For full review, please visit http://thumbsforfood.blogspot.sg/2013/12/next-door-deli-pine-gardens-cake.html

Next Door Deli is unpretentious in it's decorations and furniture. It preserves some of the old school neighbourhood elements, yet infuse some of new age concept.

As you walk into the cafe and find yourself a table, you will realise that there is a laminated sheet placed on the table that gives you an introduction to how to order food and drinks. The whole cafe is self serve from its drinks to desserts to main courses. That is the order you proceed through the cafe. We immediately thought of Ikea, like how you move through the different stations to get your food.

Wok Fried Laksa ($6) was a recommendation by one of the patrons in the cafe. She told us that she would come to the cafe for this dish and Wok-fried Mee Siam, which alternates with Laksa every week. As such, I decided to give it a try! Laksa comes with a chicken wing as well. The laksa taste was fragrant and the food was comforting. It's worth a try for those who are seeking an alternative to the Western-style brunch.

Crispy-grilled Chicken Steak ($7.80) was another popular dish of Next Door Deli. We felt that the chicken was quite well-cooked, juicy and tender. However, we felt that the dish could do with more oomph to make it stand out from other Western food places.

Overall, we felt that the food at Next Door Deli is priced at an affordable price. They offer discounts for students and teachers on weekdays as well. We reckon that it will be a popular hangout for students studying in nearby institutions. We feel that Next Door Deli has the potential to grow into something bigger if it adds more oomph and uniqueness to its menu. One good way would be offering self-made coffee to increase its attractiveness.

For full review, please visit http://thumbsforfood.blogspot.sg/2013/12/w39-bistro-bakery.html

I like the deco of the cafe. It is so pretty that I can't stop snapping photos using my camera! I went on a weekday and I was quite disappointed when I realized that they did not serve breakfast food on weekdays. Well, so we decided to go for the Set Lunch. It is available from Tues-Fri, 1130 to 1430 [: The price varies depending on the main course that you choose. They change some courses of the Set Lunch occasionally which is good so that we can always have new things to try! The Set Lunch comes with a drink and a soup of the day.

The coffee was disappointing as the coffee was rather bland and not as aromatic as I would have like it to be.The food was alright but not mind-blowing. I guess I would try their brunch the next time round instead of their main courses!Overall, even though the food and coffee were not great, the deco and ambience of the place made up for it. They have outdoor seats as well so it makes a good place for big group gatherings

For full review and more photos, please visit http://thumbsforfood.blogspot.sg/search?updated-max=2012-12-17T01:30:00-08:00&max-results=5&start=30&by-date=false

After trying so many different Japanese buffets, I would say that all of them have pretty much the same variety. What will then make the difference between one that I will return to and one that I will not return to? Of course, it is the quality of the food! Senki has over 100 different kinds of variety for its buffet. Good spread. However, I felt that the sashimi was not really fresh except the swordfish sashimi (I ate a lot of that). Towards the later part of the night, the salmon sashimi was really bad. One additional point to note is that Green Tea is not included in the buffet which was a great disappointment.

The Nasu-miso was pretty good though. The plus point to Senki is that they have many nice cooked dishes. The Ebi Tempura is also up to the standards!Overall, I think that Senki serves an average fare of Japanese food. They also have an Ala-carte menu if you are not a buffet fanatic! For the same price range, I would prefer Irodori to this definitely.

The buffet is at $30++ for lunch and $33++ for dinner. On eve of public holidays and public holidays, the buffet is at $39++.

For full review, please visit http://thumbsforfood.blogspot.sg/2012/10/les-bouchons-rive-gauche-robertson-quay.htmlPersonally, I prefer grilled steak compared to roasted. I like the grilled charcoal taste that lingers on in the mouth. Les Bouchons’ steaks are grilled which make it a plus factor to try it out. As we had a relatively large group, we made reservations and was seated at the outdoor area. Not bad a location as it was along the quayside and there was some river breeze.

For starters, they have baguette rolls that are unheated and basically quite cold and hard. As we were still waiting for a couple more friends, we decided to give the cold and hard rolls a try. Surprisingly, it tasted quite well despite its unappealing demeanor. For our friend who does not eat beef, she ordered the grilled salmon, priced at $32.80.It came with half the plate filled with fries. The salmon was cooked well done and even. However, I feel that the flavour is too bland as there wasn't any sauce or garnishes on it.Next up, Grilled Ribeye Steak with "Vigneron" Butter priced at around $38. My friend chose medium well-done as she does not like her steak to be bloody. I felt that there was nothing particularly special about the steak. Flavor-wise, I preferred the grilled steak at Hog's Breath. I felt that it was palatable but nothing very out-of-the-ordinary.Overall, the price is quite reasonable for steak. However, if you're looking for variety, this would not be a place you would like to visit.

For full review and more photos, please visit http://thumbsforfood.blogspot.sg/2014/05/seng-kee-bak-kut-teh-thumbsforfood.html
A friend of mine shared with me that there is this really yummy bak kut teh in the AMK area and so I decided to give it a try! It is located at Chong Boon Food Centre which is just a few bus stops away from AMK mrt station.
Pig trotters (Te Kar). This was really good. One of the better pig trotters that I have tasted in Singapore. The meat was well braised and very soft. Definitely worth trying!
Bak Kut Teh. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed with the bowl of soup. I am a huge fan of bak kut teh and the one I frequent the most is Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh. I will definitely prefer Ya Hua's soup over Seng Kee's. The soup was a bit too oily for my liking.
Overall, I had a good experience at Seng Kee Bak Kut Teh. I will definitely be back for the pig trotters that is so sinful yet so tasty!