The Eggs Benedict (S$22.80) was the only item in their soufflé pancake section that offered a savoury option of their signature Kiseki pancakes. Made with imported Hinata white chicken eggs, the pancakes was fluffy and jiggly, as like all other soufflé pancakes that were already introduced to the food scene. The exception, of course, was that the table was set with a pair of forks, which was said to maintain the texture of the pancakes without over-squeezing them.

The poached eggs were done on point, with the whites solidified and the yolk runny, before the Hollandaise sauce was drizzled over them. In between each Eggs Ben, there were smoked salmon and avocado with tiger prawns respectively. This combination could have been perfect over English muffins, but I felt that the flavours somewhat lacked a bit of the savoury notes from meat, be it bacon or ham.

This might seem fanciful and hyped, but missing from the visual appeals was the satiety factor, which this dish might lack if one was not a small eater. Unsurprisingly, this gave me a good reason to grab a snack from the Food Hall at B2 of the mall after this meal.

Hattendo might have boosted their popularity through their cream buns and melon buns at their pop-up stalls, but today I realised that their Pistachio Soft Serve (S$8.00) was also worth the calories.

Made with 100% Hokkaido fresh milk and Italy-imported pistachios, the soft serve packed a dense flavour of roasted pistachio with velvety cream. Other than the sprinkle of ground almond nut for the texture, make sure that you finish up all the cookie crumble at the bottom as they had probably soaked up whichever amounts of melted ice cream.

I loved the roasted nut aftertaste that lingered in my mouth, to be honest.

#BurppleEatup

What could have made this signature burger named after the restaurant? Was it the sweet and airy brioche bun? The solid piece of Tamagoyaki? The caramelised Mirin onion marmalade? Or that perfectly grilled foie gras that was at the top of the stack? Well, maybe all of the above!

With all these power-packed ingredients, the PIPES Burger (S$21.90) was the right choice for me when I wanted a beef burger with foie gras in it. However, my only gripe was the lack of texture from the beef patty itself, likely due to the over-minced beef. Thankfully, the abundance of fries and the serving of fresh salad with sesame dressing made up for it somehow.

#BurppleEatup
#BurppleBeyond

Imported from Hiroshima, these Hiroshima Oysters were plump and creamy. From S$5.00, one could get fresh oysters to start off a nice meal, perfectly paired with their range of cold Sake.

Apart from having them clean, the oysters could also come with Ikura (S$6.00), Australia Lime Caviar (S$7.00) or a combination of Okinawa Sea Grapes, Quail Egg Yolk and Dashi Shoyu (S$8.00). I personally enjoyed the Lime Caviar as there was a slight crunchy texture with perfect acidity to match the creaminess of the oyster.

#BurppleEatup

With lots of Mentaiko sauce and a half-boiled egg, this Bacon & Mentai Cream Pasta (S$13.80) was just the right item to order on a day I craved for a taste of savoury cream-based pasta. In fact, because of the runny yolk and whites, the sauce tasted a little more eggy which I quite liked. I do know of people who could not stand the taste of eggs when they were not fully-cooked.

Finally, a new Christmas drink by Starbucks, and a good one as well!

The Jolly Baked Apple Frappuccino (S$9.90 for Venti-sized beverage) was the new addition to Starbucks’ classic Christmas beverages. What was awesome about this (especially the Frappuccino version) was that it came with the baked apple sauce that had lots of real apple bits inside. Although some extra stirring was necessary to mix the sauce well with the coffee, the sweetness of the baked apple sauce gave a nice festive feel, as though this was some sort of a Thanksgiving dessert drink.

The best part: if you are not in the mood for coffee, you could also order the caffeine-free variant. Just ask for Jolly Baked Apple Cream Frappuccino.

The Secreto Belly Don (S$13.80) was surprisingly good for me, considering the price point. In this bowl, there were five slices of the Secreto part of the pig, which was essentially described as the underside of the pig, just behind the forelegs, where it was hardly visible most of the time. Thus, this portion stood out in terms of its juiciness while also retaining a slight chew to it. And because it was grilled, the mild smokiness went quite nicely with the sauce.

And while pork jowl might be appealing, I thought the Secreto was more balanced in flavours.

I probably would not be wandering at Owen Road unless necessary, but yesterday I decided to check out this restaurant that housed 12 craft beer taps and served Japanese-Mediterranean bar snacks and mains.

Food orders were done via the Waitrr interface, and that would also mean that one could browse the craft beer menu before deciding to visit, just in case if there was a secret mission to dry out any of the craft beer kegs.

I must say that while they had just opened for business, the bar bites that I ordered were pretty impressive. Their Furikake Fries (S$10.00) was crispy with ample amounts of Furikake, Nori, mayonnaise and spring onions, pairing perfectly with the beers that I was having. If grilled skewers appealed to you, their Chef’s Choice Platter 1 (S$15.00) would likely delight you with their juicy pork belly, chicken thigh, chicken meatball and sliced eggplants served with two dips or sides of your choice. I would personally go with their salads and sweet butter corn. Their dips were nice but the skewers were already good on their own.

And as part of their opening special, they would be offering their craft beers at a one-for-one promo until 25 October 2020. As the prices would vary for the different craft beers, of course it would make sense to check out the rarer or the pricier ones first!

Three upgrades happened here: extended kitchen, more dine-in seats and a larger menu. Now that they started serving 12” pizzas, I was surely curious to see if their pizzas were comparable with those from LINO and Peperoni Pizzeria (all under the Les Amis Group).

What could be better than ordering their Burrata Pizza (S$24.00)? Topped with marinated cherry tomatoes and basil pesto, the pizza met my expectations with its thin, crispy yet airy pizza crust that was just so yummy. It was a shame to learn that they could not install a wood-fired pizza oven because of building regulations, but the crispiness of the pizza (even after all the oil from the pesto kind of soaked it) stayed, and I found that pretty amazing to be honest.

They also offered food delivery, powered by Oddle, at a fee and a slight mark-up. However, I really would doubt that you could replicate that same level of satisfaction by doing so.

The Freshly Shucked Oysters were based on the daily supply of oysters that were brought into the restaurant. For S$6.00 each, enjoy them together with wedges of lemon, lager vinaigrette or tabasco.

The selections for this meal included oysters from local farms, France and New Zealand respectively. The New Zealand oysters had a slightly sweet aftertaste, whereas the French ones gave a slight crisp to their plump meat. But among them all, the local ones were the most satisfying. Coming from Ah Hua Kelong, these oysters were most balanced in terms of flavour and firmness.

And I was really appreciative of the waiter who was so enthusiastic to share his recommendations on the oysters. I would really suggest to check with the staff if one was not sure which are the ones to get, but most likely the local ones would be great to have.

Ma Maison opened a new café after their original outlet from Liang Court moved out of the old premises.

Featuring a crispy pork cutlet with Omu Rice, the Omu-Katsu (S$20.80) was one of the 4 food items that they were serving during their soft opening. To me, the pork cutlet was perfectly prepared with the right thickness, and also served with Tonkatsu sauce and mayonnaise.

However, it came to a point whereby I felt the sauces was a tad overpowering in flavours, or that the Omu rice on its own (without the egg or sauces) tasted flat, so perhaps one might need to get a right proportion of everything on to a spoon for the best experience.

But as this dish was clearly served without any other gravy or sauce, I felt this was not a bad choice anyhow, though their Katsu-Sando looked good too. Hopefully these items would stay when they officially open so I could try them again. (They are still on soft-opening phase for now.)

The Salmon da Bomb Don (S$6.20) was a limited-time item. As a mini Don, it was served in a soup bowl, half-filled with steam rice, and layered with Tempura-battered salmon before drizzled with sauce and finished with an Onsen egg.

Beating the egg gently and giving it a little mix to the rice, the taste of the salmon actually went pretty nicely with the eggy rice to balance the taste. Although the food didn’t stack beyond the brim of the bowl as the menu had shown, I was still pleased with the overall flavours. Let’s just say it was a good excuse to order more items to make the meal more filling.