After my bad dining experience here with the Pesto Pasta, I decided to give this place another shot since it's actually a pretty conducive environment where I can have a nice quiet and relaxing lunch on a weekday. =] Luckily the food turned out to be pretty good this time round.There is something I really enjoy about Ice Shaken Lemon Tea - the shaking produces this layer of foam at the top and gives it a nice homemade taste. I also like how it is not that sweet and has a deep English tea taste to it, not at all like other ice lemon teas which just taste like sugar water.The Spaghetti Carbonara ($13.50) has a "chef's icon" next to it on the menu, flagging it as one of their signature dishes here, so I decided to give it a try. It comes with a poached egg that is perfectly runny when you pierce into it with a fork.

They also use good parmesan cheese for the pasta sauce which doesn't make it overly salty like other cheeses. I actually quite enjoyed the fact that the sauce was a little bit grainy and clumpy (probably due to the egg) because this gives it a very homely taste, even though the menu describes it as a "smooth cream sauce".If you like desserts, you should definitely try some of their Macarons which come in 6 different flavours - Rose, Chocolate Noir, Fleur De Sel Caramel (salted caramel), Feuilletine, Hazelnut, Cookies & Cream. A box of 6 assorted macarons cost $11.50 which would normally cost $2.50 per piece.

You will definitely find me back here again when I need a peaceful place to have some quality comfort food and a sweet treat! Although the service here can be pretty nonchalant, it is perfect for times when you just want to be left alone to indulge in good food.

Just 10 minutes away from Toa Payoh MRT, SAFRA clubhouse is a convenient location where you can enjoy a whole host of activities including fitness, bowling, fencing and much to my surprise, a number of interesting dining outlets too. Located on level 1 just next to the lobby, Kkongdon BBQ is quite easy to spot amongst the row of other restaurants along that corridor. And upon stepping inside, you will be immediately greeted with kpop music videos playing on the restaurant's LCD screens, adding to the Korean feel of the place.I particularly liked the open salad bar concept where you have a wide selection of Korean side dishes (Banchan 반찬). I tried some of their non-spicy options like the Lotus Root (Yeongeun Jorim 연근조림) which had an interesting smoky and woody taste to it, and also helped myself to some refreshing Seaweed Salad (Miyeok Muchim 미역 무침).I seldom eat Korean BBQ and was quite curious to see that the hot plate is elevated above the electric stove, and titled at an angle, with a gap at the end for excess oil to drain off. There are also these UFO-looking smoke vents which suck up all the BBQ smoke.Meat-lovers will definitely enjoy this: Pork Belly (Samgeopsal 삼겹살) and Beef Short Ribs (Galbisal 갈비살). For just $20.80++ this set comes with 2 types of meat, free flow from the salad bar and 2 side dishes. It's actually a set meant for 2 persons, but I felt that the meat portions were quite small.Check out the sizzling hot plate of meats! My colleague also BBQ-ed some kimchi which actually intensifies its flavour, making it more sour and spicy. I think that was also why our hot plate got a bit burnt The Samgeopsal 삼겹살 tasted very fresh and is great when dipped into some of their Ssamjang 쌈장 Korean sauce and wrapped in fresh lettuce leafs.

The Galbisal 갈비살 on the other hand turned out to be much too spicy because of the thick black pepper marinade. When we feedback this to the staff, they were very helpful and actually washed off the marinade for us which made it a lot less spicy and more edible.
Prawns are not included in the set, but this came from another table who ordered a different set from us. Well, the good thing about eating in a large group is that you get to share the food! By the way, water is actually chargeable at this restaurant although tea is free flow.The set-for-2 comes with a bowl of Kimchi Tofu Soup (Kimchi Jjigae 김치찌개) which sometimes contain tuna or pork belly. This version consists tofu, chicken and lots of vegetables - a firey, salty and sour soup for people who enjoy eating kimchi.Another side dish which came with the set is the Korean Rice Cake (Tteok 떡) which is made of glutinous rice flour and drenched in more kimchi sauce. There were also some cockles in the sauce.

Overall, the food and atmosphere of the place is perfect for a casual BBQ meal and the prices are also pretty affordable. You could also order more meat or other side dishes if the set meal is not enough to satisfy your craving for meat. Definitely one of the recommended places to check out if you love a good Korean BBQ!

For just $8 for a Hamburg Steak with Egg set at Pepper Lunch, it is probably one of the more value-for-money stalls at Wisma Atria's food court. Compared with the other stalls that serve $6 char kway teow or prawn mee, having a sizzling hot plate of hamburg steak for $8 seems pretty affordable. I like how the set comes with lots of bean sprouts and sweet corn - all you need to do is to pour some of their teriyaki sauce over it and wait for it to sizzle to perfection.

I don't take spicy food (not even a little bit) so it's very rare that I would step into a restaurant that serves Laksa. Well, they do offer non-spicy items on their menu such as burgers and pasta, but I was there to try out one of their signature desserts - the Chendol. They even have an ice shaving machine in a corner where they prepare the chendol. It consists of a mixture of gula melaka, red beans and pandan jelly over shaved ice and drenched in lots of coconut milk. The Chendol here makes for a sinfully yummy dessert if you have a sweet tooth and love coconut milk! =D

There are quite a few good hawker food stalls at Wisma Atria's Food Republic but this is my first time trying the Dim Sum here. I ordered a Lor Mai Gai 糯米雞($6), steamed glutinous rice, that comes packed with lots of ingredients.There are Chinese sausages, chicken slices and mushrooms all mixed together with sticky glutinous rice that is steamed to perfection. I'm quite surprised to find rather good dim sum at a food court, but of course it is on the pricey side compared to the other food stalls there.I also ordered myself a Char Siew Sou 叉燒酥 ($3.20). While the bbq pork meat is not as flavourful as the ones you would get at a high-end Chinese restaurant, I thought that it was comparable to the ones you can get at Crystal Jade Bakery. The baked skin was crumbly and sweet, with savoury slices of char siew inside. Mmmm.. yummy!