I’m relieved that @fernandospizzasg offers half & half pizza options for twenty nine dollars, otherwise we’d spend an eternity attempting to sample every single pizza they’ve got to offer.

And now the final half and half pizza we had was the Prince Roni sharing the space with the cheese it up. Fernando’s special hot oil comes strongly recommended did the pepperoni pizza, but I found that said recommendation was much more appealing when applied to the ‘Cheese It Up’. Truth be told, the four cheeses in the Cheese It Up get a little monotonous, so drizzle on some hot honey to break the monotony and add a spicy yet sweet kick to your ‘zas.⠀
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Thanks once again for having us, @fernandospizzasg, than thanks for the invite @burpple!

I’m relieved that @fernandospizzasg offers half & half pizza options for twenty nine dollars, otherwise we’d spend an eternity attempting to sample every single pizza they’ve got to offer. It’s no secret that fernando and I are well acquainted, and their Mario Mushroom Kingdom is quite familiar to me. Roasted shrooms & sausages on top of a base of mozzarella & a splash of truffle oil will never go out of style, and this Kingdom reigns supreme.⠀
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The other half of the pizza was dedicated to the Trio @ Trio, which is a tomato sauce based pizza that’s topped simply with cream cheese, tomato & basil. It may be pretty simple, but it’s pretty delicious. It’s a slight tweak on the eternally popular Margherita pizza, and it’s just as delicious as the OG.⠀

Thanks once again for having us, @fernandospizzasg, than thanks for the invite @burpple!

And here it is: the long awaited review of @fernandospizzasg pizzas! As many of you may know, this is the third time I’m penning a critique of their pies, and I’m still plenty pleased with just how excellent their pizza dough is. It’s airy, slightly dense & chewy, and it holds its structural integrity well even after being sauced up. In short, Fernando’s has the ideal base to build a piquant pizza on. +1 for being consistently competent with their dough, but now we must dive into the meat of the matter.⠀
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Half & half pizzas are the norm these days, and Fernando’s is no different, letting you have the best of both worlds for twenty nine dollars flat. On this particular pie, the Where’s The Beef? and the Luigi’s Green Pesto are in a timeshare agreement, and they coexist peacefully despite being rather different. Luigi’s Green Pesto is bound to please all the herb heads out there, with a pleasantly pungent basil pesto reinforced by rosemary. The herbs are backed up by the mozzarella & provolone cheese base, as well as the toppings of cherry tomatoes, mushrooms & walnuts for a pretty wholesome pie.⠀
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Where’s The Beef? sounded pretty promising, with toppings of braised beef, caramelised onions, more mushrooms & red bell peppers. Unfortunately, Fernando’s kinda set themselves up here, as the braised beef was very sparingly applied, and led to us asking “where’s the beef?” The flavours were definitely there, it’s just a bit of a missed opportunity that the beef wasn’t.⠀
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While these pies weren’t Fernando’s strongest showing, the next few pizzas were definitely a lot more solid. Thanks for hosting us @fernandospizzasg, and thanks for the invite @burpple!

Garfield (and just about every working adult) hates Mondays but you can start your week or meal right with Garfield’s Favourite ($19 nett) from @fernandospizzasg. After my first bite into this saucy sensation, I fully understand why that fat orange cat loves lasagna. Fernando’s lasagna is probably the meatiest one I’ve devoured to date, and yet it wasn’t as excessively rich as some of the others I’ve eaten.⠀
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The beef ragu that goes into the lasagna is delectably well balanced, with the savouriness of the beef gently kept in check by the mildly tangy tomato sauce that the beef is simmered in. Perhaps the reason why Garfield’s fav doesn’t get you green to the gills halfway through is because Fernando’s goes light on the ricotta that goes in between the layers. Instead, they go hard on the parmesan on top of the lasagna for that extra Instagram-able cheese pull. Fernando’s also does a chicken version (Creamy Chicken, also $19) that’s supposed to have spinach, but other than the Creamy Chicken being slightly less intense than the beef, it’s identical.⠀
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And now for an actual starter, the Pigs In A Cheesy Blanket was appealing in both name and price at twelve dollars flat. As these were pure pork meatballs, they’re a lot juicier than normal, and they were well salted too. However, they were a lot smaller than expected, and I’m glad they apportioned five balls to a serving. It’s probably more worthwhile to get these piggies in the Single Combo, where you get these along with half a pizza & a soft drink for twenty two bucks.⠀
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Thanks for the invite, @fernandospizzasg & @burpple!

It’s no secret that I am partial to @fernandospizzasg , so when I heard that they had new items on the menu I jumped at the chance to sample them. Besides new pizzas, they’ve got a couple of new appetisers as well. Starting off healthy, we have the Central Park Salad ($14 nett), which comes with a choice of two dressings: honey mustard vinaigrette or caesar mayonnaise.⠀
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Central Park is now home to a mix of leafy greens tossed in with avocado, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pomegranates, quinoa, roasted walnuts and absolutely addictive garlic cheese croutons. The Central Park Salad is a super salad that would put many salad shops to shame, and the healthy variety of different veg & garnishes made this one of the most well rounded & balanced salads. As for the dressings caesar mayo was the undisputed winner here. The honey mustard vinaigrette suffered from a case of severe separation and brought none of the heat of mustard, while the caesar mayo was ravishingly rich, creamy and savoury.⠀
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The NY-style Calamari ($14 nett) had great promise with the crisp, craggy batter which was well seasoned, but the squid itself was slightly past its best. It was unfortunately a bit too soft, and lacked any springiness. Perhaps we caught Fernando’s on an off day, so I’ll be back to give the calamari a fair shake another day.⠀
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Thank you for inviting us @fernandospizzasg, and thanks for organising the Eatup @burpple!

Ichitei has been serving Japanese cuisine since 2009, but it’s only in 2024 that I finally decided to sample their food. The nice thing about this long standing institution is that all prices are net priced with no tax or service charge, so it already has a head-start on most other Japanese restaurants.⠀
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Ichitei’s main attraction are their sashimi dons, and I got a bowl of their best selling Hokkaido Scallop & Salmon Mentaiko Aburi ($17.50). Don’t let the deceptively diminutive size of this dish fool you; it can fill up most people with ease. Lots of salmon sashimi is laid on top of a mound of sushi rice, crowned by a couple of slices of Hokkaido scallop, and then the entire shebang gets dressed with mentaiko before it all gets lit with a blowtorch.⠀
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The plethora of fresh salmon sashimi was quite fresh, and the thinly sliced Hokkaido scallops were subtly sweet. However, the amount of mentaiko was slightly lacking, as it didn’t really make much of an impact on this dish. Ichitei did, however, thoroughly torch the mentaiko as well as the seafood, making this the smokiest aburi rice bowl in Singapore.⠀
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With all that said, Ichitei is a decent place for a no-frills Japanese fare fix, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to have the food here.

@canteenbyenjoy are starch savants, as both of the carb dishes we sampled were our favourites of the meal. The Canteen Rice was a sinful but sensational starch source, and this Hokkien Mee ($15.80 for the small) was less hedonistic but no less fantastic. It comes in strong tooting its own horn, proclaiming itself as the ‘most epic Hokkien Mee in Singapore’.⠀
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While I can’t confirm that claim, I can confirm that it’s pretty high up there in the Hokkien Mee rankings. The wok hei here isn’t particularly pronounced, allowing the broth the noodles are cooked in to take centrestage with good reason. The broth is stunningly sapid, and if I had to guess, I would say that Canteen has incorporated some pork bone broth into the prawn broth, as the broth is exceptionally flavourful & weighty.⠀
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The breathtaking broth amply flavours all the other elements of the dish, and even the abundance of ingredients that Canteen has thrown into the mix aren’t enough to dampen the deliciousness of the broth. The prawns were pretty fresh & plump, while the squid was equally fresh & delightfully snappy. The usual recipes for Hokkien Mee call for sliced pork shoulder, but Canteen ups the ante with the inclusion of roast pork belly. The roast pork belly adds a little extra savouriness & fat to the plate of noodles, but unfortunately the delicious broth had softened the crispy skin. Still damn delicious though.⠀
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Thank you so much for the invite, @canteenbyenjoy!

@canteenbyenjoy exclusive signature dish is the White Pepper Crab ($38.80++), which sees chunks of crab fried with a white pepper sauce and served with four slices of deep fried mantou. While you won’t get a whole crab for under forty bucks, there is certainly more than enough crab to satisfy most reasonable men.⠀
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The last time I had a a seafood dish at Enjoy (the one on Stevens Road) I was truly thrilled by the freshness & quality of the jumbo prawns, but was less than impressed with the sauce. With the White Pepper Crabs however, it was the exact opposite. I’m normally not a fan of pepper sauces as they tend to trigger my cough, but Canteen has done it sensationally here. The sauce is piquantly peppery, yet it’s smooth & rich, and loaded with deliciously savoury flavours. The mantous are definitely an excellent vehicle to savour the sauce with, and you’ll find yourself getting mildly addicted.⠀
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The crab meat, however, was not the freshest, but it certainly wasn’t bad at all. The crab meat is a little too soft, but it is free from any fishy odours, and its mild umami is elevated by the wonderful white pepper sauce. Canteen By Enjoy’s crab isn’t the most conventional, but it’s definitely expertly executed.⠀
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Thank you for having us @canteenbyenjoy!

Another one of @canteenbyenjoy signature dishes that fits in perfectly with their ‘Singapore of yesteryear’ theme is the Te Kah (Hokkien for pig trotter, $16.80++). A classic Chinese dish, the recipe is reportedly from head chef & owner Joel’s grandma, and he’s definitely made Grandma proud here with this bowl of tender trotters, braised tofu & half boiled egg.⠀
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The pig trotters have been stewed till the meat has turned tremendously tender, and all the excess fat under the skin has been rendered out with the braising process. The low & slow braising has thoroughly injected every morsel of meat & gelatinous skin with the fragrance & umami of the soya sauce & spices used to braise the pig’s leg, and each bite is delectably delicious & eminently enjoyable. The braise is notably sweet, which is an oddity for braised pig’s trotters, but it is most definitely not a bad thing.⠀
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The egg & jiggly tofu greatly benefitted from the sapid soy sauce mix, and I was sorely tempted to order a bowl of white rice just to fully appreciate that delicious braise with the tender trotters, slightly jammy egg & surprisingly soft tofu. Grandma would be pretty proud of this for sure.⠀
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Thank you for having us, @canteenbyenjoy!

Enjoy Eating House’s original location at Jalan Besar has rebranded to @canteenbyenjoy, and their menu is slightly different now.

As devilishly delish as the Canteen Rice is, its richness does get overpowering quickly. Balance that out with an order of otah ($11.80++) to light up your meal with some spicy heat. This otah is most certainly handmade by Enjoy and stars chunks of mackerel inside, and the entire otah is superbly spiced to perfection. The only drawback is that this otah is most definitely the boniest otah in Singapore, and I was consistently picking out bones. Proceed with caution indeed. Also, don’t forget an order of coleslaw ($5.80++), which comes in clutch to cleanse your palate with its crunchy, sweet & slightly sour tanginess from all the sinfully delicious dishes Canteen by Enjoy has to offer.⠀
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Thank you so much for the invite, @canteenbyenjoy!

Enjoy Eating House’s original location at Jalan Besar has rebranded to @canteenbyenjoy, and their menu is slightly different now. Canteen’s eponymous Canteen Rice ($4.80++) is deceptively simple in name, but it is the most sinful & heart stopping dish in Canteen’s lineup by a clear margin. Plain ol’ steamed white rice is sauced up with the same braising sauce that another of Canteen’s signature dish is braised in, and turned utterly sinful by adding fried pork lard cubes & a fried egg on top.⠀
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Canteen has masterfully deep fried the lard cubes, rendering most of the fat out & leaving behind a cube of crisp, airy gluttonous goodness. Tack on the savoury & slightly sweet soya sauce based braising sauce and the oozy fried egg, along with lashes of dark soya sauce, and you have a cardiologist’s worst nightmare in a bowl. Oh it tastes so good to be bad, my greed was screaming yes while my heart was screaming for mercy. There’s no way you can solo a bowl of Canteen Rice, so spread the heart attack with a friend or family member.⠀
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Thank you so much for the invite, @canteenbyenjoy!

I’ve seen the memes & heard the legends about The Lord’s Chicken, and even Ye himself dropped one of the hardest gospel tracks about them. Of course I’m talking about @chickfila, the chicken sandwich chain that’s wildly famous for serving The Lord’s Chicken with the patience & politeness of Christ himself. They held a popup event @chickenandsmiles last week to test the market, and after battling satan himself a.k.a. @eventbrite, I managed to snag myself The Lord’s Chicken Sandwich.⠀
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Yes, it is a chicken sandwich. Sure, it uses buttered burger buns instead of sliced bread, but there’s no cheese or sauce, which disqualifies it from being a burger. The deep fried breaded chicken fillet isn’t as crispy as other places, but it’s not the crunch that makes it memorable. Instead, the astonishing fact that Chick-fil-a deep fried a chicken breast that’s fairly juicy is what will be written about by generations to come. It’s less greasy than a thigh fillet patty, and with a slightly firmer chew, but that makes it all the more satisfying and healthier.⠀
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The chicken sandwich itself was stunningly stellar, but the sauces push it straight to heaven. @chickenandsmiles has selected four sauces from the myriad of sauces that Chick-fil-a serve in the USA, and there was a clear winner to pair with the original chicken sandwich. The Chick-fil-a sauce was downright divine on the sandwich, and I would describe it as a slightly spicy Thousand Island sauce that joined in saucy matrimony with a bbq sauce, and united by smoke. It’s smashingly savoury, super smoky and tastefully tangy. Yes, now I see the light.⠀
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Waffle fries are nice, but they are better dipped into the Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Sauce. Chick-fil-a clearly adores smoke, because this is essentially a sweet chili sauce fortified with smoke and had the spice turned up slightly. The Garden Herb Ranch sauce was satisfactorily herby and creamy, but a little too thin. I could see it being the GOAT if applied on Chick-fil-a’s spicy chicken sandwich though. Last but not least, the honey mustard is more mustard & less honey, which was just fine by me.⠀
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Lord Jesus, please bring Your chicken to Singapore. Amen.