New to the Singapore food scene is Tai Parfait, which also opened in the revamped basement of Bugis Junction. A Japanese concept, it combines the iconic Taiyaki (fish-shaped pancake) with different sort of fillings. Other items sold here includes the usual Taiyaki, as well as Frappucino and Milkshakes.Their Taiyaki comes in four flavours; Azuki, Matcha, Custard Cream and Chocolate. There are also a number of fillings to choose from, from soft serve, fruits and cream flavours. I picked the Banana Caramel flavour with Custard Cream filling ($4.20). Fillings are being stuffed in the mouth of an open-mouthed fish, which can seem cute to some. The fresh bananas are just of the right ripeness; not overly soft and mushy but has no traces of being too ripe, and the minimal amount of caramel adds a wee bit of sweetness that does not cover off the rest of its ingredients. Pancake was served hot; a sticky batter that gives a chew yet soft as well and was filled with Custard Cream at the top and the tail; smooth and enough sweetness to taste, but not to overwhelm.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/07/03/tai-parfait-bugis-junction/

Fish Tales takes up a simple shop space as its counter and kitchen, while its seats gets scattered across beside the shopping aisles. Being a fish specialty store, the menu is based on seafood, dividing into Fishhh, Burger, Pasta and sides. For beverages, apart from the usual canned drinks they also serve Italian Sodas, Teas and Coffee.For a side, we went with Calamari ($4.50), which was crispy and well-seasoned though it tasted quite similar to the seasoning used in Calbee Prawn Sticks. There was a choice of dips; Chili, Tartar or Cheese, which we went for the latter. It was rather disappointing though; despite its thickness it was too weak in flavour and did not really had any cheesy factor in it.Since Fish & Chips was the specialty of Fish Tales, I thought it would be good if we went for the Fiery Fish ($9.90). The portion was really generous; a huge slab of fish sitting atop a bed of chips, with the spicy sauce accompanying it by the side. It’s size came quite a bit of an unfortunate thing for us; the fish itself was pretty overcooked as it became rather stiff, and it was marinated in a strange sour sauce which we thought came rather unnecessary as it gave the fish a rather quirky flavour. The spicy sauce was not too spectacular either; it came tasting a wee bit like Chili Beef but seemed a tad weak with a moderate amount of sweetness which seemed pretty odd. Chips were pretty good; crispy skin-on potatoes that were fluffy but came with just a little too much salt. We reckoned that there was so many flavours going in there it became a really confused dish that was mentally draining to have, trying to decipher what was going on in each condiment and was too heavy-tasting that we were having problems just trying to finish it.Glad to say that the Popcorn Fish Pasta ($9.90) was way better; coming with Aglio Olio pasta, the Angel Hair pasta was well tossed in olive oil, capsicums and other herbs and spices that made it simply flavourful and fragrant; though albeit on the greasy side. The Popcorn Fish bites were also fine, though was nothing much to shout about.One of the reasons I wanted to come here so badly was also because of the Instagram photos I had seen about their coffee. Despite being a bistro-style eatery, Fish Tales do serve artisan coffee that comes complete with latte art; a major bonus. Apart from the milkiness however, we could detect a nice chocolate finish to the Latte ($4.50) that we had.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/07/04/fish-tales-scape/

Unlike the cramped Balmoral Plaza outlet, Oblong's Maju Avenue outlet takes up a shophouse space which means more space for comfort. Besides the usual ice-cream and various waffles they offer, the outlet at Maju Avenue also serves up coffee which are made from blends from Papa Pahelta.Amongst the Buttermilk, Red Velvet and Bamboo Charcoal Waffles, we decided to go for the Red Velvet ($4.70) which is widely raved on Instagram. We also added a scoop of Earl Grey Lavender ice-cream ($3.30), and our choice of drizzle was maple syrup. To replicate Red Velvet Cake, the waffles came with a layer of cream cheese in between apart from its maroon appearance. The waffles were crispy with its eggy, fragrant batter much like any usual waffle, but the cream cheese did add a light flavour that made it feel different from what we are familiar with. Aromatic and refreshing, the Earl Grey Lavender ice-cream was not too milky in order to bring out the fragrant tea flavours, while the maple syrup just adds another dimension of sweetness to the waffle.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/06/30/oblong-maju-avenue/

Located in the popular Hainanese Village Food Centre in Hougang, Hup Huat White Carrot Cake as its name suggests, specialises in White Carrot Cake. There’s only one item sold here, in two sizes ($2.50 or $3.50), no more and no less.I ordered the smaller portion at $2.50. If you are one who love to chew on the cubes of carrot cake, this variant might not be the one you are looking for as much of the carrot cake had been mushed beneath the egg save for a few pieces. Ignore that fact and that it does not come in a whole piece, it is definitely enjoyable as it comes without much grease, and the egg is pan-fried to crispiness; so much it actually resembles potato chips with a smoother texture.

For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/06/27/hup-huat-white-carrot-cake-hainanese-village-food-centre/

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/