We went to Nature Vegetarian again, and this time I tried 2 different dishes - first, the Gong Bao Monkey Head Mushroom ($10); I tried the same from Mushroom Pot and fell in love with it; unfortunately, the one here fails miserably in comparison - the sauce was a little too sour, and not appetizing. Second, I tried the spinach soup ($8); this was bland but healthy tasting, with a strong ginger taste, not bad. Lastly, we had the cereal abalone mushrooms again, liked the fried cereal which was crispy and not oily.

I was craving for chinese food but didn't want any typical chains, so I found this place near lavender which has an appetizing menu, and made a special trip down. They were having some facebook promotion that time and we got 2 servings of 7 spices soft shell crab for free - they were good and crispy, but the spices were neither here nor there, seemed like a mixture of chilli flakes, sesame seeds, but the whole dish was passable. We also had their must-try salted egg lotus root ($12) - which was my favourite of all; too salty when eating it on its own, but is extremely addictive, especially if you are a fan of salted egg. They recommended the 7 spices pork chop ($14) which we obliged, and it's good and very well marinated. Lastly we got the tofu with crab meat gravy ($13); really loved the generous serving of crab meat and the gravy wasn't overly salty; but we didn't quite like the tofu which tasted a little unconventional.

It was a Sunday and we made reservations in advance before we went; was a good thing to do as it was almost full house. I got the usual eggs benedict, and having tried so many, this one is rather disappointing. Firstly, the bread used is thick and dry, we all disliked it; second, the hollandaise sauce is tasteless. The only thing I liked about the dish was that small serving of fruits. We also shared the earl grey tart for dessert, which costs around $13 with 2 additional scoops of ice cream. Overpriced and there wasn't any earl grey taste at all.

We were craving for some cakes and so we decided to try Stranger's Reunion as we passed by the place. We had the green tea and red bean cake - it was a typical cake with green tea cream and bits of red beans, nothing special and wouldn't recommend it. Do try the crumble cheese cake, which was good on the other hand. The cheese was rich, but wasn't too overwhelming, and the crumble added a nice crunch.

Paradise Dynasty is one of the best places for a simple meal and their xiao long bao is also great, arguably comparable or better than that of Din Tai Fung's. We had their xiao long bao, which were piping hot and the broth was very rich in taste. I also had their fried rice with egg - a common dish but fills your tummy easily; I would prefer din tai fung's fried rice with prawns though.