Hidden gem located at the new KAP mall. Hearty and flavourful broth paired with chewy rice noodles and topped with a sprinkle of fried garlic. Opted for the small portion ($3.9 nett) and it was surprisingly filling with a hefty portion of noodles. There could have been more beef slices, but I'm not complaining for the price paid. The only issue I have is that service was really slow even on a quiet weekday afternoon.
$35++ for thick cuts of unagi, chutoro, mekajiki, hotate, amaebi, sake, ikura and tobbiko. Quality was a bit of a hit and miss: mekajiki was fresh and buttery, as was the sake; but the amaebi was bland and tasteless. I would probably go for the basic chirashi bowl priced at $25 next time - this restaurant doesn't do justice to the more premium varieties of seafood
Do note that green tea is chargeable at $1.50. Service was average but efficient. Restaurant was quite empty on a weekday lunch.
In all, decent Japanese fare at an accessible location. The lack of crowds is definitely a draw factor, as well as the reasonable pricing. 3.9/5
Generous mix of marinated tuna, salmon and swordfish sitting on a bed of mixed grained rice ($18++). Sashimi was impeccably fresh, as always. But the winning factor for koji is the explosive mix of flavours and textures in this small bowl. Besides cubes of sashimi, there's also a dollop of creamy and fatty negitoro, bursts of saltiness from ikura, crunch from the marinated jellyfish, and finally topped off with a sprinkle of tempura flakes. Just perfect.
Served warm, with caramel sauce and a small dollop of whipped cream ($6.50). It was moist and fragrant, but way too sweet for me
Visited this popular coffee stall with high expectations. It's known to be one of the few remaining stalls that still make their own kaya. UnfortunateIy, I didn't find it exceptional. Bread was a tad stale and dry, and the kaya was slightly too sweet for me. Coffee was mediocre as well
Visited Heng Wah Traditional Coffee, a small stall tucked away in a corner of the sprawling Chinatown Complex Food Centre that had been recommended by JohorKaki. It's easily one of the best kaya toast that I've had - bread toasted to a nice crisp while still retaining a soft spongy interior, light eggy homemade kaya complemented with generous slabs of quality Australian butter, and very affordably priced at $1.40. I love it that it's not too sweet, even though some might gripe that the Kaya fragrance is somewhat muted and overshadowed by the savoury creaminess of the butter. Coffee is pretty good as well: smooth and robust.
This bagel shop tucked at the back of Icon Village stands heads and shoulders above its competitors. The freshly-made bagels boast a delicious crust and a dense, chewy crumb. From the extensive menu, I settled on the classic Lox ($12) and to my delight, it came with an unexpectedly generous serving of smoked salmon! Pickled beets added a tangy crunch which really helped to lift the flavours of the bagelwich. Service was prompt and friendly despite the busy weekend brunch crowd. A really excellent meal!
The spicy salmon at Aloha poké never disappoints. Marinated in an addictive spicy sauce fragrant with sesame oil, the salmon is always fresh and nicely diced. I opted for the pokeritto ($11.9+ for one scoop of poke), which is essentially all the poke ingredients contained in a nicely toasted wrap. Admittedly, the staff could have been more generous with the fish... $11.90+ barely got me 5 small cubes of sashimi! They weren't very generous with the other ingredients either - the miserly amount of vegetables could barely fill up the standard-sized tortilla wrap (see the empty folds)! In short, don't expect too much in terms of portion size; but what aloha lacks in that aspect is somewhat made up by the quality of fish and deliciously robust marinades. Perhaps the management could look into a more generous serving of vegetables....surely that's not too much to ask for.....
Very reasonably priced at $9.80++ (only available for lunch). To my delight, I even managed to redeem a free piece of toro saba sushi using jpassport! The bowl contained a mix of salmon, tuna, white fish, vinegared mackerel, topped with a small scoop of ikura. My only qualm is that the fish was a little overmarinated for my liking. Big eaters should also take note that the serving size here is fairly small.
It was a decent slice of sugee cake but I'm not sure if I would pay $5.30 for this small slice again when there are better renditions available. For one, it could be slightly less sweet and do without the sugary lemon drizzle which was a distraction from the buttery and nutty aroma of the cake. Another problem was with the texture - it was dry and crumbly around the sides even though the centre was faultlessly moist. Service was excellent - the staff are very welcoming and friendly. I would be happy to visit this cafe again to try their other offerings, but I would probably pass on the sugee cake.
I really wanted to like this meal...but it was rather underwhelming. The sashimi was cut into really small cubes, and over-marinated such that it got way too salty after a few bites. The set came with three kushikatsu - chicken sausage, eggplant and zucchini - and a tiny scoop of average-tasting ice cream. I got this using the entertainer app, so I only paid $12nett which really isn't too bad. But I wouldn't pay the full price ($20++) for this. The service here was good though - my tea was refilled promptly, and the staff are friendly and courteous.
Poké Lulu remains one of my favourite poké joints in Singapore. It sets itself apart with generously cubed fish, and free flow of kimchi, pickled cabbage and pickled ginger. At $15.90, it's slightly pricey but I got this with the entertainer 1 for 1 app which made it quite a steal!
