Definitely recommend topping up ($3) to their homemade tagliatelle pasta, it's delicious!

Situated in a row of shophouses opposite Serangoon Stadium, I put off going to this cafe for awhile because I was always worried about parking (as shophouse parking goes, there is usually very limited availability). Thankfully, the parking situation seemed quite alright on a Sunday night—I arrived at 7pm with lots of spaces in front of already closed shophouses. For those who travel by public transport, it does not appear to be the most accessible, but if you are willing to take a short walk, it should only be a few stops from NEX Shopping Mall! Might be a bit of a sunny unsheltered walk in the afternoon, so maybe opt for dinner if you do not appreciate too much sun.

We ordered two mains, the Crab Meat Arabiatta Pasta ($26) for Boy, and Wagyu Beef Burger ($26) for Girl.

Boy: 8/10 for the Crab Meat Arabiatta Pasta! Tomato base was delicious, and we topped up $3 for the homemade tagliatelle noodles which was nice and had a firm bite. I enjoyed it, although crab meat was a bit sparse.

Girl: 9/10 for the Wagyu Beef Burger in Medium Rare. The buns were nicely toasted with generous amounts of butter, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The beef patty was tender and paired with copius servings of mayo, cheese and caramelized onions for a gastronomical explosion of sweet, sour and savory flavors. Fries served on the side were crispy and done well, with a salad dressed with a little balsamic vinegar.

Overall, it was a really pleasant meal. The staff was polite and the food was served quite fast! The cafe was half-filled on a Sunday evening and had cosy vibes. They use warm lighting and there isn't any background music, so it's peaceful enough for you to hold a good conversation over dinner. I would definitely recommend Eleven Strands for weekend dinner with your family, or after work catch-up with your friends!

Ambience: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Food: 8.5/10
Price: 7/10 (with Beyond)

Chicken wing and fish paste beancurd skin. A rare economical beehoon supper spot. Not my first time having the wing. It's juicy but quite bland. The fish paste beancurd skin is rare that's why I ordered it. It's not bad.

I have come to two conclusions regarding my favourite prawn noodle stall in Singapore.

1. It is best to visit it on Mondays.
This is possibly the quietest day for them so it’s easy to find a seat and the wait time for your food to arrive is brief. As you can imagine, weekends are usually a bit crazy with an endless stream of customers.

2. The $10 bowl is the one to order.
I graduated from the $5 bowl to the $8 eons ago but have realised in order to feel gleefully sated, nothing beats the large serving. My go-to these days is shown above - the soup version with a mix of yellow mee and beehoon, prawns, pork ribs and pig’s intestines. Sometimes, depending on my mood, I also add on liver.

As a few of you have pointed out, “Da Dong Prawn Noodles” is not cheap compared to other hawkers but I believe in paying for quality and what gives me joy. Plus that broth of theirs is seriously to-die-for.

This bubble tea shop hidden away in a HDB estate of Toa Payoh is amazing!!! The prices are a bit steep for an indie bubble tea shop, and the packaging isn't the best; but don't be fooled by the unaesthetic milk tea! The shop decor is quaint and cute, and the tea is really good. Boy and I went back within a week to get it again even though we don't exactly live within the vicinity. We also have this shop to thank for in discovering the wonders of coffee jelly (instead of pearls) as a topping. It is worth noting that their bubble tea comes in 3 sizes, but the "M" size pictured is relatively large.

Boy: Butter Milk Tea (M) with Coffee Jelly ($4.80 + $0.60) in 0% sugar. Tea was so buttery and smooth. There is no other way to describe it! Only thing that it's a bit on the sweet side even on 0% sugar and might get a bit jelat after awhile. That said, it's a perfect combo with the coffee jelly and a must-try. Coffee Jelly is crunchy like konjac jelly which I'm not usually a fan of, but was delicious in this context.

Girl: Lychee Milk Tea (M) with Tea Jelly ($4.60 + $0.80) in 0% sugar. I was expecting the usual lychee tea flavor, but this was surprisingly good! They do their Lychee Tea strong and extremely flavorful, and it's still sweet at 0%. I paired this with their Tea Jelly and it was great! A nice change to the usual grass jelly served at other shops.

Both the drinks above were part of their recommendations, which I must say are well-pointed out so maybe look out for those on the menu. The drinks are a bit on the pricier side but with Beyond is a very nice deal!

Service: 5/10
Drinks: 9/10 (not 10 only because it's on the sweeter side which may not be ideal for health conscious peeps)
Ambience: 8/10 (cute shop!)
Price: 3/10

Using a stock photo due to the current COVID measure dine-in restrictions—I did a takeaway and ate in the car and didn't take any photos. Do note that takeaways are usually not allowed for Beyond users but exceptions were made due to the COVID regulations.

We ordered the Sea Bass ($15.90) fish and chips, which was their priciest main dish on their menu. They have a good price range from below $10. All fried dishes include 2 free sides, but I topped up for premium sides which were Truffle Fries ($3) and Pasta ($1.60).

Boy: Fish tastes fishy. Nothing special for the ordinary chips, the Truffle Fries are better. Coleslaw was bad. KFC coleslaw taste better.

Girl: I hardly slam an eatery like that, but the fish was absolutely disgusting. Definitely makes the list for Top 3 worst Bass I had in my life. They make me not wanna eat Sea Bass for a good while because the fishy flavor was puke-worthy. A lot of the fishiness also comes from the skin of the fish; I think it wasn't washed/ treated properly before cooking. It was really gross, fishy and soggy beneath the crispy batter. The only thing good about the meal was the fries. Pasta was subpar, not sure why it comes as a premium side.

Overall, if you wanted to give them a shot, I would recommend getting other dishes and NOT sea bass. The normal fish and chips are half the price and the reviews on them are at least decent.

Overall ratings
Food: 2/10
Price: 7/10 with Burpple (for other mains, not Sea Bass)
Service: 7/10

I got to find out about this hidden gem when their cakes were gifted to me. I fell in love with their Strawberry Yogurt Swiss Roll! Even though I have had various other flavours like Yuzu, Earl Grey, Nutella, Raspberry and Fresh Cream, their Strawberry Yogurt is still my favourite, hands down! The cream is just so fresh and light, and the cake is spongey, offering layers in texture. I often buy the whole cakes for my family!

Their whole cakes also sell out rather early in the day, so be sure to go before 2pm if there are specific flavors you intend on getting. I have walked in at 4pm with the intention of getting cakes before and there was not a single slice left 😅 Something to also note is that the cafe closes quite early at 7pm!

10 years ago my father brought me to this little coffee shop with barely any parking. He sat me down and queued for food, which took much longer than I expected. He then came back with a bowl of fish porridge which surprised me because it was just so clean-tasting. The soup was clear but so delicious, and the fish was so fresh! Even though I didn't know where we were (Kovan) because we lived on the other side of Singapore, I never forgot this coffee shop, and recognised it every time I drove by!

I finally got to eat it again recently on a weekday afternoon. The shop closes early at 3pm and parking is still a nightmare. Queued about 25 minutes for food but the queue only got longer as time passed. Food is still as good as I remembered it to be. Very impressed with their consistent standards! Highly recommend.

This branch has over 100 reviews at an average rating of 4.8 so I had rather high expectations going in. This casual dining Japanese restaurant didn't have the good service raved about in reviews, especially with a borderline rude cashier; and the restaurant was slightly messy, perhaps due to the small space hence lacking storage.

Boy: Don't Be Square ($7.80) which is a don that consists of meatballs on seasoned furikake rice. Rice didn't taste seasoned and was mushy. Meatballs were also on the drier side. Would rate 4.5/10.

Girl: Salmon Mentaiko Don ($12.80) served with mash potato and furikake rice. Salmon was overcooked and on the drier side, topped with Mentaiko that was very thin and not the usual mayo with a fuller body. Rice was similarly soft and mushy, also not Japanese pearl rice that was used. Mash potato was fluffy and light, but lacking in the usual texture of potato. Would rate 5/10.

Boy also upgraded to the Yuzu drink with Karage set (+$5) and the Karage was tasty at least. Yuzu drink was on the thinner side though. Girl upgraded set for Mentaiko Onsen Egg + Miso Soup (+$3.50) and the egg was also lack luster, with a sweet miso soup cooked with carrots and tofu.

Overall: Ambience and service wasn't great. Food was a little disappointing but affordable with Burpple; post GST and 0.1% service charge bill was $21.80. Wouldn't really visit again but if you are an East-sider going through, it might be a good quick meal option as the food was served quite fast. Although I would much prefer hopping over to Guzman Y Gomez right opposite because their fish tacos are dabomb.com.

Ambience: 5/10
Service: 5/10
Food: 5/10
Price: 7/10 (with Beyond)

Nestled in the private estate in Kovan, it was nice and quiet on a weekday afternoon. Parking was easy (no official lots but available spaces with no double yellow line) and also walkable from Kovan MRT I believe. Air conditioned seating only available for 2 tables of 4 on the inside and the rest are outdoor but sheltered with sufficient fans. Lots of nice chill vibes and clean, simple interior. Staff is attentive too.

Choice for Beyond is not too limited and I would say 3/4 of their menu. And basically all non-alcoholic drinks. I opted for the Spicy Pork Pasta ($15.90) and an artisan iced tea where I was allowed to combine three types herb/ tea of my choice in a hot ($4) or iced ($5) option.

The pasta grows on you. I wasn't impressed at first when I realised the spaghetti was too soft and definitely not al dente, but it had a sort of fusion take I wasn't expecting—a bit like Ja Jiang Mian with a hint of mala, but pasta version. So I'm wondering if this was done on purpose. It wasn't too spicy or numbing but had that slight kick just to keep you wanting more!

Overall I would say it was a very pleasant meal and would definitely come back again. The meal came up to $23 nett which was affordable as well.

Ambience: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Food: 8/10
Price: 8/10 (with Beyond)

Value meal chicken rice that comes with a drink was pretty good. But the star was these cute Dino Nuggets avail as a side at $4.50.

Visited on a weekday late afternoon when the hawker was not crowded, but waited 30 mins for the claypot. It was about $6.50 per pax but very gratifying! Fragrant rice with tender chicken pieces. They gave a pre-booking system if you WhatsApp them but I forgot to get the number, but good to note if you plan on having returning visits.