The Hungry Bunny

Phew, that was a tough week! Work's been absolutely bonkers, and to top it off, we're moving house as well. The silver lining's the long weekend, so we had 3 days to move our mountain of stuff. It never really hits you how much crap you have until you move, does it?  I always find myself spring cleaning whenever I move. Your life gets de-cluttered because you're suddenly brutal with the stuff you throw out. My wardrobe consequently gets an "overhaul" as well. Which is always a good thing for my friends because they benefit from the stuff I never wear. Like that top that I was supposed to lose weight for, or that OTT dress that I'll have an occasion for, or those shoes I was supposed to squeeze my ginormous feet into. This time round, one of my girlfriends was gifted with a pair of gorgeous gorgeous Guiseppe Zanotti sparkly strappy's. She has enviably small feet that I clearly don't.  This was our first meal in the 'hood. I'd heard that

Truffs has gotta be the best well kept secret place in the CBD. If not for A1 bringing us to where it is, we would have never known it's even there. It's hidden deep within the bowels of the rows of shophouse eateries, with a teeny tiny signage for guidance. It's like how the muggles didn't realize the Leaky Cauldron was right smack in front of them the entire time along the busy streets of London. I must have walked past the entrance to Truffs a gazillion times and never knew it was there.  This was a perfect chill-out spot after the sweltering lunch at The Market Grill . Literally and figuratively. A cool respite for leisurely post-meal artisanal truffle and drinks. Truffs is delightfully calming, capturing the zen lifestyle with its minimalist Japanese style and delicate pinewood furnishing. The tables are placed far apart, and people speak in hushed voices so you get to carry on a conversation without inevitably being heard by other diners. Unless you're a l

It's always surprising to people whenever I tell them that I've made a lot of friends out of my opposing counsel. But seriously, what's so surprising about that? My clients' legal disputes have nothing to do with whoever my opposing counsel is, so no matter how contentious the tussle, it's never personal with my opposing counsel. Well, unless you're a big sissy douche who's the type to storm off the court room after a loss. Or a sneaky slimeball who thrives on cheap potshots. I know some clients prefer their lawyers to take the case as personally as they do, and fight tooth and nail over every inconsequential thing, but in my view, a spoonful of sugar goes a long long loooooooooong way to resolving whatever dispute in the most cost-and-time-efficient way.  CC and I had lunch with A1 and A2, fellow members of the bar that we got to know over the course of a case we had some years back. They're both awesome conversationalists and so fun to be around, so

One of our friends swore this was the "best popiah ever", so when you hear a comment like that, you just gotta try it out. Call it a case of curious george, i suppose. Because that friend was known to rave about absolute rubbish. As it turned out, the proclaimation wasn't hype at all. The popiah here is truly awesome. A real hidden gem in this oldie but goodie hawker centre. The Popiah ($1.50) is satisfyingly crunchy and delicious. It's scalding hot so be careful when popping one of these babies into your mouth. Most popiahs are a little plain-ish because radish in general has a clean and clear taste, but this was just sinfully flavoursome. Copious lashings of peanut oil, plentiful lup cheong, a generous sprinkling of fried lard, and a good dollop of sweet black sauce set this flavourful roll apart from most other renowned popiah stalls. This actually got us hooked, and we've returned several times just for this. The nondescript stall. There are a few &

CC and I had attended a client meeting in the far east, so we made a pitstop after the meeting for an early lunch. He lives in the east so he recommended Bedok Point, a new-ish, small-ish shopping mall next to Bedok MRT station filled with eateries. With air-conditioning. With the weather getting hotter as we roll out of the monsoon season, air-conditioning has become a pre-requisite for dining out. One thing about Bedok Point though, parking's awful. There's only 1 basement for parking, so it gets real jammed up real fast during peak hours. If you're thinking of dining there, go during the off-peak dining time, or park at the multi-storey carparks at the HDB estates nearby. We were both looking to get something healthy so we opted for Sushi Tei . Affordably good mid-range Japanese food that's definitely maximum bang-for-your-buck. The Wakame Salad ($7), crisp lettuce interspersed with purple cabbage and carrot strips, was topped with a mess of seaweed tendrils.

February's L.A. Lunch was held at Sabai Fine Thai on the Bay , the CBD outpost of its original fine dining Thai restaurant at Takashimaya along Orchard Road. This is as classy as it gets for Thai food, with white table linen tableclothes, elegant plating accentuating the charm of honest-to-goodness Thai cuisine, and chic sophisticated digs painted in a faint baby blue hue, a purposeful reminder that you're at the water's edge. We secured a private space, a mezzanine above the main dining area, but because it wasn't closed off, we were still privy to the din downstairs. It did allow for a gorgeous expansive view of Marina Bay waterfront though. Even if the water looked a disgusting murky booger-green. In addition to the very extensive menu (there are at least 300 items on the menu!), I've noticed that there are always chicken or seafood or vegetarian substitutes for almost any dish, thereby accommodating most people's dietary needs. We feasted on about 13 co

The New Harbour Cafe & Bar is an quaint English-styled restobar at the slowly-being-revived-once-again Duxton Hill area. Think dark wood paneling and dimly lit interiors. The cuisine here is basically bastardised western food with Hainanese leanings, reminiscent of the days of colonial yore when our local chefs had to cater to the western palate with just their homestyled recipes.  In addition to the 6 fixed choices for mains under the weekday set lunch scheme, there's also a rotating stable of daily set lunch offerings with 3 additional main course choices. My advice is to take up the set lunch for its value-for-money-ness.  While the food isn't particularly refined or mind-blowingly good, portions are generous, and the food's got an unpretentious and homestyled quality to it. A signature dish, the Hainanese Pork Chops ($16.80 as part of the Thursday special set lunch) comprises a bunch of juicy, albeit fatty, breadcrumbed-coated pork cutlet flash fried and drenc

At the risk of jinxing myself, I've realized that I've never had a bad meal whenever I'm out with Lips. She, in addition to being "the perfect girl", is my good luck charm for meals. Notwithstanding her fabulous company and sparkling conversation, our meals have always been nothing short of fantastic. We had our monthly meet-up at Cugini , and it's been years since I last dined here. The place is still filled to the brim even on a Thursday night, a hive of bustling diners, but luckily for us, we managed to score a table upstairs, away from the din so we could yak away. Cugini serves up a veritable range of Italian food, but you should sample some of their seafood offerings, because the owners originate from Southern Italy and they really know their seafood there. The food's here rustic and hearty, and ambience's charmingly casual, so it's little wonder why it's such a popular choice to unwind after work.  We started off with the Carpacci