My mum was craving for cheese pizza one fine day, and we decided to get the 2 Pizzas Deal from Domino's Pizza to share among the family. There are actually quite a few pizza outlets near us, but I have to admit that the reason I pushed for us to order from Domino's Pizza was because I wanted to try their Chocolate Lava Cake after reading rave reviews for it.

This was actually our first time ordering from Domino's as we usually order from the other pizza stores nearer to us. We placed an order via their ordering system online which was user friendly and a breeze to use. I thought that the Great Pizza Service (GPS) Tracker was also especially fun to play with, not to mention immensely useful in helping to track our order.

We were pretty impressed with their fast service and delivery. Our order was acknowledged in less than 3 minutes of placing it and our pizzas were ready for delivery in less than 15 minutes. They delivered the pizzas to our doorstep in just 28 minutes, 2 minutes less than the guaranteed 30 minutes delivery time as advertised.

Best of all, our food were still quite warm! Twisty Bread (U.P. $5.80)
There was a very strong buttery and garlicky aroma upon opening the paper bag the Twisty Bread came in, which really whetted up our appetites. This was best eaten hot or warm. The bread was quite soft and chewy on the inside. I found this to be pretty tasty. The usual price was $5.80 but we got this for free as we played and won a e-coupon from their "Eat, Play and Win" game.

2 Pizzas Deal - Regular ($22.00)Simply Cheese on Classic Hand Toasted Crust
This was just an "okay" in my opinion. Not really much of a looker but taste-wise it was acceptable. The hand toast crust was not as thick or "spongy" as I had initially expected. The pizza was baked with Mozzarella, Oregano and Parmesan cheese but it wasn't too cheesy or overpowering, which suited my dad just fine. But my mum and the rest of us agreed that the cheese was not "gooey" enough. Hawaiian Paradise on New York Crust
This was much better in my book and I preferred this over the Cheese Pizza. The crust was quite thin and fairly crisp, while the inside was slightly chewy. The amount of smoked chicken breast chunks, sliced chicken ham and diced pineapple toppings given was not that generous but acceptable. The smoked chicken chunks were especially succulent and we regretted not topping up $1.00 to add on more of it to the pizza. Chocolate Lava Cake (U.P. $6.80) - 5 ★★★★★ for this!!!
This cost us only $4.80 when we got it with the 2 Pizzas Deal. Admittedly, the cake in the slightly misshaped tin foil didn't impress us on first sight but it certainly wowed us with its taste. The chocolate cake was soft and moist on the inside with crusty edges although it was really the smooth, rich and luscious chocolate center inside that won us over. Unlike some lava cakes that were mostly cake with a small portion of molten chocolate centre, the cake layer of the Domino's Chocolate Lava Cake was thin and the inside was almost bursting with a generous amount of heavenly melted chocolate. There was so much of it that we could even scoop out a small spoonful of gooey melted chocolate to eat on its own! But of course, this was best eaten together with the chocolate cake, with the icing on top. Totally sinful but worth every calories!Overall, the pizzas were quite decent and the frequent promotions and bundled deals with purchase of their pizza actually made it quite value for money to go for the deals. Their prompt delivery also certainly worked in their favour. But if you ask me, it is definitely going to be their Chocolate Lava Cake that will keep me going back again (and again) in future!

I must say that I was really thrilled to witness the opening of the new Gelateria Italia branch at Causeway Point, although my mind was inwardly lamenting all those busted dieting plans. Located near the atrium, Gelateria Italia features a gelato counter, a "deli" counter, and an open dining area that cleverly made used of the open space around the pillars.

At the gelato corner, there are two display counters that features a wonderful, colorful array of flavours such as Nutella, Pistachio, Butterscotch, Cookies and Cream and so on. The wonderful thing is that you get to sample the flavours before deciding on the ones to buy and the staff are generally friendly, patient and accommodating enough to allow you to try a few flavours. You can then opt to get the Piccolo size (small cup of one flavour - $5.40), Medio size (medium cup of two flavours - $7.70) or Grande size (large cup of three flavours - $9.90).

After sampling a few, we decided to get:Piccolo Size: Nutella ($5.40)Grande Size: Ferrero Rocher, Toblerone, Pistachio ($9.90)

Being such chocoholics, we chose mostly the chocolate flavours to share although we also got the Pistachio to try. The gelato were creamy and milky and consistently dense and sticky in texture. Out of the flavours we got, my favourite was the Ferrero which was very chocolatey and felt richer in taste compared to Toblerone and Nutella. I also liked Pistachio which was sweeter than expected and was quite nutty too with bits of pistacchio in it.

The price was pretty expensive for just a small cup of gelato. But what we liked about the gelato from Gelateria Italia was that there were also actual bits of ingredients like Nutella, Ferrero and Toblerone bits mixed in which added to the richness and sweetness of the gelato. However, at this branch, I found the Ferrero bits to be comparably few compared to the same Ferrero gelato I have tried before at another branch.

Although it seemed to be worthwhile for us to get the Grande version of three flavours at $9.90, we found that some of the flavours (basically the chocolate ones) overlapped each other, making it hard to discern between flavours. This was made worse by our overloading of toppings on the gelato. So to enjoy the taste of each flavour, it might be a good idea to just get a single flavour, or with differing flavours, like chocolate and strawberry. And also go easy on the toppings even if it is tempting to overload the gelato with the free toppings such as the marshmallows or chocolate rice, as it can overshadow the taste of the gelato rather than enhance it. We regretted swamping our gelato with the toppings as it distracted us from truly savouring the flavours of the gelato. We have since learnt the errors of our (greedy) ways; no more toppings for us next time! Other than gelato, the Gelateria Italia branch here also offer waffles (which you can also top with gelato) and other breads like sandwiches, croissants and muffins at the "deli" corner. There are also beverages like Hot Chocolate ($3.80) or Cafe Latte ($4.20) as well. If you wish to dine in, there is a homely designed open dining area that is both comfortable and inviting enough to sit and enjoy your food, drink or gelato, although we thought that it would be nice if the tables were spaced apart a little more. Nevertheless, we had an enjoyable time with our gelato at the open dining area and would certainly be back again the next time to try out the waffles with gelato and beverages here!

I was actually looking for a certain brand of chocolate and decided to check out Choc Spot when I passed by it. The place was neatly organized and the products on the shelves were all arranged and stacked in an orderly manner, which made browsing quite pleasant. What was not so pleasant was the staff shadowing us closely around the store, which I personally felt was kind of annoying even though we knew they were just doing their job.

There were indeed quite a range of chocolates from brands like Ritter Sport, Droste, Frey, The Belgian, M&M’s and so on. Unfortunately, most of these brands are easily obtainable elsewhere like NTUC or Cold Storage and the one I was looking for was not available. Kind of disappointing actually.

The products here are supposed to be "competitively" priced but I found quite a few of them to be more expensive than supermarts like NTUC or Cold Storage. The pricing only works if you are buying the more popular items in bulk since many of the items are on bundled pricing such as 5 for $5.00 or 2 for $10.00.

I did manage to find the Duc d'O brand of Chocolates here which I got, so I didn't leave empty hand, but the selection here is not as varied as the Cocoa Tree. Duc d'O Assorted Mini Pralines ($3.50 or 4 for $11.00)
Duc d'O Belgian Liqueur Chocolates ($8.00)

There was a newly released breakfast item on McDonalds's menu a while ago but I managed to try it only recently. We went to the branch at Woodlands Civic Centre on a weekend morning and there was quite a long queue but fortunately we managed to find a seat rather quickly. We wasted no time getting our order upon securing the seat.Sausage McMuffin Set ($4.00)
One of my favourite item on the McDonald's breakfast menu. English muffin with a tasty sausage patty and just a slice of cheese has never tasted so yummy! The hash brown was also very crispy on the outside and definitely best eaten on the spot. I normally take away the food but eating them here while they are still piping hot definitely has its perks. The tea was run-of-the-mill Lipton tea though. Sunrise Roll Sausage Set ($4.50)
This was basically the same sausage patty as the one in the Sausage McMuffin, except that they just cut it into half. The patty came sitting on top of soft and fluffy scrambled egg and cheese blanketed in a whole wheat tortilla wrap. It was quite decent in taste and I liked the scrambled egg, but the portion of the entire wrap was really quite small and not very filling. The Sunrise Roll Sausage Set cost $0.50 more than the Sunrise Roll Ham Set and it also came with a side of hash brown and a cup of coffee, which was unfortunately too diluted and lacking in both aroma and taste. You could swap the hash brown for a cup of corn but we went for the hash brown instead.

Overall, I personally still preferred the Sausage McMuffin set. It is not only tastier but also more filling and more value for its price! There is also a McCafe here serving beverages like Cappuccino and desserts like brownies, cakes and pies. I've previously tried the Darn Good Brownie ($4.20) here which came drizzled with chocolate sauce. This was quite decent but not as rich as I'd like and I didn't really find it to be that darn good. The texture was more cakey than fudgy and I'd have liked it to be a tad more moist and fudgy, but that's just my personal preference. It'd have been awesome if it had come paired with vanilla ice cream though.

Poulet is a modern French-themed bistro and apparently, the open dining area at Poulet is inspired by the modern alfresco setting in France. The French are considered by many to be a romantic lot and the decor and ambience at Poulet certainly keep up with this impression. The charming decor simply ooze class and the additional fixtures like "street lamps" circling the seating area help to add to the romantic feel of the place. Better yet, the tables are comfortably spaced to give a little more privacy for conversations around the table. I came here with a group of (noisy) people, so with everyone yakking away at the same time it can get a bit hard to bask in the environment. This is definitely a place that would be enjoyed and appreciated more on a date or with a close friend or two (think girl to girl talk!)! Poulet mean "chicken" in French, so when a restaurant simply named itself after the poultry then you know you just got to try their star dish featuring it! Most of us certainly did not hesitate to choose to order the Poulet Roti to try.Poulet Roti ($15.80 for Half Chicken)
This dish came looking quite appetizing with half a chicken slow roasted to a lovely shade of brown sitting in a pool of homemade Mushroom Chardonnay sauce. It tasted as good as it looked and the chicken meat was amazingly tender while the sauce was quite creamy and tasty. All of us ate the chicken down to the bone except for a friend who left it unfinished as she found the sauce a tad too overpowering after a while.Chicken and Fig Marmalade Sandwich ($8.80)
Another visually appetizing dish with a baked crispy and flakey croissant generously stuffed with tender and finely shredded chicken meat dressed with aioli sauce, crispy lettuce and tomato slices. I simply adore the sweet fig marmalade which was especially tasty and went very well with the chicken and croissant. Pity there wasn't more of it for someone greedy like me! This sandwich also came with a side of thick fries and dip for a more filling meal. I liked that the fries were not so salty. Tiramisu ($7.80)
This lovely looking dessert in a jar was another winner in my book. The chilled mascarpone cheese was rich and creamy while the light and soft sponge fingers soaked in espresso and rum syrup was not overpowering. I found the entire dessert to be the right amount of sweetness and moistness in terms of taste and texture (at least to my liking). Everyone else also gave this the thumb up although one thought that the flavour of the espresso didn't come through strongly enough (but still liked it irregardless). The portion was pretty generous which made this dessert great for sharing, but a few of us couldn't get enough of it and were tempted to hoard this for ourselves. Definitely a must try! Banana Bread Pudding ($6.80)
This was another dessert worth trying, especially if you prefer a warm, comforting dessert to complete your meal. It also came with a scoop of milky vanilla ice cream which went nicely with the warm bread pudding, although it melted a little too fast. The warm bread pudding was quite smooth and "spongy" and there were real chunks of banana in it which added to the overall sweetness of the dessert. This can feel a tad too "gooey" or "mushy" to some, especially when the ice cream melted, but I personally found it to be moist and spongy, and rather soothing on the throat. The portion was also quite decent for the price.Creme Brulee ($8.80)
This was a new item on the menu so we also got it to try. The egg custard was very silky smooth with a faint tinge of vanilla while the thin layer of caramelized sugar crust on top was quite crispy and sweet. While I agreed with the rest that this was nice, I wasn't really too impressed with the serving size as the custard layer was pretty thin, especially considering that this cost more than the Tiramisu which was quite generous in portion.

Overall, based on group feedback, I would highly recommend the Tiramisu, Poulet Roti and Chicken and Fig Marmalade Sandwich. I actually personally preferred the sandwich over the Poulet Roti, but with the Poulet Roti being the star dish, you won't go wrong with it. I also liked the Banana Bread Pudding but it didn't go down too well with a few others, so if you don't like the wet and slightly "mushy" kind of dessert you might want to stay clear. As for the Creme Brulee, the taste was decent but I thought it was a tad lacking in portion size for the price.

Service was also pretty good and efficient, and our orders were promptly served not long after ordering. The prices were also quite affordable and we thought that the quality and taste of the food here in general were worth the money spent. I'd definitely love to come back again for another round, especially with a date or a close friend to relax and soak in the ambience here while savouring the food! A leisurely paced meal is surely the way to truly enjoy the dining experience here at Poulet. Bon appétit!