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All the posts, with the newest on top. 5 posts per page.

ABOUT
Gives the generally concept / navigation of the web.

CHECKLIST
Shows the most recent cafe / restaurant I’ve been to. For the sake of convenience, when you scroll and see a cafe / restaurant that interests you, click on it (if it has a hyperlink) and it’ll lead you to the review itself.

TEMPTATIONS
Constantly updated list of tempting (but yet to go) cafes / restaurants to dine in for breakfasts / lunch + dinner / desserts.

CATEGORIZATION OF REVIEWS
A page that helps categorize restaurants / cafes to your needs / decision-making. They are sorted out according to their price range, cuisines, and also my personal rating. Same as in the Checklist, they’re hyperlinked to the reviews themselves.

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Artistic Arteastiq.

Months ago, I was already positively introduced to Arteastiq @ Mandarin Gallery. Then months from then, I went down and witnessed the scene, it didn’t feel like Singapore, seeing young kids and adults alike, drawing and painting on canvases at Arteastiq – the section beside the restaurant for art. All I could feel was jealousy, all the rich ol’ people. lol.

We were ushered into the restaurant, and as seen from pictures before I physically visited the restaurant, it was cozy – the furnishing is stunning it makes you feel like a king. There are two sections to it – one with sofa seats, and the other hard furniture – your liking.

Interior of Arteastiq.

Service was pretty warm and welcoming too, which is a definite cherry topped.

Trinity Platter.

Trinity Platter :: From a couple of options to choose from, we decided on Smoked Turkey Ham, Crabmeat Salad with Volvant, and Spicy Jumbo Topshell with Chilled Mango Salad. Ohhhh, I’m telling ya’, you’d salivate even before the course was served. Everything was perfect, especially love the topshell – although the serving was minimal, it was enjoyable while it lasted. The Smoked Turkey Ham though, was ordinary, like those you can purchase off the supermarket. We gave a skip to the Atlantic Smoked Salmon as we were afraid it was too salty for our liking.

Hot Chocolate.

Hot Chocolate :: Disappointingly, it wasn’t the best. I think there was too much sweetness to it, but the biscuit that comes with it was highly complementary. A quick dip into the beverage and the taste is spot on.

Ginger Tea with Durian Ice Cream.

Ginger Spice Tea with Mao Shan Wang Gelato :: What a weird, but interesting combination isn’t it! I was hugely intrigued by the pairing, but was let down when sipped. It was rather diluted in my opinion, although the durian still made us smile, ultimately. There are a lot more dessert tea to choose from, no worries.

Pearl of Mekong River.

Pearl of Mekong River :: Genuine crab meat in a wrap. I have no idea how much wrong it can go with an un-shelled crab meat. Well, just a little – I thought the course definitely need to go with some condiments. Maybe vinegar will do the trick. It was a tad’ too plain. Likewise for the following course.

Viva Duck.

Viva Duck :: Neither the wrap nor the duck tasted good the way it is. The small cup of vinegar helped salvaged the brunch. Be ware though, eating the course might be disastrous – not a very neat affair. So if you’re on a date, choose something else!

Pick the right timing and the ambience would be a treat, pick it wrong and hit the busy hours, it’ll be different. Nevertheless, it’s certainly worth a try. You’ll be spoilt for choices with the array of tea, dessert tea, hot, and cold beverages. They serve brunch and main courses at different timings of the week and day. I’m pretty sure I’ll be back to try the other courses.

—> Note #1: It opens from 11am – 1030pm daily.

—> Note #2: More often than not, they have promotions / set meals during tea time.

Address: 333 Orchard Road, Mandarin Gallery, #04-14/15
Telephone: 6235 8370

Spruce Up For Spruce.

Chucked at some corner of Singapore, somewhere near Redhill at Tanglin, more specifically Phoenix Park, erected a restaurant some years ago. Specializing in mostly (all-day) breakfast dishes (brunch) on weekends, circling around Eggs Benedict and Burgers, Spruce promises a memorable dining experience at this location, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The ambience is one worth admiring, more so for the evening, when the artificial lights come out while the natural light goes to sleep.

Spruce @ Phoenix Park.

If you are taking a public transport there, it’s a 15 minutes walk from Redhill MRT. I always do the walking instead of bus services, I am a bus-idiot. Be warned though, especially on weekends meal time, that there will be a long queue waiting for you if you haven’t made any reservations. We waited for a good 45 minutes for a group of 6. Worse thing is it’s so secluded there isn’t anywhere for you to walk around or do some window shopping while waiting.

Greek Yoghurt :: $7++

Greek Yoghurt ($7++) :: Having yoghurt as a side dish to my breakfast / lunch always makes me feel blessed and pampered. The chilled granola crunch and fruit preserves spices up your morning, making you feel that the day really has just started. Additionally, Yogurts are always not too expensive as an item by itself. So it’s a plus.

Banana Hotcakes :: $14++

Banana Hotcakes ($14++) :: Yes it’s either Eggs Benedict or Yoghurt + Hotcakes for me, usually. Disappointingly though, the Hotcakes doesn’t match up to the standard of the Yoghurt. I thought the Banana flavor overpowered the course. Also, the hotcakes are really just plain, hotcakes, no fragrance like it usually would bring out, even though hotcakes might not be as smell-satisfying as pancakes. The honeycomb butter and blueberry syrup didn’t help much either.

Spruce Signature Burger :: $17++

Spruce Signature Burger ($17++) :: Served with hand-cut chips, it is a very heavy breakfast / brunch. Carbohydrates-overload with the burger and chips, coupled with the beef patty. I thought the chips was pretty good. Not being too much of a burger lover, this burger here didn’t help salvage the situation. It’s not that it’s bad, but I just thought it’s ordinary. By the looks of it, I really think this is not a place for burgers.

Chocolate Cake.

Carrot Cake.

The slices of cakes cost at or around $10 per slice.  The price is definitely steep if you look at it just like that. But it sure is hell of a tower. Each slice threatens to stand taller than you, what after a filled stomach for the morning. It is best to share it with your mate. The Chocolate Cake is again, pretty ordinary. The Carrot Cake, on the other hand, wasn’t quite to my liking. I guess it’s just me. I haven’t had a good history with Carrot Cakes myself. So.

Somehow, even though there aren’t over-staffed, they were not very attentive when it comes to service. They are polite and friendly, don’t get me wrong, but I guess that towards the end of our meal when it was running slower, humans being humans, just switched to off automatically. Otherwise it was fine.

—> Note #1: To check out on their opening hours, the periods that they sell main courses of lunch and dinner and brunch, click here.

Address: 320 Tanglin Road, Phoenix Park
Telephone: 6836 5528
Photos by Qianyi.

Momiji Japanese Buffet Restaurant.

How many Japanese Buffet Restaurants are there, really. I have lost track of them, and I bet so have you. As you go along and catch them all like Ash Ketchum does to Pokemons, all of them just seem to look the same / taste similar. Read on to find out how Momiji Japanese Buffet Restaurant is.

Miso Mushroom Soup.

The magnificent-looking Miso Mushroom Soup. Like my friend who went for this, we were tempted just by the look of it (hell yeah the mushrooms), although we both know it’s not worth it, the soup, how much space it takes in our limited pits. I’m alright with Miso-based soup, I thought it was okay. But definitely one dish that can be skipped if you don’t have the capacity to store it. Maybe have one and share it amongst four.

Assorted Sushi.

You can see that generally, the sushi they have here at Momiji is very rarely-seen elsewhere. That is one of the selling points I’d say. Even though sushi is filling, it’s after all a Japanese Buffet. What’s one without good sushi. One that imprints strongly in our senses is a sushi topped with strawberry. Interesting isn’t it? Their sushi is worth taking a look. We couldn’t help ourselves but fill out plates with many different sushi (even though, again, it’s a suicide mission to a Japanese Buffet).

Assorted Skewers of Items.

There are quite some worthwhile skewers items to fill the plate with. I must say that they look very appealing displayed out on the counters. That’s the first step to having a good spread of buffet for diners. Taste wise, it was just alright. Nothing to rave about. They also have Enoki Maki (Bacon + Golden Mushroom) and Bacon + Asparagus. I thought it was a good item to have on a Japanese Buffet spread, one that I rarely see too.

Grilled Steak.

Grilled steak, dory fillet, chicken steak, beansprout + snow pea shoots (dou miao) are some of the items on the BBQ / Live Cook list. Of them all, I thought the Grilled Steak was awesome, although some of my friends call it a ‘chewing gum‘ because of its tendons. I didn’t get those parts even though I love it, I love to chew on steaks rather than softly and uneventfully swallowing them down. Yes I’m a weirdo like that. A few rounds of grilled steaks ordered. Guilty as charged.

Smoked Duck Breast.

I was walking around the counters and picked this up, proudly telling my friend this is going to be epic. It looks too good – appealing and appetizing. But god like to play fun with you, as always, the higher your expectation, the bigger your disappointment. It was bland and tasteless, and I had enough after having one piece of the two in the small cold dish.

What I love about this buffet is its feature on some of the uncommon dishes. Even though all in all, I thought the concept and the likes are still very similar to other Japanese buffet. A plus point is its Chocolate Fondue. I didn’t realize its presence until later in the buffet. A wide array of fruits, desserts and chocolate fondue items all at your disposal. Asked if I’d go back again, I’d most probably not. It was not a bad experience, although the ambience was almost near non-existent, just that it has nothing that entices me to go back again.

—> Note #1: For the opening hours and prices, click here. Although I think the prices are a little outdated. If I’m not mistaken, they jacked up the prices by $2 each. You have to check with them on this.

Address: 180 Kitchener Road, #05-04/06, City Square Mall
Telephone: 6509 1193
Photos by Yee Meng.

Vineyard @ Hortpark.

The first ever time I came across this picturesque restaurant at the tranquil Hortpark was years ago. I must come here, one day, I thought to myself. Years from then, a good friend of mine brought this restaurant up, while we were talking about food, and she insisted that I must try it. Of course I agreed whole-heartedly. Then months from then, we ended up, there at Vineyard @ Hortpark. I’m not going to deny that Hortpark is inaccessible, but the excitement, eagerness and satisfaction you get from realizing at the end of the day, that the trip there is all worth it, is worth it all. Turn left at the main entrance, right to the Visitors’ Centre or sort, you can find this hidden gem.

Vineyard @ Hortpark.

The name of the restaurant already sounds posh, and it was when we put the face of the restaurant to the name upon reaching the destination. For a better ambience inside, and outside of the restaurant, go during dinner time! For me, I was so torn between having a seat indoors or outdoors. The indoors was decorated so cozily, air-conditioned. The outdoors on the other hand, was quieter in comparison, and a much more romantic business. Figuring that my friends and I weren’t here exactly for romantic businesses, lol, we headed into the shelter.

Menu @ Vineyard.

I was looking through the menu of the restaurant. Very interestingly, they have a good mix of dominantly Thai, Italian and French cuisines. Of course, it’s called Vineyard for a reason – they house about a hundred different world wine labels. I’d think that it’s a haven for wine-lovers. I also like the fact that they have an interesting array of desserts. Some of which doesn’t look too appetizing like the Warm Lemon Lava Cake, Chantilly Cream, Sesame Tuile. Very disappointingly, they didn’t have it on the day we went there. But I’d be sure to try it the next time I’m there (oh hell yes sure I’ll be there again).

Grilled Prawns in Piquant Dressing with Pomelo Salad :: $14++

Grilled Prawns in Piquant Dressing with Pomelo Salad ($14++) :: Abundance of pomelo, but not so much on the grilled prawns. If I didn’t remember wrongly, you can count the number of prawns with a hand. But the awesomeness makes up for the lack of numbers. These prawns are those that cooked to perfection – just right the tenderness, nowhere near hard, tough. These are the ones worth indulging in every inch of it. If you love pomelo too, it’s an extra, extra bonus I’m telling you.

Pizza All Meat, Angus Beef Ragout, Aged Salami, Corona Ham :: $22++

Pizza All Meat, Angus Beef Ragout, Aged Salami, Corona Ham ($22++) :: Beef content, as you can see. It looks promising, but doesn’t taste as much. I was a tad’ disappointed with it, to be honest. I love cold cuts, hams, salami, but I thought the pizza toppings didn’t bring out the flavors that the individuals could have brought out more distinctly single-handedly.

Oven Roasted Wild Snapper with Seasonal Vegetables, Lemon Caper Noisette :: $28++

Oven Roasted Wild Snapper with Seasonal Vegetables, Lemon Caper Noisette ($28++) :: You must be kidding me if you tell me that you’re not drooling after seeing the dish. I love love love the presentation of all the dishes, especially this exotic looking Snapper, coupled with it being oven roasted, one of my favorite types of cooking. It’s well-marinated, no sauce required for it to taste good, although the lemon was a good company. The only thing that bothers me is the container of the course – it makes it hard to cut up the fish and pick it up with ease. Nevertheless, oh who cares, I love it in a nutshell.

Sticky Date Pudding with Butter Scotch, Vanilla Ice Cream :: $12++

Sticky Date Pudding with Butter Scotch, Vanilla Ice Cream ($12++) :: We were recommended this, and told that the Sticky Date Pudding here isn’t as sweet as some other places serve it. With me already eyeing the dessert even before we ask for recommendation, I pointed it to the waitperson and nodded my head, give me one. True enough, it isn’t as sweet. The Ice Cream complements the Date Pudding well enough it was enjoyable.

Traditional Tiramisu :: $12++

Traditional Tiramisu ($12++) :: I love this Tiramisu. It is not only sufficient in quantity, but also in its flavor. It’s rich and thick, which some may not like it as much. But for me, yes yes yes. Again, the presentation just makes it all more treaty.

I have to compliment their service. It was top-notch. We reached the restaurant at 6pm, but didn’t order until 8pm (we had some agenda, but that’s besides the point). The restaurant was full, but I didn’t feel that we were rushed at all. In fact, I was feeling guilty on our part. I appreciate it a lot. They know their courses well too, and very genuine when serving us, providing us with recommendations. Can you imagine, the whole experience, was just complete with good food, service and definitely ambience. I am too impressed. With that said, it’d be smart to make a reservation if you don’t intend to head there early.

—> Note #1: On weekdays, lunch is from 12pm – 3pm, and then starting their dinner again at 6pm till 11pm for Mon – Thur and 1am for Friday.

—> Note #2: They have a kids corner specially for families on weekends.

Address: 33 Hyderabad Rd, #02-02, Hortpark
Telephone: 6479 7977
Photos by Charisse and me.

Absolute Ardent’s Avoidance.

Plainly by looking at the pictures of the restaurant and its food itself, it’s so full of win. Right still, when you see the furnishing and set-up of the restaurant, especially its outdoor setting. Even though the indoor seating is dim and cozy, and air-conditioned, the outdoors’ just earn more ‘I am more chillax points’.

Ardent's Cafe Bar Outdoor Seating.

The whole ambience mismatches its surrounding (along Neil Road), although positively. The impression still lasts, up till here.. The service was reasonable as well, to a certain extent. Their waitpersons are very polite.

Rosti with Sour Cream + Smoked Salmon :: $12.30

Rosti with Sour Cream + Smoked Salmon ($12.30) :: Plain Rosti itself is $5.80, and if your math is good, you should have worked out that the smoked salmon (4 slices) add-on is $6.50, more expensive than the rosti itself. We all agreed unanimously that the rosti is, the best amongst all for the night. Although it can’t be matched with Marche’s, it’s still acceptable. Maybe what, compared to the rest of the courses.

Stuffed Blue Cheese Burger :: $16.80

Stuffed Blue Cheese Burger ($16.80) :: I thought the beef patty was alright. How do I put it – it’s the start of a bland, average-tasting and sometimes disappointing courses here at Ardent’s Cafe Bar. There really isn’t much to say about it because it’s very featureless. Only good point I can think of is, I don’t think I’ve seen this course in many other restaurants / cafes.

Eggs Blackstone :: $13.80

Eggs Blackstone ($13.80) :: Poached eggs with grilled bacon. You know those eggs benedicts that you have, that is not only unadorned, but tastes like ones that you can cook at home. What with the English muffin being dry, bland, plain and hard. The worst part of Eggs Benedict is when the complementing sides, no matter bacon, ham or salmon, doesn’t complement the poached eggs, when you’re like having two separate courses when it’s actually one. It happened just that way for this course. It’s way far from the best Eggs Benedict I’ve ever had so far at Wild Honey.

French Omelette :: $13.80

French Omelette ($13.80) :: Asparagus, tomato and mushroom is what it contains. And this ordinary looking omelette tastes, just as ordinary. After the first bite, I immediately blurted out, ‘which coffee shop’s is this from?’ Yes it is that bad. Heavily peppered (I’m not complaining as I’m a pepper person), but bland that you thought they might have ran out of salt. It was so bad that the small portion of it wasn’t even finished by the six of us there.

The Three Minis :: $15.80

The Three Minis ($15.80) :: One of the dishes that looks promising on the menu description. Black Forest Ham with Bagel + Honey Baked Ham with Mini Burger + Black Pepper Ham with French Loaf. Those are the stated three mini burgers / sandwiches for the course. Being a cold cut fan, I was ecstatic to have it ordered, and eager to try. But it was nowhere near the hype. It feels like it was made from yesterday’s ingredients, hard and cold. Looks can be deceiving, so can its words on the menu.

Mascarpone Nutella Pancakes :: $12.80

Mascarpone Nutella Pancakes ($12.80) :: In the spirit of redemption, we’ve decided to give the dessert (we consider) a shot at it after condemning 80% of its main courses. I must say it looks, once again, promising and hopeful with its presentation. But when they say it’s nutella, it really is. I thought the combination was just out of place and like the restaurant with its surrounding, mismatched. Once bitten, twice shy.

Besides the issue of food, its policy is something of a big problem, at least to me too. See we bought the Groupon vouchers, two of them – $45 for $90 worth and $15 for $30 worth, as we thought six of us would probably spend more than $90. But over the phone during reservation (which isn’t needed at all, it was empty, and now I know the reason why), and when face-to-face at the restaurant itself, we were turned down the request of expanding both vouchers together. The voucher states ’1 voucher per table’, coupled with ’5 to 6 persons’ for the $90 voucher and ’1 to 2 persons’ for the $15 voucher. So I was asking how about them doing us a favor by splitting the bill, since we have 6 persons, it can be split into 5 + 1. And there they went to explain about their policy, how they don’t do it, etc. If it wasn’t for my kind-hearted friends, I’d have slammed them so hard in the face. I can never understand when restaurants do this with their vouchers. When told to ‘come back another time’ with the $30 voucher, I had half the heart to tell them that I wouldn’t come back even if invited for free. They really need to improve on their, everything, if they are to survive, it’s no wonder they need Groupon to help them out here. One of the worst eating experiences I’ve had in my life, no exaggeration.

Address: 80 Neil Road
Telephone: 6325 7077
Photos by me.