The Hungry Bunny

Level 33 was the destination for our August L.A. Lunch . Perched atop tower 1 of the Marina Bay Financial Centre, its imposing loft windows running the entire stretch of the dining hall affords unparalleled views of the CBD skyline and busy port. Naturally, this place attracts the executives and the well-heeled. Reservations are a must, as this restaurant is quite the popular hangout. If you're entertaining a large group, it's best to book at least 2 weeks ahead. Level 33 aims to change the way you look at beer. The restaurant cum craft brewery pairs artisanal beers with modern European cuisine. On weekdays, it offers a semi-buffet Executive Set Lunch ($33++) that's extremely kind to the wallet. The main courses are cooked a la minute while appetizers and desserts are self-served buffet-style at the Ploughman's Table . Quality of the buffet is maximised as the selection is "capped" small at just about 20 dishes. I like it better this way. Besides, who want...

Some time back, after I'd written about Eng Kee , a friend told me that I'd gone to the "wrong" Eng Kee. Apparently, the original owner of Eng Kee had sold off the moniker and set up shop at Redhill Market. Clearly, not many are aware of this. Because the Commonwealth Eng Kee maintains a substantial number of long-time customers. This one at Redhill Market, helmed by the original chef, also hawks the same stuff: economic noodles with an array of standard side dishes, and most importantly, their famous fried chicken wings. Evidently, the crowds have stumbled upon this as well. The stall, with a nondescript signboard, is easily distinguished by the long snaking queue of diners.    While the Noodles ($0.60 for a half-and-half of rice vermicelli and egg noodles) aren't as good as the one at Commonwealth, the Fried Egg ($0.50) was surprisingly well done. It was cooked perfectly, with a softly semi-runny yolk and fluffy whites. And, what the noodles lacked in o...

SocialHaus is a couple of doors down from Open Door Policy . Both were part of the first wave of upmarket cafes and bistros that partook in the Tiong Bahru revitalisation project. Walking in, you'd think this was a watering hole that only served dainty bar nibblets, but they do a full lunch and dinner service as well.  I like this place for its sexy, downtempo cocktail bar vibe, with its romantic low lights and sexy bossa nova ambient music. It's reminds me of Wine Bar (ah, the good old days of hedonistic partying that I can't seem to remember), but with a proper array of food. We utterly loved the Garlic Shrimp ($12), simply sautéed in loads of olive oil, fragrant garlic and chilli flakes. The small-ish prawns were fresh and sweet, bouncy in texture, and floating in a ridiculous pool of aromatic spiced oil, was great with the toasty crusty baguette. Even after we were done with the prawns, we continued to dip the bread i...

This was another invite to a childhood bestie's open house for Hari Raya celebrations. The food here had more of an Indian slant, seeing as my friend's an Indian muslim. Remember how there was a bit of talk that the majority of Singaporeans don't have a close friend of another race? What rubbish. A lot of my closest friends are of another race. And this is despite the fact that I grew up in an all-girls' missionary school.   The spread here may be a little limited, but what they lacked in variety, they made up for it with quality. And, oodles and oodles of love. I think that really is the secret ingredient that makes homecooked food so awesome. I mean, when you're cooking for your loved ones, you tend to be a lot more generous with "liao" and start off with the freshest, most premium ingredients because cost doesn't feature as a consideration, correct? The Mutton Biryani was one of the best we've ever had. The mutton, devoid of any game accent...

Hatched , an all-day brunch place that specializes in eggs, is one of the eateries I wanted to make sure we tried before we moved out of this area. We'd previously taken away from their original outlet at Evans Road, and the eggs there weren't half bad, so I was curious to see how its second outlet here at Holland Village would do. The good thing about Hatched is how much cheaper it is compared to our all-time favourite Wild Honey , with most dishes costing in the range of $15. And, despite the difference in price points, the quality of the stuff here isn't too far off. In fact, the breakfast eggs here are pretty decent, and what's more, the portions are pleasantly hearty too. As with every other brunch place, the 2-storey cafe can get overflowingly crowded and the ambience consequently boisterous. I was there at about 2pm on a weekend so the brunch crowd was just filtering out. At such an "off-peak" timing, the cheery sunny spot (we were on the sunlit se...

We stumbled upon this stall selling fried dough pastries. This kind of fried pastries are a rare find nowadays as it's a bit of a dying trade. The Hubs loves their Lotus Paste Fritters ($0.70), all freshly made and which doesn't stay on the counter long because there's a perpetual queue for them. The Hubs will always make it a point to buy a couple of these yummy babies whenever he takesaway from A1 . The stall facade for reference, it's a stall away from A1.  Hock Heng You Tiao #01-11 Tanglin Halt Food Centre Blk 1A Commonwealth Drive Closed Saturdays to Mondays

I've long heard about Todai , the monstrous buffet purportedly famous in the US of A, but never had the impetus to try it. If you're a regular reader, you'd know that I'm very wary of buffets. You inevitably end up paying for the quantity and not quality. And, at my age, I cannot afford to waste any calories on lousy food. So, it was with skepticism that I attended a tasting at Todai . Moreover, I'd checked out its website prior to the tasting, and found it terribly dated and comically plebeian. And, to top it off, Todai touts itself as the mother of all buffets. With a self-promotion as boastful as this, it would be ironic, to say the least, if it didn't quite live up to its own hype. As it turned out, the buffet was relatively decent. There was the usual, fair amount of average dishes, the occasional misses, but enough hits to make the very extensive buffet and its hefty $70++ weekday dinner pricetag worthwhile. I deviated from my usual S.O.P. of r...