Laksa ($3/3.50). Noodles (I had thick bee hoon) served with loads of cockles, taupok (beancurd puffs), boiled egg and fishcake with a choice of noodles (I had thick bee hoon). I felt that the gravy could do with a little more coconut milk to give it a richer taste throughout.

Lor Mee ($3/3.50). For the price, it’s a pretty good bowl that’s slightly more traditional in taste and ingredients - fish cake, ngoh hiang, boiled egg, braised pork belly. The gravy was thick and gooey with slight herbal notes. I actually was hoping for that it had some fried fish to go along with it. Add a spoonful or two of black vinegar to give the gravy a balanced taste.

If you enjoy a delicious plate of mee siam for breakfast, head over to Hup Hup Mee Siam at Block 80 Circuit Road Market & Food Centre (02-14) in MacPherson. They do lor mee and laksa as well, and their portions are generous considering how affordable it is. Hup Hup is constantly rated as one of the best mee siam places in Singapore.

Mee Siam ($3/3.50) I’ll head down here just for this. The owner is very generous with the serving. You’ll get a plate of mee siam that’s filled with loads of bee hoon, taupok cubes (beancurd puffs), boiled egg and beansprouts, with some spicy sambal belachan. The gravy had a strong nutty taste as compared to the other versions I’ve tried. And the use of fresh coconut milk elevated the flavour of this dish. It’s neither too sour nor too spicy, so it should be palatable for most.

If you enjoy a delicious plate of mee siam for breakfast, head over to Hup Hup Mee Siam at Block 80 Circuit Road Market & Food Centre (02-14) in MacPherson. They do lor mee and laksa as well, and their portions are generous considering how affordable it is. Hup Hup is constantly rated as one of the best mee siam places in Singapore.

Mee Siam ($3/3.50) I’ll head down here just for this. The owner is very generous with the serving. You’ll get a plate of mee siam that’s filled with loads of bee hoon, taupok cubes (beancurd puffs), boiled egg and beansprouts, with some spicy sambal belachan. The gravy had a strong nutty taste as compared to the other versions I’ve tried. And the use of fresh coconut milk elevated the flavour of this dish. It’s neither too sour nor too spicy, so it should be palatable for most.

Do you prefer fried wanton or boiled wanton? I chanced upon Block 89 MacPherson Market & Food Centre and checked out CCK 190 Wanton Mee (01-110) after reading about them for years. For either $3/4, you’ll get a decent portion of wanton mee with a choice of boiled or fried wanton.

We had the signature wanton mee and added the fried wantons ($1 for 4 pieces). It served with thick slices of char siew that’s roasted in the stall and some blanched chye sim.

I found the fried wanton stood out against the boiled wanton. Fried until golden brown, the fried wanton skin was crispy and filled with marinated minced pork that retained its moisture. The boiled wanton skin was a bit too thick of my liking. I would think the fried/ boiled dumplings would be worth a try.

The char siew was nicely charred and slightly sweet. Being the traditional variant, the meat was lean and meaty with very little proportion of fat.

The noodles were firm and springy without the reek of alkaline. And the homemade chilli sauce had a nice spicy kick to it (the owners spend four hours each morning to make the sauce). You can have dark sauce if you prefer a non-spicy option. Both options are mixed with lard oil for enhanced flavour.

It’s a decent plate of wanton mee but having eaten quite a number of wanton mee over the past few months, it’s not Terryfic.

Fun fact: They used to be located in Choa Chu Kang for over 20 years and reopened in MacPherson in 2016 after taking a short break.

You get a thick brioche French toast with crispy bacon, marinated cherry tomatoes and feta cheese. I found the addition of feta cheese to be a bit out of place for this dish. Overall, I found this dish to be a bit lacking in taste. The French toast itself was dry and the eggs weren’t properly beaten. Probably a bit more maple syrup will help. The saving grace was none other than the crispy bacon.

Wildseed Cafe at The Alkaff Mansion is the perfect cafe to chill at and take that Instagrammable OOTD shot. Or it’s a great meal spot if you’re trekking the Southern Ridges and Henderson Waves. But other than that, I struggle to see the appeal that has drawn crowds from different corners of the island.

Not sure if the food was mediocre because we ordered the wrong dishes. But what was really off putting was the Terryble 👎🏻 service. I expect better when there’s a 10% service charge on the bill. Some tables seem to have better service from the wait staff than others. 🤔

The deep fried soft shell crab was good. It was fried till crispy yet the crabmeat retained its softness and moisture. Pasta was cooked al dente. Although the chilli crab sauce was decent, it lacked the oomph and spiciness.

Wildseed Cafe at The Alkaff Mansion is the perfect cafe to chill at and take that Instagrammable OOTD shot. Or it’s a great meal spot if you’re trekking the Southern Ridges and Henderson Waves. But other than that, I struggle to see the appeal that has drawn crowds from different corners of the island.

Not sure if the food was mediocre because we ordered the wrong dishes. But what was really off putting was the Terryble 👎🏻 service. I expect better when there’s a 10% service charge on the bill. Some tables seem to have better service from the wait staff than others. 🤔

Are you team yoghurt drink or team BBT? Regardless of which team you’re on, have a healthy, nutritious and refreshing yoghurt drink from homegrown Hey Yogurt that can definitely quench your thirst. They have a wide variety of flavours from purple rice to fresh fruit to local flavours such as pulut hitam.

It’s gotten more convenient for easties to try them as Hey Yogurt has recently opened two new stores at Tai Seng and Our Tampines Hub. If you’re a westie, you can go to their Jurong Point outlet.

The yoghurt is freshly made by hand daily and uses premium Australian dairy. Overall, I found the yoghurt to be thick and smooth with the right level of sweetness, making it easy to drink. So here’s what I had.

Dreamy Purple Rice ($5.90). It’s probably the standard option to try this when having a yoghurt drink. There’s a good amount of purple rice in the drink so it can act as a potential meal replacement. I found the rice to be soft and not too chewy which makes it easy to drink. And purple rice is healthy, so don’t need to feel conscious about your carb intake.

Avocado ($7.90). We are all familiar with the avocado milkshake we buy from the juice stalls. But this is a guilt-free version. While there’s a good deal of avocado in it, I wished that the avocado taste could be sharper to fully replicate the milky version.

Hey! Cranberries ($6.90). A very fruity drink packed with loads of cranberry bits in every sip. Overall, it’s not too sweet and it’s a good drink to have if you want some antioxidants.

It’s truly guilt-free. So what are you waiting for? 😂

Easties can check out Jin Yu Man Tang for Cantonese desserts (糖水). Think mango sago, grass jelly and egg pudding.

Served with evaporated milk, this is quite a refreshing dessert to have in our tropical weather. The taro balls were soft and chewy. I quite like the grass jelly here as it’s firm and not too sweet. And the addition of fresh mangoes are certainly a nice touch, giving it a fruity feel.

It’s a nice place to chill out with your friends especially it being a duplex cafe. Very airy with high ceiling. I’ll be back to try the other desserts when I’m in the East.

Easties can check out Jin Yu Man Tang for Cantonese desserts (糖水). Think mango sago, grass jelly and egg pudding.

Mango sago with fruity boba and mini glutinous rice ball (汤圆). The mango purée is a bit sweeter than I’d usually expect. I found the fresh mangoes to be sweet although they could have a bit more fruit. It’s decent but I had better mango sago. I would do without the mini rice ball next time.

It’s a nice place to chill out with your friends especially it being a duplex cafe. Very airy with high ceiling. I’ll be back to try the other desserts when I’m in the East.

The weather has been cooler recently but that doesn’t stop me from having ice cream. 🍨Cause it’s actually shiok to eat ice cream even on a cold, rainy day. Here I am at @gelatolabo for the first time and I’m impressed with the selection of unique botanical-themed gelato flavours.

I had the Sicilian Pistachio and Sakura Smoke Artichoke with Pear Compote ($6 for single scoop/ $10 for double scoop as both are premium flavours).

Sicilian Pistachio. Nutty, smooth and milky. You’ll bite into bits of roasted pistachios which makes the gelato so fragrant. Trust me, this is a pretty solid pistachio gelato. It isn’t too sweet and doesn’t have any artificial flavouring.

Sakura Smoke Artichoke. When the counter staff described the flavour profile to me, I was sold straight away. Whoever thought of creating this flavour is a true genius.

It has a three dimensional flavour profile - floral, smoky & savoury and sweet. When you first taste this flavour, you can taste the nuanced floral flavour from the sakura wood. As you continue and start biting into the smoke artichoke heart, that’s when you’ll taste the smoky, slightly salty flavour. Of course, this will end this on a sweet note with the fruity pear compote. It may not to be everyone’s liking but I like exotic flavours, so I’ll have it again.

Add on $1.40 for a Jumbo Lavender Cone. The cone has a very faint taste of lavender. But unfortunately, it gets soggy and loses its crunchiness pretty fast.

Well, the highlight here is the gelato. Not the cone. I’ll be back to try more flavours.

Are you a Lor mee lover? If you are just like I am, do check out Lorong Ah Soo Lor Mee (02-51) at Hainanese Village Food Centre. They always attract long queues before they open at 12pm and only open till 3pm. Each bowl sets you back $3.50 or $4 (pictured).

It’s a fairly simple bowl of lor mee but you get a generous serving of tasty ingredients. Just ngoh hiang, fried fish, shreds of braised duck, fish cake and boiled egg in a slightly starchy, braised gravy. No shark meat or fried fish as I’d like it to be.

When it comes to the choice of noodles, I’ll always have just the flat yellow noodle (the traditional noodles with lor mee). Although you can choose to have it with bee hoon, kway teow or mixed.

As for the gravy (lor), it was not as starchy that I’d expect it to be. It’s more towards the lighter, soupy side. I prefer my lor mee to have a stronger flavour but good for those who like lor mee this way.

Remember to have it with garlic, fresh red chilli and vinegar for added flavour. It’ll help to enhance the flavour of the dish since it’s on the lighter side.

The stallholders are pretty friendly which helps to make up for the half an hour queue. I wouldn’t queue for it again if I could though.