Guiding you to good food & best restaurants in Singapore

Fabulous food, awful pic. Well, what ya gonna do when the lights stubbornly refuse to switch on, just like my brain every morning.

Thankfully, the chef was fully switched on, and my Mentaiko Wagyu Beef Bowl, as well as my friend’s Wagyu Sukiyaki Don were both absolutely amazing. They taste a hell of a lot better than they look folks, believe me. Mentaiko is always satisfyingly savoury, and when jazzed up with a subtly spicy kick, it becomes undeniably, unctuously umami. Better yet are the chunks of flame torched wagyu beef, which are competently charred and adds a scintillating smokiness to the redolent richness & stellar savouriness of the fabulously fatty beef.

The wagyu sukiyaki don was no slouch either, with the savoury sauce that the appropriately sized sliced beef had been stewing in thoroughly flavouring the slices of sukiyaki to palatable perfection.

Also mucho grassy ass to #burpplebeyond for this awesome 1-for-1 three course set dinner at @waacowsg, I basically robbed a place and got away scot free!

This is why we're here and they absolutely nailed it. I think it's my number one in a different sort of way from Amoy street chendol. So bloody good

The coconut cream is home churned apparently and it's so rich. Absolutely incredible with their gula melaka that they sourced. And their chendol itself had a strong pandan flavour as it's made in house. The pandan flavour, creaminess and sweetness of the chendol is almost remniscent of the Kaya layer in many kuehs, instead of the usual tasteless limp artificial chendol u get elsewhere.

Lets just say if they werent in fortune centre they would be an institution. Must try!

P. S. My friend adorably asked why a cantonese dessert place sells chendol and i told him dont question if it's this good. But the nice chef said they're a small place without much human traffic so really need to diversify lol

It's smooth but it doesnt taste like a dessert. It's like chawanmushi with sugar. Not really my thing, and it's served really hot. My friend burned his mouth on the first bite lol(always let your dining partner try the hot stuff first hahaha)

Was really craving for some unagi and after reading and comparing online reviews on several unagi specialty shops such as Man man unagi (which was said to have a sweet sauce) and Uya (which was said to be less crispy and had more bones), i decided to choose Unagiya ichinoji. Especially after reading @sethluicious review on the Unagi showdown, comparing these 3 shops.

Had the unagi hitsumabushi (L) $38.80 which i shared with my mum. WOW I AM SOLD😍😍 we opted for the tokyo sauce which was more savoury as compared to the singapore sauce (sweeter as it was tailored to the local tastebud i guess). Love that the sauce had the right amount of savoury and sweetness and did not overpower the taste of the unagi. Also the unagi was plump and had a slight nice charred crispy texture😍. The rice was soft and slightly chewy, complementing well with the softness of the unagi. The dashi stock had this unami taste which we like😊

Taste: 4/5 (really love that the sauce wasnt too sweet and love the unagi's slightly crisp exterior with soft interior)
Worth it: 3.75/5 (the L size was just nice for 2pax, plus there was decent amount of unagi)
Ambience: 3.5/5 (we went at lunch time and weekday, hence there were lesser people perhaps)
Overall: 7.75/10

No go
Can go
Must go😊 try it if you crave for unagi and feel lazy to queue for Man man unagi.

They have 2 outlets in Singapore. One at suntec and one at robertson quay!

#burpple

The quinoa puff was the main bulk of the toppings and there were less than 8 blueberries and not even a full strawberry. I expected more fruits tbh... Nonetheless, their kefir was creamy and i am glad it was unsweetened. However, i would prefer it to be slightly thicker and probably a stronger sour accent (as i can barely detect any sour-ness from lactose fermentation). Its a pity in a way because i feel that the portion would be too small for a meal yet a little too much for a solo after-meal dessert.

Ps. They have other mains like sourdough burger, salad, western food and soups. (They have 1for1 on mains if you use the burpple beyond). May probably try these instead.

Taste: 2.5/5
Worth it: 2.5/5
Ambience: 2/5 (kind of like a fast food eat and go setting with few seats).
Overall: 5/10 (soley based on the kefir)

I think making your own granola yogurt/kefir bowl would be much more worth and there wasnt anything mindblowing about this kefir parfait. Tasted pretty ordinary.

No go
Can go 🌗 (between no and can i guess for the kefir imo)
Must go

#burpple

I love how all his ingredients are very clean/light tasting and super refreshing (not too oily or salty). Other versions that I've tried elsewhere are usually too oily or salty for my tastebuds and tend to have those jelat feels afterwards.

One super unique selling point of this shop is that they have a beehoon version instead of the rice. The beehoon has a super fragrant sesame oil aroma and is light tasting. As a person who tend to feel very bloated when i eat too much rice, i am so glad that there is thunder tea beehoon version because now i get to satisfy my 雷茶 cravings and have the whole plate to myself without being overly full by carbs.

Also i love that for their ingredients, they have savoury sweet chye poh and azuki beans as well as winged beans << which is different from other stalls.

The tea soup itself is super aromatic and the basil+mint werent too overpowering. Also, their version has the perfect balance herbaceous minty taste and roasted nutty profile. I love how its slightly savoury too.

Beehoon set: $5/$8
Rice set: $6/$9

The small portion by itself is really super filling and is quite huge. So worth!

The boss is also really friendly and i love the rock music that he blasts. HAHHA super cool personality. The lady boss is also really nice and friendly!

Worth it: 5/5
For the portion, taste and service, this is really worth it!!! I feel that its cheaper than other thunder tea rice stalls out there (ie. Sunny choice cafe version which cost $9.50) and the taste is even better.
Taste: 4.75/5 (minus a little because i felt that the tau pok was a little too overly-fried and hence it was a bit too heard and i couldnt taste the fragrance of the soy)
Overall: 9.75/10

No go
Can go
Must go😊😊YASS

#burpple

At elemen, you can choose either the 5-course or 8-course set meal.

Today, my mum and I shared a 5-course and 8 course set meal:
1. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 (elemen appetiser) 3/5
- Preserved guava
- Sweet potato tofu in sesame dressing
- Zesty winter melon with orange
2. 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗱
- Quinoa salad 3.5/5
3. 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗽
- Maca soup 3.75/5
- 5 Elemen soup 3.75/5
4. 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱
- Rosemary sticks with raspberry yogurt sauce 4.5/5
The rosemary bread sticks were so aromatic and the dipping sauce was appetising and wasn’t overly sweet. Would have been better if served warm and slightly crisp.
5. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗿 4.5/5
I love the perfect balance of sourness and sweetness. The tanginess was a great palate cleanser before the main course.
6. 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀
- Blue Flower Tofu with Black truffle Wild rice 5/5
This is our MUST order main. The tofu is slightly crisp on the outside and super silky on the inside.The truffle really elevated the whole dish and made the rice even more aromatic.
- Tempura Tofu Avocado Roll 4.75/5
While their avocado roll certainly can’t beat those sushi specialty shops out there, the standard is definitely above average. The merger of my two favourite japanese dishes avocado roll and tempura tofu (similar to agedashi tofu) is a BIG YES for me!
7. 𝗕𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲
- Seasalt coffee 5/5
The savoury silky smooth seasalt cream perfectly enhanced the body of the bitter espresso.
- Fresh Orange carrot juice 4.5/5
8. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀
- Chilled Pumpkin Purée With Coconut Ice Cream 5/5
This is by far the BEST dessert I had at Elemen after trying so many desserts for several years (they update their menu quite often). I really hope they do keep this!!! The combination of the velvety smooth unsweetened pumpkin puree (naturally sweet and slightly savoury), sweetened purple rice base and coconut ice cream is simply divine. This is an elevated healthier version of pulut hitam that isn’t overly sweet! Would definitely choose coconut ice cream over coconut cream any day~ Also, the almonds crumbs really added a perfect crunchy texture to this whole dish. BIG LOVES❤
#burpple

Their sourdough bread is always so moist, spongy and fluffy and not too sour/tangy. I really love the perfect harmonisation of the slight tanginess and natural sweetness~😊 Really the BEST sourdough I've eaten in SG. The ones that i had at elsewhere are usually very hard and dry but Valerie's version is simply so soft with a deep rich profile and really aromatic!

They have a good range of sourdough flavours, ranging from the classic, rye, nutty (eg. Tri-seed rye), savoury (eg. sundried tomato and feta cheese, olive garlic, onion cheese) to sweet flavours (eg. Cranberry walnut, cinnamon and chocolate banana). With such a wide variety of flavours, one would definitely be spoilt for choices.They come in either half loaf ($5-7) or full loaf ($8-12). Each loaf is seriously packed with lots of ingredients~ love their generosity with the ingredients.

My always to go favourites are the:
1) Tri-seed rye
2) Cranberry walnut (which is their no. 1 best seller)

The spinach and cheese is also very nice!!! Actually all their flavours are really good so there is always something for everyone~ Shall try the classic sourdough / rye version on my next stock up! I love how you can simply put it in the freezer to keep it for up to a month~ just have to microwave it for 30-40s before popping these gems into your mouth🤤 even after freezing and microwaving, their moisture, softness and chewiness still retains.

Taste: 5/5
Worth it: 5/5
Although sourdough bread are pricer than normal loaf of bread that you get from supermarket, i feel that these naturally leaven bread are a good investment due to the myriad of health benefits: low in gluten, good source of prebiotics, preservative-free and low in GI. Also urbanloaf factory's pricing is really similar to the market rate and with such as awesome taste, they are SO DAMN WORTH IT

Overall Ratings: 10/10

No go
Can go
MUST GO😊YAASS

#burpple