The Hungry Bunny

A bunch of us went to Pho 99 for a light lunch. Vietnamese food is characterized by light and clear flavours, so one doesn't go back to the office feeling bloated and/or full. The Pho Bo Vien Nam ($8) was generously served with tender sliced beef and beef balls in a robust but light beef broth. The Beef Ball Pho Bo ($8) was also slurpilicious. The steaming hot soup was heady, but still very light. I wasn't too hungry, so I got the Pho Ga ($7) chicken soup, sans noodles. This was chicken soup for the soul, Vietnamese style. It was a tad oily, but still very delicate and light, with crunchy beansprouts adding a refreshing element. Another colleague also wasn't too hungry so lke me, he got the Pho Bo, sans noodles ($8).   Pho 99 Vietnamese Delights 57/58 Amoy Street Tel: 9768 8735 / 6410 9600 Open Mondays to Saturdays from 10am to 9pm Sundays & Public Holidays from 10am to 8pm

Lavender Food Centre isn't just good for the famous Kok Kee Wanton Noodles . There are also a couple of noteworthy cze char (local Chinese cooked food) stalls here. We like Hao Xiang , which serves up some pretty delectable cze char fare.  Our favourite dish here is the Beancurd with Assorted Mushrooms ($10). Silky smooth beancurd, sliced Chinese black mushrooms and enoki mushrooms, sliced pork, fragrant garlic and oyster sauce make a luscious but delicate gravy. We regularly takeaway this dish here for dinner. In comparison to the beancurd dish, the San Lao Hor Fan ($5) is only just average. The gravy is a little too starchy and the beansprouts aren't relieved off its heads and tails. That said, the fish is fresh and smooth and the flat rice noodles are soft and chewy. The Yang Zou Fried Rice ($3) was better than the noodle dish. Each grain of rice was evenly fried and there was that smoky fragrance of a hot wok. The Hotplate Venison ($15) was a wee bit sa

Ms PR, Mr Harvest-The-Crops and I went out for lunch. None of us was particularly hungry so we went to Starbucks to chill. I got the Raspberry Tea Blended ($5.50), a gorgeous pink blend of raspberry essence and chai tea with ice. Mr Harvest-The-Crops got the Mango PassionFruit Tea Blended ($5.50), which was refreshingly sweet. Funnily enough, he didn't like it. Oh well, I liked it. We shared a Potato Salad ($5) of red russet potatoes with low fat mustard mayonnaise, butterhead lettuce, red onions, celery, gherkin and black pepper. This was surprisingly light, with tangy mustard cutting through the richness of mayonnaise. The Ham Sandwich ($4) was simple classic fare done well. Lightly toasted bread, salty picnic ham and a slice of smooth cheese. For dessert, we shared a giant Oatmeal Raisin Cookie ($3.90). This was crumbly, buttery and slightly chewy. Starbucks Coffee DBS Tower II 6 Shenton Way #01-01 Tel: 6223 1657 Open from Mondays to Fridays

Adam Road Food Centre is one of those late-night supper joints for teh halia and Indian-Muslim fried fare. My view's that the only food stalls here worth trying are the ones that serve Indian-Muslim fare. Whilst the Sultan of Brunei is known to take away hundreds of packets of nasi lemak from one of the stalls here, the rest of the food stalls are really quite forgettable.  We ordered a plate of Bee Hoon Goreng Ikan Bilis ($3.50), which was pretty alright. The noodles were soft but retained a little bite, with a sweetish charred fragrance that comes only from a very hot wok. Chopped green vegetables, crisp ikan bilis, scrambled eggs and crunchy beansprouts balanced the flavours of the dish nicely. The Stall Front. We ordered a Chinese dish, Sliced Pork Prawn Noodles ($4), which was dismal. The bee hoon noodles were so thick, I didn't think it should have been called bee hoon. The prawn and pork rib soup base was so sweet it got cloying. At least the 3 prawns were fle

We got a fabulously luxurious treat from Ms PR who'd brought some of her delicious home-cooked fare to the office to supplement lunch one day. She'd apparently taken 36 hours to braise the traditionally Chinese New Year festive dish. The resulting dish was a fragrant, rich and full-bodied, incredibly soft and earthy mushrooms, with dried scallops and oysters adding that luxe seafood element.

I met up with Guan for lunch. I see her about once a year, but it's so nice that we never fail to catch up where we left off. She's one of the most matured, witty and straightforward persons I've the pleasure of calling my friend. I love that despite the evolution of our personalities since our teenage years, our friendship has evolved together so we're still very much in sync. We went to Swee Kee, or Ka Soh , along Amoy Street for lunch. This restaurant has been around since the 70s, so many would remember it from their childhood days. We ordered the Prawn Paste Chicken ($8.50) which was standard fare. Fragrant, crispy flavourful skin with moist and juicy meat. I got the San Lou Hor Fan ($6.50), or Sliced Fish Rice Noodles. Ka Soh does one of the best renditions of this dish. I like the fresh and smooth slices of fish smothered in the lusciously thick and full-bodied but still delicate gravy. Guan got the Sliced Fish Noodles in Soup ($5.90). Even if the sta

Ms PR had been raving about this place for a while, and in a bid to eat more healthily, I opted to get lunch from The Sandwich Shop. The Sandwich Shop is marketed at busy professionals who are looking for healthier meal choices, so its 4 branches are located at areas of business. I got the Fruit Salad ($5), a medley of sweet melons, crunchy apples, tart strawberries, grapes and soft kiwis. Although this was pretty and a fairly big portion, I still felt that its $5 price-tag was too pricey. The Spicy Thai Prawn Sandwich ($3.90) was definitely more value-for-money. This was freshly made on the spot and packaged in such an innovative way. The prawns were sweet and crunchy and the Thai chili sauce seasoning made this sandwich a pleasantly unique creation. The Sandwich Shop 61 Robinson Road #01-02 Robinson Centre Tel: 6536 5232 Open Mondays to Fridays from 7am to 6pm Website: www.thesandwichshop.com.sg/

The one thing I noticed about the YOG being held in our little island is the massive traffic congestion throughout the island. It isn't just the small roads that are jammed up, even the traffic on the expressways is bumper-to-bumper. We were on our way to the gym after work one day but we were stuck in the horrendously terrible traffic along every other road. We gave up after more than an hour on the roads, and turned into Two Chefs at Commonwealth for an early dinner instead. We'd just go running late at night. We got their Golden Mushroom Beancurd ($8), silky soft egg beancurd smothered in a minced pork and enoki mushroom oyster sauce gravy. We also ordered the Vegetable with 3 Kinds of Eggs ($8). Despite the cholesterol-laden use of century eggs, salted eggs and chicken eggs, this was pleasantly delicate and light. The Curry Fish Head ($18) was great comfort food, especially since it'd been drizzling the whole day. This thick, spicy, Nonya-style gravy was

The Starbucks at DBS Tower II is one of my favourite lunch spots because it's great for chilling and people-watching. Their savoury pastries, though a little pricey, are pretty alright. I like their Raspberry Cream Frappaccino ($5.50), a pretty baby-pink ice blended concoction of tart raspberry essence and vanilla cream. It's decadent but it's less sweet than you'd think. The Black Pepper Chicken Puff ($3.90) is fairly portioned. The flaky buttery pastry gives way to peppery chicken bits, cubed potato and mixed vegetables. The Potato Curry Puff ($3.90) was similarly portioned. The curry potato filling was moist, spicy and heady. Starbucks Coffee DBS Tower II 6 Shenton Way #01-01 Tel: 6223 1657 Open from Mondays to Fridays from 7am to 9pm Saturdays from 7.30am to 5pm Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays Website: www.starbucks.com.sg

Because Thai Express opens till late, it's our go-to place for quick and fuss-free Thai food after working out at the gym after work. We needed the energy and protein so we ordered the Khao Ob Nam Leab ($9.90), olive fried rice with chicken. This beautifully purplish fried rice was moist and aromatic, with the distinctive nutty fragrance of olives. The chicken bits were a little dry though, having been re-fried. The Thai-styled chicken soup, Kaeng Chued Kai Jiew ($6.90) was comforting and delicate, with smooth and tender chicken pieces with luscious egg drops. As usual, we also got the Iced Lemongrass Tea ($4.90) that you can sweeten on your own, refreshing and slightly sweet. Thai Express Holland Village 16 Lorong Mambong Tel : 6466 6766 Opening hours: Monday to Thursday from 11.30am to 10.30pm Friday and Saturday from 11.30am to 11.30pm Sunday from 11.30am to 11.00pm Website: www.thaiexpress.com.sg

I wanted something sweet after lunch so we went to Coffee Bean to get their ice blends. The sugar rush will ensure I don't fall asleep at work. I got my favourite Berry'd Treasure ($5.90 for small), a sweet pink confection of vanilla powder, berry flavours and blended raspberries and strawberries. I like the little berry bits. The Sunrise Ice-Blended ($5.80 for small) is another of my favourite drinks here, with orange juice blended with Coffee Bean's signature premium vanilla powder. It's refreshing and zesty. A real perk-me-up. Update 21 Jan 2011: This Coffee Bean outlet has closed down, due to The Ogilvy Centre being refurbished into a hotel. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf The Ogilvy Centre 35 Robinson Road #01-02/06 Tel: 6222 2851 Open Mondays to Fridays from 7am to 8pm Website: www.coffeebean.com.sg

Tien Court is fast becoming one of our go-to places for a quiet and peaceful dinner. Even with a group of 2 families with their rambunctious kids in tow, the ambience was still very tranquil. We still felt like we were in our own little strawberry bubble filled world, away from the maddening bustle of the city. We ordered the Pan-Fried Beancurd with Garlic Onion and Red Chilli ($13 for small) which was delicious. I loved the silky soft beancurd, the savoury luscious oyster sauce gravy, with spring onions lending a fresh accent and red chillis adding a little heat to the dish. The Sauteed Beef with Beansprout with Superior Oyster Sauce ($20) was, however, a disappointment. The beef was a little tough and chewy. The marinade also hadn't had time to seep into the meat, so it was very bland. The beansprouts were good though, crunchy, juicy and sweet. Their soups here are one of the best around. The broth is rich and ingredients always plentiful. Although the soup texture is

I met up with Kong, a long-time friend, for dinner. Even though I haven't seen him for the past 3 years, it was so lovely that our friendship has remained exactly the same. We wanted a restaurant quiet and fairly private to facilitate our endless chatter so I brought him to  Cherry Garden at the Mandarin Oriental . Although the award-winning restaurant is right smack in the heart of the bustling Suntec / Marina Square area, it still manages to exclude a serene and tranquil atmosphere. I love it here, it's like stepping into another world, hidden away from the maddening crowd that throng the nearby malls. The cuisine at Cherry Garden is predominantly Cantonese, with a modern take on traditional classics. We ordered the Oven-Baked Spring Chicken in Barbecue Garlic Sauce ($22), which was one of the best renditions around. The chicken was moist and juicy, with incredibly crisp skin. The sweet garlicky fried onions and sesame sprinkles were an exquisite touch. We also got