We loved the freshness of the roasted cherry tomatoes topped with balsamic fig crema! It was light and quite refreshing for a starter.

The prawns were fresh and all but what made this a standout was the buttery and umami-laden sauce! Recommend getting some bread to mop up the tasty sauce!

The beef was cooked to a perfect medium rare, but it was the pairing with the coffee marmite butter that really elevated the whole taste!

This was so addictive that I almost finished the entire pork crackling by myself! Crispy with hints of spice!

We visited Kuan Zhai Alley in the CBD, just ahead of their official opening on 31st October 2022. The first thing that struck me was their beautiful interior decor (you can check out their socials for the restaurant visuals)! Their food was also plated beautifully too, and thankfully, they did not disappoint in taste as well:

~Double Flavored Chicken
~Boiled Fish with Sichuan Pickles
~Golden Shrimp Balls
~Chilled Fruit and Vegetable with Sesame Sauce
~Rabbit Mousse Pudding / Assorted Pudding

Our favourite dish was the Double Flavored Chicken, which comes with chicken cooked in two tantalising ways. We also enjoyed the Boiled Fish with Sichuan Pickles that has a piquant broth and fresh, flaky fish! The Golden Shrimp Balls is a good dish to share. Get your cameras ready when the dish is served to capture the IG-worthy process! They have an open bar counter within the restaurant too, and you would do well to order some of their fancy cocktails like KZA Queens to pair with the food!

This place is worth checking out for its lovely ambiance, good tasting food, and the attentive service from the staff.

It was an umami-laden dinner over at Fei Lou Fatt last week, where we enjoyed their Ang Kar Prawn Pao Fan ($16) and Signature Fei Lou Noodle ($20) respectively. The broth that had been simmered for over 8 hours was robust and savoury, and the prawns were fresh and of quite a substantial size! Love the crispy rice crackers in the former and also enjoyed the addition of abalone in the latter.

We also got a plate of Lok Lok to share, where we enjoyed the well-fried ingredients that were dusted with an addictive sze chuan mala powder. They are currently having a ‘STACK ALL YOU CAN’ Lok Lok Challenge, where for just $5, you can enjoy unlimited lok lok ingredients as long as you can stack them on a plate. You then get your choice of seasoning (Seaweed / BBQ /Sze Chuan Mala / Furikake) and dipping sauces!

We were over at The Drunken Poet on the weekend for some pub grub, where we had a hearty meal of:

~Guinness Baby Back Ribs ($28)
~Ol’ Skool Fish N’ Chips ($28)
~Garlic Parmesan Wings ($18)

First up, I gotta say their food portions are really hefty and we had trouble finishing the food, so you are definitely getting your money’s worth. I enjoyed the Guinness Baby Back Ribs, which were tender and slathered in sweet and addictive Guinness BBQ sauce. The Fish N’ Chips was well-fried and flaky, and the Garlic Parmesan Wings made for a good bar bite to share.

Be sure to complete your Irish pub experience here with their beers on tap, like Guinness, Kilkenny and more.

Was over at The Bar at 15 Stamford last week to try some of the cocktails in their latest bar menu, which explores flavours around Austronesia. (clockwise from top left):

~Hoto Matua 1000: Six Saints Grenada Rum, Amaro Montenegro, angostura bitters, peychaud bitters, sparkling wine

~Peranakan Old Fashioned: Mount Gay XO Rum, pandan, cinnamon, nutmeg, angostura bitters

~Kabang Koman 1501: Chalong Bay Thai Basil Rum, peach, oolong tea, chili, citrus, soda water

~Plantation 1840: Black Tears Cuban Spiced Rum, sweet vermouth, pineapple, citrus, sugar cane syrup

The ones I personally preferred are the Peranakan Old Fashioned and Kabang Koman 1501. The former has Mount Gay XO Rum with flavours accentuated by gula melaka, pandan, cinnamon and nutmeg, while the torched cinnamon stick brings out its aromatics. The latter is named after a boat that was used by Moken, the Austronesian people of the Mergui Archipelago (hence the use of Chalong Bay Thai Basil Rum), and I like how easy drinking - light & refreshing - it was!

We visited this relatively new Korean restaurant & bar located at Clarke Quay, for dinner recently.

The one dish that really stood out for us was the Seafood Kimchi Risotto - the fresh seafood (prawn, clams, squid) combined really well with the kimchi, and it was so creamy and satisfying! The ambience here is really lively too, and would make for a nice spot for an after-work chill or makan session with friends and colleagues. Plus, they have live music here!

I first tried the dry laksa from Jelebu Dry Laksa at the recent Singapore Food Festival (SFF), and thought that it was really yummy! So I was quite excited to check out their recently opened permanent space at VivoCity.

The one dish that really stood out for us was the Duck Confit with Teochew Braised Risotto, which is an elevated take on traditional duck rice with braised eggs. The duck confit comes together with creamy risotto and sous vide eggs, and the best way to enjoy it is to mix everything with the chilli for a flavour bomb! I personally felt the Jelebu Dry Laksa with Grilled Tiger Prawns ($18), while still pretty yummy, fared better during my initial try at SFF.

Empire Hotpot has recently launched their new limited-editon Chrysanthemum Soup Base that's available until end November 2022. We tried the Chrysanthemum Set for 2* which includes:

~Chrysanthemum Soup Base (you can choose full or split half-half with another soup base)
~Cucumber with Garlic & Marinated Black Fungus
~Pork / Lamb / Beef
~Assorted Vegetable Platter
~Daily Noodles 2 Portion
~Chrysanthemum Tea (Hot)
~Chilled Osmanthus Jelly Cake

We enjoyed the Chrysanthemum Soup Base, which we initially thought was gonna taste like Chrysanthemum tea, but it did not; it is boiled with other herbs and mushrooms to give it a very nourishing and warm, comforting taste! As for the hotpot ingredients, their meats were really fresh, not gamey, and the quality is excellent as well! Would also recommend adding on their refillable sauces ($3.50++/pax), to dip your ingredients in! The friendly servers will help you to mix the sauces tableside - you can choose their signature mixes or customise your own. Lastly we liked the luxe and spacious interior here too, which further elevated the dining experience!

*They also have a Set for 4 ($198++) and a Set for 6 ($228++). Each set comes with a voucher for a complimentary express gel manicure and a 15-minute head massage at Oasis Wellness, located 2 doors from Empire Hotpot.

The next time you are craving for some Hong Kong food before your flight or if you happen to be around the Changi Airport area, you can check out Terrace Chinese Kitchen at Terminal 1 Viewing Mall!

~Cart Noodles (Price varies)
~Pork Spare Ribs with Capsicum & Black Bean Sauce served with Rice ($16)
~Authentic Cantonese Fresh Shrimp Wonton Soup ($10)
~French Toast with Syrup & Butter ($6)

I enjoyed the Cart Noodles, which is entirely customisable from the choice of noodles to broth and ingredients. We chose instant noodles and braised spicy beef broth, topping it with braised beef brisket, curry pork skin, and curry fishball. Another dish I liked was the Authentic Cantonese Fresh Shrimp Wonton Soup! I liked that each wonton was plump and had fillings like ti po (dried sole fish) inside! We ended our meal with the Indulgent French Toast with Syrup & Butter.