LUKA was introduced to me as “Japanese / Italian Tapa”. Aside from the Uni (top left), our dinner was definitely more on the Italian and Not-So-Small tapa side. Coming from HK, I often associate Tapa with expensive but not satisfying dinners. With 3 starters, 2 salads, 3 mains, 1 dessert and 2 glasses of rose, four of us spent $65 per pax (incl service and GST) and left with very satisfied stomachs.

Our favorite of the night was the Pizza (Prosciutto E Rucola Burrata, $26, top right of the photo) and Salmon Roe Pasta (Mentako & Ikura, $21, regretfully did not manage to photograph).

Pizza: As you can see from the photo, dices of fresh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes are generously piled on the crispy pizza dough, topped with arugula and Parmesan. I joked that it’s a pizza bowl of salad. The ingredients, while preserving its own fresh tastes, magically melt together to create a symphony in the mouth.

Salmon Roe Pasta: Salmon taste is strong, and roe is generous. The pasta is very creamy so we saved some fries and pizza dough to dip in the extra sauce. Yum!! Caution: if you are not a salmon or creamy sauce person, then this may not be for you.

~$20 for a coffee and decent food. Reasonable pricing with good volume.

I thoroughly enjoyed the grilled cheese. The cheese is melty but not soggy, and the bread is soft and fluffy.

I also tried their special “white magic” coffee. Definitely worth trying if you have a sweet tooth (ie if you like sugar in your coffee). Frankly, It’s a little sweet for my liking, and I would probably go back to my usual skinny flat white next time.

A great date night at Opus with the V-day set menu ($98 per pax, 3-course + 1 glass of champagne + 1 🌹)

**Starter - Seared Rougie Foie Gras**

We both picked the foie gras. It was delicious. It’s a generous piece but not greasy.

**Main - 65C Chilean Black Cod**

The cod is fresh and tasty.

**Main - Pistachio and Herb-crusted Filet Mignon**

The filet mignon is nicely seasoned with pistachio and herb crusts. However, the seasoning overtook some of the texture and taste of the steak.

**Dessert - Spiced Cherry**

Cherry flavored mousse topped with some chocolate.

The quality of service and ambience is top-tier. Overall, it’s a nice experience on the slightly pricer end for the special occasion.

The menu is simple, the original dry ramen is $12.80 and toppings are $1.50 each. (In other words, the fried chicken or char siew versions are not cheaper than if you add the toppings yourself.)

The ramen is chewy and tasty. Make sure you order with the minced pork in it. It makes all the difference.

The portion is generous but if you are a big eater, you can ask for free upsize for the noodles.

$43 for the 2 of us (incl GST). It’s a small restaurant on the side of Orchid Hotel.

Bae had the classic Kaisen Don ($17.60). It was nice, but I have had better with bigger portion. I had the pork don - the pork was flavorful but a little dry (see picture).

Ambience wise, it’s a small and cozy place. Staff are friendly - there were two birthdays during our dinner and they actually put a candle on the rice bowl and turned off the lights for the celebration 🥳

Not swearing, but just simply calling out one of the best burgers we have had in Singapore 🍔 Double beef patty + chewy bacon + cheddar chase +homemade BBQ sauce paired with a fried egg to magically balance out the grease. It’s super filling so think twice if you are pairing it with a rich shake. It’s carnivore’s paradise.

[Weekday dinner] 3 people, 2 wine drinker and 1 great night. Love the chill and young vibe - the staff are also young and chill 👻 Highly recommended and will definitely come back for the amazing food and wine collection.

**Braised Beef Cheek** $35

Hands down amazing! 💯 It is tender and tasty, and goes well with their amazing red wine collection.

**Pork Parcel** $27 for 4 pieces

Easy to share starter and taste good. Despite the portion, I still feel it’s a little over priced for a starter. It’s just one bite each.

**Kurobuta Pork Chop** $40, 300g

It’s tendee with home made mustard cream. Nothing to complain about but also didn’t amaze me as much as the beef cheek.

I must also give a shout out to their garlic butter for the bread. 🤤

This place is ranked as one of the World’s 50 Best Bars and famous for the organic ingredients with local twists. Each drink is about $20-25 and everything here is quite unique and LEGIT!

The drinks taste light and fresh, but don’t underestimate, they are just good quality hard liquor. Depends on your tolerance level, you can certainly feel it up your head after 2-3 drinks. The ice cube is also professionally done. So again, if you are into the “strong taste” (like whiskey), maybe the drinks are not your cup of tea. If you are into some refreshing, unique and good quality cocktail, it’s highly recommended!

Sometimes they bring out shots of soju on the house and they are super tasty too.

Staff are patient and friendly - they will go through all the details going into the drinks if you have a moment to listen (or not because they will do the intro regardless 😓).

This place is ranked as one of the World’s 50 Best Bars and famous for the organic ingredients with local twists. Each drink is about $20-25 and everything here is quite unique and LEGIT!

The drinks taste light and fresh, but don’t underestimate, they are just good quality hard liquor. Depends on your tolerance level, you can certainly feel it up your head after 2-3 drinks. The ice cube is also professionally done. So again, if you are into the “strong taste” (like whiskey), maybe the drinks are not your cup of tea. If you are into some refreshing, unique and good quality cocktail, it’s highly recommended!

Sometimes they bring out shots of soju on the house and they are super tasty too.

Staff are patient and friendly - they will go through all the details going into the drinks if you have a moment to listen (or not because they will do the intro regardless 😓).

[Sunday dinner with Bae and fam] S$155 for 6 people with 3 Burple 1-for-1 coupons. We are super full afterwards and dabao’ed some food home.

In summary, if you want to use the burple coupons, make sure you read the exclusions and choose accordingly (like we did!). Otherwise, just pick from the signature meats, get some nice veggies and white rice.

**Signature meats**
Charsiew and crispy roast pork belly are both $7.50 for 100g with minimum 300g per order. As a Cantonese who have spent the past 7 years in HK, I must say I hold a higher standard on these meats. Crispy roast pork (烧肉) is 👍🏼 - very crispy, tasty and not too fat. Charsiew is 😐 - there is a bit too much BBQ sauce. It tasted more like BBQ pork belly from a western restaurant than charsiew...

We also had half a Jasmine roast duck ($27), and it was quite tasty. It’s not fat at all.

**Other main dishes**
We only ordered in the “main dish” because of the 1-for-1 coupon, as none of the signature meats qualify. We ordered beef with green pepper and roast pork belly with beancurd in casserole. Nothing to impressive and nothing to complain about.

**Veggies**
It’s weird to comment on veggies but I must say their veggies are beautifully cooked. 🥬 We had two veggie dishes (three treasures and stir fried kai lan) and I liked them both!

**Fried Rice**
We had XO sauce Charsiew fried rice and Yangzhou fried rice. Not super impressed but we are sold on the 1-for-1 coupon so whatever. If you are considering something to go with meat, white rice will do just fine.

[ Weekend Brunch ] - $60 for 2 people with 1 burger, 1 French toast, 1 earl grey tea and 2 water

**French toast** (close to S$20)
Went for my standard brunch choice. Instead of the normal cinnamon / maple syrup / honey etc, the French toast here has a unique Southeast Asian twist, and I liked it 😍 It’s topped with passion fruits sauce and coconut flakes 🥥 , which gives me the sweet and sour taste with little crunch texture from the seeds and flakes. Of course, you cannot have proper French toast without caramelized banana 🍌. They got that right. Supposedly there is some kaya element in it but I could not taste it.

**Burger** (S$25)
Bae ordered his standard brunch choice - beef burger. He liked it but I think it’s just above average. Patty is juicy and tender, but I had a mouthful that was too salty. Maybe just that one bite...😔