Ordered the signature lunch set ($21.90++) as it was value for money and had a variety of dim sum I wanted to try. For the sizzling poached rice in chicken, the crispy fried rice was literally sizzling when poured in. The broth was deeply infused with flavour and felt like it had been boiled for many hours. The egg in the soup was fluffy and juicy - kind of feels like it was fried even though it didn't look like it. The vegetables were cut to bite size and went well with the soup. And the chicken was divine as well.

For the steamed siew mai, the prawns were fresh and bouncy, the skin was just right and not soggy and it was topped with real ebiko. I'm glad I tried this first because my mind was blown by the house special siew mai, topped with dried shrimp (hae bee hiam) which elevated the siew mai to the next level. The fried beancurd prawn is kind of like a fried prawn pancake, really crispy without compromising on the texture of the prawns. Pairs well with the mayo which is not your regular mayo, it had a pink tint and tasted slightly sweeter than normal mayo.

Then I went for the buns. The pan fried mei cai pork bun was so interesting, the filling kind of tasted pickled and the pau is soft and slightly crispy on the outside. The baked BBQ pork bun was amazing, the outside had a polo bun crispy coating dusted with icing sugar, and the BBQ pork filling was great too.

For dessert, the wolfberry jelly was so pretty, decorated with chrysanthemum flowers and goji berry. Was pleasantly surprised that it tasted amazing too, the jelly had a sweet chrysanthemum tea fragrance and the goji berry was plump and juicy.

We also got the deep fried pork belly noodles set. While the presentation was great, I expected it to taste like your regular coffeeshop roasted pork noodles and I was so wrong. The noodles were bouncy and soft and not like your regular mee kia. The roasted pork was fragrant, juicy and not too hard or salty. This was served with the chrysanthemum woflberry jelly and I was happy to have more.

For the drinks, the signature lunch set came with the pu'er ripe tea (100 years) which was light and comforting. For the roasted pork noodles set, I opted to add 40 cents to upgrade to iced Hong Kong milk tea, which was similarly not too sweet.

Overall, I am impressed with the vibes, unique dishes, quality and taste of the food. Will be back again.

While the name suggests a porridge place, you can either opt for refillable porridge or rice at $1 per pax and the dishes are similar to zi char. Was impressed by the variety, quality of food and friendliness of staff.

The fish with black bean sauce was great, the texture of the fish was soft and not dry, the sauce was fragrant and not too salty. The fuyong omelette was fresh and fluffy. The spinach with white bait was also good, especially the crispy white bait. The salted egg ribs was my favourite dish - the pork was tender with no bones, the sauce was thick and so good that I finished up everything.

Overall, great dinner and supper spot, will be back to try other dishes.

Tried the chap chye, spaghetti al granchio and hainanese pork chop. Chap chye sauce was really good, crab meat was generous for the pasta, and the pork chop was crispy, juicy and tender. Loved it!

If you feel like treating yourself, get the emperor rice dumpling. It's packed with a lot of ingredients, you'll really feel like royalty. The scallop was generous, the pork was soft and everything went well together.

Somehow, my favourite was still the pulut hitam dumpling because both the rice and pork filling was sweet and fragrant. I've never seen this unique flavour before and it's left such an impression on me!

Another unique dumpling would be the Hakka pork belly with preserved vegetables rice dumpling. If you like mui choy (it's sweet and savoury, not the sour preserved vegetables), you'll love this too.

The nonya dumpling was good too! The sweet pork filling went well with the savoury rice - exactly what you'd want in a nonya rice dumpling!

Finally, I tried the Hokkien rice dumpling with salted egg yolk. The ingredients came in generous chunks - braised pork belly, salted egg yolk, chestnuts and mushroom. The fried onions added to the overall flavour of the dumpling and I really enjoyed this!

For all the dumplings, there were no hard or fibrous ingredients which made it really pleasant to eat. Love this!

Had the Mango Purple Rice today and I really liked the milky and fruity taste! It is also slightly sour but not overpowering. Got the Strawberry Lemon Yo-Tea for my family and it was really refreshing. This one is more sour because of the lemon, and I loved it! There were also crunchy fruit bits which was surprising - the texture is similar to pear but I'm not sure what it was. Overall I enjoyed every sip of my drink! The staff at I12 Katong was also super nice and friendly :)

Casual ambience, great food. Tried the rose cheese chiqueen and honey butter chicken.

The first one was a very balanced meal - between the crispiness of the chicken and flavour of the sauce, between the colours of the vegetables and the brownness of the chicken, cheese and wedges. Flavour wise, I would say it's a bit more of your typical fried chicken with cheese but it's definitely pleasing to the eye.

The dish that won my tastebuds tonight was the honey butter chicken. The sweetness of the honey butter powder was delightful, and went surprisingly well with the cranberries and almond. The fried tteokbokki was sweet as well, although I wish there was a bit more. The sauce was slightly sour (it might have had vinegar) but absolutely went well with the chicken.

Do try out the honey butter chicken if you're there!

The Compressed Watermelon and Ricotta Mousse was an absolute surprise - the crispy prosciutto and homemade ricotta went surprisingly well with the refreshing crunchy texture of the watermelon.

The tri-tip wagyu consisted of secondary cuts from the back of the cow, while the 4/5 mayura was a cut from the belly. Both were lightly seasoned and juicy, pairing well with the salsa verde (cold) and green peppercorn (hot) sauce. Both were slightly tough, but tasted amazing with the salt. I preferred the tri-tip wagyu.

The meats were paired with creamed kale and truffle fries. The cream sauce went well with the kale, and the truffle fries were lightly seasoned and sprinkled with cheese.

Finally, the caramelised apple croistillant was a great end to the meal. The vanilla gelato, made with vanilla beans, was nestled on a cup of flaky pastry, topped with gold foil and decorated with edible flowers. The pastry was easy to cut through, while the flowers were pleasantly sweet.

Loved the experience here!

This is a hidden heartland jem - the lights created the perfect ambience at night, and the food was delicious. The salmon cheese mentai ($15) had a generous serving of salmon, topped with mentai sauce with ebiko and cheese. The tamago mentai ($11) was pretty good too, the texture was soft and the sweet taste of the tamago complimented the savoury mentaiko sauce. The agadeshi tofu ($5) was freshly fried to perfection, topped with bonito flakes and served with a savoury sauce. The Cheese mentaiko scallop ($5.50) was my personal favourite, the scallop was juicy and fresh, and the rich flavours of cheese and mentaiko was the perfect combination. The asparagus bacon skewer ($5) was my next favourite. The crispy and warm bacon went great with the crunch of the asparagus. The skewers took 15 minutes to prepare, and the freshness was what made them so good. We also tried the pork belly leek. The pork belly was a little tough, but the leek was sweet and tasty. I don't really like leeks but this was great! Overall, the food was fantastic, restaurant quality to me!

PIPES by Hattendo - Review
PIPES by Hattendo is located right outside Exit H of Outram Park MRT, which makes it really convenient. They had a glass exterior, and the interior was decorated with beautiful hanging lights and some sofa seats near the window, which made it really insta-worthy and perfect for a date. The place was also really spacious and comfortable.
They have different menus for lunch, dinner, takeaways, alcohol and coffee. I went there in the afternoon and tried their desserts, which are really amazing! The Cream Bun Set ($12.50) consists of five flavours: Custard, Whipped Cream, Matcha, Chocolate and Azuki. We also got the Amaou Cream Bun ($4) because of the cute strawberry packaging! The bun had a really soft texture that really melts in your mouth when you bite into it, and the burst of cream in your mouth is so refreshing, especially since it was chilled. The custard tasted light and not overpowering, with a really smooth texture that was of just the right viscosity - not too thick, not too liquid. The strawberry bun had cream with strawberry jam, and the two complemented each other really well - the jam had a sweet taste while the cream's lightness helped to bring out a different dimension. I don't know how to describe it well but I loved it. The chocolate cream was really light too, though as a personal preference I would have preferred the chocolate to be stronger. The azuki bun was mostly filled with cream, and as someone who likes red bean I would have enjoyed it even more if I could taste the red beans. Unfortunately, I did not try the matcha and whipped cream ones.
The Yuzu Panna Cotta ($5) was my absolute favourite. There was yuzu jelly on top of the pudding. The jelly melts with a burst of fragrant and sweet yuzu juice. The panna cotta was not too overpowering and the texture was soft. Pair the yuzu jelly with the panna cotta and wow, it's so perfect. I personally loved the jelly even more than the panna cotta itself!
The Honey Toast with Soft Serve ($24) looked so appealing on the menu, we had to give it a try. And it did not disappoint. They carved the thick toast out so that it formed a cute square shell, which kept it neat when the ice cream started melting. They filled it with honey-drizzled toast, and added soft serve on the top. You could add $2 for an espresso soft serve, but we went with the milk one. The white rounded plate was decorated with some jam and granola. It was so beautiful! And not only was it beautiful, it tasted really good too. I loved the honey-drizzled toast, the honey was so fragrant and the sweetness of the honey complemented well with the savoury butter of the toast. The ice cream was good too, just the right texture. There were berries with the jam on the plate which went well with the plain crusts of bread.
To wash down all that sweetness, we had the Hot Matcha Latte ($6). The latte art was beautiful, and the authentic taste of matcha was wonderful - fragrant yet not too bitter.
At the end of the day, we were even more pleasantly surprised to find that there was no additional GST and service charge.
Highly recommend this place for any dates or just a hangout with your friends! :)

Their pasta is pretty interesting!! You can choose from potato gnocchi, squid ink chitarra, egg tagliatelle and more! I tried the formaggi gnocchi, which is a type of pasta made different types of cheese in a cream based sauce. The gnocchi was soft with a delightful burst of cheese flavour. The sauce had the fragrance of herbs, lightly drizzled with olive oil. If you're a cheese lover and don't mind forking out about $30, this is worth a try!