Crab Meat Tagliatelle ($24) Don’t usually go for crab pastas, but was impressed by this! Pasta was done al dente, and was well coated with the savoury-sweet tomato sauce. There was a relatively generous serving of crabmeat too, which had a nice bite to it. I enjoy rookery’s menu offerings, and it’s great that they offer 1-4-1 on burpple, eatigo and shopbackgo! Ate here rather often last year. However, I don’t think I would visit as often if not for the 1-4-1, as it can get pretty pricey!

Pork Chop 💵: $30 🤔: Meat wasn't the most tender, but is really well-marinated and tasty. Definitely worth the higher price tag it came with!

Open-faced sandwich with pulled pork and poached eggs This was named “Eggs Benedict with pulled pork” on the menu. But I think it should just be renamed as how I’ve titled this review. There’s no hollandaise to go with the ‘eggs benny’ and also, who pairs eggs benny with pulled pork?! (Ok yes there’s the option for smoked salmon but I just wanted pulled pork and so this was what I got) My colleague had the smoked salmon version but there was no hollandaise too! Whatever the name is, the runny yolk and pulled pork combi on pretty fluffy toast + some furikake and sesame seeds were pretty awesome to start your day with. Tho with pulled pork, it’d probably work better with a sunny side up 🍳 ‘Also comes with some avocado 🥑 mash across the toast for some healthy fats!

Cleaner CBD Lunch Option I love it that I didn’t have to include carbs in this bowl but was still so full 😋 ordered a small bowl, and picked lettuce, spinach, carrots, broccoli, fish n topped it w their famous broccoli purée n kale. Would order again 😚

For DIY Bowls Build your own bowls at YoBo (from $8.90), a fancy little joint with a little garden right beside to soak in some Vitamin D. Their bowls are fully customisable, and you pay per portion for any combination of carbs, proteins, and sides, including baked dory, kale chips, and honey soy chicken. Burppler Zac Lee recommends adding on their creamy and smooth broccoli purée for an extra fifty cents. Photo by Burppler TW Teo

Protein Bowl ($10.90) Visited Yobo for the first time and ordered a medium size protein bowl (one for one with burpple beyond ). You can bet that it’s super healthy and filling. Love the chill vibes at this restaurant, and if you fancy you can even sit at the little garden right beside to soak in some vitamin D.

Amuse Bouche (one per person) The best thing about this place is the location and the view. Maybe it’s not fair to judge a restaurant just by referring to the Valentine’s Day set menu ($178++ for non-front row tables) and dining experience, but based on that, it doesn’t rank among the top 15 Italians in Singapore. Portions are Lilliputian, none of the dishes is a wow, and the dessert is too dry. The menu said “lobster risotto”, but it’s really crayfish!!?! I remained hungry and was tempted by the idea of buying French fries at OverEasy downstairs. Service is not terribly proactive - one must ask for water refills several times during the meal. After opening the wine, the waiter asked “would you like to test, or should I just pour?” In a restaurant of this calibre, you don’t ask this kind of question - more training is called for! Cheaper restaurants would present a flower to lady guests, but not here! Forlino is a case of marble pricing but linoleum food and service. Chef Osvaldo Forlino’s No Menu restaurant is not great, but better than Forlino! Shame!

She’s (the chocolate cake) So Heavy, as The Beatles said... The best thing about this place is the location and the view. Maybe it’s not fair to judge a restaurant just by referring to the Valentine’s Day set menu ($178++ for non-front row tables) and dining experience, but based on that, it doesn’t rank among the top 15 Italians in Singapore. Portions are Lilliputian, none of the dishes is a wow, and the dessert is too dry. The menu said “lobster risotto”, but it’s really crayfish!!?! I remained hungry and was tempted by the idea of buying French fries at OverEasy downstairs. Service is not terribly proactive - one must ask for water refills several times during the meal. After opening the wine, the waiter asked “would you like to test, or should I just pour?” In a restaurant of this calibre, you don’t ask this kind of question - more training is called for! Cheaper restaurants would present a flower to lady guests, but not here! Forlino is a case of marble pricing but linoleum food and service. Chef Osvaldo Forlino’s No Menu restaurant is not great, but better than Forlino.

Can You Believe This Is One Dish?? The best thing about this place is the location and the view. Maybe it’s not fair to judge a restaurant just by referring to the Valentine’s Day set menu ($178++ for non-front row tables) and dining experience, but based on that, it doesn’t rank among the top 15 Italians in Singapore. Portions are Lilliputian, none of the dishes is a wow, and the dessert is too dry. The menu said “lobster risotto”, but it’s really crayfish!!?! I remained hungry and was tempted by the idea of buying French fries at OverEasy downstairs. Service is not terribly proactive - one must ask for water refills several times during the meal. After opening the wine, the waiter asked “would you like to test, or should I just pour?” In a restaurant of this calibre, you don’t ask this kind of question - more training is called for! Cheaper restaurants would present a flower to lady guests, but not here! Forlino is a case of marble pricing but linoleum food and service. Chef Osvaldo Forlino’s No Menu restaurant is not great, but better than Forlino.

Black Rice with ‘Carabineros’ ($52) Please give a round of applause to those Mediterranean red prawns for being so 👏🏻 dang 👏🏻 sweet 👏🏻. They were fresh and juicy with a nice slight crunch as you bit into them. The rice itself was full of umami flavour from the addition of squid ink and bits of squid cooked into the rice. It reminded me of risotto, albeit with firmer grains and being slightly more watery. The dish gets a bit cloying after awhile, so it’s definitely a great dish for sharing! Or perhaps just for yourself if you are greedy, because it’s so good.

Octopus (Grilled octopus, crispy pork belly, and potato foam) ($38) Each component of this dish was done really well. The octopus had a nice bite to it without being overly-rubbery, and it had a smokey and salty flavour reminiscent of bacon. In fact, it tasted so meaty that it was hard to believe this was actually seafood. The pork was crispy, juicy, and everything a good fried pork belly should be. The meaty parts were tender and the fatty bits melted in my mouth. The potato foam was smooth and had a cream-like texture. It was light and fluffy with a slight sweetness from the relish underneath, and complemented the heavily-seasoned octopus and pork. (Picture shows a half portion as the staff split the dish for us to share.)

Roasted Meat ‘Canelon’ ($28) Comprising of a pasta shell filled with a flavourful mix of roasted beef cheek, chicken, and foie gras, this was so tasty. The meat was tender and the foie gras added a rich buttery consistency to the mix. The canelon itself was covered in a parmesan cream and beef jus, and topped with mushrooms. The different components of the dish went well together, and you could taste the meaty juices and rich cream sauce in each delicious bite. A delightful dish I would definitely order again. (Pictured is a half portion as the staff split the dish into two for sharing.)

Mee Rebus 3nett Never a Fan of mee Rebus but this one was slightly more palatable. The sweet and viscous sauce had a nice consistent compared to some other places that are too goopy, and the yellow Noodles that are my least favourite kind of Noodles also had a more bearable texture than most other yellow Noodles.

Mackerel Otah 2.5nett(rice Not Included) Embedded with distinct chunks of Mackerel, this doesnt have the mushy texture that some otahs have, not that it's too firm either. The well seasoned sambal was almost liquid in texture, and has a kick that doesnt appear immediately, but sets in quickly afterwards. Btw the nice owner let me try the rice and she said this isnt the normal nasi lemak rice. If im not wrong it's nasi kukus and just as she said, the fluffy long grained rice were well separated and very fragrant.

Mee Siam+(Seafood Ball) Add Egg Seafood ball was nothing too special but their broth was laudable. It was as thick as a mee siam broth could be, and should be, as well as flavoursome and addictive from the bright acidity. Highly recommended

I'm not a veggie person, but for this Hakka Tofu Bowl I will eat 😋. The combination between jap rice,veggie, fried tofu, meatballs, and seaweed, really work well and taste good. 💰$5.5. 📍Ah Lock Tofu. 51 Yishun Ave 11, #01-08. Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

Hakka Tofu Bowl @ $5.50 As someone who dislikes vegetables, this was delicious for me still!! The different ingredients went very well with each other, giving an Unami taste overall. I love the meat with Tau pok especially. Highly recommended for everyone 👍🏽 Went at around 1.30pm and didn’t need to wait Long (Around 5-10 minutes)

Hakka Tofu Bowl ($5.50) It’s like local tofu donburi. It’s incredibly delicious. They used japanese pearl rice topped with everything nice. The sauce that they use, the type of tofu, the seasoning of the fried meatball, the alfalfa, seaweed flakes and all complemented each other very well. I lost count the amount of people staying in Yishun I converted into an ah lock fan. My fiancé who isn’t big on healthy food ended up as a regular.

Hot Mentai Salmon pasta First time trying this dish, the salmon mentai was nice and the pasta was entirely filled with mentai so it was worth it! Abit too creamy for me though 🤪

Steak & Scorched Rice Had the steak with scorched rice and steak with mash. Both actually came with similar flame grilled beef, which was equally good, grilled to perfection, flavourful with a bit of smoky charred aroma and yet tender and juicy inside. As for the carbs, I find the rice was too bland and lacked the burnt taste i was expecting. Mash was too cheesy and buttery for my liking (but that's just me as I don't like buttery stuff). We had other sides as well and overall we enjoyed the food. :)

Mentaiko Pasta Love the dish, super creamy and delicious. Had amazing truffle fries as well

Beef Pho and Bun Bo Nam Bo Food: 9/10 Price: Worth it w 1 for 1 At times you really find hidden gems on Burpple beyond and entertainer. Red sparrow is definitely one of them. You can go wrong with their staples with their assortment of noodles. Pho was great, but the star dish was the Bun Bo Nam Bo. Herby and full of flavour.

Red Sparrow Taste: 9/10 Yet another great meal at red sparrow. Pho is always spot on. Tried the crab bee goon today and it was full of flavour

Vegetarian Pho Was excited to try vegetarian pho at red sparrow but unfortunately it tastes too salty and there isn’t much to the flavour profile apart from the salt. Waiting time for the food was extremely long as well ☹️

Chcolate Tasting Platter ($14) ✨ Used Burrple beyond 1 for 1, and got the below 2 items: SINGLE ORIGIN PASTRIES PLATTER CHOCOLATE & COFFEE PAIRING Would definitely NOT return for the 2 items above. Both my partner and I are chocolate lovers, and we have our fair share of chocolate pastries, ice cream and drinks. The brownie crumbled into pieces upon cutting, and it tasted so floury. The trifle on one of the tiers of the platter was really hard, and the cream had this sour taste which both of us couldn’t appreciate. All in all, the only saving grace was the mocha. Would definitely not be back for the above 2 items mentioned. With that being said, other patrons seem to be enjoying their ice cream and cakes, so might probably head back to other outlets to try them (since the customer service here was really bad as well 🤷🏻‍♀️ Taka outlet has really nice staffs #justsaying)

Dark Chocs 1-1 choc sampling platter only had one set even though we were the first customer. So we opted for mocha pairing. Generally good but supply should have been replenished the night before if the next day is a weekend and they expect an early crowd. Enjoyed the ambience seated on high chairs. A great way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon with friends. Total cost = $33 including 4 cups of caffeine.

Chocolate Tasting Session Single Origin Chocolate Platter Chocolate & Coffee Pairing $14 for both platters (1-for-1 platter) The most outstanding dessert from the platter was the ice cream, which we had first in case it melted. Otherwise, you were supposed to go from the lowest cocoa content to the highest, starting from the top shelf to the bottom. The brownie (top shelf) was dry. The trifle and chocolate tart (second and third shelf) were probably the next best after the ice cream (bottom shelf). For the pairing, the coffee was okay. The hot chocolate mocha had a slightly sour taste to it due to the coffee. The accompanying chocolate brownie was rich in taste but a tad too dry and not as fudgy as we would have liked. It was probably served warm, but turned lukewarm by the time we had it. Overall, it was fun trying the assortment of desserts. We will probably return for the ice cream only.

I actually miss shooting at the restaurants itself. You get to immerse yourself in a different environment on different evenings, and you get to interact with the chefs to know the stories behind the food. . Photo shot at @gakesg by @anguschow1982. I was assisted by @gracefoodfinds.

Hotate cauliflower - hokkaido scallop with espuma of cauliflower & curry [$20.80] Succulent scallop with a great sear but did not enjoy the combination of scallop, cauliflower and curry

Ahi tuna tataki - Yellowfin tuna with onion silvers & Wasabi yuzu vinaigrette [$18.80] Refreshing starter. Wish the tuna was sliced more evenly and slightly thicker than they were served