I love Japanese cuisine and I was thrilled to receive an invitation from Estelle OpenRice Singapore. It was long queue during dinner time around 6pm plus when I reached Ippudo Mandarin Gallery. We were introduced to Vivian who is the PR executive of Ippodu who hosted us throughout the dinner. It was a pleasure dinner with familiar faces and also new friends.

History of Ippudo:-

Ippudo was founded in 1985 in Japan’s ramen capital of Hakata by Shigemi Kawahara, the internationally-acclaimed Ramen King and CEO of Chikaranomoto Company, which encompasses some of Japan’s finest restaurants. Today, there are 44 Ippudo restaurants throughout Japan, serving nearly 20,000 customers per day. Ippudo SG is the second overseas venture after Ippudo NY. Other new and upcoming ventures Ippudo HK, Ippudo Seoul, Ippudo Taiwan, Ippudo Sydney, Ippudo Malaysia and Ippudo China.The overall interior design of the outlet was cosy and comfortable. There are comics featuring on how to enjoy the ramen so that customers can have a rough idea on how would it be like. The big chandelier hanging at the centre of the outlet brings out the classic feel of the dinning restaurant. The lights are slightly dimmed lower with people chit chatting over dinner is one of the ideal dinning place if you are opting for a gathering session with nice ramen.

I ordered Choya Mandarin Orange. It comes with the choya and a bottle of mandarin orange. The choya taste wasn’t strong as it blend into the sweet taste of mandarin orange.I had my second drink which is the Calpis drink. Calpis is an uncarbonated soft drink which taste is similar to Yakult. The drink has a light and milky and vanilla flavored yogurt taste. I had mine without soda and I am loving it. You can always try it with soda or other mixtures of drink.We started off with appetizers and side dishes. We were served Goma Q which is the fresh japanese cucumber with sesame. The japanese cucumbers are cut into slices and well marinated. It tasted crunchy and refreshing too.Crispy Corn is quite an innovative dish I would say. Smoked taste corn and golden shinning colours of corn makes the whole dish looks glowing. It tastes crispy and addictive after the first bite.The presentation of the Spicy Shrimp Mayo is so beautiful that we can’t bear eating it. Lightly battered deep fried succulent prawns served with Ippudo’s homemade spicy mayonnaise dip. The tiger prawn is fresh served although it has been deep fried. We are able to taste the freshness of the prawn that blends well with the sauce.Beef Tataki is my favourite out of the dishes. Pan-seared tender beef slices served with a tangy sauce on the side. The beef is said to be imported from Australia and I love the colours and the marbling of the beef. I had them with the slices of garlics and sauce. Thumbs up!Pork Bun was served. This dish is a mixture of chinese cuisine style but the braised pork is cooked with Ippudo’s original sauce. Texture of the pork was tender and smooth. Perfectly blend well with steamed bun. Yummy!Here comes the main highlight of the outlet. Ramen! Here in Ippodu the customers are given a choice to choose how would their ramen texture to be served. It can be soft, medium, hard and very hard. We had hard, medium and very hard ramen that night.

First comes the Shiromaru Motoaji is their original recipe tonkotsu soup served with thin noodles rosu chashu (pork loin), cabbage, kikurage, pickled ginger and spring onion. It is called the classic Hakata-style ramen.For this bowl, we were served with ‘hard’ noodles. The broth has been cooked for many hours. The base was light and flavourful. The Akamaru Shiaji is their original tonkotsu broth enhanced with special blended miso paste with special blended miso paste and fragrant garlic oil. It is served with thin noodles, buta bara (pork belly), kikurage and spring onions. It’s a refined, modern-style ramen. We had ‘medium’ ramen texture this time. The broth taste was stronger compared to the original recipe as it has the miso paste in it. The taste would be slightly salty. If you prefer to have more garlic taste, you can get the fresh garlic to be pressed in the broth. It is served to individual table for customers to enhance their ramen taste.Karaka-Men is best suit for those who loves spicy stuffs.The broth is mixture of the original tonkotsu broth with special spicy miso and ground pork. It tasted spicy for me but others are quite enjoying the taste. The ground pork was sliced to smaller sizes and mixed into the broth so you can’t really taste the pork taste. It has been covered up by the spicy broth.Our dinner ended with a sweet thought of PR executive as she served us the Yuzu Sherbet. It was splendid dessert to end the session. Everyone enjoyed having the sherbet and the yuzu taste was strong that we were perked up immediately.

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My last visit to Himawari Japanese Restaurant was during May 2011. How time flies and this is my second visit with the same mates (my sisters). We made a lunch reservation on one of the Sunday on the month of April. Surprisingly there isn’t full house when we arrive so I think it isn’t necessary to make reservation during weekend lunch. The restaurant is located inside the business park and the companies are closed on weekend.

We had lunch buffet and started to massive order ala-carte based on the ready menu provided. The buffet style here is to order from the lists of ala-carte in the menu to service staff. The chef will start to prepare and get it done to serve to us. Thus, the foods are served in good condition. The sashimi are fresh and the cooked dishes are nicely done as well.

Here are some of the ala-carte that we ordered for our buffet for your viewing pleasure.I love the sashimi as they are quite generous with thick slices. We absolutely enjoyed the freshness of the fishes. We order more than twice for sashimi. The cooked foods are served in hot condition. The tempura dishes are quite crispy and not too oily too.

We spent our afternoon there enjoying the buffet and the environment is quite relaxing. Most of the customers came in family group. I guess it’s all because it’s weekend thus more of family bonding period.

The nearest mrt is Labrador Park station which is a walking distance of less than 5 minutes to reach the restaurant. I only realized it on my second visit here. So if you are coming by public transport, mrt is one of the accessible & convenient option.

Maison Kayser is a new French boulangerie bakery opened at Scotts Square basement 1. The bakery is from Paris, France and it is famous of their croissant and artisan breads.Since my friend is here for the day, we decided to have high tea session together here.It is our first time enjoying our tea/ coffee session.My friend ordered the tea time set that includes moccha and Tarte Brazilia @ S$6.55. Tarte Brazilia is a combination of baked coffee and chocolate custard filling which taste awesome! It has the sweet taste and the sweetness level isn’t high.BY doesn’t take too sweet stuffs but she find it is very delicious.I ordered Scramble egg with croissant @S$5.60. It is recommended by the service staff. The exterior of the croissant was cripsy and light taste while the innards are soft and flaky.We also ordered another tea time set which is Eclair Tea Time Set @S$5.61. There is an option between chocolate and coffee and i wanted to try chocolate but there isn’t any left so the only option is coffee flavor. This is the best eclair that i found so far in Singapore.The coffee specks throughout the custard filling inside which was adequately sweet and the taste of the coffee isn’t very strong. It is done perfectly well. I will definitely try their chocolate eclair soon.
All the price stated exclude 10% service charge and 7% GST. Total damage @S$20.91. The service staff is friendly and they will provide suggestion when you ask for their opinions. However, the staff wasn’t prompt to response as it took them quite a while to notice us when we put our hand up for bill.

I had a chance to patron the famous white bee hoon which located along Japan Tempang, Sembawang. You Huak Restaurant , occupying a corner shophouse unit which is just opposite the Sembawang Shopping Centre. The location wasn’t that convenient though as you need to take a bus from Sembawang MRT station to get there. Photo of people queuing for dinner.

The restaurant is an open-air eatery which was light up with very bright cool white fluorescent lamps on evening onwards. They served range of zhi char dishes which was all listed on their menu. All the available dishes are shown on the laminated menu so that customers can just order directly from the categorized dishes.The signature dish, Seafood White Bee Hoon @ S$12.00 (L) served in generous portion. The wok hei was there and the moist of the bee hoon stir-fried with the seafoods (prawns, squids, eggs and vegetables) tasted similar to Hokkien mee.But the bee hoon taste lighter than Hokkien mee. It tasted delicious while it is hot. The dish is quite addictive too as we can’t stop having it for several rounds.Indo-styled Fried Chicken Wing @$16.00 (L)- Taste is ok only although it is cooked with stripped gingers to add up the taste. No much to rave about it but it would taste better when it is pipping hot as you can taste the crispiness of the skin.Sambal Kang Kong @$12.00 (L) does not taste spicy as it looks. It taste as same standard as other zi char stalls as well.Omelette with prawns @S$9.00 (L) . It taste same as normal zi char stall.Calamari / Fried Sotong @S$10.00 (S) tasted crispy as it looks. You need to have it while it is hot and dipped them with the ready served mayonnaise. It can be addictive once you start having it while it is still crispy.

If you wish to give it a try, you may want to avoid peak hours especially weekends and also night time. Although the signature bee hoon was highly recommended, I will not queue for more than 15 minutes for it.

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My concept of Fish & Co. is that the restaurant specialize in fish & chips. But this food trail surprised me with different kinds of choices. They came up with the new menu which looks like a magazine cover. Quite an interesting concept!Clams with Curry Butter @ $11.95
Another award dish in the making. Taste the freshness and sweetness of the clams in curry butter sauce. Served with warm bread’.The clams are nicely done with the curry butter. The use of butter in this dish makes the creamy texture to go with the clam.Mussels with Spicy Marinara @ $11.95
‘award-winning blue mussels with homemade zesty spicy marinara sauce. served with warm bread’
There is a choice for you either spicy marinara or garlic lemon butter sauce. I can’t take spicy but the other bloggers commented that the spicy marinara taste moderate.Soft Shell Crab Salad @$11.95.
The presentation is attractive with the giant size deep-fried crab. It is best to have it immediately after served otherwise the soft shell crab will be soggy and not nice to enjoy.Bombay F&C @ $16.95.
This dish uses up to 5 spices and herbs in the batter.The crispy coating and the smooth and softness of the inner dory is always a plus selling point of F&C.There is a mild curried taste flowing through the tastebud.Grilled Peri Peri Chicken with Scallops @ $18.95.
The combination of peri peri sauce with grilled chicken is delicious. The scallops with the cheesy topping and sauce brings out the sweetness of it.Loving the mashed potato with the moist and creamy taste.Black Pepper Chicken Baked Rice @ $13.95.
The combination of cheese topping with the rice grains sticking together is awesome. The black pepper rice is moist and the peppery taste quite strong after having it a while. So i doubt i can finish the whole serving.It will be best to share with dine-in partners.Shrimp & Clam Aglio Olio Spicy aglio olio @ $14.95
The spicy level is still acceptable for me even though i don’t take spicy. I like the taste of the aglio olio which is not too oily. Grilled Fish with Ebiko @ $16.95.
This is one of the seasonal catch that released on April 15th. We got the chance to try it before it launch. I totally love the combination of mozzarella cheese and ebiko roe with the grilled fish. The mashed potato is a plus point as well.Photo of the new seasonal menu Overall it is a nice place to dine in with big groups as the place is able to fit in. Their speciality is not only limited to fish & chips but also to various seafoods as well. Definitely a nice place for youngsters to hang around.

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