Established by the same owners behind Chutney Mary, Al-Hamra is a Lebanese, Middle Eastern / Mediterranean restaurant that has been in operation within Holland Village for over 10 years. Having outlasted many of the other restaurants in the area, Al-Hamra is still quietly plodding along, serving up tasty, authentic Lebanese cuisine.Ambience at Al-Hamra is elegant, with a primarily Middle Eastern / Mediterranean theme. Paintings of buildings with Islamic architecture, the use of ornate framed mirrors, comfortable dark coloured furniture with plush embroidered cushions, earth coloured mosiac floor tiles, and the faux flame torch lighting overhead all contribute to the magical feeling of being whisked away on a magic carpet, to a setting straight out of Arabian nights. Really traditional!Service at Al-Hamra is attentive and professional. Staff are polite and courteous, attending quickly to guests. I also commend their menu product knowledge, they're able to make astute recommendations, as well as introduce and describe each dish. Thumbs up for their proactiveness in clearing empty / dirty plates, and offering to change plates as well.

Food at Al-Hamra is distinctly Middle Eastern / Mediterranean, with a focus on Lebanese cuisine, which is very similar to Turkish cuisine, just with different names for dishes. Generally, I find their food to be of acceptable standard in taste, though it's much better when eaten immediately upon serving, when it's hot and fresh. Portions are designed for communal dining, and I recommend a minimum of at least 3 - 4 diners for it to be value for money. Prices are typical of most other lower-end fine dining Middle Eastern / Mediterranean restaurants, budget about SGD $32 ++ per person for a meal here.The Manakish Bi Zaatar / Zatar Bread (SGD $6.50) is an aromatic bread, fragrant with earthy, floral, spice notes, with a taste that is fresh and savoury sweet. Texture is chewy and crunchy, rather appealing. Closely resembles a pizza, good!The Moutabbal / Moutabal (SGD $12), known as Mashed Eggplant Salad, is a simpler version of the classic chilled Baba Ghanoush dish served in Turkish, Lebanese, and Egyptian cuisine. Eggplant is baked till the pulp is soft, gaining a savoury smoky taste, then mashed with a blend of lemon juice, olive oil, salt, garlic, sesame paste, cumin, and chili powder, then garnished with pomegranate seeds. No other vegetables are used in this dish. It has a savoury, smoky, slightly zesty, slightly sweet flavour, with a thick, creamy texture. Good!The Falafel (SGD $14) is a classic Middle Eastern / Mediterranean hot appetizer, a deep-fried ball made from ground chickpeas, broad beans, onions, garlic, coriander, and cumin. Texture is semi-crumbly, grainy, and chewy within, with a slightly crisp, golden brown exterior. Love how tightly packed this is! Taste is savoury and earthy, with a slight hint of floral spices. Excellent, highly recommended!The Lamb Cous Cous / Lamb Tajine With Cashew Nut & Raisin Couscous (SGD $29) is worth ordering. A warm, hearty, lamb stew, featuring tender, boneless lamb chunks and potatoes, served in a savoury sweet but thin tomato stew, presented in a beautiful traditional tajine pot. The couscous is nice, with a fragrant aroma and a range of textures; soft, chewy, crunchy. While each component is good on its own, it's excellent when paired, as the couscous helps to absorb and hold the thin tomato stew gravy. Highly recommended!Absolutely loved the Muhallabia / Muhallebi (SGD $6), which is a chilled almond cream pudding sweet dessert served in Turkish, Lebanese, and Egyptian cuisine. Made with rice flour, almond milk / full cream milk, sugar, ground almonds, and rose water, then topped with crushed pistachio nuts (a distinctly Lebanese topping) and maraschino cherry. Sweet, fragrant, smooth, creamy, luscious, decadent... excellent! Highly recommended!Full Al-Hamra review here: http://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.sg/2015/10/al-hamra-tasting-session.html

Chicken Up has vastly improved since I last ate here 3 years ago. Ambience at Chicken Up is now much brighter and cleaner, with a distinctly open, countryside theme, evident from the rustic, sturdy wooden furniture. Restaurants are brightly lit by white light, and the atmosphere is more spacious.

Service at Chicken Up is now more attentive, staff are quick to respond to guests, take orders, and clear away empty / dirty tables. Also, they now have more staff that can speak English! Food at Chicken Up has improved as well, they've expanded their regular menu, removed less popular items, and improved upon their Korean fried chicken recipes. Portions are still large and suitable for communal dining, but bulk purchasing has actually brought their down overall prices, so diners pay less for food now!

The Bulgogi Fries (SGD $18) are a new item on the menu, and among the best things I've eaten here! Actual strips of tender soy sauce marinated beef bulgogi strips, are loaded generously along with red onions, spring onions, and mayonnaise on top of piping hot, straight cut, medium sized fries. The combination is incredibly tasty, savoury, salty, sweet, and sharp; with textures of chewy, crunchy, creamy, and fluffy. Highly recommended!The Gochujang Chicken Dup Bap Set (SGD $13) is good value for money. This set meal for dine in or takeaway includes 1 main (chicken, beef, or pork) rice bowl, 2 salads, 1 soup, 1 dessert or drink, and 1 fruit ball. The Seaweed Soup is nicely light and savoury, without that ugly salty flavour, so it's pretty good. The Fresh Salad features fresh and crunchy lettuce leaves, but is rather small. The Caramelised Kimchi Pickled Cabbage is sharp and sour in taste, but doesn't annoy the palate, with a nicely crunchy texture. The Gochujang Chicken Dup Bap features a basic white rice bowl, topped with cabbage, cellophane noodles, and strips of tender chicken stir-fried with onions in a savoury, sweet and spicy Korean gochujang / red pepper paste sauce. Very tasty, heart, and filling!The Mini Pat Bing Su (SGD $7) has a decent amount of red beans, condensed milk, shaved ice, and vanilla ice cream, garnished with a melon fruit ball and a stick of Glico Pocky Almond Crush Milk Chocolate biscuit. Refreshing with an earthy sweet taste, rather palate cleansing as well. Good!Full Chicken Up review here: http://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.sg/2012/08/chicken-up.html

Wheeler's Yard needs little introduction. Boss and cycling enthusiast Tommy Ong turned his family's old warehouse into a bicycle workshop and cafe back in September 2013.

Ambience at Wheeler's Yard cafe is laid-back and rustic, with a retro and bicycle themed decor. Long, sturdy, communal wooden tables are surrounded by an eclectic mix of retro / nostalgic chairs. Magazines and music boxes are set on the tables, beside bicycle parts or whole bicycles. The counter is surrounded by old-school / olden items such as biscuit tins, while the rough brick wall is adorned with bicycle frames. Very photo-worthy, visually exciting and appealing. Also makes the place great for chilling!Even the surrounding area has interesting spots. The workshop has bicycle / cycling related products and items of interest, the yard behind has their trailer and a lush green hedge wall, the front has the iconic Wheeler's Yard blue door. They even have benches that double as a waiting area should the cafe be crowded!

Service at Wheeler's Yard is partial self-service. Ordering and payment is done over the counter, as is collection of order, but if you're lucky and the cafe isn't crowded, staff may serve orders to your table. Otherwise, everything is self-service. Staff are friendly and can engage if necessary, though mostly they hang around in the background. The menu has apt descriptions of dishes, so you won't even need to ask them questions. Very minimal interaction, little service required, hence, they practise tipping here.Food at Wheeler's Yard is mostly Western style, influenced by American, British, and Italian cuisine, with some Asian influence as well, such as Indonesian, Chinese, or Singaporean. Generally, taste of food here is decent to above average, but nothing so special that you should go out of your way for. Portions are large, and can be shared. Prices at Wheeler's Yard are typical of a high-end cafe, budget about SGD $32 per person for a meal here.

The Hot Chocolate (SGD $6) here is among the better ones I've had, rich and deep with pronounced chocolate flavour. Warm and comforting, yet not too sweet. Love the little retro gem biscuits on the side!The Or Lu Lu Sotong (SGD $16.90) features large chunks of fresh calamari squid, coated in a thin, crisp Asian spice and flour batter, and served in a thick, dark, sweet Indonesian kecap manis / black sweet soy sauce, and spring onions. Portion is large enough to share. I really enjoyed this, would order again!The Salmon Royale (SGD $18.90) has 2 lovely poached eggs over arugula / wild rocket leaves, large slices of smoked salmon, all on nicely toasted English muffins. Cut into the eggs and watch the yolk ooze out! Decent enough as a dish, and I like the home made Hollandaise sauce, which is thick and creamy. I also thought the touch of adding sweet slices of peach to the salad on the side is a good idea!Full Wheeler's Yard review here: http://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.sg/2015/10/wheelers-yard.html

The resident hotel bar of The Fairmont Singapore hotel, in Raffles City, Antiote bar is a stylish, modern, bespoke cocktail bar, located at the ground floor lobby of the hotel. Helmed by award-winning mixologists / bartenders Tom Hogan and Bannie Kang, Antiote bar, which opened in January 2014, offers more than just creative cocktails, but surprisingly decent bar food and high tea, all in a sleek, sophisticated setting.

Ambience at Antiote bar is modern, classy, sleek, and sophisticated. With a colour theme of black and gold, comfortable and plush seats, clean lines, Peranakan batik print motifs, and the open show kitchen, Antiote bar offers a lot to look at, beyond the good-looking folks! The beautiful 26,000-piece crystal chandelier and fully-stocked liquor display is eye-catching, and lends a touch of luxury.Service at Antiote bar is efficient and professional, as befits its classy feeling. Staff are quick to greet and seat guests, and have basic working knowledge if asked about cocktails, drinks, or food. The menu cards are informative and detailed, though the low ambient lighting makes reading slightly difficult. Staff do take off-menu requests, if you know what you want, the bar will attempt to recreate it!

Food at Antiote bar mostly consists of modern, contemporary light bar snacks / tapas, and desserts, both Western and Asian style. Portions are designed for sharing. And while Antiote bar has various types of liquor, the stars here are their creative, hand crafted, award-winning cocktails, made with fresh ingredients, some of which are from their very own herb garden! Prices are comparable to other bars, budget about SGD $55 per person for 2 drinks and a snack.

For the Hwa Chae Cocktail (SGD $23), Bannie Kang has drawn inspiration from the traditional South Korean fruit punch. Her version is made with Bacardi Carta Blanca rum, lemon, maple syrup, pineapple juice, watermelon, and beer! The result is a light, fruity, refreshing, and thirst quenching beverage; sweet and fruity in taste, yet complex with the malty, smooth fusion of rum and beer. With no bitterness and no lingering alcohol burn, this works both as an apertif / starter, or as a dessert beverage.The Corpse Reviver #2 Cocktail (SGD $23) is fruity and refreshing cocktail, made with absinthe, gin, home made orange liqueur, lemon juice, and home made vermouth, topped with orange peel and a sprig of rosemary from their in-house herb garden. This aptly named concoction is a great starter cocktail, perking up the palate, and pairing surprisingly well with the dishes here! Full Antiote review here: http://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.sg/2015/10/antidote.html

The Square Restaurant Novotel is the hotel restaurant of the Novotel Clarke Quay Singapore Hotel, located within its premises, and where the majority of meals for its guests are prepared. From 21 October to 14 November 2015, The Square Restaurant Novotel will be holding the "Wonderful Indonesia Food Festival 2015", an exclusive Indonesian buffet dining concept featuring 30 iconic Indonesian dishes curated by celebrity Chef Vindex Tengker.Ambience at The Square Restaurant Novotel is modern and sophisticated. The spacious seating area is divided into sections, depending on how much privacy you want, and features comfortable, modern cushioned furniture. There is an option of window seating, or private dining, and you can even choose to sit near the buffet area, or the performers stage. Regardless, overall atmosphere is pretty good, suitable and comfortable enough whether you're going for a quick bite, or a lingering meal.Service at The Square Restaurant Novotel is professional, befitting the hotel's 4-star status. Staff greet you with a welcoming smile at the entrance, and guests are seated quickly. The chefs around the buffet counter can provide detailed explanations on the dishes available, but not all the serving staff are able to do so. However, they are efficient, especially at clearing away empty / dirty plates, always helpful in a buffet when you take plate after plate of food! However, the large floor space also means you'll have to wait a short while till staff come by the check on your table.Food at The Square Restaurant Novotel is usually an International buffet, featuring fresh seafood, rotisserie meats, and a variety of cuisines including American, British, Chinese, Malay, Japanese, and Singaporean. Generally, food here is of a decent, passable standard in taste. Prices are reflective of a high-end hotel buffet, budget about SGD $64 per person for a meal here. They do offer ala-carte as well, though getting this isn't worthwhile, unless you're actually staying here. The Square Restaurant Novotel has their own in-house specialised pastry chef, thus, their bread and desserts are usually good!The Kambing Panggang Bumbu Rujak Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta Marinated Lamb Salad was soaked beforehand in a tamarind water brine, then coated in a mild spice mixture and grilled to perfection. Taste is savoury, with a hint of the smoky aroma, and the mild flavour of the spice, then you get the natural flavour of the lamb. Excellent!The Sate Lilit Bali / Balinese Wrapped Fish Satay was chef's 1st dish he ever learnt when he started working in the restaurants of Bali, Indonesia. He demonstrated how he prepared the fish paste mixture flavoured with mild spices, and the techniques of wrapping it around a stalk of lemongrass, before grilling it. Savoury and slightly sweet with the fragrant floral aroma from the lemongrass, this fish paste satay was incredibly tasty. Very good!Full The Square Restaurant Novotel review here: http://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.sg/2015/10/the-square-restaurant-novotel-tasting.html