The Hungry Bunny

Gurney Drive has quickly become a popular joint for Penang food. They are very reasonably priced, offer fair and authentic quality and substantial portions, 3 things Singaporeans love and what made this chain successful enough to keep sprouting up branches all over our little island. That's also the reason why we take away from Gurney Drive quite regularly. The Penang Malay Mee Goreng ($6.90) with a sizable number of fresh seafood, squid and prawns, and chunks of fish cakes and beancurd were fried with scrambled eggs and yellow egg noodles, coated in a sweetish spicy sauce, the typical Chinese style. The Penang Fried Koay Teow ($6.90) were commendable, with the flat rice noodles fried with a smoky accent. Chinese sausages, prawns, fishcakes, eggs and small but fresh cockles completed the dish. The best part about the Gurney Nasi Lemak ($5.90) was the very fragrant coconut-flavoured rice, good enough to eat on its own. The side dishes of curry chicken, crispy ikan bi

April's L.A. Lunch was held at Bistro Soori , one of my favourite places for modern European cuisine. The hole-in-the-wall teeny tiny restaurant, located in the up-and-coming Keong Saik area, is a sophisticated space with clean lines and chic design sensibilities. It's really to do with its ownership by SCDA Architects, who also designed the so-chic-I-could-cry Alila Villas Soori Bali. I'd enjoyed a fabulous dinner here previously, and was eager to see, a year on, what their lunch was like. Although we'd submitted our lunch orders the day before (seemingly to facilitate the churning out of dishes for our lunch group of almost 30 persons), service was, unfortunately, ridiculously slow. I didn't notice that the last time I was here , because it was dinner, I had loads of time to spare and I was too busy chatting to notice if service was slow. But, lunch was a different matter. We, as busy employees and not bosses of our own businesses, have time constrains for lu

When it comes to birthdays of the people in my team, we prefer to celebrate our turning a year older with a good meal at a nice restaurant. We're not really in the habit of buying each other gifts or birthday cakes (and then singing the obligatory birthday song, in the office). We usually head to some place for an intimate get-together and talk all through a huge dinner. For my birthday this year, I'd been craving steamed fish all week, and so we headed to Tung Lok Signatures . We've got the Palate Card, which offers a substantial discount at all Tung Lok restaurants, and this fairly elegant and downtempo restaurant offers a variety of fresh seafood. My favourite fish, when it comes to steamed fish, has gotta be marble goby, also known as soon hock. The fact that the marble goby spends its adolesence in the sea ensures it doesn't have the muddy taste of freshwater fishes, and because it spends its adult life in the rivers and streams, the cost is kept a bit low(er) an

We've always seen long queues for lunch and dinner outside Paradise Dynasty and wondered what the fuss was with their signature multi-coloured "xiao long bao" dumplings. Granted, it's kitschy and a novelty alright, but having recently tried it, I really didn't think the dumplings were worth that long a queue. We were in the area and stopped by for a light tea break, seeing as the restaurant was emptying out after the lunch peak hour. While the restaurant boasts a panoramic view of the Orchard cityscape and a sexy contemporary vibe with its deep reds and black hues, I wasn't particularly impressed with the food. It could be that it's totally overhyped. Its direct contemporaries, the Crystal Jade Xiao Long Bao chain and the Imperial Treasure La Mian Xiao Long Bao chain, have a refinement and authenticity that the Paradise group of restaurants lack. It doesn't help that Paradise Dynasty is staffed by a significant number of mainland Chinese nationals,

La Strada underwent a mini-revamp late last year. The restaurant's smaller, which explains why we felt a little cramped immediately when we walked in. While there seems to be more of a crowd now than it did before the revamp, it could really just be that the restaurant's significantly smaller so the usual crowd just seems larger in comparison. The classic Italian menu has been overhauled, but the food's no less delicious, we practically wiped our plates clean off as we did last year when we had dinner then. We've always felt that La Strada is one of those inexplicably underrated restaurants where we're always guaranteed refined and polished Italian cuisine in intimately cosy surroundings. For a restaurant that's under the ultra posh and ultra luxe Les Amis umbrella, the low-light illuminated restaurant manages an unpretentious air that's very appealing. The staff are attentive but unintrusive, and pleasantly non-stuffy. La Strada's 4-course Set

Paradise Inn is possibly the only choice for homestyled no-fuss Cantonese cuisine at Funan. Although I much prefer Crystal Jade Kitchen, its direct competitor, for its better quality of Cantonese food, Paradise Inn does win in one aspect, which is its wide array of double-boiled tonic soups with a local flavour. The kind you always enjoy in the comfort of your grandmother's home. I met up with Adee at Funan for lunch after having had a conference at the High Court opposite. Adee works in the surrounding area so it's super convenient for him to just walk over for lunch. We started off with the appetizer of Cold Tofu with Century Egg ($6.90), a refreshingly cool start to the meal. Very clean and clear flavours here, with only a pool of very delicate soy for taste. The Poached Chinese Spinach with Egg Trio ($14.90) and minced pork in superior stock had huge roasted garlic bulbs added for a grounded garlicky element. The stock had a bit of egg yolk stirred into it so

I previously reviewed that although the food at Renn Thai is authentic and suitably spicy, their portions are tiny and prices exorbitant. Bali Thai , its sister restaurant, with its more wallet-friendly pricing, provides a more value-for-money meal. In comparison, a pot of tom yum soup at Renn Thai costs $18 whereas the same dish at Bali Thai will cost only about $13. The mixed vegetables in oyster sauce is $4 less while the grilled chicken is $7 less at Bali Thai than at Renn Thai. However, what you pay more for elegance and refinement at Renn Thai, you sacrifice that for cheaper price points at Bali Thai. So, you get more rustic, homestyled cooking in a simpler, plainer surroundings at Bali Thai. This is a place you go to for run-of-the-mill, cheap and fairly good Thai and Indonesian cze char fare. Yes, Bali Thai additionally serves Indonesian cuisine, as well as the usual Thai dishes so you get to indulge in both Indonesian staples such as beef rendang as well as Thai classics suc