More food reviews on my blog: www.jerjerjer.com

I’ve never been so excited to blog about my lunch before, but I have just tried Maison Kayser at Wheelock Place and was pleasantly surprised with the food I found there. So much so that I simply can’t wait to blog about it! =DThere aren’t many choices for mains at Maison Kayser if you’re looking for something heavy to fill your tummy. The menu is dominated mainly with salads and sandwiches which they are famous for. They even bake all their bread fresh everyday! Well, I didn’t quite fancy the choices of sandwiches they had so I decided to go for their Steak Loin Spaghetti ($13).Look at that medium rare piece of meat – it’s perfectly the way I like my steak. The outside is char-grilled to perfection while the inside is still pink and juicy! I’m not much of a meat lover, but this cut of steak is simply so tender that it melts in my mouth. You would have expected something tougher based on its char-grilled appearance. But it turned out surprisingly good!You will also get a basket of freshly baked bread with all their main courses. And the best part is that the bread is re-fillable once for free (if you want to load up on carbs, that is). I only had two slices of bread from the basket but it was so fluffy that I had to resist the urge to gobble down the rest of it. Their coffee is also really good – I ordered the Iced Latte ($6), which usually tends to be too milky, but this one was already super invigorating on the first sip. Just the way I like my coffee (with a punch).And just when I was about to leave, I decided to backtrack and takeaway one of their tarts for dessert. Good thing I did that because I would have totally regretted it if I had not done so! Their Raspberry Tart or Tarte au Framboise ($5.80) is so super-deliciously-awesome! It’s absolutely not sweet and the raspberries are not that sour too. The tart base is also really crumbly and buttery. There is actually another outlet nearby at Scotts Square, so I'll probably check that out next time to takeaway more of their yummy desserts!

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Phew.. it took me quite a while to find all those mandarin names of the dim sum.. but anyway, without further delay, let's get this 菠蘿包 BATTLE started! =D

Contestant 1: Tim Ho Wan 添好運The Su Pi Cha Shao Bao 酥皮叉燒包 ($4.50 for 3pcs) is what Tim Ho Wan is super famous for and they even have to limit the number of pau’s 1 person can order to 3 pieces. Once you’ve wolfed down all 3 pieces, then that’s it for the day. For $4.50 per 3 pieces, the size of this Char Siew Po Luo Pau is considerably smaller than a normal pau and fits nicely into my palm.I’ve been warned by my friends who went down there before me that the amount of char siew meat inside the pau is quite pathetic. And true enough, the char siew barely even filled up half of the bun. However, the quality of the meat they used is what you would find in a good Chinese restaurant. No complains there.

The char siew filling is consistently lean and tasted quite “premium”. haha.. I’m not sure how to explain it, but it’s the kind of char siew pau you would only get in top-end Chinese restaurants. The bun is also very crispy, light and fluffy – it all just crumbles in your mouth, really.

All I needed was one char siew pau to be utterly satisfied, so we ended up dabao-ing the rest. Anyway, after having tasted the quality this char siew po luo pau at Tim Ho Wan, I decided to go on a mini-hunt for other po luo pau myself, to see if I can find anything that’s just as good.

After Google-ing around for a bit, I sniffed out a rather interesting lead located at TripleOne Somerset..

Contestant 2: Imperial Treasure BakeryFor $1.80 per piece, this po luo pau was twice the size of the one you get at Tim Ho Wan and looks a lot more crispy with its golden brown crust. The char siew meat, however, is NO WHERE near Tim Ho Wan’s standard. The char siew filling is too chewy and not very consistent – the kind of char siew you would find at any hawker stall. Plus, the bun turned out to be not that crispy afterall. Instead of crumbling in your mouth, this po luo pau is a little chewier and you still get that “bread/bun” texture when you dig into it.

The Winner: Tim Ho Wan 添好運

Well, the 酥皮叉燒包 was not all that I got to try at Tim Ho Wan. We also ordered quite a number of their other famous dim sum. Let’s start with some of my favourites first..The Pan Fried Carrot Cake 香煎萝卜糕 ($4.50 for 3pcs) is quite awesome. They use Chinese sausages in it to give it this extra flavourful kick and unlike most carrot cake where it’s smooth throughout, you will still get bits of radish in between. Mmmmm.. absolutely yums! =PSiew mai 烧卖 ($5.00 for 4 pcs) is another must-order dish at any dim sum restaurant. How good a siew mai they serve actually determines how good the restaurant is.. hahaha, no la. I’m just kidding. But the siew mai at Tim Ho Wan is surprisingly better than their Har Gow.The Har Gow 晶莹鲜虾饺 ($5.50 for 4pcs) was not that great that day.. I had better ones in Melbourne before, where the prawns are super fresh and bouncy. This Har Gow was just average although they did stuff it quite full with prawn meat.The Beancurd Skin Roll with Shrimp 鲜虾腐皮卷 ($5.50 for 3pcs) is much better than the one you get at Crystal Jade. The skin is crispy and thin, and it was quite packed with shrimp meat.I guess the Osmanthus Jelly 杞子桂花糕 ($3.50 for 3pcs) is more of a ladies thing. I wouldn’t recommend you to try this unless you really like the taste of Osmanthus flower (桂花 guìhuā). The jelly is filled with flower petals and one small bite will fill up your mouth with a flower garden in full bloom. =DOut of the “Big 4 Heavenly Kings” 四大天王 dim sum, the Chee Cheong Fun 黄沙猪肠粉 ($5.50 for 3pcs) is my least favourite! Not only because I’m not a fan of pig’s liver, but also because the chee cheong fun wasn’t silky enough. We also did not get to try the Steam Egg Cake 香滑马来糕 ($3.80) which was sold out that day, but fret not, there’s always another chance to re-visit Tim Ho Wan again.A word of advice.. Even 2 weeks after the grand opening, the queues at Tim Ho Wan are still just as crazy! Don’t bother going there after 7:30pm hoping to get a table because the staff would have probably closed off the queue by then to ensure that those who managed to join the queue still get to eat before the restaurant closes at 10pm.

And be prepared to queue for at least an hour before you get a table (that is if you're lucky enough!). The good thing is that the Tim Ho Wan staff also distributed bottled water to everyone in the queue which is a very nice gesture towards all its patrons. Well, that's what I call awesome service!

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Ootoya is one of the few Japanese restaurants I would definitely order rice at. Their unique selling point is the different types of rice you can choose from like Hijiki Seaweed Rice. This time round, I ordered their Steamed Clams Bamboo Rice ($19.50) which comes in a bamboo cylinder atop a candle.The set also comes with a Tofu Soup which I felt was too starchy to be drank by itself. Although it was a good addition when mixed in with the rice.The rice was more on the bland side and the main star of the dish were the clams. It seems that they steamed the clams together with the rice which helps the nice seafood flavour of the clams to penetrate every single grain of rice. The set also comes with Chawanmushi and the portion was more than enough for a satisfying dinner.

I was walking past Sun Moulin on my way to the Isetan Scotts Supermarket to get some sushi when I saw a poster with the cutest Turtle Matcha Buns! They were too cute to pass, so I decided to grab one to snack on. If you are a fan of Melon-pan (one of my favourite sweet buns), then you will probably enjoy this Matcha Bun too. The exterior is crispy, similar to the Japanese Melon-pan and inside you have smooth and light custard cream which isn't too sweet. It also has a nice Matcha (green tea) aroma to it. A worthy snack for just $2+

I know TWG has been around for quite some time already but this is actually my first visit (actually, mainly because I'm more of a coffee person, really ). But since I was running some errands at ION, I decided to check out this posh looking tea salon.They do not have a very extensive food menu, so I decided to try the Lobster Timbale ($28) - a towering cylinder of juicy marinated lobster meat tossed with avocado and intricately served on a bed of spinach shoots, arranged to look like a blooming flower.

The unique selling point about the food at TWG is that it uses tea to enhance the flavours and compliment the food. For the Lobster Timbale, the vinaigrette is infused with TWG's Love Me Tea which is a fine green tea imbued with lime blossoms and verbena (a type of flower).

Not only was the lobster meat very fresh and chewy, the texture of the avocado complimented the dish very well too. There is not much flavouring added to it so you get full the natural goodness of the lobster meat.Since I was already having lunch there, why not try some their teas too? So I asked one of their smartly dressed staff to recommend a white tea that would go well with my meal. He was very helpful and suggested that I try the White Secret Tea ($23.50) which comes in TWG's signature shiny golden teapot.TWG's Secret White Tea consists of a blend of YinZhen White Tea (literally means 'Silver Needle White Tea') which originates from the Fujian province in China and is one of the highest grade of white teas available. One whiff of the tea is like a summer breeze across a meadow of flowers in bloom. It has a fruity note and even after a couple of sips, the refreshing taste of the tea still lingers on your palate. Nothing like I've every tried before and it's definitely worthy to be named as one of the "most prized teas" in China. =]To end off my indulgent meal, I decided to order a freshly baked Strawberry Tart ($9.50). The sweet scent of strawberries accented by the fruity aroma of the Secret White Tea is simply a pairing made in heaven. Though the crust of the tart is not as crumbly as I would have liked it to be, the strawberries were definitely of good quality.

Overall, quality ingredients are definitely the main highlight of the food at TWG and having all your dishes infused with tea is an interestingly refreshing experience for your taste buds. My only gripe about the place is that the ambiance is too posh for my liking and can get a little suffocating and formal. But nonetheless, it was a great experience!