Back to Nesuto after a long while and the quality has dropped tremendously. The buttercream for the Chestnut Vanilla-Brandy Gateaux ($11.90) was very reminscent of the old-school buttercream taste that leaves this sick, oily and cloying aftertaste. The cake was nothing to shout about.

Also ordered a Yuzu Raspberry ($11.90) and was equally meh..

Both cakes were honestly that of neighbourhood bakeries (no diss, each to their own’s) but honestly expecting more because of its premium pricetag. These cakes are not light at all, just artificial and really heavy. (with the additional weight of my guilt consuming calories that could be spent elsewhere).

Guess I can now walk past Nesuto without clamouring to go in anymore… adieu~

This place makes a mean bowl of beef noodles, the broth especially was savoury and flavourful.

We ordered 2 bowls standard beef noodles which were fantastic + a side of hongyou chaoshou, which was a miss.

First of all, chaoshous, a Sichuanese type of dumplings do not use dumpling skins like these, which are made of eggs, commonly used for Hong Kong/Cantonese wontons & dumplings. The skin should be the white types that do not use any egg. Using egg wonton wrappers like this alters the whole flavour profile of the dish

Second, the filling was really good, and they are v generous with the chicken but the shape of the dumpling (饺子) (again, in a Hong Kong/Cantonese style) makes the bite too firm and the dumpling too big which doesn’t quite fit the dainty chaoshous that it should be.

Because of these two, it makes this dish a jiaozi, not a chaoshou and also not a wonton (wonton and chaoshous are the same just that one is from Sichuan and one is from Canton and.. i think the filling might slightly differ also).

The hot and sour taste also does not come through very well. It was very spicy, and a good kind of spice but the vinegar taste of it was muted down a lot... which was very disappointing. Hongyou chaoshou is supposed to be hot, sour, savoury and dainty. One missing component and it’s not a passable dish at all.

This dish only managed to be hot/spicy and savoury. Maybe it is to cater to a halal audience, but I think this rendition could have been more authentic just like its beef noodles.

Boat nooOoOoOodles were decent but the broth was a bit too salty. Also, it didn’t have that much of a deep flavour; it was salted but not as savoury.. and that was a great pity. But the noodles were cooked to perfection and had a nice firm bite. It also tastes lighter as compared to other boat noodles.

The papaya salad was good but real spicy.

Used the 1-for-1 Burpple deal and boy was it a goddamn good experience.
Ordered the Dark Truffle Pizza, ($32) Truffle Carbonara ($28), Garlic bread basket ($8) and drinks: caffe
pistachio cream ($5.50) and Sparkling water ($7.90)

The dark truffle pizza was a show stopper. Thin crust with a nice blend of tomatoes and cheese that weren’t too salty or cloying. Added with the truffle oil on top and boy. was it magnificent. We found it a bit better with a dash of tabasco sauce. (Ps: love how the tabasco sauce wasnt watered down at all. Piquant, fiery and flavourful woo!)

The truffle carbonara was equally piquant though more peppery. However, it was kind of a miss because it was too salty...

Next, the garlic bread basket was decent, drenched in a generous amount of olive oil though the garlic taste was too muted for my liking

We also had this cup of caffe pistachio cream, which came in a daint espresso cup. Mind you, the coffee is strong, thick and bitter hitting you almost immediately from the first mouthful. Because of that, it may be a tad wee difficult to stomach the first few sips. Fortunately, as one continues to slowly sip through the drink, it mellows down thanks to the pistachio cream. Interesting drink though i thought the balance could be better as it was overwhelmingly bitter until through halfway the cup.

Overall, a really chill place with nice warm lights that serves good food though it’s quite pricey.

In chinese, this is called 虚华无实. Noodles were too soft, tom yum was too bland; in fact it didn’t even have too much of a tomyum taste despite its namesake. $16.90 worth of disappointment.

1-for-1 deal. The speculoos cheesecake & earl grey lavender (7.50 each) was great. The former is a dainty piece that’s especially well executed which won’t leave you feeling jelak. It is smooth, light and surprisingly not cloyingly sweet. On the other hand, the earl grey lavender — a classic combination is lightly flavoured but moist. The buttercream has a wonderful lavender flavour, that isn’t too pungent nor bitter. It is slightly regrettable that the earl grey did not come through as prominently.

We also had a apple yoghurt drink ($7.50) and matcha latte ($7). Both did not stand out and the matcha latte was too milky and light for my liking.

Used the Burpple Beyond deal for this. The waffles here are terrific. Terrific in the sense that it doesn’t get all soggy and still retains its crisp to the end. Crisp as in it doesn’t break your teeth or scrape the roof of your mouth; Just a nice firm bite with a crunch.

We had the pistachio and some new flavoured yoghurt(?) gelato. Personally, i think the ice creams could be further improved. There’s a limited range andnone of the flavours really stood out. The pistachio while really flavourful, was lacking something.. I still can’t quite put my finger to it but it does not roll off your tongue that nicely nor does it have the typical pleasant nutty aftertaste. As for the other flavour, it sorta reminded us of yoghurt. Not too bad and something light!

The drinks were average. We had the ginger hisbicus
and earl grey lavender, both at $4.90. Ginger Hibiscus was interesting albeit a bit strange for me as the ginger is quite overpowering at first.

Visit again? Sure. For the waffles hehe

The mazesoba (14++) comes with a bowl of chicken soup. Sadly to say, it was lacklustre and had a flat flavour profile. This was in spite of the sardine oil which was too little, making the dish a tad too dry. In addition, the meat while nice on its own, didn’t complement the dish as it melted too quickly. Would be better if they didn’t just ctrl c and v the sides from the usual ramens in the broth.

In my opinion, Sanpoutei is arguably one of the best ramen chains in Singapore with their rich fish-based broths that just sets it apart from the rest. So, go for the tsukemen and the rest but feel free to skip this.

Mocha with oat milk was good. Good enough as in not the usual cafe-coffee-that-is-unremarkable-and-unmemorable.

Spent a couple of hours here, nice atmosphere wew. But seats are limited.

This beverage is true to its name. Checks all the boxes for hazelnut, coffee and milk. (Sorry idk whats bianco) Hazelnut taste is especially prominent. With 4 shots of espresso, it stands out as a drink that not only packs a punch, but is especially indulgent as well with its subtle hints of chocolate. This is not a drink, it is a dessert in liquid form. Was recommended by the barista when I wanted something strong but not boring. Glad i did not go for my usual cold brew this time round. Costs $11 for a venti-sized :)

they didnt chase me out (with laptop in tow) on a Fri evening, nubbad.