You might have heard about “gastropubs” before – a term which originated from the British, referring to a pub where you could drink away your sorrows and also eat some grub at the same time. An “Izakaya” (居酒屋) is the Japanese equivalent of that.You will find Tamon Izakaya somewhere along East Coast Road. Against all odds, this particular restaurant has stood up against the test of time and has been in business for the past 18 years (and hopefully many more years to come)! For a Japanese Izakaya in Singapore to have been around for that long is no mean feat.

It was drizzling that day when we arrived at Tamon Izakaya. Like a scene out of Memoirs of a Geisha, we tip-toed our way into the restaurant to take shelter from the rain. The staff greeted us with a warm smile and welcomed us into the cozy restaurant. As we ventured further inside, I was delighted to find more typical Izakaya decor – Japanese lanterns, a sake bar and paintings of samurai on the walls.While its menu may not be that extensive, you will find a rather unique selection of Sumiyaki (char-grilled skewers) including chicken tail, heart, gizzard and liver. I'm not particularly fond of eating the insides of any living thing, so I was conscious to steer clear of those items, though it's pretty common place in a typical Japanese Izakaya to find much more guts.The first dish that we ordered was the Salmon Mentai Maki ($15). Strips of salmon sashimi, lightly scorched with a dollop of mentaiko on top. It’s amazing how the chef can achieve this melt-in-your-mouth texture with the salmon sashimi and the mentaiko provided a good tangy boost of flavour to the dish.I’m quite the veggie person and especially when you pair it with Japanese Wafu dressing. The citrusy dressing from our Wafu Salad ($10) is an awesome perk-me-up on rainy days like these. The salad comes with a heap of tuna, though I would have preferred it with sashimi or slices of beef tataki.And of course, nothing beats a bowl of warming stew on a cold rainy day – talk about the ultimate comfort food! =D The Pork Belly Stew ($10) was filled to the brim with onions, potatoes, carrots and slices of pork. It goes amazingly well with Japanese rice and even just the stew alone would leave me utterly satisfied.

Surprisingly, the total bill was quite affordable (under $50) and we had our fill of really good, home-styled Japanese cuisine. It was still mid day, so we didn’t have the chance to try their sake but I’m sure I’ll get a chance to try it the next time I visit again!

It's been a long time since I ate at Cedele, so I decided to takeaway a sandwich from the Wheelock Place outlet. After going through their rather limited selection, I ordered a Beef Onion Portobello Sandwich ($14.80). The beef patty was rather sizeable and juicy, and it came with a huge portobello mushroom sandwiched in between. I also enjoyed the balsimic onions which were had a tangy sourness to it and went really well with the savoury beef patty.There was also a Lunar New Year promotion for a Pink Lychee Smoothie ($6.50) and although the cup was quite small, the drink was extremely refreshing! It's like a lychee party in a cup. =] Wholesome food at its best.

I usually go for the chicken tenders whenever I eat at Popeyes but decided to try something different today, so I ordered a Chicken Burger set instead ($8.50) which comes with a regular-sized drink and your choice of one of their signature sides. The burger came with a huge fried chicken patty that was juicy and tender (although a little bit on the oily side). The Cajun Fries were very flavourful but I still prefer their signature "biscuit". Good thing that there is an outlet at Orchard Xchange (between ION and Wisma) which is real convenient and easily accessible!

For a non-chili person like myself, it's a really rare occasion for me to be eating Indonesian cuisine. I ordered their signature Ayam Penyet ($6) and a glass of Avocado with Gula Melaka ($3.50). The chicken was really crispy and tasty on its own, even without the chili. And the meat was still quite juicy and not dried out. It also comes with fried tempeh which was really crispy too. Our table ordered 4 plates of ayam penyet, but the chicken size on each plate was considerably different - some much smaller than the rest (to cater for small eaters like myself, I guess).

I've walked past this mochi store quite a few times before but never really ventured in to actually try it out until today. It comes in a box of 12 different flavoured mochi - from cream chocolate, red bean and green tea, to more adventurous flavours including caramel macchiato and mango yoghurt. I enjoyed the macchiato mochi which had a good coffee taste and the mochi skin is also very chewy and not too sweet. It makes for a really great after-dinner snack!