In Singapore's hot weather, who can resist a nice cold cup of gelato?

Though it's made right here in Singapore, the gelato at Haato & Co. follows Japanese recipes and uses all natural ingredients. The result is very yummy and the price isn't bad either!

One scoop of gelato costs $4.50 or two scoops costs $5.50. Not only is the 2 scoops a better value, but then you can choose 2 flavours from their extensive selection. They look so good it's hard to choose, but this time I went with the green tea and french vanilla caramel. Both flavors tasted rich and creamy without being overpoweringly sweet, and you can taste that they are made from high-quality ingredients. 2 scoops is also the perfect amount to share with another person.

There are a few Haato & Co. locations, most notably at Clarke Quay, but I like the Ridgewood Close location because it's so quiet and beside a park. It's a great place for a date!

I'm rarely a fan of chain restaurants, but I do like Sushi Tei.

The Holland Village location is pretty close to where I live and always has a queue of hungry people, even on weekdays. You can sit inside or outside, but it's pretty warm on their terrace.

I like sitting at the tables along the sushi conveyor belt. This way you can choose sushi rolls as they come out. You can tell the price by the color of the plate and it's from $2.20 for vegetarian sushi all the way up to $6 or so for the prawn and avacodo sushi. I like that there are so many choices on the conveyor belt and usually get some kappa maki ($2.20), tamago sushi (S$2.20). unagi sushi ($4 I think) and edamame ($3).

If you want more creative or expensive sushi, you order it from the menu. Right now Sushi Tei's seasonal menu features wagyu beef, and they are even offering beef sushi so I wanted to try that. I was dining with 2 other people, so we got the larger set for $13.80 with 2 different kinds of beef sushi. The meat was very lightly cooked and had a rich beef flavour. It's definitely worth trying and a lot cheaper than getting a wagyu steak!I also find the service at Sushi Tei to be quite good. I guess they want to free up the tables as quickly as possible, so they're very quick at serving you the food and refilling your drinks. I love that the iced green tea is complimentary.

I've been curious to try Buyan since it opened last year but also heard it was quite expensive, so when it participated in Restaurant Week it was the perfect chance to try it out for just $25 for a three course lunch.

Starter: Schi (cabbage soup)The starter was a choice of soup or salad, and I opted for the traditional cabbage soup called Schi. It's a vegetable soup with a slightly sour taste. I imagine it's very comforting if you grew up eating this, but it's nothing special. It was also served with one piece of brown bread per diner.

Main course: Chicken kievFor the main I went with the classic Chicken Kiev - chicken breast wrapped around herbed butter, breaded, and fried. It was very crispy and when you cut into it the melted butter leaked out. It was quite good with the accompanying sauce. The side was a small portion of roasted potatoes and vegetables (broccoli, carrot). They were under-seasoned but dipping them in the sauce fixed that. On the dinner menu chicken kiev is priced at $26 -- if this is the same portion size as for dinner, I would be disappointed.

Dessert: honey cake
This was my favorite part of the meal - a sliver of cake with alternating layers of graham cracker-y crumbs and honey. It was served with a berry coulis that was fresh and tart and balanced nicely with the sweet cake. I also ordered a cappuccino to go with dessert which was reasonably priced at $4.

Overall I was happy with the meal for the special restaurant week pricing. But honestly Russian food isn't that great, especially if you're used to eating Asian food which has bold flavors and lots of spice.

Inside the restaurant is very lovely with an impressive bar and beautiful paintings on the walls. I'd love to come here to sample some vodka and try the bar snacks, but probably wouldn't come here for the full dinner.

If you have a sweet tooth for ice cream, you MUST visit The Daily Scoop.

This ice cream cafe is in the Holland Village area, but tucked away in a quiet corner of Chip Bee Garden. They make all of their ice creams in-house and have very unique flavours.

If you ask nicely, the friendly staff will give you a sample to make sure you like the flavour before ordering a full scoop.

On my most recent visit I tried the Lychee Martini (light and fruity with a hint of vodka), Chendol (good flavor from the gula melaka, but I don't like the bean pieces) and Mango Wasabi (strong mango flavor, but the wasabi was very mild - you only taste it at the beginning).

After the samples, I decided to go with the Salted Mr Brown which is a carmel salt brownie ice cream. It's really delicious without being too strange One scoop in a bowl costs $3.20 or you can pay a bit more for a waffle cone.

The ambiance is very cute with cartoons on the walls and I love that there is self-serve water. It does get busy at night, so come early if you want to get a table.

Yesterday (Oct 11) I dropped by Papa Palheta, my favorite coffee shop in Singapore, to buy some of their in-house roasted beans ($15-18 per bag) and have a cappuccino.

You enter from the back and the space is very homey with an outdoor garden and an indoor "coffee lab" displaying all their cool coffee gadgets. I ordered a cappuccino and it was delicious with thick foam, balanced flavour and cute latte art. Payment is by tipping and I usually give $5 for a cappuccino.

Sadly I noticed a sign at Papa Palheta that says they will be relocating with effect from October 22, 2012. They'll be moving their cafe and coffee roasting operations to Chye Seng Huat Hardware (an odd name for a cafe)! The new location doesn't have the same lazy weekend hang-out feel, but it does have a much larger menu and more seating space.