Drinks (with dinner, maybe)

Great frozen beer - thick layer of foam was almost like an ice-blend consistency. Happy hour promo of $26 for 2 glasses was pretty worth it. Yuzu recommended, lychee was quite strange.

Skewers wise, we ordered the Set of 8 for $15 which was quite worth it and we were very satisfied with the taste. Pork Belly, pork ribs, chicken wings, potato slices were all good. Added on the Foil-wrapped enoki ($6.90) and we loved the garlic topping.

Decided to celebrate our anniversary at Estuary as I was quite intrigued by it's seafood-forward offerings as well as their generous weekend happy hour. Particularly, what caught my eye were the dishes that had Sarawakian influences; with my father's hometown being Kuching, Sarawak, I was immediately drawn just to see what this 'Sarawak-ness' was.

Stepping into the restaurant felt like entering my home's games room - dim mood lighting with pink hues, soft and comfy sofas, accompanied by the soft chatter of diners scattered around. Intimate, yet casual. Service was also warm and friendly, and the open kitchen also made for an interesting spectacle as the chefs did their good work.

We started off with their signature cocktails, which were $14 each during happy hour 5-8pm (and at lunchtime too). The Ambrosial was sweet and tangy, bursting with fruity elements from the dragon fruit ferment, pear, Yuzu sake, grapefruit, and Muscat grapes. A refreshing palate cleanser. The Smoke & Blanc also packed a punch, with notes of sweet vinegar, EVOO, and celery bitters atop the base of applewood-smoked brunt buttered rum.

On to the food! We started off with the Prawn Ravioli ($24), which was a trio of prawn+meat chunks encased in a thin dough - sort of a shrimp dumpling, if you will. The skin was soft and the firm prawn gave it a nice bite, but above all the sauce of prawn bisque with specks of sage butter was what brought this dish together. Complex, umami, and briney flavours encouraged me to drizzle spoonful after spoonful with every bite of the ravioli. Delicious! If there was one thing I missed, it was the freshness and crunch from perhaps scatters of water chestnut or carrot, or perhaps even breadcrumbs. That would have given an interesting play in textures.

Next was the Grilled Cabbages ($16) - a huge wedge of cabbage boiled and then charred on the grill, placed atop a nest of herb cream cheese and drizzles of peanut chilli. The rosemary cheese beurre blanc was what kept us reaching for slice after slice of the cabbage, so deliciously creamy and savoury with a touch of heat it was. However, we did feel that the cabbage could have been a tad more tender as it was too moist and limp on the inside which made it tough to cut through.

The pièce de résistance was finally here: the Sarawak Charred Claypot Rice ($28) - a mound of crabmeat, ikura, asparagus stalks, and rice crispies atop a bed of sweet-savoury rice that the staff said hails from Sarawak and hence the name of the dish. The seafood gave every spoonful of the rice a distinct unami and briney taste, with the rice crispies and asparagus providing a nice crunch. Was suitably impressed by this zhng-up sa po fan, but what's missing was the charred rice bits to scrape off the Claypot at the end; that experience is arguably a key part of the soul of Claypot rice, lest you might as well call the dish a don, a rice bowl, instead. Pro tip: ask for a saucer of chilli padi in soy sauce to accompany the rice. The soy sauce they used is imported from Sarawak and was so deliciously sweet-salty and flavourful, I couldn't help but just sip dab after dab with my spoon (It's Mu Artisan First Draw Soy Sauce if anyone's wondering).

Ended off the meal with a trio of their Mochi Churros, given on the house to celebrate our anniversary. Crisp on the outside with a soft and gooey inside, pair this with the rich and decadent salted caramel for a sweet ending to the satisfying meal.

Thank you @Estuary for the delicious food and a very memorable experience!

Newly-opened at the doorstep of town, this Handmade Pasta & Highball Bar serves up classic pasta dishes as well as creative innovations alongside an extensive drinks menu with an enticing Happy Hour promo. What more could you ask for!

We started off with the Cheesy Creamy Butter Chicken ($26) which was creamy tomato pasta with a touch of spice, served with three skewers of well-marinated chicken which were bite-sized and tender. Not as rich and savoury as the Indian butter chicken, but this was a decent fusion and still delicious. For spice lovers, do ask for added spice because they toned it down from previous feedback but I personally found it to be lacking. Next was the Carbonara w/ Parma Ham ($24) which was rich with a generous mound of parmesan atop runny egg yolk. Parma ham draped stop the pasta with generous fatty bits of pancetta scattered within. Mix it up well and finish this quickly to avoid the sauce drying up. Perhaps more of the pasta water could have been added for a creamier finish.

Happy hour was great with our $10 Chu-Hi Tonic and Whisky Highball. 15% off for other drinks not on the $10 HH list. Service was friendly and attentive, taking time to explain the menu items and asking for our opinions. With the Burpple 1 for 1, all the more reason to revisit!

Hidden at the corner of Woods Square is the neon-lit, chill Tipsy Panda serving up a fusion of Asian and Western mains and bar bites. Personally, the drinks we had were a little dull and watered down, but they're currently having a promo for 1-for-1 Highballs (u.p. $15) so that's more bang for your buck. Otherwise, the Frosty's Lager ($11) was alright.

Food wise:
- [RECOMMENDED] Wagyu Beef Cubes: THIS WAS SO GOOD!! Bite-sized and so freakin tender, the scorched layer added a touch of smokiness to the lready delicious wagyu, made even better with the sat and the black pepper sauce. This almost brought us to tears.
- Fermented Pork Belly w/ Garlic: Really crisp strips of pork belly with the distinctive whiff of the fermented Beancurd. This was pretty yummy especially with the garlic coriander sauce. Deep fried cloves of garlic accompanies this if you want more garlickyness. Part of the 2 for $22 Tapas.
- Szechuan Mala Karaage: Bite-sized karaage so crispy it's almost like an explosion of mala on tender chicken pops. Part of the 2 for $22 Tapas.
- Lady Wu's Warrior Spicy Wings: Sauce was pretty spicy with a touch of tanginess, but when slathered on the wings the crispiness was gone so wasn't as nice. Part of the 2 for $22 Tapas.
- Crispy Calamari: Reminiscent of Old Chang Kee's Sotong, except meatier and with a more robust marinade. Pretty good with the truffle mayo. Part of the 2 for $22 Tapas.
- Burnt Cheesecake ($12): Soft and almost spongey, not so much to our liking.

Vibes were also great especially with the Live band and there were plenty of audience interactions if you like that. Even on a Thursday night there were a sizeable crowd of both large groups and solo drinkers. Just a great hangout place in the north overall.

Came down on a Friday night and it was a full house even though it was at a far corner of the CBD. We came here mainly to sample the cocktail but were enticed by the Peranakan fare which, thankfully, are part of Burpple's 1-for-1 deals.

Laksa Lobster Linguine ($30) - Definitely on the saucier, creamier side. Aesthetically unappealing but we loved the rich laksa sauce and slurped almost every drop. Half a lobster and several taupok completed the dish, and we felt that it was slightly lacking. Could have used some prawns or shrimps for some bite, or at least finish it off with laksa leaves for the colour and aroma.

Braised Pongteh Lamb Shank ($28) - Apparently there was a supply error and the lamb was on the smaller side that night (therefore the lamb shank was discounted at $25 that night but it didn't matter to us since we were using Burpple). Very tender and fall-off-the-bone, paired so well with the lightly fragrant blue pea rice. The accompanying sambal was too sweet for my liking, but my partner liked it so it's a matter of preference.

Loquat Elixer ($24) & Pulut Hitam ($25) - Happy Hour gave us $18 craft cocktails till 8pm, which is so worth I considering their range of exotic locally-inspired mixes. Loved the 'pi pa gao'-ness of the Loquat Elixer, potent with a tinge of sweetness. Pulut Hitam was love at first sight (and taste) for me - I was so excited to see my favourite traditional dessert being turned into a cocktail and boy it did not disappoint. Served in a bowl, on the surface it looked like it's eponymous dessert with the black glutinous rice and the coconut cream, but dig into the sorbet below and let the alcohol hit you. Just wow.

Overall, great ambience, great food, and fantastic drinks. My only complaint would be that the standing chairs were a tad too uncomfortable to sit on, so request for a sitting chair if possible.

Cute and vibey little shop with both indoor and outdoor seating, but there were fans outside so it wasn't too warm. Didn't watch Initial D but I appreciated the attention to detail, from the posters to the standees and even to the mini cars to clip on to the receipt.

Food-wise though, we weren't too impressed by the supposed signature, the Fujiwara Tofu. Was just 4 slices of deep tried tofu with a tangy sauce atop, with bits of onion and chilli slices. Nothing special. Might come back try their other bites.

Late review but wanted to pen down my thoughts here nonetheless.

Decided on Sol & Luna for my Valentine's Day dinner since I had heard good things about this restaurant plus I wanted to enjoy the 51st floor view after dinner. For $120 per person ($285.10 in total), a pretty expensive meal but I was still looking forward to it.

Salmorejo in Shooter - Tomatoes were sweet and slightly tart, paired well with the basil oil and ham.

Spanish Grilled Octopus - Octopus was tender and not too chewy. Tasted great especially with the Romesco sauce. Smoked Chorizo and potatoes were also great to mop up all the juices and sauce.

Oysters - Fresh and went great with the Mignonette dressing (a condiment of minced shallots, cracked pepper, and vinegar). Could be plumper.

Catalan Braised Leg of Chicken - Well charred with crisp skin and tender meat. Sauce tasted strangely Chinese-style and the shimeji mushrooms added to the vibe but only googled later that the sauce was a wine reduction.

Basque Txuleta Steak Astigarraga - Altogether pretty good. Tender rib steak in a delicious peppery sauce, and the peppers/onions/tomatoes on the side added tang and sweetness to the meatiness.

Seabass a la Plancha - Seabass was good, also enjoyed the mussels and clams. the fregola resembled a thicker version of couscous and we were surprised that it was a pasta. Flavour was on the lighter side however.

Sopapilla Cheesecake - The cheesecake was actually a crescent roll in a rectangular shape (think crumbly layers much like a croissant but denser and more bread-like). Didn't really enjoy this, but the Citrus Gelato was delicious.

Ultimately, this was just a severely marked-up dinner set for 2 in the spirit of Valentine's Day, which would have been fine if not for a particularly horrible experience I had with one of the staff. There was a service crew clearing our plates and cutlery who smelled really bad - not in a body odour sense but rather in a dried urine kind of way. I cannot confirm whether it was the smell of urine but there was just a very rank odour whenever he passed by. If it was urine it would be especially concerning since he handled the plates and cutlery on our tables and even helped the couple next to us take a photo. Perhaps I should have raised the issue up on the spot as it was a matter of hygiene, but I only sent in a message on their website the day after, which until now I have not received a reply on. I don't exactly know what the smell was, but I just know that it ruined my dining experience.

Occupying the space where the GoCycle outlet used to inhabit, Overflow is an open air Cafe and Bar with love music daily. When we were there, the band was playing old-timey Chinese music that my aunts and uncles loved. Pet friendly space too with lots of families bringing their dogs. Drinks were alright, we had 2 3L towers of Asahi Super Dry for $78 each and a bunch of finger food to accompany. Spicy Drumlets ($9.50) was straight out of the supermarket aisle, as we're the Popcorn Chicken ($8.50). Truffle Fries ($13.90) was pretty filling but quite meh. Worst were the Guacamole Nachos ($13.90) with the guacamole being some kind of sauce, would recommend against getting them.

Inspired by the Kulfi dessert, the staff will actually 'churn' the cocktail with dry ice at your table to make a creamy alcoholic sorbet. Incredibly innovative, somewhat performative (for a cocktail that could then be finished in about 5 scoops), but otherwise good fun overall.

Presentation slightly lacking (look at that bown mush!), as was the food itself. While the sous vide ribs were tender, the accompanying stewed vegetables 'sauce' was lacklustre and strangely lukewarm. Overall not a bad dish, but not good either. Served with prawn crackers and achar i.e. get your carbs somewhere else

Cocktail presentation was truly A+++, and from what we observed every cocktail had a different theme to it - loved it! Trade Winds was a blend of sweet and spicy, with a hint of umami from the kombu infused caracha. There were even accompaniments of a sort-of fruit salsa and kacang puteh. Fruity and refreshing, this was a great (and pretty) drink to end off the night. Will definitely be back to sample the other cocktails.

Decent fish and chips but I had Lad & Co's version just a day earlier so comparisons were subconsciously made. Quality of the fish was good but batter could be crispier and more flavourful. Fries and salad were pretty standard but the awesome sambal remoulade dip was the one thing bringing everything together.