Bueno Vista has little cafes popping up everywhere and Cali Cafe was my choice for lunch after spotting them on my Entertainer App List.

Grabbing a few of my colleagues, we ordered quite a few mains to try out. Sadly the meal didn't impress some of my colleagues where they found the tastes to be bland and one of them even said it was like eating junk food..For starters, the Waldorf Salad was a saving grace which everyone wish they had order instead of the pumpkin soup which wasnt well seasoned and artifically sweet. The salad was fresh and chunky with a good dash of salad sauce thrown into the mix.Pumpkin soup as mentioned earlier, was a let down.Fish & Chips were served cold, and the portions didn't fill up one of my male colleague who also commented that the fish wasnt fresh at all.12 hr Slow Cook Beef was my choice. The mash potato was ok, but the beef turn out way too salty. Perhaps it was meant to be eaten with the mash potato to mute its saltiness. I also wish more vegetables was added onto the dish.All Day Breakfast Set was huge in portion and my colleague who order this felt that it was pretty good, so we all kind of got a little envious of him. With 7 items on his plate, this can definitely fill you up!This was a dish which my colleagues enjoyed and they all gave their thumbs up to this sinful dish which has cheese and ham as it stuffing in the middlw. A little overfried if you had to pick on this dish.

VERDICT
I am caught in a 50/50 situation. I am not sure if it is worth me heading back since there are so many other good cafes around for me to spend my money at. The food isnt mindblowing good, but they arent bad either. I would still recommend people to try it out, if you would like to go someplace new.

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My birthday brought me to Chock Full of Beans for a quiet lunch with one of my favourite food kakis. My 2nd visit to this place, I am back to try out their main dishes after having a good impression of their coffee and drinks.Our order of Mocha and Cappuccino is served with cute little cartoons drawn into it! I love how colour is incorporated into the latte art. Definitely put a smile on our face The truffle mushroom spaghetti wasn't too bad, with ample amount of mushrooms mixed with truffle oil and pasta. The pasta was al-dente so I was pleased with it. The overall taste is a little underwhelming as the flavours are pretty much from the truffle oil, and there wasn't anything special about the taste.

VERDICT
I wish I had a better review for the food but I was left a little disappointed. I have heard rave reviews about their brunch menu, so I guess that would be the reason why I am back at Chock Full Of Beans.

If you are looking for a quiet spot for good coffee this weekend, Smitten might be a good spot for you to drop by. With outdoor and indoor seating, I heard that they do fill up pretty fast over the weekends.
Prices are pretty similar to industry players where we (4 of us) paid SGD 5 for a 6oz cup of espresso with milk.I like that it isn't too thin. Definitely a robust cup of coffee, a whiff to the coffee will definitely bring a small to your face. Ordered their affogato and it is pretty much a sweetened up caffeine shot which I enjoyed immersely. The espress shot is super "gao" (thick in hokkien) with the vanilla ice cream offsetting this otherwise bitter shot.
Matcha Cake was a little expensive by still a treat for those who like their green tea to be a little sweet. I personally prefer the savor the natural bitter taste of Green Tea, so this cake didnt do it for me.
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VERDICT
Definitely worth a return visit, the next time round I would like to pop by to try out their Sandwiches and savoury bites which doesn't exceed SGD 10. Definitely attractive in terms of pricing.

Have fun savoring a cup of coffee @ Smitten!

While on the lookout for something sweet, I decided to drop by Blackball's newest outlet which is located in Habourfront. With limited seating area of not more than 20, I decided to pack a bowl back home to be shared with Mr Heng, my forever food partner.Packed with ingredients, it is definitely a bowl which you should be sharing with friends! A mixture of taro balls, red beans, pumpkin and sweet potato balls atop slow grass jelly. You are giving a choice to have it as it is, or to add milk into the dessert to give it a milky creamy taste.

I personally like mine with a bit of milk even though it is a little sinful
The entire dessert is a little too sweet for me, so I guess the next time back I would ask for a "less sweet" option.

The taro balls do come by a little too starchy, to the point where it doesnt really taste of yam. Quite a pity since yam chunks would have been awesome!

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VERDICT
This is a ok place to head down for desserts if you have a sweet tooth! For me, I think I shall just stick to my favorite traditional dessert stalls in hawker centers.

Mala Xiang Guo is one of the lastest food trend in town and it is little wonder to find one popping up near my office. A couple of my colleagues raved about this spicy dish and urge me to try it out, with a little reminder that I should go for the lessy spicy option when asked.Located in Anchorpoint's Koufu, you will be presented by a selection of meat, veggie and mushrooms. Price of the meal is decided by weight of the items that you have selected.SGD 1/ 100g of Vegatables
SGD 2/ 100g of Mushrooms
SGD 2.80/ 100g of Vegatables
SGD 3.80/ 100g of Seafood

I wasnt feeling too hungry so I had a mix of mushroom and vegetables which cost me SGD 4.80. I choose to have it less spicy and I am sure glad I did!It was comfortably spicy where you dont have keep chugging cups of water down to squench the fire on your tongue. It is fragrant and the peanuts and sesame sees added to the make definitely made it smell better.

One of the tricks to having a cheaper bowl of food is to choose items which are much more light weight, e.g. Mushrooms or Kangkong which are pretty light items.

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VERDICT
Definitely worth a trip down to try out this stall, especially if you are a spice lover. I like that idea of being able to choose my ingredients, which allows me to pile my bowl up with a whole lot of dietary fibre.
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