Hog's Breath at Vivo City

SPECIAL MENTION:Also available at Holland Village and CHIJMES

SUGGESTIONS: Don't overcook the salmon. Either use chicken thigh, some other more tender part of the chicken or tenderise the chickn breast more for the Djon Chicken dish. Leave the fish fillet in the batter for a longer period of time for the Fish and Chips.

FOOD: Very good for the beef. Average for the rest.

PRICE: $20+ to 40+ per person

Visited Hog's Breath at Vivo City with my family for dinner. The service was pretty good. I am not being biased here but it was definitely prompt. Dad had Salmon with Lemon Sauce, Mom had Djon Chicken, Sis had Fish and Chips and my owner had Thai Beef Salad. We ordered a Cranberry juice, an Orange juice and a Lemon juice.

Above: Thai Beef Salad
The Thai Beef Salad was delicious. The beef slices were seared nicely, leaving them tender and juicy. The beef slices were also marinated with Teriyaki sauce so it was rather tasty. The slices were thick enough for bite and yet thin enough such that it absorbed the marinade well. The salad was normal garden salad except that it had beef slices and crunchy uncooked noodles bits. One issue with the salad was that it came with quite a bit of rocket lettuce. I think I have already emphasised my disdain for rocket lettuce. Although you may think rabbits like lettuce, I don't quite like extremely bitter rocket lettuce. You need armoured tastebuds to like it.


Above: Salmon

I can't really comment about the other dishes because I didn't have them. But, the salmon was a little too tough. My guess was that it was cooked too long and became overcooked. The deep-fried sweet potato chips that came with the salmon was a pretty interesting concept.


Above: Djon Chicken

The Djon Chicken was a few slices of chicken breast and it was kinda tough. Out of all the parts of the chicken, chicken breast is the toughest and least tender portion of a chicken. I never liked eating chicken breast. The baked potato that came with the Djon Chicken was a little overcooked. The skin of the potato was a lil burnt.


Above: Fish & Chips

My owner's sister had Fish and Chips. The restaurant used beer batter for the fish. Beer batter is always nice for fish and chips. However, I think that the fish fillets could have been soaked in the beer batter for a longer period of time. So that the taste of the fish and the taste of the beer batter aren't two separate tastes. One thing I liked about the Fish and Chips was that the dish was not too greasy.

Okay, Hog's Breath's specialities are indeed ribs and steaks. My Thai Beef Salad was the best of the dishes because of the wonderfully seared beef slices. Remember, ribs and steaks.

Spageddies at Paragon

MIFFY GOODFOOD REPORTING:

SUGGESTIONS: Place a scoop of strawberry sorbet into the Strawberry Margherita or increase the strawberry puree content in the drink.

FOOD: Average

PRICE: About $15-20 per person



My owner had lunch at Spageddies with YR a few days back. It was lunch time but thankfully we didn't have to wait or else my rummy tummy would have complained and I would have been hopping mad. We ordered a Smoked Salmon Pizza, Broccoli Soup and a Strawberry Margherita.



The pizza which was large enough for two was served with mayonnaise and dill sauce that was oh-so-yummy! Although smoked salmon has a salty taste, the sauce they used striked the right balance. The sauce they used was composed of mayonnaise and dill. Although the sauce was also salty, it was more sweet than salty. The other ingredients on the pizza were olives and onions. Frankly speaking, this rabbit here loves smoked salmon and the restaurant covered most of the surface of the pizza with smoked salmon so this rabbit was kept happy. However, I think the smoked salmon could have been cut more thinly. Pizza's crust was very thin and almost biscuit-like, the flaky, crunchy texture was very lovely to me. I hate pizzas with crusts that leave me with a jaw-ache though I have very healthy teeth.



The Broccoli Soup that YR ordered tasted very much of mushroom instead of broccoli. Miffy likes broccolis, not mushrooms and my owner's friend ordered Broccoli Soup, not Mushroom Soup. But well, it was pretty fine for cream soup. Nothing too fantastic though.



My Strawberry Margherita was very sour and pretty strong. I wonder how much Tequila went into it. I'd have loved a stronger strawberry taste. They should have tried to made it less sour. I had to keep drinking water with the Margherita.

All in all, Miffy still prefers the Smoked Salmon Pizza as compared to the mushroom-esque Broccoli Soup and Strawberry Margherita. The company was great though! Haha... I always love my owner and YR.

Tong Shui Cafe along Upper Thomson Road

SPECIAL MENTION: WiFi is provided. There are also SCV programmes on the TV screens. The outlet is opened from 12noon to 6am.

PRICE: about S$15-20 per person

FOOD: Yummy

I had a good brunch today at the Tong Shui Cafe. Before I walked in, My owner told her sister "da4 hong3 deng1 gao1 gao1 kua4" because there were a lot of red lanterns outside the cafe. Anyway, the interior decor of the place was also a sight to behold, red, lime green and fuschia walls. We ordered a Kimchi noodles with egg and cabbage rolls, Oven-baked rice with pork, Hot coke with ginger, Lychee blended ice with kiwi and a mango crushed ice with seaweed jelly.

The oven-baked rice came with two sauces, it was partially covered in melted cheese mixed with corn and partially covered in bolognaise sauce. A very thoughtful dish. It prevented me from becoming bored of the cheesy taste. I usually get sick of the cheese after a while so the bolognaise sauce on half of the rice provided a nice contrast to the cheese. The corn added a sweet taste to the cheese, very nice. The meat was juicy but could have been more tender.



Lychee blended ice with kiwi was served in a small jug. with the small kiwi pieces on the top. The ice could have been finer and less coarse. It was relatively fine except one or two larger pieces of ice. The drink was lovely for an extremely hot sweltering day.



Lastly, for dessert, we ordered the mango crushed ice with seaweed jelly. The mango was aplenty and the mango was sweet, not sour at all. But, the slightly sour taste was provided by the pomelo flesh. That sour taste balanced out the sweet mango, giving more dimension to the taste. Though the portion was meant for one person, we shared it among two persons. Furthermore, I believe it could have been shared by three persons.


Above: My favourite meal and I!

The kimchi noodles came with really crisp kimchi, not too spicy and not too sour. The cabbage roll was very interesting too. It wasn't my dish so I can't really comment. But, according to the taster, it was "fantastic, very nice".



I drank a little bit of the hot coke and ginger. It is apparently very good for the throat. I don't usually like ginger but this concoction was rather acceptable to me. The ginger taste was there but it was at a comfortable level.

I really like the experience and thank my owner for bringing me there. I just love eating food that showcase the thoughtfulness that went into the creation of the dishes. It just makes me happy.

Introducing my new food correspondent *drum roll*

BIO-DATA

Name: Miffy Goodfood

Age: Ageless

Fur colour: Ivory White

Eye colour: Ebony Black

Favourite outfit: The lovely blue Prada suit

Favourite expression: Miffed

Likes: Good food

Dislikes: Bad food


Above: My tool of trade and myself

She says: I like good food because it realises the truth in my surname. From now, I will attempt to visit as many foodie havens as possible and bring the most yummi-licious food to you. This is all for now folks, you will know me soon enough :)


Above: Making a reservation for my next meal :)

Traditional Korean Walnut Cake from Square 2 at Novena

SHOP: Hankook Rice Cake House at #03-09

PRICE: Ehrm... I forgot. Let me find out soon.

These little walnut cakes have gotten me addicted since my parents first bought them. They have red-bean fillings with delightful bits of walnut in it. When warmed, it becomes soft and fluffy. When left in the fridge, they become crisp and firm. I like them both ways.



My family first had them warm in South Korea during winter and it was a warm yummy snack for a cold day, They liked it so much that they were so happy to find them available in Singapore recently.

Beppu Menkan Japanese Noodle Restaurant at Far East Square

SPECIAL MENTION: There is also an outlet which is more conveniently located at Suntec City #B1-043/044.

SUGGESTIONS: 1) Instead of serving the Hirashi ramen with ice in the bowl, just make sure the noodles are chilled enough and remove the ice before serving because the melted ice dilutes the sesame sauce a little. 2) I ordered iced green tea and it was a little bitter. Do not let the green tea leaves sit in the water for too long. An over-infused taste can end up rather bitter.

PRICE: Average (S$15+ per person)

FOOD: I will be back again!

This little restaurant didn't attract me at first sight. The entire outlook of the outfit was extremely bright and loud. At first look, I thought the restaurant could have been a little gimmicky. That's the result of the obstrusively bright colours I guess. But, I decided to give it a shot after much of the initial apprehension and largely because my sister was being a whiny whiner because of her hunger. The staff were polite, fast and efficient but were yakking a bit too much among themselves.


Above: Hirashi ramen

I ordered a Hirashi ramen that was cold noodles with sesame sauce and wakame, a little bit of char siew and bamboo shoots. It was really very delicious. I was taken aback. The noodles were extremely smooth, fantastic for slurping if you want to do that. The char siew was kinda crunchy, providing another dimension to the texture of the dish.



Some dishes, especially those served in hot soup have the option of varying spiciness. 1 chilli is slightly spicy and 6 chillis send you to hell and back. My sister asked for 1 chilli and it was already near limits. I don't really suggest anything more than 2 chillis if you do not want to spoil your throat and/or taste buds.


Above: Okonomiyaki

The okonomiyaki was the highlight of the meal for me. I have always loved this poor person's dish since tasting it few years back in a Japanese home. I have since tried many of the available okonomiyaki in Singapore but nothing measured up. It used to be a dish for poor families because it used to be made up of a mish-mash of leftovers. The okonomiyaki at Beppu Menkan was crispy on the surface and warm and soft on the inside. It was served on wooden skewers, making it easy to eat.

This is a restaurant I would definitely want to visit again for the price is right and the food is very right. :)

Dino Cafe along Upper Thomson Road

SPECIAL MENTION: The shop sells quite an array of Japanese snacks. They also serve some local fare like Mee Siam etc..

PRICE: Really affordable (S$2 for Hot Coffee)

FOOD: Yummy

In the pouring rain yesterday, my sis and I visited Dino Cafe along Upper Thomson Road. This little bakery-cafe bakes some of my favourite pastries. The pastries are neither made with the most expensive of ingredients nor the healthiest ingredients. But, they taste of homemade goodness. I have no idea what homemade goodness is but in my own interpretation, it is the non-pretentious and good-tasting pastries that are filled with this goodness.

Between the two of us, we ordered a strawberry slice (slice of strawberry cake) and rum slice (slice of a rum roll). The strawberry cake looked really cute in its pink sponge cake. The rum slice was sponge roll with a brownie-like slice in the centre. The brownie-like slice was really fudg-ey and crunchy (almonds). The rum was mainly in the brownie-like slice. The coffee was very much to my taste, the aroma was there but the body was even stronger. I drank just 'unadulterated' black coffee, no sugar and no milk. It was so good I ordered a second cup of coffee. I just had to taste more of it!


Above: The lovely 'unadulterated' coffee topped with froth

After having just a slice of cake for lunch, we were still hungry so we ordered a slice of tapioca cake and a slice of sugar roll. The sugar roll here is pretty famous. It was reviewed in Lifestyle before. In the review, Dino Cafe's sugar roll took the sugar off all the other bakeries' sugar rolls. It never disappoints with its extremely soft and light taste. The slice of tapioca cake we ordered was warmed before it was served, a thoughtful gesture. The edges of the tapioca cake was crisp while the insides were really moist. I am usually not very fond of tapioca because of the texture. But, this slice was totally acceptable to my tastebuds. I loved it.


Above: Sugar roll

This little shop has been around for a very long time, ever since I can remember. I daresay that it is my favourite bakery and probably will be for a very long time.

Seasons Reasons at Raffles City

PRICE: S$20-30 per person

FOOD: Good

Had dinner at Seasons Reasons yesterday evening. It serves fusion food. I found the outlet a little too small for comfort. I ordered a duck casserole while my mom ordered fish and chips and my sis ordered vegetarian pasta. I ordered an Autumn Passion for a thirst quencher also.


Above: Duck Casserole

The duck casserole was cooked with spices, probably the five spices powder and chilli. It was an average dish. It was tasty but the taste was all too familiar. Anyway, the duck meat was tender, unlike some duck dishes. It was served with rice and garden salad. I liked it that they did not use any sauce on the salad. It was only tossed with vinaigrette. Simple salads are the loveliest and tastiest to me. However, the salad was largely made up of rocket lettuce, an extremely bitter tasting vegetable. I think I could safely say that it is the most bitter salad vegetable. I guess it could have brought out the sweetness in the duck meat but I am totally not a fan of that extremely bitter vegetable.


Above: Fish & Chips

The fish and chips were served with two dips, one was the usual tartar sauce and the other was some sauce made from lemongrass and chilli. I think the latter sauce was more interesting with a fresh and sour taste. It was a handsome combination of spices that matched the fried food and also a healthier option. The fish and chips were not over-fried and had a crunchy batter. It was nice that it wasn't greasy.

The Autumn Passion was a pretty drink with a lot of fresh fruit in it. It was mainly composed of passion fruit juice and pineapple juice. It was nice to eat the fruits and drink the juice at the same time. An interesting end and highlight of the meal.


Above: Peaches in Tea, Autumn Passion and Lime Frizz


Above: Vegetarian Pasta

Canele, The Chocolate Patisserie at Paragon

SPECIAL MENTION: They do create beautiful wedding cakes. They do have set lunches (S$20).

PRICE: about $20 per person

FOOD: Average

I was very excited about going to Canele this afternoon. The shop space is rather small, with only enough space for the display of pastries and chocolates and about 6 small tables. The menu was rather simple and elegant. However, some of the items on the menu do not have description. Thus, it makes it a little difficult for patrons to choose.

I ordered a Mont Blanc (Crepe with chestnut ice-cream, vanilla cream chantilly, black currant coulis and almond crumble) and Iced Honey Lemongrass drink. The drink came rather quickly. I love the drink a lot! Unlike other similar drinks with honey, it wasn't overpowered with honey. The lemongrass taste was definitely there, I sure hope it was ground lemongrass because grinding brings out the flavour more. The lemongrass added just enough spice in the drink. It was extremely refreshing on the tastebuds.

The Mont Blanc

Some of the desserts require waiting times of up to 15min so be cautious not to order those if you are in a hurry. My dessert took about 15minutes. Frankly, I do not mind waiting for good food. The appearance of my dessert was pretty with the coulis dripped around the crepe. However, the chestnut ice-cream was a tad disappointing because I could not taste the chestnut. Both my lunch partners couldn't too. The almond crumble was lovely because it added some crunch to the extremely smooth ice-cream. The black currant coulis was cloyingly sweet. They gave a lot of vanilla cream chantilly. The chantilly cream made with real vanilla beans was delicious. Nonetheless, too much good thing can be a bad thing. Too much cream can be a turn-off. The crepe was good though, thin enough and not extremely doughy. The small cookies served with the crepe were yummy! They were warm and fresh, a fantastic contrast to the otherwise cold dessert.



My lunch partners fared better than me in their choices. The set lunch was pretty good with minestrone soup (which you can't go really wrong with) and a Le Royale cake. The Vaccherine Glaze dessert was meringue with chocolate ice-cream, strawberry ice-cream and vanilla ice-cream. The chocolate ice-cream was really good, could taste the cocoa, appropriate for a shop named The Chocolate Patisserie.



Next time when I visit, I will probably ask for a recommendation instead of blindly choosing and buy some of their oh-so-pretty cakes for my mom. The shop in itself, is a very novel idea.

Nippon-ya confectionery shop

SUGGESTIONS: Put the box in the fridge before munching.

PRICE: $$ (Expensive for candy) S$14+

FOOD: Yummy

I bought this candy at Central Mall's Nippon-Ya today. It is freeze-dried grapes encased in white chocolate. When I think of white chocolate, I would usually think of extreme sweetness because of the high milk content. However, this was nicely balanced out by the sour freeze-dried grape within the chocolate. Before I refrigerated it, the chocolate was a little too soft for my taste. Thus, I refrigerated my box. Nippon-Ya has quite a variety of prettily wrapped Japanese confectionery that aren't available at the nearby Meidi-ya. I love Meidi-ya but now, I will also pay a visit to Nippon-Ya when I am in the area.

Waraku restaurant at Central Mall

SPECIAL MENTION: Ramune drink (reminds me of childhood) and the huge selection. It even has a Spring menu for now. Also, the branch at Marina Square has tatami rooms if you are with a group of friends. I suggest you make a reservation if you want to dine in the tatami room. Service was prompt even at lunch hour.

SUGGESTIONS:
1) Freeze the serving glass for the cold drinks so that it will be very chilled. This will be a delightful surprise for the patrons. 2) Have a menu of recommended dishes to ease the selection process by making it less overwhelming.
3) For the windows, do install some form of shade because the Sun can get glaring at noon time.

PRICE: $$ (Inexpensive) about S$40 for 2 persons

FOOD: Average (worth a visit)

Visited the Waraku restaurant at the spanking new Central Mall for lunch today. The overall experience was a pleasant one. My sister and I were asked politely to sit at the bench while they clear a well located table for us. It was a lovely gesture because there were other empty tables for two but they cleared a table for four because it had a nicer view. Our table (no.9) had the view of Singapore River and the colourful and quaint refurbished warehouses.

Upon being brought to the table, I was overwhelmed by the four colourful menus on the table. I was so overwhelmed by the numerous dishes and various permutations of dishes (set meals) that I had difficult time choosing what I wanted to have for lunch. There were so many choices that I couldn't bear to look through everything and just settle on the Rindo set (Cold udon noodles, cold soba noodles and pork cutlet topped with egg on rice). My sister chose tempura and zaru soba. I ordered a Ramune and my sis ordered an iced green tea.

The food was served very promptly (within 10min) and both our meals came together. Whenever restaurants serve the food of friends or family separately, it irks me. What do they expect the other person to do? Stare and drool? Haha... One up to Waraku for serving our meals together and with haste.



The chawanmushi was average, but interesting. It was served with a sprig of mint leaf, gingko nut, piece of fish skin (salty), mushroom, chicken and piece of lime (sour). A funny amalgation of tastes. I liked the slight sour taste, the fresh taste of spring.



The Rindo set I had was a carbohydrate-rich meal. In fact, a little too heavy for me. The pork cutlet was fantastic. A lot of crunch in the meat because it was cut in such a way that when I bit into it, I was biting against the grain of the meat. One more credit to the chef was that even though the beatened egg was poured onto the fried meat, meat was still crispy and not soggy. The udon noodles were more springy and smoother than the soba noodles. But, of course, the soba noodles were healthier :)

I did't try the tempura but my sister remarked that it was a little too greasy. Perhaps it was fried for too long at a temperature lower than optimum.

*Ramune drink: soda pop with marble

Once upon a time

My first foray into the world of the FOOD BLOGS! I really think I should have started blogging about food earlier considering that I am an ardent fan of yummilicious food. The thought of tasting good food just creates this rush through my blood and empties my stomach, haha... I think I am a rather fortunate girl who has been to a lot of fabulous places to dine. However, I will not blog about those places because I don't think I can give an accurate description worth the salt of those places becauses it will be difficult to recall the details. Thus, I will start anew, only blogging about my new adventures in the world of culinary delights.

I will try my best to bring to you my latest exploits so that you can share my joy in tasting mouthwatering meals. Nonetheless, I doubt this blog will be about restaurants like The Fat Duck or Tetsuya's because I am still an undergraduate. My pockets are still rather shallow unless someone sponsors :P Just kidding,

Alrighty, off we go into the world of delicioso (delicious in spanish, it has a nicer ring) nosh. I hope you enjoy reading my updates as much as I hope I enjoy writing them :)




*Disclaimer: All that is mentioned in this blog are the author's personal opinions and the author will not be held liable for any negative consequences suffered by the mentioned eateries.