For those that passed by Simon Road regularly, Lola's cafe need no introduction. The same can be said for the cafe hoppers, this place is definitely in the list of the must try cafes. However, before you made up you mind to visit this place, the waiting time to get a seat here is also legendary.I can't remember how many times we have said to each other when we drive home passing by Simon Road, we need to give this place a try. We were given a chance to try it out when we are not working on a Friday morning. Thinking that we might be able to get a table because it is still early, but after asking for a table, we informed that we might have to wait for 45mins. On a positive note, you don't need to stand there and wait, instead you can register your name and contact number in ticktok machine and they will call you when its ready.While we were waiting, we decided to share a quick bite of wanton mee at the corner coffeeshop, ;pOnce we get the call, we were seated table for four and we have to share with another couple. We both decided to order Lola's Full Monty Breakfast ($15) and Honey Paprika Crispy Wings ($10).The Full Monty Breakfast come with brioche bread, pork sausage, honey bacons, ham, scrambled eggs, garden salad and balsamic dressing. Sausage is moist covered with a crisp and springy skin. Eggs are creamy, with melted cheese on top. The bacon is crispy and coated with honey, which is good to cover the saltiness in the bacon. The ham also tasted sweet, as the honey coated bacon was placed on top of it. Salads with balsamic dressing provide a good balance to heavy and only proteins. We only hope that they give us more of the nice brioche. One is not enough, two should be the minimum.Honey Paprika Crispy Wings, voted one of the best chicken wings by The Smart Local. It is crispy, but moist and succulent on the inside. However it tasted sweet as it is coated with honey. The paprika supposed to give the heat to the wings, but to minimum effect. We think it is all right, but nothing to rave about according to our taste buds. LD says that she really do not understand why others are so wowing so much about it.For the drinks, we ordered Latte ($5), Sparkling Strawberry Fruit Tea ($5.5) and Mango Tango Green Tea ($5.5). For the latte, they used the beans from Dutch Colony. The Latte is subtle, smooth, with a mild acidity at the end. Its good. The fruit infused tea is slightly disappointing. Sparking strawberry tasted flat, missing the sparkling park. While the mango tango can be better if the tea is stronger.Service is very good. The service staff are friendly and upfront. They manage our expectations properly, like informing us the estimated waiting time to get a seat. As the cafe are packed, it can be difficult to get their attention at times. However, once you get their attention, they attend to your needs promptly.

Overall, we find the food at Lola is good although the chicken wings are not to our preference as we are more of salty type of foodies. If the chance arises, we will come back to try other items on that menu. Cheers and Keep up the good work guys !!!

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http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2016/04/lin-rooftop-bar.htmlLin is a contemporary Asian Alfresco Rooftop bar located in the heart of Tiong Bahru. From the top of the Link Hotel rooftop, you will have a very good view one of the oldest estates in Singapore. A neighbourhood with its own characters while the rest of the area has given way to the modern developments. The name Lin <林> short for 'Shu Lin' which means forest in Mandarin. Align with the name, the bar is decorated in forest theme like. Surrounded with trees, complementing the Asian theme seating and statues. The standout item on the menu are Authentic Asian infused cocktails, delicious Asian bar snacks on top of the range of whiskeys and other drinks. My pre-dinner drink started with Mocktail, off the menu. Tea infused with pandan leaves and lemongrass. Served with a dash of gula melaka and mint leaves. The sweetness is very subtle allowing the Asian flavours of pandan leave and lemongrass to shine. The refreshing mint leaves really give you a wow feel to the drink. Kudos to Roy (LIN's Manager).For Cocktail, my dinner companion for the night Ai Ling Rustic Sky ($18) – Rum, Sour Plum and Lime Juice. Quoting her, “I like sour plum, so quite liked the Rustic Sky Cocktails... Not strong on the onset, but gradually hits you when it was almost towards the end of the glass”. Following the drinks are the Asian inspired Tapas. Lin"林" Dynasty ($10.80) & Wu Xiang Pop ($9.80). Lin Dynasty is Luncheon meat covered with cheese and coated with beer batter. The result is irresistible and leaving spam fries in the dust. Crispy batter, chewy cheese and neutralised the salty flavour of the spam is truly a must try tapas here. Wu Xiang Pop is Lin version of pop corn chicken. Seasoned with wu xiang (five spice powder) and fried to point of crispiness. It was left a bit too long in the fryer, resulting a darker texture. The siracha sauce provided a spicy kick to the dish. The staple food in a bar, burger. Juicy Lucy Beef Burger ($18.80). The size of the homemade burger is very decent. Served with a plate full coleslaw and fries spiced with five spice powder. The burger size is pretty decent, the meat is juicy and well-combined with caramelized onions and streaky bacon. Unfortunately, I find the burger missing the meaty and beefy taste due to too much salt, while the fries is crispy, I can hardly detect the five spice powder seasoning. It can easily be mistaken for cajun fries instead. Asian Smoked Duck Pasta ($14.80). An Asian style pasta that can be mistaken for fried noodle. The spaghetti is al-dente, coated with black pepper and mushrooms. The sliced smoked duck proportion is very generous, however I do not feel the marriage between the duck and the pasta. There was an interesting dish on the menu called “Babe”. Unfortunately, this marinated pork belly has gone “POOF” for the day, so hopefully I get to taste when I am here next time. Overall, Lin provide a unique chill out experience. The tapas and drinks are the highlights here, especially those with Asian Inspired theme. Definitely a good place to hang out. My pick for the food here is the Lin"林" Dynasty and their Asian tea mocktails. So if you around Tiong Bahru, drop by at LIN. Cheers!!

Thanks to the team at Insurgence and Lin"林" Rooftop Bar for the tasting invitation.

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http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2016/03/burp-kitchen-bar.htmlBurp Kitchen & Bar ('Burp'), a little cosy gastropub located at corner of Block 740 Bedok Reservoir Road. When you are seated inside Burp, you can enjoy the scenic view of Bedok Reservoir Park. Opened up by three buddies, Sarah and Ronald are the culinary team in charge to serve you the American with Asian fusion inspired meal at Burp. Following the recent salted egg craze in Singapore F&B scene, Burp offer 3 version of its own salted egg dishes. Salted Egg Tofu Fries ($8); Salted Egg Wings ($14) and Crabby Patty Burger ($18).

Rather than using the commonly available French Fries, Burp created their healthy version of fries using tofu. A quick glance it can be mistaken for luncheon meat. After a quick bite tasted like the pipa tofu served in Chinese restaurants. For the chicken wings, it was well fried with crispy skin and succulent meat. The two bases that I mention above is actually pretty good and can be eaten without the salted egg sauce. However as soon as thick salted egg sauce (loaded with chopped curry leaves and chilli padi) are added on top of the tofu fries / wings, it just go haywire. They just do not mixed, like oil and water. The salted egg did not absorb into the wings / tofu, feels like you are eating two different dishes. I feel it will be better, if Burp made the sauce thinner, tossed the salted egg sauce together with wings / tofu when they just come out from the deep fryer. Just like how the Korean do their KFC. It might not look pretty, but it gives consistency to the dishes. Crabby Patty Burger, an unique creation by Burp. Squid ink bun, lettuce, battered soft shell crab, salted egg sauce, curry leaves, chilli padi. Unlike the two dishes above, this crab burger is actually pretty decent. Soft and crisp bun, juicy soft shell crab patties with salted egg sauce. The pores in the batter and crab, allow the sauce to sip into the patties and you get all the ingredients in each bite. Instead of fries, you actually get their homemade potato salad, which was very comforting. Cheese lovers will like the Chicken Quesadilla ($9). The chicken and duo cheese fillings (cheddar and mozzarella) in the tortilla. Tasted like crispy pocket pizza. The tanginess from the tomato salsa verde on the side helps to balance the richness from the combo of duo cheese here. Burp's Beef Burger ($16). A solid beef burger with thick, juicy and meaty beef patties. The crisp brioche bun and spicy mayo really holds the ingredients well together. I personally like their touch of using pea sprouts (aka Dou Miao). A burp signature unique twist that provide the crunchy and healthy taste to the burger. It can do with more caramelized onions and fries (not the potato salad) but overall it was a darn good burger for me. Burp Kitchen Wings ($10), fried wings with special Adobo sauce. Specially created by Sarah, who has Philippines and Chinese blood as a taste that really resonate with her. The sweet and garlic combo in the sauce reminds me of garlic and soy sauce version in Korean FC. I will pick this anytime over the salted egg version. For a truly taste of Taco Tex-Mex, we sampled their Pork Carnitas Taco ($12) and Baja Fish Taco ($12). Two servings of 6” tacos with corn chips in each. The Pork Carnitas uses slow cooked BBQ pulled pork, where you can see each strand of the meat well coated in the BBQ sauce. A squeeze of lime add freshness and tanginess to the delicious dish. Baja Fish Taco is my favourite. I actually went back to try this dish for the second time after the tasting session. Nicely fried crunchy battered fish fillet, wrapped with spicy mayo and salsa fresca. When you bite into it, you will experience multiple texture (crispy, moist, juicy) and flavour (spicy, creamy, fresh, tangy) dancing in your mouth. Definitely a dish that worth to get your finger dirty. On the second visit, I also tried their Blueberry Pancakes ($8). A medium size pancakes, served with blueberry compote and maple syrup. Pancakes was fluffy, airy however there is a bit of stickiness to it making it hard to swallow after the second piece. The serving of blueberry compote is generous. A touch whipped cream or a mini cubes of butter will make the pancake so much better. I have to admit, when I saw Lemon Lime Bitters ($4) on the menu, Burp directly got extra marks from me. My favourite drink from my Uni days down under but not so common in Singapore. The other mocktail, Frozen Willy ($5.50) which has blended mango juice, orange juice and Grenadine is pretty awesome as well. The settings of Burp is simple, rustic, cosy with an industrial touch. Burp is surrounded by glass windows which allow patrons to see the natural view of Bedok Reservoir Park and also attract passer-by to peek into Burp. Overall, I find Burp is a terrific cosy Gastropub located in the heartland and best it's open till midnight. There are little fine tunings that can be made on the food item, but you can see the potential of this place. Good Food, Good Drinks, Reasonable Price, and friendly atmosphere are the ingredients of a successful place. So if you are around Bedok or east of Singapore, give Burp a try. Cheers!!

Thank you very much for to OpenRice Singapore and Burp Kitchen & Bar team for the tasting invitation. Chubby Botak Koala paid for the food and drink consumed during the second visit.

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http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2015/12/dc-comics-super-heroes-cafe.html DC Comics Super Heroes Cafe (“DCSH”) at Marina Bay Sands is one of the cafe that are licensed by Warner Bros. Unlike any normal cafe, this place is like a mini museum for DC Comics. Once you enter the cafe, every details of the cafe is basically screams DC comics characters. You have Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and The Flash leading the charge. The decorations, the menu, the food even the utensils, have DC Comic characters or their logo on it. So if you are a fan of DC Comics characters, this place definitely a must visit for you. During this Christmas period, DCSH offered a festive 3-Course Menu + Gifts @$88++ per person. For starters, you can choose between Arkham City's X'Mad Minestrone Soup or Star of Wonder (Woman) Salad. The soup is very subtle, slightly tangy from the tomatoes and you can clearly taste each ingredients such as celery, cabbage, carrot and potato. In line with the theme of the cafe, the sliced potatoes and carrots comes with the shape of Batman Logo. The parmesan cheese crackers, springs a slight surprise in the soup flavours. The salad serving looks generous. Instead of typical mini cube croutons, the salad came with toasted bread in the shape of star. You can find pomegranate arils, raisins, sliced almond and dried cranberries accompanied the mesclun salad. The combination of balsamic vinegar and red wine vinegar, gave the dressing the sweetness needed to lift up the salad. Little Devil and I personally feel that the salad is the crowd pleaser, especially with so much high antioxidant ingredients in it. For Mains, you can choose between Batman's Dark Knight Burger, Deluxe Edition or Aquaman “The Sea King of Atlantis” Lobster Tail. The half lobster is pretty huge in size, it is springy, tasty and goes well with the lobster bisque sauce. The vegetables are done just right, boiled then coated with lemon butter. A good choice for a seafood lover. Our pick are the deluxe edition of the burger. Served on black charcoal bun, mustard mayo with Wagyu Beef Patties, Foie Gras, Avocado and Chilli Jam. Ok, I am officially drooling again when I writing this review. The patties is thick and juicy, while the foie gras and avocado just melts in your mouth. Yum Yum Burgergasm!! The fries on the side was double fried, so it is crisp on the outside and moist inside for a longer period of time. Warning, the size of serving is pretty huge, so it will be enough to share with your loved ones. There is only one choice of dessert, which is Superman Winter Solstice-Tude. Mixed berries tartlet with icing sugar. You can find the combination of strawberries and blackberries on the tart and sliced kiwi fruit on the side. Though it looks aesthetically pleasing, it does not deliver in terms of taste. For each person ordering the Festive Season Special, you will each received Trexi Batman or Superman (Value at $29.90 each) and a Hero Cape of Batman or Superman (Value at $29.90 each). If you count this in, it is truly worth to visit DC Comics Super Heroes Cafe during this period. During our visit here, we also sampled their Flaming Firestorm's Wings ($10.90 for 6 pcs/ $18.90 for 12 pcs). A unique version of chicken wings, where it combines the prawn paste marinate with bbq sauce. It is crispy, juicy and succulent and well seasoned. Meanwhile the bbq sauce is not spicy at all and is suitable for all ages. When you order drinks here, such as their Strawberry Supergirl ($9.90) it come with a Super cup, which has a cape on its own. Pretty Cool right. We also tried some of their other desserts such as their Rainbow Chocolate cake ($9.90 per slice) and Lemon Meringue Pie ($7.90). Let just say that the Superheroes were to busy fighting crime, they did not pay attention to the desserts. Unless you really in a need to get your fix of cakes, we suggest you give it a pass.  Overall, dining at DC Comics Super Heroes Cafe will provide you with a sense of dining with your DC Comic Superheroes. The entrée, small bites and main menu are good and delivery on flavours. The drinks are creative and we totally loved the presentation. So DC Comics fans or those who want to get to know DC Comics Characters, give this place a try. Cheers and Merry Christmas. Thank you very much to DC Comics Super Heroes Cafe and H3(Cube) for the tasting invitation.

DurianCanBoleh ('DCB'), seems like a rojak (mixed up) words that can only born in Singapore. DurianCanBoleh basically represent the brand for Durian Crème Brulee, invented by Chef Chung Deming a few years back. From the outside, it looks just like any other crème brulee, however once you savour it, you will noticed the infusion of the durian with smooth crème. Using what considered to be the best durian Mao Shan Wang, DCB packs the durian flavours in each bite. Following the success of of DCB, Chef Chung decided to open up The Quarters ('TQ'), which represent modern Singapore cuisine. Drawing the inspiration from Singapore humble beginnings, and evolution of our culture through food, it will be represented in each of the dishes in TQ. The principle behind TQ is fresh ingredients, home made with love. We started with Salted Egg Fries ($9) and Calamari ($13.80). Salted Egg Fries consist humble shoestring fries with salted egg aioli on the side. The stick-like fries are deep fried until crisp, readily to absorb the aioli which as pretty subtle in terms of taste. The squid in the calamari very tender and succulent. The curry aioli is bold and packs of punch. Personally, I prefer the curry aioli compare to the salted egg aioli to go with the fries and calamari, as the salted egg tasted too mild. Har Cheong Gai ($9.50) and Umami Babi ($10.80) complete the appetizers. Har Cheong Gai or also known as prawn paste chicken is a staple in every chi zhar place across the island. Each boneless chunks are well seasoned with prawn paste, deep fried and to be enjoyed with the belachan. Watch out for the spiciness of the belachan. Some of us like it until we ate it with the fries. Umami Babi was supposed to be a combination of slider and braised pork. Unfortunately, the pork was slightly too dry and turned out to taste like pork jerky slider. For healthy options, we sample Wafu Beef ($14.80) and Samsui Chicken ($12.80). The wafu beef salad provide a good non-carbo options. The medium rare beef ribeye works well with the soy vinaigrette dressing. While the samsui chicken salad, I like how TQ use chicken thigh with skin on for this salad, instead of lacklustre breast meat. The dressing tasted more like a sweet chilli sauce rather than normal chicken chilli sauce. For main meals, Satay Burger ($17) is a must try. A well marinated chicken thigh, in between the handmade rice patties. The meat is tender and succulent, while the handmade rice bun combined crisp and chewy. It is unique and gives you the different take on satay and ketupat. Meanwhile Ma Jie's Indulgence ($18) or known as chilli crab pasta kind of missing the WOW factor for me. Pasta was al-dente, well coated with the chilli sauce and crab meat, but the blend of the sauce with the paste just does not click for me. The Great Escape ($18.80) you can say its one of the textbook dishes for fish in a fine dining restaurant. The skin is crisp, while the meat is soft and flaky. I suggest you just dipped into the lemongrass and ginger flower subtly infused sauce instead of pouring it on the fish, as it will ruin the crispy skin. Not to miss for the dessert of course its Duriancanboleh ($8.50). I never tried it before, but I was expecting something like durian pengat style, instead a of yellowish smooth crème brulee. The caramelized thin layer of sugar on top nicely done. Wanderffle ($12.80) is decent. While the subtle homemade lemongrass and pandan ice cream is much appreciated, it is difficult not to compare the waffle texture with lots of cafes outside. The version here is more artistic and thick. The gula melaka glaze can be pretty sweet, so you need estimate it on your own. Bibik's Brownie ($10.80) served with Buah Keluak Ice Cream. Sorry to say, I am not a buah keluak fan. So after I tried the ice cream, my face made those funny looks that the other foodies said was Instagram worthy. Luckily no one capture it. Phewww!! After that, I so absent minded I forgot to taste the brownie. The coffee bean at TQ are sourced from Papa Palhetta. So I definitely must try their coffee and with a bonus we also tried their Affogato ($8.50). The combination of the homemade ice cream with nutty chocolaty espresso was a just awesome. Probably the best dessert here other than DCB. TQ also offer their special Cocktail of The Quarters ($16) combination of gin, vodka, lemon, mint and dill; or mocktails Quarterade ($6) – lemon, mint and dill without the alcohols. For beer and cider check out their attractive brands such as F***ing Hell, Dead Pony or Green Goblin. Decor of the place is a very open, casual with industrial warehouse feel. Elements such as wooden board, tin wall and black steel are part and parcel when you are dining here. Overall, I admire Chef Chung vision in opening The Quarters. Though I applaud him for introducing his take on modern Singapore dishes, however its uniqueness of the dishes might need the courage and curiosity of the current diners. Do give The Quarters a try if you are around Tanjong Pagar area and let me know how you think of the food. Cheers!! 

Thank you very much to The Quarters team for tasting invitation.

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