See pics @ http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.sg/2016/04/invited-tasting-revisit-jamies-italian.html

I've never really taken to Jamie Oliver's brand of amateurish homecooking, even if I can see how his crooked grin and adorable lisp makes him so endearing to his female fans. But when I dine at a restaurant, I expect restaurant-quality fare, not food that I can recreate in my own kitchen. With the exception of the pizzas, which passed muster, the rest of our samplings were clumsy and unpolished. Suffice it to say, I was plainly unimpressed. There are dozens of Italian restaurants in Singapore more worthwhile than Jamie's Italian.
We had:
1) Cauliflower Fritti ($13.50): This was very good, a beautifully golden crust batter and juicy minced cauliflower balls. Ask to hold off the parsley if you're averse, Jamie's Italian puts it on EVERYTHING.
2) Prawn Linguine ($18): The sauce, redolent of garlic, shaved fennel, tomatoes, and chilli, was decent enough, and so were the properly cooked fresh prawns, BUT, the pasta was disappointingly overcooked.
3) Pizza Funghi ($23.50): the pizzas here are much better than their middling pastas. I liked the contrast of the earthy mushrooms with the richness of the white sauce
4) Epic Brownie ($12.50): nice but certainly not "epic" as asserted on the menu, even if it was very nicely fudgy

See pictures @ http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.sg/2016/04/garden-street-kway-chap-serangoon.html

A bit of a hit-and-miss.
1) The broth was robust but balanced; and flat rice sheets smooth and delicate;
2) Chilli was wonderful - piquant and lively;
3) Loved the firm beancurd, eggs, and peanuts - all nicely braised;
4) Pork belly was luscious;
5) Large intestines were the highlight. Squeaky clean, and wonderfully chewy.
6) Didn't like: fried beancurd puff - too dense and lacking in a spongy fluffiness. And the heavy fishcake because it was dotted with spring onions and chilli nubbins

See pictures at http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.sg/2016/04/chilis-clarke-quay-central.html

Chili's is one of my favourite places for Tex-Mex cuisine. And ribs! Because we regularly hit up the original branch at Tanglin Mall, comparisons between that and its sister outlet at The Central were inevitably drawn when we dined there last weekend.
Service differs, the Tanglin Mall one being better staffed, with more efficient service, whereas the staff at Clarke Quay were a little more frazzled and bumbling. Food, too, was a little lackluster at Clarke Quay compared to the commendable grub at Tanglin Mall. Clearly, the standards between the branches are inconsistent; I'll probably stick to the Tanglin Mall branch.
We had:
1) Beef Chili ($12.50): This was a little charred compared to the ones at Tanglin Mall, like someone left it on the burner a tad too long. Still a decent starter nonetheless.
2) Chicken Enchilada Soup ($9.90): subtly spiced, and really lovely, if a bit stingy on the chicken chunks.
3) Bacon Ranch Quesadillas ($24.90): these were a little anaemic, and significantly less generous with the fillings than at Tanglin Mall.
4) Mango Chile Chicken ($19.90): wholesome, healthy, and delicious. The chicken was very nicely done, moist, flavourful and tender.
5) Grilled Chicken Fajitas ($27.90): one of the highlights. Succulent chicken, thoroughly marinated, and imbued with an aromatic smoky accent.
6) Classic BBQ Baby Back Ribs ($40.90 for full rack): outstanding as usual, hearty, flavoursome to the bone, fantastically burnished, with meat that was so tender it was practically fall-off-the-bone. This was served with excellent homestyle fries and a disappointingly dry skillet macaroni & cheese

See the full review, including the invited tasting, @ http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.sg/2016/04/invited-tasting-revisit-ash-elm.html

Had wildly different experiences at the new restaurant at the freshly invigorated Intercon. The invited tasting was really quite fantastic, and I'd thought to myself "AHA! Bugis finally has a upscale option serving decent food, yay!". This may be the reason for the many glowing reviews of Ash & Elm currently floating around. BUT, my revisit was such a dud; I thought it was disappointingly pedestrian and the husband was terribly regretful that he'd wasted his calories on a lackluster dinner.
The silver lining, was that service was surprisingly more attentive and personable at the revisit, as opposed to during the invited tasting, which was clunky and bumbling.
Still, I don't see myself returning to Ash & Elm anytime in the foreseeable future.

We had the following at the revisit:
1) Beef Tasting Platter ($108): cooked well, to the medium doneness as requested, but the meats were a little gamey. The vine tomatoes and garlic, I also distinctly remember being more scrumptiously browned at the tasting; these were noticeably underdone at the revisit.
2) Seafood Linguine ($31): insipid and flat in taste; that wonderful stock base that was present at the tasting was hardly featured here. To compound matters, the squid and clams were overcooked and rubbery.
3) Slow-Grilled Spanish Iberico Pork Chop ($39): well-maintained in standard; as yummy as I'd remembered at the tasting.
4) Line-Caught Yellowfin Tuna Steak ala Basquaise ($30): seared-lightly and served with a tomato-based sauce, Basque-style, with grilled root vegetables. I liked it, but the husband thought this was quite the humdrum dish

See pictures @ http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.sg/2016/04/hoshino-coffee-capitol-piazza.html

Hoshino Coffee's casual vibe, trendy fare and wallet-friendly price points have made it a hit among the teenybopper set and the broke-by-the-end-of-the-month types.
I suggest getting the eggy souffle baked rice and although the menu alleges this as "rissoto", it is really a term used loosely, and more regular Japanese rice than Italian risotto:
1) Omu Souffle ($16.80): tomato rice casserole dotted with broccoli and shrimp.
2) Fuwa-Fuwa Hoshino Souffle ($15.80): with mushrooms and ham bits
3) Matcha Souffle ($10.80): semi-collapsed by the time it got to our table. This was disappointing, and I much rather spent a few dollars more and get the fabulous ones at Laurent Bernard.
4) Ice Matcha Latte with Softee ($9.30): rich and robust. Much better than the souffle as a sweet finisher