Drinks (with dinner, maybe)

Came by to celebrate my Sis' birthday as there was some buzz about this newly-opened restaurant and also it was on Burpple 1-for-1 Mains deals. The place was still pretty empty with about 7 or so tables filled at 7pm on a Thursday. The ambience was pretty nice, cosy and somewhat quiet, plus the entire space was spacious and airy.

To start off, we had the La Tradition Onion/Lardons Tarte Flambe ($18), which was somewhat like a thin-crust rectangular pizza with generous sprinkles of caramelized onions, lardons and cheese. Savoury, cheesy, crisp, with a touch of sweetness, this was absolutely delicious and we scoffed everything down. So good, in fact, that we immediately ordered another tarte flambe - but this time the La Champignons ($22), which just replaced the lardons with mushrooms. While not as sinfully savoury as the lardons, the earthiness of the mushrooms was delicious especially with the dollops of light mushrooms cream.

Skipping the entrees, we headed straight to the mains. The Joue de Bouef a la Provencale ($32) was slow-cooked beef cheeks with cherry tomatoes, garlic, olives and provençal herbs, served with buttered coquillette (i.e., mini-macaroni) pasta. The beef cheeks were tender and went so well with the buttery pasta, although the rich beefiness of the meat might turn off those who don't eat beef often. Alongside, we also ordered the Crispy Duck Leg Confit w/ Mashed Potatoes ($32) which was a much bigger hit with my dining party. The tender duck leg still had its crispy skin, and it sat atop an amazing buttery mashed potato and duck jus. Really, really rich and flavourful, my friend couldn't stop harping about how good this was.

However, what presented a alight oddity to the evening was the inexperience of the serving staff. The waiter who initially served us seemed to be new and did not really have a good grasp of the menu. Also, I initially ordered the Seafood Bun but after realising that one of my friends could not eat prawns, I went over to him - who was still in the midst of keying in my order - and told him to remove my Seafood Bun order. However, a little while later he came over to my table again to reconfirm my order. The strange thing was, right after another staff came by and told the first waiter that he'll confirm my orders instead. All in all, i thought all these repeating of my order were slightly unnecessary.

Be that as it may, the food was good, the ambience was lovely, and with the Burpple deal it made my dinner all the more enjoyable. Would I return? Yes, at least once more, to try the other dishes in their extensive menu especially the other tarte flambes :D Sign up for Burpple with my invite code DARR9295 to enjoy 1-for-1 deals here and at many other restaurants now!

Been hearing alot of buzz on this hip and trendy join run by young chefs, so being hip and trendy myself I obviously had to join the crowd. The restaurant was dark and atmospheric, though the tables were a little too close such that I could clearly hear the pair next to me conversing. Service was very friendly and attentive though, they enthusiastically explained the menu items when we said it was out first time.

Started off with the famous Milk Buns ($8) - pillowy with a hint of milkyness, and made even better with the Sour Cream & Onion butter that came with it. Sooo good that we asked for another serving of the butter.

Next was the Duck Menchikatsu ($17) and the Hasselback & Crack ($14). Menchikatsu was perfectly breaded and crisp, packed with shreds of juicy duck meat, which tasted even better with the spring onion aioli. As for the Hasselback, the potato itself was already delicious with a satisfying crunchy exterior and a fluffy inside. The accompanying sauce was, as the staff described, an homage to the Big Mac sauce but it became too heavy after a while and we switched back to the milky bun's butter instead.

At this point, we were already stuffed but still looking forward to our mains, the Holy Molee ($34), which was a slab of seabass - crispy skin and all - with an indian curry-inspired sauce and a side of refreshing cucumber & mint salad to lend some tartness to the spice. Seabass was fresh and perfectly cooked, and the sauce leaned more on the tomatoey side so not as spicy as expected. Overall, this dish was nicely executed.

Overall, love the vibes and the upbeat-ness of the staff. While the food wasn't 'wow', it'll definitely check most boxes and you'll probably leave with a good experience. As for me, I will definitely return to try their Butter Cake that I missed out on!

Returned for a birthday celebration as we really loved the Grilled Cabbage ($16) and the quiet ambience of the restaurant. While the magic of the cabbage was gone we still enjoyed the sweetness of the cabbage elevated by the charred exterior and completed with the outstanding herb cheese buerre blanc & peanut chili.

The waitress then recommended the special which was Layered Potato ($15), a huge cube of stacked potato slices fried and drizzled with some kind of an herb-infused sauce and salmon roe. Loved the potatoes which were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside (it smells so much like potato chips!) althought I would have preferred it in a smaller bite-sized portion. Also, I couldn't wrap my head around the sauce which was really heavy and which I thought didn't really pair well. Wished that the flavour of the potato itself took centrestage.

For mains, we went with the Barramundi Fish & Chips ($28). They weren't kidding about the batter - so light and crispy and none of that oilyness! Barramundi was also fresh and firm, and we couldn't stop dipping it in the capers tatar sauce...soooo good! Wanted to ask for some chilli sauce for the fries but we just kept dipping and dipping into the tartar sauce instead till all the fries were gone. Wanted to ask for a second serving of fries but we were already too full from the earlier dishes as well as our G&T ($14 HH).

Overall, good food and good ambience at a fair price. Total damage was ~$88 for 2 pax. Seeing that they regularly change up their menu, we would definitely return again.

[FUZZIE 20% OFF DISCOUNT]
Was searching for a vibey bar for a TGIF dinner and found this on the Fuzzie app. Located just a 5min walk from Maxwell MRT in the Duxton Hill enclave, this formerly-known-as-Ju Hua Tai Chinese restrobar serves up innovative floral-infused cocktails with a Chinese twist, and the same can also be said for their Chinese-centric bites and mains.

As we had come from a light dinner, we just shared two bites and a drink between both of us: the Tomato Burrata Champagne Kueh Pie Tie ($16 for 3pcs), the Mala Popcorn Chicken ($15), and the Chrysanthemum Secret ($22).

The KPT was filled with a base of burrata cheese, layered with a cherry tomato and champagne jelly. While interesting, we weren't too keen on this pairing and also thought that the KPT shell had a very distinct cardboardy smell. On the other hand, we very much enjoyed the Mala Popcorn Chicken which was numbing with a spicy kick which was just right. Though, it would have been much better if the chicken was even crispier. Finally, the signature Chrysanthemum Secret definitely deserved its title - the chrysanthemum-infused gin, mixed with lychee, raspberry, and elderflower liqueur was sweet and refreshing, albeit on the lighter boozy side, and the intricate chrysanthemum flower-shaped jelly was just a delight. Presentation was so on point too!

Overall, had a satisfying post-dinner bites & drink here, and with the Fuzzie 20% discount, everything came up to only $47.70. Only complaint would be that the music was too overbearing.

Great frozen beer - thick layer of foam was almost like an ice-blend consistency. Happy hour promo of $26 for 2 glasses was pretty worth it. Yuzu recommended, lychee was quite strange.

Skewers wise, we ordered the Set of 8 for $15 which was quite worth it and we were very satisfied with the taste. Pork Belly, pork ribs, chicken wings, potato slices were all good. Added on the Foil-wrapped enoki ($6.90) and we loved the garlic topping.

Decided to celebrate our anniversary at Estuary as I was quite intrigued by it's seafood-forward offerings as well as their generous weekend happy hour. Particularly, what caught my eye were the dishes that had Sarawakian influences; with my father's hometown being Kuching, Sarawak, I was immediately drawn just to see what this 'Sarawak-ness' was.

Stepping into the restaurant felt like entering my home's games room - dim mood lighting with pink hues, soft and comfy sofas, accompanied by the soft chatter of diners scattered around. Intimate, yet casual. Service was also warm and friendly, and the open kitchen also made for an interesting spectacle as the chefs did their good work.

We started off with their signature cocktails, which were $14 each during happy hour 5-8pm (and at lunchtime too). The Ambrosial was sweet and tangy, bursting with fruity elements from the dragon fruit ferment, pear, Yuzu sake, grapefruit, and Muscat grapes. A refreshing palate cleanser. The Smoke & Blanc also packed a punch, with notes of sweet vinegar, EVOO, and celery bitters atop the base of applewood-smoked brunt buttered rum.

On to the food! We started off with the Prawn Ravioli ($24), which was a trio of prawn+meat chunks encased in a thin dough - sort of a shrimp dumpling, if you will. The skin was soft and the firm prawn gave it a nice bite, but above all the sauce of prawn bisque with specks of sage butter was what brought this dish together. Complex, umami, and briney flavours encouraged me to drizzle spoonful after spoonful with every bite of the ravioli. Delicious! If there was one thing I missed, it was the freshness and crunch from perhaps scatters of water chestnut or carrot, or perhaps even breadcrumbs. That would have given an interesting play in textures.

Next was the Grilled Cabbages ($16) - a huge wedge of cabbage boiled and then charred on the grill, placed atop a nest of herb cream cheese and drizzles of peanut chilli. The rosemary cheese beurre blanc was what kept us reaching for slice after slice of the cabbage, so deliciously creamy and savoury with a touch of heat it was. However, we did feel that the cabbage could have been a tad more tender as it was too moist and limp on the inside which made it tough to cut through.

The pièce de résistance was finally here: the Sarawak Charred Claypot Rice ($28) - a mound of crabmeat, ikura, asparagus stalks, and rice crispies atop a bed of sweet-savoury rice that the staff said hails from Sarawak and hence the name of the dish. The seafood gave every spoonful of the rice a distinct unami and briney taste, with the rice crispies and asparagus providing a nice crunch. Was suitably impressed by this zhng-up sa po fan, but what's missing was the charred rice bits to scrape off the Claypot at the end; that experience is arguably a key part of the soul of Claypot rice, lest you might as well call the dish a don, a rice bowl, instead. Pro tip: ask for a saucer of chilli padi in soy sauce to accompany the rice. The soy sauce they used is imported from Sarawak and was so deliciously sweet-salty and flavourful, I couldn't help but just sip dab after dab with my spoon (It's Mu Artisan First Draw Soy Sauce if anyone's wondering).

Ended off the meal with a trio of their Mochi Churros, given on the house to celebrate our anniversary. Crisp on the outside with a soft and gooey inside, pair this with the rich and decadent salted caramel for a sweet ending to the satisfying meal.

Thank you @Estuary for the delicious food and a very memorable experience!

Newly-opened at the doorstep of town, this Handmade Pasta & Highball Bar serves up classic pasta dishes as well as creative innovations alongside an extensive drinks menu with an enticing Happy Hour promo. What more could you ask for!

We started off with the Cheesy Creamy Butter Chicken ($26) which was creamy tomato pasta with a touch of spice, served with three skewers of well-marinated chicken which were bite-sized and tender. Not as rich and savoury as the Indian butter chicken, but this was a decent fusion and still delicious. For spice lovers, do ask for added spice because they toned it down from previous feedback but I personally found it to be lacking. Next was the Carbonara w/ Parma Ham ($24) which was rich with a generous mound of parmesan atop runny egg yolk. Parma ham draped stop the pasta with generous fatty bits of pancetta scattered within. Mix it up well and finish this quickly to avoid the sauce drying up. Perhaps more of the pasta water could have been added for a creamier finish.

Happy hour was great with our $10 Chu-Hi Tonic and Whisky Highball. 15% off for other drinks not on the $10 HH list. Service was friendly and attentive, taking time to explain the menu items and asking for our opinions. With the Burpple 1 for 1, all the more reason to revisit!

Hidden at the corner of Woods Square is the neon-lit, chill Tipsy Panda serving up a fusion of Asian and Western mains and bar bites. Personally, the drinks we had were a little dull and watered down, but they're currently having a promo for 1-for-1 Highballs (u.p. $15) so that's more bang for your buck. Otherwise, the Frosty's Lager ($11) was alright.

Food wise:
- [RECOMMENDED] Wagyu Beef Cubes: THIS WAS SO GOOD!! Bite-sized and so freakin tender, the scorched layer added a touch of smokiness to the lready delicious wagyu, made even better with the sat and the black pepper sauce. This almost brought us to tears.
- Fermented Pork Belly w/ Garlic: Really crisp strips of pork belly with the distinctive whiff of the fermented Beancurd. This was pretty yummy especially with the garlic coriander sauce. Deep fried cloves of garlic accompanies this if you want more garlickyness. Part of the 2 for $22 Tapas.
- Szechuan Mala Karaage: Bite-sized karaage so crispy it's almost like an explosion of mala on tender chicken pops. Part of the 2 for $22 Tapas.
- Lady Wu's Warrior Spicy Wings: Sauce was pretty spicy with a touch of tanginess, but when slathered on the wings the crispiness was gone so wasn't as nice. Part of the 2 for $22 Tapas.
- Crispy Calamari: Reminiscent of Old Chang Kee's Sotong, except meatier and with a more robust marinade. Pretty good with the truffle mayo. Part of the 2 for $22 Tapas.
- Burnt Cheesecake ($12): Soft and almost spongey, not so much to our liking.

Vibes were also great especially with the Live band and there were plenty of audience interactions if you like that. Even on a Thursday night there were a sizeable crowd of both large groups and solo drinkers. Just a great hangout place in the north overall.

Came down on a Friday night and it was a full house even though it was at a far corner of the CBD. We came here mainly to sample the cocktail but were enticed by the Peranakan fare which, thankfully, are part of Burpple's 1-for-1 deals.

Laksa Lobster Linguine ($30) - Definitely on the saucier, creamier side. Aesthetically unappealing but we loved the rich laksa sauce and slurped almost every drop. Half a lobster and several taupok completed the dish, and we felt that it was slightly lacking. Could have used some prawns or shrimps for some bite, or at least finish it off with laksa leaves for the colour and aroma.

Braised Pongteh Lamb Shank ($28) - Apparently there was a supply error and the lamb was on the smaller side that night (therefore the lamb shank was discounted at $25 that night but it didn't matter to us since we were using Burpple). Very tender and fall-off-the-bone, paired so well with the lightly fragrant blue pea rice. The accompanying sambal was too sweet for my liking, but my partner liked it so it's a matter of preference.

Loquat Elixer ($24) & Pulut Hitam ($25) - Happy Hour gave us $18 craft cocktails till 8pm, which is so worth I considering their range of exotic locally-inspired mixes. Loved the 'pi pa gao'-ness of the Loquat Elixer, potent with a tinge of sweetness. Pulut Hitam was love at first sight (and taste) for me - I was so excited to see my favourite traditional dessert being turned into a cocktail and boy it did not disappoint. Served in a bowl, on the surface it looked like it's eponymous dessert with the black glutinous rice and the coconut cream, but dig into the sorbet below and let the alcohol hit you. Just wow.

Overall, great ambience, great food, and fantastic drinks. My only complaint would be that the standing chairs were a tad too uncomfortable to sit on, so request for a sitting chair if possible.

Cute and vibey little shop with both indoor and outdoor seating, but there were fans outside so it wasn't too warm. Didn't watch Initial D but I appreciated the attention to detail, from the posters to the standees and even to the mini cars to clip on to the receipt.

Food-wise though, we weren't too impressed by the supposed signature, the Fujiwara Tofu. Was just 4 slices of deep tried tofu with a tangy sauce atop, with bits of onion and chilli slices. Nothing special. Might come back try their other bites.

Late review but wanted to pen down my thoughts here nonetheless.

Decided on Sol & Luna for my Valentine's Day dinner since I had heard good things about this restaurant plus I wanted to enjoy the 51st floor view after dinner. For $120 per person ($285.10 in total), a pretty expensive meal but I was still looking forward to it.

Salmorejo in Shooter - Tomatoes were sweet and slightly tart, paired well with the basil oil and ham.

Spanish Grilled Octopus - Octopus was tender and not too chewy. Tasted great especially with the Romesco sauce. Smoked Chorizo and potatoes were also great to mop up all the juices and sauce.

Oysters - Fresh and went great with the Mignonette dressing (a condiment of minced shallots, cracked pepper, and vinegar). Could be plumper.

Catalan Braised Leg of Chicken - Well charred with crisp skin and tender meat. Sauce tasted strangely Chinese-style and the shimeji mushrooms added to the vibe but only googled later that the sauce was a wine reduction.

Basque Txuleta Steak Astigarraga - Altogether pretty good. Tender rib steak in a delicious peppery sauce, and the peppers/onions/tomatoes on the side added tang and sweetness to the meatiness.

Seabass a la Plancha - Seabass was good, also enjoyed the mussels and clams. the fregola resembled a thicker version of couscous and we were surprised that it was a pasta. Flavour was on the lighter side however.

Sopapilla Cheesecake - The cheesecake was actually a crescent roll in a rectangular shape (think crumbly layers much like a croissant but denser and more bread-like). Didn't really enjoy this, but the Citrus Gelato was delicious.

Ultimately, this was just a severely marked-up dinner set for 2 in the spirit of Valentine's Day, which would have been fine if not for a particularly horrible experience I had with one of the staff. There was a service crew clearing our plates and cutlery who smelled really bad - not in a body odour sense but rather in a dried urine kind of way. I cannot confirm whether it was the smell of urine but there was just a very rank odour whenever he passed by. If it was urine it would be especially concerning since he handled the plates and cutlery on our tables and even helped the couple next to us take a photo. Perhaps I should have raised the issue up on the spot as it was a matter of hygiene, but I only sent in a message on their website the day after, which until now I have not received a reply on. I don't exactly know what the smell was, but I just know that it ruined my dining experience.

Occupying the space where the GoCycle outlet used to inhabit, Overflow is an open air Cafe and Bar with love music daily. When we were there, the band was playing old-timey Chinese music that my aunts and uncles loved. Pet friendly space too with lots of families bringing their dogs. Drinks were alright, we had 2 3L towers of Asahi Super Dry for $78 each and a bunch of finger food to accompany. Spicy Drumlets ($9.50) was straight out of the supermarket aisle, as we're the Popcorn Chicken ($8.50). Truffle Fries ($13.90) was pretty filling but quite meh. Worst were the Guacamole Nachos ($13.90) with the guacamole being some kind of sauce, would recommend against getting them.