Armed with our groupon voucher of $5.90 for 2 scoops of Artisan Gelato from Alfero, we trooped down to their spanking new outlet at Orchard Gateway (otherwise known as the mall squeezed between Somerset 313 and Orchard Central. Hidden in the basement, Alfero is tucked amongst the many F&B options in Orchard Gateway and with its chic black interior, could have been easily ignored. 

Unlike most gelato shops that proudly display their goods in as outlandish a manner as possible - really, am I REALLY going to be getting that tub of nutella along with my scoop of nutella gelato -, Alfero has gone down the low-key route, covering their gelato with tin caps, as they claim that it keeps the gelato fresh and safe from air and light pollution. 

As the saying goes, "less is indeed more" and the less gelato on display, the more we hankered after them. Between the both of us, my sister and I probably sampled all of the available flavors - ranging from the usual vanilla/chocolate/strawberry to the exotic hazelnut and pistacho. The ice cream girl was really lovely and incredibly patient with us, the tin caps clanging as she gave us samples from one flavor to the next. In the end, we took her recommendation of the Pistacho (crowd favorite!) and Dark chocolate to heart and ordered a cup of each flavor. 

(The chocolate was quickly appropriated and guzzled down by my sister before I could get a snap of it so you guys will just have to settle for a shot of the pistacho.)

And what a shot indeed (and brownie points if you got the "Godfather" reference on the cup)! While the dark chocolate flavor was intense and a chocolate lover's delight, the Pistacho was the one I was fighting tooth and nail with my family over. Pure nutty goodness in a pretty packed cup, we definitely savored every rich and creamy spoonful of it - a crowd favorite indeed!

Coupled with excellent service and a narrow yet cosy interior, I'll definitely be heading back here whenever I'm in town for a sugar fix! And if you do try it out, DEFINITELY opt for the Pistacho. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is what we have all been waiting for. The best place to get your waffle-fix in Singapore is not an all-day brunch cafe, nor is it a specialty waffle shop but instead, an ice cream shop that goes by the unassuming name of Udders.

Yes, I admit, I am addicted to Udder's waffles! It has the fluffiest yet somewhat creamy waffles that I've ever eaten, including all those green waffles offered by heartland bakeries. Not only are they light and chewy, they have a creamy taste that definitely complements whatever ice cream flavour you choose to add on. Of course, cream rather than sorbet flavours are preferable

The best part: It only costs $2.90 to add on a waffle to any ice cream! Definitely easy on the wallet since most waffle places charge at least $4 for a plain waffle!My favourite ice cream flavour to accompany the waffles? Horlicks balls

So the next time you're craving for waffles, look no further than Udders Ice Cream! It's a great place to chill out and catch up with the gang, and you can also channel your inner Picasso by doodling on the glass walls at the Serangoon outlet!

A great place for catching up with friends, the beer market does have a live band, which is one of my favourite things in a place (as long as the band is good obviously!). However, try not to seat near the speakers or else you’ll be yelling in each other’s ears trying to be heard all night!

The Beer Market Burger ($14) had a char-grilled beef patty with BBQ sauce served with thick cut fries and fresh salad. While the burger was delicious thanks to the massive patty and generous lashings of BBQ sauce (one can never go wrong with BBQ sauce!), the fries were a disappointment because they arrived cold and a little soggy. Which is probably the worst state fries can be served in. Nevertheless, the burger and salad made up for it although I feel that if they had perfected the fries, or at least served them while they were hot and fresh, it would have made the dish truly excellent. I also got a lychee beer ($12) because I’m a typical girl who does not like the taste of beer but the sweetness and lychee-flavour helps to get me through a bottle or two. The cool thing about beer market is that the prices of beer follow that of a stock market and change throughout the evening depending on demand and supply. You can view all the beer prices of tv screens scattered around the eatery which is an interesting and unique concept. It does feel sad when you realize you could have paid less for your drink but that’s the stock market for you. I’ll definitely be back with some friends soon!

On a lazy Saturday afternoon, my family decided to head to a small Japanese restaurant in Boat Quay for a nice set lunch. Frequently patronized by the working crowd on the weekdays, the restaurant was relatively empty when we visited on a weekend. I got the Teriyaki salmon set lunch ($16.90) but you can choose other dishes such as Wagyu beef, Teriyaki chicken or grilled saba fish. The meal comes with a small salad, which was quite average with a light dressing. Then some salmon and tuna sashimi which I really enjoyed because they were nice and fresh! Finally the main dish came with my grilled salmon drizzled with Teriyaki sauce, miso soup, rice and some pickles. The salmon was cooked just enough to be juicy yet crispy and went wonderfully with the rice and soup. Lastly, dessert was a scoop of home-made ice cream of your choice (green tea, yuzu, sesame, grape, sea salt) and I decided to try sea salt for a more exotic taste. It had a very unique taste being both salty and sweet at the same time, but I highly recommend trying it! Apparently, all the ingredients are flown in from Japan so you can expect them to be fresh and of the highest quality!

Highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a bite in the CBD area. The prices are reasonable for the quality of food served and most of the customers are regulars so you can be sure that the food is good enough for them to keep coming back!

My family friday dinner tradition is to take a break from cooking at home, which can be such a hassle, to dine at one of my favourite hawker centers in Singapore, the East Coast Lagoon Food Village. Situated right next to East Coast Park, it boasts of the usual fare of Singapore hawker delights such as chicken rice, rojak and also BBQ seafood. This allows us to sate our hawker food craving and then go for a nice evening stroll by the beach afterwards to digest the meal and enjoy the evening sea breeze.

One of the dishes that I always order every time we go there is the LAgoon Leng Kee Beef Kway Teow, which is one of the more popular stalls in the hawker centre as it almost always has a queue. But as the Singapore mentality goes, if there is a queue, the food must be pretty damn good. It comes in both $4/$5 portions but I usually just get the $4 one and order it with just beef and Kway Teow noodles, while they do offer other types of noodles such as mifen and mian and also a mix of beef and innards.

The best part of the dish would have to be the beef broth, which is flavorful and yet not overly salty such that every mouthful has to be accompanied by a gulp of water. The noodles are also cooked with the right amount of bite and are not mushy while the beef slices are generous and go well with the chili sauce.

If you are ever in East Coast Park, do pop by this hawker centre and try the Beef Kway Teow!