In my honest opinion, pasta is just, pasta. For a quick, satisfying yet inexpensive pasta fix, I always look to Pastamania. I've been to the outlets at Lot 1 and at Causeway Point as well, but the standard varies, and I think the ones at West Mall are done most suited to my preference.

My favourite order is the Chicken Sausage, with pasta choice of fusilli and linguine, and I always ask to replace the green peas with Ham. Don't you just hate restaurants that do not allow such slight customizations of dishes? That said, I guess I'm just that little over picky with my pasta - my boyfriend always has trouble getting my order right, heh.The pasta is always cooked just nice - not tough and undercooked, nor limpy and overcooked. I'm no fan of tomato-based pasta, but I thought the addition of tomato in the sauce actually complemented the dish, lightening the cream sauce slightly so you don't get sick from too much of it. The tomato flavour itself was not at all overwhelming, and gave the dish a very appealing blush.

The replacement of green peas with ham gave the dish a salty edge and is at an additional $1, but we have been charged more than $2 on several occasions. We always upgrade our pasta with a drink and soup, which is accompanied by toasted garlic bread. Though kind of watered down, the soup retains its flavor, and always arrives warm - a good time filler while we wait for the mains to be served up.

The banana chocolate dessert pizza at Pastamania is also fantastic. Melted chocolate and warm banana slices lends a sweet touch to the slightly salty thin and crispy doughy crust.

After finishing my food, I stared at my boyfriend for 10 straight minutes while he tries intently to finish his. At his last mouthful, he quietly said "Miaow!", which was really funny and appropriate because he's had this dish for lunch the past three days:Just one whole piece of fish paired with a bowl of rice. Yup, 3 consecutive days. My big-meat-eater boyfriend, who rarely touches boned fishes.

Soon Fatt does not scrimp on the portion. The huge piece of fish lying on a bed of shredded cabbage on one side has been left fleshy and untouched, while its other side had a thin layer of crunchy fish meat. Lying alongside its body is the 'extra' flesh taken from the side facing down.

We first took note of the dish when a fellow colleague mentioned about it once. The sheer size of the fish ensures a filling meal, and hiding beneath the crisp surface is very moist and fresh flesh. The bowl of rice served with the fish had fluffy rice grains and was always served steamy hot.

I've tried their bimbimbab and spicy chicken rice as well. Their bimbimbab is nothing to shout about, served in a normal plastic bowl instead of the hotplate bowl. The spicy chicken rice dish was good, with very tender and flavoursome meat, and just moderately spicy. Food served hot, leaves you full and at a price point of average $5? Always a winner.

Hatched celebrated their 2nd Anniversary with a special Anniversary menu on their Anniversary weekend. I couldn't not feel excited after looking at the mouthwatering preview pictures of what lays ahead at Hatched on the 17th and 18th of Sep. I made a reservation for Sunday brunch and waited in anticipation for the excruciatingly-slow work week to tick pass.We were quickly shown to our table, food arrived quickly, and service was good. Both my boyfriend and I ordered poach egg dishes. My dish rocked! As always, the eggs were perfectly runny, and I loved the saltiness on my plate. One poached egg sat atop ham and bacon whilst the other sat atop minced beef, both cradled in soft english muffins. When poked apart, the yolk oozed out to drench whatever sits beneath in its goodness. Boyfriend loved his poached eggs with smoked salmon as well, complimenting its savory saltiness as I did with my dish. However, I didn't quite like the sauteed potatoes which they replaced the usual side of homemade mash with.

There were hits and then there were misses. Minimal decorations were placed up for this 'celebration'. All they had that I could see was a silver foil balloon shaped in a numerical 2. The atmosphere was too 'busy' for my liking - for the special occasion, they have placed tables in the lobby area outside the cafe itself to expand seating capacity, which looked kind of disoriented. The couples were all placed at one side, with our tables so close to each other our elbows were knocking with the couple's at the next table.The egg-shaped pancakes with cream cheese, bacon bits and walnuts which I was looking forward to most were a letdown. The bacon bits looked and tasted more like char siew and the thick slab of cream cheese was concentrated in the middle. They served this dish together with the 2 mains, so perhaps it had been left to cool a little whilst on our table, resulting in a lacklustre dish as pancakes have to be eaten whilst piping hot.

Nestled in between one whole stretch of all sorts of eateries quietly sits Big Bad Wolf, where the Wolf hides slyly in the different corners of the establishment.The menu at Big Bad Wolf isn't the extensive sort, which I prefer, because you can always be sure that the food will all be up to standard. A big, comprehensive menu just gives me a headache from having to play the guessing game.

I had perused the reviews online, and walked in knowing just what I was going to order - their signature Big Bad Wolf burger and Cottage Pie, of course!I had meant to order The Works, which was Big Bad Wolf with an addition of fried egg, bacon and cheese(!!), (and I just realized) what arrived on our table was just the Big Bad Wolf

The medium done burger I had at Relish was just nice, while the medium-well done burger my boyfriend had was a little too dry for my liking. Using that as a gauge, we opted for just medium for our burger at Big Bad Wolf. Alas, the patty came a little raw but nonetheless still very tasty. The patty was really thick and was just that tiny bit of nicely charred on the outside. The buns were also lightly toasted and went hand-in-hand with the other toppings.

The fries and sauce that came on the side was also another winner. They were not at all oily, came piping hot, crisp on the outside and mushy on the inside. I would say they tasted very similar to those at Swensen's.The Cottage Pie arrived at our table in a most adorable little piggy bowl. I didn't think the dish was exceptional, but it was good as well, with a layer of mashed potato hugging the chunky minced beef below.The root beer floats at BBW had a tiny twist to it, giving patrons a choice of vanilla, cookies & cream and chocolate ice cream flavours. It didn't taste too different from those traditional ones from A&W, and finished off the meal very well.

The customer service here was excellent. When I accidentally pushed my huge scoop of ice cream downwards which caused the root beer to overflow, one of the staff immediately rushed forward with a dish towel and lots of serviettes. All of them were really friendly and smiley and were always happy to offer us more sauces, or stop for a chat.

I also liked that the food came really quickly, and I loved how the theme was injected all over the restaurant - even the toilet sign, which reads 'Restroooom....' had a really cute wolf and red riding hood motifs on it. Big Bad Wolf is indeed real Badass. Thumbs up!

i never had much interest in these little swirl buns that i see at many bakeries. i usually just give them a cursory glance and that's it. but then one day my boss went around giving out these little swirl buns, so i couldn't say no. there were 3 colour choices - white, black, and green. i choosed the green. i wrapped it up in tissue paper, stuffed it into my bag, and only remembered its weeny existence when i got really hungry while waiting in the car for my boyfriend to run an errand.

i was surprised. the tiny, innocent and inferior looking bun turned out to be really good! the bun with green swirls was kaya, and the ones with white or black swirls were custard and chocolate respectively.

these swirl buns, or warrants, from Provence had a milky, buttery taste that wasn't heavy - it was very light and airy, very soft, very moist. you literally go NomNomNom while chewing on it. the different flavourings were also absorbed well by the bun, making the different taste pretty distinct. they are really, if i dare say, the most perfect tasting little buns ever. and they smell so delicious.the other day i suddenly remembered this little wonder bun(ha!) so we made the trip to the nearest Provence which was at West Coast Plaza (thank god they are not all clustered in town area), waited in the car while my boyfriend quickly grabbed them warrants, and off we go. unfortunately, the outlet at West Coast Plaza do not carry the kaya flavoured ones - a disappointment.

priced at 10 mini pieces for $7, they are indeed an indulgence. but i reckon they are worthy of an occasional, fancy treat. i'm going to save them for this weekend when i'm going to sit by the window in my pajamas at 2pm munching on one of these warrants with a steamy cup of tea in one hand and the other - a piece of novel: Bliss=)