I was fortunate enough to be invited to enjoy dinner at Origins last night with some very nice people from HungryGoWhere. To start off the meal we were all given a brief introduction to the Hainanese cuisine which we would be served. Our table included a diner who had been to Hainan and eaten the cuisine there and was so able to comment on its authenticity. He did warn us however, that, as the food was prepared in an authentic style, the dishes would not necessarily have the same taste that Singaporean diners might expect from dishes that were prepared by more ‘locally’ influenced chefs.

Four dishes were ordered and eaten with rice: beef brisket stew, mutton soup, oxtail stew, and curry chicken. Both stews and the mutton soup were served in clay pots (see pictures below). We were all warned that there might be an aftertaste to the curry chicken that might take some getting used to but I did not find it so. The curry was mild and the chicken was soft enough to fall off the bone with only a little prodding. Admittedly the curry was not very thick, being just viscous enough to coat the spoon, but I suspect that might be deliberate on the part of the chef. As I do not enjoy curry that makes me constantly reach for water, I found it quite enjoyable.

The beef brisket stew was also very good, with a thick gravy that tasted strongly of herbs. The beef was tender enough to melt in the mouth and the carrots that accompanied it were soft without being mushy.

The ambiance is closer to a coffee shop than a restaurant in my opinion and there is no air conditioning. It can also be a little difficult to find. However, for someone looking for a mild chicken curry or hearty stews this might be an enjoyable meal. Apparently the restaurant is busy during lunch but quiet during dinner so that might be a good time to try it.

My thanks to the HungryGoWhere team for in invitation and the lovely meal, I had a fun and informative time.

Today my husband introduced me to OUAM. It’s apparently a hit at his work and it definitely made an impression on me!

Having just finished lunch, we decided to get mini milkshakes and I had the ‘Chocolate Truffle Castle’ and my husband had the ‘Cerious Maple’. Amusingly, the server didn’t bat an eyelash as we debated which size to order, so I guess she sees it all the time! She was very patient with us, kudos to her.

Between the green, white and purple décor and the cute menu, the effect is bright and cheerful. Little touches like the wooden ‘taken’ tiles on the tables, the stylistically mismatched and yet harmoniously coloured furniture and the purple umbrella (presumably used by the staff to make deliveries in the rain) all add to the effect. As a side note, they were making ice cream in the back while we were there and we didn’t have to raise our voices with the server at all – a definite plus!

I really like that the milkshakes come in mini and regular versions as I often find milk shakes too large to finish (or complement) a meal without making me uncomfortably full, unless they are of a thin consistency which I don’t enjoy. I like my milk shakes thick and smooth without being so thick that you can’t get them up the straw. At OUAM, I can get a mini (210ml for $3.30) for desert or a regular (360ml for $5.50) for a mid afternoon snack. Others might find the price a little high but considering the quality, I didn’t mind a bit – it’s no worse on the wallet than a drink at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf or Starbucks and I like it better.

The ‘Chocolate Truffle Castle’ was excellent – the perfect consistency and with a rich, not too sweet chocolate taste. It didn’t taste artificial as milk shakes sometimes do. The ‘Cerious Maple’ was also very good. I’m not a fan of maple syrup generally but even I could feel the sugar hit as the taste of real maple syrup made itself known. My husband is addicted to it and never has any other flavor. As for me, I plan to work my way through the entire menu one flavor at a time. Next up – ‘Pirate Queen Peach’! Arr!

EDIT (14 JAN) : The Pirate Queen Peach milkshake is excellent - a much milder flavour than either the cerious maple or the chocolate truffle castle with the peach flavour being most strongly evident in the aftertaste. It reminds me of the fruit flavours found in the best yoghurt and is definitely the most refreshing milkshake I've ever had. Next Time: Nutty Peanut Butler!

EDIT (17 JAN) : Tried the Nutty Peanut Butler and the Sir Cookies & Cream milkshakes today. Sir Cookies & Cream tastes like blenderised Oreos! Smooth and creamy without the annoyance of big chunky biscuit pieces or even the cookie crumbs that usually occur in cookies and cream ice cream. Rich and with a vanilla aftertaste, it beat every other Cookies & Cream milk shake I've had hands down.

As for the Nutty Peanut Butler, it tasted strongly of peanut butter rather than blended nuts, which made it savory and creamy rather than savory and sharp. My husband said that he would have preferred it to be sweeter but I like it just the way it is. I like that there are have been a variety of tastes to suit my every mood - fresh and fruity (Pirate Queen Peach), sweet (Cerious Maple and Sir Cookies & Cream), Chocolate (Chocolate Truffle Castle), savory (Nutty Peanut Butler) - it means that there will always be something for me here no matter what I feel like.

Next time: Agent Strawberry!

My husband and I met a couple of friends at Wild Honey in Mandarin Gallery last Sunday and we were very impressed with the quality of both the food and the service.

Interestingly, Wild Honey appears to specialize in breakfast dishes. Half their menu appears to consist of variations of the all day breakfast concept from all over the world, including Tunisia, New York and Mexico. The rest of their menu appears to be sandwiches.

I had the English breakfast which consisted of bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, diced potatoes, grilled tomato and mushrooms. Everything was excellent, with the potatoes and mushrooms being particularly outstanding. My husband had the Vietnamese pork sandwich which was equally good. An innovative selection of pork meats, including what appeared to be Parma ham, prosciutto, shredded pork and sliced bakkwa covered a salad of cucumbers and lettuce, all served on a toasted ciabatta loaf. There was also a citrus-like tang to the sandwich but we were not sure how it was achieved. One of our friends had the Mexican breakfast and the other had the ‘I Love NY’ breakfast. The Mexican breakfast was a breakfast burrito which was promptly gobbled down but the NY breakfast was eaten more leisurely. Composed of sturgeon with eggs, a bagel and cream cheese it may not be for everyone but our friend devoured it with every sign of relish. I managed to get a taste of the bagel and cream cheese which were both excellent. Unfortunately, they do not sell the bagels separately or I would have taken some home. My husband and I finished off the meal with a hot chocolate (with real cinnamon stick!) and a lemongrass tea, both very good. I preferred the chocolate myself but I have a sweet tooth.

Ambience wise, the restaurant looks very much like a New York café with a slightly retro feel. Decorative touches like the old fashioned radio, the occasional chair upholstered in colorful prints, and the chalkboard menus add to the effect. We found the service excellent if not unobtrusive. The staff were prompt about clearing our dishes, happy to answer any questions we might have, and the manager was very friendly as well as happy to offer recommendations. The only qualm diners might have is if they do not eat eggs – all the breakfast sets have them and, while the kitchen will remove ingredients on request, it may not have quite the taste intended.

We will definitely be making this restaurant a permanent part of our weekend breakfast routine.

I have to admit that I didn't have a good experience at this restaurant when I visited it last night.

My husband and I decided to try this place on impulse when I found out that they had a 1-for-1 buffet promotion for Passion Card holders. We had previously enjoyed our visit to Carnivore Brazilian Churrascaria at VivoCity immensely and we hoped this would work out as well. Unfortunately, it didn’t.

For starters, when we arrived, the maître d’ took our Passion Card coupon and informed us that it didn’t matter since they were having a 1-for-1 buffet promotion for all diners, starting that day. He then asked if we had made a reservation. Upon hearing that we had not, he made a face and asked us to sit at an outside table while he ducked inside to check if there were any spare tables. Unfortunately, he didn’t show us which table wanted us to wait at and we almost sat down at a table for two until I noticed it already had drinks on it. Deducing that it was occupied, we instead hung around a much bigger table and waited uncertainly. He then came out of the restaurant, told us there was a free table and ran off to serve another pair of customers without showing us to the table. We only got seated after he started taking the new customers into the restaurant and noticed us still standing in the entrance waiting on him.

The first thing we noticed upon being seated was a small sign on the table describing their ‘no tap water’ policy. Furthermore, although their menu had three choices for bottle tap water, it appeared that Ice Mountain water was no longer being served. As such we only had the choice of San Pellegrino and some other equally expensive bottled water whose name I don’t remember. $5.50 for two and a half glasses of water?! This is one of my pet peeves and it turned out to have great consequences for the meal.

Service throughout the meal was sub par, perhaps because there were so few service waiters, passadors predominating among the service staff. Our plates were not switched for clean ones until I made the request, and we had to go up to the bar to get our bill. The waitress there actually made to present us with the box of orders (presumably to ask us which one we were) until the maître d’ stopped her at the last minute. I witnessed a fellow diner have to walk up to the bar to place an order at least once.

In my opinion, others have described the food quite accurately so I won’t go over it again; however I found the meat overwhelmingly salty. It was so bad that, after 1.25 liters of water, I had to stop eating and leave the restaurant because salt had encrusted my mouth and I refused to buy another bottle of overpriced water to wash it away with. We took a cab home and I drank cold tap water from the fridge instead. Blessed, blessed relief!

I found it a little odd that no one had yet reviewed this place as it's really very good. I'm normally not a fan of porridge but I really enjoy the dishes here.

As far as I can tell (not being an expert), their rice porridge is cooked in the Cantonese style where it's boiled for a long time until the rice breaks down and becomes a fairly viscous white porridge. Usually I have the chicken porridge, my husband has the pork porridge and we order a dish or two to share depending on how hungry we are. As a side bonus, they also take orders over the phone so you can ring the order in and then walk down to pick it up. Fantastic!

I believe I tried the same offer as p w (the all you can eat buffet dinner, advertised at $16.90++ per adult) but had a much better experience.

As I am allergic to all shellfish, many of the offered items on the menu were not applicable to my husband and myself. Although the waitress didn't explain to us how the buffet worked (a minus point) she was prompt in coming over to our table to deliver an explanation when we asked.

Once we realised that the initial spread included every single dish, including items like prawn cake with sweet corn and shrimp paste kang kong which I would be unable to eat, we explained the situation to the waitress who obligingly offered to let the kitchen know we would not be requiring those items, despite the order already having been placed. The offending dishes never appeared on our table (a definite plus).

We did have double orders of the deep fried dory, sk chicken wings, and thai fish cake which were all excellent, as was the green curry chicken. The pineapple rice had more saffron that I was used to and contained actual pineapple pieces (another plus). Unfortunately, we did find the service an occasional disappointment as they did not inform us the 'complimentary' prawn crackers would be charged on our bill and they forgot to send out our initial serve of thai fish cake. However, apart from that I found the meal quite acceptable.

Total cost for 2 people, including GST and service charge, came to $40.95.

This is my current favorite place for Zi-Cha. Not only does it serve the usual range of dishes but they will pack you a half portion with rice for around $5. They’ll even take orders over the phone so I can drop by and pick up my food without having to stand around and wait for my take-away.

My husband and I are huge fans of crêpes (both savory and sweet) and as soon as we saw them on the menu we had to try this restaurant.

We both ordered the crêpe with chicken, mushroom and cheese ($14), as well as a Potato Gratin ($6) and a green side salad ($6) to share. The actual crêpes were lovely, thin but not fragile, with fantastic texture and taste. Unfortunately the filling was a bit of a let down – the chicken was shredded instead of chopped which made it rather dry and the mushrooms were bland enough that their presence went almost unnoticed. The Potato Gratin was quite acceptable if a little on the wet side but the salad was composed of what appeared to be purple lettuce rhubarb leaves, spinach, cherry tomatoes and rocket. Hating all of these vegetables, I didn't touch it.

For desert we shared the Chestnut Cream Crêpe ($6), and it was here that the restaurant truly excelled. The crepe was wonderful and the filling was tasty but not too sweet. Our only mistake was not choosing to have ice cream with it! Total cost for dinner after tax and service charges was $54.15.

My main objections to this restaurant were the service and music. The volume of their sound system was set far too high and it felt like we were stuck in a sound booth with the greatest hits of ABBA pounding in our ears – not exactly conducive to relaxation. The service was terrible, shockingly so. The restaurant was full when we arrived and the server tried to seat us at an occupied table – the occupant had stepped away but his bag and food were on the chair. We ended up seated at a table for three and they did not clear the third place setting. We had constant trouble attracting service and they brought us the bill when we were trying to order desert. They did not clear our empty plates until it became clear that the table was not big enough to hold the remains of our mains, sides and desert. Worst of all was the water saga – they did not bring water to the table when we were seated and the waitress told us the restaurant did not serve water when we asked for some. However, as we were leaving, we noticed glasses of water on other tables. We asked about it and were told that, yes, the restaurant does serve water. When I go out for dinner, I don't expect to have to drink out of my own water bottle in a restaurant!

This place is a little hard to find as it's tucked away in a corner on the ground floor of the Icon. However, it's certainly worth the visit if you're looking for a quiet lunch.

The lunch menu is primarily composed of set meals or bento boxes and I chose the daily lunch set which, today, was composed of chicken karaage and stir fried vegetables. It was accompanied by rice, miso soup, pickles, a piece of vegetable tempura and a side salad without dressing. My husband had the Katsu Curry set which was accompanied by rice, another piece of vegetable tempura and a side salad with dressing. Both meals were followed by tiny individual jellies on a plate.

The food was decent but nothing to write home about, the only problem being cold tempura. Unlike some Japanese restaurants, the portions were substantial and we both had trouble finishing everything. The service would have been excellent except for one incident - the waitress taking our order almost ran off half way through and we had to call her back for the rest of the order.

Mainly, I'd recommend this place for lunch if you need somewhere where you can make conversation and be sure the food won't be substandard.

After noting how all the reviews mentioned the small serving portions, hubby & I decided to wait for a night when we weren't too hungry. Even then the portions were distinctly underwhelming and left us feeling the need for a snack on the way home.

Hubby had a Hamburg Steak with Fettuccine ($16.80 before tax) and I had a Pasta Half & Half set (also $16.80 before tax). We both found his hamburger underdone, but then we like our meat burned to death. As for his sauce - one taste and his verdict was “the same as MOS Burger”. Lovely. My half & half set was composed of a corn soup and salad starter, both tiny but otherwise nice, and 2 pasta dishes. The first was a Tomato Neapolitan which was not bad and quite unusual in the vegetable choices (I swear there was carrot in there). The second was Cream Bacon and Pasta which was a terrible disappointment. The presentation was great - it looked just like the plastic models outside - but, unfortunately, it tasted like them too. How does a cream sauce based on Bonito stock come out bland? The servings for each pasta were about the size of a standard bread roll plate in a hotel. While eating I overheard the next table comment that the food was much better than Pasta Mania. A bad sign that the two are even being compared – at more than a double in price 'better food' would be the least of my expectations!

The ambiance was fine except for the pounding rap music that filled the room but on the service side, they forgot our iced water and didn't get our bill when asked. They didn't direct us to the front desk either and when we got fed up with waiting and decided to leave we had to wait for the maitre'd to finish chatting up the cashier before we could pay our bill. Altogether, we paid $42.84 after tax and tip for a less than stand out meal that left us hungry. I won't be coming back if I have other options.

Now, please excuse me while I go comfort my husband. He's suffering stomach cramps.