Wild Honey

Food is good at this restaurant that serves hearty breakfast meals all day. But be prepared to pay (we were happy to do so for good food).

*Tunisian breakfast - a tomato based stew studded with chorizo sausage pieces, small side salad, 2 perfectly poached eggs and 2 slices of brioche for you to soak up all the tasty juices and yolk with ($19)

*English breakfast - sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, dad's baked beans (not the mushy type), tomato, mushrooms (mix of shitake and button), bread ($24)

*fresh bread basket (5 types), paired with raspberry jam, honey and butter. ($12)

*latte

*queen bee (refreshing drink made from grapefruit juice and honey) ($9)

Notes:
- the restaurant at Scotts Square is larger than the one at Mandarin Gallery, and chances of getting a seat are better
- you must make reservations at the Wild Honey website. Seats go fast. Only the one at Scotts Square take reservations.
- if you don't like sitting outdoor in the humid heat at its otherwise pretty verandah, consider stating so in your reservation details. Also if you are fussy about getting prompt service, you may want to avoid the verandah since you will need to wave a bit at the dark glass not knowing if you caught the eye of any waiting staff.
- this place generated some negative chatter earlier in 2012 after an irate customer complained about the waiting staff favoring Caucasian guests.
- $$$$

Mango pudding with soya beancurd

At a Chinese dessert cafe located on the 4th level of 313.

It's mango pudding with ice-cream and a surprise - soya beancurd. One of its bestselling items.

Oriole Cafe

Located at Pacific Serviced Suites (enter from the ground level cafe stretch at 313). Had read about it online and of how it's a hidden find. It also came well recommended on a few food sites. And so I was expecting it to be hard to locate. It turned out that it's a cafe I've walked past several times whilst at 313.

The ambience was nice except that we're in a rush and have had our fill elsewhere.

Good coffee drinks.

The fish and chips tastes better than it looks on the plate. The batter's nicely flavored with Indian spices. The dish could have come with some greens - afterall first impression counts.

The waitress was not flexible enough to allow us a seat at a larger table we want although the place was quiet then.

I might visit again. For its coffee and maybe cakes.

Lao Beijing

A not so holy lunch but deeply satisfied.

- ba bao cha (8 treasure tea)
- *xiao long bao with crabmeat
- *guo tie
- *scallion pancakes (cong you bing)
- appetizer : a small serving of sliced beef tendon
- stewed pork with broccoli, mei cai and plain clam-shaped buns
- *Coriander balls (pork, veg, cheese, bread coating)

*must try

Mooncakes

Mixed nut variety (yellow box) from Goodwood Park Hotel. Another batch from Sheraton Towers to come soon.

Lanterns lit up, and interesting sparklers from Japan. The slow burning ones looked like fireflies <3

Kith Cafe

Found a new place to fill time and relax while waiting for the kids to end their class.

A new cafe that took over a favorite haunt of ours when we were dating, and then newly married. The mocha's good and not sweet. Just how I like it.

We had it with mixed berries crumble (not a regular item) and a little pot of earl grey.

They serve breakfast items till 3pm for those who are lazing their day away.

Happy call meal

Sambal stingray, teriyaki chicken chop, tofu egg, fried fish, button mushrooms, vegetables

Homestyle western

More coffee :)

Chye Seng Huat Hardware. Opened by the folks behind Papa Palheta.

This time it's a coffee bar cum restaurant, located in the unlikeliest of places, sitting quietly in the rows of old establishments and shophouses. It was raining when we got there.

The smoke salmon sandwich ($11) was good as was the pistachio cranberry slice ($3). The bread / brioche was so soft and springy.

The cold coffee ($7) came in a bottle, much like cough syrup - strong and heavy.

Only thing, which I kept complaining to Ollie, was a distinct smell of worn sneakers wet from rain. I did notice quite a number of waiting staff and patrons had on fabric sneakers while others were dressed up looking like they belonged to the business district. Ollie said the smell was coffee, but then she's no coffee drinker. Sneakers, I say =_=

Latte time

At Papa Palheta again :)

With Ollie who's back after a year overseas and my boy whom she last saw when he was still a baby.

Baked spaghetti

adapted from a recipe from cbeebies' I Can Cook tv programme for preschoolers!

Serves 2 adults, 2 children.

300g of spaghetti, break into appropriate size for the oven-proof dish.

600ml water

Spaghetti sauce ( about a small prego bottle's worth)

Chicken pieces
Mushroom pieces
Clams

Remember to cover the dish or the spaghetti will dry out

210 degree celsius, 25 min for fan-forced oven

Cheese to top off before serving