Whenever I’m at Tiong Bahru market for breakfast or brunch, I’d always try to end my meal with a bowl of tau suan (mung bean with sliced dough fritters) or pulut hitam (black glutinous rice porridge with coconut milk) from here. What I really like about these local desserts from this stall is that they are served in smaller portions which is perfect to satisfy my sweet tooth without being overfilling.And the best part? Each bowl is only a dollar. Yes, $1. Seriously, where else can we get such desserts at just one buck?

The tau suan has a good consistency, neither diluted nor overly starchy. The beans are nicely steamed beforehand and aren’t mushy or overdone. The ratio of mung beans to syrup is high too so there is a bite to every mouthful. Pairing with the crispy dough fritters is simply impeccable.

Similarly, the pulut hitam is well executed too. It is thick, full-bodied, naturally starchy and creamy. Such starchiness is never too cloying because it is not overly thickened with flour. The coconut milk is fresh and just lends an extra aroma to the rice.

Both desserts are only mildly sweetened. Thumbs up!

Do note these desserts are only available for sale in the morning (till they sell out) so do come early if you want to give it a try.

For full review and pictures, please go to http://www.springtomorrow.com/2014/02/08/tiong-bahru-tau-suan-tiong-bahru-market/

Previously when I headed to town for a night out and craved for a late night snack, I found myself stuck with the usual common choices of 24-hour fast food and coffee outlets which weren’t exactly what I needed so when the Persian wave started sweeping across Orchard Road with kebabs to go, I warmly embraced my new supper joint.

Shiraz Mazzeh, part of the Shiraz group of restaurants, serves up rotisserie grilled meats in kebab-style. Choose between chicken, lamb, beef or falafel (vegetarian) and enjoy your kebab on its own or complete your meal with fries and a soft drink. Shiraz offers some decent German sausages too for non-kebab lovers.My usual has got to be its Premium Lamb Kebab with garlic yogurt. It’s not just minced or thinly sliced meat. The kebab is filled with meaty chunks of lamb that will truly satisfy any carnivorous instinct. Accompanied with intensely-packed shredded lettuce, cabbage, diced tomatoes, pickles & jalapenos, every bite delivers different textures from the soft wrap, succulent meat to the fresh, crunchy vegetables. A word of caution though – the lamb meat is a little gamey but it’s not something I couldn’t do with. It’s more like the usual smell and taste of lamb as it is so I’d think only lamb eaters would appreciate it. The garlic yogurt sauce is remarkable as it gives the filling a nice, soury rich flavour so it takes away any possible sickly feeling of grease from the grilled meat. This kebab has my two thumbs up!

For full review and pictures, please go to http://www.springtomorrow.com/2013/12/22/shiraz-mazzeh-gourmet-kebabs/

If you’ve been to Adam Road Food Centre, you’d probably have noticed the endlessly long queue for their nasi lemak. Selera Rasa has won numerous accolades and awards for being the best nasi lemak stall in Singapore and till today, I still think their nasi lemak has consistently maintained its high standard. Its second outlet at Ang Mo Kio is near where I live so enjoying a morning brunch of good old nasi lemak is always within reach.Their nasi lemak sets are priced between $2.50-$5.50 depending on what ingredients you like. I ordered a Chicken Wing Meal whereas the husband got a regular one so we could share the chicken wing.

At first glance, you’d probably not be impressed by the presentation of the entire dish but one mouthful of the fragrant rice, I was truly sold. The basmati rice exuded a wonderful aroma of rich coconut milk. It was perfectly cooked, neither clumpy nor soggy and every rice grain was well separated from one another. This, I must say, was the best rice of nasi lemak I’d ever eaten. Thumbs up!

The other components of the dish were memorable too. Though the chicken wing had a thicker crust than others, it was fried to a perfect crisp and served fresh & hot. I could just hear the crunch with every bite. And the inside was just moist and succulent. The fried anchovies (ikan bilis) were very crispy too and not oily at all. I just wish they could give more!

The best part had got to be the sambal chilli that had the right amount of spice and sweetness in it that really complemented the rice. What is nasi lemak without the chilli? Two thumbs up for this!This was the regular meal. Just need to top up another dollar for a chicken wing.

For full review and pictures, please go to http://www.springtomorrow.com/2014/01/28/selera-rasa-nasi-lemak-ang-mo-kio-avenue-5/

I particularly like the revamped Marina Square with the inclusion of The Dining Edition which is a new dining concept that puts together different cuisine from around the world under one roof. From Viet, Thai, Chinese, Japanese to Brazilian restaurants as well as a few new dessert bars and familiar cafes, we are definitely in for a treat when shopping at Marina Square.

The husband and I decided on lunch at Carnivore Appetite as a belated wedding anniversary celebration which probably wasn’t the best move because lunch was buffet-style and we still weren’t in top form after being ill for some time. Though we didn’t manage to eat a lot (which wasn’t a bad thing – at least we weren’t eating more than we should!), we enjoyed the dining experience as it was our first time indulging in grilled meats at a churrascaria in Singapore. He was craving for beef and I was craving for lamb so why not, really.The selection of grilled meats is not huge for lunch but is accompanied with an extensive offering of salads, appetisers and hot dishes.The difference in concept between Carnivore Appetite and its predecessor, Carnivore is that there is no rodizio style of service in the former, meaning there are no service staff coming round to your table to carve meats directly onto your plate. Instead, we see meats on skewers gently roasting in this giant charcoal rotisserie in the middle of the buffet line where you can go to for all your meats.I started my meal with some greens dressed in balsamic vinaigrette from the salad bar. Love the rucola, alfalfa sprouts, baby carrots and ultra-sweet cherry tomatoes.An assortment of antipasti and pre-made salads

And from the hot food section, we had the spicy sausage (very meaty and heavy!), grilled pineapples, pork collar, bacon wrapped chicken, honey baked ham, mashed potato and creamy polenta. The pork was unfortunately too dry for my liking. Same goes for the chicken wrapped within the bacon. I love grilled pineapples with meats but this pineapple just wasn’t sweet and juicy enough. The ham was just a standard one. I was impressed with the mashed potato and polenta though. Both were creamy, well flavoured and not over the top.

There were also the Feijoada (Brazilian black bean stew), soups, spaghetti, rice which I didn’t try.The highlight of my meal had got to be the meats. Only 4 selections were available for lunch i.e. chicken thigh, escolar fillet (a.k.a. butter fish), beef rump and lamb shoulder with garlic and mint. Just let the passador know what you want and he will carve the meats onto your plate.The lamb was my favourite – absolutely not gamey at all and was grilled to perfection with a nice pinkish centre in the middle. Also, it came with a nice layer of fats that made the meat tasted really tender but I got so sick of it later on that I just had to remove the fats and eat the meat alone. The lamb went very well with the mushroom sauce.

The escolar fillet was my next preferred and I drizzled it with pineapple sauce and chimichurri to take away any sickly greasy feeling from the supposedly very oily fish. The restaurant had advised diners to limit escolar intake to not more than 3 pieces. I was curious about this because it really wasn’t as oily as I thought it would be so I checked up wikipedia and realised that escolar has a high oil content of 14%-25% as well as high wax ester content that can cause keriorrhea (or gempylid fish poisoning). Keriorrhea is similar to diarrhoea and other symptoms would include stomach cramps, headaches, nausea, vomiting and anal leakage that may occur within 30 minutes to 36 hours after consumption. True enough, I only had two pieces but I started having diarrhoea after my meal as well as nausea for the next couple of days so people with weak stomachs like me, you have been warned.

The beef rump wasn’t too bad either except that the exterior where it was more well done was chewy than the centre part. The beef went very well with the port wine sauce.

The chicken was lacklustre though. Tasted dry and bland so I had to drizzle more sauce over to make it more palatable.I couldn’t resist another serving of lamb and escolar (this was my 2nd piece). The lamb got me hooked.

For full review and pictures, please go to http://www.springtomorrow.com/2014/01/05/carnivore-appetite/

This is the 3rd time I’m blogging about Astons though I’ve been there like countless times before as it’s probably the only western food stall that I always come back for its grilled chicken, coleslaw and new potato salad. That’s right. I have the tendency to order the same each time I’m here but this time round I decided to have a change and ordered pork chops instead.Char-grilled pork chops with lovely grill lines and a thin layer of fat around the rims. I just love its smoky flavour without too much charring. The thickness of the meat is just right and it is surprisingly tender as you cut through it. The meat is moist and juicy and when coupled with the savoury and creamy mushroom sauce, it is just incredible. Of course, I’d never give my favourite sides a miss. Crunchy coleslaw with a dressing that is not overly cloying. Fork tender skin-on potatoes with appetising dijonaise. Awesome.The husband had a more guilty indulgence of fried chicken cutlet coated with panko breadcrumbs, crunchy potato wedges and a cheesy shell macaroni. While the chicken cutlet was really crispy on the outside, the chicken meat though succulent was quite under seasoned so you’d need to dip into mayo for more flavour. The potato wedges seemed like those out of a bag so wouldn’t go any wrong. The mac & cheese was drenched in cheese sauce that could be made thicker but it was still quite addictive. We loved cheese anyway.

For full review and pictures, please go to http://www.springtomorrow.com/2014/03/04/astons-express-ang-mo-kio-central-revisited/