KEBABS are always an amazing meal to have if done right. Managed to secure a table at the eleventh hour at the highly coveted @miznonsg - Singapore’s first Israeli restaurant. Hailing from Tel Aviv, the pita bread that’s based on a secret recipe is air flown frozen from Israel. I wanna go back again for their KEBABS.

Abu Kebab ($24). It’s one of the bestsellers here - Beef and lamb meatballs, tahini, chilli, salsa, pickles, onions and parsley. Highly recommended if you eat beef and lamb. These meatballs are HUGE and FLAVOURFUL. I feel that this sorts of justify the price point.

Sometimes what you need is just a simple bowl of fish ball mee pok after all the rich festive food. If you’d like something old school, try Ze Ji Fishball Noodles at the rustic Choon Guan Coffee Shop at Block 21 Old Airport Road. Popular with local residents, the owners start work in the dead of the night to make their fish balls by hand.

A generous serving of noodles sets you back $3/4. Choose a noodle of your choice, soup or dry. Then you’ll get a clear, savoury soup of fish ball, fish cake, fish dumpling (her keow) and sliced pork.

The highlight here is the fresh, bouncy, soft handmade fish balls that give a nice bite. Somehow handmade fish balls taste better, don’t y’all agree?

Since the fish balls are handmade, I’m assuming the fish dumplings and fish cake are too. The fish cake was sliced thickly that helps me to appreciate the springy, bouncy and slightly uneven texture. Enjoyed the fish dumplings too which are made from fish skin and contained a good amount of minced pork filling.

I went with my usual choice of dry mee pok with chilli. I noticed that beansprouts are added to the noodle which isn’t very common. Noodles were springy as they were cooked al dente (a must), while the chilli mixture was tasty in its own right.

Duck confit is a timeless French classic that you can’t usually go wrong with if you dine at a French bistro. Confit is essentially curing the meat then cooked it in its own fat. @bistroduvin does a very classic version of duck confit ($38++) that’s served with garlic sautéed potatoes and side salad. It’s been continuously offered on their menu since the opening back in the 2000s.

Upon ordering, the servers will disclaim that the dish will be saltier than other duck confits that you had elsewhere. Indeed it is much saltier because it’s marinated overnight with salt, pepper and a blend of herbs and spices.

Despite its saltiness, you can feel the duck meat just shouts juiciness and tenderness. One can’t deny how crisp the skin is having been roasted in its own fat.

Onto the sautéed potatoes, it’s lightly seasoned with garlic. With the skin still on the baby potatoes, your carbs are filled with nutrients and flavour. Mustard is available upon request.

For its price point, you may wonder if this is value for money. I gotta admit that you have to truly appreciate French food to enjoy Bistro du Vin’s rendition of the duck confit. It’s offered as an option on their weekday set lunch menu which is slightly more value for money.

When dining here, you may feel that you’ve been teleported to a bistro in France and taken away from the crowded streets of Orchard Road.

The rain today makes it great for a piping hot bowl of mala tang (麻辣烫). Don’t say bojio. But if you got time today, check out @yangguofu.sg - China’s largest mala tang chain with over 6,000 outlets worldwide.

Choose from an array of SIXTY ingredients at a flat rate of $2.88 per 100g. The ingredients are relatively fresh and you’ll be spoilt for choice. And the noodles are made in-house - there’s original egg, spinach, sweet potato and carrot to choose from.

You can choose either soup or dry (Mala Ban; 麻辣拌) version. The soup version is highly recommended as you can try the unique mala broth that uses beef stock as its base.

What’s unique is they add evaporated milk and sugar to the spicy mala soup. This helps to mask the otherwise spicy, numbing taste of dried chilli and peppercorn.

Even when I opted for extra spicy, it didn’t feel spicy enough for me and I managed to gulp down the soup. I regretted not asking for more peppercorn (加麻) as the numbing sensation was slightly lacking.

If you can’t take spicy, go for the tomato version. I haven’t tried it though.

Do get the sesame sauce dip too.

Germaphobes need not worry here. You take the tongs and steel bowl that’s sterilised in a cabinet.

Stoked that Singapore’s hawker culture was inscribed into @unesco intangible culture heritage list. And it’s great to try food served by hawkerpreneurs such as this piping hot bowl of mee hoon kway from @jiak_song at Block 11 Telok Blangah Crescent Food Centre (01-108).

Having heard so much about them and considering how it isn’t the most convenient of places, we decided to go big and have the Signature All-In Combo Mee Hoon Kway Soup ($5). Basically, mee hoon kway with minced pork, pork balls, prawn balls, soft-boiled egg, vegetables and fried ikan bilis (anchovies).

The mee hoon kway is made in stall using a noodle machine. What I like about them is the chewy, doughy noodles that’s cooked al dente, though it’s firmer than what you’ll get elsewhere.

What stood out is the handmade prawn balls which isn’t something you usually find in mee hoon kway. I enjoyed how bouncy and fresh the prawns were. The meat balls on the other hand could’ve a little more flavour.

My take on the ikan bilis soup is that while it was pleasant and comforting, it didn’t wow me over. The flavour could’ve been stronger and didn’t have that umami I was looking for.

The piquant, tangy, flavourful chilli sauce that has some fermented soy beans (tau cheo) is a noteworthy mention too.

Would I make the journey down? Not really.

Unless I happen to be in the area and I’m looking to satisfy my ban mian/ mee hoon kway cravings.

Good and legit Italian food can be pretty pricey but it’s totally worth it. Just thought of sharing with y’all a hidden gem in Bukit Timah that serves good and hearty Puglian cuisine. Caruso Italian Ristorante doesn’t have an active Instagram page but it’s popular with the expat community. Please keep on reading my review as the pictures don’t tell a thousand words here.

Pizza with tomato, mozzarella, Italian pork sausage and gorgonzola cheese. I found the pizza to be a bit plain for my liking and it wasn’t as cheesy as I’d expect it to be. And the pizza dough can be a little too hard chewy.

Go for their pastas instead of their pizzas. Service needs improvement for sure as the staff can be slow on a busy night.

Good and legit Italian food can be pretty pricey but it’s totally worth it. Just thought of sharing with y’all a hidden gem in Bukit Timah that serves good and hearty Puglian cuisine. Caruso Italian Ristorante doesn’t have an active Instagram page but it’s popular with the expat community. Please keep on reading my review as the pictures don’t tell a thousand words here.

Don’t judge the food by its cover.

As a cheese lover, I love the creamy, robust and nutty Gorgonzola cheese sauce that pairs so well with the gnocchi. It can be strong for the average Asian palette but I reckon this is a good dish to start appreciating blue cheese.

Topped with some toasted walnuts for a well-rounded finish. It does get a bit cloying (jelak) at the end so you may want to share this with a friend.

Go for their pastas instead of their pizzas. Service needs improvement for sure as the staff can be slow on a busy night.

Good and legit Italian food can be pretty pricey but it’s totally worth it. Just thought of sharing with y’all a hidden gem in Bukit Timah that serves good and hearty Puglian cuisine. Caruso Italian Ristorante doesn’t have an active Instagram page but it’s popular with the expat community. Please keep on reading my review as the pictures don’t tell a thousand words here.

Fresh parpadelle pasta with slow braised lamb and Pecorino cheese. Fresh pasta over dried pasta any day. Even if you don’t enjoy lamb, I’m sure this will be pretty appealing as it’s not gamey but you can taste the richness in the ragu gravy. Just love how soft and tender the braised meat is as it’s been slow cooked for eight hours.

Go for their pastas instead of their pizzas. Service needs improvement for sure as the staff can be slow on a busy night.

Good and legit Italian food can be pretty pricey but it’s totally worth it. Just thought of sharing with y’all a hidden gem in Bukit Timah that serves good and hearty Puglian cuisine. Caruso Italian Ristorante doesn’t have an active Instagram page but it’s popular with the expat community. Please keep on reading my review as the pictures don’t tell a thousand words here.

Caruso is probably one of the best fried calamari rings I had in Singapore. The batter which is made with semolina flour is super light and crispy yet not incredibly greasy. And the squid rings are so tender and chewy which means that it’s fresh! It’s good dipping it in both the marinara and tartare sauce. If you want to rid the fishy smell, add some lemon.

If you’re up for some jiggly, wobbly, fluffy soufflé pancakes in the East, then be sure to check out King’s Cart Coffee Factory at Joo Chiat Road. Choose from Original to Tiramisu to Pandan Kaya.

We had the Original ($16.50+; Pic 1) which was a soufflé pancake with fresh cream, maple syrup and assorted fruit (strawberries, kiwis, raspberries and blackberries). While the pancakes were soft and airy, it was a bit denser than I thought it’d be.

Do have it with fresh fruit, fresh cream and maple syrup for sweetness. Otherwise, you’ll feel like you’re eating eggs. You may find this a bit on the high side for what it is, but if you’re going to a cafe, do consider that their overheads can be quite high.

A chill place to go in the East, I’ll be back to try their brunch items and the other pancakes at an appropriate time.

Your typical latte with coconut cream and gula melaka added. Some toasted coconut flakes have been added for aesthetics and give it additional texture. I found this to be a bit diluted and not sure if it’s because it only had a single espresso shot.

It’s not fair for me to rate their coffee based on these specialty drinks as I haven’t tried their standard espresso/ cold brew yet.

I love coconut drinks so was quite intrigued by the coconut cold brew. Just think of the coconut juice and coconut flesh being put in a nice glass, and that you don’t need to scrape the sides for the flesh. Add some cold brew concentrate for your refreshing caffeine boost. Quite a good concoction if you want something different.

It’s not fair for me to rate their coffee based on these specialty drinks as I haven’t tried their standard espresso/ cold brew yet.