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M&M is by no means indie. There isn't a need for that. Instead, they are comfortable being simple and homey as evidenced by the bare-bones furnishing; a long wooden table with an assortment of mismatched stools was all to the 'cafe'. To set your expectations right, it's not a place for chilling out for long.

M&M offers a variety of cakes and pastries.

Their butter croissants looked a little deflated imo but popular enough for aunties to come by regularly to grab some for what i presume is breakfast for their kids. For $1.80, i guess this is reasonable quality. Their pastries are also on the lower price point, ranging from $2 to $3.

My $4 latte was strong and decent enough. It was a good complement to the 1919, a Gula Melaka cake with kaya cream cheese frosting and almonds ($5.50). I like cakes that are moist (who doesn't) but i took to this grainy porous one, though i agree that it could be less dry. The kaya cream cheese wasn't overpowering like the traditional coconut jam, instead it was a little more pandan. I would have loved it better if the frosting were creamier and less separated from the sponge. We had the cake a second time for a birthday celebration and that's when i was more aware about how dry the cake was. :/

Baking classes are available and they do teach you how to make pretty things. Not a bad way to keep the ladies in the neighborhood occupied.

Maple & Market makes the cut as a neighborhood cafe. I wouldn't mind popping by if i'm in the area but it's not quite worth the traveling for.

If you are looking for a place for Indian fine dining, rejoice in the fact that Tandoor Restaurant is back in the game following its recent face-lift (read about my previous review here). Not only has the decor been given a modern and classy revamp, the menu at Tandoor Restaurant, Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre, has also been made more refined and delicate while retaining its traditional roots. I was even more impressed with their story telling concept as the waiters took us through the interesting history of each dish.

S and I were invited to sample the Dinner Gourmet Set ($68). If you're not up for the full course, there is a smaller course at $48. Vegetarian options are also available.

We started with the Samosa Chaat, a light puff pastry shell stuffed with potatoes and chickpeas and topped with sweet yogurt and tamarind chutney. I love the creaminess and contrasting flavors of the dressing and was amazed at how light the puff was.

Next, a platter of kebabs. My favorite was the Paneer Chupa Rustom, a potato croquette stuffed with spinach and cottage cheese. It's like a kinder surprise! The minced lean mutton kebab was very flavorful and soft, perfect if you were a toothless Indian king (no kidding, that's how the dish came about).

On to the mains which were served with saffron rice or Naans. The Mango Curry was too addictive, a unique ripe mango curry from the Mangalore region of India. The other dish that i could not stop eating was the Murg Dum A Dum, chicken curry. Best mopped up with the garlic naan.

We ended dinner with a trio of desserts. From the left, the sweetened carrot dessert Gajar Halwa which had the quality of a nutty rice pudding; a Bailey's Kulfi ice cream, and a Rose and Elaichi Panna Cotta.

I have to say that Tandoor Restaurant really impressed us with its new direction. I enjoyed the food a lot better than i did the first time. Even S, who would frown on my Indian meal suggestions, enjoyed his meal and even indicated his willingness to have this again.

Tandoor would be having its Diwali promotion from 15 October to 30 November 2013. Diners will hear intriguing 4-part story of Ramanyana from the wait staff as they feast on the dishes. Specially designed illustrated coasters will also be given to diners who purchase the Gourmet Trail Menus.

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A good buffet line isn't one that has a whole truckload of crappy food but one with a crafted selection of fine dishes. Olive Tree at InterContinental Singapore has just the right ingredients to make it a great buffet line, especially with their best of Thai cuisine offering right now.

With two renowned guest chefs from the Thailand Culinary Academy – Chef Surasak Kongsawat and Chef Jareuk Sriaroon, together with a locally acclaimed Thai culinary expert Chef Hansongkhram Chutnapa, Olive Tree is determined to deliver a truly authentic Thai experience from now till 13 October 2013.

The thai seafood salads fared well with its mix of succulent prawns paired with pomelo and roasted chili paste. The Spicy Beef Salad was also well flavored with lime, chili padi and fish sauce. For some crunch, try the fluffy Catfish and Green Mango Salad.

My favorite appetizer was no doubt the Kao Tang Na Tung. It looked like hummus and it even had that grainy creamy texture but this sweet and savory paste was actually minced pork. Slather the crispy rice crackers with this and i swear you wouldn't be able to stop munching on them.

There were 4-5 types of Claypot Curries stewing away. The Green Curry Pork was fragrant and minty. I thought it fared better than the Deep Fried Seabass with Red Curry. The best curry was hands down the Beef with Mild Red Curry Sauce Pu-Pad-Pong-Kari! Extremely tender beef in a semi sweet peanut red curry. I could have a huge bowl of rice with this one. Do not miss out on the Kor Moo Yang, a succulent char-grilled pork shoulder with a secret blend of spices.

Other classic dishes such as the Stir Fried Beef with Thai Basil, Stir Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts, Pineapple Fried Rice, Pad Thai and Tom Yum Kung were part of the line up. The tom yum and pad thai could be more fiery though.

The colourful Lup Chup (fruit-shaped desserts made of mung-bean flour with natural colouring) looked too pretty to be eaten. I've tried them before along the streets of Bangkok but never took to it. I was surprised that these ones were actually tasty. The Red Ruby in coconut milk was a great option after the spicy meal. Skip the Mango Sticky Rice and the steamed puddings. You may want to do the international selection of chocolate fondue and cakes if you wish.

On top of the special Thai cuisine, there are the regular international seafood, sashimi and dessert section for the added variety.

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I'm not sure if you have noticed but Penang is quite a big weekend destination for Singaporeans these days. The association with delicious hawker food, other than its UNESCO World Heritage status, is certainly a huge draw for us foodies. If you do not have the time to hop on a flight to Penang, Traders Hotel Singapore is showcasing the flavours of Penang at Cafebiz and Ah Hoi’s Kitchen till 31 October 2013.

Guest chefs Lim Thow Shong and Ridzuan Bin Mat from Golden Sands Resort Penang will prepare a menu comprising popular Penang dishes, including Char Kway Teow, Assam Laksa, Hokkien Mee, Assam Prawns, Chicken Curry Kapitan, Rojak, Tau Kwa Sumbat, Nasi Goreng Teluk Bahang, Loh Bak, Mee Goreng Mamak Penang and Curry Mee. These dishes are featured on a rotating menu for the Cafebiz buffet, together with a range of international cuisine. A selection of six dishes will be available for dinner at Ah Hoi’s Kitchen.

The Assam Prawns were one of my favorite dishes of the lot. The sauce was pretty much the rojak sauce which is made of a pungent, sweet and sour prawn paste. I've never had prawns cooked with this sauce before so it was rather refreshing.

I love my prawn noodles dry, with plenty of chili and shallots (my favorite is Blanco Court's, read review here!) but i took to Cafe Biz's soupy version with rice vermicelli. The broth was a little on the sweet side but it was adequately savory and rich enough.

I must be the only crazy person at the tasting to think that the Assam Laksa could be more sour. This made me crave for the uber spicy Nyonya Laksa i had in Malacca (read about it here)!

There were some hits and misses with the Penang dishes at the buffet. The Chicken Curry Kapitan smelled better than it tasted. I found the rempah (spices) too bland. The Penang Char Kway Teow was also very meh. I took 1 bite and that was about it. The biggest hit was probably the Pengat Pisang dessert. Think a rich gula melaka (brown sugarcane sugar) with coconut broth and mushy bananas and you have a hit.

The buffet selection may be rather limited but the lobster claws and prawns from the seafood section had me going back for seconds. The roast duck was surprisingly good, and so was the chicken rice. The braised pig trotters were flying off the line too!

The Penang Food Promotion at Cafebiz is priced at $47 for the weekday Buffet Lunch and $58 for the weekend Brunch. Dinner buffet is priced at $58 from Monday to Wednesday and $63 from Thursday to Sunday.

What do you do when you have a successful food brand? Do you replicate it or do you change it? Well for Chef Marc Wee and his team at Arbite (read more about Arbite here), they took the 'Go bold or Go home' approach with their second outlet, A for Arbite. Instead of doing the tried and tested hearty western fare, they have developed a tapas style menu that includes drink pairing.

We were advised to pick about 4-5 small dishes each and 1 or 2 bigger dishes to share. Honestly, that was a lot of food for S and me. I would say cut that by half first and then add on as you go along. Here are the dishes that i liked.

The Lobster Thermidor ($12) was absolutely creamy, rich and delicious. Like the juicy lobster and crab meat chunks, I was swimming in delight of thec ream, mustard, brandy and parmesan cheese sauce. Oh and there's plenty of truffle oil too!

Pan fried Scallops ($8) was one of my favorite dishes as well. The texture is pretty much like the Aburi style, with a lightly charred outside and a tender raw inside. What's special was the prune and balsamic purée which gave it a sweet and sour flavor. And the icing? Crispy Parma ham. Enough said.

The Braised Smoked Pork Belly ($7) could be my sg replacement for the Momofuku Pork Buns (read about them here). Rendered fats, savory braised streaky bacon with kimchi and leaf bun; a little sweet, a little fermented, a load of yum.

Something special to order would be the Deep Fried Quail ($8.50). The gaminess of the tender meat was overcome by the Moroccan spices. It was on the salty side but it would satisfy any fried food craving.

The 2 mains that we had were heartier and great choices for sharing. The risotto is a hot favorite at Arbite and Chef decided to keep it on A's menu.

Tri Pepper Spaghettini ($10.5). The spaghettini faired better in this cooked dish and the crunch in the handmade pasta was certainly welcomed. This dish lived up to the umami Japanese flavors with a whole load of peppers in the pasta (green, pink and black!). The spring onion and chili gave it that additional zing as well. Chef Marc was also very generous with the crab meat and i loved that crispy soft shell crab tempura.

Squid Ink Risotto ($16.50). The squid ink wasn't quite smokey enough for me but the dish caught on after a few mouthfuls. Every bite was filled with prawn, squid and mussels chunks along with shreds of crab meat. The Aborio rice was done a little over al dente but still perfectly crunchy. Take note, it's a little spicy. I'm not much of a fan of the oily fried halibut though.

The Cookies and Cream Cheese Cake ($8) was worth every bit of my remaining calories. The black cookies, cream cheese mascarpone and milk espuma were buttery, sweet and savory! Love love love the airy milk espuma.

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