Funny how this was a returning entrant to the local fast food scene after so many years, and people could actually queue for hours for it when it was also available in Malaysia. I was somewhat lucky to spot empty seats in the restaurant on a Sunday at 11.00am, so I decided to walk in to reconnect to my growing up years.

I had not recalled eating any burger back then, but the Cream Cheese Beef Burger Combo with Root Beer Float upgrade. Priced at S$11.50, I was quite pleased that the food was ready while I barely touched my Root Beer Float. Well, much as the scoop of cream cheese added a different twist to the burger as compared to the traditional cheddar slice, the burger on its own was on the dry side. The Curly Fries was lukewarm and most of them were clumpy, but I was not wrong to conclude that everything seemed close to the nostalgic taste.

For nostalgia sake, I would come back once in a while for a meal or something, but it somehow could still work harder to match up with its fast food competitors to justify the price point. And hopefully, people do not steal their glass mugs like in the past.

Steak lovers must never miss this giant slab of grain-fed angus Porterhouse Steak (S$62.00). Imagine a 500g aged beef that was already very intensely flavoured, then grilled and served with just arugula and sea salt. It was almost saying that we should spare all the nonsense and focus on tasting the essence of this cut.

Indeed, I was savouring the natural juices from the beef in every bite. Honestly, 500g would be a tad too much for one to finish, so I would highly recommend this to be shared with a date, and then get a complementing tapas to complete the meal. Oh yes, ask for recommendations for a pairing wine too!

#BurppleEatup

Among the pasta dishes, I personally liked their Dry Laksa Pasta (S$26.00). Even though it was a bit on the spicy side, I liked the fact that they managed to reduce the creamy Laksa sauce to a point whereby there was little leftover pool of sauce towards the end. Flavours were also quite much on point, with ample side ingredients such as the fresh prawns and fish cakes, but it would have been an icing on the cake if more of the authentic Laksa ingredients could be included in this dish, such as Tau Pok and finely-chopped Laksa leaf (or Vietnamese coriander).

Cutting down on carbs at night? They serve half portions here too, at only S$18.00.

#BurppleEatup

The Truffle Pizza (S$13.00) was an impressive tapas to start off the dinner, as it came with a very thin and crispy crust bedding truffle spread, chives, mozzarella and quail eggs. Lightweight but packed with rich flavours and satisfaction to start the meal proper. If I were to have latecomer friends joining the dinner, I’d probably finish everything before they could arrive.

#BurppleEatup

Using 250g of French bouchot mussels, which would usually promise grit and barnacle-free mussels with full meats and a cleaner flavour, the Market Fresh Mussels (S$26.00) was nicely cooked with white wine, sriracha butter cilantro and garlic to create a richly-nice sauce. Because it was a seasonal dish, I would say that it was something worth ordering if they had the availability.

But unlike our usual mussels that we might come across, this one that was served had smaller shells and therefore, thinner meats. Still, the “shiokness” from this was still comparable, because of its freshness and recipe. If no one was looking, I might just drain off all the sauce from the bowl and slurp it to the last drop. Thankfully, they had baguettes to go with this dish so that I could still enjoy everything in a more glamorous way.

#BurppleEatup

And one should really order their scones at any time of the day (not just for afternoon tea), because the warm buttery goodie could just go so well with their clotted cream and blueberry jam.
Thank you to @nassimhillbakery for the warm hospitality, and to @burpple for the Eatup invitation!
#food #foodphotography #foodstagram #bakery #scones #nassimhillbakery #burpple #burpplesg #burppleeatup #foreverhungry

Good coffee must usually be paired with food, and I would say that my Haru Suke (Ethiopia) went well with their Orange Pound Cake (S$7.00). Kept dense and coated with orange glaze, I could even catch hints of the bitterness from the orange zest. For that, I pretty much enjoyed the combination of flavours coming from both.

One thing that I was not very pleased though, was that I found a couple of fruit flies inside the food display. I highlighted my concern to the staff on the spot, but all he did was to open the display door a little, limply hoping that the fruit flies will escape from the food. Well, I could only hope that those who had a more sensitive stomach would not be affected by the presence of fruit flies.

A delightful bowl of rice noodles that came with beef slices, beef balls and a very tasty clear beef broth. I was almost fooled to believe that the Signature Australian Beef Boat Noodle (S$7.90) was actually Pho, but I thought maybe there was a bit more greens in the latter. And then I realised that the resemblance was only made possible because of a “No Chilli” option that I had selected from the ordering kiosk.

Beverages were also available at a fifty-cent discount when purchased together with the main.

#food #foodphotography #foodstagram #gnocchi #pasta #kabenoanasg #burpple #burpplesg #foreverhungry

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf opened a new concept branch at Wisma Atria earlier this month, with a unique range of pastries and some special beverages, of which included the manual brewing options with specialty beans. It seemed like they were keeping up with their competitors, but this was definitely a win for them as well.

What was attractive to me was their Rainbow Cake (S$7.90) which was prominently displayed at the cake chiller, and it was essentially a cake with seven flavoured layers of sponge and finished with desiccated coconut on top. The cake was really moist on its own, and the flavouring and colouring were not an overkill for sure. It was nice for sharing, but just be careful that it might just collapse because the moistness could not handle the weight.

It was nice to have a chocolate-themed dessert café around the neighbourhood, for some would say that the chocolate is the best elixir for eternal happiness. It was definitely not a tall order here, given that all guests would be greeted with the ice cream freezer and the smell of waffles in the making.

While other ice cream flavours would give the Ice Cream Sandwich with Homemade Chocolat Cookie (S$6.00) more visual appeal, I went ahead to pair it with their signature Africa 85% Dark Chocolat ice cream. Although the cocoa content sounded really high, it did not taste bitter at all, so I assumed that it was a healthier option somewhat.

Back to the cookie that they had used. Much as the cookie was thick and had this chewy texture, I felt that I had a hard time figuring out how to enjoy them properly, because the whole dessert was definitely too big to fit into the mouth. In fact, I also had some trouble with breaking the cookie with cutleries without fearing that something would fly out of the plate. Hence, eating this dessert like two bruschetta might have made the most sense, but that would not sound like having a sandwich after all.

The unfortunate thing about their soup dumplings (S$10.00 for 10 pieces) was that there was little evidence of meat wrapped in the springy skin, and that the soup contained within the bun was kind of bland. Those downsides were clear enough to tell me that I would prefer those at Din Tai Fung over these, and that I probably should just order their steamed dumplings or pot stickers instead.