Full review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2015/12/over-top-milkshakes-at-benjamin-browns.html

Have been wanting to try the pretty looking OTT milkshakes from Benjamin Browns since it's sudden surge in popularity on social media. As we're not prepared to brave the long queues, we waited for the initial hype to fizzle out before making a trip down.

The smallish restaurant is tucked away at a corner of the Forum Shopping mall.It was not very crowded when we arrived at about 7pm, but it did get busy from 7.30pm onwards. Do try to make reservations if you have a big group as there are limited seating available inside.Complimentary ice water was served to every table, check out the tiny red star on the glass. We quickly browse the menu and ordered two of their popular OTT milkshakes to share, and also main courses for each of us.

We thought the shakes would take a while to construct but they came rather fast, even before our appetizer was served. Presenting...Nutella Banana shake and Old School Vanilla shake, $16++ each, standing tall with overflowing amount of assorted confectioneries as toppings.These photogenic shakes took us quite some time to finally complete photo taking. Fortunately, the toppings stayed put till the very end phew! Both of these OTT milkshakes tasted fine for me, sweet but pleasantly flavorful. I like picking the toppings out to munch on. Great dish for the desserts lovers.

Main courses and appetizer were served while we're busy de-constructing the OTT shakes. We had Pork chops with mash potatoes $25++ and Sizzling beef chunks $25++, and a Truffle fries $15++ for sharing.My Pork chop was delish, meat was tender and well marinated, the sweet potato mash was sweet and creamy too. The Beef chunks were a hit with my friend who loved her beef to be juicy and slightly undercooked. I didn't touch the Truffle fries as it was covered with shredded parmesan cheese, but my friends thought it was pretty decent.Although the fanciful milkshakes are a little overpriced, Benjamin Browns is actually a good place to enjoy affordable and decent food. We redeemed 1 for 1 vouchers from The Entertainer App for the mains, and paid below $40 per head for a rather satisfying meal.

Full review - http://midas400.blogspot.com/2015/12/afternoon-tea-at-axis-bar-lounge.html

We're here upon request from our girlfriend who wanna have afternoon tea for her birthday celebration. After some researching, we settled for the SG50 Afternoon Tea at Axis bar & lounge, Mandarin Oriental hotel.

Located at level 4, overlooking modern SG cityscape, this place is a sanctuary of peace and quiet on a lazy weekday afternoon. Great for lounging and catching up with friends over a cuppa.TWG TeasLive MusicSG Haze

They served a 5 course Afternoon Tea set, $42++, which included two choices of tea or coffee. The menu changes every month, and for SG golden jubilee, they are serving local themed tea sets to celebrate the occasion. We had an 'Indian' theme menu for the month of September.My Emperor's white garden tea

First course was a tea jelly drink, Masala chai & cinnamon jelly. Yep, the Indian flavor was obvious, the taste was acceptable for me though, albeit a little exotic.Next, we had a variety of small bites served on plates. Majority of these were seasoned with Indian spices. I liked the Spicy prawn and the Chicken tikka stuffed mini pita. The others were rather ordinary.The next course was two kinds of flaky puffs, one contained curried Potato filling, and the other had a spiced Fish meat filling. The Potato puff was fine but the Fishy puff was too 'Indian' taste for my liking. I had to drown the overpowering smell in my mouth with lotsa tea!After having plenty of savories, the sweets were served. First up, some Cookies & cream scones and Pineapple scones, served with clotted cream, lemon curd and jam. I didn't eat these as they smelled extremely buttery but my girlfriends liked them though.Then, more sweets came sitting on a 3-tier tea stand. There were 6 variety of cakes and pastries on the stand. Many of them were overly sweet. The only stand-out was the Raspberry tart, refreshingly sweet and tangy, which we all liked.Lastly, we ordered our second drink to go with the Complimentary birthday cake for our girlfriend. I had Mocha while the rest had ice chocolate drink. The chocolate cake was , again, very sweet...we're getting serious saccharine coma!Dining experience at the Axis bar was generally decent. Food was above average, with a little hits and misses here and there. Service and ambiance was great. I would recommend some homework be done to find out the menu for the month before heading down. The Indian theme menu we had was a tad too exotic for us, we couldn't truly appreciate it. Do check for credit cards promo as well.

Full review - http://midas400.blogspot.com/2015/12/dinner-at-arteastiq-plaza-singapura.html

I've been to two dining concept stores under Arteastiq but have not actually dine in Arteastiq before. Since a new outlet has opened at PS, I went to check out the new store and their new menu.Nice and brightly colored lounge-style decor, with a row of hi-back couches overlooking parts of bustling Orchard road. The floor to ceiling glass windows lets in natural rays from the sun during the day, and dazzling city lights during the night.As I'm alone, I ordered myself a dessert tea set and a main course from their new 'Ladies Affairs' menu.

The beautiful dessert tea set was served first, on their trademark wooden tea tray. My Monet Tea $12++ was a blend of French Rose tea served with a scoop of Champagne Vanilla Gelato and biscotti biscuits. The tea was absolutely delicious.The Main course, Louisiana Love Chicken & Waffles $22++, was rather special. It was waffles made with whole wheat flour, served with crispy chunks of buttermilk pan-fried chicken meat tossed in Thai mayo dressing and greens. This savory waffle dish was excellently done, waffles were good, chicken was tender and the sauce was yummy. I loved it!I enjoyed my dinner here at Arteastiq. Food and beverage were of high quality, and service was decent too. Prices were a bit steep though for the fancy dessert teas. I would come back to try other items on the menu but maybe not ordering the expensive tea every time.

Full review - http://midas400.blogspot.com/2015/11/new-outlet-tsukada-nojo-bijin-nabe-at.html

I got really excited after I saw the news of the new Liang Court branch opening in Oct on their official FB page. We gather the usual Bijin Nabe 美人鍋 gang, and went on a quiet Tue. We were happy to find an empty entrance with one or two early birds still waiting for their gangs outside.Liang CourtThe empty week old restaurantOnce our gang has reported full strength onsite, we were quickly ushered in to an empty table. The restaurant was 80% unoccupied at 7pm (20 Oct 2015). We placed order almost immediately as we already knew what to eat (we are regulars). Here are the usual stuffs we would eat every 3-4 months at Tsukada Nojo.TamagoyakiYuzu mayo NikumakiChicken NanbanThe Bijin Nabe (Collagen Hotpot) Set is still $25++ per pax, comes with a choice of noodles and one free soup refill. The other ala carte side dishes we ordered are available at all outlets too. At the end of the satisfying meal, we were served the complimentary jelly (flavor varies daily) with cute drawings.Apple Jelly for the day

The restaurant being extremely new, is a little understaffed even though they are not running a full house then. They've forgotten to serve us the sauces, and missed out the seaweed they're supposed to introduce halfway through the meal. Food was great though. We hope that they will beef up the service when business starts to pick up when more people gets to know of the existence of this outlet.

Full review - http://midas400.blogspot.com/2015/12/birthday-lunch-at-halia-raffles-hotel.html

Halia, a well known fine dining establishment in the F&B scene, with numerous accolades in it's name, was the venue of choice for our Nov sistas birthday celebration. I've heard only good words for this restaurant, so it's high time we give this place a try.The Raffles Hotel's branch has the same garden theme as its big sister at the Botanic gardens, with added colonial vibes. Planted foliage matched with colonial style black and white theme decor, and tall classic French windows giving the interior natural lighting during the day. Check out the centerpiece, a carved wooden table made from a 150yrs old tree.Interesting table setting with cutlery housed in an old school tin container and ice water served in a wine/beer bottle. The menu here showcased modern European dishes with Asian influences.We ordered a main course each and two appetizers for sharing.

For drinks, I had the Ginger Jive $12++, a concoction of fresh ginger, fruits and wild honey. I love its refreshing fruity taste with subtle hints of ginger kick. Some of my friends had their signature Halia Infusion $10++, a ginger drink served with wild honey (hot/cold). The ginger taste was more prominent for this beverage as compared to my mocktail.Appetizers were served shortly after we placed orders. Crispy salt & chilli squid $15++ served with piquant mayo and ginger & spring onion lime dip, and Potato fries $8++ served with piquant mayo and truffle aioli dip. Both were delish and addictive to munch on.The main courses did not take long to be served but alas, they keyed in the wrong order for two of our dishes. The apologetic staff explained the error to us, and quickly served up another set of appetizers (on the house) for us to kill time (another 15mins wait) while they prepare the dishes. Good service recovery from the restaurant!

My Halibut en Papillote $44++, baked fish fillet wrapped in parchment paper with mirin broth and veggies, served with sushi rice and wakame. This was a fabulous dish, fish was succulent and well infused with flavors. The rice topped with seaweed and cucumbers has a nice contrast of textures too. Thumbs up.My friend's Slow Cooked Canadian Pork Loin $33++, was amazingly tender despite its 2" thickness. We suspect it has been sous vide for long hours before pan frying to achieve the nice browning on its exterior. Another excellent dish.Steak & Eggs $30++, with extra Bacon top up at $4++, served with grilled tomatoes, poached eggs & spinach on toast, and buttery Béarnaise sauce. The steak's doneness was just right, retaining its moist and juicy texture, wonderfully executed.To end the enjoyable lunch on a sweet note, complimentary dessert was served. Crème Brûlée with Rum & Raisins ice cream, and a Happy Birthday message. This simple looking dish tasted much better than its looks, we were not disappointed.Halia definitely lived up to its reputation as one of the best restaurants in town. Magnificent food, incredible service, coupled with lovely ambiance, a great choice for that special occasion you are planning to celebrate. Prices could be a little on the steep side but it is well worth the money spent. We utilized two The Entertainer App 1 for 1 Mains vouchers and waived about $60++ off the bill, a good deal indeed.

Halia also has an Al fresco bar just outside the restaurant.