Welcome to City Hall.

There has been quite a fair bit of talk recently around the newly-opened Hill Street Chicken Rice Delights 禧街鸡饭 — these folks are located in the food court that is situated within Peninsula Shopping Complex. The stall should be relatively easy to spot considering how the signboard does come with an illustration of Hainanese-style poached chicken dishes; they are situated right beside the stall serving up Myanmar cuisine there — one would also be able to find Hill Street Chicken Rice Delights by looking for the display case in which they hang the poached / roasted chicken, fried chicken cutlet and crispy pork belly which are in-stock for the day. As an establishment that specialises in Hainanese chicken rice, Hill Street Chicken Rice Delights offers roasted chicken and poached chicken dishes; there is also Salt Bake Chicken Leg Rice on its menu that is rather atypical of stalls specialising in Hainanese chicken rice offerings as well. Hill Street Chicken Rice Delights also offers a few side dishes as well as add-ons to their various chicken rice dishes.

One thing notable about Hill Street Chicken Rice Delights is how it lists its chicken rice featuring different chicken parts as different items on the menu; we went with the Chicken Thigh Rice and went with the poached chicken as our choice of chicken. The Chicken Thigh Rice also does come accompanied with slices of cucumbers and pickled vegetables on the side — patrons can also help themselves to the free-flow soup, chili sauce and the ginger paste at the self-service condiment bar as well. Going straight for the rice, the rice does come with sufficient flavour from having absorbed the flavours from the chicken stock and being sufficiently moist without being too greasy — with that being said, the savouriness does lack a slight hint of ginger towards its finish; this does seem to have been easily fixed by adding a little bit of the ginger paste from the self-service condiment bar to the rice. The poached chicken does come with a slippery smooth skin that is doused with a little soy sauce for a bit of flavour — the thigh meat does comes sufficiently tender but a little bony towards the end; the addition of fried garlic does add a garlicky note that compliments with the savouriness of the light soy sauce well, while the inclusion of pickled vegetables add a sourish tang and a slight crunch to reset the tastebuds from the carbs and meat in the dish.

($6.80) its new wanton flavour tat most of people overlook at menu portion. The taste for dumpling was quite strong savoury especially mushroom

Get one level higher of doneness than normal, as their doneness is more towards the rare side. We got the stirloin steaks, which were large and seasoned well (the avocado butter was aromatic).We preferred the truffle fries to the mashed potatoes.

It does seem that establishments serving up Chinese desserts (i.e. Tang Shui) have been popping up all across the island in recent times — Corner Dessert Shop 甜在转角 is a fairly new addition to South Beach. These folks are located within another dining establishment named Saigon King that is directly situated at the entrance to the South Beach complex via Esplanade MRT Station along the Circle Line — Corner Dessert Shop occupies a small corner of the space that is being tucked towards the end right beside the entrance / exit of Esplanade MRT Station. Considering the amount of space allocated to Corner Dessert Shop by Saigon King, the only dine-in area dedicated for Corner Dessert Shop are all situated outdoors and marked by tables that are lined with chequered table clothed featuring a mix of green and white squares. An establishment that serves up local Chinese-style Tang Shui, their dessert offerings revolve around that of puddings, jellies, pastes and shaved ice desserts, while their range of Drinks are largely dessert-inspired beverages as well.

Skimming through the menu, one of the items that had caught our attention in the Desserts section of the menu was the Yuan Yang Paste — this is essentially an item in which one would be able to pick and choose between two (2) our of three (3) hot paste offerings that Corner Dessert Shop have to offer to come in a single bowl. Between the Almond Paste, Black Sesame Paste and the Red Bean Paste, we went with the combination of Black Sesame Paste and Almond Paste for our order. It does seem that the folks at Corner Dessert Shop has gotten the proportion of both the Black Sesame Paste and Almond Paste right here; quite a 50:50 balance here. Both pastes carry a similar consistency in texture here; we did notice that the pastes are a bit runnier than some establishments that does their pastes a little thicker, gloopier or starchier — we did feel that the texture was still adequate for such pastes and does make things easier to finish as well. Considering the consistency of the pastes, we are glad that the flavours of both pastes are not shortchanged as well; we did feel that the Almond Paste does carry a slight dominance over the Black Sesame Paste in terms of flavours though with the hint of almond powder being a little stronger — all that while the roasty and earthy notes of the Black Sesame Paste running at the back of the tongue. Both pastes were also not particularly sweet; makes it a comforting and warm dessert that was easy to finish.

Was scrolling around social media and got to learn about the Seoul Deli Bar concept by Hankang Pocha situated within the The Food Place by Food Junction food court in Raffles City Shopping Centre — this would also be the very same food court that houses other notable concepts such as SMASH by Burgerlabo, Mon Kee Cafe and Ju Xing Fish as well. Hankang Pocha is not new to the local F&B scene; the brand actually runs several concepts including those that are individually operated within shophouse units and also shop units within shopping malls. With that being said, the Seoul Deli Bar concept does seem like a fresh concept that the brand is undertaking — the Hankang Pocha Seoul Deli Bar does emulate the workings of establishments such as that of OmmaKase at AMK Hub and also that of Bibim Deli at Suntec City; the primary offering here would be that of their Mix & Match Value Set where patrons can pick and choose their desired dishes to opt for similar to the likes of local Chinese-style mixed economic rice stalls, with the available sets allowing patrons to chose between the (3) to five (5) items per order.

For the 3 Dishes Mix & Match Value Set, patrons do get to pick and choose between 2 dishes within the ordinary tier and 1 dish within the Premium category. White rice is offered as a default with the Mix & Match Value Sets, though Brown Rice is also offered but priced at an additional dollar. Complimentary would be the serving of Kimchi, and patrons do get a helping of seaweed flakes, sesame seeds and Bibimbap sauce (spicy and non-spicy versions both available) to add to their Mix & Match Value Sets. For our order, we went with the White Rice, accompanied by the Fried Chicken (Boneless) and Seasoned Cucumbers for the dishes in the normal tier, while we went for the Pork Belly BBQ for the dish from the Premium category. Whilst the various items that we had opted for at Hankang Pocha wouldn’t be what one would describe as gastronomical, they do most certainly fix those cravings for Korean cuisine and Bibimbap in general — the Fried Chicken (Boneless) does come with a Honey Soy glaze that gives a savoury-sweet note, though the deep fried batter does seemed to have absorbed a fair bit of moisture from the glaze while the flesh of the chicken was reasonably tender; the Pork Belly BBQ was void of any strong porky stench, though the meat does require a little bit of bite on both the leaner and fattier parts considering the chew that it carried. The seasoned cucumbers do add a refreshing crunch, while the kimchi does add complement the texture of the seasoned cucumbers with an extra tang; the addition of Bibimbap sauce does add an earthy and sweet note with a lightly spicy punch that tickles the tastebuds for those whom can tolerate lower than moderate level of spiciness, while the shreds of seaweed provides a hint of umami-ness to the mix of ingredients in our bowl of the 3 Dishes Mix & Match Value Set.

Omu rice was so good! Creamy scrambled eggs w curry rice

($6.80) I did tried it under family feast meal. So its quite decent noodle.

Have been noticing Yunma Bakehouse in the works for quite a while when passing by Purvis Street — these folks have had quite a long stint of renovation works before its soft launch where they had only been opened for weekends; with all that being said, these folks had finally opened their doors to patrons on weekdays as well. Yunma Bakehouse is located in the very same shophouse that houses Tanoke — Yunma Bakehouse takes up the space of the ground floor of the shophouse. Inside, the cafe is decked in a manner that is very similar to some Chinese-owned dining establishments that features a raw yet minimalistic and close-to-nature look that is soothing to the eyes — free from unnecessary clutter, and welcoming whilst being aptly lit with lighting of a slightly yellow hue. As one would have caught from the namesake of the establishment, Yunma Bakehouse is pretty a bakery — all of its offerings are prominently displayed in both the display fridges and the display cases at the front of the shop; the former would be where the cakes are being stocked while the latter is where one would find the various Focaccia, buns and even entire loaves for retail. Beverages offered at Yunma Bakehouse seem to revolve around espresso-based specialty coffee and canned drinks; the former of which seemingly being brewed using beans sourced from Guerilla Coffee.

We visited Yunma Bakehouse during weekday lunch hours and there is a small variety of bread and cakes already on display in the display case and display fridge; the Garlic Cheese Shio Pan was the only Shio Pan offering that we had found inside the display case until a subsequent batch of Shio Pan offering of another variety was being stocked in the middle of our meal. For those whom are unaware, Shio Pan can be translated as Japanese Salt Bread; while Yunma does not provide any description about its offerings on its description cards placed in front of the items in the display case / fridge, it can be observed that the Garlic Cheese Shio Pan does come with minced garlic topping the Japanese Salt Bread. Taking a bite into the Garlic Cheese Shio Pan, what we really liked is that crusted bottom that comes crackling crisp — definitely hit the right spot there for us. The bread comes served warm and toasted upon order — the hint of garlic immediately hits with the buttery flavours and saltish notes of the Shio Pan itself. The inclusion of cheese here isn’t the stringy, melted and gooey sort, but is the type that comes baked on the surface of the bread — just about right considering how flavourful the Garlic Cheese Shio Pan is already by itself, while the bread still remains light with a firm bite for some tension to chew apart. At $4, this does present itself as a pretty reasonably-priced snack for those looking for something light to have to pair along with a cuppa on the side!

There has been quite a fair bit of talk about dignus amoris for a while now when they had opened their doors some time back at Pearl’s Hill Terrace — these folks had however recently made their move to larger premises at South Beach. Located in the shop unit situated in the corner of the entire complex near to War Memorial Park, dignus amoris had recently opened theirs doors at the same shop unit which was previously tenanted by Lady M before the brand had temporarily exited out of the Singapore market. It does seem that there has been quite a fair bit of work done by dignus amoris with the space especially considering how the layout of the shop unit had also changed; there is definitely an effort in incorporating a zen vibe amidst the clean and almost Japandi-esque decor that decks the entire space — the centrepiece here being the communal dining table with ornaments and plants lining up the middle of the table. Known for their cakes during their tenure at Pearl’s Hill Terrace, dignus amoris serves up sliced cakes, Coffee, Berry Soda and Apple Juice at their new location at South Beach space that is also designed for dine-in operations; a move that would be welcomed for those whom previously hoped to be able to enjoy their cakes on the spot whilst seated down comfortably in air-conditioned comfort.

dignus amoris describes their Yuenyeung Longan Slice to come with elements such as that of black tea, Bailey’s coffee and longan on its menu. The cake is presented pretty aesthetically in the way that it has been decorated, though the price tag of $15.80 before service charge does make it feel a little exorbitant nonetheless especially given how this is a sliced cake rather than that of an entremet. Digging into the cake, we did notice how the cake itself does come soft, moist and fluffy; nothing too try nor cloying while the cake carries a very light whiff of sweetness and the aroma of Hong Kong-style Yuan Yang — the combination of milk coffee and milk tea that subtly runs at the back of the tongue. The light chantilly cream that serves as the icing for the cake does carry evident notes of milk tea, though this was left unsweetened and seemed to focused more on the milkiness of milk tea to still be creamy enough to bind all of the elements together — the texture being consistent to the mouthfeel of the sponge cake as well. Much of the sweetness does seem to come from the longans atop and bits of longan in between the sponge cake layers; this does also add a bit of bite as one chews into the flesh of the longan, while releasing the sweetness of the fruit at the same time. The coffee jelly does add a soft and gelatinous texture to the entire cake; thought it could work better if the coffee jelly was sweetened however especially considering how the flavours of the coffee jelly felt particularly stark and jarring to the lighter flavours of the other elements included within.

Is a local dish truly complete without the perfect chili sauce? 🇸🇬🌶️

Tried the famous Vegan Orh Luak at Flavours by Sauté in Funan Mall, and while the texture is beautifully starchy and crispy at the edges, the house-made specialty chili is the absolute star of the show. It's sharp, tangy, and elevates the whole plate.

The best part? The entire dish is 100% plant-based, dairy-free, and egg-free (crafted with no alliums), making it a spectacular alternative that even meat-lovers will obsess over.

📍 Flavours by Sauté
Funan Mall, #B1-30
(Right next to City Hall MRT linkway)

Every bite of Tiong Bahru Bakery's roast beef croissant is a party of flavours and textures! The juicy shaved roast beef, creamy melted cheese, fresh crunchy lettuce, soft caramelised onions, tangy cherry tomatoes, and bittersweet arugula, all held together between layers of flaky, buttery crust, was the perfect treat between the end of my long work day...

[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​