Breathe fire, tasty tasty fire.It's been some time since Monster Curry opened in Jurong Point (aka. the best shopping mall in the West and the reason why Westies don't go to town anymore), but I think queues are still forming for this extremely eye-catching fiery red Japanese curry store! If you have trouble finding it... just know it's somewhere beside Starbucks ;)You know how Singaporeans absolutely love new things, new shops, new shopping malls? Same goes for Monster Curry, which saw snaking queues for the first few two weeks of its opening. Unsurprisingly, I joined the queue (after days of badgering people to eat it with me), and had to wait 40 minutes before getting a booth. Luckily, our order of the Combo Curry (SGD25) of Level 1 came pretty quickly. It was humongous; it was practically the size of a face basin! There was pork katsu, fried fish, pork shabu-shabu, shrimp tempura and cheese, and then we added an omelette as a topping. It wasn't that spicy, and level 1 came in the form of a heart-shaped chilli on top of the Japanese curry, so you could easily order Level 5, mix as you go along when you don't think it's spicy enough. The curry was lovely and very fragrant. All of the components were obviously freshly prepared and cooked, I love especially the fried fish and shrimp tempura which had super crispy and thin batter and generous in the meat itself. Three hungry people finished it easily. Would I go again? Yes. Beware, it is addictive!

Comfort food hunting ground.Aroy Dee Thai Kitchen probably isn't the absolute best Thai food you can get in Singapore, but it does the trick perfectly for me. I've been there twice in a week, somewhat manipulating my friends to go there just because I was eager to return for the taste again. At least, their Thai Iced Milk Tea is a must-order from me, thick and luscious, a bit of an overkill on the first few sips so that it doesn't get watered down when the ice melts. The truly divine milk tea comes from Aloy Thai though.Aroy Dee's Green Curry Chicken was quite spicy, but very shiok with strong flavours of the curry seeped deep into the chicken. The curry itself is quite light and goes very well with the rice. The spiciness and saltiness, however, meant spamming more rice to go with it. In fact, you could very well order this and simply eat this with rice. The Cashew Chicken is another regulars' favourite, with the sweet and sour sauce coating every part of the tender chicken evenly, and real cashew nuts sprinkled around the dish. There is a hint of spiciness in this as well but that makes it even better! The Stir-Fried Kailan with Straw Mushrooms turned out to be a good decision as it allowed our palates to take a break between the intense flavours of these dishes.

Aroy Dee is very comfortable for long conversations, their service staff are always friendly, efficient and prompt with orders, and there's always Just for Laughs: Gags playing on TV to ensure that the little ones don't ever get bored.

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Folks who are always on the lookout for new restaurants to have family dinners, celebrations, tzechar meals, steamboat, seafood feasts with friends... look no further - Jing Long Seafood Restaurant 金隆海鲜楼 will pretty much satisfy everything that you want with their thoughtful chefs knowing exactly what customers would love to eat. With the freshest seafood on the stretch of Punggol Settlement restaurants, they promise the most value-for-money and a good mix of classics and creative dishes on the menu. For a limited time period only...

30% off your bill on weekdays (Mon - Fri) for lunch and dinner.

For more information on Jing Long's best dishes, prices and all that you need to know:Both the alfresco area and indoor area (read: air-con!) of Jing Long are bustling with regulars and new customers, most of them opting for steamboat, and some are enjoying the tze char seafood and classic Cantonese dishes as well. The flexibility means you can literally decide only when you're here, depending on your mood.It should be quite an ideal location for birthdays as well with the accommodating staff that helped with cakes and keeping surprises. You know most Chinese restaurants I've gone to really don't understand the concept of a birthday surprise, but Jing Long is more than experienced to handle all your celebrations.As for seafood, they are freshly caught and cooked, you will be assured that you will be enjoying premium dishes at an affordable price tag. We started the dinner with Cantonese traditions, Chilled Pork Slices (SGD15) which were surprisingly enjoyable even on its own, every bit melty and delicious. It retained much of its original flavour, and preps my appetite for the meal ahead. You can also pair it with the soy sauce on the side, but it is good enough on its own.One of my personal favourites was the Crispy Seafood and Duck Delight with Crepe (SGD15) which would imaginably be a crowd-pleaser as well because of its light crispy batter wrapped around the multi-layered and deep flavoured fillings of both seafood tastes and roasted duck.While Jing Long has a range of beverages, juices, coconuts, and alcohols, their in-house unique concoction - the Green Apple Juice with Sour Plum (SGD5.50) is an absolute must-try, with sour plums specially sourced to achieve a refreshing and interesting blend. While the green apple and sour plums may seem strange, but they actually complement each other very well. I love this one.Note: There is a cover charge per person of SGD1.50++ which includes Pu-er tea, and water and wet towels. This is common practice in all traditional Chinese restaurants.The Prawn, Scallop & Banana with Bagua Rolls (SGD6/each, minimum 3) are curiously delicious, with the amalgamation of all things awesome in the same place. Well, well, isn't that a dream come true? Savour this slowly to appreciate the nuances of this delightful creation, just meant to pamper you silly,The Red Garoupa is steamed to perfection with deep-fried crispy salted turnip bits (SGD10.80/100g), lightly drenched in subtly-flavoured stock, helping to retain the original fresh flavours of the fish itself. I really liked that traditional focus on the fish itself rather than dousing it with too much flavouring. It would surely be suitable for family dinners as everyone always love digging in together to this. The crispy salted turnip bits were a hit with fellow diners as well for its savoury kick.Dragon Vegetables (SGD12) is the most understated dish of vegetables, ever. I mean, I looked at it and thought how special or delicious can vegetables be? Especially when I am not a fan of vegetables at all.. I absolutely fell for this, and it was so crunchy and delicious, it instantly sits at the top of the list as my favourite plate of vegetables ever. The reason why it is so good - it is farmed on the chilly hills of Cameron Highlands, with no pesticides used at all. Healthy and delicious - finally we see it truly manifesting in this plate of Dragon Vegetables.Lobster Porridge (Seasonal pricing) is easily the most lavish porridge there can be, with sweet and pure lobster essence flowing from freshly caught lobsters into the superior broth, stewed for hours to achieve this ultimate umami taste. Indulge away, and it doesn't end here yet, you get to slurp and feast on the generous and fat portions of lobster meat that left me starry-eyed.As tantalising as it soothes my OCD-ness, these delicious creamy milk-coated Spicy Prawn Balls (SGD22) are really the most sinful of all, no prawn shells so you can simply sink your teeth into the juicy, succulent and chewy prawn. Can this be a mainstay of every tzechar I go to? I wish, but this is not easily found in Chinese restaurants, but this is so good!For those who came here precisely to enjoy crabs, one of Singapore's many favourite national past times, Jing Long presents the Black Pepper Crab (Seasonal pricing), pulling no punches when it comes to ensuring the crab is fully sauteed with a strong savoury black pepper taste. Shiok is the word! Plunge into the messy world of yummy crab meat, there's plenty of juicy meat to feast on. It is the rare times that I actually didn't have to fight with the crab to actually eat, the meat slips out quite easily. I have to emphasize again how fresh it is, the sweetness of the crab is unrivalled. Note: As usual, the cost of the black pepper crab is dependent on weight. Jing Long holds themselves to a high standard of integrity when it comes to weight vs price, and they are transparent about it, so do not hesitate to confirm with the service staff before ordering.I understand that steamboats are equally enticing, so if you want to, by all means go for it. I haven't personally tried the steamboat, but if the quality is upheld the same as the tzechar dishes, it would be really good too. Here is the menu for you to consider the steamboat option (Jing Long Seafood Restaurant - Punggol Settlement)

You can laksa in many ways, but this is the charcoal-powered way.Power lah. Laksa is a very specific local food: spicy, lemak-coconut rich, piquant, fiery delicious slurping soup with smooth noodles. It's not an everyday thing to develop a craving for, until you catch a whiff of charcoal-powered laksa. It is everywhere in the atmosphere around Sungei Road Laksa, and practically an aroma appetizer - if there is ever such a thing. This is my one of the stops with Roy on our noodle trail and the awesome fragrance in the air just perks us up immediately.Am I late to the game for trying out Sungei Road Laksa only after twenty-two years of existence on this island? I can only say that this definitely goes into the list of food that I hold dear to my heart (and my brain will occasionally conjure it up in the depths of the night).Rather than a city that never sleeps, Singapore is a city that never stops eating. Really, there are people eating everywhere regardless of the time of the day. That's probably why even at two in the afternoon, the folks at Sungei Road Laksa are still super busy with their duties at the stall - replenishing the charcoal, scooping out delicious laksa into their iconic pink bowls. Sharp eyes or regulars would notice they've upped their pricing from $2 to $3 a bowl. No chopsticks, just spoons. Like 368 Katong Laksa's, they've chopped up the noodles to make it easier to eat... which is really a smart way to do it because I definitely cannot resist slowing down on this one! This bowl from Sungei Road Laksa has got a creamy coconut base, chock full of cockles, shrimps, and fishcake, making it really lavish with the taste of the oceans. Mouthwatering just to think about it... the spiciness level is not overpowering but remains apparent, very manageable and enjoyable. It is a good representative of what laksa should be.

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Vintage everywhere on Rangoon Road.Vintage must be Brunches Cafe's middle name, with every corner of this roomy hideout having a touch of vintage, including their serving plates and feature shelf. Despite the weekend afternoon's crowd having their brunch (heh heh, what else here?), there are plenty of seats available. As we were there as part of the Sugar Rush event, we probably didn't exactly had an experience of a walk-in customer as they already prepared a menu set for us to try.The service crew at Brunches is very efficient and kindly allowed us in, even though the rest of our team hasn't reached yet. So we had a bit of time to roam around to explore the cafe, and discovered this Halloween-sque shelf with lots of dolls and that the prominent vintage car near the entrance is actually part of a booth. No way, that's too cute. Undoubtedly, another big plus factor is Brunches Cafe's size which made me feel so comfortable. The most photogenic and afternoon sweet treat was the Mixed berries waffles with vanilla ice-cream (SGD13.50) that was quite delicious, but there was some technicalities that didn't meet the mark.. the waffles weren't adequately warm or crispy, and the ice-cream didn't taste the premium sort. If your priority is to take an awesome Instagram photo, this will be your best prop but when it comes to taste, I guess Brunches Cafe can afford to improve the quality of the ice-cream and increase the price accordingly.Their Juicy Beef Burger (SGD19.50) was decent, the grilled beef patty erred on the side of being slightly dry, contrary to its name, but the rest of it was alright. I would personally try something else again if I had the chance. Their BBQ Chicken Wings (SGD11) was more disappointing as it was simply too salty, I think they over-marinated it. It was impossible to eat without downing glasses of water, which the service crew did refill promptly.Brunches Cafe is a lovely place to hang out, perhaps for desserts and coffee (which I haven't tried so by all means I'm not recommending from my own experience) but their mains and sides need a bit more of a boost.

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