2015 was the year of waffles, OTT milkshakes, softserves, churros and bingsu. The stronger players are still around, while those riding on the trend have said their goodbyes.

That is fast, isn’t it? Survival of the fittest.

Some foodies told me the Instagram food in Singapore ”Ho kwa bo ho chiak”, which essentially means – photogenic, but lousy in taste. Whereas it can be a different story in Sydney and Bangkok.

A challenge for F&B businesses to serve up trendy instagrammable food that is worth both the calories and money then.

10 Instagrammable Food In Singapore 2016 – Salted Egg, Matcha and Cheese Anything Rule The Year

Salted Egg Croissants
Available at: Antoinette (Penhas Road)

Remember those days when almost every other café (plus BreadTalk and Delifrance) came up with their own version of Salted Egg Croissants. (Or salted egg-anything.)

That *moment* captured on Instagram-videos where the yellow goodness would flow out of crispy, buttery croissant. Life is not really fair, as some didn’t flow, yah?

Unfortunately, the fame of the croissants were as short lived as the flow.

My favourite is still Antoinette’s Salted Yolk Lava Croissant ($6.50+) created by Chef Pang Kok Keong was made using traditional French method (French butter and dough) to produce a crispy, flaky crust and layering, in the shape of a bull’s horn.

Each bite into the crust was filled with a crunchy and buttery sensation. The liu sha mix is made with real, natural salted egg yolk, sugar and milk to produce a smooth and flowy texture. The Best Salted Egg Croissant In Singapore Is…

Cheese Tarts
Available: Bake Cheese Tart Singapore (ION Orchard)

Suddenly, so many shops in Singapore were selling Cheese Tarts – Prima Deli, The Icing Room, Antoinette.

But the real McCoy is Bake Cheese Tart from Hokkaido, which has opened at ION Orchard to 3-hour long queues.

Singaporeans didn’t quite mind the queue. Some flew over to Bangkok and Hong Kong to get them, and boasted on social media.

These tarts from Japan have a crumbly exterior, fluffy inner texture, and cheesy warm soft filling – making them an instant hit.

Rainbowl Bagels
Available: WORD. (906P Upper Thomson Road)

These Rainbow Bagels ($8) propelled to instant-insta fame after it became one of the most popular food items at the Geylang Serai Bazaar, which also received much social media buzz.

Inspired by those served in Brooklyn and New York, the owners created their version from watching countless YouTube videos, eventually making this version filled with strawberry cream cheese, biscuit crumble and marshmallows.

A lot of people heard “good to see, not good to eat” but still went on to buy more anyway. 10 Rainbow Foods In Singapore

Matcha Salted Egg Lava Toast
Available: The Bakery Chef (Jalan Bt Merah)

Ah-huh, you may have seen this video from Insider making their rounds on Insider, and this humble cake café at Jalan Bukit Merah from Singapore has propelled to instant fame.

For $14.80, you get a choice of toast (charcoal, brioche or matcha), fillings (salted egg, Nutella or matcha) and a non-optional topup of chocolate, vanilla or matcha ice cream.

A toast with crispy layer and oozing centre has driven some instagrammers on a frenzy, but take note quality may be comprised as the small shop has the challenges handling the hype.

Lava Avalanche
Available: Non Entrée Desserts (Rangoon Road)

Cray cray. This is warm Matcha Green Tea Lava Cake ($13.90) with Azuki Beans flowing onto smokey roasted green tea gelato, crunchy almond nougatine and chocolate soil.

Loved the textural contrast after the visually euphoric moment.

Note: Horlicks version available NOW for limited period. 5 Places For Your Lava Toasts Fix In Singapore

Raclette Cheese
Available at Meat N Chill (Bukit Timah Road)

There was a period of time when my Facebook wall was flooded with videos of melty cheese on food of all kinds.

Like seriously.

But of course, the Raclette Cheese takes the wheel (pardon the pun). The Swiss cheese fish involves heating a wheel of semi-hard cow’s milk cheese, and scrapping off (racler) the melted part onto food.

Meat N Chill offers a Little Pigs Burger ($19) which contains pulled pork and spam, with an option of Raclette cheese top up at $5.

You can get the Raclette Cheese Fries in the Meat Platter ($120 meant for 4 pax), which also includes other free-flow sides. Don’t say bo jio.

OTT Cones
Available: 5 The Moments (Tanjong Pagar)

As Over-The-Top (OTT) Milkshakes are so 2015, OTT Cones with double scoops of gelato and all kinds of toppings are going to be the next IN-thing.

Only problem, must finish shooting your 100 photos before it melts ah.

Pokemon Food
Available: Where To Find Pokemon Go Food In Singapore

The Pokemon Café in Singapore has closed, but this is not stopping other cafes in Singapore from riding on the Pokemon Go trend.

Some enterprising food businesses have come up with Pokemon Go related promotions and discounts, while these
are likely to end up on Instagram galleries. Where To Find Pokemon Go Food In Singapore

Coloured Waffles
Available: The Workbench Bistro (Ang Mo Kio)

Because brown waffles are boring.

Cafes such as Montana Singapore and The Workbench Bistro have stepped up their game with offering coloured Waffles.

Who would have thought that a café at AMK Ave 1 Blk 332 would sell such instagrammable BLUE Velvet Waffles.

The price is surprisingly affordable too at $5.50, or $8.80 with a big scoop of ice cream and sauce.

Or you can get the Chocolate S’moreffles ($7.50, $10.80 with ice cream) which offers a combination of both. 11 Very BLUE Food & Drinks In Singapore

Galaxy Cake
Available: Cream & Custard (Bt Ho Swee)

Not exploding Galaxy Note 7, Galaxy Cakes is the latest dessert trend sweeping across Instagram.

As Rainbow Foods are becoming so ‘last year’, patisseries and cafés are introducing bluish-purplish glittery “Galaxy Cakes” inspired by night skies and the milky way.

This “Galaxy” from Cream and Custard has a chocolate base cake, made with 72% Valrhona dark chocolate blackcurrant jelly. For those who like your cakes alcoholic, you would be glad to know the centre contains rum-soaked cherry.

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The post 10 Instagrammable Food In Singapore 2016 – Salted Egg, Matcha and Cheese Anything Rule The Year appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Some years back, I thought Fukuichi Japanese Dining at TripleOne Somerset was a hidden find, though its location was not a prominently known one.

It was deva ju for Kyoaji Japanese Dining, newly opened at Centrepoint.

I do not think many would even know of the existence of this revamped wing of the *serene* mall at downtown Orchard.

Plus, the Japanese restaurant is located at Level 4, understandably less in foot traffic.

(Photo credit: Hannah Chia @mshannahchia)

“Kyoaji” represents “taste from Kyoto”, and its Executive Chef John Phua used to be from Fukuichi Japanese Dining. No wonder I found several of the dishes (Eggplant with Seafood, Almond Prawns) on its menu familiar sounding.

Fans of Fukuichi could venture here, to have a taste of the old favourites. On the flipside, I wonder if regulars would want to have a more varied menu from the past.

In terms of ambience and décor, Kyoaji strikes the right note with a more upmarket feel than its predecessor, and a live sushi counter.

(Photo credit: Hannah Chia @mshannahchia)

Items offered include Sushimi Moriawase ($88), Gozen Sets ($28 – $45), Chirashi Zushi ($35), Nigiri Zushi ($38.00), Ikura Chawan Mushi ($15), assorted Maki ($18 – $30),

(Photo credit: Hannah Chia @mshannahchia)

The signature is the Fukiyose Beinasu ($25), a dish of fresh seafood in eggplant.

The base is made with Japanese soya sauce, mirin and sake braised to a thick sauce. With light hints of yuzu, it was appetizing and fulfilling, perfect with fluffy Japanese rice.

Another popular choice would be the Chirashi Zushi ($35), with assorted sliced raw fish topped on sushi rice. There was a crab stick somewhere in the midst, which I thought was out of place.

Notable was that the rice used was to the sweet side. Some might find it different and actually flavoursome; while others could feel that distracting to the overall taste.

Intrigued by the unicorn-pink colour, I ordered the Hiyashi Gyomen ($13) – cold fish noodles eaten like soba. This was also available at the old Fukuichi.

While I found the texture of the noodles interesting enough, I finished the entire plate in two mouthfuls. A bigger portion would be appreciated.

All in all, there were some dishes worth returning for, though I thought that the price-point at Kyoaji was higher than what general diners would have been comfortable to pay for.

Kyoaji Japanese Dining
176 Orchard Road #04-17/18 The Centrepoint, Singapore 238843
Tel: +65 6694 4068
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 3:00pm, 5:30pm – 10:30pm (Mon – Fri), 11:30am – 10:30pm (Sat- Sun)

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* Daniel’s Food Diary pays for food reviewed unless otherwise indicated.

The post Kyoaji Japanese Dining – A New “Fukuichi” Japanese Restaurant At Centrepoint appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

[Bangkok] Seriously? A Tom Yum Mama dish has become Bangkok’s social media hit, an instagrammable viral wonder.

If you are wondering, ”What is this?”, this pot from Jeh O Chula (some spell the eatery as “Jae Oh”) is essentially instant noodles in Tom Yum soup.

Isn’t it JUST instant noodles? Right.

I got to know of this dish when I asked a Thai counterpart, ”What is Bangkok’s most insta-worthy food NOW?”

“Mama Tom Yum Seafood. Aroy mak!”.

She didn’t understand WHY. The Thais have been eating instant noodles all the time as some kind of comfort food, but instagram has fueled its popularity.

Although Jeh O is opened from 5:30pm onwards, this star dish is only available from 11pm and closes at 2:00am or so.

I made my way to 113 Charat Muang Road, somewhere near National Stadium. Taxi driver 1 was completely clueless, Taxi driver 2 knew exactly where this popular supper dish exist.

Customers are said to queue anything from between 20 minutes to 2 hours! (Why does this experience remind me so much of Singapore’s Soon Li Yong Tau Foo?)

The ‘good’ thing was, waiting diners would be given queue numbers, and the server would call your number with a loud hailer. And there were SOME seats. Fortunately, I understood some very basic Thai. If not, look out for the groups before you.

The customer base at this time of the day seemed to make up of youths, students and friends hanging out for a zhi char meal with beer. I was like the only non-local around.

Got in after a 45 minute wait or so.

The star dish was available in pork ball version (120 baht), seafood (180 baht) or all-in (250 baht). That is between SGD$4.70 to $9.80 only! And portion is good for sharing between 2 to 3 hungry souls.

Ingredients included instant noodle, shrimp, squid, ground pork, two eggs and other unidentified stuff you would add to Tom Yum.

Took a sip and LOVED IT!

Somehow the Tom Yum soup base just tasted more appetising than the usual, mildly spicy, moderately thick, and zesty with lime slices.

The other popular items sold included Thai style sashimi, Thai fish cake, crispy pork and duck meat.

So to summarise:
– The restaurant is called “Jeh O” or “Jae Oh”
– Opens at 5:30pm but Tom Yum Mama is only sold from 11pm onwards.
– Can close about 2am.
– LONG queue.
– Take a queue number first.
– Order pork, seafood or ALL IN versions.
– ENJOY.
– Be prepared to visit toilet frequently the next day with some spicy output. 55555

Banthat Thong Road, 113 Charat Muang Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 (BTS National Stadium)
113 ถ.จรัญเมือง เขตปทุมวัน, Bangkok, Thailand 10330
Tel: +66 64 118 5888
Opening hours: 5:30pm – 2am

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The post Jeh O Chula – This Tom Yum Mama Has Become Bangkok’s Most Instagrammable Supper Dish appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

The power of GREEN. We find Matcha Green Tea included in desserts from cakes, pancakes and waffles, which can translate to more LIKES on your social media feed.

Also Matcha is said to be packed with antioxidants (anything to stay young), helps calm the mind, lowers cholesterol and blood sugar (not sure if it happens when included into cakes).

This is an update of the previous entry on 30 Matcha Desserts in Singapore. (Hope to reach 50 soon.)

40 Matcha Desserts In Singapore – Green Tea Is So Amazing & Instagrammable

Matcha Pop
Matchaya – Icon Village Tanjong Pagar
For an indulgent treat, get the instagrammable Cha Cha Pop priced at a more-expensive-than-usual $8.

This popsicle is a collaboration with the notti-sounding Neh Neh Pop, looking like a dual-coloured Magnum with Matcha and Houjicha shell, covering creamy matcha ice cream.

Matcha Waffles
Tuk Tuk Cha – Jurong Point #02-K9/K10

Latest to the Tuk Tuk Cha menu are Waffles ($9.80), available at the Jurong Point, Sun Plaza, Suntec and Junction 8 outlets.

Choose 2 waffles from a selection of MATCHA, original, chocolate, and red velvet; and one scoop of ice cream (vanilla, choc, mango, coconut, Thai Milk Tea, Thai Green Milk Tea).

Had both the matcha and red velvet base (which actually didn’t make a whole lot of difference other than colours), the outer layer could have been a lot of crisp, with fluffier texture.

Matcha Pie
DW Workshop – 41 Rochester Drive

Matcha Pie ($8.90) which has this sweetish milky matcha filling on crumbly pie. I wished it had a tad more bitterness, and less sweetness though, but this was good enough for satisfaction.

Matcha Montblanc
Kyushu Pancake Singapore – 275 Thomson Road Novena Regency

I had the Matcha Montblanc ($18) because it probably combines three of my favourite things in a single dish.

The fresh cream was light (and didn’t make me feel fat), the pancakes were ‘Asian’-tasting and less buttery, more doughy and grainy, and not entirely super sweet. So it was a more guilt-free dessert.

Matcha Custard Puff
Neato – Burlington Square #01-55

Baked freshly every day (expect 20-30 minutes wait if you missed a batcha), the Matcha Custard Puff ($3) comes with flowy lava centre.

Matcha Azuki Cake
Doutor Coffee 株式会社ドトールコーヒー – Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3, #01-05

I suspect not many know there is actually Doutor Coffee in Singapore. Doutor is a popular Japanese retail company specialising in coffee roasting and coffee cafes, with over 1200 outlets around the world. My favourite branch being the one at Ginza.

Get one of the Matcha + Azuki Cake. This combination seldom goes wrong.

Matcha Opera
Henri Charpentier – Orchard Central

The Matcha Opera ($9.00) contains layers of almond sponge cake soaked in matcha syrup, layered with matcha butter cream and white chocolate ganache.

A flavour of matcha with an accent of hidden orange confit.

Matcha Fromage
Henri Charpentier – Orchard Central

Fluffy Hanjuku Fromage ($3.00) souffle-style baked cheesecake infused with Itoen Matcha.

Matcha Choux
Ollella – Residence@Somme, 3 Petain Road

Ollella specialises in making choux pastries filled with luscious creams. Their Matcha Choux ($4.50) contains green craqueline choux, matcha chantilly, with sweet azuki beans.

Iced Matcha with Espresso
Starbucks – Various branches

(Not a dessert, but I thought I should include this in.) Starbucks has introduced a Teapresso range, available primary in Asia. It’s iced matcha and espresso, with layered colours (cue: instagrammable), have proven to be very popular among Singaporeans.

Matcha Salted Egg Lava Toast
The Bakery Chef – Jalan Bt Merah

Ah-huh, you may have seen this video from Insider making their rounds on Insider, and this humble cake café at Jalan Bukit Merah from Singapore has propelled to instant fame.

For $14.80, you get a choice of toast (charcoal, brioche or matcha), fillings (salted egg, Nutella or matcha) and a non-optional topup of chocolate, vanilla or matcha ice cream.

A toast with crispy layer and oozing centre has driven some instagrammers on a frenzy.

Matcha Avalanche
Non Entrée Desserts – Rangoon Road

Cray cray. This is warm Matcha Green Tea Lava Cake ($13.90) with Azuki Beans flowing onto smokey roasted green tea gelato, crunchy almond nougatine and chocolate soil.

Loved the textural contrast after the visually euphoric moment.

Matcha Salted Egg Croissant
Asanoya Bakery – Queen Street

The Matcha Salted Egg Croissant ($4.90) is served in limited quantities from 11am onwards while stocks last.

The pastry came petite-sized, and I would wish for the crust to be fluffier. However, the combination actually worked.

While salted egg still took main priority and pretty much overpowered everything else in terms of taste, there was subtle notes of green tea which gave an added dimension.

Matcha Polo Ice
NICEDAY – Tiong Bahru Plaza

The Polo Ice ($6.90) is probably the most unique of the NICEDAY series, which reminded me of a particular type of bingsu I had in Seoul.

The bowl of powdered icy snow comes in various flavours like MATCHA, and in a shape of a Hong Kong style pineapple bun – apparently quite big in the southern Taiwan now.

As you dig further into the ‘snow’, you find hidden treasures like grass jelly, red bean, nata, mochi balls. You can then further add in taro and sweet potato balls, and mix all around.

Matcha Soft Roll ($4)
Redpan – Marina Square

Redpan’s Matcha Soft Roll ($4) is supposedly supplied from Dulcet & Studio. So anyway… this is one of the few matcha rolls around with some deep lingering green tea flavours, and the outer texture was soft and fluffy.

This is what I call Matcha-Rolling in the deep.

Matcha Snowflake Ice
Smoothie House – One Raffles Place

The Matcha and Red Bean Snowflake Ice with Panna Cotta ($12.90) has resembles the bingsu that I usually order, but it is not. I would describe the texture of most bingsu like fine snow, while the Taiwanese shaved ice having more folds and layers.

The matcha imported from Japan is on the slightly bitter side, but fans of red bean should relish this.

Matcha Azuki Tea
Teapresso – Toa Payoh Central

Teapresso is quite unlike the typical bubble tea shops you see out there. A major difference is, tea is actually brewed and extracted on the spot.

One of the top sellers is the Matcha Azuki Tea ($2.90), many’s favourite combination of green tea latte with sweet red bean at the bottom. You can scoop it up towards the end of the drink, or mix them all together to have red bean on every sip.

Matcha Oki Machi
Oki Machi – Toa Payoh Central

Other than Teapresso drinks, the kiosk also sells Oki Machi – Taiwanese style muah chee with different flavours such as Matcha Creamy Milk (1 piece $2, 4 pieces $6).

You may have seen stalls selling this at Taipei’s Shilin Nightmarket and Ning Xia Nightmarket.

The sticks are freshly grilled on the spot using a waffle-machine, may have to wait a while, but you will leave with these crispy, chewy sticks drizzled with addictive sauces.

Matcha Opera
Patisserie Platine – Marina Bay Sands

A ‘Waku Ghin’ cake at celebrity Chef Tetsuya Wakuda’s Patisserie Platine.

The Matcha Opera ($10) did feel off-balanced, with the espresso and coffee butter cream suppressing its overall taste. The matcha components turned out to take a weak secondary role.

Matcha Ice Cream Roll
21 Cube Artisan Ice Cream – Scape

Here’s how it works. You order a base flavor (say matcha) and add in mixes of fruits, cookies and sauces such as nutella.

$4.90 for base with 1 mixer, $5.40 for 2 mixers. Customers decide what you go into their ice cream. Ah, the autonomy, freedom, and ‘creativity’ in deciding your very own ice cream flavours.
I liked the ice cream’s smooth creamy texture, easily eaten as they are cut into bite-sized pieces.

Matcha Eclair
L’ÉCLAIR by Sarah Michelle – Clemenceau Avenue

The Matcha éclair ($8) was rich and not overly intense, with a slight bitterness after taste.

As we cut the matcha eclair into smaller bits (they were too long to pop it into our mouths), the liquid matcha flowed out like a lava cake (Let it flow, let it flow, can’t hold it back anymore).

Matcha Chou Pop
Patties & Wiches – Ngee Ann City

The must-get item at Patties & Wiches is the Chou-Pop ($3) baked by patisserie Fumi Araya who is based in the café itself.

At a value-for-money pricing, this cream puff dessert in flavours of matcha, strawberry or mango, contains delightfully smooth cream that would make most Japanese tai-tais go “Oishii ne!” with that million-dollar expression matched with a shy smile.

Matcha Milkshake
Cake Spade – Tanjong Pagar

Once upon a time, OTT milkshakes were VERY in trend.

For the Cake Shakes at Cake Spade, the Matcha Azuki seemed to be the best tasting shake. But other than the matcha goma cake, I couldn’t help thinking that the others are just rather ‘economical’ ingredients.

Matcha Shibuya Toast
Wa Café – Chinatown Point

Wa’s Matcha and Ogura Shibuya Toast ($17.80) is dazzling. Opps. The honey toast was thick yet fluffy, topped with smooth matcha and vanilla ice cream, mocha and ogura Japanese red bean. Absolutely satisfying, recommended 2 or more to share. One of my favourite (and hidden) Japanese café in Singapore.

Matcha Souffle
Miam Miam French Japanese Café Kitchen – Bugis Junction, Westgate, Tampines One

This Japanese-French style soufflé is oven-baked only when ordered. Do leave a 20 minute waiting time. Quite airy, fluffy, with tinge of bitter matcha aftertaste.

Matcha Softserve
AmaSoy – Jurong Point (next to MOF)

AmaSoy’s Matcha Softserve is great value for money. The texture is milky and smooth, as good as those you would get in Japanese restaurants, matched with a subtle delicate taste of green tea.

Matcha Iced Blended
Tsujiri Tea House – 100AM Tanjong Pagar, 313 @ Somerset

If you need a thirst quencher, go for Uji Kintoki ($5.80) shaved ice with green tea syrup, or O-maccha Milk Ice Blended ($5.50). The latter one of the most ‘matcha’ of many drinks I had – you can really taste the ‘green-teaness’ and fine distinct quality of the powder in its subtlely.

Matcha Cake with Goma
Dolce Tokyo – 313 @ Somerset

Photogenic much. Matcha Cake with Goma ($11.50) which comes served in a Japanese-style bird cage.

I hear Dolce Tokyo make them in small quantities daily. We may have seen many green tea azuki cakes versions around, but not quiite green tea black sesame. The best part? The crunchy green tea crumble on its top layer. Though considered quite expensive.

Matcha Anmitsu
Nana’s Green Tea Café The Atrium @ Orchard, Plaza Singapura

Nana’s Green Tea was once voted as the No. 1 Japanese cafe for matcha lovers (in Japan lah, not here), and had been known as Japanese’s version to Starbucks.

Its desserts such as its Matcha Anmitsu ($8.80) and parfaits are definitely its strength. It may not blow you away but makes a decent afternoon tea-time treat, with its azuki red bean paste smooth and satisfying.

Matcha Pancake
Hoshino Coffee – Plaza Singapura, Suntec City, Capitol Piazza

Hoshino Coffee is already quite popular in Japan, specialising in hand-dripped coffee and fluffy soufflé pancakes.

Its signature Pancake Souffle Style with Matcha and Ogura Bean Paste ($13.50) will take long to serve as they are freshly made on the spot, and accordingly their oven can only produce 6 at a single time.

Matcha Chococro
St Marc Café – Vivocity, Raffles City, Marina Square, Parkland Green East Coast Parkway

Many buy St Marc Café’s Chococro in boxes of 5. The Matcha Daifuku Chococro ($2.60) is crispy flaky matcha chocolate croissant with mochi and red bean within. Quite super when eaten warm.

Maccha Dorayaki
Maccha House – Orchard Central

This is what Doreamon would have loved. Maccha House serves a larger version of the Maccha Azuki Bean Dorayaki ($8.40). Not overly fantastic reviews for some other items.

Go for the Maccha Parfaits which come with rice flour, chocolate or soy milk pudding. They even serve the Hot Maccha drink the traditional way – self-concocted out of a bowl.

Green Tea Bingsu
Nunsaram Korean Dessert Café – Orchard Central

Nunsaram’s bingsu is one of the most photogenic. Just look at this Green Tea Bingsu ($13.90) with ice cream, generous scoop of red bean and almond nut slices. The Korean cafe also uses one of those expensive bingsu machines, ensuring snowflake-like shavings, though we felt it was still not as smooth as some of the prominent ones.

Matcha Chiffon Cake
Dulcet & Studio – Liang Court River Valley Road

Opened by Tampopo Group, Dulcet & Studio is a self-service café which cooking studio at one end. So cakes are of a certain quality. The café has quite a range of matcha desserts from éclairs, puddings to this rather creamy chiffon cake ($7).

Matcha Tiramisu
L’Atelier Tiramisu – The Central at Clarke Quay

When Japan meets Italy. The Matcha Tiramisu ($15 for 250gm) contains biscuits soaked in a Japanese green tea brew, and still retains the essence of a tiramisu.

Matcha Lava Cake
Babette Restaurant & Bar – Tyrwhitt Road Parc Sovereign Hotel

Matcha Lava ($12) green tea infused cake is one of the few cakes I had that both tasted and smelled ‘matcha’, almost brilliant, but perhaps overpowered by the over-sweet white chocolate fondant.

Green Tea Mille Crepe Cake
Lady M – Orchard Central

Green Tea Mille Crepe ($9/slice) where the sweetness of the pastry cream wedded the subtlety of the fine green tea powder. You can choose either to peel layer by layer, or take a bite of its entirety. My method is the former.

Matcha Pound Cake
Nicher – Blk 71 Seng Poh Road Tiong Bahru

Nicher is such an understated stall. Its Matcha Azuki Pound Cake ($14) with whole Hokkaido azuki beans is quality stuff, robust in green tea flavour, best paired with a cup of hot tea. Note: Always sold out early (say late afternoon).

Matcha Frozen Custard
Density Frozen Custard – Short Street

Frozen custard, not exactly ice cream. Prices were $4 for single scoop, $7 for double, $9.50 for triple, and $9 for a two scoop sundae with 2 toppings and sauce.

The texture was true to its name ‘denser’, smooth and creamy, won’t feel like there is air or ice crystals ‘trapped’ within. It reminded me of a velvety version of thickened gelato. The matcha flavour though, is not available all the time.

Let me know if there are any special MATCHA desserts around.

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The post 40 Amazing Matcha Desserts In Singapore – For The Green Tea Lovers appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

”So chio… So garden-like… Are we in Singapore?”

We were greeted by multiple pots of green plants at the entrance and woody elements of the furniture at this undiscovered, under the radar café at Paya Lebar Road.

There were glimpses that reminded us of Karmakamet Diner in Bangkok. Emphasize, glimpses.

Knots Living is a one stop furniture showroom where everything there is for sale, including the table we were sitting at for our meals. Of course, at a discounted rate.

The café is located within the greens and the woods, serving as a rest point for the shoppers.

Due to NEA regulations, there is unfortunately no kitchen for cooking.

Instead, Soup ($4.90), Sandwiches ($6.80 – $7.80), Salad ($4.80 – $5.40), Coffee, Ice Cream and Waffles were available daily.

On days when the Chef is around (if you are lucky), there will be All Day Breakfast such as Egg Benedict ($12.90) and Scrambled Egg on Toast ($7.50), Mac & Cheese ($10.90) and Pizza ($10 – $24)

Coffee sets are available at $6.90 with a Muffin, $7.90 with a Pastry and $8.90 with a slice of cake. A decent deal.

Chocolate lovers will enjoy this quadraple- layered Chocolate Cake, with a thick layer of chocolate in between each layers.

The texture of the cake could be a little dense, but drizzled with chocolate fudge and chocolate chips on top, it’s a chocolate heaven there.

Waffles were available as Plain ($4.30) with butter and maple syrup, or served with single scoop ($7.80) or double scoops ($9.90) of ice cream.

Ice Creams were supplied by Ice Cream Chefs with interesting flavours such as Black Sesame and Taro. Premium flavours were priced at an additional $1.

The waffle reminded me of one from my neighbourhood bakery. Dense and cakey, probably a tad heavy for a dessert.

We loved the ice cream though. Rich, creamy and not too icy.

If you are looking for some furniture shopping, Knots Living could be that option.

Food wise, it can be a knotty issue.

Knots Living
160 Paya Lebar Road #01-07 Orion@PayaLebar, Singapore 409022
Opening Hours: 10am – 8pm (Mon-Sun)
https://www.facebook.com/knotsliving/

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The Bakehouse by Carpenter & Cook (Alexandra Central)
The Dwelling Place (Tessensohn Road)

* Written by Nicholas Tan @stormscape. Visit his instagram for all things [NEW].

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[Tokyo] Tsuta 蔦 is the first ever ramen joint to get a Michelin star, which is an indication of its exceptional quality. (Read: 10 Must-Try Ramen & Tsukemen at Tokyo)

The 9-seater ramen eatery serves soba in ramen style (850 yen), known for its soy based broth where the soy is aged for 2 years.

Noodles are made with four types whole wheat flour, chashu served with black truffle sauce, and broth an umami chicken-seafood blend, along with rock salt, red wine and rosemary infusions.

Perfection in execution.

Only 150 bowls of ramen are served daily – priced at ‎¥1,000 to ‎¥1,500 (S$13 to S$20) a bowl.

Note: Super, duper long queue.

Queues form as early as 6am every morning, even though the shop only opens at 11am.

So what diners do is to first queue for tickets at 8am (!) for the day’s seatings.

Now, the good news.

Tsuta’s Singapore outpost will open in Pacific Plaza, along Orchard Road in October – adjacent to the upcoming Kam’s Roast Goose outlet.

Info from the press release: The intimate 18-seater will offer ramen in three soup bases: a Miso Soba; a Shio Soba made with an enticing chicken-seafood broth, rock salt, red wine and rosemary; and Tsuta’s signature Shoyu Soba, made with dashi brewed from a combination of beef, chicken, clams and and three types of soy sauces, including one specially brewed by an artisanal soy sauce producer in Japan’s Wakayama prefecture.

Looking forward to it!

(Photo credit: Tsuta Singapore Facebook)

Tsuta 蔦
1-14-1 Sugamo, Toshima-ku, Tokyo (5 min walk from Sugamo Station)
東京都豊島区巣鴨1-14-1 Plateau-Saka 1F
Tel: 03-3943-1007
Opening Hours: 11am – 4pm
Google Maps – Tsuta

Tsuta Singapore
9 Scotts Road, #01-01/02/03, Pacific Plaza, Singapore 228 210

Other Related Entries
10 Must-Try Ramen & Tsukemen at Tokyo
Ichiran Ramen 一蘭 (Shinjuku, Tokyo)
Kyushun Jangara 九州じゃんがら(Tokyo)
Fu-unji 風雲児 (Tokyo)
Afuri Ramen (Tokyo)

The post Tsuta 蔦 – 1st Michelin Ramen Shop In The World Opening In Singapore At Orchard appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Ribs + Black Angus Ribeye or Wagyu Tonkatsu + Beef Short Ribs + Chicken Leg + Raclette Cheese Fries + FREE FLOW sides.

Life has just gotten so much better.

Meat N Chill at 6th Avenue Centre Bukit Timah Road has been known for serving American food such as ribs and burgers at affordable prices.

The 70-seater gets quite busy over the weekends, as families and friends see it as a place to bond over hearty food and drinks.

NOW, this Meat N’Chill Meat Platter (available for limited period) may be that life-changer.

The platter contains main pieces of 300g Black Angus Ribeye or Wagyu (Tajima MS6) Sirloin (additional $20 top-up), Jumbo Spicy Chicken Leg, Braised Beef Short Ribs, Marbled Pork Collar Tonkatsu and their Signature Ribs.

That is A LOT of food!

Meant for 4 diners, free flow garden salad, honey butter corn and potato-bacon-apple salad are also included.

Each additional diner beyond 4 would charged $5, but there will be free-flow sides. So all good.

One of the highlights… is Raclette Cheese Fries!

There was a period of time when my Facebook wall was flooded with videos of melty cheese on food of all kinds. Like seriously.

But of course, the Raclette Cheese takes the wheel (pardon the pun). The Swiss cheese dish involves heating a wheel of semi-hard cow’s milk cheese, and scrapping off (racler) the melted part onto fries.

That is not over.

Here is the cue for you to get your cameras ready for Instagram, bourbon will be poured over, and flamed up on the fries.

My favourite food item on the whole platter was still the signature fall-off-the-bones pork ribs, in which a whopping 30 hours were spent just marinating and smoking those ribs over hickory and mesquite wood chips.

Good to know: Chef removed the membranes from the pork ribs to avoid any unpleasant chewy texture during consumption.

You would be given a variety of choices for the sauce, which includes original, spicy, cajun, honey mustard, hickory and bourbon.

Meat N Chill also offers a Little Pigs Burger ($19) which contains pulled pork and spam, with an option of Raclette cheese top up at $5. Don’t say bo jio.

More of cheese Another must-order if you like your carbs all cheesy, is the Black Truffle Mac n’ Cheese ($25).

This is a dish of macaroni cooked in a smooth, creamy sauce, with ham, bacon and mushroom, sprinkled with fresh summer truffle. Indulgent, so do get a friend to share if you have diet plans.

For lunch goers, you will be glad to know the set lunches are wallet-friendly at $14.90.

There are choices of Grilled Ribeye Salad (for those healthier souls who need your protein), Pulled Pork Burger, Pan-seared Catch of The Day, Hearty Beef Stew, Chicken Duo (grilled chicken with fried chicken cutlet), Country style Chicken Sandwich, and Baked Mac & Cheese.

The set lunches come with Iced Lemon Tea and Soup of the Day. Such value for money.

As the of name Meat and Chill implies, it is a restaurant for friends to gather over meats and a place to chill-out. (Spotted a few celebs dining here too.) The NEW Meat Platter is a must-try.

Meat and Chill
805 Bukit Timah Road, 6th Avenue Centre #01-04 Singapore 279883 (Sixth Avenue MRT)
Tel: +65 6219 7460
Opening Hours: 11:00am – 2:30pm, 5:00pm-10:30pm (Tues – Thurs)
11:00am – 2:30pm, 5:00pm-11:00pm (Fri),
11:00am – 11:00pm (Sat)
11:00am – 10:30pm (Sun)
Closed Mons, last orders at half an hour before closing

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meatnchill
Reservations: http://meatnchill.com/Home/Reservation

* This entry is brought to you in partnership with Meat and Chill.

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[Bangkok] Coffee is subjective. I won’t go into details about the acidity, aroma, balance, complexity of this coffee. All I know is I like it. (Read: 10 Best Cafes At Bangkok Thonglor)

Roots Coffee Bar has been one of my favourite places to grab a cup of caffeine, now located at The Commons Bangkok at Thonglor Soi 17.

Some background: The coffee purveyor is opened by the same team behind the popular café Roast.

Previously located at Ekkamai and opened for limited hours during the weekends, its new-found home has made coffee fans very glad. (Though some would comment it lost its previous charm.)

During my last trip, I actually chose to skip coffee at Roast (upstairs Level 4) to have it here. I am sure they are very similar if you pick the same choice of beans, but somehow the vibes and execution are different.

Roots is known to source and roast some of the best coffee beans from around the world, and they also work with Thai farmers to improve their livelihood and coffee-growing quality in Thailand.

Besides espresso based coffee, filter coffee as well as cold brew are available.

The two highlights for me is the fruity Cold Brew (100 baht), offered fresh from the tap.

There is also a Barista’s Choice which offers winning drinks from a barista competition.

Also, look out for their Special Cold Brew Of The Month.

In June, I had a Honey Malt Cold Brew added with honey melon, and a refreshing and alluring Chinotto Cold Brew with grapefruit just last week.

Some of the baristas would strike a conversation if they are not busy in their work (which I appreciate); while the rest would just do their thing.

Fresh beans, balanced taste (for me), skilful execution… have an espresso or cold brew here.

(Photo credit: Hannah chia @mshannahchia)

Roots Coffee Roaster
M/F, The Commons, 335 Thonglor Soi 17, Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: +66 097 059 4517
Opening Hours: 8am – 7pm (Mon – Sun)

Other Related Entries
10 Best Cafes At Bangkok Thonglor
The Commons (Bangkok)
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Vanilla Garden (Bangkok)
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The post Roots Coffee Bar – For One Of The Best Coffee & Cold Brew In Bangkok appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Oh My Tian! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the ultimate Café Guide to 100 NEW Cafes in Singapore that opened in 2016 (some December 2015).

We hope that this will be helpful to you as go on your café hopping and food instagramming trips.

For convenience, the cafes are not organized in any form of merit, but categorized by districts – Orchard, CBD, North, South, East, West, and Northeast of Singapore.

The Daniel’s Food Diary team (actually that is just me @DanielFoodDiary and @stormscape LOL) covered every single one listed here. We apologize that we are unable to visit ALL the NEW cafes in Singapore, as my email inbox is basically flooded daily with requests. BUT we tried.

Note: Before visiting any cafes, it would be helpful to check their Facebook or better still, drop a call just to make sure the cafes are opened. (We had our experiences with closed doors very often.)

So here it is… 100 NEW Cafes in Singapore 2016

Orchard, Somerset, Dhoby Ghaut

D’Good Café
391 Orchard Road #B1-56 Takashimaya S.C., Ngee Ann City Singapore 238872
Tel: +65 6694 1411
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm (Mon – Sun)

The 65-seater café (with another outlet at Holland Village) at Takashimaya S.C., Ngee Ann City houses two concepts – a London Tube and an English Garden. Apart from coffee, the café is dedicated to specialty tea.

Food wise, expect mains such as Ling Cod Fish and Chips ($22.00), The Scotch Egg ($13.00) and Poached Fresh Lobster pasta ($22.00).

As one of the partners is actor Chew Chor Meng, MediaCorp artistes get a discount when they dine here. No wonder we have spotted some celebs having their brunch here.

Saint Pierre Market
391 Orchard Road, #02-11 Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Ngee Ann City, Singapore 238872
Opening Hours: 8am – 7pm

If you find this hard to find, Saint Pierre Market is outside Tower B, a short walk away from the taxi stand, where Marmalade used to be. The cafe offers some artisanal bread, some cakes, some salads, and coffee from Nespresso. Em, no comments. Many of the salad boxes contain more vegetables and fruits, and less meat.

The Coffee Academics Singapore
Level 2, Scotts Square, 6 Scotts Road, Singapore 228209 (Orchard MRT)
Opening Hours: 9am – 9pm Daily

The Coffee Academics in Singapore looks like a café meets science laboratory meets working space.
The Singapore flagship store has been designed as a 7 Sensory Station experience. The Coffee Academics Singapore (Scotts Square)

Pompompurin Café
Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road #04-08 Singapore 238896 (Somerset MRT)
Opening Hours: 11am – 10.30pm (last order 10pm)
Takeaway services are not available
No reservations, walk-in only

The Pompompurin Café in Singapore has a “Garden City” theme (same same as Hello Kitty), with a signature Pompompurin Gate at the entrance, and Pompompurin and Friends Tree. Though people will rush to sit in the ‘tree houses’.

Food includes Spaghetti Napolitana ($26.99), Mushroom & Bacon Carbonara ($26.99), Taco Rice in a Cup of Friendship ($19.99), Pompompurin’s Coconut Milk Chicken Curry ($17.99) and Pompompurin’s Beef Stroganoff ($18.99).

Honolulu Cafe
#01-33F/G The Centrepoint 176 Orchard Road, Singapore 238843
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm

Honolulu Café from Wanchai Hong Kong, known for its old school cha chaan teng style of food, has opened 10th May at The Centrepoint.

The signature Honolulu Egg Tart (set to be priced at SGD$1.70) is known for its 192 layers of flaky pastry, crumbly, with wobbly aromatic eggy fillings. Honolulu Singapore (Centrepoint)

Ice Lab
Orchard Shopping Centre, 321 Orchard Road #01-01/02, Singapore 238866 (Somerset MRT)
Opening Hours: 1:30pm – 1am (Mon-Thu), 10am – 1am (Fri-Sun)

My friend almost fainted when she saw the price of the bingsu. $19.30. And that is for a small sized one. The large at $4 extra. Many come for the snow-making machine that would create falling snow in the middle of a round table. How long more is the bingsu craze going to last? Ice Lab (Somerset)

Dutch Baby Cafe
The Paragon, B1-13, 290 Orchard Road, Singapore 238859 (Orchard MRT)
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm (Mon-Sun)

Located at the basement of The Paragon, Dutch Baby Café is opened by the people behind Japan Food Holdings. Think Ajisen Ramen, Menya Musashi and Fruit Paradise – whch served as one of the desserts here).

Their signature items are the Dutch Baby Pancakes ($11.80 – $13.80) with both sweet and savoury versions made with eggs, flour, sugar and milk on hot cast iron pans straight from the oven. Dutch Baby Café (Orchard Paragon)

Dazzling Café Pink
277 Orchard Road #01-12 Orchardgateway Singapore 238858 (Somerset MRT)
Tel: +65 6385 3639
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Sun – Thurs), 11am – 10.30pm (Fri – Sat)

Other than the signature Shibuya Toasts, the appeal of Dazzling had to be the décor, and hospitable plus cutesy Taiwanese-style service, where waitresses dressed as Japanese-style French chambermaids serve the signature thick toasts in prettiness.

Sugar Lips
Orchard Gateway, 277 Orchard Road, #02-01, Singapore 238852
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Mon-Sun)
https://www.facebook.com/eatsugarlips/

While cakes, waffles and molten lava cakes may sound pretty boring, Sugar Lips took a step further with their loud, colourful and exaggerated OTT toppings on their dessert platter.

So BOOMZ… Think colourful sauces drizzled across the entire plate (which may look like a pre-schooler’s drawing at first glance) and random scattering of the dessert toppings all on one plate.

3 sizes of Dessert Platters (with a choice of cake, waffle or lava cake) were available: Standard with 1 topping ($12.90), Medium with 2 toppings ($14.90) and Large with 3 toppings ($16.90).

Henri Charpentier – Orchard
Orchard Central #01-18, 181 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238896
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm

Say “Hello” to financiers, madeleines and biscuits, all packed prettily in boxes with the opening of Japanese patisserie chain Henri Charpentier at Level 1.

Some of the signature items include their popular Financiers ($2.90 for 1) made with fragrant almond and an original cultured butter recipe; Madeleines ($2.90 for 1) made with Hokkaido flour, Japanese lemons, fragrant rum and honey; and Petits Gâteaux Assortis ($14.30 for 8 pieces in a box).

Characters Cafe
Dhoby Xchange B1-36, Singapore 238826 (Dhoby Ghaut MRT)
Opening Hours: 11am – 9pm (Sun-Thu), 11am – 10.30pm (Fri-Sat)

This Characters Cafe at Dhoby Xchange is probably Singapore’s first. The opening theme is “Kuma” which stands for “bear” and Rilakkuma is the first character brought into Singapore by BonJapan.

There will be a different character theme every month. It is cute, but let’s just say do not expect too much from the food.

If you are the type that loathes ley-chey-ness (meaning: tediousness), note that No cash transaction can be made at Characters Café, and meal coupons for a particular date and time slot have to be purchased at http://www.worldsnackday.com. Character Café (Dhoby Xchange)

Meet & Melt
2 Orchard Link #02-33/34 Scape Singapore 237978
Opening Hours: 2pm – 10pm Daily

The family-owned café from Tampines Street 91 has opened its second at Orchard Scape.

Their creations were pretty much the (once) trending desserts such as Charcoal Waffle, Shibuya Toast, Over-The-Top Milkshakes and their newest creation – Thai Green Milk Tea Lava Toast and … Lava CURRY Toast.

Chot-Nun
Far East Plaza, 14 Scotts Road #01-16E Singapore 228213
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Mon – Sun)

Chot-Nun opens at Far East Plaza (where I used to get clothes long long ago), serving bingsu in a takeaway cup with a compartment for dry ice. #totallyinstagrammable

Expect interesting flavours such as durian and peanut butter.

M&S Café
501 Orchard Road #01-01 Wheelock Place Singapore 238880 (Orchard MRT)
Tel: +65 6733 8122
Opening hours: 8:30 am – 10:00 pm (Sun – Thu), 8:30 am – 10:30 pm (Fri – Sat)

The 60-seater café is located near the Food Hall of the store, with a menu which includes a selection of hot meals such as British classics of Fish & Chips, afternoon tea, snacks and drinks.

Offerings include a selection of Breakfast items such as Cereal & Porridge ($4.90), Cheese & Tomato Croissant ($7.90), Soups ($5.90), Salads ($10.90 – $16.90), Sandwiches ($11.90 – $14.90), Pasta ($10.90 – $15.90), Pizza ($17.90 – $19.90), Desserts and Cakes ($6.90 – $8.90). M&S Cafe (Wheelock Place)

CBD, Raffles Place, Tanjong Pagar

The Providore @ Raffles Place
7 Raffles Place Singapore 048625
Tel: +65 6533 1352
Opening Hours: 8am – 11pm (Mon – Sat), 9am – 6pm (Sun, PH)

The Providore has really gone big on this one, with an all-day dining restaurant opened 7 days a week literally in the heart of Singapore’s CBD.

This flagship at Raffles can be considered a café and provisions retail store, for dine-in meals and quick takeaways. There is even an outdoor terrace.

The menu consist of Breakfast (from 8am – 12pm), Salads (11am – 10pm), Sandwiches (11am – 3pm), Mains (12pm – 10pm), Snacks (5pm – 10pm) and pastries. Found it slightly pricey, but this is not stopping the CBD folks from packing the place. The Providore (Raffles Place)

Maison Kayser Raffles Place
OCBC Centre 63 Chulia Street #01-01
Opening Hours: 7am – 9pm (Mon – Fri), 8am – 7pm (Sat – Sun)

Eric Kayser is no unfamiliar name in Paris – his croissants, breads and pastries are well known, using natural leaven in the breads.

This Maison Kayer at OCBC Centre is a larger outfit that its previous two at Grandstand and Scotts Square, serving brunch, pastry items and coffees. The rows and rows of sweet treats under glass were attractive, especially the eclairs of spongy pâte à choux hiding a center of cream.

Punch
32 North Canal Road, Singapore 059288 (Clarke Quay MRT)
Opening Hours: 8am – 11pm (Tue-Fri), 8am – 6pm (Sat-Sun), Closed Mon

A courtyard in an open space with natural lighting, greenery, clean-contemporary look with Aussie vibes should be a big ‘punch’, we mean hit, among the foodies and executives working at the CBD.

Punch at North Canal Road is opened by the owners behind Ronin Café and The Plain, who also run an interior design studio.

A recommended dish is the Fried Chicken ($24 for 5 pieces… expensive?), crunchy and covered with a mild spicy-curry powder, juicy within, which can be dipped in a blue cheese sauce or roasted capsicum relish. A tad overcooked though. Punch (North Canal Road)

Ivory Coffee
10 North Canal Road Singapore 048823
Tel: +65 6532 0341
Opening Hours: 8am – 8pm Daily

Taking over Good Food Heals is Ivory Coffee, with chefs previously from Zafferano and Ce La Vi. Their coffee blend is a mixture of Ethiopa Sidamo, Brazil Yellow Bourbon and Sumatra.

Their noon menu features Slow Roasted Pork Belly ($15.50), Beef Burger ($12.50) and Oven Baked Chicken ($13.50), while there is a selection of Tapas such as Beef Meatballs ($5), Salted Egg Chicken Bites ($8) and Fried Mantou with Condensed Milk come evening time.

Absolute Acai
3 Pickering Street. #01-38 Nankin Row Singapore 048660
Tel: +65 62244088
Opening Hours: 9.30am – 8.30pm (Mon – Fri), Closed Sat – Sun

Absolute Acai is another café specialised in serving Brazilian Acai bowls (Acai na Tigela), this time in Singapore’s CBD area at Pickering Street.

Its Medium Signature Bowl is at $9.50, Brazilian Bowl $7.50, Breakfast Smoothie $6.50 with an optional DIY Bowl at $6.90 with toppings from $0.50 onwards.

The signature acai is blended together with guarana, fresh apples, fresh bananas, 100% natural coconut water, with organic seeds and nuts for the toppings. They emphasized that fresh apples are used instead of processed apple juice in the blend. Absolute Acai (Pickering Street)

Hungry Bazterdz
11 Collyer Quay #01-06 The Arcade Singapore 049317
Tel: +65 6816 3213
Opening Hours: Mon – Fri : 7am – 6pm (Mon – Fri), 8am – 3pm (Sat), Closed Sun

Hungry Bazterdz is set up by the people behind Nomad The Gallant Coffee Roasters, a local independent coffee roaster brand.

Located within The Arcade at Raffles Place, their menu consist of #epicsandwiches such as Mighty Cheese Steak – grilled Beef in a secret 4 cheese sauce, on a buttery and toasty hoagie bun, and Grand Poobah – a family secret recipe of braised beef in jus with emmental Cheese.

Drinks offered include an inhouse Cold Brew Coffee, Sea Salt Caramel Latte and Thai Iced Tea.

Kraftwich
One Raffles Place Tower 1 #B1-04/05, Singapore 048616
Opening Hours: 7.30am – 8.00pm (Mon – Fri), 9.00am – 3.30pm (Sat- Sun)

The Swissbake folks opens a sandwich and salad shop at One Raffles Place (How many salad shops do they need in that same building anyway? 6? 7?)

The budget-conscious would be slightly happy. A main with drink and side cost $13.90, while a salad from Smoked Salmon, Turkey Ham & Cheese and Smoked Duck goes at $9.90. For the early birds, grab some coffee with a croissant sandwich.

Elements & Co.
137 Cecil Street #01-02 Singapore 069537 (Tanjong Pagar MRT)
Opening Hours: 8am – 6pm (Mon-Fri)
https://www.elementsandco.com.sg

Elements & Co. themes themselves as a lifestyle space, bringing together all the different elements from the owners’ travel adventures.

Think Australian coffee, Morrocan Kebabs, Piri Piri Chicken and Risotto.

The Moroccan Souk Kebabs ($14) was our favourite. Apparently, the owners got the inspiration for this dish from their visit to Souk in Marrakech. Most of the dishes taste, well, too healthy. Elements & Co (Cecil Street)

Workspace Espresso
Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3, 12 Marina Boulevard, #01-08, Singapore 018982
Opening Hours: 7.30am – 8pm (Mon-Fri), Closed Sat, Sun

Seem to some other assemble-your-rice-bowl places, Workspace Espresso offers coffee and bakes offerings in the morning (7.30am – 11.30am) and Chap Chye Png (pardon this) style of building your own rice bowls after 11.30am.

Huge bowls and containers were displayed at the counter during lunch hours, from carbohydrates as a base to proteins, sides and dressing.

At $13.80, we were given the choice to choose 1 base, 1 hot protein, 3 sides, 2 toppings and an optional dressing. Add-ons were available at $2 for base, $3.50 for hot protein, $2 for sides and $1 for dressing.

Free the Robot
118 Telok Ayer Street Singapore 068587 (Telok Ayer MRT)
Opening Hours: 8.30am – 4.30pm (Tues-Sat, closed Mon and Sun)

Sharing the same doors as Bitters and Love is Free the Robot, serving western-style brunch food and coffee in the CBD area.

We were recommended the Free the Robot Burger ($12), a homemade beef burger with sunny side up egg, pickles, tomato, melted cheese and bacon, and Surf & Turf Meatballs ($7.5) – mozzarella, tomato, basil on homemade brioche.

Chong Wen Ge Café
168 Telok Ayer Street Singapore 068619 (next to Thian Hock Keng Temple, 5 minutes walk from Telok Ayer MRT Downtown Line)
Tel: +65 8688 3028
Opening Hours: 7:30am – 6pm, 9am – 6pm Daily

Chong Wen Ge Café’s location alone may raise a few eyebrows – right next to Thian Hock Keng Temple, and that is still within Singapore’s CBD we are talking about

There are no typical brunch and waffle items here, but local delights that can literally delight many locals (okay, pardon the pun) – Nyonya Laksa ($8.80), Nyonya Mee Siam ($6.80), Satay Bee Hoon ($8.80), Nyonya Curry Chicken ($9.80), Nonya Otah Sandwich ($4.80) and a selection of Peranakan Kuehs (cakes). Chong Wen Ge (Telok Ayer)

Ninja Bowl
15 Duxton Road Singapore 089481
Tel: +65 6222 8055
Opening Hours: 9:30am – 7:30pm (Mon – Fri), 9am – 6pm (Sat – Sun)

Ninja Bowl has taken over the space where Department of Caffeine used to be

While my friends initially had the impression that Ninja Bowl just serves “healthy bowls”, there are other intriguingly sounding brunch items.

These include Gyu & Tama ($17) – mushroom scrambled eggs with 24-hour braised beef cheek, Tonkotsu Spirit ($16) of aburi cha shu and poached eggs (no tonkotsu or spirits in this one), sandwiches, bites such as Bacon Tempura ($10) and Poutine Fries ($14), and cakes at the display counter. Ninja Bowl (Duxton Road)

Sprout
41 Duxton Road Singapore 089505
Tel: +65 5221 1227
Opening Hours: 10am – 8:30pm (Mon – Fri), 11am – 7pm (Sat)

A friend noted that there are SO MANY salad shops at the CBD area. Seriously a lot.

Just a few shops away from Ninja Bowl is Sprout, serving Salad Bowls such as Ahi Poke Bowl, Beef & Broccoli Bowl and Korean Chicken Bowl – no worries, not deep fried, it’s grilled.

Grain Traders
100 Tras Street, 100 AM Mall #01-03/04 Singapore 079027
Opening Hours: 8am – 8pm (Mon – Fri), 11am – 8pm (Sat – Sun)

The $16 ’ang moh’ chap chye peng shop. Grain Traders offers a Westernised version of economical rice, except that this bowl may not be as economical.

The healthy-dining eatery by the team from Kilo has done well enough to set up a 2nd outlet at Tanjong Pagar 100AM (Amara Hotel).

For $16, you get a basic bowl of 1 grain choice, 1 protein, 1 hot veggie, 2 cold veggies, 1 sauce and 1 topping. Compared to a typical salad bar, the offerings will feel heartier and more filling. Grain Traders (Tanjong Pagar)

Matchaya
#01-72 Icon Village, 12 Gopeng Street, Singapore 078877 (Tanjong Pagar MRT)
Opening Hours: 9am – 9pm (Mon-Fri), 10am – 7pm (Sat-Sun)

Matchaya first made an appearance at various weekend pop-up events in Singapore to “test water” before committing themselves to a physical shop.

Located at the extended (and ulu) wing of Icon Village, it is a takeaway kiosk (unlike the usual cafes) with a clean, minimalist, wooden shopfront (so Japanese!).

The Milk Tea comes in 4 flavours: Matcha, Houjicha, Royal Milk Tea and Kuromitsu, and 3 options: Hot, Cold (additional $0.40) and Bottled (additional $0.90). Matchaya (Tanjong Pagar)

Alchemist
International Plaza, 10 Anson Road #01-34 Singapore 709903.
Opening Hours: 7:30am – 3:30pm (Mon – Fri), 7:30am – 1:30pm (Sat), Closed Sun

The Alchemist, which may remind some of Paulo Coelho’s best selling novel, is an off-shoot of Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters at Upper Thomson – which is also related to coffee roaster and cafe Pacamara at Thailand.

Prices range from $3.00 from an espresso, $4.50 for a white or black, to $5.50 for an Ice White.
Two blends were available when I visited – Dark Matter which was bold and nutty, or Luminous with floral and fruity pineapple tones. Alchemist (Tanjong Pagar)

Cake Spade
83 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088504 (Tanjong Pagar MRT)
Tel: +65 6444 3868
Opening Hours: 12:00pm – 9:30pm (Mon-Thurs), 12:00pm – 10:30pm (Fri-Sat), Close Sun

So Cake Spade has moved from Orchid Hotel to 83 Tanjong Pagar Road. A 1-2 minute walk from the previous location, this patisserie café has a much bigger space, painted in a baby pink on the exterior.

Some of the recommended desserts include the Red Velvet ($6.20), Spiced Carrot Cake ($6.20) and Hummingbird ($6.20). Cake Spade (Tanjong Pagar)

Hashtag88 Café & Bar
88 Tanjong Pagar Road Singapore 088509
Tel: +65 6222 2214
Opening Hours: 12pm – 10pm (Mon – Thurs), 12pm – 12am (Fri – Sat), Closed Sun

Hashtag88, so called because it is on 88 Tanjong Pagar Road, serves up simple homely fare with homemade-cakes.

Food includes Smokey Salmon Sandwich, Baked Cajun, Spicy Bak Kwa Olio, Chicken Breast with Foccacia, Cheezy Baked Pork Ribs, and Bak Kwa Pizza. I had a Salted Egg Cheesecake. Okay lah.

Socks and Pans
7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #01-108 Singapore 081007 (Tanjong Pagar MRT, along Craig Road)
Tel: +65 6536 3310
Opening Hours: 11am – 9pm (Mon – Thurs), 11am – 10pm (Fri – Sat)

A cafe that offers this unusual pairing of western cuisine with local coffee & tea brewed using the traditional coffee sock. Socks and Pans’ moved from Raffles Place Market Street to Tanjong Pagar.

Tuck into Socks & Pans’ freshly-made pizza with interesting flavours or pastas topped with jiggly soft-boiled egg but not without a robust cup of local kopi or teh.

Asian influence can be seen in their menu items. Besides the popular Pepperoni Pizza, other items include Asian Pulled Pork, Bacon Onion, and Hebi Hiam & Tofu Pizzas (from $25 for a Large-sized pizza). Newly added items include Thai Basil Pork Pizza and Stromboli ($16.90).

Bingki Korean Desserts
Blk 7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #01-106 Singapore 081007 (Tanjong Pagar MRT)
Tel: +65 6443 5435
Opening Hours: 11am – 2am (Mon – Thurs, Sun), 11am – 4am (Fri – Sat)

Opened till late, Bingsu for dessert after a Korean feast sounds like a good idea.

More than 10 different bingsu varieties are available, including Red Bean ($12), Injeolmi ($13), DaBang Coffee ($16), Peach ($15), Mango ($15), Melon ($18), Watermelon ($15) and Papaya ($15). The shavings soft and fluffy, the portion small for its price though. Bingki (Tanjong Pagar)

Gemmills
110 Amoy Street #01-02 Singapore 069930
Opening Hours: 11am -12am (Mon – Sat)

This is another hole-in-the-wall, opened by the team behind Maggie Joan’s a few shops away. You enter via Gemmill Lane where Club Street Social and Angeleno.

Gemmills is somewhat like a wine bar, liquor store and café all together in one. Sandwiches and Toasted Croissants ($4.50) with ham and cheese, Vegemite and Cheese On Toast ($4.50) are available. Dark lighting, but also quite a tranquil space to spend a quiet afternoon.

City Hall, Chinatown

Café Muji
Raffles City #02-20/22, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179103
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm

This is Café Muji’s 2nd café and 10th store in Singapore. The 70-seater serves up similar items to the Paragon store, such as Japanese Deli rice sets (aka Japanese style chap chye peng), desserts and drinks.

Food items exclusive to this store include a Chicken Nanban Donburi ($14.90) with chicken nanban in tartar sauce, topped with avocado, mesclun salad on ten-grain rice; Soy-sansho French Fries; and Matcha and Yuzu Swiss Rolls.

Gallery & Co.
National Gallery #01-05, 1 St. Andrew’s Road Singapore 178957 (City Hall MRT)
Opening Hours: 10am – 7pm (Sun – Thurs), 10am – 10pm (Fri – Sat)

The café within the National Gallery. The café is being taken care of by Plain Vanilla known for their cupcakes. is from Papa Palheta, the Throwback blend which many other cafes are also using. A comfortable space to immerse an afternoon in.

The BetterField
The Treasury 100 High Street #01-03 Singapore 179434
Tel: +65 6694 2361
Opening Hours: 8am – 10pm (Mon – Fri), 11am – 10pm (Sat – Sun)
(Hot kitchen closed from 3 – 6pm during weekdays)

The BetterField has moved from its previous location at Waterloo to the Treasury at High Street, taking over the previous SHATEC restaurant previously known as Charcoal / RECIPES Bistro.

Mains include Pulled Duck Burger ($21), French Duck Confit ($22), Mushroom Truffle Risotto ($22), and a selection of “premium selected beef” and spaghetti. The Betterfield (High Street)

Brew Maison
6 Raffles Boulevard, #02-226A/B, Marina Square Singapore 039594
Opening Hours: 10am – 9pm

Brew Maison is a pretty little place, said to be inspired by both Japanese and Korean cafes. Kawaii ne! Gwi yeo weo!

The kitchen serves standard, no-fuss affordable breakfast, hot food, cakes and drinks that introduce Japanese and Korean flavours.

Signatures include the Dekku Toast with scrambled eggs, chicken patty or fish fillet on a warm toast, and Waffle Tower of chicken patty or fish fillet, sunny side up and cheese melt sauce. (available during weekends).

Plentyfull
9 Raffles Boulevard #02-08, Millenia Walk, Singapore 039596
Tel: +65 6493 2997
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 10:30pm (Mon – Sun)

The concept is built on food cooked with the freshest ingredients sourced directly from farmers and artisans.

Grain bowls and salads are served during lunch ($17, $19), Western-Asian dishes during dinner such as Char Grilled Farmed Barramundi ($26), Glazed Mangalica Pork Jowl ($26), Thai Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Cilantro ($26) and Smoked Lamb Merguez Sausage.

Suzette
Esplanade Mall, 8 Raffles Avenue #01-13, Singapore 039802
Temporary Opening Hours: 4pm – 10pm (Fri), 12pm – 10pm (Sat-Sun), Closed Mon-Thu

Suzette opened by the team behind Lola’s Cafe specialises in bakes and pastries. The location is right in front of the Esplanade Amphitheatre along the Singapore River and you can experience the breeze and occasional music there.

Offerings include Cakes ($8), Tarts ($6-12), Ice Cream ($4) and Waffles. The recommended desserts include dual flavoured bakes such as Lychee Rosewater cake ($8), Mango Matcha Cake ($8), White Chocolate Durian Tart ($12) and Poached Pear Cheese Tart ($8).

Olivia & Co
Suntec City Mall (between Tower 1 & 2) 3 Temasek Boulevard #01-481, Singapore 038983
Opening Hours: 9am – 9pm

Opened by the team behind French restaurant OCF, Olivia & Co traces the adventures of “Olivia” around the world for Italian pasta, breakfast, waffles and Vietnamese Banh ‘Meanie’.

WANNA CUPPA
15 New Bridge Road, Singapore 059385 (Clarke Quay MRT, near Song Fa Bak Kut Teh)
Tel: +65 68162494
Opening Hours: 8:30am – 10:00pm (Mon-Thu), 8:30am – 12:00am (Fri), 10:00am – 12:00am (Sat), 10am – 6pm (Sun)

The café is inspired by the 1920s Gatsby glamour which features fresh interpretations of the classic Art Deco designs.

WANNA CUPPA serves award-winning Signature Blend coffee beans from Justin Metcalf World Barista Judge and gourmet teas from Canada for coffee and tea lovers to indulge in. Pastries such as the Carrot Cake can be worth the calories.

Café 3
5 Teo Hong Road Singapore 088323 (Near Outram Park MRT)
Tel: +65 6224 9368
Opening Hours: 12:00pm to 9:30pm (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon

Remember the Sugar Granny Café known for its Asian and local style desserts?

It has converted to be called Café 3, which we all think is a nondescript, unmemorable name for a café. The signboard in a casual-looking font and yellow base didn’t help.

Café3 serves local delights such as Nasi Lemak, Laksa, Mee Rebus, Prawn Noodles and Curry Chicken.

Sing HK Café
Blk 4 Everton Park #01-42, Singapore 080004
Opening Hours: 10.30am – 8.30pm (Mon-Fri), 9.30am – 8.30pm (Sat), Closed Sun
https://www.facebook.com/singhkcafe

Taking over defunct-Batterworks (if it doesn’t ring a bell) beside Nylon Coffee Roasters at Everton Park, Sing HK Café reminded us of a HK-styled Cha Chan Teng.

Menu recommendation includes Hong Kong style breakfast such as Classic French Toast ($5.80), Scrambled Egg ($3.80), Classic Beef Brisket Rice ($11.80) and Western dishes such as Sirloin Steak ($18.90) and Red Wine Ox Tail Stew ($18.90).

North – Novena, Toa Payoh, Thomson, Ang Mo Kio, Woodlands

Kyushu Pancake Singapore
275 Thomson Road Novena Regency #01-08 Singapore 307645
Tel: +65 6352 6265
Opening Hours: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm

Kyushu Pancake has come to Singapore, known for their pancakes made with a proprietary flour base, combined with fresh fruits and dairy products.

The Kyushu Pancake Mix is made from 7 different finely selected grains, 100% homegrown in Kyushu Japan, free of emulsifier, artificial fragrance, additives or processed starch.

Craftman Specialty Coffee
173 Thomson Road Goldhill Shopping Centre, Singapore 307623 (Novena MRT)
Opening Hours: 8:30am – 9pm (Sun – Thurs), 8:30am – 10:30pm (Fri, Sat, Eve of PH)

Oh, The Fickle Mussel has closed (that’s fast) and replaced by Craftman Specialty Coffee which specialises in different types of coffees all round the world, with options to have coffee brewed by different types of method like V-60 and French Press.

This is their 3rd outlet after Siglap and Eastwood.

They seem to be popular among families staying around the area, coming here for their all day breakfast and brunch items such as 3 Tier Brioche, Croissant Sandwiches and English Muffin with Eggs.

The Larder Cafe
Blk 177 Toa Payoh Central #01-124, Singapore 310177 (Toa Payoh MRT)
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Tue-Sun), Closed Mon

The Larder Café has opened recently at the obscure side of Toa Payoh Central, a 5 minute walk from Toa Payoh Public Library, diagonally opposite Toa Payoh Central Community Club.

Their menu selection offers choices such as Smoked Salmon Egg Benedict ($16), Duck Confit ($18), Lamb Rack ($23), Pan Seared Sea Bass ($16). The Larder Café (Toa Payoh Central)

WORD.
906P Upper Thomson Road Singapore 787110
Opening Hours: 11am – 12mn (Tue-Sun), Closed Mon

Located at the corner unit of the shophouses along Thong Soon Road, the double-storey Muslim-owned café (which only utilized the ground floor) was designed to look like a container café.

The main thing that caught our attention was the smart playing with WORDs (as their name implied). Dishes named as “Cut the Crab”! “Say Cheese” and don’t be “Blur like Sotong” made ordering so much fun and easier to remember. They are now popular for their Rainbow Bagels.

Aiskilin
215F Upper Thomson, Singapore 574349 (Marymount MRT)
Opening Hours: 12pm – 11pm (Tue-Thu), 12pm – 2am (Fri), 10am – 2am (Sat), 10am – 11pm (Sun), Closed Mon

Aiskilin (pronounced as ‘ai-ski-lin’ aka ice cream) has a straightforward menu: Ice Cream Rolls with 2 toppings ($5.90), Plain Waffle ($5) and Waffle with Ice Cream Roll ($9.90).

With a total of 13 flavours, interesting flavours are the fruit-based ones: Durian, Avocado and Passion Fruit. Aiskilin (Upper Thomson)

Shamrock Café
5 Clover Way Singapore 579079
Opening Hours: 10am – 9pm (Mon – Fri), 10am – 6pm (Sat), Closed Sun

A shamrock is a young sprig of clover, the name inspired by the road the café is on. Clover Way? A secondary road at Bishan, somewhat near Marymount MRT.

Their “Eat and Treats” menu features a small selection of bakes such as Black Pepper Chicken Pie ($3.60), Curry Chicken Pie ($3.60), Cakes ($5.80 – $6.80), Gelato ($3.80 for a scoop) and Waffles ($5.50, $9.00 with gelato). The Peanut Butter Jelly Cake ($6.80) was not bad. Shamrock Cafe (Clover Way)

Prodigal Roasters
Blk 625 Ang Mo Kio Ave 9 #01-112 Singapore 560625
Opening Hours: 9am – 8pm (Tues – Fri), 8am – 3pm (Sat), 8am – 6pm (Sun), Closed Mon

The owner-barista used to be with Atlas Coffeehouse. The average price for both their coffee and pastries is $4. Prices are kept slightly lower to make it affordable for the residents and students in the neighbourhood.

The best sellers are currently the Miso Cheese Tart ($4.50) and Flat White ($4).

KOOKS Creamery
Blk 211, Serangoon Avenue 4, #01-02, Singapore 550211
Opening Hours: 12pm – 10pm (Tue-Thu), 12pm – 11pm (Fri-Sat), 12pm – 10pm (Sun), Closed Mon

KOOKS Creamery is different from other ice cream cafes in the heartland of Singapore, serving molten lava Kooks (which are actually cookies), and ice cream.

The menu was straight-forward. Ice Cream ($3.60 for single, $6 for double, $8.40 for triple, additional $0.50 for premium flavours) and Cookie ($.50 for lava, $5 for plain).

Lava Cookie Sets were available at $8.50 for Chocolate molten cookie and Matcha molten cookie with a scoop of ice cream. Kooks Creamery (Serangoon Ave 4)

Two Plus One
30 Woodlands Ave 1 #01-01 The Woodgrove, Singapore 739065
Opening Hours: 1pm – 12am (Mon – Thurs), 1pm – 1am (Fri), 12pm – 1am (Sat), 12pm – 12am (Sun)

Two Plus One is a gelato shop, found way up north at The Woodgrove.

Normal ice cream flavours go for $3.80 while premium are at $4.50 per scoop. Premium flavours include Chocolate Rocky Road, Strawberry Cheesecake, Hazelnut Rochor, Durian, Salted Caramel, Bubble Gum, Earl Grey with figs, Crème Brulee, Thai Milk Tea and Dark Chocolate.
Two Plus One (Woodlands)

South – River Valley, Telok Blangah, Harbourfront

Grounded By CMCR
22 Martin Road Level 2, Singapore 239058
Opening Hours: 7:30am – 6:00pm (Mon – Sun)

Grounded is located next to a Yoga Movement Studio, and thus food is skewed towards the more healthy and balanced.

So you literally get stuff such as a (no-patty) Balance Burger ($17) with folded organic eggs, kale, spring onions, streaky bacon (bacon?) with sriracha mayonnaise; GF Redemption Bowl ($17) of roasted veggies with poached eggs; and Matcha Pancakes ($16). Grounded By CMCR (Martin Road)

Butterknife Folk
238 River Valley Road Singapore 238296
Tel: +65 6734 7855
Opening Hours: 10am – 8pm (Mon – Fri), 10am – 9pm, Closed Sun

Butterknife Folk boasts of a relatively small space and is mainly a takeaway concept (you can sit by the counter at the back which can occupy 3 to 4 people).

Their bakes ($8 each) I tried were pretty impressive, from the Fruit Loop, Lemony Snicket (yeah, named after the story), and Bohemian Rhaspberry (had to double-check the spelling). Butterknife Folk (River Valley Road)

Fuel Plus
16 Morse Road 01-207, Singapore 099228
Tel: +54 6352 7680
Opening Hours: 11am – 9pm (Wed – Mon), Closed Tues

Need some fuel to energise your inner engine? Refuel Café has opened a sister café called Fuel Plus, located at Telok Blangah.

One of the recommended is a Pump It Up Hotcake ($16) where chunks of baked apples top a cinnamon hotcake. (We were not kidding when we mentioned the many hotcakes around.)

Paik’s Coffee
40 Pasir Panjang Road, #02-39 Mapletree Business City, Singapore 117383 (Labrador MRT)
Opening Hours: 7.30am – 8pm (Mon – Fri), Closed Sat – Sun
Other Branch at Tiong Bahru Plaza Level 2 Food Street

If you have been to Seoul Korea, Paik’s Coffee chain is almost EVERYWHERE, known to be both cheap and fashionable. How difficult to achieve.

Paik’s Coffee is distinctive from the rest of the Korean coffee chains in terms of price point, 15cm tall cup size and the bright colours .

A cup of Iced Americano is priced at $3 whereas a cup of Iced Latte at $4, cheaper than other coffee chains. Size wise, at approximately 500ml a cup (that’s half a litre!).

Pretty much a good deal. Paik’s Coffee (Mapletree Business City)

Joe & the Juice Quayside Isle @ Sentosa Cove
31 Ocean Way Sentosa Cove #01-09 Singapore 098375
Opening Hours: 8am – 10pm (Mon – Sun)

Joe & The Juice known for combining health and entertainment, selling fruit juices and coffee with a slab of fun, has opened its 2nd outlet in Singapore at Quayside Isle @ Sentosa Cove, and a 3rd at Orchard’s Wisma Atria basement.

Their juices have peculiar names, think Pick Me Up, Go Away Doc, Stress Down, Hell Of A Nerve, Hangover Heaven, and emmmph… Sex Me Up, which is essentially a juice of passion fruit, apple and ginger. Joe & The Juice (Quayside Isle)

East – Bugis, Lavender, Paya Lebar, East Coast, Changi

Seng Kee The Black Seed By Chef Benny
Bugis Junction #01-71/72, 200 Victoria Street Singapore 188021
Opening Hours: 7:30am – 10:30pm

Helmed by Chef Benny Se Teo, you can say Seng Kee The Black Seed is a kopitiam version of Eighteen Chefs, located at the prominent ground level of Bugis Junction (opposite Honeymoon Desserts).

You can expect items such as their signature 63 degree sous vide runny egg ($2.50 for 2), Chee Cheong Fun ($3.20 – $7.80), localised Sandwiches ($6.50 – $7.80) and Curries in Bread Bowl ($5.20 – $6.60). Seng Kee The Black Seed By Chef Benny (Bugis Junction)

Candour Coffee
41 Beach Road Singapore 189680
Tel: +65 9457 0070
Opening Hours: 7am – 9pm

Candour Coffee offers coffee brewed using the Market Lane Coffee blend from Melbourne Australia, and serves tea from Man Cha.

Look out for their cold brews, and occasional specials such as Hibiscus Minty Lime Fizz and Lavender Yuzu Fizz.

Caffè Vergnano 1882 Singapore
26 Beach Road #B1-17, The South Beach, Singapore 189768
Tel: +65 6100 6328
Opening Hours: 8am – 9am (Mon – Fri), 9am – 6pm (Sat – Sun)

Italy’s oldest family-owned coffee brand Caffè Vergnano has arrived at Singapore at The South Beach, and offering authentic Italian coffee, beers and wines.

Domestic barristers can also sign up for coffee masterclass conducted by the cafe’s head trainer in Caffé Vergnano 1882’s private room.

A.R.C Coffee
29/31 Sultan Gate, Singapore 198477 (Bugis MRT)
Opening Hours: 11.30am – 9.30pm (Tue-Fri), 10.30am – 9.30pm (Sat-Sun), Closed Mon

A.R.C is a 3-in-1 Coffee Place with an Academy, Roastery and Café all in one place. Situated at Sultan Gate with a 3-storey high building, the 1st floor is a café concept with a cosy white bricked wall interior with a mini roastery site at the back.

Owner Andrea wrote us a thank you email for sending “huge increase in customers over” (Your welcome), but wanted us to remind readers that “we serve food as well”. So yes, they do serve food. A.R.C Coffee (Sultan Gate)

Café NIDO
No 162 Tyrwhitt Road Singapore 207581 (Within Hotel YAN)
Opening Hours: 7:30am – 4:30pm (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon

“Nido” refers to nest in Italian, a name to go complementary with Hotel “Yan” which meant “swallow” in Mandarin. The café was also designed in hope that it would be a comforting nesting place.

Indeed, it was modern and spacious.

Food included Roasted Charcoal Brioche with Kaya & Sous Vide Egg ($16.90), Raspberry Pancake with Honey Pistachio ($9.90), Homemade Laksa with Charred Crayfish ($12.90), Salted Egg King Prawn Aglio Olio ($16.90), and Tom Yum Wings ($10.90). Café NIDO (Tyrwhitt Road)

Shiberty Bakes
46 Owen Road, #01-277, Singapore 210046 (Farrer Park MRT)
Opening Hours: 12pm – 9.30pm (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon

Blogger turned baker turned business owner. Shiberty has been baking for the past 4 years and finally opens her own serving signatures of Shiberty Toast aka Shibuya Toast ($16), Gourmet Waffle ($14), Dessert Pizza ($14) and Milkshakes ($9).

We were recommended the Rocher Shiberty Toast ($16) with lots of toppings (chocolates, marshmallow, macaron shell, chocolate fudge) that resembled an Over-The-Top Milkshake. Shiberty Bakes (Owen Road)

The Pound
100 Jalan Sultan, #01-17B Sultan Plaza Singapore 199001
Opening Hours: 9am – 6:30pm (Mon – Sat)

The Pound as its name implies, focuses on pound cakes, rolls and cake slices, such as Earl Grey Roll Cake ($4.50), Strawberry Roll Cake ($4.50), Fig Pound ($4.50), Red Velvet Cake ($5.50), and Rainbow Cake ($5.50). The Pound (Sultan Plaza)

Crown Coffee
114 Lavender Street, CT Hub2, Singapore 338729

Not to be confused with Crown Bakery & Cafe at Bt Timah, Crown Coffee is a sandwich meets salad coffee place at CT Hub (next to a CrossFit studio).

Owner Keith Tan told me VERY enthusiastically that his sandwiches were the best, and the place would be packed lunchtime. I listened half-skeptically because almost every café owners would tell me similar things. Keith did it with much more conviction though.

Yes, his sandwich – I had a chicken pesto, was fab. I would actually return again.

Knots Living
160 Paya Lebar Road #01-07 Orion@PayaLebar, Singapore 409022
Opening Hours: 10am – 8pm (Mon-Sun)
https://www.facebook.com/knotsliving/

Knots Living is a one stop furniture showroom where everything there is for sale, including the table we were sitting at for our meals.

We were greeted by multiple pots of green plants at the entrance and woody elements of the furniture at this undiscovered, under the radar café at Paya Lebar Road. There were glimpses that reminded us of Karmakamet Diner in Bangkok. Emphasize, glimpses.

Due to NEA regulations, there is unfortunately no kitchen for cooking.

Instead, Soup ($4.90), Sandwiches ($6.80 – $7.80), Salad ($4.80 – $5.40), Coffee, Ice Cream and Waffles are available daily.

Sweet Garden Dessert Café
Blk 32, Cassia Crescent, #01-50, Singapore 390032
Opening Hours: 12pm – 11pm (Tues – Sat)

Sweet Garden Dessert Café took over gelato café The Hideout, located near Old Airport Road Food Centre.

The menu consists of “Dessert In Pan” – Apple Crumble ($15.50, $18.50), Banana Flambé with Grand Marnier ($17, $20); “Dessert In Plate” –Golden Banana Bread ($12, $15) and Chef Signature Brownies ($15, $18), Belgium Waffle ($11.90, $14.90), Charcoal Waffle ($12.90, $15.90). Sweet Garden Dessert Café (Cassia Crescent)

South Union Park
101 Jalan Kembangan, Singapore 419139 (Kembangan MRT)
Tel: +65 9061 8703
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 10pm (Mon), 5:30pm – 10pm (Wed), 11:30am – 10pm (Thurs), 11:30am – 11pm (Fri – Sat), 11:30am – 10pm (Sun), Closed Tues

About a 10 minute walk from Kembangan MRT, located within a private estate is South Union Park.

During our visit, food seemed reasonably good. Offerings include Poutine Fries ($12), Short Rib Ragu Homemade Pasta ($22), Duck Confit Pasta ($19), with desserts such as Apple Crumble ($10) and Souffle ($13). Prices are nett. Slightly inaccessible, but quite a promising place.

Stamping Ground Coffee
87 Upper East Coast Road, Singapore 455223
Tel: +65 9070 7610
Opening Hours: 9am – 6pm (Mon, Wed – Sun), Closed Tues

Stamping Ground Coffee previously located on Club Street has moved to 87 Upper East Coast Road. The café shares the space with Dawn Q (florist) and East Mezzanine (venue space).

The revamped café also has an expanded food menu, with offerings such as Bacon Jam Brioche ($13.50), Tuna Croissant ($13.50), Beef Pastrami Sandwich ($15) and Mushroom Toast ($14.00).

Birds Of Paradise
63 East Coast Road #01-05 (Opposite Katong I12 and Roxy Square) Singapore 428776
Tel: +65 9678 6092
Opening Hours: 4:30pm – 10pm (Tues – Fri), 12pm – 10pm (Sat- Sun)

Birds of Paradise is so named because the shop creates gelato inspired by the botanical flavours of nature. That means fruits, flowers, pods, herbs, and spices.

Flavours include Basil, Lychee Raspberry, Spiced Pear, Mint Cacao, Strawberry Basil, Pandan and White Chrysanthemum.

Gastrosmith
i12 Katong, 112 East Coast Road #03-06, Singapore 428802
Opening Hours: 10am – 9:30pm (Tues – Sun)

Welcome back Gastrosmith. They moved away from their previous Beach Road location to the current space within HomesToLife at i12 Katong (the mall looks emmm… empty though).

The menu retains some of the previous favourites. Small Plates recommendations include Mushroom “Escargots” ($6.50), Not-So-Humble Eggs ($7), Gastrosmith Tori Kaarage ($8); and Big Plates include Gastrosmith Chicken Roast ($18), Pork Chops ($18) and Roasted Alaskan Black Cod ($24).

Baba Chews
86 East Coast Road #01-01 Katong Square Singapore 428788
Opening Hours: All Day Dining 11:00am – 10:30pm, Dinner 6:30pm – 10:30pm, Bar Bites 11am – 11:30pm, Weekend Brunch 10:30am – 3:00pm (Sat = Sun)
Reserve Online Now – Baba Chews

Katong is already known for its heritage shophouses, many with Peranakan influence. Housed within the former Joo Chiat Police Station, Baba Chews looks set to attract hipsters with its modern meets Straits Chinese cuisine.

Other than the recommended Chilli Crab Cake with Mantou Chips ($15) and Foie Gras Tau Kwa Pau ($20), the Ayam Buah Keluak Burger ($18) looks intriguing enough.

For more Asian and local favourites, there is a variety from Penang Char Kway Teow ($15), Nonya Fried Rice, Hokkien Mee ($16), Nonya Laksa ($18) and Hainanese Chicken Rice ($17). Portions surprisingly quite satisfying.

Scoop Therapy
11 East Coast Road, The Odeon Katong, Singapore 428722
Opening Hours: 2pm – 10pm (Tue-Thu), 12pm – 12mn (Fri-Sat), 12pm – 10pm (Sun), Closed Mon

Previously known as Regroup x Scoop Therapy at Balestier, the shift in location to Odeon Katong is a reunion with the sister café, Group Therapy at Katong V.

The café is separated into 2 sections, with an Ice Cream Bar serving 16 flavours each time and a Dessert Station.

Interesting flavours include the Salted Egg Yolk (again), Apple Pie, Butter Beer and Lychee Rose.

It was déjà vu when we saw something which looked similar to the famed Frozen S’more from Dominique Ansel Bakery though. Hmmm… Scoop Therapy (East Coast Road)

2 Six Café
88 East Coast Road #01-10 Katong Square Singapore 423371
Tel: +65 6247 7548
Opening Hours: 10am – 9pm (Mon – Fri), 9am – 10:00pm

2Six Café is so named, as it is a café where two to six persons can get together.

The signature here is the Mille Crepe Dessert ($7.90) with flavours of French Vanilla, Belgian Chocolate, Blueberry, Cappuccino, Matcha, Oreo and Strawberry. Though they look suspiciously like from other patisserie.

Light bites such as pies, pizzas, wraps, sandwiches and soups are also available ($3.90 – $6.80).

Tok Panjang Peranakan Cafe
392 East Coast Road Singapore 428992
Tel: +65 9663 3392
Opening Hours: 9am – 9pm (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon

Tok Panjang Peranakan Café has just opened at 392 East Coast Road, though the family behind it is not unfamiliar to Peranakan food. This is opened by the House Of Peranakan Group of restaurants, with this fourth branch taking a more casual, café approach.

What you get are dishes such as Assam Laksa ($8.90), Nonya Mee Siam ($7.90), Nonya Mee ($8), Bibik’s Fried Bee Hoon ($7.90), Nasi Lemak ($10.90), light bites such as Satay ($8 for 10), Kueh Pie Tee ($6.50 for 4), Ngoh Hiang ($5.50) desserts and coffee.

Hello Kitty Orchid Garden
Arrival Hall Central #01-22, Terminal 3, Singapore Changi Airport
Opening Hours: 24 Hours Daily

Officially opened! Named as “Hello Kitty Orchid Garden”, the interior and menu is inspired by Singapore’s national flower.

Some local influence will be woven into the menu, which comprises of all-day breakfast fare and an array of Kitty-fied desserts, including gelato sundaes, waffles, pastries and tea cakes.

Located at Terminal 3’s Arrival Hall Central, the cafe will be opened 24/7. (There are also plans for application of Halal certification, making this the possible 1st Halal Hello Kitty Cafe.) Hello Kitty Orchid Garden (Changi Airport T3)

West – Tiong Bahru, Holland Village, Buona Vista, Bt Timah, Jurong

Sam Yat Coffee
No 241 Outram Road Singapore 169044
Tel: +65 6224 2723
Opening Hours: 8am – 10pm (Tues – Thurs, Sun), 8am – 10:30pm (Fri – Sat)

Tiong Bahru Pau opens a local-style café, next to the Tiong Bahru Pau shop.

The shop serves up a variety of the usual local dishes such as Mee Siam ($3.30), Mee Rebus ($3.30), Chee Cheong Fun ($2.00), Curry Chicken ($3.90), Traditional Toasts ($1.60 onwards), and … BINGSU ($6.00)

NICEDAY Taiwanese Desserts
Tiong Bahru Plaza #02-111A (Food Street), 302 Tiong Bahru Road Singapore 168732 (Tiong Bahru MRT) Opening Hours: 11am – 10:30pm

NICEDAY Desserts is an ice desserts café paired with traditional ingredients like grass jelly or bean curd.

The menu offers the signature Snow Mountain desserts ($9.90), Taro Q Ball Series ($4.50), Glassjelly Bowls with Nata Mochi ($4.50), Polo Ice ($6.90) and Eggette with Ice Cream ($6.80)! Quite affordable pricing. NICEDAY (Tiong Bahru Plaza)

Geometry
2 Jalan Bukit Merah #01-5142, Singapore 150002 (Redhill MRT)
Opening Hours: 12pm – 9.30pm (Sun-Tue, Thu), 12pm – 11pm (Fri-Sat), Closed Wed

With a total of 18 flavours to choose from, expect interesting flavours such as Earl Grey Tie Guan Yin, Mandarin Orange Sorbet and Watermelon Lychee Sorbet.

75% of the flavours were classified under “Premium” flavours at an additional $0.70 per scoop due to the fresh fruits added.

Choose your gelato to be on tarts, instead of waffles. Geometry (Jalan Bukit Merah)

Creamier
5A Lock Road, Gillman Barracks Singapore 108927 (next to Sundaram Tagore Gallery)
Opening Hours: 12pm – 10pm (Tue-Thu, Sun), 12pm – 11pm (Fri-Sat), Closed Mon

Fans of Creamier and Sunday Folks can flock down to a new location. Creamier has found a second playground at Gillman Barracks. Unlike their first outlet at Toa Payoh HDB estate that experienced a continuous human traffic, Gillman Barracks was relatively quieter and “ulu” geographically.

The menu offerings are similar, with Ice Cream ($3.30 for Single scoop/ $5.60 for Double scoops), Waffle ($6 for Plain/ $8.80 with 1 scoop/ $11.60 with 2 scoops). Creamier (Gillman Barracks)

Atlas Coffeehouse
6 Duke’s Road, Singapore 268886 (Botanic Gardens MRT)
Opening Hours: 8am – 5pm (Tue-Sun), Closed Mon
https://www.facebook.com/atlascoffeehouse

Atlas Coffeehouse is helmed by the team behind Assembly Coffee. This venture at Duke’s Road, a 5 minute walk from Botanic Gardens MRT on Downtown Line, takes on a rather earthy approach in both decor and food.

A favourite was the Candied Bacon Buttermilk Waffles ($14) came with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top of thick airy-looking waffles divided into four quarters-circles. The waffles were well balanced – crispy on the outside, soft on the inside with a fragrant aroma. Atlas Coffeehouse (Duke’s Road)

Style by Style Vibes Café
Level 3, Media Gallery, MediaCorp Campus Singapore 787110
Opening Hours: 7am – 10pm (Mon – Fri), 9am – 10pm (Sat), 9am – 6pm (Sun)

Local ex-host turned “Lead of styleXstyle” has another portfolio in her bag, this time with a café venture at the new MediaCorp campus. Is this going to be the MediaCorp ‘canteen’?

Try the Ondeh Ondeh ($6.90) cake, with soft and light pandan layers, with very sweet (too sweet for some) gula melaka layer. The café to spot some stars.

Gecory
Blk 328 Clementi Ave 2, Singapore 120328
Opening Hours: 12pm – 10:30pm (Mon – Thurs), 12pm – 11pm (Fri – Sat), 12pm – 10:30pm (Sun)

Gecory = GElato, COffee, pastRY. Got it?

This humble-looking ice cream café has interesting flavours on a rotational basis, including SALTED egg gelato. A waffle with 2 scoops of gelato is at $11.20 – gelato was rich and milky, while the waffle was decent with a slight crisp.

Butter My Buns
2 College Avenue West Stephen Riady Centre #01-07 University Town National University, Singapore 138607 (Within Book Haven)
Opening Hours: 10.30am – 10.30pm (Mon-Sun)
https://www.facebook.com/buttermybunssg

Hurray to NUS students. The Tiramisu Hero team has opened mean Butter My Buns at the University Town (Utown). The café shares the same space as Book Haven, the University book store within Stephen Riady Centre.

The menu consisted of a savoury selection of Mix & Match Brekkie that would be assembled on a wooden chopping board.

Our favourite item was the Honey Truffle Waffles ($12) with obvious scent of truffle matched with fluffy texture.

Nunsongyee 눈송이
9 Yuk Tong Ave, Singapore 596314 (Beauty World MRT)
Tel: +65 9728 8563
Opening Hours: 24 Hours Everyday

There is no stopping for Korean dessert café Nunsongyee 눈송이, which has opened up yet another bingsu shop, this time at Bukit Timah.

The better news is, it is opened 24/7!

The offerings are still similar from when it started, with varieties of Pat Bingsu, Oreo, Choco-Banana, Cheesecae, Injeolmi, Blueberry, Mixed Berries Black Sesame, Strawberry, Coffee, Snow White and the latest addition of Mango Bingsu ($12.90 – $18.90). Nunsongyee (Yuk Tong Ave)

Patissez Singapore
118 Holland Avenue #01-06, Singapore 278997
Opening Hours: 10am – 6pm (Mon-Wed), 10am – 10pm (Thu-Fri), 9am – 10pm (Sat-Sun)

Café Patissez in Manuka, Canberra first gained internet stardom with their milkshakes piled with cakes, cookies, Nutella and whipped cream. The café famous for the OTT Milkshakes or Freakshakes has opened an overseas outlet in Singapore.

Ajoomma
36 Lorong Mambong (Holland Village, Opposite Wala Wala), Singapore 277693
Tel: +65 6816 2996

More at Holland Village. Craving for something cold on a hot day? Ajoomma has opened their doors selling Korean Bingsu, Waffles and Toast.

DW Workshop
41 Rochester Drive Singapore 138582 (opp Star Vista taxi stand, next to Pies & Coffee)
Tel: +65 6659 0879
Opening Hours: 7:30am – 11pm (Mon – Fri), 9:30am till Late (Sat, Sun, PH)

DW Workshop lists 6 reasons why they are not your average hangout. That includes traditional bistro in modern style in a heritage black and white colonial house, home-style hangout, chef-inspired food goodness, best-in-class coffee, lifestyle workshops by designers and curated events.

Started by DW Communication which is a Singapore based design agency, you would find that the space is a gorgeous, well designed one (#OOTD, #Cafehoppingsg alert) – it feels like a comfortable home. DW Workshop (Rochester Drive)

Noshery
9 Rochester Park Singapore 139220
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 10:30pm (Tues – Fri), 10:30am – 10:30pm (Fri – Sat)
Lunch: 11:30am – 2:30pm
Brunch: 10:30am – 2:30pm (Sat- Sun)

A relatively under the radar new café for brunch and lunch. Noshery is the sister café to Nosh, located at 9 Rochester Park, surrounded by lush greenery and charming peace.

The weekend brunch menu sounds appetizing – Crab Benedict with coconut curry hollandaise ($20), Shakshouka ($19), and Devil’s Breakfast with spicy tomato ragu, sambal flakes and guacamole ($20).

Perhaps because they are newly opened, some further fine-tunings are needed for the food aspect. Noshery (Rochester)

Katto
1 Fusionopolis Place, Galaxis Building, #01-21/22, Singapore 138522
Opening Hours: 11am – 8pm (Mon – Fri), 11am – 2pm (Sat), Closed Sun

Katto is a quick-service café-eatery which serves poke bowls with some fun flavours, think Chicken Rice Chilli Salmon, Creamy Goma Tuna, Tangy Thai Tuna, Classic Shoyu Salmon and California Unrolled Salmon.

A Mini Size which contains one portion of 70 grams fish, one base of 250 grams of white rice, brown rice or salad base, and a vegetable side is quite affordably priced at $7.90. Katto (Galaxis)

The Pipe District
Gemini, 45 Science Park Road, #01-09, Singapore 117407 (Kent Ridge MRT)
Opening Hours: 11am – 11pm (Mon-Sun)

The Pipe District is a ‘pipe-themed’ restaurant serving modern European dishes along with Archipelago Beers.

The interior stays true to its name – repurposed furniture pieces from pipes, wood pallets, container walls. Industrial looking and thematic.

A total of 10 interesting flavours are available for the Chicken Wings, affordable at $10 for 8pcs. Salted Egg Butter (the current trend), Wasabi Mayo and Chilli Crab Style (support local!) are some of the recommended flavours. Check out their black Charcoal Fish & Chips as well. The Pipe District (Science Park Road)

Il-Sole Korean Desserts
Jurong Point Shopping Centre #03-54/55, 1 Jurong West Central 2, Singapore 658886 (Boon Lay MRT)

The Snow Ice variety range from the signature Red Bean with Milk ($12.50), Injeolmi ($12.50) to more fanciful Strawberry Cheese ($18.90), Mango Cheese ($18.90) and Grapes ($16.90).

Pits & Pans
60 Jurong West St 91 #01-04, Singapore 649040
Opening Hours: 12pm – 10pm (Tues – Fri), 10am – 10pm (Sat – Sun

A locally-owned burger joint serving a selection of gourmet burgers such as Salmon Ikura ($16.90), Mega Bello ($11.90), Camilla’s Flight ($12.90 – that is grilled chicken thigh), Baconator ($14.90 with bacon-stuffed pork patty) and Sir Charles’ Swiss ($13.90).

Located at the ground level of Nanyang Community Club.

Northeast – Selegie, Jalan Besar, Whampoa

Rayz Bistro
100 Selegie Road Singapore 188308
Tel: +65 6352 6651
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm Tues – Sun (Closed Mon)

Rayz Bistro is a Halal eatery serving Western fare with a dedicated pastry line.

Items included Aglio Olio ($23), Penne Carbonara ($23), Chilli Crab Pasta ($26), Paella ($30), Braised Beef Ribs ($32), Spatchcock Morrocan Style ($32), Rack of Lamb ($35), Rib Eye Steak ($35). Rayz Bistro (Selegie Road)

VXX Cooperative
20 Foch Road, Singapore 209261
Tel: +65 8720 0093
Opening Hours: 10am – 8pm, Food Last Order 6pm (Mon – Fri), 9am – 6pm, Food Last Order 4:30pm

Taking over 20F Specialty Coffeehouse at Foch Road, VXX Cooperative offers brews from Nylon Coffee, Koppi, Tim Wendelbow and Cloud Catcher.

The menu is labelled “Everyday Food”, and contains a small list of healthy-sounding breakfast-brunch items such as Avocado on Sourdough ($10), French Omelette ($11), Gazpacho ($10) – a cold soup made of raw vegetables, Heirloom Tomatoes Carpaccio ($13), Charred Seasonal Asparagus ($15) and Chia Seed Pudding ($8). VXX Cooperative (Foch Road)

Twenty Cavan
20 Cavan Road, Singapore 209851
Tel: +65 6612 6024
Opening Hours: 11am – 11pm (Tues – Sun)

Twenty Cavan has a rustic finished dining area with a show kitchen concept.

The menu features modern cuisine and looks promising, not the typical café items. Some recommended items are the Canton Roast Chicken ($16) with Thai chilli sauce (hmmm… why not so HK type sauces), Stir-Fried Blueberry Lamp Chop ($20), with desserts of Pumpkin Yam Puree ($8) and Lemon Pudding.

Ollella and The Pourover Bar
Residence@Somme, 3 Petain Road, #01-01, Singapore 208108 (Farrer Park MRT)
Opening Hours: 12pm – 9pm (Wed-Mon), Closed Tue

This is cute – a choux pastry café. Opened by two sisters from Indonesia, Ollella is the combination of their names – OLLyvia and MarcELLA. Ollella’s choux flavours include Vanilla ($4),Apple Cinnamon ($4), Raspberry ($5), Lemon Meringue ($4), Matcha Azuki ($4.50), Tiramisu ($5) and lastly Dark Chocolate ($4.50), listed in terms in flavours intensity.

This is a collaboration with The Pourover Bar, so fret-not if you need some coffee. A cup of hand-poured coffee will vary from $8 to $45 depending on the beans. Yes, $45. Ollella and The Pourover Bar (Petain Road)

Oh My Tian
34 Whampoa West, Singapore 330034 (Boon Keng MRT)
Opening Hours: 12pm – 10pm (Tue-Sun), Closed Mon
https://www.facebook.com/OhMyTianSG

Opened by the folks behind Hatter Street at Kovan, carnival themed café Oh My Tian OMT is their newest happy venture.

The menu includes offerings of savoury items from the classic OMT Big Breakfast ($14) to interesting dishes such as Donut Burger ($13) and Hashbrown Pizza, whereas the sweets items of ice cream and waffles remain similar to that of Hatter Street. Oh My Tian (Whampoa West)

Other Related Entries
40 Amazing Matcha Desserts In Singapore
10 Instagrammable Food In Singapore 2016
11 Very BLUE Food & Drinks In Singapore
10 NEW Korean Bingsu Shops In Singapore
29 Singapore Michelin Starred Restaurants & Stalls

* Compiled by Daniel Ang @DanielFoodDiary and Nicholas Tan @stormscape.

The post 100 NEW Cafes in Singapore 2016 – The Ultimate Singapore Cafe Hopping Guide appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

[Macau] Macau, the city of casinos and glitz, is no stranger to respectable food.

There are 16 Michelin-starred restaurants in this region. A counterpart from Macau mentioned that it is not uncommon for diners to travel from Hong Kong (and other nearby areas) just to have a luxe Michelin starred meal or two during a weekend trip.

Comparatively, fine dining meals at Macau are considered to be relatively more affordable, say 10-30% cheaper, than across at Hong Kong.

I made my way to The Tasting Room 御膳房, conveniently located at Crown Towers, City of Dreams at the Cotai side.

The Tasting Room has 2 Michelin stars, and according to the inspectors, ”Finding respite on the Cotai Strip away from the lively casino vibe can be hard but this relaxing restaurant could help. It’s an elegant circular room and offers discreet service. The food is largely French and the Bresse pigeon is the favoured dish of the locals. The chef adds his own unique touches, like onion ice cream to the onion soup. Be sure to have the Chef’s Menu.”

After having a chat with Chef Guillaume Galliot who helms The Tasting Room, he joked that he was too familiar with Singapore, having married a Singaporean wife and worked at the Raffles Hotel Group prior.

After moving over to Macau, his baby – The Tasting Room earned a star just 6 months after opening, and two stars three years later.

The French restaurant has a quiet, elegant and intimate setting, but considered restrained if you consider how many other restaurants at Macau could appear overly extravagant.

Described as “a sparkling jewel box of a place”, pick the window seat which would offer a picturesque view of the Cotai Strip and nearby casinos (or perhaps a view of the ‘Eiffel Tower’).

A 4-course Degustation menu is priced at MOP$828, MOP$1,178 with wine pairing (SGD$141, SGD$200), while an 8 tailor-made course with the best ingredients of the day will come to MOP$2,088, or MOP$2,588 with wine pairing (SGD$356, SGD$441).

Its set lunches are a steal for its quality and setting – MOP$398 for 3 course, MOP$488 for 4 course, and MOP$588 for 5 course (SGD$68, SGD$83, and SGD$100 respectively).

Chef’s travels provide further inspirations to his cooking, and he makes it a point to source for the most suitable ingredients from around the world.

The food didn’t go over the top (thank goodness), mostly subtle, with incorporation of interesting ingredients (the Asian twist), and well-executed to allow the quality ingredients to shine through.

One of my favourite was a Shrimp with Onion Kombu on Tomato and Saffron (that could be a proper name for this seasonal item, but the ingredients make-up was according to the notes I took).

The base was tangy sweet with fruitiness and mildly cold on the touch of the tongue, beautifully balanced with the top shrimp layer.

The Beef and Oyster Tartare, Oscietra Caviar, Frisée Salad. Consider this surf and turf in an alternate approach.

I am normally not the greatest fan of a beef tartare, but took the leap of faith for this pairing for the tender raw wagyu beef with fresh oysters.

It was seductively delicious, with light favours of saltiness and seafood-sweetness.

The Celeriac Soup with Mushroom Cream, Tasmanian Truffle was wonderful; and the Poached Lobster with Shrimp Consommé, Summer Vegetables, Ginger and Razor Clam was all right for me.

I might not have liked the Burgaud Duck with Fresh Almond, Cherry Chutney, Beetroot Puree as much as I wished to. While the texture was suitably moist and soft, there was a minor gamey taste I wasn’t that comfortable with.

The highlight for this meal had to be the Chocolate Banana Mille-Feuille, Cocoa Sorbet.

Its play of textures with the layers of chocolate, banana, wafer and egg of creamy rich sorbet (and gold) was every mouthful a tantalising bite.

Fell in love, and I want to have this again, and again.

The Tasting Room is where elegance, romance (maybe) and quality French food meets.

The Tasting Room 御膳房
3/F, Crown Towers, City of Dreams, Estrada do Istmo, Cotai, Macau
Tel: +853 8868 6681
Opening Hours: 12pm – 2:30pm, 6pm – 10:30pm
thetastingroom@cod-macau.com
http://www.cityofdreamsmacau.com/en/dining/detail/tasting-room

* This entry is brought to you in partnership with City of Dreams Macau.

The post The Tasting Room at City of Dreams – Quality French Food Meets Elegance. 2 Michelin Stars appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Machida Shoten at Japan Food Town Wisma Atria is from Kanagawa prefecture, and specialises in Iekei ramen, which directly translates to “house-type” from its kanji characters.

The noodles are supposedly cooked to diners’ preferences, just like how one’s mother may cook it at home.

Therefore, you can kind of personalise your ramen bowl here.

The ambience here was boisterous and buzzing, which reminded me of ramen shops in Japan.

Other side dishes such as Gyoza ($6.80), Fried Rice ($6), Pork Bun ($4.50), French Fries ($4.80)… wait not kidding… and Fried Chicken ($6.80) are available.

For noodles, you can choose your specified softness or hardness, in a tonkotsu and soya sauce mix broth, unique to Machida in Singapore.

Otherwise, there are also options of tonkotsu and shoyu stock, with spicy miso and shio options.

I was recommended the Tonkotsu Shoyu Ramen, in which I chose the Special All-In ($17).

The cha-shu indeed tasted like what grandma would have spent hours cooking at home, superbly tender though notches too salty for the average Singaporean’s taste buds.

The slightly thick and flat Yokohama-style yellow noodles reminded me of a slight thinner version of the Hokkien-style noodles, which I did not quite mind.

The soup was invariably thick and on the saltier side, so be mindful before slurping the whole spoonful down.

Machida Shoten
Japan Food Town, 435 Orchard Rd, #04-40 Wisma Atria Shopping Centre, Singapore 238877
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm Daily

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Ramen Keisuke Lobster King (Clarke Quay)

The post Machida Shoten – Ramen With Rich Soup and Thick Noodles appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Nantsuttei Ramen has been known to be one of the best ramen shops in Singapore, though it has been under the radar for a while due to the lack of social media presence.

The shop is currently located at Level 7 of Orchard Central, and can be hidden from plain sight. (Since there are so many NEW Japanese concepts at Orchard Central, make this an appropriate opportunity to venture to this part of town.)

Just FYI, I spotted new Nantsuttei branches Bangkok’s Siam Paragon and Emquartier as well.

(The making of Nantsuttei Death Miso Ramen)

Nantsuttei is known for their signature Black Ma-yu Ramen, with a black layer of garlic (fried over seven phases) and sesame oil blend floating on top the ramen broth, giving the bowl a distinguishable fragrance and creamy oily taste.

Interesting to know: Founder-Chef Ichiro Furuya had no life goals until he saw an image on TV which stuck to his mind – Japanese people lining up outside a ramen shop.

He then travelled t to Kyushu to learn the “secrets of the art of ramen”, and created a pork bone “rich and creamy without an unpleasant odour”. The rest is history.

Back to Singapore, Nantsuttei Ramen has introduced some newer varieties, and also TWO different sizes for their signature ramen bowls. So if you are watching your weight, go for the regular size; for a fulfilling experience, then the Japan size.

Nantsuttei Ramen (Regular size $10.80++, Japan size $12.00++)
If you have yet to try Nantsuttei Ramen before, I would recommend this most basic “Kumamoto” flavour.

The highlight is the rich, creamy tonkotsu based soup, added with black ma-yu which is roasted garlic oil for that aroma and distinct after taste.

Accordingly, the black ma-yu is created by frying garlic over seven phases then mixed into a balanced blend.

If you are the type the loves your soup broth thick and flavourful, you know what to go for.

Homemade straight noodles are used, made with their own flour. Previously, I thought that the noodles were cooked too soft,

Death Miso Ramen (Regular size $15.30++, Japan size $16.50++)
I was warned, this is “extremely spicy” and “only meant for the strong”.

Clearly I underestimated the ‘power’ of the spiciness. To be honest, I took about 2 to 3 mouthfuls and thought I couldn’t’ handle anymore.

For you spicy challengers out there. Note: limited to 20 bowls a day.

Marutoku Negi Chashu-Men (Regular size $15.80++, Japan size $17.00++)
This is Nantsuttei’s basic ramen with all the toppings – shiraga negi, bannou negi, and chashu.

Added with a handful of Japanese leek and chopped spring onions, the ingredients landed some sweetness to the broth so it tasted lighter on the palate.

Golden Curry Ramen (Regular size $13.80++, Japan size $15.00++)
Out of curiosity, I ordered this bowl topped by a ground meat flavored with curry.

I was imagining a version closer to the typical Japanese curry rice, but this towards the spicier side. More indifferent to this.

Butamabushi ($7.00++)
If you are not in the mood for ramen, I would recommend the Butamabushi.

This is a value-for-money option for a lighter meal, with chopped chashu is stewed in a slightly sweet dashi soup and placed on top of a hot bowl of rice. Quite comforting.

Torikaraage Wasabimayo Tarutaru Sauce ($7.00++)
Everyone at the table agreed this was the bomb!

Although the dish was labelled “karaage”, it was more like chicken cutlet, lightly drizzled over with sweet soy sauce base. The pieces were so juicy and tender.

You MUST try with some of the tartar sauce. After taking that bite, I realised some wasabi was included, which gave that interesting kick towards the end. Really oishii.

Original Smoked Chashu ($7.00++)
The appetiser to go with drinks. Or if you need more chashu to go along with rice.

Nantsuttei’s pork chashu made with premium pork loin, was coated in a secret sauce and then smoked with cherry chips.

I liked that there wasn’t the typical ‘porky’ aftertaste, and the whole feeling of letting the tender meat slide down was quite pleasurable.

If you are having your ramen during weekdays, there is a Special Lunch Promotion in which you can top up just $1 to enjoy an additional side dish.

Choose from Yaki-Gyoza, Tori Karaage, Yude Wanton, Salad, Age Tofu or Cheezzy Kani Stick.

Natsuttei Ramen
Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road, #07-12/13 Singapore 238896 (Somerset MRT)
Tel: +65 6337 7166
Opening Hours: 11am – 10:30pm, Last order 10 pm

* This entry is brought to you in partnership with Natsuttei.

The post Nantsuttei Ramen – The Hidden Ramen Shop At Orchard Central, Worth Its Buck For Rich, Creamy Tonkotsu Soup appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

[Bangkok] It was not yet 12 noon and there was already a long queue to get into Luk Kai Thong at Level 4 of Siam Paragon.

Speaking of which, how come I have never come to this level of Siam Paragon where there are so many restaurants?

Groups of families and Thai tai-tais (quite a mouthful) were seating outside this posh looking restaurant designed to look like a bird cage.

Yes, complete with hanging plants, and a buzzer that emitted sounds of chirping when I called for a waiter.

“Kai Thong” means “golden chicken” in Thai, while “Luk” represents “baby”.

Singaporeans will call this the ”zhi char” restaurant, and it essentially serves Chinese home-style food with some Thai dishes. The hor fun and the likes.

Popular items include the Hong Kong Fried Rice Noodle with Pork and Prawn, Crispy Noodle with Australian Beef, Stew Pork Belly and Vegetables with Baked Rice, Steamed Minced Pork with Thai Salted Fish and Baked Rice, Hong Kong Egg Noodles with Deep-Fried Pork Fillet or Wontons.

The price of the food is not cheap at all, considering that this is Bangkok where 50 baht can get you a filling meal.

It was 255 baht (SGD$10, USD$7.20) for a plate of Rice Noodles with Pork and Prawn.

The first time I had this Hor Fun, the experience was life changing. So much so that I came for seconds and thirds during a single trip.

It could be this branch, or that the standard was in consistent. The dish somehow lacked of wok hei, which would mean ‘wok heat’.

This time, I had the Stew Pork Belly with Pickled Vegetables and Grilled Steamed Buns (590 baht, SGD23.20, USD$17).

It was 590 freaking-expensive baht, but crazy good.

The slices of Kong Bak were so oily, just like how grandma used to make at home. If this was in Singapore, the Health Promotion Board would look out for them.

Dreamily melt-in-your mouth, the salted vegetables were so addictively tasty (and not salty). When you wrap everything in this soft, fluffy bun, life was just complete.

Just so you know, Lukkaithong has a Fucheer concept which serves dessert.

Almost every other table was having their Pang Cha Royal Thai Tea (295 baht, SGD$11.60, USD$8.40) aka the Thai version of bingsu or ice kachang.

When it arrived, I knew immediately that I had to go to the gym somehow. Two of us shared it, but we wished four other friends would be here to take the guilt and calories away.

Talking about that, this was so weird, watching slim Thai ladies just goggle the whole thing down.

This was not just ordinary shaved ice, because when things started melting halfway, the bottom became a pool of Thai Iced Milk Tea with floating pieces of tea bread that absorbed all of that. Said to be created by 5 different types of tea.

Have it first, diet later.

Lukkaithong Royal Cooking @ Siam Paragon
Room No. 432-434A 4th floor Siam Paragon Shopping Center, No. 911, Rama 1 Rd., Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm

Lukkaithong Royal Cooking @ The EmQuartier District
Room No. 6A04-05, 6th Floor, The EmQuartier Department Store, No. 693, Sukhumvit Road, Klongton Nua, Wattana, Bangkok, 10110
Tel: 02-0036301
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm Daily

Lukkaithong @ Thonglor 13
251/2 Soi Thonglor 13, Sukhumvit Road, Khlongtannuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110
Tel: 02-185-2698
Opening Hours: 11am – 9:30pm Daily

Lukkaithong @ Chic Republic
90 Chic Republic Flagship Store Soi Yothinpatana, Praditmanutham Road, Klongjan, Bankapi, Bangkok 10240 (Ekkamai-Ramintra Express Way)
Tel: 02-149-4608
Opening Hours: 11am – 9:30pm

The post Lukkaithong – Gigantic Thai Tea Shaved Ice Is The IN Bangkok Dessert appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

[Bangkok] Pacamara Coffee Roasters has opened their first flagship roasters boosting a speciality coffee lab at, where else, Thonglo.

The area where hipster, indie cafes thrive. (Read: 10 Best Cafes At Bangkok Thonglor)

Serial café hoppers in Singapore should be familiar with the Pacamara brand, and their Boutique Coffee Roasters at Upper Thomson still in my personal ranking as one of top cafes available locally.

The third wave coffee movement is vibrant in Bangkok, and the Espresso Friend group (which is behind the Pacamara brand) has been integral in this push.

Pacamara roasts their own coffee, uses top-notch machines (the Slayer for example), and baristas receive intense training. Bearing in mind that the founder is the only Thai lead instructor of the Specialty Coffee Association of America.

In fact when I was this Bangkok lab, I spotted two baristas from Singapore’s branch who was there for an exchange programme.

Compared to the other Bangkok outlet at RainHill Retail Mall which is considered boutique sized, this is well… like more than a bungalow.

There is a space for coffee workshops on the ground floor, and several meeting room type spaces on the upper. You can just imagine the likes of designers and artists brainstorming over cuppa.

The menu contains the typical café brunch items such as Waffle Ham and Cheese (230 baht), Truffle Egg Benedict (250 baht), Croque Madame (220 baht); a couple of main courses of Salmon Fish & Chip (180 baht), Signature Pork Burger (290 baht); pasta, salad, bingsu and cakes.

If you need something for Instagram, order the Very Berry Green Tea Pancake (220baht).

Exclusive to this outlet is the Snow Cold Brew (130 baht). Think about it as coffee jelly at the bottom, bingsu-like shaved milky ice in the middle, with cold brew poured over for a dramatic effect.

While it is still early days for this coffee space, you probably should squeeze in this into your itinerary if you are venturing Thong Lor next.

Pacamara Coffee Roasters x Specialty Coffee Lab
66 Soi Thonglor 25 Wattana, Bangkok, Thailand 10110
Tel: +66 02 048 5900
Opening Hours: 8am – 9pm

Other locations:
Bangkok : RainHill Retail Mall 777 Sukhumvit 47 Bangkok 10110
Tel : +66 02 2617830

Chiang Mai: 80/5 Rachadumnoen Rd (ถนนคนเดิน). Mueang Chiang Mai
Tel: +66 053 327324

Other Related Entries
10 Best Cafes At Bangkok Thonglor
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The Commons (Bangkok)
Rocket Coffee Bar S49 (Thong Lor, Bangkok)
One Ounce For Onion (Bangkok)

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Singapore YouTuber TheJianHaoTan has 500,000 subscribers, more than 100,000 million views on his channel, and has just opened a dessert café Woow at Plaza Singapura.

What were we doing at 23? (Back then at 23, I didn’t think I had a clear direction in life.)

The young people I met can fall into two categories; those who dream, and those who work for their dreams. Jianhao clearly works very hard.

WooW serves up multi-coloured shaved ice, where you can choose the flavoured snow, ice cream and toppings. Think about it as a cross between bingsu and ice kachang.

Jianhao revealed that he wanted a one of a kind concept, and did not want to go into bingsu.

The idea of having a physical store had been in his mind since 4 years ago (That’s 19). He would also like this to be a venture where he can hang out with his fans and viewers.

Do not be surprised if you would see him taking orders and sweeping the floor there one day. He said it was therapeutic.

The name “WooW” came about as he hoped that would be the feeling his customers would have, somewhat like “woah”, “wah” and “wow”.

WooW is conspicuously located outside Plaza Singapura, in a rainbow-coloured store front, many seats with some board games on tables. But still a bit hot lah.

The owner probably understood his target audience well, hiring “WooW angels” aka sweet young xiao mei mei and a cute shy boy as service staff.

Flavours available include Strawberry Blizzard, Mango Suncup, Yuki Yuzu, Apple Avalanche, Cotton Candy, Taro Thunderstorm (all priced $8.90) and the signature WooW Rainbow Snow ($12.90).

Before I go on, the disclaimer is that Uncle Daniel is already of a certain age (probably not WooW’s target audience). Yes, I am trying my very best to cut down sugar.

So it wasn’t surprisingly at all that the dessert turned out to be too sweet for me.

The good thing about the Rainbow Snow is that you could try all the layered flavours quite distinctly, and I liked the purple Taro best because it just tasted more real than the others.

WooW
68 Orchard Road #01-K1 Singapore 238839
Tel: +65 6336 3633

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Soo Bing Bing (Westgate)
Matchaya (Tanjong Pagar)

The post WooW – YouTuber TheJianHaoTan Opens Rainbow Dessert Store appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Orchard Road is Singapore’s most popular and famous shopping belt, a stretch full of landmarks, malls, hotels, restaurants and not forgetting cafes.

These are some 22 cafes found at Orchard Road, categorised by Orchard, Somerset, then Dhoby Ghaut. I picked up the newer ones which are less than 2 years in operation and less of the mass brands. (This is an updated from the previous entry of 10 New Cafes At Orchard Road.)

I have included a Tai Tai* rating to review how these cafes fare in terms of comfort and ambience for an afternoon of chit-chats.

22 Cafes At Orchard Road. For The Shoppers, Dessert Lovers and The Tai-Tai/strong>

Orchard

Watanabe Coffee
350 Orchard Road Shaw Centre, Singapore 238868 (Orchard Road MRT)
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Mon-Sun)

Matcha lover’s paradise with selection of matcha (finely grounded green tea leaves) desserts and drinks: Matcha and Ogura Shibuya Toast ($16.80), Japanese Matcha Parfait ($13.80), Matcha Pudding ($8.20), Matcha Shake ($9), Matcha Latte ($7.80) and Matcha Roll Cake ($8.20).

Tai Tai’s Rating: For the Japanese tai tais. Apart from the comfy seating area, Watanabe Coffee feels like a huge warehouse with bricked walls, cemented floor and gunny sacks everywhere. Dining here is a different experience from their first outlet. Can come after shopping at Isetan. (Read: Watanabe Coffee Shaw Centre)

D’Good Café
391 Orchard Road #B1-56 Takashimaya S.C., Ngee Ann City Singapore 238872
Tel: +65 6694 1411
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm (Mon – Sun)

The 65-seater café (with another outlet at Holland Village) at Takashimaya S.C., Ngee Ann City houses two concepts – a London Tube and an English Garden. Apart from coffee, the café is dedicated to specialty tea.

Food wise, expect mains such as Ling Cod Fish and Chips ($22.00), The Scotch Egg ($13.00) and Poached Fresh Lobster pasta ($22.00).

As one of the partners is actor Chew Chor Meng, MediaCorp artistes get a discount when they dine here.
Tai Tai’s Rating: Love the garden setting outside. Where you can spot celeb friends… Hi Michelle, Hi Jacelyn, Hi Jeanette, Hi Cynthia, Hi Ling Ling, Hi Felicia, Hi Apple, Hi Sora…

Patties & Wiches
391 Orchard Road Takashimaya Shopping Centre #03-10A Ngee Ann City, Singapore 238872 (5-10 min walk from Orchard MRT)
Opening Hours: 9.30am – 9.30pm (Mon-Sun)

Patties & Wiches serves an agglomeration of Japanese pastries from various Japanese F&Bs in Singapore such as Asanoya Bakeryand Chef Yamashita.

Hamburgers are made by Chef Kozo Matsumoto from 7025 Franklin Avenue in Tokyo and cost between $20 and $38, with the Foie Gras Burger being the most interesting and expensive among the lot.

Tai Tai’s Rating: Our friends and I love coming here after a class at ABC Cooking Studio (very hard to book slots now), or after sashimi at Ginza Kuroson. The Japanese cakes are nice and don’t taste too sweet. (Read: Patties & Wiches Ngee Ann City)

Saint Pierre Market
391 Orchard Road, #02-11 Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Ngee Ann City, Singapore 238872
Opening Hours: 8am – 7pm

If you find this hard to find, Saint Pierre Market is outside Tower B, a short walk away from the taxi stand, where Marmalade used to be. The cafe offers some artisanal bread, some cakes, some salads, and coffee from Nespresso. Em, no comments.

Many of the salad boxes contain more vegetables and fruits, and less meat.

Tai Tai’s Rating: When you are in desperate need for salads.

The Coffee Academics Singapore
Level 2, Scotts Square, 6 Scotts Road, Singapore 228209 (Orchard MRT)
Opening Hours: 9am – 9pm Daily

The Coffee Academics in Singapore looks like a café meets science laboratory meets working space.
The Singapore flagship store has been designed as a 7 Sensory Station experience. The Coffee Academics Singapore (Scotts Square)

Tai Tai’s Rating: A LOT of tai tais love to hang out here. Coffee + pancakes + expensive boutique shops go hand in hand.

Café & Meal MUJI Paragon
Orchard Paragon, 290 Orchard Road #04-36 Singapore 238859 (Orchard MRT)
Tel: +65 6735 0123
Opening Hours: 10am – 9:30pm (Mon-Sun), Full menu available only after 11am, Last order 9:45pm

A MUJI café. The first in Singapore. Can shop for home accessories, browse some fashion wear or have a Roasted Tea Pudding after shopping at Paragon.

Tai Tai Rating: Meals with healthy ‘chye peng’, opps we mean Niigata Koshihikari Japanese white rice mixed with multi-grains with a selection of delis and salads. Oishii ne. Can shop, can eat, ii desu ne! (Read: Café & Meal MUJI Paragon Orchard)

Dutch Baby Cafe
The Paragon, B1-13, 290 Orchard Road, Singapore 238859 (Orchard MRT)
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm (Mon-Sun)

Located at the basement of The Paragon, Dutch Baby Café is opened by the people behind Japan Food Holdings. Think Ajisen Ramen, Menya Musashi and Fruit Paradise – whch served as one of the desserts here).

Their signature items are the Dutch Baby Pancakes ($11.80 – $13.80) with both sweet and savoury versions made with eggs, flour, sugar and milk on hot cast iron pans straight from the oven. Dutch Baby Café (Orchard Paragon)

Tai Tai’s Rating: It’s an okay place to hang out.

Cocoa Colony
Shaw Centre, #01-06, 1 Scotts Road, Singapore 228208 (Orchard MRT)
Opening Hours: 8am – 10pm (Mon-Sat)
2 Handy Road #01-08 The Cathay Singapore 229233 (Dhoby Ghaut MRT)
Opening Hours: 9am – 10pm (Mon-Fri), 10am – 11pm (Sat, Sun, PH)
313 @ Somerset, 313 Orchard Road #B1-37 Singapore 238895 (Somerset MRT)
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm (Sun-Thurs), 10am – 11pm (Fri, Sat, PH)

Suddenly you find three different Cocoa Colonies along Orchard Road. This is a full chocolate café serving cocoa beverages, crafted chocolate bars, chocolate gelato, chocolate cakes which can be topped with lava flowing hot chocolate sauce from a tap.

Tai Tai Rating: Can take away, but very hard to sit down. The chairs at Shaw are tall, and then if you wear tight skirts… you know what I mean lah.

Somerset

Lady M
181 Orchard Road, Orchard Central #01-27 & #02-07 Singapore 238896 (Somerset MRT)
Tel: +65 6509 3673
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm, Last order 9:30pm

Feeling like a trip to NYC? The Orchard Central Lady M has all-day breakfast specials: M’s Big Break ($20) consists of toasted muffins, soft poached eggs, turkey bacon, barbeque baked beans, mushrooms, chicken and cheese chipotles while The Lady’s Benedict ($12) offers a choice of smoked salmon or turkey ham with brown butter hollandaise, toasted muffins, and soft poached eggs.

This you may not know: Also exclusive to the Orchard outlet is the Chocolate Mille Crepe ($9/slice).

Tai Tai Rating: Love the cakes, but very hard to chit-chat when it gets crowded. Also going up and down the stairs in heels is so uncomfortable.

Pompompurin Café
Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road #04-08 Singapore 238896 (Somerset MRT)
Opening Hours: 11am – 10.30pm (last order 10pm)
Takeaway services are not available
No reservations, walk-in only

The Pompompurin Café in Singapore has a “Garden City” theme (same same as Hello Kitty), with a signature Pompompurin Gate at the entrance, and Pompompurin and Friends Tree. Though people will rush to sit in the ‘tree houses’.

Food includes Spaghetti Napolitana ($26.99), Mushroom & Bacon Carbonara ($26.99), Taco Rice in a Cup of Friendship ($19.99), Pompompurin’s Coconut Milk Chicken Curry ($17.99) and Pompompurin’s Beef Stroganoff ($18.99).

Tai Tai’s Rating: For the tai tais with young kids, or tai tais who need to feel stupendously young again.

Laurent Bernard Café
260 Orchard Road #B1-02C The Heeren Singapore 238855 (Somerset MRT)
Tel: +65 6235 2340
Opening Hours: 9am – 10pm Daily

Oh yes, oh yes. Finally, a Laurent Bernard Café at Orchard, even though there is already a chocolate shop at Takashimaya. A café is just different.

This café at the basement of Heeren serves French food and brunch, and we can all share-share some Farmers Breakfast ($23), Crispy Duck Leg confit ($26), Cod fish “Brandade” ($22), Chocolate Tart, ($9.40) & Ruby cake ($10.35) which contains strawberry, champagne and mint.

Tai Tai Rating: After shopping at Robinsons upstairs, we can have cakes and artisanal items, perfect for a chill-out brunch and as a shopping pit stop. C’est la vie.

Henri Charpentier – Orchard
Orchard Central #01-18, 181 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238896
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm

Say “Hello” to financiers, madeleines and biscuits, all packed prettily in boxes with the opening of Japanese patisserie chain Henri Charpentier at Level 1.

Some of the signature items include their popular Financiers ($2.90 for 1) made with fragrant almond and an original cultured butter recipe; Madeleines ($2.90 for 1) made with Hokkaido flour, Japanese lemons, fragrant rum and honey; and Petits Gâteaux Assortis ($14.30 for 8 pieces in a box).

Tai Tai’s Rating: Love Japanese cakes as they feel light and calorie free (like real), but this place is too exposed. Shoppers keep trying to see what cakes we are having.

Nunsaram Korean Dessert Cafe
181 Orchard Road #05-51/52 Orchard Central, Singapore 238896 (Somerset MRT)
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Mon-Sun)

‘Nunsaram’ also means ‘snowman’ in Korean. The specialty item is Korean bingsu, with flavours of Injeolmi Bingsu (S$12.90), Black Sesami Bingsu (S$14.9) and Strawberry Bingsu (S$14.90). Nunsaram also uses one of those expensive bingsu machines, ensuring smooth shavings.

The side menu consists of Tteogkkochi (Korean rice cakes on skewers) that comes in 3 variations: Honey ($4.50), Spicy ($4.90) and Cheese ($5.90) and Injeolmi Toast ($5.90).

Tai Tai Rating: I do not know much about bing-su, but we will come after our Zumba class to enjoy Korean desserts. Will recommend the Blueberry Bingsu – high in anti-oxidants. Not bad, not bad, but a young people’s place. (Read: Nunsaram Orchard Central)

O’ma Spoon Korean Dessert Café
313 @ Somerset, 313 Orchard Road #04-20/32 Singapore 238895 (Somerset MRT)
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 10pm (Mon-Thurs, Sun), 11:30am – 12am (Fri-Sat)

Once a friend commented that there are no Korean Cafes at Orchard Road. There is not just one now, but two! O’ma Spoon Korean Dessert Café is at 313 @ Somerset (Nunsaram is just next door).

Other than Korean Bingsu, you can have Oven-Baked Honey Bread topped with fruits, ice cream and honey butter.

Tai Tai Rating: We like the ambience here better. Cooler aircon, more comfortable seats, but the bingsu next door is softer lah. (Read: O’ma Spoon Korean Dessert Cafe 313 Somerset)

Tvoila
181 Orchard Road #B1-15-19 Orchard Central Singapore 238896 (Somerset MRT)
Tel: +65 69666660
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm

A café at the basement of Orchard Central, specialising in organic tea, along with salads, sandwiches, desserts, and coffee.

Tai Tai Rating: Seriously, I won’t have known this café exists until I saw it after shopping at Tokyu Hands (by the way, why so expensive). There is a wide selection or organic tea, and lots of seats to choose from. Hope they do well.

Dazzling Café Pink
277 Orchard Road #01-12 Orchardgateway Singapore 238858 (Somerset MRT)
Tel: +65 6385 3639
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Sun – Thurs), 11am – 10.30pm (Fri – Sat)

Other than the signature Shibuya Toasts, the appeal of Dazzling had to be the décor, and hospitable plus cutesy Taiwanese-style service, where waitresses dressed as Japanese-style French chambermaids serve the signature thick toasts in prettiness.

Tai Tai’s Rating: If only Shibuya Toasts are less in sugar *looks at waistline*. BUT quite some young looking (aka newly minted) tai tais will hang around here for tea.

Sugar Lips
Orchard Gateway, 277 Orchard Road, #02-01, Singapore 238852
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Mon-Sun)
https://www.facebook.com/eatsugarlips/

While cakes, waffles and molten lava cakes may sound pretty boring, Sugar Lips took a step further with their loud, colourful and exaggerated OTT toppings on their dessert platter.

So BOOMZ… Think colourful sauces drizzled across the entire plate (which may look like a pre-schooler’s drawing at first glance) and random scattering of the dessert toppings all on one plate.

3 sizes of Dessert Platters (with a choice of cake, waffle or lava cake) were available: Standard with 1 topping ($12.90), Medium with 2 toppings ($14.90) and Large with 3 toppings ($16.90).

Tai Tai’s Rating: Since my friends are all shooting photos for Instagram, may as well join them right. What’s the link? IKR.

Ice Lab
Orchard Shopping Centre, 321 Orchard Road #01-01/02, Singapore 238866 (Somerset MRT)
Opening Hours: 1:30pm – 1am (Mon-Thu), 10am – 1am (Fri-Sun)

My friend almost fainted when she saw the price of the bingsu. $19.30. And that is for a small sized one. The large at $4 extra. Many come for the snow-making machine that would create falling snow in the middle of a round table. How long more is the bingsu craze going to last? Ice Lab (Somerset)

Tai Tai’s Rating: How many bingsu shops do we need? But this is the most popular of them all.

Honolulu Cafe
#01-33F/G The Centrepoint 176 Orchard Road, Singapore 238843
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm

Honolulu Café from Wanchai Hong Kong, known for its old school cha chaan teng style of food, has opened 10th May at The Centrepoint.

The signature Honolulu Egg Tart (set to be priced at SGD$1.70) is known for its 192 layers of flaky pastry, crumbly, with wobbly aromatic eggy fillings. Honolulu Singapore (Centrepoint)

Tai Tai’s Rating: Helps that this café is quite far in, so not SO MANY people. Can go after shopping at… emm… Metro? And now we can finally da bao egg tarts back home.

Dhoby Ghaut

Arteastiq Boutique Tea House
Plaza Singapura, #03-70/72 68 Orchard Road, Singapore 238839 (Dhoby Ghaut MRT)
For Boutique Tea House reservations: 6336 0951
For enquiries and reservations for Social Painting: 6336 0952
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm Daily

Arteastiq Boutique Tea House is already known to be the ‘tai tai’ tea house at Mandarin Gallery. With a newer outlet at Plaza Singapura, the revamped menu was conceived with the idea that ladies would prefer lighter items, and gentlemen enjoy more straight-forward and robust dishes like Striploin steak.

Tai Tai Rating: High tea, dainty bites and sweet treats, while lazing around in comfy huge sofa seats. Can art jam occasionally at the side studio to express your inner self. Can gossip while having cakes. Perfect. (Read: Arteastiq Plaza Singapura)

WooW
68 Orchard Road #01-K1 Singapore 238839
Tel: +65 6336 3633
Opening Hours: 11am – 10:30pm

WooW, opened by local Youtubber TheJianHaoTan, serves up multi-coloured shaved ice, where you can choose the flavoured snow, ice cream and toppings. Think about it as a cross between bingsu and ice kachang.

Tai Tai’s Rating: Probably meant more for the young Xiao Mei Mei (and Di Di) more than the (older) Tai Tais.

Kki Sweets
School of the Arts (SOTA), 1 Zubir Said Drive #02-01
Tel: +65 6225 6650
Opening Hours: 12pm – 7pm (Sat, Sun), 12pm – 8pm (Tues – Fri), tentatively closed on Mon

Craftholic is collaborating with Kki sweets to bring their very first pop up café outside Japan. Beside Kki’s cakes, they are offering a themed menu till 13 November.

Some items to expect include Beef Stew with Butter Rice ($16.80), Garlic Aioli Roast Chicken Sandwich ($16.80), and a “Singapore flavoured” Pandan Souffle Cheesecake ($7.80). Note: They are out of pancakes due to popular demand. Expect the pancakes to return in October.

Tai Tai’s Rating: Kki Sweets offer one of the best Japanese styled cakes in Singapore. If you are a fan of Craftholic, this seals the deal.

Other Related Entries
100 NEW Cafes in Singapore 2016
9 Cafes At Ang Mo Kio
10 New Cafes At Chinatown
10 Cafes At Tai Seng
10 New Cafes At Selegie

* Tai tai 太太 a Chinese colloquial term for a wealthy married woman who does not work. It has the same euphemistic value as “lady” in English, though it can mean “lady of leisure” in another context.

The post 22 Cafes At Orchard Road – For Shoppers, Dessert Lovers and The Tai-Tais appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Popular popsicle brand Popbar has opened in Singapore, at Plaza Singapura basement 2.

This frozen dessert concept is supposedly popular in cities such as New York and Tokyo, bringing artisanal, handcrafted gelato on a popsicle stick.

So the question is: Will Popbar do as well in Singapore?

Personally, I am not too sure about there. Competition is tough. There are already many popsicle shops (Popaganda, Neh Neh Pop, I see I see, Frostbite, Momolato etc) in Singapore.

The location is not entirely conspicuous at the basement 2 of Plaza Singapura, and you may just completely miss the store.

Singapore does not exactly have a ‘kind’ weather to thoroughly enjoy popsicles, as they tend to melt super fast.

The good about Popbar: There are no artificial flavours or preservatives added, with only natural ingredients used. The Popbars are made fresh daily in a popLab and delivered over.

Price is $5.40 for yogurtPops and popGelatos, $4.90 for popSorbettos.

When you pay that additional 50 cents for the dippings or poppings, you can choose ANY NUMBER of toppings.

(Photo credit: Hannah Chia @mshannahchia)

The top 3 signature popbars are Vanilla, Chocolate and classic Italian Pistachio popGelatos.

I tried a couple of flavours. The Promegranate flavour was particularly sour, that I couldn’t imagine myself finishing the entire stick. Lemon was more tolerable.

”Oh….This is… too SWEET…”

The server gave a grave look of concern, ”But there is no additional sugar included…”

This is my first time having Popbar, and I expected a more fruity, natural taste. My other friends who tried the other flavours thought the same too. Weird, we wondered why.

Popbar makes an instagrammable piece, and having chocolate dips work well with flavours such as Strawberry.

As for he icing on the cake, the yogurtPops and popSorbettos are 100 calories and below, while the popGelato is under 200 calories.

Popbar
Plaza Singapura #B2-64, 68 Orchard Road Singapore 238839
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 10:00pm Daily

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The post Popbar Singapore – Popular Popsicles From US, Under 200 Calories appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Wah. Westgate getting more and more happening.
Known for having a cluster of Japanese shops such as ISETAN, Tokyu Hands and Japanese restaurants and cafes such as Kinoshita BBQ Hot Pot, Kushiya Yakitori, Tsukada Nojo, Sushi Express and CoCo ICHIBANYA… popular Japanese Cheese BAKE Tart Hokkaido will join them. (Read: BAKE Cheese Tart Shinjuku)

These tarts from Japan have a crumbly exterior, fluffy inner texture, and cheesy warm soft filling – making them an instant hit.

There was once a 2-hour constant queue at ION Orchard, but you can get them quite ‘easily’ for now – depending on the hour you go to.

Even in Hong Kong and Bangkok where the brand opened to extreme lines, you can almost just grab and go for its shops at Central World and EmQuartier now.

BAKE Cheese Tart will open at Westgate Basement 2 near ISETAN come 17th October (Monday).

Queue? Definitely. Sustainable? We shall wait and see.

Here are 10 things about Bake Cheese Tart
1. 3 different types of cream cheese are used to create the cheese mousse – Hakodate cheese for mild flavour, Betsukai cheese for full-bodied taste, and French cheese for a saltier balance.

2. The tart pastry is twice-baked, once just as cookies, then all over again with the cheese mousse on top to create a twice-baked pastry.

3. These tarts were originally sold as chilled blueberry cheese tarts.

4. BAKE Cheese Tart started in July 2011 in Kinotoya Hokkaido.

5. Price in Singapore – $3.50 per tart, $19.50 for box of six tarts.

6. BAKE currently has a total of 13 stores – 9 in Japan, 4 in the rest of Asia including Hong Kong, Seoul and Bangkok.

7. Singapore’ branch is the 5th store outside Japan.

8. The tarts sold in Singapore are flown in from Japan once every two weeks, and baked in-house before sale.

9. If you are buying the tarts home, you can reheat it by using a toaster oven (nope, microwave doesn’t really work that well). They last well about 2-3 days in the fridge.

10. One way to eat the tart is like an “ice cream” after putting it in the freezer.

BAKE Cheese Tart
Westgate Basement 2, 3 Gateway Drive Singapore 608532 (next to Jurong East MRT)

ION Orchard #B4-33, 2 Orchard Turn Singapore 238801 (Orchard MRT)
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm (or till sold out)

Other Related Entries
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Tarte By Cheryl Koh (Scotts Road)

The post BAKE Cheese Tart – Popular Hokkaido Tarts Shop Opening At Westgate Singapore appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

All I want to say here is: Hai Di Lao 海底捞 has opened at Vivocity, it’s reservation numbers are +65 6250 7557 and +65 6250 7667, the interior looks quite chio, and please don’t go too soon because I want to make a reservation this weekend!

(Okay, will update this soon… After I visit…)

Here are 10 more other reasons to visit Hai Di Lao:

1. Soup bases – From chicken, mushroom, tomato, seafood to their ever popular Sichuan pot. My friends found it stomach churning spicy, but I treated it as thrilling as sweat-inducing delicious.

Surprisingly, I did not get thirsty for once after a Chinese hotpot. Does this mean finally no added MSG?

2. Sauces – With more than 20 to choose from. It cost an extra $4 per person (sauces also need to charge?), but the dips are worth it – from ground beef, mushroom sauce, creamy sesame, hoisin, to specially made chill. Top with crunchy peanut, or simply ask the waitress to make you the signature Hai Di Lao dipping sauce bowl.

3. Gongfu mian – Noodles artistically handmade in front of your table. Watch that guy in white tracks flick your noodles to the sky.

4. Beef balls – So fresh and bouncy, and comes with some soup within the balls.

5. Slippery shrimp – A shrimp paste, handmade and squeezed by the waitress into the hotpot with a tube.

6. Drinks – Soya, liang teh or plum available free flow, for $2-$3 per order.

7. Half-portions – Food can be ordered half-portions (eg 4 beef balls instead of 8), suitable for small group diners so that you can try a variety.

8. Interactive menu – Order conveniently through an iPad, with both English and Chinese language options.

9. Service details – Constant refill of drinks and soup, hot towel, a plastic bag to protect the cell phone, a cover for my backpack, an apron you can wear.

10. Opening Hours – Till 6am! Say “Yeah” to late night supper.

Hai Di Lao Hot Pot
Vivocity #03-09
Tel: +65 6250 7557
+65 6250 7667
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 6am

Clarke Quay
3D River Valley Road #02-04, Singapore 179023
T: +65 6337 8626
+65 6337 8627
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 6am

313 Somerset
313 Orchard Road #04-23/24 Singapore 238895
T: +65 6835 7227
+65 6835 7337
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 6am

IMM
IMM #03-01, 2 Jurong East Street 21 Singapore 609601
Tel: +65 6896 4111
+65 6896 4222
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 4am

The post Hai Di Lao 海底捞 – Popular Chinese Hotpot Restaurant Opens At Vivocity appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Craftholic is collaborating with Kki Sweets at School of the Arts SOTA to bring their very first pop up café outside Japan.

Beside Kki’s cakes, they are offering a themed menu till 13 November.

For those who you who have zero idea what Craftholic is, it is a series of huggable and stylish plush cushions designed by the Japanese designer, Ikuko Yamamoto.

Alamak. Soooooooo CUTE.

You may have recognised some of its characters, namely Korat Cat, Loris Monkey, Rab Bunny and Sloth Bear.

As this is Craftholic’s first foray into the café concept in Singapore, they wanted to look for something Japanese inspired, indie, and fits the brand. I must say Kki Sweets fits the choice wonderfully.

Kki Sweets offer one of the best Japanese styled cakes in Singapore. If you are a fan of Craftholic, this seals the deal.

Some items to expect include Beef Stew with Butter Rice ($16.80), Garlic Aioli Roast Chicken Sandwich ($16.80), Dessert Cups ($12.80), and a “Singapore flavoured” Pandan Souffle Cheesecake ($7.80).

While they admitted they are no Hello Kitty in terms of popularity, they were pleasantly surprised with the turnout so far.

So the bad news first: The RAB Green Tea Hokkaido Pancakes are OUT due to popular demand. They catered enough Hokkaido pancake flour to last a month, but yes, they were gone in a week.
Expect the pancakes to return end of October.

I thought I was quite done with SOME of the character themed cafes in Singapore – good to see, no good to eat.

The Garlic Aioli Roast Chicken Sandwich ($16.80) turned out to be quite tasty, fluffy RAB bread and all. The side was a no-sugar Japanese Iced Green Tea. Yeah to more healthiness. (Okay, this wasn’t super super good, but better than expectations.)

The “Singapore flavoured” Pandan Souffle Cheesecake ($7.80) was really delicious – soft like cushion (or soft like Craftholic cusion), matched with lightness of pandan and cheese. I can have one more of this.

The Craftholic pop-café also presents good opportunites for photo-taking and purchase of toys and accessories. I was SO tempted to get this grey-coloured plush-toy, and it looked sad like me. Should I?

Kki Sweets
School of the Arts (SOTA), 1 Zubir Said Drive #02-01
Tel: +65 6225 6650
Opening Hours: 12pm – 7pm (Sat, Sun), 12pm – 8pm (Tues – Fri), tentatively closed on Mon

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