Yet another brand wades into the fray that is the pool of Parisian fine dining here in Singapore. On 15th April, Ladurée opened 2 shops within Takashimaya itself. Hailing from France, the pastry shop boasts a pedigree of 150 years. Hence it comes as no surprise to me that even after 2-3 weeks of its launch, Ladurée is still seeing queues at both its shops in Takashimaya.

Even at the price.

Ladurée offers a range of sweet eats including nougat, crystallized flavoured sugars and chocolates. But upstaging them all would be their range of staple and seasonal macarons. With their crisp, sugary flavoured covers encasing smooth, soft centres, each macaron at Ladurée would cost you a hefty $3.80. There's a chocolate macaron I saw wrapped in edible gold foil which goes for twice that!My first orders at Ladurée: Chocolate Yuzu macaron (left) and Chocolate macaron (right)
The Chocolate macaron was somehow significantly larger than its Yuzu counterpart. Its chocolatey casing was sweet, but the flavour pales in comparison with it's chocolate ganache centre which was still chocolatey and moist at the time of tasting.

In contrast, the Chocolate Yuzu was smaller but no less flavourful. The touch of tartness from the Yuzu cut through the chocolate, which really refreshes the palate and reminded me strongly of mandarin oranges. Nice!

My verdict? Small dainty pastries that really pack a punch in terms of cost and flavour. But do they warrant the cost? That's debatable. But I guess I just have to try more brands to find out!

Restaurant Hoshigaoka is perched on level 4 of Shaw House. As far as I can tell, it's not accessible via the main escalators running up from Isetan to Lido on level 6. You would have to get onto level 4 via escalators within Isetan itself.

Maybe it''s the locale ,but even during peak period at dinner time, the restaurant was pretty much empty and quiet. We were welcomed by a waiter and ushered promptly to our seats. Salmon Don - $14.50
I ordered the Salmon Don which was a very simple dish indeed - raw salmon served on a bed of sushi rice. Simple, yet eloquent. The thin pieces of salmon were fresh and literally melts in the mouth. Dipped in light soy sauce, it went really well with the fragrant sushi rice. For those who like extra heat, the dish is served with a dollop of wasabi as well.

The only gripe I had was the very thin bed of rice
My chopstick barely went through an inch of rice before it struck the bottom of the bowl. At $14.50, it really irks me that barely 3 hours after the Don, I was already hunting around for a more substantial meal. So big eaters beware. It might take a toll on your wallet to get full here!

Touted as the original nutritional smoothie since 1973, Smoothie King offers thick, creamy smoothies containing fresh fruit ingredients, nutrients and proteins specially designed to meet our bodies needs!

Their first outlet in Singapore is at Centrepoint Orchard takes over the shop space owned previously by Haagen Dazs and is prominently positioned right at the entrance to Centrepoint on level 1.There are a ton of flavours to choose from, sorted out by Smoothie King's own nutritional charts. Health fanatics who go down to the calorie when selecting their food choices would find themselves very much at home here. Customers can also go by 3 broad categories, Refreshing, Nutritional Meals and Slim & Lite, each specially designed to meet the your body's requirements.

Given that there has been a plethora of healthy drinks such as the likes of Boost, LINS Smoodees etc., 1 of the ways Smoothie King stood out for me was the choice to add enhancers to your smoothie. There are quite a few available, each customized to meet special needs. And you don't have to stop at 1! Go crazy and add more if you like. Each enhancer costs an additional top up of just $1.

It's always safer to stick to a popular choice for a first-time taste test. So I opted for the top 2 choices - Angel Food and Strawberry X-treme. A luscious blend of bananas and strawberry, Angel Food certainly tries to live up to its name with a creamy concoction that brings out the aroma of bananas tempered by sweet notes of strawberry.
$6.70 + 2 enhancers (Multi-vitamins and Diet Down) -- $8.70

On the other hand, Strawberry X-treme is the just a culmination of strawberry brilliance. Both sweet and sour at the same time. Ooh la la!
$6.30 + 1 enhancer (beauty Collagen) -- $7.30

Service wise, I wasn't too happy. It took longer for the cashier to process my payment than it took for my 2 smoothies to be ready. Other than that, the staff on hand were always happy to provide more info and recommendations.

On top of their signature smoothies, Smoothie King's menu includes a wide selection of healthy snacks and high quality nutritional products. Well they say and I quote: "They’re not just good. They’re good for you." I haven't exactly shed weight significantly that I can tell since my dose of Diet Down yesterday, but I am still hopeful!

If you're ever in the vicinity of NEX Serangoon, have a craving of beancurd and are looking for a Lao Ban Tau Huay alternative, you could give Amasoy a shot.The stall located outside MOF at NEX offers a range of drinks and desserts, chief of which is their range of flavoured beancurds. Customers can choose from Original, Mango, Almond and Pandan. I chose the Pandan flavour and despite being very unused to any colour except beige-white for my beancurd, the Pandan version from Amasoy really impressed with the smooth texture and the additional flavour really kicks in.

It might be a tad more expensive than Lao Ban at $2.50, but it's still pretty much acceptable for the extra flavour profile provided.

Swedish Furniture Giant IKEA has long since been frequented by many, not just for the furniture but the luscious meals served at the in-store bistro. While its swedish meatballs were its claim to fame earlier on, the bistro has since added on to its repertoire of food choices.

As an appetizer or finger food, I would thoroughly recommend the fried chicken wings which are simple aces in my book. Fried till a deep golden brown, the wings are crispy on the outside, with tender succulent flesh on the inside.Alternatively, try the Gravad Lax Plate - smoked salmon slices dressed lavishly with some herbs and spices along the sides.For my main course, I picked the Roast Beef w/ Mushroom Sauce. The roast beef wasn't really restaurant quality, but at such a affordable pricing and coming with a free drink, it was a pretty easy decision to make.So next time if you are ever at IKEA, don't just jump straight into furniture shopping. Take sometime and enjoy the food. Especially the wings!