The Hungry Bunny

Chiak is another venture of healthful gourmet bistro Cedele. A local form of the word "eat", Chiak serves up salad or grain bowls with a local twist. I love the Asian influence of Thai, Chinese, and Japanese flavours in the proteins, greens, and dressings. I particularly like the mix-your-own-bowls concept of salads, dry noodles, rice bowls, or chicken noodle soup. The only catch: you'll need to match your ingredients well, or flavours will clash. You don't really need a background in Le Cordon Bleu, but some sensibility of which foods and ingredients work together would be handy in putting together a cohesive bowl. Otherwise, get Chiak 's pre-designed bowls, which formulae of greens and protein are harmonious. The Thai-inspired Spicy Chicken Basil Salad Bowl ($8.80) was loaded with soy-drenched chinese kale (kailan), broccoli & garlic, corn, edamame, Thai basil leaves, and tossed in a sesame plum soy dressing. The Chicken Chestnut Patty and Pork Be

Tokyo is populated with luxury hotels, and Ginza, arguably its most posh district, is lush with high-end options. My personal picks are the Mandarin Oriental, the Aman, and The Peninsula, in that order. The rooms in these hotels are huuuuge, especially in view of the limited space allowance of most Tokyo hotels, and furnishings tend to the plush and sophisticated, as opposed to the minimalist aesthetic favoured by the Japanese. This trip to Tokyo, we stayed at The Peninsula , which is incredibly convenient and central. It's a short leisurely stroll to the Imperial Palace and its picturesque, albeit touristy, gardens, the Ginza shopping strip, and smack dab in the middle of the most amazing sushi-yas, and including izakaya-lined Yakitori Alley. You'll really have to be the laziest of bums to resort to taking a cab to get around the neighbourhood. But, at The Peninsula , they do everything with utmost luxury and class. And cater to the most pampered of princesses. Apparently,

Not to be confused with Imperial Treasure group of restaurants, Imperial Herbal Restaurant is an old-school old-timer hidden in one of those dusty Havelock Road hotels with those hostess-filled nightclubs. To be exact, it's at Four Points by Sheraton, revamped after a major overhaul from what used to be the Riverview Hotel. Purporting to incorporate traditional Chinese health concepts to the food, Imperial Herbal Restaurant approaches healthful gourmet with an oriental flair. I liked the food, but I don't think regular revisits are on the cards. Sure, the food was tasty without the contrived assistance of salty additives, and there was a wholesomeness that was quite appealing, but the acute chinoiserie of the place (and the food) just wasn't my thing. Even though I love my herbal soups and do believe in the partaking of TCM as a daily herbal supplement, the thought of eating Chinese herbs as a meal doesn't quite excite my tastebuds in this instance. I feel that  Im

I didn't think it was possible to eat bad sushi in Japan, but our trip to Tokyo proved me so so wrong. Shockingly enough, the most awful sushi we've had in a long long time was at a renowned chain sushi-ya, Sushi Zanmai . Granted, it's dirt-cheap, but the fish was far from still-squirming fresh, and execution was clumsy and amateur-ish. What a terrible waste. Having heard the stories of how Sushizanmai broke the record at a recent tuna auction, we thought, "must-eat the tuna here, sure to be good". Oh boy were we wrong. The Magurozanmai Special (JPY3000), with otoro nigiri, toro nigiri, broiled toro nigiri, negitoro nigiri, and tuna maki, was middling, at best. The knife-work on the slices of fish was unwieldy, you can practically see the jagged edges, and the vinegar-ed rice was packed so loosely the nigiri fell apart even in the steadiest of hands. The 2-person assorted sashimi Kashimori (JPY2980), with arkshell, sweet prawn, toro, ikura, squid, and yell

Orchard Road, on the weekend, may be an annoyingly congested place to be, as the crowds swarm to Singapore's premier shopping belt, but insiders know that there are pockets of tranquility, away from the madding masses, which are perfect for a night-out on the town. Like at il Cielo , the Italian ristorante at the top of the Hilton Singapore, perched high above the Orchard jam, and situated next to the hotel's pool. Its breezy, relaxed vibe is boosted by the musical talents of their in-house singer, belting out acoustic covers of current hits and evergreen melodies. Casual ambience aside, the restaurant is swish and elegant, and diners speak in hushed tones - a point I had to remind myself because I'm boisterously loud otherwise. heh Service was top-notch:- attentive but non-intrusive, sincere and generous. Like many restaurants, the waitress asked if we liked the food...but unlike many restaurants, they actually took criticism well in their stride. We were hesitant to

You know how in Singapore, we have those food halls in the basements of most shopping malls? There's usually a mix of casual affordable eateries and takeaway counters selling small bites? So, Tokyo has the same thing, except that they do it So. Much. Better. Like the food sold in these depachikas, or 'department store underground mall', is so awesome, and array so extensive and varied, you can actually have a thoroughly satisfying and totally delicious dinner here.  It may be sardine-jammed crowded, but trust me, trawling Tokyo's depachikas for food is worth it. Besides, you're on holiday! So take the time to smell the roses! Or in this case, have a good long look-see. And have fun! Besides, the Japanese are so polite and so, it's not like people are jostling for space anyway. The only trouble we had was that just about everything was written in Japanese, which then begs the question, how on earth were we to know what to buy, right? But, we quickly observed