Anyone looking for dim sum, especially as a midnight snack, would be familiar with Wen Dou Sek. Located along Geylang Road, the rustic shophouse has made a name for itself for authentic HK dim sum all night long. 

So popular is this eating place that every square inch of space has to be utilized, with additional tables and seats made available outside the restaurant, out of the aircon. For more comfortable seats, I would strongly recommend heading down to Wen Dou Sek avoiding the peak periods: Before the dinner crowds - 8pm if you want some of the dishes available only before that time, or just the supper hordes who show up from 12-1 at midnight.

The interior of Wen Dou Sek is pretty much a no-frill concept. Plastic tables and chairs cramped as much as they can and in a way, really adding on to the look of feel of any traditional yum cha outlets you might find in HK.

But wait till u get down to the dim sum spread. They might not all wow your pants off you, but there are dishes that I would certainly be going back for a round 2, 3, 4 and more.

Top on my list would be the Chee Cheong Fun. Regardless of filling, be it Prawn or Char Siew, Wen Dou Sek has made a fan of me. Freshly made on order, and piping hot when served, the wrap is silky smooth and both conceal savoury, succulent ingredients that just go so well with the slightly heavier sweet sauce. 

I rank this a MUST TRY.


The Fried Char Siew Buns also struck a chord with me, making a deeper impression that their steamed counterparts.

Think fried 'man tou's that you'd go with chilli crab, only crustier, yet retaining that perfectly white and soft bun just beneath the fried skin. This wonderful contrast in texture encases a treasure of savoury char siew in a dark sauce.

In comparison, the other dim sum staples didnt quite make the cut - with the Har Gow, Siew Mai and Liu Sha Bao coming across as prosaic if not quite making the mark.

One of the dishes available only before 8, would be the Crab Meat Fried Rice. Making up what passes for the zi char menu at Wen Dou Sek, they could really add towards a more substantial dinner, but didn't quite do anything for me taste wise.

It's definitely a must to re-visit for me, even if it's just for the chee cheong fun and fried char side buns. You've just really got to try them for yourselves.

Working in Orchard might really take a toll on the wallet. That is, unless you know where to go.  My search for cheap eats in Orchard brought me to Midpoint Orchard, a mall I had no reason to visit for the past decade of trawling Orchard Road. 

A sprightly coloured neon sign with a coloured interior sets Jtown Cafe apart from other tenants  in the basement of the shopping centre. It is a modest affair, simple tables and stools and an open kitchen concept, nothing fancy. 

Stepping into the restaurant, my party was promptly received by warm Indonesian hospitality. We were shown to our seats and recommended the set lunch right away.

Bingo.

For just $5.50 - $5.90, you can choose from 5 main courses, and receive a complimentary beef ball soup and homemade green tea.


I had the Black Pepper Chicken Set and it was good! No sign of peppery undertones but the chicken was still amply savoury with its sauce, and there was rice and some greens blanched and served on the side. It just really packed the warmth of homecooked food with comely flavours. 

The free bowl of beef balls served in chicken stock would certainly give the main dish a run for it's money as well. Chewy and fragrant. Yum! Some might complain that the soup would be a tad on the saltier side - a problem easier resolved by the homemade green tea, which was light and refreshing without the overpowering sweetness from it's canned counterparts.

Then if you are looking for a dessert to round up your meal (like I did), give the martabaks a shot. Martabaks are Indonesian sweet pancakes, served hot and sprinkled with sugar. It's very much a sweet tooth dish, but even till now I'm not quite sure what to make of hot durian in my dessert. You will need to find out for yourself for that.

Total Cost for Lunch 
$5.90 + $3.90 = $9.80
That's a full meal with drink and dessert to boot! It certainly does not get more value-for-money than this.

What if you wouldn't have to trundle through half of Malaysia just seeking the comforts of great tasting Penang cuisine? Wouldn't that be a dream come true?

With Penang Kitchen's 2 outlets at Bukit Timah and Katong, the dream seems to have become reality. My visit to the Katong outlet was inundated with flavours of Penang and it was a pity that I could only make space for just the Assam Laksa and SeaFood Mee Sua.

With the seafood mee sua, it was as flavourful as the Laska was spicy and packed the heat. Delightful. Will definitely return for a second visit sometime soon.

Laurent Bernard Chocolatier. A common sight in many local shopping malls where the brand adorns kiosks hawking stunning arrays of everything chocolate. But what I only just recently discovered was how the same brand name would be whispered almost in reverence when it comes down to chocolate soufflés.The outlet at The Pier at Robertson if I'm not mistaken, is the only Laurent Bernard Chocolatier selling more than their standard chocolates and thus offer dine-in facilities , both indoors and alfresco seating. Chocolate lovers throng the cafe throughout the day, but it's only at night when it really becomes packed with dessert lovers and chocoholics alike.
P.S.: The name on the signboard actually says Laurent Cafe & Chocolate BarInside the cafe, it feels like a jaunt into a spruced up cafe from olden times - Victorian looking furniture and furnishings, a spick and span counter alongside a display fridge where you pick your ice creams from, lit overhead by a bunch of bare light bulbs.Guanaja Chocolate Soufflé - $18
Getting down to the core agenda of my visit - the legendary Guanaja Chocolate Soufflé. Prepared only on demand to ensure quality and freshness, each order takes approximately 15 minutes of waiting time. A paltry wait when the soufflé is finally served. All puffed up with a luscious looking chocolaty crown, the soufflé was served with a white chocolate sauce and a side of raspberry ice cream. Cutting into the soufflé and its soft yielding middle, wafts of aromatic chocolate hits you immediately. It was light, yet rich at the same time, and the centre was slightly gooey still, giving an interesting contrast to the dish as a whole.

One word: Delightful

I for one would not advocate the white chocolate sauce. When I tried it, it was a little too watered down for my taste. Views on the raspberry ice creams remain divided. It's super citrus-y and acidic and while it adds to the flavour profile, you've got to be a fruity person to enjoy it.

Some people might say, $18 for a soufflé, or any dessert at that is really overpaying it. But I still really enjoyed it as any chocoholic or dessert lover would. Laurent Bernard Chocolatier has just set the benchmark for chocolate soufflés for me, and I very much look forward to my next return visit.

ninethirty by Awfully Chocolate seems to be part of a rebranding exercise by the brand. Other than the array of chocolatey desserts that has become synonymous with the Awfully Chocolate branding, ninethirty is offering a range of contemporary and local dishes that can go head to head with most cafes or bistros around.


Chicken Soup for the Soul

On first impression, ingredients looked pretty sparse for a $7.90 bowl of chicken soup with barely a few strands of noodles. But it was definitely flavourful, tinged with the oils from chicken. Server piping hot, it still gets a thumbs up from me as comfort food.

Finger Food of Choice

Shoestring fries might do little to bring out the quality of the potato, but the truffle oil and salt that went into the preparation of this finger food favourite definitely adds to its appeal and aroma.  It definitely came close to being "gone in sixty seconds" here.

THE Chocolate Ice Cream

An improvement to Loola's menu at ninethirty was the introduction of their ice cream. I stick to my earlier reviews of Awfully Chocolate's signature Hei 黑 as the chocolate ice cream to beat. Dark, velvety and intense, it was the perfect way to end my meal at ninethirty. 2 scoops are in this case, definitely better than 1.

ninethirty has been very enjoyable. Very much looking forward to my next visit.