Welcome to Central, Singapore.

Very satisfying home style food, super efficient service. Long queues from tour groups are cleared in no time. Even non-pork eaters (Muslims, Jews, some Indians) can find their happiness here. Prices have gone up, so no longer cheap but still ok lah.

Their new ala carte buffet. This fries also has bacon and fig balsamic glaze. It's okay. My other thought is French cuisine is very rich to be buffet, and I couldn't eat as much as I wanted!

The folks at BreakfastGrill seems to be at it again — having established their presence in the local F&B scene for quite a while with their very first location being their store along East Coast Road, the brand has certainly come a long way within their journey in the F&B scene here. They had subsequently opened a second location at Lorong Kilat in Beauty World — a neighbourhood that is well-affiliated with some of the most prominent cafes in the local F&B scene; they had also since opened a third outlet in the heart of the Central Business District as well. Situated at Guoco Tower, BreakfastGrill takes over the former location of the now-defunct outlet of Imakatsu there. The store features a clean, bright and minimalistic interior that is slightly more simply decked than their Lorong Kilat location; there are a mix of both window-facing seats and typical dining tables and chairs which caters to patrons visiting the establishment alone, in pairs or even in groups of four (4) pax. BreakfastGrill is perhaps best known for their Sammies, though the Guoco Tower outlet does also offer Bowls with customisable bases — there are also light bites, desserts and side dishes offered as well. Beverages available at BreakfastGrill’s Guoco Tower outlet is split into sections dedicated to Coffee and Others.

A visit to BreakfastGrill isn’t a complete one if one skips on their Sammies — having skimmed through the line-up of Sammies which they have to offer, we found ourselves going for the Sunday Cals; the menu describes the Sunday Cals Sammie to come with elements such as that of Egg Salad, Spam, Bacon Bits, American Cheddar and a house-made sour cream onion spread. This was definitely a Sammie that is fit for a comforting weekend brunch; sinking our teeth into the Sunday Cals Sammie, the toasted bread already provides a slight crusty texture on the outside for a bit of crispness. Coming with loads of egg salad, the egg salad is quite similar to that of egg mayonnaise that came with chopped up bits of egg — provides the sandwich with a creamier texture whilst also adding some bite to it. Mixed within would also be bacon bits that seemed to be shredded from actual strips of bacon that added yet another dimension of bite and a savoury note to the egg salad. The spam in between does give the Sammie a meatiness with a saltish-ness that one would typically expect out of cured meat; a slice of American Cheddar comes in the middle for an additional contrast of savouriness, while the house-made sour cream onion spread does help in making the elements in the Sammie gel with the toasted bread.

Special way to roast Peking duck - it’s quite scrumptious even if it’s not my favourite kind. We had a very good meal, although nothing stands out as particularly outstanding. Beautiful dining room and excellent service.

Chinatown for food! Ee Mian at Yi Xin Vegetarian today 🤩 Heh Heh love the variety of things I have on my plate 😎 Noodles especially chewy and easy to swallow plus the crispy stuff, ooOoo 😋 yum yum

Fully vegetarian with no alliums. Vegan options are available as well 🫶

Conveniently located near Chinatown MRT Exit 🅰️

Highly recommended for its economical and delicious vegetarian choices 💯

[City Hall, Singapore 🇸🇬]

Intense Pistachio Paste (S$8.6++)
Made with premium California Kerman pistachios ground into a smooth paste, delivering a rich pistachio aroma and velvety texture. Topped with crushed pistachio kernels for added crunch and a hint of creamy fragrance, enhancing the layers of flavor—warm, aromatic, and never cloying.
Made with California Kerman pistachios
only served warm.

Caramel Croissant Tart (S$2.80++)
Using pasteurized egg yolks, pure milk, and dairy cream as the filling for the tart, the texture is smooth and the egg and milk flavor is rich. The outer layer of puff pastry is hand-rolled and baked fresh daily. The addition of homemade caramel sauce elevates the taste of the egg tart, with a crispy exterior and tender interior, a hint of vanilla flavor, and a slightly sweet but not cloying taste.

RUXU入续糖水铺与包
Address : 107 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179105​

Was going around Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre and noticed quite a lot of changes amongst the tenants in the red zone especially around the same area as where one can find notable establishments such as that of Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck & Kway Chap 金记潮州卤鸭. Whilst most of the newer tenants seem to lack the ability to draw much attention, New Horse Noodles 新马干捞面 did manage to pique our interest — this is a fairly new stall that is situated beside the outlet of AiXin Wanton Noodle 爱心云吞面 there; located right at the corner, the stall is right behind Ding Dang Pan Mian 丁当板面 and has a facade that faces the HDB blocks at Sago Lane. Run by two (2) young hawkerpreneurs, New Horse Noodles specialises in serving up Handmade Hakka Yong Tau Foo alongside Malaysian-style dark sauce noodles that are also handmade in-house; there seems to be quite an emphasis on handmade components that suggest its sincerity to serve patrons their best and their passion for the craft that they try to serve up.

Priced at $6.50, the Handmade Hakka Yong Tau Foo Set does feature a bowl of Malaysian-style dark sauce noodles that comes with crispy pork lard and fried shallots; it also does come with a bowl of soup on the side which comes with elements such as corn on cob and carrots — Yong Tau Foo elements here will include the Tau Kee (beancurd skin), stuffed bittergourd, stuffed tofu and stuffed tofu puff. Giving the bowl of noodles a good toss before digging in, we note that there is sufficient black sauce to go around all of the noodles — considering how the noodles are handmade, we did notice how the noodles do not come with any alkaline-y notes that are typical of commercially-made yellow noodles; the noodles also do carry a springy and bouncy texture with a bit of chew whilst the dark sauce provides much of the slightly sweet and savoury notes. The addition of pork lard also gives it an extra umami note against that of the dark sauce, while the crispy pork lard adds a crunch to provide a bit of a textural variance to the bowl of noodles. The bowl of soup was pretty refreshing in contrast; there is a lingering note of natural sweetness coming from the inclusion of corn and carrots whilst it ends off with a clean finish. The handmade Yong Tau Foo pieces are said to be stuffed with a mix of pork and seafood filling — there is no undesirable porky stench that came along with them, while the proportion of pork does give the pieces a good bite. Don’t forget to dip the Yong Tau Foo pieces into their chili sauce that they provide on the side; this does come zippy and zingy with a gingery note typically found in the chili that usually accompanies Hainanese-style Chicken Rice, though we liked how it wasn’t overly infused with calamansi juice to avoid carrying that heavy tang that comes at the back that one might experience with some Hainanese-style Chicken Rice chili out there.

Got to learn about the opening of the new Little Lady Bakes that had recently opened in the basement of Havelock II whilst passing by the shopping gallery fairly recently; the basement of Havelock II does seem to be bustling with eateries especially with the opening of the outlet of Golden Mile Thien Kee Steamboat Hainanese Restaurant there — we did catch other new establishments such as the likes of Simmering Bowl and Stylo Soup 尚汤饭 that had also set up shop there in recent times. Little Lady Bakes takes up a kiosk space that is primarily meant for takeaway operations — there is no dedicated dine-in area for its patrons but there are a few benches located throughout the entire shopping gallery across various levels should one prefer to consume their purchased bakes on the spot. All bakes available for the day are prominently displayed at the counter here — the menu is being split into sections dedicated to Bundt Cakes, Financiers, Brownies, Madelines and Cookie Box.

There were quite a number of variations of Financiers being offered at Little Lady Bakes when we made our visit on a weekday afternoon; one of the variations of financiers that caught our attention whilst skimming through what was available in the display case would be the Teh Gao Cashew Financier — this would also be one of the few items offered by Little Lady Bakes that does consist of an infusion of a local element within the bake itself. Going for the Teh Gao Cashew Financier, we did notice that the Financier does come a little bit more crumbly given the use of crushed cashews here, though the Financier does still come with a slightly crusty exterior and a firm bite within. The insides of the Financier is still reasonably buttery and moist, though it definitely perfumed of a milk tea-esque fragrance that was pretty evident from the first bite — definitely one in which the aroma of black tea could be felt, and is something that would be a hit especially with tea lovers out there!

For those whom are working around the Central Business District, the name Nyonya Next Door would probably be something that rings a bell — these folks had opened their doors at the foot of One Shenton for quite some time; they are situated in between the outlet of Supergreen there and another dining establishment named Doki Doki there. Despite being an establishment that is set up only with outdoor seating space for its dining area, it is interesting to note that Nyonya Next Door does allow for patrons to do dine-in and takeaways here. As the namesake suggests, Nyonya Next Door is an establishment that serves up Peranakan cuisine — the concept is one which appeals to individual diners where patrons would get to choose the elements in which they would like their orders to come with before choosing a base (i.e. rice options or with Signature Kerabu Vermicelli); there is also a flexibility to opt for add-on sides as well.

We found ourselves opting for the Coconut Chicken Kapitan Set given how some of the other sets offered were already out-of-stock when we visited Nyonya Next Door during dinner service on a weekday evening. Nyonya Next Door does mention that all sets will come with elements such as Sambal Lava Egg, Ikan Bilis and Peanuts, Nyonya Achar, Sambal Original, Sambal Matah and Sambal Ijo — we did opt for our order of the Coconut Chicken Kapitan Set to also come with the Nyonya Black Curry Rice which is a chargeable add-on of $1.40 above the base price of the Coconut Chicken Kapitan Set. The Nyonya Black Curry Rice is essentially the same as the White Rice which they also offer as a Base; the only difference being the rice having drenched with a black curry gravy over it. It does seem that the Black Curry does have a consistency similar to that of Japanese Curry, though there is a slight tang and umami-ness amidst the light hint of curry that might suggest the use of Buah Keluak there. The Coconut Chicken Kapitan itself features a boneless slab of chicken; itself having been stewed in what seems to be coconut milk with the chicken fillet being all tender and juicy — the flavours of the coconut milk also not being particularly heavy but still evident that keeps us going for more. An interesting feature here would be the inclusion of three (3) different types of sambals by default; the Sambal Original carrying a sweet note akin to that of the usual sambal that accompanies Nasi Lemak, while the Sambal Matah and Sambal Ijo gives a refreshing zing and a smokier and savoury note respectively. Whilst the Ikan Bilis did retain the crunch despite us making our orders near closing time, the Sambal Lava Egg was the element that had some room for improvement — egg yolks weren’t quite as molten as what we had expected.

Lady M’s official return back to the local F&B scene has been marked with the opening of its Jewel Changi Airport location — the “more direct role” that it is playing in the Singapore market seems to be the opening of more centrally locations for the time being. These folks had recently opened their new outlet at IOI Central Boulevard Towers — they had taken over the former premises of the now-defunct Kwaasong Bakeshop outlet there. It does seem that Lady M did revamp the layout of the space subsequent to taking over the shop unit; the space does feel a little more tighter, though it does feature both counter-top seating on one side of the shop and a small area where typical dining tables and chairs can be found for patrons whom wish to dine-in. The menu at the Lady M outlet at IOI Central Boulevard Towers is the same as what is being offered at their Jewel Changi Airport location; food offerings available here would include the likes of their famed Mille Crepes and a range of tarts and cakes — the only savoury food offerings available here would be the range of Soup. The beverages section of the menu features categories dedicated to Coffee, Tea, Matcha and Others.

The Taro Mochi Cream Cake is the item that is newly introduced to the line-up of sliced cakes at Lady M ever since they had made their return to the Singapore F&B scene after their short hiatus — available at all their outlets in Singapore, the online POS system indicates that the Taro Mochi Cream Cake features elements such as Taro Sponge Cake, Taro Pastry Cream, Vanilla Mochi, Lilac Whipped Cream and Blue Cornflower Petals. Digging into the Taro Mochi Cream Cake, one would notice the soft and fluffy Lilac Whipped Cream that serves as the icing of the cake — this does come at the same consistency as that of the sponge cake itself; the consistency of the cake being especially light and easy to eat. Layers of Taro Pastry Cream exist in between the Taro Sponge Cake layers that provides an additional hint of earthiness that one would typically expect from Taro Paste. Interestingly, the folks at Lady M have also included cubes of taro within the pastry cream that further enhances the flavours and texture of the cake as well. The layer of Vanilla Mochi in the middle of the cake adds a chewy, stretchy texture that gave a bit of a texture variance to the entire slice of cake as well.

Had been hearing a little bit about Foxy’s Chikn on social media of the late — these folks had just recently moved into its premises at 95 Joo Chiat Road. Some would recall this address was once upon a time home to Kway Guan Huat Joochiat Popiah’s restaurant operations, though the most recent tenant before Foxy’s Chikn was De'Vour SG. It does seem that Foxy’s Chikn has taken over pretty much what was left behind by the former tenants considering how most of the dining furniture and the layout of the entire shop seemed to have been preserved. It is worth noting that Foxy’s Chikn is a Muslim-owned dining establishment; the menu at Foxy’s Chikn generally circles around their fried chicken offerings which are paired either with turmeric rice or fries — they also do have a burger that is listed as a sandwich as well. Apart from the Foxy’s Set Menu, patrons also can order ala-carte chicken and sides — there is also an entire section of the menu dedicated to sharing combos named Foxy’s Fiesta as well.

The 2pc Chikn Set is mentioned in the menu to come with elements such as that of 2 pieces Fried Chikn, Yellow Fragrant Rice and NY Deli Coleslaw — it also does come with a beverage of the patron’s choice which we opted for the Soda Lime. Patrons also get the option to choose between Original and Spicy variants for the 2 pieces Fried Chikn; we went for the Spicy version, though we did notice that patrons are generally able to mix between both based on the interactions that the staff had with other patrons. It does seem that the fried chicken that was served up for our order did seem to be prepared as part of a batch that was fried ahead of time; the skin of the fried chicken wasn’t as crisp as what we would have liked, though the meat still came pretty juicy and tender nonetheless. Unlike some establishments in which the Spicy variant features a spicy element added to the batter used to deep-fry the fried chicken in, Foxy’s Chikn relies on a sauce that is smothered onto the fried chicken instead — we loved how the sauce carries a sweet and tangy note with quite a good kick of spiciness that tickles the tastebuds for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness; think chili sauce meets BBQ sauce with a Tabasco-like level of heat. The Yellow Fragrant Rice does come sufficiently moist and flavourful with a distinct note of turmeric, while the NY Deli Coleslaw is served chilled being sufficiently milky with a refreshing crunch from the julienned leafy greens.

Word has gotten around that the location of Hvala at 100AM had recently been revamped into one that is called Halo — the Hvala concept that it had replaced being one that was known for serving up decaffeinated specialty coffee options which previously targeted the office workers around the Central Business District. With this revamp, the brand did revamp some parts of its interior to theme it after the Halo branding. Halo does seem to have gotten its name from the popular Filipino dessert names Halo-Halo; the establishment does have an emphasis on serving up specialty matcha as it has been for Hvala as well as Ube (i.e. purple yam) — Ube being one of the elements that is found in Halo-Halo as well. The menu at Halo is split into sections dedicated to Ube, Ube Cloud, Ube Dessert Latte, Tea, Coffee and Tisanes and Yuzu — the only food offerings that Halo offers are listed in the Pastries and Desserts section of the menu.

The description card placed in front of the item in the display fridge containing the various pastries and desserts that Halo has to offer describes the Ube Mochi Tart to come with elements such as Homemade Butterfly Tartshell, Ube Paste, Ube Filling, Mochi and Coconut Chantilly. Digging into the Ube Mochi Tart, the mochi layer does come stretchy and chewy like what one would expect; it wraps around the tart in the same way as what one would usually experience when having items such as that of ice-cream / gelato with mochi skin wrapped around it. Inside, the tart does seem a little bit more like a dessert tart / pie; the tart being filled with Ube Paste and Ube Filling on the top which gives an earthy and slightly sweet note that carries sufficient flavour throughout the tart. The addition of the Coconut Chantilly does seem to help to gel all of the elements together being soft, light and fluffy with a largely neutral flavour profile.