Third visit here in about a month and I keep ordering the same dish plus appetiser (century egg tofu).

I did find the standards quite variable with each visit. On my second one, the century egg tofu was very dry with not much oyster sauce. In addition, the poached lettuce on that visit was bitter. Today, my century egg tofu was okay, but the ramen was more on the undercooked side. I suppose it would’ve been good for someone who likes their noodles al dente, but I lean more towards the softer spectrum with ramen noodles. Apart from that, the broth is consistently good with each visit and I really enjoy it thick and rich prawn broth. It’s perfect for a rainy day. If you can’t make up your mind, go for the signature trio where you get two prawns, three pieces of ebikko prawn paste and two prawn dumplings.

Sides are literally the same as whatever is offered at Le Nu (another Paradise Group Restaurant). If you enjoy them, it’s worth adding on with a drink for a full meal with set price.

Ways to save:

Le Shrimp Ramen is currently offering 30% off bills for Citibank, Maybank Card Holders or Paradise Group Members until end of March 2020. This applies to all Paradise Group restaurants too so it’s a really good deal!

Paradise group restaurants (Le Shrimp included) are on ShopBack GO so make sure you link your Citibank card if you want cashback on top of the 30% off!

The only other place I’ve tried Burnt Cheesecake is at the kins’, but based on my experiences there, the version at Keong Saik Bakery seemed underwhelming. KSB’s version lacked the gooeyness I’d learnt to associate with this trending dessert, and while the middle was slightly softer than the edges, it still wasn’t anywhere near melty texture. Maybe it’s just much harder to be consistent between batches, as I realised that the two separate times I had burnt cheesecake at the kins’ were quite different experiences too.

Pandan is a creative flavour, but didn’t hit it off so well with most of my colleagues. I think that the classic cheesecake flavour would have been better received, but they come out in batches and this was the only one available early in the morning.

Bibimbap is an iconic korean dish, and it’s no surprise that Seoul Yummy would offer it as part of their set menus for 2-3 pax. If you don’t mind the dishes on the set menus, it’s actually pretty worth it to go for them along with the choice of sides and drinks.

This dish is served in a hot stone bowl, like an authentic korean eatery. They also provide four different Banchan with your meals, which are all refillable as you’d expect from a korean restaurant. You can choose the amount of sauce you’d like to pour in and mix it into the rice and veggies. While I like a thick sauce, I found it a bit hard to really mix it into the rice and dishes, so I ended up using some soup from another dish to help mix everything more evenly. Even though I did that, there were quite a number of clumps of rice that didn’t get much sauce still. Tastewise, it’s quite a decent bibimbap dish. Chicken is also tender and nicely marinated. It wasn’t the most fragrant, but it was affordable in the set menu.

Note that there’s a few ways you can save money at Seoul Yummy:

1) Order from their set menu if there’s no particular dish that you want from the regular menu, it’s cheaper than ordering ala carte

2) Seoul Yummy has a membership system where you can order from your table by scanning a QR code, get your credit card details ready. If you order via the QR code, you get 10% off the bill versus ordering with the staff

3) Seoul Yummy is on ShopBack - do remember to check from time to time if they have offers! They were on upsized cashback last week at 35%, but have since resumed their regular cashback rates.

Bibimbap is an iconic korean dish, and it’s no surprise that Seoul Yummy would offer it as part of their set menus for 2-3 pax. If you don’t mind the dishes on the set menus, it’s actually pretty worth it to go for them along with the choice of sides and drinks.

This dish is served in a hot stone bowl, like an authentic korean eatery. They also provide four different Banchan with your meals, which are all refillable as you’d expect from a korean restaurant. You can choose the amount of sauce you’d like to pour in and mix it into the rice and veggies. While I like a thick sauce, I found it a bit hard to really mix it into the rice and dishes, so I ended up using some soup from another dish to help mix everything more evenly. Even though I did that, there were quite a number of clumps of rice that didn’t get much sauce still. Tastewise, it’s quite a decent bibimbap dish. Chicken is also tender and nicely marinated. It wasn’t the most fragrant, but it was affordable in the set menu.

Note that there’s a few ways you can save money at Seoul Yummy:

1) Order from their set menu if there’s no particular dish that you want from the regular menu, it’s cheaper than ordering ala carte

2) Seoul Yummy has a membership system where you can order from your table by scanning a QR code, get your credit card details ready. If you order via the QR code, you get 10% off the bill versus ordering with the staff

3) Seoul Yummy is on ShopBack - do remember to check from time to time if they have offers! They were on upsized cashback last week at 35%, but have since resumed their regular cashback rates.

I’ve visited a number of Coffeesmith branches but this is the first time I’ve patronised the Suntec City branch. They’re located very close to the overhead bridge entrance connecting South Beach Residences to Suntec (where Watsons is).

The seating here is more open and casual as compared to the Jurong East or Somerset branches. Menu is the same as other outlets too. However, I found the service here slightly lacking as the cashier made a number of mistakes in the order and we had to repeat it 4-5 times.

On to the food itself, we ordered the Chocolate Pistachio cake and liked it. It’s got a good ratio of moist chocolate cake to chocolate and pistachio cream ratio as well as a crunchy layer of pistachio crumble near the base. I’d order this again on another visit, or try the various other cakes on offer as well.

Note that this outlet is not open 24 hours everyday. They operate past midnight from Sundays to Thursdays but are open 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays.

One last hurrah for Liang Court and all the Japanese eateries there before they shutter up at the end of March 2020.

Hokkaido Dosanko Plaza is located in Meidi-ya supermarket food court. There’s a common seating area, so even while dining as a group you can order food from this stall or the Japanese Curry stall, or get sushi.

We got the tempura soba (hot), and added on a mini rice bowl to it (unagi don), plus 3pc chicken karaage. This was pretty filling for two people!

The soba was a little mushy, perhaps due to the type of noodle used, but with noodles I guess it’s personal preference. I would’ve preferred more bite in my noodles. The tempura came with three prawns, a green bell pepper, carrot and pumpkin. Love the tempura batter here, it’s just the right thickness, and retained its crispness very well. Wasn’t too oily either.

The Mini dons aren’t available for order on their own, so you have to order them as an add-on to the soba sets. There’s four different choices - two tempura based, and then the unagi or crab meat. They were quite pricey for add-ons given their size, but we definitely couldn’t finish a regular sized rice bowl so having this was a good option to have both noodles and rice in one meal. I enjoyed the unagi as it didn’t have a sandpaper texture at all!

What we thought was the star of our dinner: the chicken karaage. It cost $6 for 3 pieces, which works out to $2 per piece. A little expensive for a side, but bear in mind that the chicken chunks are really sizeable! I love love love how crispy the chicken karaage is, the batter is light and stayed crisp throughout our whole meal. If I’m not mistaken, they actually advertise their chicken karaage as champions in a food competition so.... if that’s not enough endorsement, I don’t know what is.

While the Japanese curry rice stall had a notice of closure and clearly stated that they will reopen when Meidi-ya moves to Millenia Walk, I’m not too sure about this stall. Hopefully they do, as I’d like to have their karaage again!

The Nasi Lemak dishes at Colonial Club come with not only sambal, but a small saucer of curry. If you like thick, moderately spiced curries, this one’s a good one. We enjoyed almost all aspects of this Nasi Lemak - from the fragrant, coconut rice, to the sweet spicy Sambal, thick curry and sweet sour achar. But the dory fish was a major let down. The batter was crispy when it first arrived and crunched very enticingly as I cut into it. However, it didn’t have the light crispness I was anticipating when I bit into it. Within minutes, the batter had turned soft and wasn’t crispy at all. The dory flesh itself was okay, but perhaps grilling it would be a good alternative to their deep fried-centric sides available unless they change the batter for this. Thankfully, the deep fried squid fared a lot better. The squid remained crispy throughout, and the tentacles part was the best to chew on. Maybe go for the curry chicken nasi lemak, or their signature nasi lemak tower instead of the fried dory.

*Note: Colonial Club is on ShopBack Go!

The Nasi Lemak dishes at Colonial Club come with not only sambal, but a small saucer of curry. If you like thick, moderately spiced curries, this one’s a good one. We enjoyed almost all aspects of this Nasi Lemak - from the fragrant, coconut rice, to the sweet spicy Sambal, thick curry and sweet sour achar. But the dory fish was a major let down. The batter was crispy when it first arrived and crunched very enticingly as I cut into it. However, it didn’t have the light crispness I was anticipating when I bit into it. Within minutes, the batter had turned soft and wasn’t crispy at all. The dory flesh itself was okay, but perhaps grilling it would be a good alternative to their deep fried-centric sides available unless they change the batter for this. Thankfully, the deep fried squid fared a lot better. The squid remained crispy throughout, and the tentacles part was the best to chew on. Maybe go for the curry chicken nasi lemak, or their signature nasi lemak tower instead of the fried dory.

*Note: Colonial Club is on ShopBack Go!

The eateries and shops around Clarke Quay are in the growing list of casualties in 2020. With the COVID-19 situation and unpredictable rain, there are no short term tourists around and fewer locals taking the time to eat out, leaving Clarke Quay practically deserted.

It doesn’t help that heavy rain leaves more than half the seats outside Tsujiri wet and non-functional. Essentially the only seats left are the long high table. At least you get to face the quay while enjoying your drinks and desserts.

From left to right:

O Matcha Yuzu: considerably expensive drink at approximately $7 for just a small cup. It’s a dual layered drink with yuzu juice below and matcha to top it off. It only comes as a cold beverage. It’s my first time trying this drink at Tsujiri, but I really liked it. The staff recommended drinking each layer separately before mixing it together. The yuzu layer was sweet, slightly tangy with hints of bitterness, but very refreshing. Tsujiri uses high grade, vibrantly hued matcha whisked to a lovely smoothness so you don’t get any clumps or bursts of bitterness. Perhaps the yuzu layer could be thicker though as by the time I mixed them both together, the yuzu flavour was almost undetectable.

Genmaicha: simple roasted tea with toasted rice brewed with a tea bag. A lot more fragrant than whatever you usually get at restaurants. Overall a very pleasant and clean flavour profile thats a good accompaniment to their ice creams and cakes.

Houjicha roll cake: my least favourite out of what we ordered today. Tsujiri’s isn’t the softest Swiss roll, but the Houjicha flavour was detectable in the cake at least. I thought the cream to cake ratio was too skewed towards the former, which I’m really not a fan of. I’d pass on this next time, but if you like Swiss rolls, they do have matcha and black sesame flavours available as well.

Chiffon cake parfait (O-matcha): choice of matcha or houjicha soft serves to go with the parfaits. These soft serves form the base and also top off the whole parfait. I really liked the chiffon cake, it’s soft and spongy, and the matcha flavour is yum! The o-matcha soft serve has a nice matcha flavour to it. It’s not too intense, nor is it overly sweet, so it’s in a good in-between zone that should satisfy the majority of consumers. Pairs well with the adzuki paste provided. The soft serve doesn’t melt too quickly either. There’s a layer of cornflakes in the middle, which were still crunchy despite being sandwiched by the ice cream! I’d definitely order this parfait over the shiratama ones anytime.

The eateries and shops around Clarke Quay are in the growing list of casualties in 2020. With the COVID-19 situation and unpredictable rain, there are no short term tourists around and fewer locals taking the time to eat out, leaving Clarke Quay practically deserted.

It doesn’t help that heavy rain leaves more than half the seats outside Tsujiri wet and non-functional. Essentially the only seats left are the long high table. At least you get to face the quay while enjoying your drinks and desserts.

From left to right:

O Matcha Yuzu: considerably expensive drink at approximately $7 for just a small cup. It’s a dual layered drink with yuzu juice below and matcha to top it off. It only comes as a cold beverage. It’s my first time trying this drink at Tsujiri, but I really liked it. The staff recommended drinking each layer separately before mixing it together. The yuzu layer was sweet, slightly tangy with hints of bitterness, but very refreshing. Tsujiri uses high grade, vibrantly hued matcha whisked to a lovely smoothness so you don’t get any clumps or bursts of bitterness. Perhaps the yuzu layer could be thicker though as by the time I mixed them both together, the yuzu flavour was almost undetectable.

Genmaicha: simple roasted tea with toasted rice brewed with a tea bag. A lot more fragrant than whatever you usually get at restaurants. Overall a very pleasant and clean flavour profile thats a good accompaniment to their ice creams and cakes.

Houjicha roll cake: my least favourite out of what we ordered today. Tsujiri’s isn’t the softest Swiss roll, but the Houjicha flavour was detectable in the cake at least. I thought the cream to cake ratio was too skewed towards the former, which I’m really not a fan of. I’d pass on this next time, but if you like Swiss rolls, they do have matcha and black sesame flavours available as well.

Chiffon cake parfait (O-matcha): choice of matcha or houjicha soft serves to go with the parfaits. These soft serves form the base and also top off the whole parfait. I really liked the chiffon cake, it’s soft and spongy, and the matcha flavour is yum! The o-matcha soft serve has a nice matcha flavour to it. It’s not too intense, nor is it overly sweet, so it’s in a good in-between zone that should satisfy the majority of consumers. Pairs well with the adzuki paste provided. The soft serve doesn’t melt too quickly either. There’s a layer of cornflakes in the middle, which were still crunchy despite being sandwiched by the ice cream! I’d definitely order this parfait over the shiratama ones anytime.

Enter Our Secret Garden, a true hidden gem in Bukit Timah Plaza.

They have a good menu and beverage selection, and the iced cappuccino I ordered was pretty good! They have a soy milk option for an additional $1 too.

The cafe also provides free wifi (password at the cashier counter), so we settled ourselves there for almost 3 hours to do work. They were really nice not to chase us out, hurry us to leave, or ask us to order more even after we finished our food and drinks. In my opinion, it’s a good place to “work from home” or for a change in environment considering the current situation.

Taking over from Rise and Grind, the place looks almost identical, but with a completely different menu. I very much appreciate the new menu, but things that still have to be improved would be the ventilation and exhaust system. When there’s frying some in the open kitchen, the smell of oil and frying tends to linger a fair bit. Also, it was really warm at some points, but the air conditioning did kick in to cool things down. These issues have been around ever since the previous cafe occupant, but hasn’t seemed to be solved yet. However, with delicious and reasonably priced food, Our Secret Garden is still a great choice if you’re looking for a quiet place to spend your day, meet up with a gal pal, or do work!

Enter Our Secret Garden, a true hidden gem in Bukit Timah Plaza.

They have a good menu and beverage selection, and the iced cappuccino I ordered was pretty good! They have a soy milk option for an additional $1 too.

The cafe also provides free wifi (password at the cashier counter), so we settled ourselves there for almost 3 hours to do work. They were really nice not to chase us out, hurry us to leave, or ask us to order more even after we finished our food and drinks. In my opinion, it’s a good place to “work from home” or for a change in environment considering the current situation.

Taking over from Rise and Grind, the place looks almost identical, but with a completely different menu. I very much appreciate the new menu, but things that still have to be improved would be the ventilation and exhaust system. When there’s frying some in the open kitchen, the smell of oil and frying tends to linger a fair bit. Also, it was really warm at some points, but the air conditioning did kick in to cool things down. These issues have been around ever since the previous cafe occupant, but hasn’t seemed to be solved yet. However, with delicious and reasonably priced food, Our Secret Garden is still a great choice if you’re looking for a quiet place to spend your day, meet up with a gal pal, or do work!