The Hungry Bunny

A stalwart of the Joo Chiat neighbourhood, Joo Heng is a household name to the Easterners that's synonymous with homestyled cze char. It may not be particularly rave-worthy, but it's an old reliable that churns out familiar favourites at slightly upmarket prices. Personally, I thought the above-average pricing was justified; we were graciously treated with a good dose of warm friendly service not commonly felt in most cze char joints. The Claypot Chicken ($16), laden with baby corn, snow peas, carrots, cabbage, black mushrooms, and red peppers, tempered the spicy undertones of the chilli peppers with the rich savoury overtones of the oyster sauce. The Black Pepper Beef ($18) was tender without the overt taste of artificial tenderizer. The punchy chilli-spiked black pepper sauce was contrasted with the sweet tartness of the shallots and fresh spring onions. The Sambal Sweet Potato Leaves ($12) was unctuous with copious lashings of belachan and dried shrimp bits.

The demise of celebrity restaurant Santi was a sad day for the culinary world lost one of its legends. Regretful as it was, there's the silver lining - several alumni of the Michellin-starred affiliate went on to establish restaurants of their own here in little ol' Singapore. So, instead of just 1 culinary heavyweight, our little island now has at least 3 restaurants, all Spanish, helmed by ex-Santi staff. Purportedly, the executive chef at Santi was so enamoured of our sunny island that, instead of returning to his homeland, he put down roots here to set up OLA Cocina Del Mar . The cosy restaurant, innocuously tucked away at the commercial hub that is MBFC, has been surreptitiously churning out Spanish cuisine with a Peruvian inclination. It's totally underrated, and flies so low under the radar, that it was 3 years before I learned of its illustrious lineage. Dinner-time will find the restaurant a lot more chilled and tranquil, compared to the frenzied boisterousness o

I thought I'd make a vegetarian version of the chicken panang curry I learnt to make in Koh Samui. Whoever said vegetarian food had to be boring and/or tasteless?  Ingredients (feeds 6 pax): 8 cups broccoli florets 4 cups baby corn, cut into 1" lengths 8 cups oyster mushrooms (fresh shitake, white buttons are great substitutes) 4 cups carrots, diced into 1" cubes 8 tbsp heaps curry paste 8 kaffir lime leaves, deveined and julienned into fine strips 2 large red chillis, deseeded and sliced into fine strips 1 cup fresh coconut milk 4 tsp fish sauce 2 tsp fine white sugar 8 tbsp canola oil 3 cups vegetable stock Directions: 1) Fry paste in oil until browned and toasty, add carrots to fry for a minute on medium-high heat. 2) Add mushrooms to fry until water released is almost evaporated. 3) Add baby corn to fry for about a minute. 4) Add broccoli to fry for a minute. 5) Add stock, fish sauce, sugar, fresh chilli and kaffir lime leaves, an

Conrad is another posh resort in Koh Samui, popular with Americans and Hongkongers alike. It's extremely remote, far out on Taling-Ngam Beach on Koh Samui's south-west tip, and about 45-minutes away from the nearest developed stretch of restaurants and shops. The drive up the cliff on the single-lane access road to the resort alone takes 7 minutes. Conrad was perfectly lovely, with breathtaking views from just about every part of the resort. Really. There wasn't a single vantage point that wasn't sensational. BUT, for a resort this isolated, its amenities just weren't flawless enough to warrant being so cut off from the rest of the island. The Hubs rightly pointed out: when a resort is this remote, it's all the more paramount that every aspect of it is impeccable. Reception Like Banyan Tree , Conrad's reception is perched right at the top of the resort. After that twisty 45-minute transfer to the resort, this spectacular view is the surest way to brigh