photos and more here: http://andmorefood.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/din-tai-fung-serangoon/

this is a good fallback restaurant (but not if you’re dining at a typical meal hour, as it’s always full) for decent food and low prices; and while I think the crystal jade empire (and more relevantly, its equivalent la mian xiao long bao outlets) serves better food when their kitchens exert themselves, this place shows a higher degree of consistency in production.

and production, it really is – though there’s some semblance of artisanal quality in showing their chefs with their magic fingers folding eighteen pleats into dumplings, and weighing out balls of dough for their noodles – those sous-chefs work at an admirable speed far akin to the efficiency of machines.

anyway, down to biznizne of their most impressive dishes (in value and taste) – is their expertly-fried rice topped with a large slab of fried pork chop. well-dispersed egg, a good mound of separately-grained rice, and that moist slice of deeply-browned loin. dumplings – those xiao long bao (aka soup dumplings) are a must, with lots of black vinegar and strips of ginger, and the vegetable ones a little more take-or-leave-it.

cheap, easy, and with so many outlets you’re bound to find one near you, this makes a good contingency meal plan. make it yours!

photos and more here: http://andmorefood.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/fern-and-kiwi-clarke-quay/

the food here surprised us, and the place warrants returns: it was huge servings, good flavors, considerable quality and friendly service – though at a rather large bill.

we went through about half the dishes on the menu that intrigued us, and they all came monstrously huge, and at standards that far surpassed what we expected.

we started off with a beef carpaccio; a large plate of thinly sliced raw beef drizzled with a creamy mustard-type dressing and topped with a mixture of grated cabbages and tasty hard-cheese shards. very good – especially with the pop of those little red pomegranate seeds. an entrée-portion of pork spare ribs arrivedsticky with a hoisin glaze. I liked this: the ribs weren’t overtly fatty, had a fair amount of meat and that glaze was tasty.

I have quite a bit of praise for the food here – my only gripe truly are the prices – and I hope the place stays in business. I recommend it for a casual post-work night out, with great food and a large range of beers on tap (I know that matters to some of you), and an environment ready for rambunctious gatherings.

photos and more here: http://andmorefood.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/marmalade-pantry-town/

good, better-than-average bistro food at this branch of the yummy-mummy chain in the ion shopping mall. this is a long post, because I came here twice in barely a week – and I’ll tell you why: the food is pretty decent, the prices competitive for the area, and there aren’t much better options around for a place to sit down and have some cake and tea.

the food may not be spectacularly surprising, but it is reliable and very enjoyable. the menu runs the gamut of european-fusion-ish bistro dishes: easy brunch food, salads and sandwiches, proper entrées and pud. I tend to come here for brunch or tea, and so the menu does me well – don’t come expecting a formal dinner service here, it ain’t that sort place.

truth be told though, my constant visits are for their sweets. they have the same sort of style as the p.s. cafe chain (and both do a mean sticky date pudding). I got to try something new this time: their caramelized pear and salted caramel bread pudding. doesn’t that sound fantastic! and it really was intriguing – two rectangular slabs of bread pudding wrapped with filo, baked to a pale golden, and topped with a scoop of delicious vanilla ice cream. the filo was a little floury – I think it could have been baked a little longer, or brushed with an egg wash – but I’m quibbling: that bare drizzle of salted caramel on the plate was just the right accent to the pud – it was a great way to finish the meal.

photos and more here: http://andmorefood.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/the-fat-cat-bistro-serangoon/

it’s a baffling prospect to go to a place that serves up three cuisine options all at once – and rather a relief to find that this isn’t some madcap venture, and that the food is genuinely all good. I put this down to the fact that it’s done up food-court-style, with the cafe basically serving as a communal dining area for three different stalls (and therefore three kitchens): thai yai, masala mantra and the french onion.

the place is packed out – and a little cramped (though not uncomfortably so, especially since it’s a casual joint) – and you get handed this large folder of a menu upon seating. you take your pick amongst the three menus – or do what we did, and go for all three – and the food comes relatively fast and fuss-free.

it was a predominantly indian meal for us – we particularly liked the value-for-money sets on the menu – all tender, well-spiced and moist, these were very good. we got appetisers to share from the european menu – a lobster bisque and calamari. not offensive – which is to say that its quality is rather in line with the surroundings. the thai fried rice though, was truly surprising in execution. it had all the wok hei and flavour you’d expect from a restaurant, and there was a huge mound of it.

it’s now on our roster of family haunts – and the variety offered here is one of its largest draws, especially since we don’t always agree on what we want to eat. it can get a little hectic during dinnertimes, and they seem a little short on staff: they were rather harried when the place filled up and we had to wait to get our orders in, but when they’re there, service is pretty dilligent.

photos and more here: http://andmorefood.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/the-retrospective-chinatown/

decent european-american-westernish food in the hipster part of chinatown. I say western in the colloquial way it’s used in singapore to refer to any sort of food belonging to those regions – fusion just doesn’t nearly have the same ring – the menu is rather typical of a modern bistro. I was drawn to this restaurant by their rather lovely graphic logo – and the way the place was done up, all retroesque (obviously) and bistro-like.

it’s pretty decent food, and I’ll give it a lukewarm recommendation if you’re in the area – but given the other offerings there, and the fact that chinatown is a veritable treasure box of food findings, I don’t think I’ll return anytime soon.

we started off with a scotch egg, the sausage coating on the outside had far too much breadcrumb/binder as it tasted a little doughy and stodgy, which was a pity. the pickles on the side rather helped lift the slightly-underseasoned flavours of the dish.
the mains faired better – I had a niçoise salad which was topped with a seared slab of raw tuna. there was great char on the fish, but it was served really rather cold, and the greens doused in a fair bit of olive oil (which was taste-y, at least). my sister truly enjoyed her burger though. it came very, very red – so be aware of this if you do order it – but also very juicy, so much that it started spilling over the wooden board when cut. it’s a standard soft sesame-topped bun and melty american cheese concoction with a large side of well-cooked fries.

standardly-average fare at inflated-hipster-prices (though likely only about competitive with the other options in the area), and I think the best thing to get might be the burger – though the next table did have a rather intriguing mac-n’-cheese that looked worth trying.