It was a last minute invite for the tasting session tonight but I am glad I made it. Formerly a dessert outlet, it now house this makan place serving taiwanese food with japanese and vietnamese influences. I find that its more inclined towards the japanese influence, with jap style cooking and of cos the supply of ingredients from Japan. Also not forgetting the emphasis of presentation per dish where simplicity is key.

At first glance, one may easily brush this place off as a run-of-the-mill kind of place that serves mediocore or sometimes really non-delish Taiwanese street food in a simple white and orange cheerful theme. Thank god the food served was anything but.

Ambience wise: Very casual, nothing gaudy nor atas. A place where one can be in the most casual wear and will not feel out of place. Ironically, we were told that the customised furniture from Italy sure don't come cheap. :)

As usual, it was a HUGE spread of food and I have to admit that I am unable to eat as much as I used to. Blame it on the decreasing metabolic rate. :/ Anyway, we all had the following:

1) 'Lu Rou' Rice 滷肉饭 $6.90

- The serving was generous, I would say. The mix of minced pork and shabu-style thinly sliced pork was just nice and well-infused with the 'lor' (gravy). The 'lor' was salty enough for me to befit the name of 滷肉饭. I only took a sampling portion for taste so I am unable to review the entire after taste & feeling had I finish the entire bowl.

2) Shuang Yuan Noodles (Dry) 雙圓麵(干）$6.90

- The serving of the noodles was generous. Not very sure what noodles was used but its like mee kia to me. Then again, the noodles was handled well, so there is no clumpy parts or mushy parts. Q enough and well mixed with the sauce. The 'Shuang Yuan' that signifies the giant pork balls (handmade) were bouncy and full of porky flavour to the bite. It doesn't have the more-flour-than-meat taste. And the most shiok part is to take a big bite of the pork ball.

- The chilli (made inhouse) served is pretty spicy and this is coming from a spice queen. Its sweet initially and the spice kick only surface after a delay of few seconds. So those who can't take spice, may want to go easy on this or skip this altogether.

3) Shuang Yuan Noodles (Soup) 雙圓麵(湯）$6.90

- I did not try this.

4) Special Stewed Egg 糖心蛋 $1.90

- Hmmm. This is somewhat like the smoked 3/4 cooked egg, jap style that we are perhaps more familar with. The egg here was not that bad, just that I personally prefer the yolk to be bit runny. So I guess this is primarily up to the individual preference.

5) Hot Spring Egg 温泉蛋（冷）$1.90

- This item will not be alien to ppl who are familiar with japanese food. Even more familiar to ppl who love their half-boiled eggs ala traditional kopitiam style. Serving style is very japanese and oh yes, I like this.

6) Butter Corn 奶油玉米 $2.90

- Typical street snack. Remember the corn cups one often see at pasar malam snack stalls and the likes? This is it. I just had to specially order this to try as this is my soft spot. LOL! I was already stuffed by the time I ordered this but I still polished it off!

7) Batter Fried Oysters (3pcs) 酥炸鲜蚝 $6.90

- Nothing spectacular but good as finger food item.

8) Crispy Chicken Wing (4pcs) 香炸鸡翼 $5.90

- The batter can be a bit more crispy but otherwise this also serves as a good finger food item. Especially so when the aroma of wine (chinese wine?) hits the nose with the first bite. Meat juices was nicely packed within the crisp batter and the meat was seasoned well.

9) Fresh Spring Roll with Spicy Pork 冷春卷 $5.90

- Vietnamese style spring roll with thinly sliced blanched pork and strips of other veg rolled up with lettuce. Nice crunch from the fresh veg goes well with the pork and the sauces drizzled over the roll.

10) Pumpkin Croquette 土豆可樂餅 $3.90

- One of my favourites. Japanese pumpkin (expensive stuff) mashed with the fibrous bits removed and shaped into a medallion for deep frying. Sweet!

11) Unagi 酱燒鳗鱼 $6.90

- One of the favourites around the table. Good quality stuff! Generous to boot. Soft and smooth to the bite. Not overly sweet. Unagi craving can be settled at an affordable price here. :)

12) Shuang Yuan Salad 雙圓沙拉 $2.90

- I did not try this.

13) Macha Cheese Cake 緑茶芝士蛋糕 $4.90

- Made inhouse. 2 main layers form the cake, namely the green tea layer at the bottom and the cheese layer on top. Small dollops of mashed red beans are placed strategically on top of the cheese layer. The cheese is very light and is meant to be so to complement the after meal dessert concept. At the same time, the light cheese goes pretty well with the green tea portion as the sweetness from the cheese layer balances the green tea bitterness. Understood that the red beans are sourced from Japan for their texture.

14) Tempura Ice Cream 天婦羅雪糕 $4.90

- Not a personal favourite of mine all along but the idea of coating the ice cream with mashed red beans prior to dipping in batter for the deep frying is something new.

15) Shuang Yuan with Vanilla Ice Cream 雙圓+雪糕 $4.90

- One of my favourites, not so much for the ice-cream but for the 'Shuang Yuan' in this item, namely, sweet potato ball and yam ball. The sweet potato ball was made from Japanese sweet potato and care was taken to remove the fibrous bits so as not to affect the texture during consumption. Nice. The yam ball was akin to 'orh nee', just not sweet as the balls were meant to be eaten with the ice-cream. I don't like yam per se but I LOVE 'orh nee'. LOL!

16) Golden Creamy Prawn 茄子黄金蝦 $6.90

- This is essentially kueh pie tee but filled with fresh bouncy prawn and eggplant coated with salted egg yolk cream sauce. Yums!

Overall, I am happy that there is such a place where I can R&R with my friends over yummy finger food and affordable prices till late. Fridays and Saturdays are open till 1am. Asahi and Hoegarden are available too to complement the food should one has craving for some beer. Baby chairs are also available for couples with young kids, so its a family friendly place. Reservations are also allowed to be made.

The lady boss, former private banker turned training consultant cum F&B owner, is very nice to chat with and her story on this place was started truly gives full meaning to "timing is key". In mandarin, 真的应验了“天时地利人和”这句话。Budding entrepreneurs can perhaps learn a thing or 2 from her experience too! :)