We were famished after walking around for the whole afternoon and luckily, Jang Won was open from 5pm so we were glad to find a place which opens before 6pm. The place is relatively quiet compared to Togi just diagonally opposite but Jang Won has a nice homely feel with friendly staff. The waitress seems to be from the Philippines but I saw that she could write the order in Hangul so I guess she should know the language. The owners are Korean, according to what I heard before.The photos I posted here were actually from two separate visits so that's why you are seeing two different sets of banchan. Depending on what you order and when you visit the restaurant, you may get slightly different banchan. I like most of them except for the tofu but it's not because I dislike it but rather I don't take tofu so I don't know how it tastes. According to those who had eaten it, the tofu was delicious.Rabokki was something I only knew after visiting Jang Won. It's actually a mixture of the ddeokbokki and ramyeon in the ddeokbokki sauce and I really like the combination. Not too spicy and the noodles were really flavourful after absorbing the sauce.Coming to a Korean restaurant, BBQ meat is almost like a must-have. We got the samgyeopsal and had the kitchen grill it for us since we were too famished and didn't have the intention to get smoked. Anyway, you don't have to worry about the smoke since there were people grilling meat just behind us but we didn't end up smelling bad. The ventilation here does work well, I guess. The samgyeopsal was very nicely grilled so the meat juices were sealed in properly. Eating this on its own or with the vegetables will taste equally good.The samgyetang here is well-flavoured and the chicken thoroughly cooked but not tough to eat. The portion is not that big so it can be consumed by one person. Patbingsu can be considered as the Korean version of ice kacang but the flavour is somewhat different due to the ingredients used. It's not so sweet because there isn't so much syrup so it goes down well as a good dessert. However, the amount of ingredients would probably mean that you have to share this especially if you have eaten a hearty meal before trying the dessert.The kimchi stew can seem rather overwhelming at first because it looks really red and thick. However, the flavour is just nice and is not as spicy as it seems. It can surely do with a bit more of pork though because it has more tofu and kimchi than the meat.As for the fried kimchi with pork, it was OK but I think it needed a bit more spiciness and lesser vegetables so as to make the dish a bit more balanced.

On the whole, Jang Won offers good comfort food in a homely and clean atmosphere. Prices may be a bit steep on some items though so do be prepared for a big bill when you are ordering many dishes.

For more food reviews, please visit http://shokushisouseikatsu.blogspot.sg/ and url.com/hc7pgl3

I've always been keen to try Korean stews locally but there were two major obstacles preventing me from doing so. First of all, many places I've been to so far tend to have such stews in sharing sizes which effectively meant that for someone like me who eats out often on my own, there was no way I could have finished the food singlehandedly. Even if I could, some restaurants had the rule that there must be at least two persons present before certain dishes can be ordered (yes, I'm referring to a particular bijin nabe which I've yet to try because of this rule). Secondly, a lot of the stews tend to use beef which I can't eat for religious reasons. It was really difficult to find a place which offers stews using anything other than beef and in a size friendly to singles.First up would definitely be the pork ribs stew. There are three types of meat stews to choose from i.e. pork, beef and chicken. Note that for the chicken stew, the default option is spicy so for those who can't really take spicy food, you might want to keep this in mind. Personally, I'm not too good with spicy stuff too but I would probably come back another day just to try the chicken stew.

I really liked the pork ribs which were well-marinated and absorbed the flavours of the slightly spicy soup which goes well with the multi-grain rice served together. Although I ordered the single portion, there were more than 5 pieces of the pork ribs and they were mostly soft ribs which meant that there was more meat than the typical spare ribs used in bak kut teh. The meat texture in turn was soft and you could detach the meat from the bones very easily.

After choosing your meat, you can then select the spiciness level. For a "beginner" like me, I chose Level 1 which was slightly spicy in my opinion. For those who are OK with spicy stuff, you might find this not challenging at all so by all means challenge yourself with a Level 4.

Next, you get to choose between Korean udon and glass noodles. I'm not sure what Korean udon is and how it differs from its Japanese counterpart since I ordered the latter. However, I was rather disappointed to see the flat and thick version rather than the thinner one in my stew because it tends not to absorb the gravy/soup/sauce as well as the latter. True enough, I didn't like how the glass noodles tasted. As the thick glass noodles was rather stretchy and difficult to lift from the pot, I was conscious of the fact that whenever the glass noodles snapped backwards into the pot, the gravy seemed to spurt outwards to my neighbours and myself. Might be worth considering that if you want to avoid this messy situation.

If you find that your stew is not filling enough, you can add other things like Korean rice cakes as a top-up. I didn't add any this time since I wasn't sure of the portion size. I guess if I am just ordering the stew without other dishes next time, I might want to try adding the rice cakes.Read the full review at http://shokushisouseikatsu.blogspot.sg/

I've only been here for lunch a couple of times so I tend to order the lunch sets plus other side dishes like pancakes or the ddeokbokki. I heard that the dinner crowd tends to order BBQ meat and drinks and there are some items which are only available at night so depending on the time of your visit, you may be able to enjoy a different spread.

The lunch sets usually consist of a meat or seafood dish with rice and soup and cost around $10++ (depending on what you order). From what I understand, the lunch set's portion is a bit smaller than if you order the same dish ala-carte so if you are a big eater, you know what to do.

I usually order the pork or chicken bulgogi set (picture shows pork set) which is very satisfying for lunch but not to the extent of driving you to dreamland straight after the meal. It may taste a bit on the sweet side compared to other places which tend to be spicier so for people who prefer a less-spicy version, this may be for you. The ddeokbokki comes in a rather large portion and is on the sweet side so you may wish to get your lunch companion to share.

As for the pancake, I tend to choose seafood rather than kimchi (not because of taste differences) but rather I prefer the seafood version for its nicely done crust and the generous amount of seafood within (although it can fluctuate on different days).

Prices-wise, I think it's a bit steep but considering that it's in town and is relatively consistent in terms of taste, I don't mind coming here for good Korean food in a comfortable setting.

Anyone who has walked past Au Chocolat will probably have the impression that they are all about desserts and cakes. That was the same thought until I realised that they have a cafe/restaurant further down the corridor when I needed to find a place to grab an afternoon snack.

I order the calamari and tiramisu which were both good in their own ways. One thing I always find lacking in calamari is that if the squid used isn't fresh, it destroys the whole feel of the dish. Au Chocolat's version was pretty good and the batter helped to bring out the freshness of the squid within. Overall, I felt that it was a great combination. As for the espresso tiramisu, I liked the texture of it i.e. not too wet nor dry and was very flavourful. The cute heart-shaped cookie at the edge of the cup was an added bonus.

For more pictures and a more detailed review, please visit my blog: http://shokushisouseikatsu.blogspot.com/2013/02/trying-new-hang-out-place-au-chocolat.html

In the sleepy Icon Village building lies a quaint bakery/confectionery named Patisserie Glace. As the shop space is very small, there is actually no space for you to sit around to enjoy their products. However, I don't think this bothers its customers too much since its baked goods are usually in small packages and can be easily picked up and brought back to the office as a post-lunch/teatime treat.
It was by chance that I walked past this bakery and I was tempted by the very delicious-looking baked goods. During a recent visit in June, I picked up the original flavour financier and chocolate madeleine which were simply among the best I've tasted. On most occasions, the financiers I tasted had strong buttery tastes or the texture didn't impress me. Glace's version had the right taste and texture (at least to me). The madeleine also did well because its chocolate taste wasn't too overwhelming and it had the right amount of moisture. I usually have to drink tea while eating madeleines because they tend to be rather dry but I can eat Glace's version on its own.
I haven't had the opportunity to try their sliced or whole cakes though but it sure looks appealing through the glass showcases.