For more photos and full review, please visit http://thumbsforfood.blogspot.sg/2013/01/toa-payoh-hwa-heng-beef-noodle.html

Beef noodle is one of my favourite hawker food. But, it normally doesn't come cheap. I think most of us are familiar with Hock Lam Beef Noodles. One bowl of noodles would set you behind by about $10.

Well, if you are looking for value, visit the stall at Bendemeer Food Centre. It is only 5 minutes walk from the Boon Keng MRT station! There was a slight queue when we went there at about 1 pm on a Saturday.

We had the Sliced Beef + Beef balls noodles as we do not eat the other parts of the beef (e.g. tendons) They have the $3/$4 options which is really affordable. I especially like that they added sesame oil to the black sauce. The taste of the sesame oil is strong enough for me to spot it! Their chili is different from that at Hock Lam but I liked it.

For full review and more photos, please visit http://thumbsforfood.blogspot.sg/2012/11/plain-vanilla-cupcakes-holland-village.html

Recently, there has been a craze over PV cupcakes. After listening to the many positive feedbacks, I decided that I should have a try at these cupcakes too. It is located at Holland Village just beside the El Patio Mexican Restaurant.

I decided to buy half a dozen to have a try at the cupcakes. Of course, Red Velvet is a must-try for me. The cupcakes are priced at $3.50 for one, and $19 for 6. Some flavours that attracted me were the Banana Chocolate cupcake and the Strawberry Cream cupcake.

Personally, I feel that Plain Vanilla has one of the best cupcakes in Singapore. Of course, there are many rising cupcake stores nowadays. I think most of us are familiar with Twelve Cupcakes but why not have a try at PV?

For full review and photos, please visit http://thumbsforfood.blogspot.sg/2013/04/room-coffee-bar-thumbsforfood.html

Do you know where is ARC (Alexandra Retail Centre)? It is located at Labrador Mrt Station and just along the Pasir Panjang stretch! I guess this place caters mainly to the working adults there as most shops close early. Spinelli there closes at 7pm, if I remember correctly! One fine day, we decided to visit this place and have a food hunt and so we found ROOM. It is a cosy little cafe tucked at a corner of ARC. I really liked the simple decorations of the place.

Oh yes, I need to mention the most important point! There is actually one-for-one for the pastas on weekday nights, from 6 pm onwards. I am not sure how long the promotion would last for, so if you are interested, catch it soon!

Spicy Prawn Linguine $17. Well, they had the description -ask for more chili padi if you dare- and so I was anticipating this dish to be spicy. I guess I was pretty disappointed when it turned out to be not spicy at all. The taste was okay and there were quite a few prawns around! I like the rocket vegetables scattered on top of the pasta!

Prawn Laksa Pesto Spaghetti $14. Well, this is the best of all 4 pastas in my opinion. But, it is really up to individual. It was really savoury and I finished it to the last bit. Really worth a try, especially if you like your food with a little more zest and spice!

All in all, I would say ROOM serves up pretty mediocre pastas but the price is really a bargain, especially if you visit it during its one-for-one promotion. One person only need to pay around $7 bucks! And one more thing, it runs on a self-service concept so do not expect to be served and waited on.

ROOM coffee. bar also serves up brunch on both weekdays and weekends at pretty affordable prices! Eggs benedict is only at $11. I would certainly take time out on a Saturday morning to try the breakfast at ROOM if I am around the vicinity!

For full review and more photos, please visit http://thumbsforfood.blogspot.sg/2013/03/dough-grains-tiong-bahru-thumbsforfood.html

Today, I'm going to introduce to you a special bakery, which produces bread with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) concept. It's the first bakery with such a concept in town. Curious what kind of bread do they produce?

Dough and grains actually produce quite a large variety of breads, tarts and pastries. And do read the labels on the shelves for description of the various bread and their health benefits.

We tried the Chinese Yam Tart ($1.90). Chinese Yam is known as huai shan and it is normally used in Chinese dishes. Who would have thought tat it can be made into a tart? It is said to enhance digestive and kidney system. The taste of it? The Chinese Yam taste is really not very strong. What I like is the texture of the tart, especially the crust.

We tried 3 different buns as well. They are all TCM inspired with herbs added in it like the Black Pearl with shouwu added in it.

Overall, it's a place more suitable for takeaways. It has a wide range of tarts and pastries as well. I'm sure to try their tarts next time!

For it's innovation and creativity, Dough & Grains is definitely worth your try!

For full review and photos, please visit http://thumbsforfood.blogspot.sg/2013/03/poulet-bugis-thumbsforfood.html

We visited the branch at Bugis+ to try out other dishes that Poulet offers. Do read on for our individual dish review!

This time, we tried the Poulet de Cranberry (Half: $17.80; Whole: $30.80) instead of the original-flavored one. The difference is the sauce. Poulet de Cranberry is a twist of cranberry sauce and a dash of double mustard. The cranberry sauce gives the dish an uplifting and appetizing taste to it while the mustard provides a balance to that sour tinge of the cranberry sauce. I would say the sauces do go well with the chicken.

My personal preference is the Original-flavored roti. But, my friend prefers this sauce. Conclusion is that it really depends on personal preference! So, have a try of both sauces to see which one is more pleasing to your taste buds.

Portion of dishes are not too big, so do order your own mains if you're hungry!

The food is overall affordable and tasty. Portions are on the small side alike other French Cuisine.