Fatback Ears Down: "Pico" (Alipus Mezcal, Gran Classico, Aperol Mancini Rosso) from Angeleno, situated along Gemmill Lane (Telok Ayer). From 5 - 7pm, their selection of Negronis are $10 each. I have tried five of the six available Negronis, and this is by far the smokiest, the metaphorical equivalent of a dirty grind with a brooding, heavy-breathing cigar enthusiast.

Good Italian Fare We ordered the lobster spaghetti for appetizer and the signature veal chop parmigiana and a charred brocollini to share. Dessert was chocolate semi fredo with pistachio. Overall a good hearty meal. Though I must say the service was sub par and passive. The pasta menu was refreshed so I did not get my oxtail ragu that I was looking for.

To-die-for Rosemary-fried Potatoes ($14++) The paper-thin skin of these smallish potatoes are wonderfully crisp and bloom with the fragrance of rosemary, while sparkling sea salt crystals lend crunch and make salivary glands go into overdrive. Just beneath this tantalising exterior lies a most comforting mealiness. To speed up the journey to carb heaven, there's the potent garlic aioli to smear all over the already glorious potatoes. Now you know why I have never not ordered this when I've dined here.

Xiao Ya Tou We had the truffle roasted duck, mala fish, brussel sprouts and lobster pai tee. All of them were not bad but quite overpriced IMO. The lobster pai tee was the best dish out of the 4 with a generous amount of lobster, slathered in rich mayo and topped with ikura. Truffle roasted duck was not subtle with the truffle which I appreciated. The mala fish was average, while the brussel sprouts was a bit too sweet with Thai chili sauce-like taste.

Chic & Old School! Lobster Kueh Pie Tee is sure to amaze you with the freshness of the lobster and roes!

Mala Fish $31 Fish with lotus roots, glass noodles and others. Personally love mala and thought that this dish has a great mala flavour. Great dish to satisfy mala craving. My top 3 favourite dishes (3/3)

Egg Benedict with rosti Rather a unique dish, I like the Hollandise sauce with the rosti

Scrambled Egg with Croissant The egg is nicely cooked and the croissant is crisp

The Populus Scramble The Populus Scramble consisted of basic ingredients like turkey bacon, croissant, scrambled eggs with herbs (essentially spring onions and big red chilli). Not a very good photographer (esp for food), but plating was well done, enough for me to take like a pro for once. The textbook scrambled eggs was a win for me, the herbs gave it a slight Asian twist. But apart from that, nothing to shout about, no complexity nor depth in flavours. Croissant was very mediocre, and after 3 mouths it was all really one-dimensional. I couldn’t finish it. It just did not make the cut for such price point ($22 bef GST & svc charge). Hesitant to come back, but if I do then I’d probably try something else. Also, there was not much viable options for my poor vegetarian friend. Her favourite mushrooms were already pre-mixed with garlic so no customisations. Ratings: Taste - 7/10 Price - 5.5/10 Ambience - 7/10

truffle roasted garlic chirashi (23.80++) omg this was so tasty 😙 the crunchy garlic slices and the sauce underneath made the whole bowl so creamy and delectable without feeling ‘gelak’. fish was also really fresh and cut into reasonably sized cubes and slices. staff were also really friendly!

Grilled Unagi Chirashi Paying for the quality & quantity of the food here. Very fresh and good for sharing for the huge amount of portion. Worth it for gatherings.

omote chirashi (17.90++) seafood served very fresh and yummy! may seem like a small bowl but made me feel really full by the end of it 🆙🆙

Ambience And Food Lovely place. The sea the lights the breeze. Food wise doesn’t disappoint. Clams were huge and the juices u will finish it up. In the midst of Covid, this is one place to find peace.

Lots for Lunch amazing ambience, service and food. i got the salmon sandwich and it costs like 20+ so it is pretty pricey! but a worthy birthday celebration with dear natalie.

Dua Dua Juicy Clams! Good for dates or special outings because it has a view of the sea and pretty ambience :) Pasta costs ~ $30 after ++ There were about 5 or 6 of the juicy clams

What a pity that we came slightly late as they have sold out all of their desserts except the Mochi Donut ($12). Fortunately, this happens to be one of our favourites with the crispy exterior, chewy texture of the mochi donut with the earl grey ice cream. A perfect pairing of hot and cold. •••••••••••••••••••• 📍Brotherbird Coffeehouse 32 Bali Lane, Singapore 189868

Review: Stateland Cafe (Part 3/3) Finally knew why the Earl Grey Bursts with Softserve [$15] is highly recommended. The mochi balls are soooooo good. It’s a good pairing between the hot mochi balls and cold softserve. Have chosen cookie butter over taro softserve as recommended by the staff and it doesn’t disappoint! It’s a pity this is the last time I can enjoy this dessert since the cafe is closing down :/

Review: Stateland Cafe (Part 2/3) Wanted to try the Herbal Duck Confit Risotto but was told that the cafe is not serving this dish today BUT somehow saw another diner eating it so uhh.. Anyway, decided to try the Hainanese Chicken Rice Risotto [$19] instead since it is one of the recommended dishes and it is okay lo. A unique fusion but would appreciate if there is more rice 😅

What A Splendid Soup Offered as one of the starters for their set lunch, this "pumpkin velouté" left a deep impression on me. Why? Because unlike many other pumpkin soups, it contained quite a bit of cream; thus the frothy richness and gorgeous milky orange hue. I was also completely sold when I discovered what it came with, namely a quivery, very lightly poached egg and crisped piece of bacon. Yummmmmms!

Well Crafted Set Lunch During my very recent visit, I was pleased to see that the chef had made some tweaks to the set lunch menu and price. Plating looked a little more casual now but the quality of the food and cooking was still impressive for what you pay. There're two options for each of the three courses. For $25++, you get an appetiser and a main, while the $33++ gets you dessert too. Being greedy, I chose the latter and started with the "pumpkin soup with poached egg and croutons". For my main course, I picked the "seared scallops with mash and spinach" over the "beef brochette with truffle mash and bordelaise sauce" although it was a close fight. Closing my meal on a sweet note was the "mille feuille with strawberries and creme patisserie". All in all, it was a masterfully executed lunch that left me happily full.

Good Value French Cuisine ($33++ and $28++ for 3 and 2 courses respectively) Balzac Bistro offers two options per course for their set lunch and they all sound really interesting. I picked the foie gras and duck terrine as my starter. But for reasons unknown, it was replaced with duck rillette today. Not that I'm complaining because it was tasty and attractively presented with toasted baguette, pickles and salad. The pan seared sea scallops dish was my choice of main course. Fresh and succulent, the scallops were accompanied by large meaty mushrooms on a bed of butter squash purée. I decided to close my meal on a sweet note of poached pear (which came cubed and still quite crunchy) and champagne sabayon. The set lunch menu at Balzac is pretty good value in my view, especially with the house-made bread (served with butter plus a chickpea dip), and the atmospheric Parisian bistro decor thrown in.

For An All-Day English Affair Good British food is hard to come by in Singapore, and The Ascot has happily answered that. With quintessential British gastropub fare, you're in for a really fun meal here. Grab a shuttle bus from Botanic Gardens or Newton station to The Grandstand with a few good friends for some cider, scotch eggs, cold cuts, bangers n mash, bread pudding and fried Mars bars. Sounds good right, why not just stay all day?

Cold Platter x Strawberry Spinach Salad x Smoked Tomato Soup If there's one dish, it has got to be the Smoked Tomato Soup.

Cottage Pie. Cottage Pie. The first bite is always the best! Ha #sgshiok #sgfood