I am especially fond of Japanese bakeries. So when I heard of Yamazaki Boulangerie Chaude, and that their most of their ingredients and recipes are from Japan, I knew I had to check it out!The exterior of the bakery looks quite spacious from the outside, but the interior, with its somewhat rustic-looking decor, is smaller than expected. Despite this, they have a decent variety of bread available, many of which I was actually keen to try. But I couldn't finish so many and I didn't want to keep them for too many days so I mulled around for a bit trying to decide on a few to try.

Walking around the bakery, I was glad to see that there is a small counter at the back containing a few baskets of bread samples to try out. The Hawaiian bread was among one of those samples and I was totally sold on my first bite of this bread! Hawaiian Bread ($1.5​0)
Superbly soft and fluffy, even the outer crust layer is thin and soft as well. This is also mildly sweet in taste. I love bread that are good to eat on its own and the Hawaiian bread here definitely falls into this category. Although you can eat it with jam or other fillings, its subtle flavour is really best appreciated by eating it plain, or with just a dash of butter. Highly recommended!Snow Chocolate ($1.20)
This special Hokkaido soft bun is kind of a cross between a cake and a bread, based on the description for its Snow Custard counterpart. The ​bread itself is quite soft but the top of the bread is slightly crusty and a little crumbly. I like the smooth chocolate custard filling which is quite chocolatey but not too sweet. Chocolate Cream Puff ($1.80)
This scores just by looks alone. Just look at the generous, whooping amount of smooth and fresh chocolate cream sandwiched between the puff pastry! It may seem a bit daunting eating all that cream, but this cream puff is unexpectedly light, fluffy and not cloyingly sweet. Best of all, it's only $1.80. Certainly worth a try, but recommend not to store it for too long before eating.Chocolate Chip Waffle ($1.50)
The waffle is very crispy on the outside but somewhat crumbly inside; it kind of feels like biting into an oversized cookie. But taste-wise, it is surprisingly good. The addition of the chocolate chips is also a nice touch to the waffle for that extra bit of sweetness.Chocolate Fudge Slice ($4.00)
The selection of cakes here is quite limited, but I wanted to try the cakes from Yamazaki so I just rolled with this. The sponge cake layer is ...spongy but a little dry although this is redeemed by the smooth and rich chocolate fudge layer. A pretty decent cake overall, but I didn't find it particularly memorable.

On the whole, I am quite pleased with my first purchase at Yamazaki, especially the bread and pastries. My favourite from this trip is the Hawaiian Bread, which is worth a try and definitely worth buying again! I also enjoy the Chocolate Puff and Snow Custard as well. The prices for most of their bread are very reasonable and affordable, and service, while not spectacular, is decent. I’m already planning a return trip to try out their other bread. But do note that the selection of bread may be somewhat limited if you go early in the morning when they are just opened (around 10am). I went around 11am and quite a number of bread slots were still empty, so you might want to consider going just slightly later when most of the bread, which are freshly baked daily, will be fresh out of the oven!

The Ikea restaurant at the Tampines branch is a lot bigger than the Alexandra branch, with a bigger dining area and plentiful of seats. The self-service food counter area is also slightly more spacious to allow for smoother human flow. The place is dressed in a casual, modern style, with clean arrangement of simple, classic furniture and artsy overhead lamps. Colours are mostly kept to the minimum here, except maybe for the children corner. This may make the place look a little sterile, but I find the simplistic beauty of their minimalist decor endearing, especially when there are not much people around and it is quiet.We went before 10am (the restaurant opens at 9.30am although the store itself opens at 10am) when there is not much crowd yet so we could just sit where we like and enjoy our breakfast in relative peace. We opted for a seat nearer to the windows where natural sunlight bathes the area in a light, warm glow. The family next to us even took the opportunity to chill out together over their breakfast and the morning papers, giving meaning to the term "family bonding". Even before I get my food, I'm already liking this place.
Pancakes with Scrambled Egg and Hashbrown ($3.00)
The pancakes feel a little dense but are otherwise soft and slightly buttery. The scrambled egg is a little wet but not runny. Add a little salt here and a little pepper there for a little more flavour. I like the hashbrown best. They are crispy, tasty and not so oily. At only $3.00, we all agree that this set is really quite reasonably priced.Garlic Bread (2 for $1.00)
Generously seasoned with garlic spread, these slices of garlic bread are tasty enough to eat on their own or to get as an add-on to your meal or cup of tea or coffee. We like this enough to consider getting a bunch of it to make up a "loaf" to eat on its own in future.New York Cheesecake ($3.80)
Dense, heavy and creamy, the cheesecake is quite a treat. It is not too sweet, but cheesy with a tease of lemon zest. The thin cracker base feels a little wet, but overall this is pretty decent for the price. It feels quite rich on first bite. My favourite next to the cinnamon roll!Cinnamon Roll ($1.20)
Not just my favourite but also my family's. The cinnamon roll is sweet, soft and chewy with a slight crispy glazed outer crust. The scent and taste of cinnamon is also pretty strong, making this a rather flavourful treat. Recommended!Coffee ($0.50) & Tea ($0.50)
Make your choice from a cup of decent coffee or Dilmah Ceylon black tea, which comes from a teabag, at the low price of only 50 cents. The best part is that they are refillable and you can make them as sweet as you like with the sugar or cream sachets at the condiments counter.

As usual, the food are very reasonably priced with some really value-for-money items on their menu. It helps that the decor and availability of seats here are really much better than the Alexandra branch. Service is also quite decent and the staff are generally friendly and helpful with (our) queries. We enjoyed our dining experience here, not only for the affordable but tasty food but also for the family-centric environment and experience. Do go early to take advantage of the peace before the crowd (and noise!) starts trickling in. It will start to get progressively hectic, especially during peak hours. For us, it's definitely worth getting up earlier to enjoy a nice breakfast here with the family!

Their tagline is "a carnival in every bite". Not only does Pezzo aim to do that by introducing exciting pizza flavours like the Sambal Ikan Bilis, but the outlets are also typically designed in a colorful carnival-style decor to imitate the fun and lively atmosphere of a carnival. This is similarly the case for the outlet here at Woodlands Xchange. The place here is small, although there is a limited amount of seats for dining in. We decided to dine in to try their pizza. There are two pizza series here at Pezzo. The Carnival series costs $4.50 per slice and comes in flavours like Cheesey Cheese, Italiano Chicken and BBQ Bonanza, while the Gala series costs $4.90 per slice and comes in flavours like Fisherman Favourite, Meat Munchers and Hot Chick. We decided to get one flavour from each series to try. However, the selection was quite limited when we went, with the counter looking a little bare due to the dwindling pizza slices left. Carnival Series: Hola Hawaiian ($4.50)
The Hawaiian pizza has turkey ham and bacon with pineapples cubes topped with melted cheddar and mozzarella cheese. The toppings, especially for the ham, are quite plentiful. The pizza is also lightly sweet from the pineapple cubes, and I like the combination of melted cheese on top which is quite cheesy.Gala Series: Chicken Delight ($4.90)
This Chicken Delight pizza aims to please chicken lovers with a decent portion of chicken breast strips and turkey bacon with onions and mushrooms as toppings. The bacon feels slightly overcooked and dry but the chicken meat is very meaty and tender. But while the toppings are plentiful, I didn't exactly find the taste to be particularly exciting, or as they say, a "carnival in every bite".

Between the two, we were actually expecting the pizza from the Gala series to be more tasty, considering that it costs more than the Carnival series. But I actually prefer the Hola Hawaiian from the Carnival series for the slightly sweeter and more flavourful taste overall. However, the quality of ingredients used on the Chicken Delight from the Gala series, especially the meaty chicken breast strips, deserves a thumb up too.

The crust for both pizza is pretty thick but it is quite puffy, soft and slightly chewy. However, I suspect that some might find the crust too thick in proportion to the toppings. I personally prefer the crust slightly thinner, but nevertheless, these are still quite okay for us. But do take note if you are not keen on pizza with thick crusts and prefer your pizza with thinner crust.Italian Soda: Strawberry ($2.00)
We also got their Italian Soda to try. The Italian Soda also comes in other flavours like Grape and Green Apple. We opted for Strawberry. The soda is pretty fizzy with a tinge of bitterness especially on first taste and the strawberry syrup couldn't make it sweet enough for us. The portion is also pretty small and we thought that this was something we could have done without.

It'd have actually been nice to have some sides to go with the pizza for a more filling meal, but the sides, like garlic bread, which are listed on their website are not available in the outlet here. The soft serve ice cream, which is supposedly available according to a sign at the front of this shop, was also not available when we were there. But despite the disappointment, the pizzas are quite decent and I'd recommend trying the Hola Hawaiian. The price is standard for a pizza slice, and the service here is also acceptable.

Ritz is known for their apple strudels which also come in flavours like strawberry, mango, blueberry, durian and peach. I decided to try something different and opted for the apple crumble when I saw it in the display counter. I also got the mini chocolate eclairs to share with the family. Apple Crumble ($4.50)
Generously stuffed with soft, juicy apple filling encrusted in a crumbly and crunchy crust, this treat is an enjoyable mixture of contrasting texture in each bite. The apple filling with huge chunks of softened apple is so juicy that some of the juice may ooze out and soak the base of the pastry, which could unfortunately cause the bottom to be a little wet and soggy. This was the case for my apple crumble, but fortunately, the taste wasn't much affected. I like that the sweetness of Ritz's apple crumble comes mostly from the apple filling. I also couldn't get enough of the tasty and crunchy crust, especially the crumbly top!Mini Eclairs (6 for $3.50)
These bite-sized treats are quite decent too! The puff pastry is thin, and it is generously stuffed with soft, silky smooth cream inside. It is not very sweet either, with the chocolate layer on top contributing to most of the sweetness. The rest of the family also gave these the thumb up.

Prices for the strudels (and crumble) are mostly around $4++ to $5++ for the smallest size, which can be a little on the pricey side, but the portion of strudel is quite big even for the smallest portion, which would be good for sharing as a dessert or a snack. It'd be nice if there are more variety of other pastries to try at this outlet though!

Ikea restaurant is known for offering decent quality food at really affordable prices. So while we were there to look at shelves one day, we decided to pop by the restaurant for breakfast. The decor here is simple and unpretentious. Owing to the popularity of the restaurant, the queue can get quite long around lunch time and it can be a pain trying to find seats here. But it was still quite manageable when we went earlier slightly before 11am. Fortunately, the counter staff are generally quite prompt with their service and the queue usually moves fast. The only downside is that you really got to choose fast so as not to hold up the queue. Mashed Potato ($1.00)
The mashed potato is pretty smooth. The staff allowed us to choose a sauce of our choice and we asked for the chives sauce. The portion of the sauce given is quite generous. The chives sauce is also quite creamy and goes surprisingly well with the mashed potato.French Fries ($2.20) (Not including Garlic Bread)
Thick and crispy, the fries here are otherwise pretty much typical, although I like that they are not over salted by default. It can come across as a little bland, so if you prefer your fries salty, you can salt it with the salt sachets from the condiment counter. Chicken Pie ($2.80) (Not including Garlic Bread)
The pastry is quite buttery but a tad oily for me. I also didn't find it flaky enough. The chicken filling is pretty tasty though. It is tender and juicy and it helps that the pie is generously stuffed with it!

Garlic Bread (2 for $1.00)
These are just two small slices of garlic bread which are good for complementing your meal. They are well seasoned and the garlic and herb taste is quite discernible. These are nice to eat on their own but we agree this would make a nice add-on to any sides, like the chicken pie or french fries in the photos above, for a more complete or filling meal.Chocolate and Butterscotch Cake ($3.50)
The base of this Chocolate and Butterscotch Cake is quite crumbly and a little dry, but the cream, though a tad too much for me, helps to lessen the dryness a little. There are also almonds bits topped with a thin layer of chocolate for that additional crunch. Yum!Coffee ($0.50) & Tea ($0.50)
The coffee is decent and the tea in question is actually Dilmah Ceylon black tea from a teabag. The best part is that they are refillable and cost only 50 cents each, which is really value for money. Sugar or cream sachets can be obtained at the condiments counter. Hazelnut Chocolate Bar ($1.80)
$1.80 for a chocolate bar this size? Definitely a must get for chocolate lovers! It is also available in flavours like Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate. The taste is quite decent, and there is a fair amount (not that many but acceptable enough) of hazelnuts bits in the chocolate. My only grouse is that it is lacking the nutritional information on the package but hey, that's just me.

The prices of the food from Ikea are really quite reasonable and affordable, especially for the sets, but some of the ala carte sides are standard priced, like the french fries. You might as well get them as part of a meal which would definitely give you more bang for the buck. Items we find to be worth getting among our purchase on this trip are the chicken pie, garlic bread and the Chocolate and Butterscotch cake. The chocolate bar is also quite value for money. I certainly wouldn't mind making a trip to Ikea again just for their desserts, but I'd suggest going earlier if you do not want to deal with the queue and lack of seats during peak hours.