The Hungry Bunny

This was a L.A. Lunch at Procacci sometime back in the earlier part of the year. Procacci is quite the understated Italian restaurant located at the popular waterfront Customs House . It kind of reminds me of that average B-student in class that nobody quite notices. It's reliable and good, but not exceptional or great. So even if they don't quite garner awards for the best Italian fare around, they do serve up pretty decent stuff. Traditional stuff, that is. Because they focus on the traditional and eschew the modern. While dinners aren't particularly easy on the wallet, they offer a very reasonably-priced weekday set lunch at $35++ for 2 courses and $45++ for 3 courses. The downside of the very-value-for-money set lunch offer is that service tends towards the choppy and harried during busy weekday lunches. The Zuppa di Funghi , a creamy seasonal mushroom and vegetables soup was made aromatic with a drizzle of truffle oil. The Insalata di Cesare , baby romai...

The CBD is a vegetarian's dream. There is no higher concentration of salad shops anywhere else on the island than in the CBD. You cannot walk a hundred yards without passing by a salad shop. I think, it's to fill the demand of many health-conscious office workers. A lunch and/or dinner dominated by raw veggies is a nice counter to the sedentary lifestyle of an office worker typified by the parking of butts on ergonomic chairs all day. With the launch of The Lawn 's second outlet in the ultra-competitive Shenton Way/Tanjong Pagar bit of the business district, the typical salad greens is given a meaty twist. I've mentioned before that I'm not a fan of raw greens, but I actually like The Lawn 's salads. Their flavourful grilled meats make the idea of a bowlful of raw vegetables totally palatable, and quite delicious. Needless to say, The Lawn would make for a...

To celebrate Pops turning 54, we deviated from the usual crabs-centric birthday meal to one that celebrated my paternal grandmother's heritage instead at Peramakan , one of the most beloved Peranakan restaurants around. Located in the yuppie club of choice, Keppel Club, it's a short drive in from Telok Blangah Road. The restaurant is totally accessible if you don't drive; we saw a number of people walking in from the main road as well. This club is right on the waterfront facing Sentosa, so even if you can't quite see the water's edge from the main building, you can certainly smell the salty seabreeze as you step out of the elevator onto the third floor where the restaurant is at. One thing we noticed about Keppel Club: the club may not have the most impeccable greens (some of the plants on the green looked like they were parched of life) but they do have a couple of outstanding restaurants. Which are open to the public. It's little wonder then that their visi...

Haagen Dazs will always have a special place in my heart. The European-sounding-but-actually-American brand kickstarted my love affair with everything sweet and icy. On this note, you will not believe the amount of sweet stuff I ate growing up. I basically grew up on a diet of lollys, popsicles, gummies, and of course, ice-cream. This sweet streak was only intermittently broken by "real food" such as roti prata and fried chicken wings. Oh yes, living with indulgent grandparents and self-automated waterworks will get you ANYTHING you want. And you know what, the best part of my childhood was that birthdays were celebrated over the obligatory Haagen Dazs ice-cream cake. So even if I've got a lot more choice in ice-cream now compared to the 80's, I'll always return, every once a while, to my first love: a good ol' tub of Haagen Dazs. Holland Village's Haagen Dazs is, based on my limited knowledge of local history, the republic's first outlet. My famil...

Guan Guan Seafood occupies the same coffeeshop as the Shen Ji Chicken Rice . Where the chicken rice stall dominates in the day, Guan Guan steps up once night falls. This is one of our late-night haunts whenever a supper craving for cze char hits. We like this eatery for its old-school appeal and uncomplicated, traditionalist approach to cze char. The food isn't the best of the lot but its eye-poppingly low price points goes a long way to drawing its regulars back time after time. The Hotplate Beancurd ($8) was very commendable. Silky egg beancurd discs were sautéed with pork mince, silvers of champignons, Chinese black mushrooms, sugar snap peas and a spicy bean sauce then slathered over a blanket of scrambled egg and served on a sizzling plate to retain heat. The Foo Yong Omelette ($5) was fantastic. Choc-a-bloc with sinfully tasty processed crabmeat, juicy Chinese black mushrooms, fresh prawns and sweet onions, this was demolished in sec...

Of all the Korean restaurants in Novena Square 2's Little Korea, Hansang is possibly the most popular. While they may not serve the most refined or authentic of Korean fare, their stuff is unfussy, homestyled and affordably value-for-money. Which probably explains their longevity and brisk business. In addition, service here is like a well-oiled production line: efficient and speedy. We barely sat our butts down before the banchan and trio of amuse bouche arrived onto our tables. The potato mash, part 1 of the amuse bouche, served chilled and refreshing. Seasoned parboiled black beans, a little salty, a little piquant. Spiced anchovies with groundnuts that were addictively good. So good I gobbled up the Hubs' share. The Kimchi Fish Cake was bouncy and fresh with a little chilli kick.  Both the Hubs and I aren't fans of eggplant, so we left this mushy concoction alone. The seasoned spring onion...

Remember when those mix-your-own-flavour-on-ice-cold-marble-slabs ice-cream bars were EVERYwhere? You couldn't walk 10 feet without passing by one. Like at Holland Village, there were 2 in the short Lorong Mambong stretch! As with every food fad in the notoriously fickle Singapore F&B scene, they've all but disappeared now. Quick aside: Seriously, when will all these gung-ho budding entrepreneurs learn? Slow and steady, not quick and premature wins in the F&B race. While we're on this topic, I'm just waiting to see how long the hipster coffee joint fad will last. *End of aside* After Cold Rock Creamery moved out of its Holland Village locale, the good people of 3 Inch Sin fame subsequently scored the prime spot and moved in. Oddly enough, they've chosen to rename their cafe Craft Bakery & Cafe , instead of riding on the goodwill of their 3 Inch Sin name. I don't quite get it. The food served is the same, price points are about on point and the deco...