The Hungry Bunny

Summer Palace , the in-house Chinese restaurant at the Regent Hotel, has been around since forever. For a restaurant with such longevity, it's, quite surprisingly, stayed under most foodies' radar. Methinks it all boils down to the lack of value-for-money-ness of this opulent restaurant. The food's exquisite and luxurious, but pricey, and in this day and age where restaurants like the Imperial Treasure Group have perfected the art of balancing price points with impeccable quality fare, the higher-than-most pricetag here works against Summer Palace . Granted, their dim sum tends to class it up with precious ingredients, but I'm quite happy to do without the bird's nest or abalone in my dim sum. That being said, service is as you'd expect from a Four Seasons hotel; attentive and discreet. And, on a huge plus side: they don't have that awful staggered tiered seat timings that so many other restaurants have eagerly jumped on board with, so you get to enjoy a

Despite the rather pedestrian meal I had at Akashi a while back, I decided to give it another go because a couple of my girlfriends love their stuff here. While I still find their sushi borderline clumsy, they do, admittedly serve up relatively fresh fare, and a mindboggling range of sushi. When held up against Sushi Tei , Akashi does distinguish itself with a few standouts, and occasionally levels up on par with the market leader in mid-range, mass-market Japanese chain restaurants. Also, I find Akashi best at their cooked foodstuffs set meals offerings, as these are most value-for-money.  The fusion Ebi Tempura Maki No Pitan Zoe ($5.80) marries Japanese with Chinese flavours, with a fried breadcrumbed prawn wrapped with avocados, seaweed, fish roe and topped with century egg dice. If you're anything like my girlfriends, this is a must-order. The Shake Kawa Maki ($3.80) is a contrast of crisp salmon skin with raw salmon, rolled with fine spring onions and sesame seeds

Kongnamul is very similar to Siguemchi Namul . Save for the vegetable base, the seasonings for both are largely the same. These can all be done 1 day before a big party, so as to reduce the cooking load and hassle on the day itself. Just chill them, and take 'em out to serve at room temp when the dinner party gets underway. I had a lot of difficulty getting a hold of these sprouts though, but found that Meidi-Ya (and sometimes NTUC Finest) carries them.  Ingredients: 400gm soya bean sprouts, washed and with brown ends trimmed off 1 tbsp Korean sesame oil (use Chinese sesame oil if you can't find its Korean counterpart) 1 tbsp light soy 5 cloves garlic, minced 4L water 1 tbsp salt 1 tsp white sesame seeds optional: 1 tsp Korean chilli oil Directions: 1) Blanch sprouts in salted boiling water, 3 minutes. 2) Drain and shock in ice-bath to stop the cooking process. Set aside. 3) Season with soy, sesame oil, sesame seeds and garlic. Most recipes call for raw

This is the third E-Sarn Thai I've been to around Singapore. What really sets this outpost apart from the Upper Thomson and Holland Road branches is its spice levels. Whilst I've always lamented the watered down spice levels at their central and western outlets, I found the flavours at this southern offshoot significantly more robust and punchy. Me likey! Weekdays will find this casual, low-frills eatery buzzing with office-types, while weekends are crammed with families flocking from the Pasir Panjang/west coast hinterland. Service is brisk, but sometimes inattentive, especially during peak hours. BUT, when the dining crowd begins to dwindle, service becomes more genuine, hospitable and warm. The Yum Ma Muang ($10.50) a tangy salad with cherry tomatoes, peanuts, dried shrimps, onions centered around julienned green mangoes, made for a nice appetite whetter. The Moo Dad Deaw ($12.50), deep-fried pork strips, were moist, intensely flavoured with basil and soy, and b