AROUND THE MALL

In the mood for some Classic Churros ($5.90) dipped in dark chocolate sauce, and ChuLove is the place to be to have your churros cravings settled!

Served hot and fresh, each churro is dusted lighty with sugar, while the texture is crispy on the exterior while light and airy inside, and consistent with every piece. The dark chocolate sauce is makes for the perfect pairing with its bittersweet taste and thick consistency! Given the portion of this, it is definitely worth the cost while the calories can be shared if you're not in the mood for binge eating. 😂

This is part of a tasting hosted by @chulovesg. 🙏🏻

Back in Seoul, I had my own skepticism about how good a sandwich can be, but was swept away particularly by the said special sauce used on their sandwiches. That mind-blowing kick of goodness unfortunately did not happen when I took my first bite of this Ham Special (4.90). The sandwich felt rather bare, as the sauce failed to elevate the toast, the egg (with which I asked for no corn as I'd have done in Korea as I don't like it) was not as tasty and also felt a tad thinner. Even the bread just tasted so...normal and not well-buttered. The saving grace, however, was the cheese, which in this case somehow managed to draw the line between this and a very average sandwich.

I might revisit Isaac Toast Singapore again someday because I really want to try their Bulgalbi MVP again - which was amazing in Seoul yet extremely meh in Taipei - just for comparison's sake (and withdrawal symptoms from Seoul
...haha I kid), but perhaps only once their long queues start to ease up.

An acronym for Unusual Food Outlet, UFO is situated at Jurong Point's very own Mongkok Street. You can have the choice between savoury or sweet and there's a fine variety of options to select from. Something interesting about this takeaway stall would be that all crepes share one common ingredient - sweet potatoes!

For the savoury option, the Salted Chicken Savoury Crepe (5.30), which is composed of crispy chicken thigh drizzled in salted egg sauce, lettuce and sweet potato, is a choice that won't be a letdown to your tastebuds! The chicken is really crisp - a surprise because of the time taken for photos, yet it still retained that satisfying crunch with every bite - and juicy, while the salted egg sauce is just right, adding enough flavour to the chicken and crepe without being over the top. Let's not forget the sweet potatoes - purple and orange - which I love because they are extremely soft and do contribute a bout of sweetness overall.

For the drinks, I definitely would recommend the Yuzu Plum Soda ($3 medium, $4.50 large) and let me tell you, large is LARGE, much so that I believe you can share it. It is a great refreshing beverage option especially for a hot day, and to make it all the better, there's yoghurt flavoured popping pearls which add a subtle! 😁

This meal is hosted by @ufosgp. Shoutout to ma bro @darr3n0ng for the invite!

I'm glad that I found one at SAMA Curry at Plaza Singapura!

Their Hokkaido Impomochi Cheese sells at $6.90++ for 2 pieces - a little sad in portion, but I'll let that slide because it's really not a common find here (not that it was in Tokyo either actually LOL). Delicate and melty, this wasn't as impressionable as what I had in Tokyo, but it was really delicious nonetheless! If anything, this was way more memorable than the butadon, the signature dish of Tokachi Tontaro, which shares the restaurant space with SAMA Curry.

Did you know that SAMA Curry at Plaza Singapura not only sells Japanese curry, but also butadon - Japanese pork rice bowl?

Under the name Tonkachi Tontaro, they have a couple of options available, but being my first visit to the cafe, I decided to try out the Regular Butadon (small, $13.90++) which comes with 4 (supposed to be 3 though) slices of pork, thin sliced onions and rice with sauce.

Honestly speaking, it's nothing out of the ordinary and tastes pretty average, with each slice of pork differing in texture; some are tougher while one - just one - is tender. That said, I definitely prefer the flavour of the regular than the spicy, which has an odd black peppery flavour and I don't quite enjoy.

At Meat Market, situated just outside Hougang 1, you can find a variety of meat-centric dishes as well as seafood alternatives, but what stands out to me oj their menu would be the Black Nigiri ($10.90 for 5, $18.90 for 10).

Taking the appearance of sushi (sort of), there are options of beef and pork collar slices placed on top of black buttered rice. The charcoal coloured rice was a little mushy, which was not to my liking though it was flavourful, while the pork tasted a little odd. The beef fared better but was short of anything fantastic.

It is questionable as to whether I would return to Meat Market for a meat fix, but if I ever do, I'll probably go for something else; their sandwiches sound really good. I mean, Butter Chicken Ciabatta?! Take my money, maybe? 😍

Using premium Hokkaido beef slices, mine were torched to perfection, with pinkish tones still noticeable on the meat. The beef is tender and easy on the teeth. It already has its own smoky flavour from the flaming but the cognac adds a punch to it. The sauce doused over the rice is a twin pairing comprising of a brown and white sauce that make the rice really savoury and enjoyable to eat even after I am out of meat, while the onsen egg is done pretty perfectly itself. Portion wise, it does not seem too filling, but I wouldn't complain considering the surprising quality standards this dish presented to me.

While the price tag makes me question if the dish is really worth paying for, I got to enjoy this as just $11.90+ due to an ongoing promotion at the restaurant for all their rice bowls, and honestly it's quite a no-brainer to order this because it's the most drastically reduced in price compared to the other bowls presented. That said, if you aren't in the mood for beef, there are salmon and pork options too. The promotion ends on Valentine's Day, so there's still time to enjoy this before you have to fork out double the amount just for it! 😂

Do expect long queues for both lunch and dinner though; I joined the queue at roughly 6.45pm and waited about 45 minutes to reach the counter and about another 20 minutes for the food to arrive, but thankfully it was worth the long wait. 😋

Ordered the Pork Chop with Rice ($12.80) where the pork chop, while having quite a nice flavour that made the sauce on the side a little redundant, was pretty tough to cut and almost exhausting to chew. On the other hand, I got to try the teriyaki chicken and it was at least five up's from this in terms of tenderness and taste! 😭 One thing that was oddly satisfying, though, was the orange slices that came with each set. I would highly recommend eating it WITH your main as it has an interesting smoky and savoury flavour to it, all while retaining its citrusy sweetness.

Prices here might seem pretty affordable but to be real the portions are a tad stingy. That said, this experience wouldn't warrant myself a complete 'no' to anymore meals here (though me initiating a meal here might be...unoften) because that single bite of teriyaki chicken that I tried proved to me that there are dishes here that should be worth what you pay (in terms of quality at least). I just know now what to avoid, eh? 🙈

If you're craving for a burger that's not from a fast food joint and also not expensive, Hambaobao is where you should be at, and this Crispy Pork Belly ($5.50) is what you should be ordering!

Think generous pieces of chunky, crispy, meaty and fatty pork belly, where the rind is so crispy, you can really hear the crunch, and the fatty meat is so tender, it melts in your mouth pretty effortlessly. Adding on to the sinful savouriness are hoi sin sauce and English mustard, along with cucumbers for an extra bite, and perhaps also to prevent the burger from impending jelat-ness. 🤔

The portion might not be filling for a big(ger) eater but the quality of this burger no doubt guarantees a value-for-money experience. I'm down for this again should I be around Beauty World. 😁

I've never loved portobello shrooms so much in my life until I took a first bite off this burger, and every other bite just got so much better! The portobello alone is already quite juicy, as is the patty, and the fried buttermilk batter makes it even tastier! The burgers on a whole throw me back to Shake Shack a little, which says a lot about the quality of burgers at B Burger! A word of caution for big eaters: burgers here might not be filling. Would surely return in a heartbeat if I'm craving for burgers or if I am looking for a meal in town!

All that said, the only downer to my meal was their ice-cream and concretes which had really poor presentation and were already melting within seconds of arrival, so you might wanna consider your dessert fix elsewhere. 😵

So while some are still grieving over the loss of llaollao, I've moved on to Yolé.

Okay, to be real there was a $1 small tub promotion (UP $4.90) that took place from 7pm to 10pm and I could not resist. 🤣

The small tub allows for 1 topping, and I chose the Ciocotto White Sauce which is essentially a white chocolate sauce with pieces of wafer; feels like the wiser option because it 'combines' sauce and crunch together. 😂

The froyo is strawberry flavoured and I do like it being rather smooth and milky while retaining that distinct yoghurt taste. It also pairs quite perfectly with the sauce I picked. The amount swirled onto the tub feels reasonable enough. The issue I have with Yolé is that the froyo melts way too quickly as a third of it became liquid within a minute or two... Other than that, I enjoyed this and am perfectly cool with welcoming Yolé with open arms. 😂

Have always seen mac and cheese sandwiches at food trucks on television and could only dream of being in the States to get my hands on this sinful delight; now I can have one at @52sandwichshack!

So how did my virgin Bacon Mac 'N' Cheese Sandwich ($7.90) fare? The star is definitely the mac and cheese with bits of bacon here and there; would gladly have this on its own, and as a cheese lover, the additional melted cheddar makes it a real joy to have! Personally would be real great if the cheese sauce from the mac and cheese stood out way more, but otherwise it's really satisfying.

Then here comes my issue: the bread. It is probably a personal preference but the toast was really thick for my liking, thus I felt the bread-to-mac ratio was a little off to me. Otherwise I think it was nicely toasted. Regardless, at just $7.90, I feel this works for an affordable meal option because it was pretty filling! Okay okay, because the mac and cheese was so enjoyable, I'll let my personal issues pass. 😁