The Factory should be no stranger to foodies and north-east residents. Having themselves featured on many platforms, many have introduced it as a place for artisanal fries and waffles. The interior of The Factory is iniviting; a clean and bright interior with brilliantly white walls and paintings hung as if it was an art museum, along with the tastefully paired mismatched furniture, it is simple chic at it’s best with a wee bit of industrialism in it. It’s location however may be easily missed, especially when it is located at a far corner of the junction, though you are likely to find it if you had specially made a trip down to look for it.The main selling point of the fries here are the artisanal dips ($7.50). I went for the recommendations of the lady at the counter because I was spoilt for choice with all the unique flavours sold there! Went for the Spicy Melted Tomato with Chinchalok. There is an option of having thick or skinny fries, but the lady kindly offered to mix in both versions for me because I could not decide which to have as well. The thick fries are somewhat closer to potato wedges in size, while the skinny ones are pretty much like typical shoestring fries. The thick ones are fluffy which makes them suitable to spread the dips and the condiments on, but the skinny ones are crispier. The fries were nicely golden brown and salted to the way I like, which is likely to be too much for the health-conscious. The Spicy Melted Tomato with Chinchalok sauce is reminiscent to the typical chili sauce with Chinchalok, but the Chinchalok taste was not that heavy to turn those whom cannot accept its taste away. The tomato added a nice zingy flavour and it gave a consistent mushy texture; something very well executed as such dishes often end up with a rough slushy texture instead.Of course, I could not miss out on the waffles so I went for a Belgian Waffle with a scoop of ice-cream ($7.00). The Horlicks Malty Ice-Cream was not very strong in either flavour and tasted seemingly confused, though it was smooth and great way to get a chill out of the hot weather these days. The waffle was a different story; this waffle was just crispy on the outside and fluffy in the inside, with it being a bit moist but not sickly dense. There is a certain depth to it and it was just the right amount that made it a pleasure to have. Definitely one of the better ones that I had so far and to be honest, it was something that I thought I would never get sick of eating over and over again.

For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2013/08/28/the-factory-lim-tua-tow-road/

Batterworks had been in Everton Park for quite some time, but they had recently just expanded their shop space and just opened since National Day. They have been widely known for their pastries which were said to be pretty good.The Chocolate Mint Tart might be a small item, but one should definitely slowly enjoy it. The cream on top is actually the Mint, which goes very well with the bittersweet chocolate to give a rather cooling sensation on the tongue. The crust of the tart is also just thick enough to hold on to the contents firmly, but not so thick that it ruins the whole texture of the tart.For those who loves cupcakes, there are also a variety of them being sold here. The Maple Carrot Cake is like a typical carrot cake less the cinnamon taste. As this is a cupcake, the cream does not go all around the whole cake, and this seemingly reduced the sweetness of the cake. What you get is a rather plain carrot cake, with a tinge of sweetness with the drizzle of maple syrup in it. This would definitely go well with a cup of tea for a simple tea session.If Chinese pastries are not to your fancy, I would still recommend the Roast Pork Crispy Pastry to you. Personally I would have thought that it should have been called BBQ Pork Crispy Pastry because it is in fact charsiew in the pastry and not sio bak. The usual ones you get out there might be bigger in size, but they might contain much more pastry which results in an extremely thick skin with little fillings. The one here is quite the inverse. The skin is light and crisp, without the excessive taste of butter coated on top. It is flaky on the outside, sweet on the inside with no fatty meat as well. One of the better ones out there, and its not even from a dimsum shop.

For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2013/08/27/batterworks-blk-4-everton-park/

Finally the queues at the Plaza Singapura outlet had shrunk. 20 minutes of waiting and we found ourselves settled at a table. An ordering chit had been given to us way back at the queue, so once you are seated all you have to do is to submit the ordering chit and you are almost on the way to having food.My friend told me never to give the Baked BBQ Pork Bun ($4.50 for 3 pieces) a miss, and I always follow advices so I took heed of it. The Baked BBQ Pork Bun was served warm and crisp, with a fluffy inside. It somehow resembled a Bolo bun with the baked exterior which was fragrant. The whole bun also lacked of the usual bread taste that was usual on baked buns, which probably made it so unique. The BBQ Pork was tender and sweet with the marination of honey, and filled up almost every single gap in the bun. Definitely worthy of its “heavenly king” title and not to be missed, or else you would not have considered to have visited Tim Ho Wan.Steamed Egg Cake ($3.80) was the another one of the four “heavenly kings” here. While looking pretty normal and really nothing out of the ordinary, it was in fact a unique rendition of a dish that could be found elsewhere. The fluffiness of the steamed egg cake is unmatched, and it was light and airy. Unlike other steamed egg cakes, this one does not stick around on your tongue or in the throat as well. While easily overlooked, this is another dish that we found rather impressive and could not stop ourselves from digging into the whole time.Moving on from the “heavenly kings”, we also have Steamed Items such as the Prawn Dumplings ($5.50 for 4 pieces). They had a nice skin which was smooth and of the right thickness. Prawns are also big, fresh and succulent. Overall a nice item to have.The Pork Dumplings with Shrimp ($5.00 for 4 pieces) also known as our shumai is tightly packed and firm, but could go on the edge of being slightly too tough for some. It could be an issue with our local tastebuds, but we would have loved it more if the skin actually tasted a bit more. The prawns are fresh though, which made the dish more than just being decent.

For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/tim-ho-wan-%E6%B7%BB%E5%A5%BD%E8%BF%90-plaza-singapura/

How comforting would it be for one to enjoy a scenic view of the park in the heartlands and enjoy some food along with some company?

GRUB, which is by Cookyn Inc. is located at the recently revamped Bishan Ang Mo Kio Park is definitely a good place for a walk or jog, but the idea of having an eatery in a scenic location like this is ingenious. The small lake in front of the bistro gives it a unique look second to none. There are choices of interior seating which is brightly lit, and an alfresco area that is nice on a breezy night being dimly but adequately lit which looks ideal for a romantic date. The menu here is typically western, focusing on mostly bistro fare such as burgers and also offers brunch till 2pm on weekends.The Grilled Chicken Leg ($15.00) was indeed a pleasant surprise when it was presented in a form similar to Chicken Corden Bleu. Served atop a homemade mash and stuffed with roasted peppers, it was a dish that was very well put together. The peppers were able to give a nice spiced flavour to the chicken, and the corn and garlic garnishes gave a lot of flavour to the rather impressive and smooth mashed potatoes which tasted unlike pre-made ones with the additional cheesiness, but more of the no-nonsense pure tasting ones with ample seasoning.Churros ($8.00) are hard to find in Singapore, and one of the reasons why we made a visit to GRUB was because they had them. I found that the Churros had the perfect texture, but lacking on taste if being eaten on its own. The batter itself was a bit bland, and there was not enough cinnamon and sugar coated on top. Probably they were done this way on purpose for the dips that came with it. The chocolate sauce was rich but lacking a sweetness to make the churros alluring, but the tangy creme anglaise was the one that brought life to the churros. The tangy lemon which also had a creamy taste gave a nice soft sweetness with a zing to the Churros, and was agreed as the most compatible dip of the two.

For more photos and the full review, please visit http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2013/08/25/grub-bishan-ang-mo-kio-park/

The Guillemard Road area has been known for the wide amount of eateries situated there, but it is not especially known to be a hideout for cafe-loving peeps. Not perhaps until Maple & Market appeared at the nearby Cassia Crescent which sells both bakes and coffee. Now there is another place for coffee in the area that is just a stone’s throw away called Brawn and Brains which just opened up very recently.I settled for the Chocolate with Cream Cheese Frosting ($2.50), which was like a Chocolate Cupcake with Cream Cheese frosting on top. While it looked quite dense, I loved it’s fluffiness and sponginess with the taste of chocolate which was not too intense. The Cream Cheese frosting added a dimension of saltiness to it, which made it taste slightly more unique than the average Chocolate cupcake. The paper wrapper also gives a different aesthetic appeal apart from the usual paper cups we see on other cupcakes.The Flat White ($3.50) here is decent. Buttery and earthy, it definitely was a comforting cup to soothe myself on a cloudy day with intermittent rain, even though I sweated along on my way here.

For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2013/08/19/brawn-brains-guillemard-road/