The Hungry Bunny

The famous Original Hock Lam Beef Noodle  empire has landed in the heart of the shopping belt, deep down in the food basement of ION Orchard. I'm a big fan of its sister restaurants: the CBD original at Far East Square and Southern outpost at Alexandra , so I was curious to see if this lux-ed up branch would fare as well. It didn't. The ION Orchard offshoot has clearly watered down the bone of the classic Hock Lam flavour, making it less distinctive, but a lot more commercial. The food is a little clumsy too, with braised eggs that were overdone, and rubbery beef that was less than sparkling fresh. The lackluster fare may be why the casual diner was barely filled with people, even though it was a peak lunch period on a busy weekend. The Australian Beef Ribeye Noodle Soup ($9.90) was commendable, even if it was notably more delicate than the robust herbal overtones of its other outlets. The Braised Egg ($1.50) top-up was awfully disappointing though, it'd been hard bo

I'd a rather unimpressive lunch at Portico sometime back, and had written it off there and then. So when a couple of friends raved about Portico 's food, I scoffed, unconvinced. But when yet another foodie friend waxed lyrical about her anniversary dinner at Portico Prime , Portico's second outlet at Dempsey, I thought I'd give the intrepid restaurant another shot. I'm glad I listened to my friends: they'd said that Portico 's dinners fare much better than their set lunches. My second-chance dinner at Portico Prime , nestled in the lush Dempsey Hills enclave, was outstanding. Not a wrong move with every dish. Execution was fantastic, and each plate was a colourful kaleidoscope of textures and flavours. If I had one gripe, it would pertain to the indoor premises, which was stifling and humid, despite the tall ceilings, open-concept layout and supposed air-conditioning. The wait staff explained, apologetically, that the exhibition kitchen annexed to the d

While Jewish delicatessens are a dime & a dozen in cities like New York, they're rare these parts of the world. If ever you're craving good Jewish-style meats, you best get acquainted with the local Jewish community. Or head to Sacha & Sons NY Delicatessen , perhaps the only Jewish-friendly deli in all of Singapore. In spite of the monopoly, Sacha & Sons does a pretty bang-up job. The menu is lengthy, abundant with foods that are exotically peculiar like latkes, blintzes, kugel, matzo, schmaltz, or knishes. Ask, if you can't be bothered to google; the smiley staff are knowledgeable and on hand to provide personal recommendations. A tip is to stick to the sandwiches containing pastrami, which was one kind of delicious, using USD-grade brisket that'd been dry-cured, spice-rubbed, smoked and then steamed for a melty lusciousness. It's glorious! Note that the meats are available for takeaways. We've taken away the pastrami to form part of our charc

Many are familiar with Katong's style of laksa, but I find the hawkers brandishing the brand to be a little heavy-handed with coconut milk. I can hardly finish a small portion without getting overwhelmed by the cloyingly saccharine overtones. In this regard, I much prefer the restrain displayed by Sungei Road Laksa , another illustrious heritage hawker whose style of laksa is distinguished by the use of charcoal to fire up the brick stove. Sungei Road Laksa may serve up one of the simplest bowls of laksa, without modern adornments like eggs, prawns or otah, but what they lack in frills, they compensate with freshness and quality. And if you ever thought what the biggie was in using charcoal fire, Sungei Road Laksa will change your mind; it's immediately evident that the smoky char of the fire imbues each bowl of laksa with an irresistibly heady aroma. The queues may be legendary but clockwork-efficient production of the noodles ensures the line moves fast. But if you'

Dubai, a bustling metropolis Middle Eastern Hub, is teeming with luxury hotels along the likes of chain hotels like the Ritz, Oberoi and St Regis. So, where best suits to stay? First, you decide if you wanna stay in the city center or outside the city on the Palm Jumeirah Island. Personally, I prefer staying on The Palm. It may be a good 20-minute car-ride distance from the city, but the sea/beach views are way more relaxing than a sandswept monotonous skyscraper-view. Thing is, the island itself is also littered with a million luxury hotels. But, if you're looking for the ultimate in luxury and money isn't really an objection, I'd highly recommend One & Only The Palm . Our plan was always to cocoon ourselves in our hotel in Dubai, as touring the city, which would only take an afternoon, was a secondary purpose to visiting Dubai. Hence, the choice of accommodation was paramount. And as we'd previously stayed in One & Only in the Maldives, we knew to count