I had long been wanting to try out Russian cuisine since Secondary 3, when I studied Elective History on USSR and wanted to know what Russian cuisine was like. Finally, the time came. I decided to visit this Russian restaurant as it offers a wide variety of Russian dishes and many people believed that the food there looks and tastes good. Inside the restaurant, I learnt of the set meal on reading the menu. I decided to have the set meal as it is the cheapest. Before the set meal, I was served a basket of rye bread with a small dish of butter beside it. The bread looks to me as dark as chocolate bread. Its exterior is crisp and its interior is as fluffy as sponge cake. The butter comes in small hemispheres. They are soft, smooth and add a fatty flavour to the bread.After that, I had chicken noodle soup as the starter of the meal. The soup is served in a small bowl that takes the shape of a vat. The bits of herbs on the surface of the soup make the dish more appealing. The soup is watery, clear and smooth. The small cubes of potatoes and carrots in the soup are soft. The pieces of chicken are soft and chewy. The strips of noodles are small and inconsistent in shape. They are as chewy as the skin of dumplings. Next is the main course of the meal being beef stroganoff pie. The big rectangular pie is cut into three pieces and served with salad. The vegetables are dark green and crunchy. The vinegar adds sweetness and sourness to the greens. The crust is crisp and flaky. The beef is tender, juicy, sweet and sour.Finally, I had came to the dessert, the last part of the meal, which is a plate of blinis served with sour cream, blueberry sauce and condensed milk. The blinis are garnished with fruits and cocoa powder. They are as soft and thin as napkins like crepes but chewier than crepes. The sour cream, blueberry sauce and condensed milk are each served on a small dish on a bigger plate. The sour cream is white like yoghurt and thick like mayonnaise. It is indeed sour and has a slight milky taste. It is also smooth. This is my first time tasting sour cream. The blueberry sauce is sweet. What surprises me about the sauce is that it has notes of alcohol. The condensed milk is smooth and runny. It has a sweet milky taste.

The food looks delicious and it really is. Not only can we dine in the restaurant, we also can buy food and drinks from the restaurant such as vodka and rye bread. I hope I can go there for other Russian dishes another time.

I was preparing to go to school and had nothing to eat at home for breakfast, so I decided to buy some morning snacks on the way. I happened to come across this stall selling peanut pancakes. There are good reviews outside the stall regarding the pancakes. I believe there is something special about the pancakes from this stall. Hence, I bought two peanut pancakes from this stall to try out. The pancakes are served on paper tart cups which can be used to hold any peanut bits coming out from the pancake to be scooped into the mouth. They appear brown with bits of peanuts falling out from the pancake. The pancake is soft and spongy. The side of the pancake is crispy and crunchy. The bits of peanuts are gritty and add to the the pancake its sweet nutty flavour. The pancake appears and tastes like mua chee.

The pancakes are very tasty and they are not like any other peanut pancake I have seen and tasted in Singapore. The next time I want to but the pancakes, I have to be early at the right day because they open and close early and the stall is closed at Mondays and Fridays.

Hattendo - a Japanese cafe specialising in cream buns situated at Tanjong Pagar Centre.
Check out the stuff I got from the cafe - three cream-filled buns, one in brown being chocolate-flavoured, one in red filled with azuki bean cream and one in green having matcha cream. The buns appeared to be like the ones produced by Gardenia but smaller enough to be snacks or desserts. They are soft, fluffy and chewy on the outside. The cream in every bun is very smooth. The chocolate cream looks, in colour, and tastes like chocolate milk. Enjoying the chocolate cream bun is like having bread served with chocolate milk. The azuki bean-flavoured cream is faintly red and appears to have bits of the red beans in it. It tastes sweet with a sandy mouthfeel. The whole azuki cream bun gives anpan lovers a new tasting experience. The matcha-flavoured cream is light green in colour and has its distinct leafy bittersweet taste. The special thing about the buns is that they come with an ice pack. This not only stops the cream in the buns from having a rancid taste but also ensures that the cream-filled bun is eaten as cold as posible. I guess the meticulousness of the Japanese can be seen from here. 

Love the sweets from there. Oishii! 

I first learnt of this cafe while reading a food review about it on a page of an 8 Days magazine. I never knew before that somewhere in Singapore has a cafe that offers localised Western cakes and pastries. The food reviewer actually believes the food there tastes good. Hence, while touring around Kampong Glam during Hari Raya Puasa, I decided to visit this shophouse cafe. Inside the cafe, I was amazed by the 1960s style furniture and decor. The tables function as showcases displaying objects from the olden days of Singapore. There is a collection of oldies played. It was like I was teleported back to Singapore's past. There are many kinds of cakes and pastries shown inside the cake display. Not only do they look appealing, they are also sold at low and affordable prices. I had a pineapple tart, an almond finger and an apple aloe vera cake together with a cup of teh. The appearance of the pineapple tart is different from those one often sees during Chinese New Year. It takes the shape of a sampan and that reminds me of the days when there were traders and settlers moving along the Singapore River by such boats. It is served in a paper cup. The crust is hard, crumbly and eggy and the pineapple filling is gritty, sweet and a bit sour. The almond finger is long and wide and has a light brown meringue topping. The whole pastry is crumbly and a bit soft. The almond bits add a crunchy texture and a bit of its nutty flavour. The taste somehow reminds me of nougats. Like the pineapple tart, the apple aloe vera cake is served in a paper cup. The cake is soft, firm and bouncy. The cream is thick and smooth. The apple aloe vera preserve is smooth, runny, sweet, sour and refreshing. The teh is milky, has the fragrance of tea, not too sweet and goes well with the food. It can also help to wash down any bits of food stuck in the teeth.

It was a relaxing dining experience to have a tea break and enjoy the environment of the restaurant at the same time. The cafe also offers toast and scones and sells spreads such as strawberry jam and lemon curd. I do not mind having local style afternoon tea at the cafe another time.

I was having lunch at Maxwell Food Centre. I happened to pass by this stall. It sells a delicacy I bet it cannot be found anywhere else in Singapore, deep fried sweet potato balls. I believe that makes the stall so special so many people came for the delicacy and that is why there are good reviews about the sweet potato balls the stall sells. The last time I came to the stall, it was closed. Today, I just have the chance to try the sweet potato balls. When I came to buy the balls, the ones containing pandan coconut and red bean fillings are sold out. Guess they are popular among the people. I ordered one pure sweet potato ball and one with split mung bean filling. The balls appear crispy and golden brown. Both are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The interior of the pure sweet potato ball looks orange is doughy and chewy. The whole ball tastes a bit like deep fried New Year cake with sweet potato. The sweet potato ball with split mung bean filling is puffy. It is split mung bean filling wrapped in skin made from sweet potatoes. The skin is thin, crispy and a bit chewy. The split mung bean filling is sweet and a bit salty. It looks and tastes like the one in ang ku kueh. The split peanut on the ball improves the appearance and gives the ball a bit of its crunchy texture.

The sweet potato balls look and taste good. There are other flavours available - peanut and vegetarian. Every ball is sold at low prices. I do not mind coming there for the sweet potato balls another time.