Helmed by the same people of Rappu & The Featherblade, @mezcla.sg is the latest kid on the Craig Road block - offering an Asian modern twist on Mexican tacos!

The quaint space is decked out in enchanting neon signages, reminiscent of the Mexican holiday - Día de los Muertos. I do like the dark bar vibes the place has got going - though at times it's actually way too dark to see the food in front of you.

Having enjoyed the handrolls from Rappu, I was excited to try this new concept of Mezcla. With a selection of both Japanese inspired modern tacos and a section dedicated to the more traditional Mexican fare - it was clear that I was going for the Japanese stuff.

The Salmon taco was first on the list, with Ikura, cured salmon, edamame refritos all in a crispy salmon skin taco shell. Now that's just ingenious I tell ya. Who knew fish skin could act as a taco shell!

Next up was the Unagi - filled with oyako tamago, Japanese cucumber and chipotle teriyaki all nestled in a seaweed taco shell. This was my favourite of the night and dang I could huff like 5 of these.

I'm really glad I got to try Mezcla, though the price is a tad high and it's difficult to be full from just a couple of tacos. It's also difficult to chill as the place is quite cramped and there's a dining time limit but for all it's worth - I loved them tacos and I'll go back again.

Moving to a new industrial chic locale, it was time for me to make another visit to @habitatcoffee since their Upper Thomson Days.

Another one of their dishes that caught my eye was their Summer Truffle Al Funghi. Pasta? Yes. Truffles? Oh hell yes. It's rare to come across actual shaved truffles in a cafe setting at a affordable price but Habitat Coffee definitely delivers. Creamy wild mushroom linguine, topped with an egg yolk and fried enoki - dang this hit the spot! The fried enoki was the perfectly added oomph along with the shaved truffles.

In the words of Viv from Little Britain - "Oh, he was gawgeous!".

Oh dang, the team behind Olivia Restaurant has finally opened a specialty standalone cheesecake shoppe just a couple blocks away from their main branch! Featuring their famous Basque cheesecakes - which is touted to be one of the best in Singapore - it's no wonder why they decided to open @queic.singapore to fulfill all dem cheesecake needs.

It actually took me two visits to Quiec before I could finally get my hands on their signature burnt cheesecake as the 4" was sold out on my first trip. And oh Lord, it was definitely worth the wait. Making use of Valdeon blue cheese, the cheesecake has distinct hints of savoury yet intertwined with sweet.

With a delectable molten center and lightly torched top, the almond sable base paired wonderfully with the cheesy lava flow, adding a perfect crunch for texture. I would say it comes off more like a tart rather than a cheesecake and it's more apparent in the 4" - but it's so so good that I don't care either way. My mind was literally blown. The signature Olivia Burnt Cheesecake is also available in 6" and 8" for more molten cheesy goodness.

If you're looking for something less cheesy, the Gâteau Basque is a buttery almond tart/pie that is filled with rum infused vanilla pastry cream. It's another delicious dessert by Olivia not to be missed and it definitely helped to cut the richness from the cheesecake itself.

I've always wondered how good the cheesecake is from that episode of Friends where Chandler and Rachel were eating it off the floor - and the ones from Quiec is definitely the answer. So while the price is a little steep - it's worth paying for!

Not to mention that I've also finally made a reservation for @oliviarestaurant_sg itself and I can't wait to sink my teeth into the coveted signature cheesecake again!

I've been wanting to try the pies from @elijahpies for ages! When they announced "The Happy Box" which consisted of 8 different flavours of their pie range - I hesisted no more and swooped in to make my order. Finallyyyy y'all.

The Happy Box included:
◾Hojicha Speculoos
A specially crafted exclusive for The Happy Box, the Hojicha Speculoos took me back to the many Hojicha Lattes I've had at Starbucks. Which is a good thing - strong Earthy hojicha paired with a Speculoos biscuit base. Yum.

◾Wild Berry Lavender
Their coveted signature pie flavour that is the Wild Berry Lavender - I was excited to try this one as it's literally what Elijah Pies is all about. The berries, yogurt and hint of lavender was sublime - though I wasn't a huge fan of the regular tart base. Perhaps it would fare better on a biscuit tart base.

◾Raspberry Ripple
This is my childhood right here. Growing up, I loved Raspberry Ripple ice-cream. And dang, with raspberry compote and cream cheese filling on a buttery biscuit - this definitely hit the spot and brought back the nostalgia.

◾Matcha Latte
I figured I would be sick of Matcha by now but this surprisingly ended up being one of my top favourites from the bunch!

◾Earl Grey Rose
Another delicious pie in my book, the Earl Grey paired perfectly with the subtle hints of rose. Topped with swiss buttercream, the pink pie crust also worked well with the entire ensemble.

◾Nutella
Hard to go wrong with the simple chocolatety hazelnut goodness of Nutella. With a biscuit base, this was *chef kiss*.

◾Honey Chrysanthemum
While it looked as pretty as its Wild Berry counterpart, sadly this ended up being my least favourite of the bunch. I found the flavour to be a bit odd to be honest and I felt like it didn't taste like Chrysanthemum at all.

◾Pandan Coconut
I actually didn't fancy the Pandan Coconut as well. While it's a combination of flavours I love, it had a strong yet weird coconut aftertaste unfortunately.

Well, I'm so glad to have finally tried Elijah Pies. While there were some hits and some misses, it's still pretty good pie in my book - and oh so pretty! My heart is still with Windowsill Pies though. Oops.

@habitatcoffee has moved from it's Upper Thomson locale over to Lavender. Geez, it has been so many years since my visit to their previous location - 7 years to be exact. Good lawd.

Their new locale boasts a clean look with a mix of wooden and concrete features. It's definitely more spacious compared to their previous location with a cleaner aesthetic. The counter area kinda reminds me exactly of the one from Prairie by Craftsmen - with a light blue shade, coffee machine on the left and dessert kiosk on the right.

The menu has definitely evolved since my last visit years ago but retaining the concept of all day brunches. I immediately eyed their Stuffed Berries Hotcake - with stuffed cream cheese, mixed berries, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and crushed walnuts. I'm a sucker for sweets and the word hotcake enticed me to no end.

If you ever had the hotcakes from the McDonald's breakfast menu, well this was definitely similar - but on steroids. (In a good way of course.) Drenched in maple syrup, the different range of textures from the hotcake to the seeds and walnuts actually worked together harmoniously and I just couldn't stop eating it. The only thing missing was some ice-cream!

Well, when it was near le birthgiver's birthday, I decided to order an entire durian cake just for her as a indulgent treat! (She loves her durian after all.)

I was eyeing a couple durian cakes - including the one from Sinpopo but alas, I was in a rush and needed it the next day, hence I decided to go with @fourseasonsdurians eyecatching Charcoal Rosette Cake with layers of pure D24 durian puree inbetween soft egg sponge and covered in charcoal buttercream.

I've not had that many durian cakes in my life, but the one thing that stuck in my mind was how I hoped that any durian cake should be the epitome of durian galore. Four Seasons Durian's Charcoal Rosette Cake was pretty good, though I felt that it only scratched the surface of durian goodness and could definitely use more more more of that durian puree. I did like the amount of charcoal cream to cake ratio; though I must admit that if it was somehow infused with durian essence or flavour, it would put this cake on a whole other level. Not to mention, the blackness of the charcoal cream got everywhere and every thing it touched.

Of course, it's still a pretty good durian cake in it's own right and for the price, it's actually one of the more affordable durian cakes out there for it's size!

Lemuel Chocolate has reopened its doors to a spanking new space over at Star Vista! The bean-to-bar chocolate makers place an emphasis on quality, flavour and sustainability - roasting and churning out delectable chocolate treats right in front of your eyes to boot! @lemuelchocolate even sources and imports their quality cacao beans from farmers all over the world.

I was honoured to be invited to their soft launch/food tasting and got to try their numerous chocolate goodies! They were also generous enough to give us a box of their eye catching geometrical Bonbons! Well, I couldn't help myself and decided to buy an additional box - #ForTheGram!

These were the flavours:
◾Key Lime Pie
◾Lady Earl Grey
◾Popcorn Pecan
◾Pear [I think?]
◾Raspberry
◾Kopi+Bing
◾Ondeh All Day
◾PB & J

I'm not usually one for Bonbons as I tend to shy away after seeing the price but boy I was missing out! It was also a little heart wrenching to pop these in your mouth as they're just too gorgeous to look at!

Each petite Bonbon packed a punch of flavour that literally exploded in your mouth. My favourite flavours would have to be their Ondeh All Day and the Key Lime Pie. Damn, now I want some more.

Nothing like @brotherbird_bakehouse's buttery flaky croissants to pick you up for a deary weekend.

Pictured here is their Rocher Croissant - filled with homemade hazelnut filling and topped with dark chocolate glace, toasted almonds and gold dust. It's so delish - no wonder it has made an appearance multiple times in Brotherbird's everchanging monthly line-up!

And hey, I'm getting a half of cutting croissants the right way to get proper cross sections for shooting!

Having heard and seen so much about the pretty viennoiseries of @lematin.sg , I knew I just had to try them for myself. Concepted by none other than Chef Matin, they have found a permanent home over at Raeburn Park.

I decided to make an order of their Le Matin Basics pastry box - which comes with:

◾Kouign Amann
◾Pain Au Chocolate
◾Lacto-fermented Plum Galette
◾Brioche Feuilette
◾Bread & Butter Pudding

Each bake was stunning, each flaky buttery pastry perfectly crafted. My favourite was their Plum Galette, an interesting combination of salty and sweet on delicious folded sugar crusted pastry. Their Pain Au Chocolate was everything I wanted a pain au choc to be as well, filled with just the right amount of chocolate and topped with a layer of chocolate icing.

While I've been eyeing their Pistachio Escargot as well - alas I've been too lazy to make the journey all the way to Raeburn Park just to get it. Not to mention their savoury Assemblage Box which is going at a whopping $58. The stomach says yes, wallet says please no. Of course, this won't be my last time trying Le Matin for sure - till we meet again!

Dang, missing the alfesco Bali vibes and sick food from @rawkitchenbar! There's still quite a number of items on the menu that I'll love to try - time for another trip down perhaps.

Here's what I got on my previous visit:
◾Prawn Toasties [$10]
◾Black Mamba [$26]
◾Miso Jerk Chicken [$23]
◾Warung Pork Ribs [$25]

Initally, I figured I would have gotten more of their seafood items considering the "Raw" in their name but holy crap their meat dishes really blew me away. Each dish was full of flavour and it was a delicious explosion of umami in your mouth. Definitely will head back to try their other dishes soon!

Sidenote: I love to shoot group shots but oof, by the time I'm done, the food's cold. Is it weird to ask the kitchen to heat the food up again? My bad. #PhotographerProblems

Another new cafe that opened it's doors recently is none other than @glacier.sg. I just had to add them to my list of places to try after constantly seeing their food and locale on Instagram.

Decked out with a simplistic white interior with INS shelvings and furniture, the botanical clean look is sure to entice all dem Instagrammers - myself included.

While their Pandan Mochi Waffles seem to be the star of the show, I was getting a lil tired of waffles and decided (albeit a little hesistantly) to try something new and go for their babka instead. And of course, with two scoops of ice-cream cos I can and I will. The Matcha White Choc babka was divine, with swirls of the delectable sweet Earthy flavour in the baked bread. I'm not sure if they heated it up (cos I took a while to shoot it oops) but dang, it definitely should be to enjoy it thoroughly.

And of course, not wanting to get just 1, I got 2 scoops of ice-cream - Rose Lychee and Blue Pea Lemongrass. Both pretty good, though perhaps in my pursuit for the gram, they weren't the best flavours to go with the babka.

All in all, Glacier is a pretty nice addition to the Lavender cafe scene and I'll give their waffles a go next time perhaps.

Missing the delectable croissants from @brotherbird_bakehouse !

One of my favourites was none other than their Chendol Croissant - with coconut ganache, gula melaka gel and red bean filling. Most of the chendol fusion desserts that you find, tend to focus more on the gula melaka aspect and not on the other components and toppings - hence even though the inclusion of red beans in Brotherbird's Chendol croissant might seem like a minor detail but dang, it literally brought me back to the traditional ice chendol desserts you get in coffee shops and kopitiams. It's so so good and definitely a great representation of traditional Chendol!