The Hungry Bunny

We finally found a brunch place that's a worthy contender to Wild Honey ! To be honest, it's not because the eggs here are of Wild Honey's impossibly high standards, but really, because the appetizers here are just awesome. Of course, it helps that the eggs are not far off Wild Honey's mark . Symmetry is a new-ish cafe specializing in modern French cuisine, but on weekends, serves up a separate brunch menu as well. I liked it the second I walked in. It's charming and homey and whimsical at the same time, a perfect fit to the indie bohemian vibe of its Kampong Glam/Arab Street locale. In line with its Tim Burton-esqe digs, the ambience here is kept casual and relaxed. Beware though, Symmetry may be a little difficult to find, since it's tucked away in an obscure tip of Jalan Kubor. The nondescript facade doesn't quite assist, but the 2 life-sized 'Nightmare Before Christmas' dolls sitting on stools in front should be large enough landmark...

Remember a year ago when I said that reservations are a must before visiting Oversea Restaurant ? A recent visit for dinner on a Friday night proved that the initial furore over this Cantonese restaurant has most definitely died down. The main area of this restaurant barely filled, with only a third of the tables occupied. Patronage at this originated-from-Malaysia restaurant is truly is a far cry from its opening days. Unlike the past whereby it would have been tough to even secure dinner reservations, you now definitely do not need reservations to dine here anymore.  A quick check of the food revealed that the quality was the same as before. So it can't be that which drove the diners away. Perhaps the local masses discovered that they were paying several times more than the stuff served in its Malaysia original, and didn't like it. On this note, I'm a little worried that business may dwindle to the point that this restaurant shuts down its Singapore operations. I sinc...

TCC is one of few 24 hour dining spots along Orchard Road. We'd stopped by for supper after finishing up our Christmas shopping. We sat indoors because of the muggy heat outdoors. Unfortunately, the air-conditioning that night had broken down. Instead, there were a couple of air coolants placed strategically around the cafe for ventilation. Consequently, the indoors was barely cooler than the outdoors. We saw a few people trying to covertly shift the coolants to face their tables, only to have the wait staff tell them that they had to turn it back to its original positioning so there's some kind of air flow around the stuffy cafe. But for the ridiculous lack of air-conditioning and stifling warmth of the indoors, supper would have been really quite pleasant because the food was surprisingly good. We shared the Oven Roasted White Fish ($24.30) with yuzu sauce, roasted potatoes, cherry tomatoes and baby French beans. This was really quite good. The fresh fish, charred wit...

I've been introducing all of my colleagues to SPRMRKT . I love this lunch spot. It's my getaway from work, my little oasis of calm and tranquility. Now that they've gotten onto the all-day breakfast bandwagon, I think I've fallen even more in love with this place. However, I've recently noticed an increasing lunch-time crowd, which, I suppose, is a good thing. The little cafe's apparently gotten renowned for its hearty portions and honest-to-goodness food. The downside is, of course, that their popular stuff runs out by 1 pm. I will need to pop out of the office half an hour earlier just to ensure I get the stuff I want. This was Tuesday's Menu, which features a uniquely SPRMRKT signature, the Blackened Fish & Chips ($17). Despite its deceptively charcoal-like appearance, it's a lot yummier than it looks. The batter, blackened with squid ink, is thick and crisp, and lends that smoky accent to the mild creaminess of the fish. It was so good on i...

Chye Seng Huat , a nondescript, hole-in-the-wall coffee bar located deep in an industrial area, has been making waves in the foodie community. I'd heard great reviews of this place and was eager to try it out. People apparently found it very cool and kitschy that its facade, restored to its original hardware store decor, is so very well hidden amongst the rows of shuttered metal grills and old-school wooden doors of actual hardware stores. FYI, CSH's entrance is through the adjacent corrugated metal swing gates with the "towing zone" sign. I witnessed a couple of poor fools tugging furiously at the seemingly main entrance doors (which are deceptively fake and purely for decorative purposes) of the small-ish establishment. As it turns out, from the pretentious try-hards hogging the limited seating to the mediocre food and limited menu, everything about this place screams overhype. The only good and real thing about this place is the coffee. Although their coffee menu...

We finally got to sample the Ramen Champion concept, where 6 Japanese ramen heavyweights are housed in a Marche-like food hall. The concept goes like this: 6 well-known Japanese chefs, lauded in their homebase of Japan, are brought over to Singapore to set up satellite stalls at Ramen Champion to serve up their brand of ramen for a year and vie for diners' votes. At the end of the year, the votes and sales figures of each ramen brand are tallied and an eventual winner is gifted with seed money and operational help to set up a permanent business in Singapore. I like this concept. This way, you get to try ramen native to the different prefectures of Japan all in one place. Beware the portions here though, because even big eaters like us had trouble finishing the regular portions (there are only regular or large portions here, btw). I suppose that's the nature of ramen, hearty and substantial, a relatively cheap way to completely fill up your tummy during cold weather. Ram...

Although Ernie's based in Hongkong, the land where dim sum originated from, we somehow seem to have an inordinate amount of dim sum whenever he visits. Crystal Jade Golden Palace is one of Ernie's favourite haunts in Singapore. This fine-dining restaurant, with its Teochew slant to the typical Cantonese dim sum, makes for delightfully delicate and refined food. With its twinkling chandeliers, ombre dark woods and deep luscious reds, it's sexy and elegant. In line with its wonderfully classy ambience, this award-winning restaurant boasts exquisite fare. Like Imperial Treasure just at the opposite end of the 4th floor of Paragon, service was faultless. Teacups were regularly refilled and our waitress was Speedy Gonzales-worthy efficient and attentive. The Deep Fried Enoki Mushroom & Vegetable Roll ($5.80) is like a very polished spring roll, with crunchy radish, julienned carrots and black fungus, but with the addition of enoki mushrooms and beancurd skin wrapping....