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Italian cuisine does not automatically rank tops for favoured cuisines and it was one of those - where shall we go? casual and cosy sort of decisions and Lucca's came up in the search. With an open mind, we checked out this restaurant specializing in Tuscan cuisine. I've never been to Tuscany but Italy remains one of my favourite countries in the world for food. Crusty focaccia bread cubes on the house. Calamari ($14) Crisp golden brown calamari rings sprinkled with Sea Salt and Freshly ground Black Pepper, served with Garlic Caper and Lime Aioli Like tempura, calamari rings are a gauge of the kitchen's deep frying skills. Lightly coated, absolutely tasty, these rings were tender and thankfully not rubbery. The garlic caper and lime aioli are must tries too, I am hardly a calamari fan. Until this appetizer of course. Caprese ($12) Chunks of soft Buffalo Mozzarella tossed with mixed Cherry Tomatoes, torn Basil Leaves and dotted with sweet balsamic reduction The chunk of M

Indian Curry House has been around for even longer than Zaffron Kitchen if memory serves me right and I guess curiosity killed the cat enough for me to finally pay it a visit. These tasted like papadum crackers. Fish Cake ($10.90) Mashed chunks of fish, chilli mayonnaise A far cry from the published, these flattened and more than golden brown fish cakes were slightly burnt and were more of potato than fish cakes. Mulligtawny Shorba ($7) South Indian Lentil Soup Imagine an MSG laden mee soto soup? This was it and nowhere near the curried version I love. Sheekh Kebab ($17.90) Minced Lamb Smoky sticks of minced lamb peppered with enough herbs. Chicken Tikka Masala ($17.90) Onion Gravy Mostly sweet and missing out on some heat, while it looked the part, I thought it fell short of expectations. Aloo Gobi ($12.90) is one of the vegetable dishes I must order everytime I eat Indian food. The aromatic gravy and potatoes especially is what I get so sold on. Garlic Naan ($4) Cheese Naan ($4) Betw

~Invited Session~ KRAFTWICH™ by Swissbake has recently had their dinner menu redefined with an all new assortment of hot sandwiches, exclusively created by MasterChef Asia Finalist, Lennard Yeong. Their   KRAFTWICH™ journey on the wall! Ain't no mountain tall enough to be called a sandwich. Gotta love the bread-filling ratio. Cold pressed juices are also available and this beetroot orange was such a thirst quencher! Roast Beef Krafwich with demi-glace dip reminded me of roast beef with onion soup, somehow. The melted cheese, roast beef slices and onion dip. Open Baked Chicken Kraftwich with Thai Green Curry Dip was on point for sandwich yet underwhelming for the Thai Green Curry Dip which was missing out on heat characteristic with Thai inspired dishes. These two new creations are delicious on their own, though I personally thought the dip itself was superfluous. At some point I thought it would have been great on its own and better with a soup. They are delicious on its own but t

Once again, Instagram was the root of this evil. ChangHoSek is a newbie for this year's Mid Autumn and infact, gotten famous because of their signature premium tingkat packaging. I was originally sold on the cute as a button packaging yet the price premium for it was just not justifiable. I guess for gifting, it would be outstanding but personal consumption, it just seemed a tad frivolous. So then, boxed mooncakes it had to be. Mao Shan Wang Durian Mooncake ($98, 4 pieces) Individually sealed and a mere cut revealed a pungent whiff. The first slice made causes quite a dent in the snowskin and yanked the skin from the filling which caused quite an unsightly presentation of the mooncake. Sticky and somewhat pasty snowskin which ranked this out of the chart for snowskin and the durian filling albeit really pungent was a tad too icy for me. Maybe I should have left them to thaw a tad longer but I would say stick with the durian big wigs first, until they improve their recipe.

~Invited Session~ When I thought cheese tarts have ended their fever and given way to egg sponge cakes, Bakerzin launches an egg tart range that is softer, fluffier and bigger. These are given a twist in recipe with almond sponge as a base before the cake is plumped with cheese filling. The traditional original cheese tart is filled with rich and creamy cheese and overlayed with apricot glazed honey, rendering it a sweet treat indeed. I would recommend eating this after refrigerating. Soft and fluffy oreo cheese tart boasts of a light chiffon baked with cream cheese and almond sponge. These cheese tarts retail for $4.50 a piece and are subject to prevailing government taxes for selected outlets. From now till 30th September, there is an ongoing promotion of 1 Free with every 3 Purchased. Other delectable flavours include Strawberry Panna Cotta and Matcha. Available at: 18 Tai Seng Gardens By The Bay United Square Vivocity 28 Maju Avenue Nom La La by Bakerzin

The last time I paid Fremantle Seafood Market it was over lunch for their cheap set lunches. This time, it was still over lunch - dead towns are great for lunches because food gets served a lot faster and the lack of crowds makes dining so enjoyable. Chilli Crab Pizza ($32) Crab with lime garlic chilli sauce National day fever is still raging since I still caved into an order of chilli crab pizza. Loved the copious amounts of cheese yet on the fence about the pizza base and sweet seasoning. S eafood Bucket ($28) Fish, Oysters, Prawns, Fresh Squid Everything was yummy except the portions can be bigger. Silver Fish Fried Rice ($16) wok-fried frangrant rice with crispy silver fish On top of their existing seafood menu, Fremantle has a selection of local zichar delights. Wok hei packed fried rice topped with crispy silver fish made a surprisingly very appetizing dish. This actually tempted me to give their other zichar dishes a try. Once known for just its seafood dishes, Fremantle Seafoo

I am the kind of girl who loves trying new flavours, infact the bolder the more enticing, yet when it comes to old favourites, these have a soft spot. One of them belongs to Raffles Hotel's Signature Champagne Truffle and Ganache Snow-Skin Mooncake ($72) which really needs no further introduction. Old is gold and proven time and again.

~Invited Session~ Bottled drinks have long been introduced to our beverage loving nation. Chun Cui He 純萃。喝 clearly reinvented the wheel with their range of milk teas and coffees when they first came to shores late last year. The queues at 7-11 were insane, to the extent I helped my sister stalk out at those outlets just to get my hands on their milk latte. It was almost a case of fastest fingers first and stocks for the week would be wiped out within the hour reaching the 7-11 outlet, and it was a true story of Crowd control is clearly better now since there is ready stock and so many flavours! Sumiyaki coffee has finally arrived, making their coffee offerings locally to two! Green Milk Tea previously made available has been re-released with a new look too. So that gives Chun Cui He 純萃。喝 fans more reason to rejoice. With the weather so erratic and sweltering, I made popsicles out of these bottled beverages and aren't they too cute? Keep calm and slurp on! Available at all leading 7

Chilli's has been around for eternity at Tanglin Mall's. And over lunch hour, it is almost empty without much crowd. Service was brisk and....who drinks at noon time? Apparently the crowd at Chilli's do. The all too iconic, Chilli's. All American diner vibes, from the bar counter to the counter seats and choice of tiles even. Santa Fe Chicken Salad Grilled chile-rubbed chicken breast, house-made pico de gallo, fresh diced avacado, chopped cillantro, crispy tortilla strips with house-made ranch dressing and a drizzle of spicy Santa Fe sauce. In other words, a chicken salad with ranch dressing. The only pity about this dish is the usage of chicken ham than chicken breast. Mix and Match Ribs Combo I love having the best of both worlds so it's original and honey chipotle ribs together. I prefer the latter for the savoury and mild heat over the generally sweet original ribs. Those homestyle fries and sweet corn on the cob were excellent with the finger licking yummy ri