On a quiet Wednesday evening, I found myself at Koh Grill & Sushi Bar with an old friend (who also happens to love Japanese food). I love sushi, sashimi and wasabi. Okay I just added wasabi cause it rhymed but hey, I love my Japanese food - wasabi or not.

Located right next to Food Republic at Wisma Atria, this is a pretty small place for all the attention it's been receiving lately. We were there at about 5pm and managed to get seats at the counter, but it was still kinda crowded for a weekday.

Please do not leave the bar without ordering a plate of Shiok Maki ($16.80). This is, the mother of all makis. Grilled unagi and avocado rolled in seaweed, topped with lightly roasted salmon, drizzled in mayonnaise sauce, and an abundance of fish roe. You must get a taste of maki-heaven served on a plate.

Shiok Maki ($16.80)

We also had the Seafood Fried Rice ($10.00) and Black Cod Fish Soup ($14.00). The fried rice was decent, and I wouldn't mind having it again the next time, though it was a tad salty. I'd give the soup a miss though, it was pretty bland and I got bored of it quickly. Might trade the soup for Crappy Maki ($18.00), next time, since they're known more for their amazing makis.

Seafood Fried Rice ($10.00)

An affordable and casual Japanese sushi bar, Koh Grill & Sushi Bar might be my new go-to place for a quick sushi fix next time. But I'll probably head there early during the day since by the time we left, a really long queue had formed outside.


Koh Grill & Sushi Bar
435 Orchard Road
#04-21 Wisma Atria Shopping Centre
Tel: 91803805

Opening Hours: Daily: 11:30AM - 10:30PM

Turned out we had some time to kill before Ang Lee's Life of Pi and as usual, we popped by the nearest cafe to laze around for a bit with some breakfast for lunch (cause saying brunch just isn't as fun). The service was probably as long as the movie. Okay I kid. But hey it was pretty slow that day, could be a busy weekday afternoon.

I've always found the interior and deco of Pique Nique to be a tad quirky - the brick walls, the hanging lights, mismatched furniture and the tiny jar of soil found on each table. The outlet at JCube is much bigger and cosier. So we decided to go with the Farmer's Omelette ($12.80) and the Eggs Ben for Dee - she's in a poached eggs phase.

Farmer's Omelette ($12.80)

The presentation of my three egg omelette could have been improved, but that was made up for once I cut through it to reveal a hidden gem of bacon, sausage, potatoes, mushroom, onions and tomatoes! I was pretty satisfied.

Eggs Benedict ($12.00)

As for Dee, she's easily contented with her Eggs Benedict ($12.00) as long as the eggs are cooked to perfection: yolk is runny and oozes all over and soaks the English muffin underneath. Runny egg yolks - check! While Prive remains close to her heart on the Eggs Benedict chart, these weren't too far from the top. The steamed ham was pretty bland though, nothing special.

Hot Iron Waffle with Maple Syrup ($11.80)

The best part of Pique Nique? Hot Iron Waffle with Maple Syrup ($11.80). Made upon order, this was warm and crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. The homemade vanilla ice cream was a perfect complement and delicious on it's own - creamy and silky smooth, you could even see the vanilla pods! I've been there thrice, just for the waffle, yes it's that good.




Pique Nique's a pretty nice place to head to for some after meal dessert, their cupcakes and coloured macarons are a definite visual treat and their waffles are easily one of the best we've had!


Pique Nique
#B1-01 Takashimaya Shopping Centre
Ngee Ann City Tower A
391A Orchard Road
Tel: +65 6238 6705

What better restaurant to find at the mezzanine level of Grand Hyatt hotel, than Mezza9 itself! The place offers an interesting upscale dining experience in an otherwise casual and laid back ambience. We chose the Set Dinner ($79.90), which allowed us to customize our menu from their array of international cuisines.

Complimentary bread with tomato dip

For starters, we were each served a warm Blue Swimmer Crab Cake with Remoudale sauce (similar to Tartare sauce). These balls, in the style of cutlets, were breaded and fried to give a crispy coat that was an absolute delight to bite into. Evidently I was too engrossed in them that I missed a shot of their signature appetizer. A great start to dinner, I secretly wished they'd serve us a second round!

Along with the crab cakes, we had Smoked Scottish Salmon which was beautifully garnished with chopped egg, herbs and sour cream. This dish was not only aesthetically pleasing, but tasted good too.

Smoked Scottish Salmon

From the Japanese cuisine, we ordered 8 skewers of Assorted Yakitori which included Beef, Chicken-leek, Chicken meat ball, Chicken wing, Pork-belly onion, Tomato-bacon, Sword fish-chilli and Smelt fish. These were marinated in Yakitori sauce, a type of sweetened soy sauce, which perfectly complemented the grilled meat. My favourite was the good ol' chicken meat ball, which were of decent sizes and seasoned generously with pepper.

Assorted Yakitori

For the main course, we had Wok fried rice with shrimp, Hong Kong kai lan, Steamed Seabass fillets with ginger paste and orange peel, and Wok fried chicken with cashew nuts and dried chillies. The chicken was similar to the dry chilli chicken preparation from a hawker center, except sadly this one had more dried chillies than the meat itself. And what's a fusion cuisine without lamb rack! So we ordered some Char-grilled lamb rack with buttered asparagus and parmesan. The meat was done medium-rare and had too much fat for my liking.

Steamed Seabass fillets

And now to the best part of dinner - the desserts! I was seriously spoilt for choice, but my favourite was the Vanilla & Praline Mille-feuille topped with assorted berries. This popular French dessert was made up of alternating layers of puff pastry and whipped cream, and when tasted, a silky smooth custard and a burst of berry flavours pushed all the right buttons for me.

Vanilla & Praline Mille-feuille

The Chocolate Fondant with coffee sauce is a match made in heaven for real chocolate lovers. With a thin crust-like chocolate outer coat and a soft centre of rich molten chocolate, this warm dessert was sure to send off enough endorphins to keep me happy for the night.

Chocolate Fondant

Next in line to tingle my tastebuds was the Granny Smith Apple Crumble with custard sauce and Tahitian Vanilla bean ice cream. The apple pie which was served in a ramekin had a delicate cinammon crust in the shape of a dome, and the custard sauce was served separately in a shot glass. Unfortunately, the dessert had me embarrassingly licking the sweet custard off the spoon to neutralize the taste of the sour apple crumble.

Granny Smith Apple Crumble

Banana & Passionfruit Crêpe

AND THERE'S MORE. Mango, raspberry and chocolate Sorbets, for the reduced guilt pleasures in life. Served elegantly in a martini glass, the sorbets came with a cripsy chocolate coated wafer in between them; well I guess they have their ways in just throwing in extra calories. The flavoured sorbets were refreshing and a perfect wrap to the feast.

Sorbet

With its dim lights and lovely setting, Mezza9 is the place you'd wanna bring your date to impress, though be prepared to keep your wallets full to maximize the experience here. I wouldn't mind going back again (with Su this time) to savour their famed cakes over a cosy afternoon tea!

Guess who just turned one! Wimbly Lu. I love the name of this cafe, though I have no idea what it means, just sounds really quirky and happy. Located in Jalan Riang, just off Serangoon MRT, I absolutely adore the ambience here. While you've got waiters at the doors of other restaurants to greet you, Wimbly Lu's got a sweet vintage red and white Volkswagen Beetle, pretty much permanently parked right outside their entrance.




This cafe feels almost like it'd fit comfortably among a row of quaint shop houses somewhere in France. The decor inside was also really pretty, with coloured buntings hanging from the ceiling, old school brick walls, dim lighting and dark wooden floors. But my favorite part about the cafe would definitely be the skylight. Allowing sunlight to stream in and fill the cafe during the day and the evening hues of purple and dark blue to fall on us, it's a great place to share a dessert or two with a loved one.




Selling different types of handmade chocolate truffles, you can purchase a box or two to enjoy them in the comforts of your home.




So we had the popular Root Beer Cake ($6.00) first which was served in a martini glass with a single scoop of homemade Vanilla ice-cream. The combination of root beer and chocolate was surprisingly good! The taste of root beer wasn't too overpowering and we were still be able to enjoy the chocolatey cake. Definitely a must-try, if you're heading to Wimbly Lu.

Root Beer Cake ($6.00)

We also tried the signature Blackout Cake ($6.00), which was essentially just plain chocolate cake. It was too dry and crumbly for my liking, since I prefer my cakes moist and slightly spongy. There wasn't anything that particularly stood out, and was pretty much just a good ol' slice of chocolate cake.
 

Blackout Cake ($6.00)

Next on our menu was the Chocolate Crème brûlée ($5.00) which Dee would gladly vouch for any day. (She pretty much wiped it clean all by herself, though I managed to steal a few spoonfuls before she proudly presented me with the empty ramekin). With a perfect texture of custard, it was just the right amount of sweetness and wasn't too chocolatey.

Chocolate Crème brûlée ($5.00)

And a great finish to our chocolate indulgence, was the Chai Latte ($6.00). It came with a cinnamon stick and a sweet biscuit which kinda reminded me of the latte served at Orange Thimble. The taste of cinnamon was a tad too strong though. Moderately sweet, the latte was otherwise a great accompaniment to the rich desserts.

Chai Latte ($6.00)

Wimblu Lu, was definitely a winner in terms of ambience and the interior. It's the place you'd want to take a special someone over to have a quiet chat over some rich chocolatey dessert. With a classic vintage vibe, and a very pocket-friendly range, we'd be back again to try the much raved about waffles and salted caramel ice-cream!

Wimbly Lu Chocolates
15-2 Jalan Riang
Tel: 6289 1489

Opening Hours:  Mon – Fri 1:00PM –10.30PM, Sat 9:00AM–11:00PM, Sun 9:00AM–10.30PM

Offering both savory delights such as the raved Salmon and Ham Squid Ink Burger ($8.50) and sweet treats like the personal favorite, Mixed Berry Crumble ($6.00), it seems like French baker Gontran Cherrier's set the bar up real high here in sunny Singapore.

Kouign Amann ($3.50)

Chocolate Mendiant Tart ($6.50)

With a dark chocolate top and a light yet crumbly tart base, this Chocolate Mendiant Tart ($6.50) was not only a visual winner but also tasted really really good. It had a layer of chocolate ganache and a dried fruit and nut base to give the tart an extra crunch. The base complemented the dark cocoa and was just the right amount of sweetness. The tart was served chilled, perfect for the afternoon heat. 

Chocolate Croissant ($3.20)

Although, the croissants are probably what's most famous at Tiong Bahru Bakery right now, priced at only $2.50 and offering a plateful of buttery goodness, I personally thought the Chocolate Croissant ($3.20) was just, well, alright. No doubt, the croissant in itself, as with all the other pastries, was beautifully baked. But we couldn't help but wonder if they'd forgotten to put the filling in our croissant since we barely tasted any dark chocolate. Thankfully the complimentary homemade raspberry jam was yummy enough to salvage the filling (or lack thereof) in this croissant!



Tiong Bahru Bakery's definitely one of my favorite chill out places right now. A comfy bakery exuding an old school charm, I see myself spending many lazy afternoons here, catching up with old friends over hot chocolate and some mixed berry crumble. Will be heading back to try the chocolate almond croissant and raved about magic coffee next!

Tiong Bahru Bakery (Eng Hoon Street)
56 Eng Hoon Street, #01-70
Singapore 160056
Tel: 6220 3430

Opening Hours: Mon, Wed - Sun 8:00AM - 8:00PM
(Closed on Tuesdays)

Tiong Bahru Bakery (Raffles City)
252 North Bridge Road
#B1-11/12 Raffles City Shopping Centre
Tel: 6333 4160

Opening Hours: Daily 11:00AM - 10:00PM