Yue Bai - One of the Best Chinese Restaurants

I really miss eating Chinese food, but at the same time, I want to continue to hang around the heritage area of Chinatown to search for good food. So when I heard about Yue Bai, a Chinese restaurant located at Duxton Road, which is part of heritage area, my eyes lit up. And a browse through the menu, I immediately made a reservation. After a meal here, I say this is one of the best Chinese restaurants I had been to. The experience here reminds me of Summer Palace, a Michelin Star restaurant that I sussed out way before the Michelin inspectors 😉 The type of dishes and the tastes are different, but both feature light yet very flavourful cuisines that have complexity in the taste profiles.

Herbal Poached Rice, Atlantic Cod, Black Fungus is a must-try, for both the taste and the experience of seeing the collagen-rich soup sizzles in the hot stone pot as the staff pours it in. The egg fried rice is very fragrant and retains its grain shape despite soaked in the super flavourful soup imbued with herbs and shao xing wine, thus yielding a very good bite. The cod fish is smooth, full of omega oil and succulent, going very well with the rice. And the fish is very well prepared in which all bones were totally removed.

I'm glad that the staff recommended this, taking into the account that a solo diner like me will have difficulty finishing the 3 person portion mee sua or fried rice by myself. And it is not like one can find such delicately prepared poached rice everywhere, so this is quite an unique experience that I appreciate.

Crispy Tofu, Yuzu sauce is another must-try of Yue Bai. I'm not sure how the chef did it, but each cube of silky smooth tofu is perfectly coated with an even layer of seasoned batter. Each cube is packed with flavours, so good that I can eat it on its own. When dipped with yuzu sauce, the extra zest makes the taste even more exciting. And the texture is wow: just imagine biting into each cube and the crispy smooth exterior gently breaks up to reveal the hot smooth, soft interior of tofu. I'm so happy with this choice of mine that I chose based on my acute senses for good food.

I had been wanting to eat bamboo clam, so when I saw this on the menu, I just went for it. This is very interestingly served in black garlic sauce, unlike the usual light soya sauce. And it works. The sauce is actually pretty light despite the appearance, with hints of sweetness, and it goes very well with the delicate briny flavour of the clam. The friendly service staff told me that the black garlic sauce is specially concocted for the winter season since black colour food is great for health during this season. For coming spring, the sauce will be based on green colour. I'm excited to try something different. By the way, the bamboo clam is perfectly cooked: being springy in texture yet easy to bite.

Deep-fried Granola Prawn, Beetroots is a must-try for fans of cereal prawns or wasabi prawn balls. Yes, another must-try. Generally speaking, I like cereal prawns for the wholesomeness of the cereal that goes very well with the umami of prawns. But I prefer wasabi prawn balls since the prawns are deshelled for better texture. The Deep-fried Granola Prawn here is the perfect marriage of the best aspects of cereal prawns and wasabi prawn balls. The homemade granola is rich in flavour and even more wholesome than the cereal, highlighting the umami of the super large, plump, succulent, fresh prawn balls. By the way, it's one whole large prawn being rolled into a ball 👍 The beetroot strands inject a refreshing element to the taste, making it even better. A very well-executed dish.

Crispy Black Sesame Mochi, Osmanthus-infused Sugar is another example of how well the chef makes the different textures complement each other well. The crispy shell actually showcases how soft the slightly chewy mochi, aka glutinous rice dough, is. Due to the earthy aroma of sesame, the sugarless mochi actually tastes good on it own. For us who cave in to sugar cravings, just dip the mochi into brown sugar with osmanthus. The caramel taste of brown sugar and the floral aroma of osmanthus make this dessert such a delight to enjoy. 

I like the plants at the corner so much that I got to saunter over to them to take a closer look.

The premium Gong Ting Pu Er here is fragrant and very smooth.

I love this place not only for the awesome food, but also for the modern, classy Chinese interior with zen influences that reflects the philosophy behind the creation of the food: modern, clean, classy and inherently Chinese.

In fact, the cuisine here fuses together elements of Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew cuisines to create dishes that are familiar yet unique at the same time. Chef Lee Hongwei is a local who has an impressive resume of satisfying palates in China and Macau for many years before coming back to Singapore with his wealth of culinary experience to helm Yue Bai. I like how his dishes are different from other Chinese cuisine in certain elements that makes it a brand new gastronomic experience for me.

The service is so thoughtful, meticulous, friendly and professional. The staffs are also very knowledgeable on the food and the philosophy behind the restaurant. They go the extra mile to make sure patrons are well-attended to. I'm impressed. Part of the reason that I said Yue Bai reminds me of Summer Palace is because of the service.

I'm so happy to find a new gem in Yue Bai. I definitely look forward to going back, and this is one place I can bring my family to since the food here will cater to their tastes too and the great service will make the outing even more enjoyable.

Thoughts: One of the Best Chinese Restaurants, and one of my favourite Chinese Restaurants.

33 Duxton Road

Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar or Outram Park or Maxwell

Cream and Custard - Awesome Cakes at Awesome Prices

After trying Cream and Custard Lychee Rose cake at Wanderlust, I know I have to get this for a special Birthday celebration. As search on Cream and Custard, and I realise that this bakery only takes preorders, there is no dine-in options. And a check on the prices, I say this is, wow, value for money. Cakes of such quality usually cost much more. So for buying of cakes for personal indulgence or occasions, order from Cream and Custard, and for dine-in, enjoy these cakes at Wanderlust.

Copied from my post on Wanderlust:

Lychee and Rose are marriage made in heaven since both have floral notes that work perfectly together. While most Lychee Rose cakes at other places will focus on the taste of the rose, Wanderlust's Lychee Rose cake focuses on the Lychee instead, which is refreshing. And the taste sure is super refreshing. The refreshing lychee juice contained within the pretty boba pearls on top of the cake juxtaposes so well with the lovely creaminess of the lychee mousse. The rose cake sponge adds texture and that nice aroma of baked goods to this confectionery. I love this so much.

This is the shop front for collection of the cakes. The lady at the counter is very friendly. This is definitely one of my top choices for buying of whole cakes.

70 Shenton Way

Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar

Link to Order

Baristart Coffee - For both Coffee Lovers and Non-Coffee Lovers

At last! I get to dine at Baristart Coffee after weeks of trying to no avail. Big reason for this is because this quaint cafe always had a queue already when I went there at around 1pm. I beat the crowd this time by going at 10:30am instead and I got a seat without queuing, but much to my surprise, there are other patrons in there already. So yup, this place is that popular. After trying the food here, I can see why this cafe is so popular.

Since I don't drink coffee, I will talk about another specialty of this cafe instead: Hokkaido BLEI Jersey Milk. And custard of Strawberry Sweet Jar is made exactly from Hokkaido Milk. The custard is silky and very rich in flavour. Full of milky goodness and not heavy at the same time. The cookie crumbles add a nice variation in texture to accentuate the silkiness of the custard. I also like to eat the custard together with the aroma of baked cookie at every bite. A very nice dessert to enjoy.

I love it that this cafe offers something special that other cafes seldom do, which is yoghurt related drink. Since I'm slightly lactose-intolerant, this Blueberry Yoghurt Smoothie is my saviour, especially in the morning when I haven't eaten much yet. After enjoying does of this refreshing, super yummy, super healthy, slightly zesty and creamy smoothie, my tummy is feeling great all day long.

Obihiro Butadon is such an awesome dish, which surprises me since I do not expect a cafe to serve up something savoury that is so good. The pork is very thinly sliced to throughly soak up the essence of the sweet, aromatic homemade teriyaki sauce and for easy bite. Mizuna, a type of veggie which adds the refreshing element to the dish together with the onion, is easy to bite too. The fat of the pork is full of nutty aroma that makes it even better. Pearl-like Nanatsuboshi rice is starchy and has an iota of chewiness, I can actually eat this rice on its own. In fact, I have eaten it on its own as they are very generous with the amount of rice added to the don, so when I finish the pork slices, there is still some rice left ...

The place is of chic cafe style and features very flattering lightning where almost everyone there looks good. So when there, just snap lots of pictures of the instagram worthy food, yourself, your partner/s, friends or family. The service is good and efficient. This is definitely one of my favourite cafes due to the good food and the yoghurt smoothie–this is my personal must order when at Baristart Coffee.

Thoughts: Awesome Cafe!

65 Tras Street

Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar

Sum Dim Sum - Old School Goodness

Had been wanting to enjoy some old school dim sum, unlike the younger me who just wanted fancy dim sum, so I shortlisted Sum Dim Sum into my wishlist. Somehow, there is something about this place that attracts me. And since I'm at Jalan Besar area, going to a Christmas party at Enneagram Academy (side note: love their courses on the 9 personalities, self discovery and realisation, mutual sharing of experiences. I'm Type 5 by the way, the Investigator!), I might as well try out the dim sums at Sum Dim Sum.

One thing I like about this place is dim sum is also served for the night too, unlike lots of restaurants. And there are patrons dining there already when I arrive at 6pm. The place soon gets crowded after a while. Looks like lots of locals crave for dim sum at night too.

Deep Fried Shrimp Dumplings have lots of juicy, bouncy diced shrimps wrapped within the deep fried wanton skin. Nice! Though will be nicer if the skin is crisper.

Pandan Crispy Pork Bun has this lovely crispy biscuit dough top that tastes so good when eaten hot or warm. The light sweet aroma of pandan and the sweet savoury char siew makes it even better.

Smooth dough skin with light soya sauce, chopped spring onion and sesame seeds, ahh, this is how I like to eat rice roll, but I do wish there is more scallop meat in it.

Scallop Dumplings do fulfil my wish by having a slab of juicy scallop decked on top of each siew mai. And beneath the scallops is lots of succulent shrimp pieces 👍.

The exterior and interior has this old-school charm that feels as if one is transported to a Hong Kong dim sum house in the old times. There are some modern elements, like the blue forest painting, wooden frame, and hanging bamboo lamps, to make the place somewhat cosy. If I'm not in a hurry, I can really lounge here for quite a while and enjoy the piping hot dim sum. The service is friendly and very efficient, way better than that of lots of old school dim sum houses I had been to. This is a good place to enjoy some old-school dim sum with family, friend, partner(s) and oneself.

Thoughts: Sometimes simple old-school food can be good too.

161 Jalan Besar

Nearest MRT: Jalan Besar

Happy Grocery Shopping at Little Farms

Happened to pass by Little Farms when on my way to buy some Royce chocolates for Christmas, the rustic, cute little space is stacked with quality groceries, so I decide to go in to take a look.

Fresh fruits and vegetables, Wines and Cheeses, Sauces and Condiments, Frozen Savoury and Sweets Groceries, this place has them all. And there are lots of organic stuff too! I want to go crazy on buying the stuff here.

But since my hands will be very full with chocolates and cake, I get only the Marcel Recorbet Dijon Mustard instead. It is very flavourful. A good buy.

Maybe next time I will get more stuff from here. After knowing about this place, I am tempted to try out one of their restaurants, but alas, no reservation available for solo diners at two of the restaurants. Yes, I can try out one of the two, but I guess I will check out other restaurants in my wishlist first.

Locations of Little Farms

IKO Restaurant & Bar - Simulating Flavours (Revisit)

I had visited IKO Restaurant before, in fact more than once, and I really like the food here at the era when uni pudding was still in the menu. So when I chanced upon the new menu and I like what I see, I decided to revisit this place. Since based on what I had observed, the chefs here do overhaul on the menu on regular basis, so if I miss the the chance to try the new menu items now, I may miss it forever. And true to IKO's style, the creations are very simulating in tastes, which is shiok to savour.

High Sess Somen is served cold, and for a good reason: to preserve the original umami of the treasures of the sea and makes the texture of the somen smoother. The bed of fresh crab meat is so thick that it is hard to see the somen beneath, thumbs-up for this. Full of treasures of the sea, this somen is filled to the brim with simulating flavours. I love this.

Can you spot the somen at the start of the video?

The mild, briny sweet Oyster is hidden under the mountain of lychee wasabi granita soaked with sake. I love this for fresh oyster, of course, and the boldness plus the uniqueness of the granita. When I go to restaurant to have oysters, I want something special, not tabasco sauce (I like tabasco sauce with unlikely food, but tabasco with oysters is done to the death already). So the oyster at IKO is really wins me over and I say it is definitely worth a try.

White on White is thinly sliced succulent hokkaido scallop paired with slightly herbal fennel, tangy and mildly bitter pomelo, zesty dashi yuzu sauce and crisp radishes. This is a dish that has strong flavours hitting across the whole spectrum of taste profile and it actually works.

Yuzu Semi Freddo features simulating flavours too. These strong flavours: the crunchy burnt sweetness of honeycomb caramel, the super tangy taste of yuzu curd, milky goodness hokkaido milk ice cream and baked goods aroma of mint sponge, work together in harmony to create an awesome dessert. Highly recommend to savour all these components together.

The place is of chic bar layout where one can relax while feeling very cool when dining in there. Teh service is very good, friendly and cheerful. The ladies are full of smiles and always ready to respond to the patrons' requests. After a revisit here, I know I will be revisiting yet again, especially if there is a change in menu.

Thoughts: Tastebuds throughly simulated, in a great way!

65 Neil Road

Nearest MRT: Outram Park