands such as Junbi and Cookies for Sid.Dulce means “sweet”, while Sucre is “sugar” in french. The menu here therefore consists of sweet treats, from cakes, whoopies and others such as tarts and Panna Cotta. There is also a counter dedicated for Twelve Cupcakes here, which makes it a convenient spot to takeaway some cupcakes after a cup of coffee. Despite its cafe outlook, it somehow operates much like Starbucks where it is self-service and patrons are to self-collect their items. Two cake loaves were available that day, which I went for the Cranberry Pistachio Loaf ($4.50). The cake loaf was more of an egg cake, which was pillowy than crumbly. Topped with cream cheese, pistachio and cranberries, it was light in flavour as the cream cheese was not particularly thick, but a bit foamy instead. The nutty flavour combined with the cranberries were rather refreshing, with more cranberries hidden in the base as well. With its size, this is also rather filling especially for those with smaller appetites.A selection of tarts were available, which the Apple Crumble ($5.50) caught my eye. While the crumbs were sweet with sugar and crunchy, they seemed to be just placed over the tart as all the bits came off and created a mess on the table upon the first fork. The caramalised apples were nicely spiced in cinnamon and was not too sweet, but felt a bit flat on flavour. Tart base was thin enough and felt cookie-like.Coffee is not Dulce & Sucre’s forte; while the Flat White ($4.90) is creamy the coffee was bitter and burnt. While I am one who does not really bother much on latte art, the high price tag makes me wonder what I am exactly paying for.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/05/03/dulce-sucre-orchard-gateway/