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.

The Gong Cha outlet at Woodlands Xchange is located at such a far corner that I wasn't even aware that there is a branch here until a few months ago. But it’s not like its less-than-ideal location is going to be stopping fans from patronizing this small outlet.

They have several series of Bubble Tea beverages like their House Special, Brewed Tea, Milk Tea, Fruit Tea, Tea Latte, Yoghurt, Coffee, Dessert, and Matcha. There are also the Healthy Drinks and Creative Mix series with a range of fruit juices as well. But my favourite is the Matcha Milk with Azuki Bean.Earl Grey Milk Tea ($2.50)
At 50% sugar level, this is just right for me, not too sweet but not that mild to be bland. The milk tea is pretty smooth and there is a slightly bitter taste of the tea, although I didn't find it "citrusy" enough.Matcha Milk with Azuki Bean ($4.10)
The Matcha Milk is equally smooth with the pleasant bitterness of matcha. The portion of red bean is plentiful and adds a level of sweetness to the matcha milk. I love the contrast of bitterness and sweetness in this drink. This beverage may be a tad pricey but it is tasty and the addition of the azuki beans also make this a rather filling drink, at least for me.

Otherwise, prices are pretty much standard for bubble tea and the service is generally efficient and prompt. The waiting time for our drinks to be prepared and ready for collection is also reasonable. The taste is pretty good too among the rest of the bubble tea shops here and I'd recommend the Matcha series at Gong Cha, especially with Azuki Bean toppings!

Delifrance is a long established name known for selling delectable French breads and pastries. While I usually takeaway the pastries here, we decided to dine in this time to enjoy their hot meals like the potato gratin which I count among my Delifrance favourites.

​​The cafe has a small open-dining area which is decorated with simple, classic wooden furniture to add to the cozy ambience. The place is small, but there were not many people when we went during dinner time on a Wednesday so we were particularly looking forward to relax and have a nice chat over our meal.

However, this was the start of a rather bad experience at Delifrance. First, we were dismayed to learn that many of their hot meals like the potato gratin, curry chicken bread bowl and baked chicken rice among several others were all not available. Upon asking for baked rice, two of the staff couldn't agreed on whether it was available when all they need to do was to just check. Then the staff charged us the Wednesday promotional "Egg D'vine" set at its regular price, even though we specifically mentioned the offer to her when we ordered. She also refused to let us double check our orders unless we paid for it first (which of course defeated the purpose of checking it in the first place). We didn't want to kick up a fuss, so we just left it at that but suffice to say, the remainder of our dining experience at this branch was marred by the bad service.French Chicken Feuillete ($3.60)
One of my favourite offerings from Delifrance other than the Potato Gratin. The pastry is buttery and flakey while the chicken filling is plentiful and succulent. For some reason, the price is a little higher here compared to the prices at other Delifrance branches I've been to, but this tasty feuillete is worth its price.Deli Potato Egg Mayo ($6.00)
The potato is decently sized and evenly baked throughout and the egg mayonnaise is light and just the right amount of consistency. This is lightly topped with crunchy bacon bits. However, we didn't find this to be anything special taste-wise and to be honest, I thought this is something you can easily make yourself. It might be more worthwhile getting the baked potato with other toppings instead.French Butter Croissant Egg Mayo ($6.80)
This was supposed to be on a promotional pricing of $9.00 for their Wednesday deal with a soup of the day and a drink, but the staff charged us the full price for both croissant and soup separately. Questionable antics aside, this is worth getting as the croissant is soft, buttery and flakey. The egg mayo also goes quite well with the croissant rather than with the baked potato. Get this with the soup of the day and this has the potential to be a rather filling meal!Soup of the Day: Mushroom Duxelle Soup + Ice Lemon Tea Set ($4.50)
The ice lemon tea is run-of-the-mill but the mushroom soup complements the croissant well. The soup is very creamy with a generous serving of mushroom bits in it. There is also a small slice of bread to go with the soup. The soup is pretty tasty and I'd recommend getting this soup set to go with the croissant!Chocolate Drizzle Cupcake (Top) & Chocolate Chip Cupcake (Bottom) (2 for $5.60)
The cupcakes cost $3.50 each but it is more value for money to get 2 for $5.60. We went for the chocolate drizzle cupcake and chocolate chip cupcake (mine!). The size is quite big for its price and we love the dense, rich and moist cupcake texture. The chocolate chip cupcake has gooey melted chocolate inside as well, making this a very chocolatey treat, but I find the melted chocolate a tiny bit sour, although it might help to lessen the overall sweetness a little. Overall, we agree that the croissant with the soup set and the cupcakes are quite worth a try. The taste of their pastries like the French Butter croissant ($2.70) and French Chicken Feuillete has remained consistently good and these are definitely worth getting as well, especially the croissants. Items I'd definitely buy again are the French Butter croissant, French Chicken Feuillete and Cupcakes. However, the service leaves much to be desired and I'd rather just stick to simple takeaways for future purchases. The prices here are typical for a cafe but I find that you can just buy the croissant for $2.70 and make your own toppings like the egg mayo. That way you'll get to enjoy the same quality and taste of their croissants but at less than half of the cost of eating in!

Other than the signature Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee, this stall is also selling a variety of other dishes such as Fried Kway Tiao ($4.00), Laksa ($4.80), Fried Oyster Omelette ($5.00) and Carrot Cake ($3.50). But since the signature dish is the Hokkien Mee, I got that to try instead. Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee ($4.80)
The noodle is quite springy and I like that it was just the right amount of oiliness (not dripping with oil like some versions can be). It is also not too salty and there is a tinge of wok hei. The two prawns given are quite fresh as well and there are also squid rings and bits of fried egg in the noodle. Overall this is quite a tasty dish, but I find the portion a tad small for the price which is pricey but typical of food courts.

This is a self service stall, but service here is generally acceptable. The food is promptly prepared on the spot despite the queue during dinner time. I'd love to try the other dishes like carrot cake in the future!

One of my favourite bubble tea flavours is the Blue Coral and one of the bubble tea stalls at Causeway Point that has Blue Coral on their menu is Each-A-Cup.

Each-A-Cup actually has quite a number of flavour series on their menu such as the Classic Tea, Milk Tea, Flower/Fruit Tea, Ice Blended/Smoothies, Ice Cream Float, Creme, Coffee and Oreo. But I usually come here for the Blue Coral.Well, so much for Blue Coral, it's not even blue lolol.

Okay, the story is that it was only after they took my order and started processing it that they realized that Blue Coral was not available. So I was asked to choose another flavour of the same price from the same series. To be honest, I wasn't exactly keen on the rest of the similarly-priced Ice Blended and would rather opt for another drink in another series, like the Sakura Green Tea, but I supposed it was too troublesome for the staff to reprocess the order due to the difference in price, so I just went with Lychee. Lychee Ice Blended ($2.20)
There is a sign stating that Each-A-Cup uses quality concentrated juice for its various fruit flavours and not syrup. This Lychee Ice Blended is indeed not very sweet, but it also didn't taste "concentrated". I find it rather mild, though it is still a refreshing drink to have on a hot day. Earl Grey Milk Tea, No Sugar ($2.80)
The Earl Grey Milk Tea with no sugar is slightly aromatic and quite citrusy to taste. I asked for no sugar and it was totally unsweetened. Best to drink right away before the ice starts melting as it will dilute the drink and blunt the sharpness of the tea.

Overall, I still prefer the Blue Coral. The prices of the drinks are typical of bubble tea and you can also add extra toppings such as White Pearls, Yoghurt Boba, Azuki Bean or Ai-Yu Jelly among others. I like that there is quite a wide range of toppings to choose from and the top up prices are quite reasonable. However, they really need to put up a bigger and more accessible menu somewhere to make it easier for customers to order.