The Lao Beijing Peking Duck (S$33.00 for half portion) was like a mandatory order for me when I visit Lao Beijing, because not many places in Singapore would serve their Peking Ducks in this way. Conventionally, the crispy duck skin would be the highlight of the dish, accompanied by condiments, side vegetables and fresh round sheets of dough wrappers (or Popiah skins); the Lao Beijing way was to introduce precisely-sliced meat with the crispy skin, to allow the diners to taste the tenderness of the duck meat with the skin.

And as much as I liked to wrap everything up before sending them into my mouth, I was having a little trouble with finishing half of this portion, for the greasiness of the duck became gradually overwhelming. Sharing this among 3 or 4 diners should be just nice, not forgetting that there are other items in the menu that could make the meal more balanced in flavours and nutrition.

Putu Mayam, or Idiyappam in South Indian and Sri Lankan context, was essentially rice noodles pressed to a pancake form and steamed. Over at Belinda’s, her version of Puttu Mayam (S$1.60) came with two pieces of rice noodles that was already cooled, but they would also come with a pre-packed palm sugar and freshly steamed grated coconut which was packed upon order.

Ordinary as it might seem, it was unpretentious with very little room for error (unless if the grated coconut would go bad because of prolonged exposure to room temperature). And while the stall would not open on certain days, the Puttu Mayam would be available for sale by 6.00am in the morning. However, go a little later and both their Puttu Mayam and 面煎糕 (Chinese traditional pancake) would be sold out for the day.

Fancy some additional house blend liquor to go with your affogato? Just order their Tiramisu (S$20.00) to indulge in layers of mascarpone and ladyfingers, topped with a scoop of dark espresso ice cream. Alongside this beauty was a small flask of double-shot espresso and liquor mix, and the best way to enjoy this dessert was to pour over a desirable amount of liquid.

As advised by the staff, the best way to enjoy the Tiramisu was to scoop every ingredient with the dessert spoon. To be honest, the initial few spoonfuls of the Tiramisu was quite bitter, because the ladyfingers soaked in most of the espresso instantly. It appeared that the dessert might taste more balanced when it was allowed to rest after pouring in the coffee, so that the sweetness of the espresso ice cream could blend well with everything else.

In general, the Tiramisu was a decadent afternoon treat, and could be the perfect companion to reading a book or something equivalent. However, for the best experience, just make sure that if you were to sit directly below an air-conditioning vent, that you would not be in the “line of fire” when there’s dripping condensation.

It’s a different interpretation of Kaya Toast at The Affogato Lounge, because for S$4.50, I got for myself three half-slices of toasted sandwich bread. Accompanying this all-day brunch item was a scoop of unsalted butter and a piped Kaya cream, so one could spread the two smooth and creamy stars on the toast as desired.

Upon putting everything together, I thought that there were some missing elements in this version of the Kaya Toast. Firstly, the butter was somewhat tasteless because of its salt-free nature. While the Kaya had prominent notes of coconut cream, I thought that it was a little too smooth unlike the familiar Kaya I would usually associate with, also with a lack of burst of Pandan leaves and sugar flavours. Putting the toast aside, if there were a little more contrast on the flavours and textures of the spreads, I might derive more satisfaction from this easy breakfast. On the other hand, if a smooth butter-cream texture was what you would look for, this might actually work well for you.

The flavours, however, appeared quite flat to make it worth a mandatory return.
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At first look, their Triple Cooker Yam (S$5.00) was not as satisfying as I would have hoped it to be. Perhaps it was the close-to-charring colour from the repeated frying, or that it came together with everything else, becoming a main dish by itself.

But what I was convinced that my choice was right as soon as I put the yam in my mouth. At first bite, the yam was already softened and not too dry or marshy, which could have otherwise suggested overcooking. And that House Chilli Mayonnaise was just like chicken rice chilli blended into the creamy texture, and that itself added some tangy-spicy touch to the yam.

On the whole, this dish would serve as a nice addition to the meal, but because of the overall dryness and flavour profile, I would definitely order some meat with gravy to make my meal more complete.

Opening their second restaurant at the basement of Suntec City, The Salted Plum was one of those places that I thought I must visit, since this area is more accessible than the one at Circular Road.

Their Lu Rou 2.0 was an improved version of their already famous braised pork belly. Said to be darker in colours than version one, the thicker Haus Sauce 2.0 was also locking in denser flavours, thanks to the addition of Angelica sinensis (当归).

And for S$15.00, this dish was in a perfect portion to feed two to three persons. Notably, it actually paired super well with their Shiny Rice (S$1.00), as the Haus Sauce 2.0 had rich flavours while the rice was “greased” with lard, giving the combination a feel of authentic Taiwanese delicacy.

As much as I was sad over the exit of Ben & Jerry’s from VivoCity, that feeling transited quickly into curiosity of this new shop that sold ice cream in something. Was that a cone? A churros? A croissant?

Chimney cakes originated from Hungary, and the base was actually baked dough that had some similarities to a chewy bread but made to a “cone”. As for this Chimney Devil (S$7.50), the cone was filled with activated carbon frozen yoghurt and decorated with a dark chocolate coin and a pair of horns made of red fondant. The soft-serve itself was refreshing and not too sweet, but had a frosty texture. The cone was also coated with desiccated coconut, on top of its slightly savoury taste. As a result, the overall feel of this was item was like an afternoon snack to go with a stunning harbourfront view.

S$7.50 for this item might not be the most wallet-friendly deal, but an occasional indulgence like this was not anywhere close to a waste of money actually.

When (almost) everything here at Hvala had something to do with tea, it made absolute sense to order something that was both tea and beautiful. I mean, the moment as I stepped into the restaurant, I was greeted by tea apparatus at their bar counter, igniting some kind of inner zen in me.

So the most attractive dessert in the display chiller was this Genmaicha Azuki cake-in-a-jar Matcha-misu (S$8.80), which was made of layers of Genmaicha mousse, sponge cake, Azuki paste, green tea crumbs and a sprinkle of roasted rice bits. Among all the layers, the Azuki paste was the most dominant flavour, followed by the roasted rice bits. Yet, the strong flavours were balanced out smoothly by the Genmaicha aftertaste, making this dessert less overwhelming, especially with a cup of hot brew tea to go along.

Simply put, Hakata Ikkousha Ramen wowed me again with their Tonkotsu Mentaiko Special (S$18.00), which came with creamy pork broth with Mentaiko flavour and a hint of spiciness. I found that with a regular broth, every sip of the soup carried this seafood umami that probably came from the Mentaiko, so I was actually pleased with the flavours of the broth. Not only that, getting “Hard” noodles was actually quite a good choice that I had made, because the noodles somehow tasted firm but did not soak in too much of the chilli oil.

Thank goodness for the pitcher of iced water on the table, I was assured that I could drink up after the meal, especially when the broth was on the salty side. However, it should be salty enough to bring out the feel in authentic Japanese Ramen.

Making decisions on what to have here was really simple because they only served Katsudon here, whether spicy or not. And at S$13.50, a platter of battered pork and chicken fillets were plated in the form of a flower above a bed of Hokkaido rice. Apparently they shared the same bowls as Tendon Kohaku, so it was not strange to see some similarities in terms of their presentation.

Meat lovers might either be delighted or disappointed with the Katsus. One might argue that the slices were too thin for liking, but I thought it was just the right thickness to go with the batter, and having six pieces of meat with w smaller portion of rice made it appear favourably out of proportion. The spicy element was also quite flavoursome, with traces of sugar to balance off that burning sensation a little. Kind of reminded me of a spicy chicken burger from the big M.

On the downside, the waiting time of more than 15 minutes was uncalled for, given that there was no customer before me who was still waiting for his food to be served. It so happened that shortly after I placed my order, a group of seven came in and placed their order. Let’s just say that my food was eventually served, I took this photo, finished my meal, and finally came their dinner. Just wondered if they would also take this long during their lunch service actually.

I must say that when I learnt that the Sticky Date & Toffee Pudding was only S$8.00, I was so thrilled, thinking that I could hardly find a place that could match against this price tag. True enough, the sticky date pudding was mildly flavoured, and the sweetness came largely from the toffee sauce which was also not overwhelmingly sweet.

The pudding also came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which also helped to balance the flavours a little. Well, it might be the most expensive dessert served here, but I would say this was a simple indulgence with an seemingly attractive price tag.

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