The Hungry Bunny

After reading a number of bad reviews of Extra Virgin Pizza (" EVP "), I sort of wrote it off. So, it was serendipitous that our plans to dine at Wee Nam Kee's new premises got derailed because its shop space is still undergoing renovations. And with the ridiculously long queue at Soup Restaurant acting as a deterrent, we headed to EVP . Contrary to reviews of horrendously long queues here, it was barely half-filled when we walked in for dinner last Saturday. Although the place is semi-self-serviced, there wasn't a queue at the cashier's, our orders were taken promptly, and pizzas arrived speedily. The staff were, by and large, smiley and polite, if a little blur-ish, so there was none of that purportedly crap service experienced by previous reviewers. It seems that the management has taken note of the reviews and tinkered with their service levels accordingly. Kudos to them if this was the case. The pizzas here are pretty decen...

Any foodie worth his/her weight in salt would have eaten here at least once in their life. This venerable purveyor of Teochew-styled braised duck attracted pilgrims from all over the island, and made fans out of nearby residents and university students. For those of us broke students at the nearby NUS, this was one place that guaranteed a thoroughly satisfying meal for less than $10. Now that they've announced that they were closing down for good sometime in June, we've been dabao-ing their duck rice every other weekend ever since we moved to the area. The unabating perpetually long queue and lack of air-conditioning put us off dining at this still-stuck-in-the-60's coffeeshop eatery. But, since Cho is back from his homebase of Hongkong for the weekend, we braved the scorching weather, long queue of devotees and actually sat down to lunch. Cho made the observation that an announcement like that has made this place popular all over again, and I quite agree. I don't qui...

So, we were back at one of our regular lunch haunts. As we move into the mid of the year (time just flies by, doesn't it?), the increasingly sweltering weather has made dining at this cheapo lunch spot an impossibly sweat-free occasion. Thank goodness, though. for pockets of rainy torrents that provide much needed intermittent relief. Like after that all-night showers last Thursday, we actually ate here, jackets and all, without breaking a single drop of perspiration. The Egg Prata and Plain Prata  ($3.20) was pretty commendable, even if the plain prata wasn't super crispy. This breakfast staple was nicely charred, and had a delectably chewy texture to it. The thick and rich curry was just spicy enough to lend flavour. The Maggi Goreng with Fried Chicken ($5.50) was surprisingly good despite its nondescript appearance. The noodles were well-seasoned, with a subtle peppery spice and chunked up with sliced hotdogs, chai sim and eggs, while the chicken was flavoursome and...

For first-time visitors to Singapore, I always recommend that they head to Kampong Glam. It's probably the only place in Singapore that doesn't feel like Singapore. Its effervescent bohemian vibe is just so unlike the robotic, un-humanly neat and tidy country of ours. Is it just me, or does anyone else feel that Singapore is like a life-sized version of LEGOLAND? It's little wonder that Addie, who recently moved back here from Paris, loves this area. And that's also why we always find ourselves having our meet-ups in one of the many restaurants littered throughout here. One of Addie's all-time favourite restaurants is Piedra Negra , a Mexican cantina along the so-hip-it-hurts Haji Lane. Seating is very limited, so reservations are necessary. The best tables, on a non-rainy night, are the ones lined outside along Haji Lane. Be on the lookout for cars that drive by though, they can get scarily close. The menu's decidedly small as ...

My younger brothers have the easiest birthdays to remember. The older of the two was born on 10/10, while the youngest 'un was born on 5/5. And no, their birthdays weren't planned in that they weren't scheduled caesarean births. Both natural births. Although you'd think their birth dates were set on purpose, right? Ah well, it's very unsurprising Pops then, with his leaky memory and all (that's what he claims whenever he forgets my birthday, or my sister's!), ALWAYS remembers their birthdays. It was the littlest's birthday recently, and because he was having his exams then, we postponed his birthday celebrations to dinner last weekend. He wanted beef steak and seafood and cze char at the same time, so I immediately thought of the beef ribeye at that seafood cze char  New Ubin Seafood  nearby their home.  I thought it was going to be major pain to get to New Ubin Seafood, but it turns out that it's exactly where I get my car serviced. Cont...

The Asia Square Food Garden is probably the only food court that I actually like. I've always thought that food courts in Singapore were overpriced and under par. You pay extra but get really crappy food. The only upside is the air-conditioning. That's why I don't patronise food courts. I'd rather go to a hawker centre and sweat it out with awesome food. But Asia Square is different. In that it's not quite the typical food court, because all of the stalls are just satellite offshoots of reputable restaurants. Don't expect any hawker fare here. The cuisine here is definitely more upmarket fare but it's still cheaper than at the restaurants, and you get the comfort of air-conditioning. Over the years, the food court at Asia Square has increased its seating capacity in order to accommodate the massive lunch crowd. Back when it first set up shop, I used to think that there was so much space wastage, in that there were large pockets of empty space where extra ...

Venezia Gelateria  (or "Gelarie" as is affectionately known to me) belongs to the "old guard" of the local ice-cream world. Yes, it has been around since forever, waaaay before the somewhat golden era of Udders , Ice-Cream Gallery , and Scoopz. The original at Guthrie House was one of our favourite after-school hangouts. Now that we live within walking distance to Gelarie, we find ourselves popping by ever so often for a bit of post-meal gelato and in my case, sorbet. Nothing beats an icy fruity sorbet to wash away all that grease and salt. Recently, Ernie came a-visiting to our area for dinner, and we headed to Gelarie, which just so happens to be one of his favourite places on earth, for dessert. You see, Ernie + chocolate ice-cream = happiness. As usual, I had my Mango Alfonso Sorbet  ($3.60). Refreshingly icy and totally fruity. My favourite flavour here and a proper sugar fix without the guilt trappings. I've got a feeling that the Belg...