tesss

I'd be upfront and fess up that fishballs are not my kind of preferred food. If I had to and the occasions have been so rare, I can count with one hand how many times actually - fried fish balls. Hong Xing for breakfast one day mainly because the meepok doused in chilli paste looked so tempting. Drool in its greasy satisfying glory. Al dente yet so slurpworthy. What sorcery though? I could have finished this on its own even without the fishballs. The guy's positively got some noodle chops going on. And the verdict on these handmade fish balls? Soft and bouncy though you probably cannot play ping pong with them. Authentic handmade fishballs, according to the fishball connoisseur. I found them on the salty side but no complaints here. $3.50 for a delicious yet sinful breakfast.  Hong Xing Handmade Fishball 531A Upper Cross St, #02-30

The Interim Market at Cross Street is such a hot spot over lunch and people who work out of CBD actually travel here just for the good food, I suppose it says volumes? Well specifically for Say Seng and that got my interest piqued. These noodles had better be worth the while since the have differentiated pricing for different timings. This is what queueing after 11am gets me, $4 worth of fishball noodles and an extra sliver of prawn. The $3 version comes without. Granted this was tossed in ketchup, a dash of chilli sauce and some soya. I just was not sold when neither of the condiments stood out particularly for me though the noodles were really springy. The fishballs ain't handmade either so just a bowl of mee kia that comes with a history. Word has it that the old couple may not renew their stall lease when the new Golden Shoe Market is up.  Say Seng Unit number: #03-14 Opening hours: Mon-Fri 7:30am to 2pm

I summoned enough courage to take on Hong Lim Food Centre and even joined the lines for Tai Wah Bak Chor Mee. Talk about going all out for a first weekday visit. This food centre is renown for the concentration of food gems located in the same hawker centre, and they probably hold the record for longest lunch queue times too. Most stalls sport a long queue and minimally a 25 minute wait is needed.  Given Tai Wah's was less than 10 in line and I thought I would not need to spend more time queuing than eating. Turns out each customer in queue was buying for at least another.  Prices start at $6 and comes in either soup or dry version. Mine was a $6 version with a heap of liver slices cooked medium rare amidst the rest of the overcooked ingredients. Soggy noodles that reeked of alkaline and neh, I am barely impressed with this far from the Michelin version. Once and probably never again, I would rather queue at Crawford Lane's anyday. Tai Wah Pork Noodle 531A Upper Cross St, #

~Invited Session~ Gake is the brainchild of Chef Angus Chow, previously from Les Amis and Buruto offering diners a European Japanese fusion experience. This Chef of the Year at the 18th World Gourmet Summit Awards of Excellence is one to look out for, lunch is worth checking out if omakase is not up your alley. Seasonal Otoshi We began our meal with Crabmeat tartlets and caviar topping. Hiroshimi Oysters with Sesame Ponzu and Nashi Pear presents a slurpworthy aphrodisiac with spicy and sweet hints. Antagonian Toothfish with Asean Relish and Chilli Inspired by an asian steamed fish with bean paste, the flavours were familiar except toothfish is not your everyday fish. Hokkaido Scallop with Laksa and Beni Shoga Laksa foam gave this a local twist paired with the juicy scallops.  This palette cleanser is a refreshing and uncommon one - this tasted very similar to sea grapes except these were encrusted in a jelly. Rougie Foie Gras with Peanut Gravy and Aokyuri Zuke (+$10) Satay gon

Word of mouth is one of the most persuasive mediums ever, and more so when it comes to food. That was how I found myself right at the door steps of Saffron Cafeteria, a popular Indian Muslim eatery that hails from Tampines. The Swan Lake Avenue outlet is its second outlet and fans flock there for their power briyani. Choose from chicken, fish and mutton briyani in their list though some would go for just their fragrant briyani rice. When the server scooped the rice and chicken curry before wrapping it, I was definitely not impressed. So that's it? Until we got home and unveiled the packet then I understood the full fuss of this humble dish that most would consume with hands. Aromatic rice piled atop the curry chicken that made me salivate at first bite. Everything worked - in the most sinful, calorie laden and insane manner. I never ever drool over my briyanis yet this made me rethink my choice in future. Arguably the best the island has to offer and only if I asked for more gravy.

BrotherBird's croissants are the bomb after I was introduced to them at work and thrilled is having them do a popup in CBD! These were delivered right to my doorstep and I was in for a crazy yummy treat! The best kind of carbohydrate stack worth waking up to! Don't they look so gorgeously uniform? The camera always feeds first and having this cross section got me drooling in delight and I could not resist stealing bites of those crumbs. Ferrero Rocher Mochi Croissant ($5) This ranks tops for me, from the sticky molten chocolate filling and coating. Who can resist chocolate? What more on a buttery and flaky croissant. Infact this was more sinful and worth the calories than the pain au chocolat pastries they had this launch. Original Mochi Croissant ($3) They do really decent croissants and the twoddler was clearly very pleased that he was included in this sinful breakfast. We both enjoyed how it crinkles and cracks into buttery goodness. Passionfruit Pain Au Chocolat ($4) Wh

What's raging instagram these days is meals created from petrol kiosk purchases and I decided to join in the fun with these two IT products of the season! Tseng's Scallion Oil and Sichuan Pepper Noodles ($10.90 for 4 packets) Made famous by Taiwanese celebrity host, Tseng Kuo-Cheng who created a recipe out of his wife's love for noodles. These sun-dried noodles are the reason behind tons of fans lugging back cartons of these noodles on their Taiwanese escapades. When in doubt, always go spicy! These are retailed at selected Shell petrol stations and I managed to get just of the three flavours to try. No doubt really springy thick cut noodles that is more satisfying than our mee pok, there's almost nothing that gives it instant noodles origins away - well I guess sun-dried would make a difference to the taste profile and texture. Sold and I would love to try the other flavours!  These baby abalones doused in chilli oil and mala spices ($14.95) is bound to please - I

Even with CNY over and done, Blue Lotus is still serving their CNY menu till 11th March. I like their menu so much I've headed back twice over this festive period just to have some solid chinese food. Kurobuta Minced Pork, Sang Choy Bao ($14) Saucy minced pork wrapped in refreshing lettuce leaves - this gives salad a whole new delicious meaning. Spicy chicken nuggets is my weakness, infact my favourite snack on Mcdonalds' menu is spicy mcnuggets which is hardly a perma feature. Mouthwatering shiokness in every bite and these nuggets are fried so crisp, boo to soggy nuggets. Spells favourite! Prawn Paste Boxing Chicken ($14) Har jeong kai given a lease of new life with a side of spicy tangy sauce. Fried chicken is certainly their forte - crispy skinned juicy wings. Crab Balls ($22) A must try is their crabmeat balls with a piquant pomelo chilli crab sauce. It is akin to eating their famous chilli crab without the mess. 48 Hours Slow Cooked “Dong Po” Kurobuta Pork Bel