My boyfriend planned a surprise dinner for me to celebrate our 2-year anniversary of being together. I was clueless as to where we were going but he assured me I was going to love the place. So from my place in Changi, we headed down town..

And soon enough, we ended up here!

There were Alaskan Crabs, Lobsters, Clams, Prawns and….
Oysters!!! Lots of them!! Everything tasted very fresh.

There was an entire salmon fish that measured about 40cm long. It was very well-marinated and well-cooked..probably one of the favorites there.
Of course, they had a sushi and sashimi spread too, but I felt it was lacking in variety.

There was a section with different cheeses that were meant to be spread on biscuits and crackers.. But i’m not too much of a dairy person, so it didn’t quite appeal to me.

If you head outside, towards the left from the entrance of the restaurant, there is this huge lamb over the hot fire!! It was part of the buffet and we loved it.. Tender, succulent and delicious!

And on to the desserts...

The dessert table just looked so pretty!
My boyfriend went nuts over this particular dessert – Durian Pengat. For those who aren’t too familiar with this tropical fruit, the Durian is actually infamous among Caucasians for its pungent aroma. Asians (well, most Asians) love it.

You'll also spot jellies, cakes, and not forgetting.... a huge chocolate fondue fountain!

This place is undeniably a great buffet spot! Totally worth the price paid!

While looking for a place to have lunch, my boyfriend and I stumbled upon this place along Novena Ville.
Don't be fooled by the signboard outside the restaurant. If I'm not wrong, it states that the buffet is only $16 for adults. We thought it was reasonably priced until we were hit with the bill and each of us ended up paying about $24 a person.

It turned out that the price stated was meant for weekday lunch only -_-

I must say the food was pretty good. The meats (bulgogi chicken, lamb chop, steak, pork chop, bacon, sausages, etc) were very fragrant, tasty and well-marinated.
The buffet spread wasn't very wide but I felt that the meat section is definitely better than many other buffet places.

The staff there were very efficient in changing the foil on our grill. However, they changed it while there were still food cooking on it. They came by and randomly placed the food from our grill onto our plates. There were few instances where the placed our cooked food with our uncooked food and vice versa.

Other than that, the ambience and dining environment was very Korean and very different from the usual. Think the restaurant was opened by a Korean too.

How often do we actually come across a place selling authentic Peranakan food? Let alone one that is conveniently located in Orchard Road and in a foodcourt?

Straits Chinese might be a familiar name to some of you. In fact, this mini restaurant located at Food Republic 313@Somerset is part of the Guan Hoe Soon Group of restaurants, with their Straits Chinese Seafood Restaurant in Shenton Way, Straits Chinese Nonya Restaurant at Queen Street and a Guan Hoe Soon Restaurant at Joo Chiat Place.

They have been around since 1953 and till this day, they still strictly adhere to the recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation.

When i went down with my family, we decided to try out some of their signature dishes like the Nonya Fish Head Curry and their popiah.

Being Peranakans ourselves, we really loved the dishes. The flavor was there; the texture was there. Portion-wise, it was pretty okay for all their dishes. For that price at a foodcourt, it was either too expensive or that the portions were not value-for-money. But because they were so good, i could only wish there was more.

The Nonya Fish Head (around $25 for half a fish head) was just yummy! Personally, i felt it wasn't too spicy. Good in the sense that it doesn't numb your tongue, so that you can really taste it. Bad in the sense that i'm a true blue bibik and i would have loved for a stronger kick.

Popiah wasn't too bad either. Better than most places I would say. The egg skin was smooth and soft to the bite. A little too sweet for my liking actually, but i still found it tasty and appetising.

We actually do cook nonya meals at home once in a while and I must admit that it is no easy feat. Now that we get to enjoy them at a foodcourt, we'll most likely be visiting them again.

Fortunate Restaurant started with their first outlet in Toa Payoh a few years back. Today, they have grown from one heartland outlet to outlets in the hearts of town.
The restaurant, otherwise known as Fortun Ate Restaurant, specializes in Dim Sum and Chinese cuisine. If you want restaurant dining at a more affordable price, you might like to head to Fortunate Restaurant at Food Republic Wisma Atria, VivoCity or 313@Somerset.

On days where i crave authentic Cantonese food, yet don't want to burn a hole in my wallet, i would usually satisfy my craving at Fortunate. Some of the dim sum items i've tried from them are the Chicken Feet, Har Gao, Siew Mai, Chee Cheong Funa and Da Bao. To complete my meal, i often settle for my favourite Minced Pork & Centruy Egg Congee.

As compared to their stand-alone restaurant, their branches located in the various Food Republic outlets have very limited choices, which consist of the more popular dim sum items. I read on their website ( www.fortun-ate.com ) that they have up to 100 varieties in their menu. That most probably refers to their restaurant; the Food Republic outlets definitely have less than that.

They have all sorts of congee like Century Egg, Sliced Fish, Shredded Chicken...the usual - all ranginging from about $6 - $8. I should think anyone who has tried it would have loved it. The consistency is so smooth, you can barely see any rice grains (unlike places that don't boil the congee long enough). It's also very tasty - tasty enough for me to finish it all up even without any other ingredients. Their portions are to be questioned though. There was one occasion where I found that their VivoCity outlet was more generous with the portions than the one at 313@Somerset. But then again, it was only once.

Apart from that, the dim sums are very well-prepared and taste delicious. But at an average of about $3 per crate (is that what it's called?) of dim sum, i think it's not exactly a meal. Three crates would be more or less be a complete meal, and that's a hefty $9. If compared to the other dishes in Food Republic, it's considered expensive. But the good side of it is that it is way cheaper than eating at a Chinese restaurant (plus no GST or Service charge!!!).

I've been ordering my BBQ food items from BBQ House for quite some time now. I live in a condominium, so i have barbecues very often.

You can actually look at their menu on their website and you'll see that they have a whole range of bbq selections. From the usual chicken wings, mid-joint wings, drumlets, sausages, otah, satay, stingray, corn on the cob, sambal sotong, prawns, chicken fillet, baked potato, and the list goes on.

The food i've been ordering so far are very well-marinated and taste really good. Even their already cooked food items like fried rice, noodles and desserts are well done too.

The prices are also quite reasonable, based on comparisons with other bbq caterers in SIngapore.

The only issue i have with them, is that on certain occasions i find that the meat portions on the satay sticks are rather stingy. Looks rather pathetic even. But i guess they make up for it by giving free satay gravy, which many other bbq caterers don't offer.

To end this off on a good note, the staff i've talked to over the phone are very friendly. I have tried making changes to my orders and even cancelled orders over the phone before, and they were really nice about it. Probably why i keep returning to patronize them.