So the staff didn’t tell us this when she seated us, and we were so surprised when we checked our bill and this steamer rack came shortly after. Not that I’m complaining, but plan ahead with this promo and what you order.

Taste-wise, I feel that most of the local xlb chains have lost their edge. The skins aren’t as thin as I remembered, meaning they’re easier to pick up without bursting, but don’t give the same satisfying pop in your mouth feeling as before. This is especially true for the top of the dumplings, where you can really judge how thick the skin is. The meat and soup fillings are still delicious though. Wouldn’t order it ala carte, but I’ll take it for sure since it’s free!

A classic Chinese dish that’s easy to make vegetarian, and also one that’s hard to go wrong with. This version is packed with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, white and black fungus, and braised beancurd. The sauce tasted like regular oyster or abalone sauce so this is a safe choice if you’re just starting or trying to go meatless.

For those looking for a lighter choice, D’life has got you covered. Meatless doesn’t mean tasteless here. The fish soup broth is tasty on its own, and comes with a generous amount of vegetables - cabbage, yam, carrots, tomatoes.

Can’t say the mock fish actually tastes like real fish, but if you’re used to mock fish then it is what it is, and I’m not complaining. Would’ve been nice if they gave more slices of mock fish though!

I thought BAC had a lean mains menu, but they actually serve a decent number of appetising sandwiches, pastas, salads and French toasts.

We ordered the tonkatsu sando out of the three sandwich choices available. Food was served really quick, and everything was toasty and crisp! The pork cutlet is really crunchy, plus it’s got not too much fatty meat in it which I really appreciated. I think the meat to bread ratio is great, plus they weren’t stingy with the tonkatsu sauce and shredded cabbage either. My only gripe is that the pork cutlet coating was quite oily, but that’s fried food right?

This sandwich comes with gherkins (not a fan), and French fries. The fries here are good too! Crispy enough and well-seasoned. While I would probably want to order something else to try (pasta!) the next time I’m here, I definitely wouldn’t mind stealing some bites off a dining partner (once social distancing and non-sharing of food items is safely behind us).

What’s a trip to Baristart Coffee without ordering their famed ultra-kawaii shaved ice? We ordered the matcha version, and almost couldn’t bear to pour it over the ice bear’s puffy cloud-like head. But pour we did, and we watched its head stain green under the watchful eyes of our smartphone video recorders.

While I would’ve preferred the matcha (and probably all the pour overs too) to be less sweet, I guess it would suit an average person’s sweet tooth. The shaved ice wasn’t ultra fine like bingsu. It was more reminiscent of kopitiam ice kacang. Overall, this dessert is something you’d probably order for the gram as it’s nothing spectacular tastewise. It’s made a simple ingredients like an assortment of canned fruits, vanilla ice cream (nose), chocolate (eyes, nose), mini Marie biscuit (ears) and shaved ice. You can choose which flavour you want for the pour over, with the classic choice being Hokkaido milk.

I wouldn’t order this again unless I wanted to post something nice on Instagram, but I’d try to visit again soon to try their mini kuma parfait in a glass!

What’s a trip to Baristart Coffee without ordering their famed ultra-kawaii shaved ice? We ordered the matcha version, and almost couldn’t bear to pour it over the ice bear’s puffy cloud-like head. But pour we did, and we watched its head stain green under the watchful eyes of our smartphone video recorders.

While I would’ve preferred the matcha (and probably all the pour overs too) to be less sweet, I guess it would suit an average person’s sweet tooth. The shaved ice wasn’t ultra fine like bingsu. It was more reminiscent of kopitiam ice kacang. Overall, this dessert is something you’d probably order for the gram as it’s nothing spectacular tastewise. It’s made a simple ingredients like an assortment of canned fruits, vanilla ice cream (nose), chocolate (eyes, nose), mini Marie biscuit (ears) and shaved ice. You can choose which flavour you want for the pour over, with the classic choice being Hokkaido milk.

I wouldn’t order this again unless I wanted to post something nice on Instagram, but I’d try to visit again soon to try their mini kuma parfait in a glass!

I now know why the cream puffs at Baristart Coffee keep receiving good reviews. They are indeed very good. I’m not a fan of cream puffs as they tend to be too sweet for my liking, but the version at BAC won me over. It’s got a crisp, layered exterior that crackles satisfyingly when you slice it, and there’s a generous filling of thick luscious cream that isn’t overwhelmingly sweet.

Despite how good it tastes, it does get jelak after a while. I can’t imagine finishing the whole puff by myself, so this is good for sharing with a dining partner or two.

I now know why the cream puffs at Baristart Coffee keep receiving good reviews. They are indeed very good. I’m not a fan of cream puffs as they tend to be too sweet for my liking, but the version at BAC won me over. It’s got a crisp, layered exterior that crackles satisfyingly when you slice it, and there’s a generous filling of thick luscious cream that isn’t overwhelmingly sweet.

Despite how good it tastes, it does get jelak after a while. I can’t imagine finishing the whole puff by myself, so this is good for sharing with a dining partner or two.

Though I often frequent the outlet at Harbourfront Centre, this was the first time I’ve visited the one at Bugis Junction food court. The staff are really proactive at calling out to customers to buy soup, and are quite friendly too.

I was a bit lost with the menu here as it’s slightly different from what the HFC branch offers. I believe the regular herbal chicken soup that I usually order there has been replaced with black chicken at this outlet, and the herbal chicken soup I ended up ordering comes with a different mix of herbs as well as white fungus. I believe that this outlet might be better stocked as it was around 8.40pm but they still had enough of this soup and pumpkin rice (it was close to closing time due to earlier closing hours at 9pm a la COVID19 measures).

The chicken wasn’t as tender as what I’d hoped, but it still wasn’t bad. The soup had a sweeter, more mellow taste than what I usually get at HFC, but I enjoyed the taste just as much! Love the pumpkin rice here too, its as flavourful as I remembered, and the pumpkin is moist and mashed, with a few chunks still evident in the rice.

*note: if you have the stamp card from other outlets, remember to get stamps from this outlet too!

*how to save: the whole food court is FavePay friendly so feel free to use FavePay and get cashback at any of the other food court stalls too! :)

Though I often frequent the outlet at Harbourfront Centre, this was the first time I’ve visited the one at Bugis Junction food court. The staff are really proactive at calling out to customers to buy soup, and are quite friendly too.

I was a bit lost with the menu here as it’s slightly different from what the HFC branch offers. I believe the regular herbal chicken soup that I usually order there has been replaced with black chicken at this outlet, and the herbal chicken soup I ended up ordering comes with a different mix of herbs as well as white fungus. I believe that this outlet might be better stocked as it was around 8.40pm but they still had enough of this soup and pumpkin rice (it was close to closing time due to earlier closing hours at 9pm a la COVID19 measures).

The chicken wasn’t as tender as what I’d hoped, but it still wasn’t bad. The soup had a sweeter, more mellow taste than what I usually get at HFC, but I enjoyed the taste just as much! Love the pumpkin rice here too, its as flavourful as I remembered, and the pumpkin is moist and mashed, with a few chunks still evident in the rice.

*note: if you have the stamp card from other outlets, remember to get stamps from this outlet too!

*how to save: the whole food court is FavePay friendly so feel free to use FavePay and get cashback at any of the other food court stalls too! :)

Newest Starbucks outlet at the first floor of NUS Wet Science Building to serve the campus community.

I don’t usually order the fruity seasonal drinks because although they’re aesthetically pleasing, they tend to be super sweet. This was no different, but I managed to try some from my colleagues.

I found that both drinks tasted strange, the peach flavour didn’t blend very well with either milk tea or coffee. The bases of the drinks were almost indiscernible - unless you told me it were tea or coffee, I wouldn’t have known as the beverages were overpoweringly milky and sweet. I’d say this is a hard pass unless you’re doing it for the gram, and even then, you have to have a pretty hardcore sweet tooth to enjoy this. M

Third visit here in about a month and I keep ordering the same dish plus appetiser (century egg tofu).

I did find the standards quite variable with each visit. On my second one, the century egg tofu was very dry with not much oyster sauce. In addition, the poached lettuce on that visit was bitter. Today, my century egg tofu was okay, but the ramen was more on the undercooked side. I suppose it would’ve been good for someone who likes their noodles al dente, but I lean more towards the softer spectrum with ramen noodles. Apart from that, the broth is consistently good with each visit and I really enjoy it thick and rich prawn broth. It’s perfect for a rainy day. If you can’t make up your mind, go for the signature trio where you get two prawns, three pieces of ebikko prawn paste and two prawn dumplings.

Sides are literally the same as whatever is offered at Le Nu (another Paradise Group Restaurant). If you enjoy them, it’s worth adding on with a drink for a full meal with set price.

Ways to save:

Le Shrimp Ramen is currently offering 30% off bills for Citibank, Maybank Card Holders or Paradise Group Members until end of March 2020. This applies to all Paradise Group restaurants too so it’s a really good deal!

Paradise group restaurants (Le Shrimp included) are on ShopBack GO so make sure you link your Citibank card if you want cashback on top of the 30% off!