I’m totally not exaggerating when I say that La Strada has one of the BEST Carbonara I’ve ever tried in Singapore. And most of the other dishes on their menu are equally good too. The price range is slightly higher than Jamie’s Italian, but the quality of food here is so much better, as you would expect from a restaurant under the Les Amis group.First up, the Risotto All’Aragosta ($40) – juicy Lobster chunks served with saffron-infused Risotto. Mmmm.. just thinking about it now stimulates my saliva glands! >.< If you're like me and enjoy indulging in rich, flavourful foods then this is a dish you will love. They probably used lobster bisque to cook the rice because it's just exploding with the taste of lobster and the strings of saffron hidden in the risotto gives the dish an uplifting quality.One thing I also liked about this dish is that they don’t stinge on the lobster meat. I was delighted to find huge chunks of juicy lobster meat cooked to perfection.It’s always good to eat in a group because you get to share food and try out more dishes that the restaurant has to offer. This pot of Blue Mussels ($28) is slightly different from the one I tried at Bistro Du Vin (also part of the Les Amis group of restaurants). This version is without white wine which makes it slightly less tasty, but I actually prefer it like that because the wine can be a bit overpowering.And of course, the star of the show is the Chitarra alla Carbonara ($28)! The restaurant actually makes their own ‘Chitarra’ pasta which is literally translated as ‘Guitar String’ pasta. And I’m not sure if they actually make the pasta fresh on the spot, but my order took quite a while to come (20 – 30 min). It was well worth the wait though, because the pasta retained it’s fresh al’dente quality that you will not get from ordinary dried pasta that you buy from supermarkets.

The Truffle Butter Sauce is unlike anything I’ve tried before – thick, buttery and infused with so much truffle. And there are still more unique attributes to this dish! Next up is the crispy thin slices of Italian ham that is served with it, unlike other carbonara which uses bacon. And finally the Egg Confit which sits atop the pasta, unlike the usual poached egg which is just simply poached for 3 – 5 min, this egg yolk is slow cooked for about an hour and infused with flavours from the ham.

To think that the chefs went through all that trouble just to create this heavenly dish makes me respect them even more. And I think the price tag of $28 is really quite reasonable, although the portion may be quite small for some people. Just be sure to make a reservation in advance to avoid disappointment because the restaurant can get really packed during lunchtime on weekdays.

This is where I go to get some good old fashioned COMFORT FOOD. Sun With Moon serves up pretty awesome quality Japanese food at a rather reasonable price. I decided to order their Chirashi Don this time round. It comes with a mixture of tamago, avocado cubes, fish roe and lots of other goodies mixed into the rice, making for a delightfully flavourful (and very satisfying) lunch! =DI've had their Tofu Cheesecake before but never did order it to dine-in at the restaurant. It is served in a "birdcage" of sorts which a pretty dramatic way to plate a dessert. The tofu makes this cheesecake silky smooth and light while at the same time, maintaining its rich cheesy flavour. Definitely a must-try for cheesecake lovers!

Read more on www.JerJerJer.com (my blog): http://bit.ly/dgoodcafeThanks to a good friend of mine, CalvinTimo, I got to check out this newly opened Cafe at Holland Village! I’m always up for a good cuppa coffee even if it’s 7pm at night – somehow, caffeine does not really have an effect on my body. We had quite a number of cups that night and I could still fall soundly asleep the moment I got home.. haha.. I am like totally born to drink good coffee I guess! =PWhen I’m not drinking a (sinfully sweet) Frappuccino from Starbucks, I usually like my coffee bold, rich and sugarless, so I decided to give their Caffè Macchiato ($4) a shot. For those of you who aren’t familiar with what a “Caffè Macchiato” is – it’s basically a shot of espresso coffee with a tiny dollop of milk. What you’ll get is a creamy, rich miniature cup of coffee, and a shot straight to coffee heaven. =D

They also do Latte Art but it was a pity that I didn’t get a chance to see the barista in action..The bear is waving to you! haha.. isn’t it just too cute to drink? We didn’t drink this cup of Caffe Latte in the end because it got cold, but I did managed to try out their Ice Latte on a separate occasion, which had a bit too much milk and not enough espresso to it. Anyway, here are their delectable Cheesecakes (made by the boss himself!):If you ever visit d’Good Cafe, you definitely MUST try out their cheesecakes. The d’Good Strawberry Cheesecake ($8) is fluffy with a layer of sponge cake at the bottom and cream cheese in the middle, smothered with strawberry jam and a sprinkling of nuts. Plus, they use Korean Strawberries which are known to be sweeter than your regular USA/Australia Strawberries.If you’re like me and prefer something richer and more decadent, then go for the Maple Sea Salt Cheesecake ($8). All that creamy goodness and a crunchy base, typical of your classic New York Cheesecake. But interestingly enough, the owner uses Sea Salt and Maple Syrup to give it rather a unique twist. Well, cheese on its own has always been salty but you usually taste more of the sweet and sour in cheesecakes.

The difference with this Maple Sea Salt Cheesecake is that it’s sweet, sour and also salty! You also get a rather fragrant whiff of the maple syrup with each bite. Mmmmm.. just thinking about it now, has me salivating in front of my computer screen! =PThey were all sold out of this Triplet Cheesecake ($8.50) when me and CalvinTimo were there that day, but I managed to go back on a separate occasion to try it. It’s $0.50 more than the other cheesecakes which makes you wonder what extra premium ingredient did they use that warrants the price difference. *shrugs* I’m not too sure actually, but this is a triple-layer cheesecake. On top, you have a rich layer of chocolate. In the middle is the cheese and right at the bottom is a layer of Oreos. If you’ve got a super duper sweet tooth, then you’ll probably like this because all three layers are just indulgently sweet.

Now on to the main courses for the night..Having just had an awesome Eggs Benedict at Benjamin Browns just a day before I went to d’Good Cafe, I must say that the one I had at Benjamin Browns was more indulgent. The homemade hollandaise sauce they used at d’Good Cafe could not really match up to my expectations for a sinfully rich and creamy sauce to compliment the poached eggs. Their Spaghetti Carbonara ($16) on the other hand was rather good! I do cook my own pastas once in a while and this Carbonara at d’Good Cafe has a rather “homecooked” vibe to it which I enjoyed. The creamy white sauce was thick and rich, and the bacon slices added to the savoury decadence of a good creamy pasta.

Well, our night was just getting started.. next, we had some coffee lessons from the boss himself. And learned about the roasting, brewing and blending of coffee. Check out this video of the coffee beans roasting:



What a cool machine, don’t you think? I would love to have it in my future house, although I’m actually eyeing their “Elektra” espresso machine too, which comes in the shape of a huge silver bell. The boss gave us some tips on roasting coffee beans and how some of the beans are actually “empty shells”. Even though these empty beans do not really affect the flavour of the coffee in the end, the boss still painstakingly takes the effort to pick out each and every empty shell after the beans have finished roasting.If you had noticed the tagline for d’Good Cafe earlier, it’s actually “Blend & Brew it the way you like it”. The reason behind this is that they offer a service where you can create your very own blend of coffee based on the qualities you want your coffee to have! This process is called Coffee Cupping and we had the chance to try it out first-hand.First, you fill up a form stating what type of flavours you like to have in your coffee: be it nutty, chocolatey, winery, citrusy, etc. Next, the barista will prepare a few cups of coffee for you, each made from a different variety coffee beans. You then take some time to sip each cup while rinsing your palate with plain water between each sip. Finally, you let the barista know which cup of coffee you prefer over the others and why.

They will then help you decide on what goes into your final blend of coffee which will be made up of the 3 distinct flavours that you had listed earlier on. Once you have gotten the perfect blend that you want, they will enter it into their database and you can even name your own unique blend! Psssst.. You can now order a “CalvinTimo” blend of coffee from d’Good Cafe if you wanted to. =D I didn’t get to create my own blend that day due to the lack of time..

To end off the night, we had a photo taken using the cafe’s polaroid camera! They decorate the walls with lots of photos of all their customers.. try finding our polaroid shot when you visit d’Good Cafe the next time! =PRead more on www.JerJerJer.com (my blog): http://bit.ly/dgoodcafe

My experience with Vietnamese food was mainly pho, pho and more pho. The kind where they give you a heap of raw beansprouts and a bowl of mint leaves on the side for you to dump into the soup. Pho Stop seems to take a more elegant approach of serving up a good bowl of noodles with freshly shredded vegetables and beansprouts. Their Grilled Pork Chop Dry Noodles has a refreshing elegance to it. The taste is not too strong, not too salty and just a little bit sweet. The raw veggies also add to its refreshing taste.I also got to try out their coconut ice cream which was super creamy, though a little bit too sweet for me. Overall, the restaurant has a very chillax environment that makes for a great place to hangout with your friends.

I was quite pleasantly surprised to see a pop-up store at the Shaw Lido basement supermarket, after hearing that they closed down their outlet at Bugis. Not sure if they will be situated at Lido long term, but it's probably the only place you can find Soyato for now. I got myself a Peppermint Chip and Green Tea ice cream ($5.40). For those who enjoy soy or are lactose intolerant, this is a great healthy alternative. The ice cream is really smooth and creamy and it's supposedly less fattening too! Talk about a guilty pleasure you can indulge in without putting on (much) weight.