I've visited Hatter Street months ago but wasn't compelled to write them a review since they are already so packed and the crowd also played a part in my lacklustre dining experience with them. 

Despite the whimsical theme, the space was uncomfortable. I think their main purpose is to pack as many people in as possible so it was rather cramped. Also, you have to wait for a table before you can place your order, even though everyone knows that there is going to be a long wait time for the waffles. Do i make sense? Ok maybe i was just (H)angry (hunger induced anger) and i wanted my food fast but that did not happen.

So what's to eat here? Desserts, just desserts. Yvette Chua, who owns the place, trained at Singapore’s Culinary Institute of America and apprenticed at Hong Kong’s 3 Michelin-starred Bo Innovations for four months and she decided that desserts are gonna be it. Well, there's the famed Smoked sawdust pudding ($5) which is essentially a milk pudding with graham and some smoke. Well, i don't fancy the schmancy for desserts. I just want hearty calorie full options. Next. 

Other items such as some passion fruit and chocolate tarts, popcorn cake etc. But honestly, let's face it, you're just there for the waffles.

Waffles ($8.90). We went for the Pandan ice cream with gula melaka sauce which is a hot favorite. The waffle was crispy, and by crispy i meant it was like a giant potato chip. As with potato chips, once you start you can't stop so don't bother sharing because you can easily finish one on your own. Nice lingering aroma from the pandan ice cream but we could do with more gula melaka sauce. I reckon that the sea salt caramel waffle with vanilla ice cream wouldn't be too shady. 

Oh my 天 ($7.50) is a cookies and cream brownie with oreo ice cream and it came recommended. I should have trusted my own judgment because i thought the brownie was too tall and dry based on its appearance. I was right. The texture was a bit more cakey but with greater density but it was lacking in flavors (it had a one dimensional sweetness). I would not recommend this. The oreo ice cream was good though.

The Matcha latte ($5.50) was rather sweet and very milky. Thankfully it had sufficient matcha taste. 

I would love to be able to make this my regular dessert joint in the hood because the waffles are quite wow but i would never visit on weekends. The staff's mild hao lian beng attitude was also a put off. Moral of the story, do not stand between an hangry girl and her food.

Hatter Street Singapore
212 Hougang Street 21, #01-333 Singapore 530212
Tel: +65 6988 4591
Tue - Sun: 1-10pm

Close friends would know my obsession with having a V shaped face. Well, if you guys must know, my chubby cheeks stayed with me till I was 20 despite being as skinny(fat) as you occasionally see on Instagram and all. I'm not sure how my hamster cheeks went away but I religiously use the Clarins Shaping Facial Lift Total V Contouring Serum. However, if you're in need of a quick non-surgical non-invasive fix for an important function, then the Radio Frequency (RF) Brightening Treatment by The DRx Medispa would be the solution. I recently checked this facial out for my friend's wedding dinner.

Nominated as the “Best Non-Surgical Facelift”, the DRx RF Brightening Treatment promises more toned skin with visible tightening and lifting effect immediately after one session.

So how does it work? A specialized super brightening/anti-pigment cream or pore tightening/anti-aging cream will be worked into your face. You'd lie on a metal plate for the RF to work. Some physics and circuits thing that you can go read up on if you're interested. The therapist will then use another hand piece to massage your face.

You'll feel some heat as the massage goes on. That's due to the Radiofrequency (RF) energy which will generate bio thermal energy in the deep layers of your skin (deep dermis and sub-dermal layers). The purpose is to activate metabolism (for slimming) and increase the flow of nutrients and oxygen (for brightening).

The simple action will help stimulate collagen growth so that over time you'll get firmer and radiant-looking skin.

Hamster cheeks being squashed right here! Other benefits include reduced wrinkles, firming and toning including the eye area. Yes please! Smile lines be gone!

Daphne, my therapist for the session did half of my face first so that I could show you guys the comparison shot. Look at the right half of the picture! There was a visible lift of my cheek! And hello fruit-cutting-chin. :))

The DRx RF Brightening/Rejuvenation treatments are non-invasive with no downtime and it only takes 45 minutes! This makes it a good lunch time treatment! :)

The after treatment effect! Ahem fully clothed under that robe still! Daphne worked mostly on my laugh lines because she said my skin is still very young so nothing much to firm up. Wheeee!

And here's a picture at my friend's wedding 2 days later.

I've been told that this treatment is very rich so it may cause some breakout for some skin. I developed some little pimples but they were not obvious and only showed up after the wedding.

If you'd like to try this treatment, remember to quote ‘Blogger Cheryl 40% RF Treatment’ to get 40% off RF Brightening Treatment (U.P. $550) before GST.

Good news to my KL readers too, The DRx Group has opened its second branch in Kuala Lumpur at The Boulevard, Mid Valley City and will house The DRx Clinic, The DRx Medispa at the sprawling 5,000 sqft location spanning two floors. The award-winning DRx Trichology services will now be available to you guys too!

The DRx Medispa Singapore
302 Orchard Road, #14-02/#16-02
Tong Building (next to Paragon Shopping Centre)
Singapore 238862
Tel: +65 6223 1555
Mon to Sat: 10am to 8pm
Sun: 10am to 6pm
http://instagram.com/thedrxmedispa

The DRx Clinic and Medispa Mid Valley
No. 43-G The Boulevard Mid Valley City
Lingkaran Syed Putra 59200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603 2284 1088
Weekdays: 10am to 7pm
Weekends: 10am to 5pm (clinic is closed on sun)

There's a blazing fire that is out to turn up the heat on Hongkong Street and that is FOC Restaurant, a new Spanish dining concept and cocktail bar. FOC is an inspired collaboration between Michelin-starred Chef Nandu Jubany, Chef Jordi Noguera formerly from FoodBar Dada, and award-winning mixologist Dario Knox previously from Catalunya Restaurant. Yes it's a star studded team!

Expect a contemporary small plates menu with Catalan and Mediterranean influences, complemented by a selection of inventive cocktails. They even created a selection of Asian inspired tapas which were honestly pretty darn good.

Gazpacho de sandía con helado de aceite de oliva ahumado. Watermelon “Gazpacho” with charcoal smoked olive oil ice cream ($12). Light and tangy cold soup to awaken the taste buds. Love how the dish is kept cool with the olive oil ice cream!

Croquetas de setas. Mushroom croquettes ($8 for 4). There's something about breaded and fried mashed potatoes that have me ordering it over and over again and these were creamy with chunks of earthy mushrooms.

Coca de anchoas y escalivada, con queso Idiazabal. “Coca” with anchovies, charcoal grilled peppers, eggplant, spherical Idiazabal cheese ($16). This is great for vegetarians and meat eaters alike. I love the smokiness of these Nightshade but that kind of overpowered the cheese when you pop it in whole. It's a little pricey though.

Vieiras con caviar de soja. Scallops soy caviar ($20). It's scallops, and it's nicely seared and it's in a salty soy. There's really nothing else to it.

Pulpo a la gallega. Octopus Galician style, prepared with paprika, olive oil and potatoes ($22). I'm not a fan of octopus because it is rather flavorless and is easily rubbery. The pulpo at FOC is first sous vide so it's firm but not overly chewy and lightly spiced. I liked the potatoes more than the octopus though.

“Cansalada” confitada con pure de coliflor. Confited pork belly with cauliflower puree ($14/4pcs). Bland. Fatty. Bleah. Give me that cauliflower puree on its own.

Paella de arroz negro con mariscos y “all I oli”. Black Mediterranean “Paella” with seafood and garlic mayonnaise ($22). The rice was just right, done al dente of course. The rice tasted more sweet than salty, which took me by surprise on the first bite. Some salt please. I liked that there were generous chunks of squid mixed very nicely with the rice.

Cochifrito. Crispy Pork Taco ($14/2pcs). This is one of my favorites if not the top favorite dish. This is FOC’s take on the Mexican taco, and that crispy shell was too addictive. It's like a really awesome fried wanton skin filled with tender pulled pork. I really liked the crispy pulled pork. I didn't even mind the dou miao and I don't even like bean sprouts. Now could we have this in jumbo size or what?

Bocata de foie-gras a la brasa y shitake marinado. Grilled foie-gras with marinated shitake and green apple ($22/2pcs). Loved that broiche bun with a glossy blistered exterior. It was very crunchy and extremely buttery. Even though the foie gras was on the oily side, it had a nice creamy texture and i liked that the green apples added that tinge of tartness.

Chuletón a la brasa con guarnición. Grilled “Chuletón” beef steak with garnish ($35/150gm). Order if you really need your meats. It's tender and juicy but nothing spectacular. 

Espuma de Crema Catalana . “Crema Catalana” FOC Style ($12). Now this is like a Spanish creme brûlée with a distinct dulce de leche ice cream in the middle which was kinda icy. Nice sour strawberries break the monotony of the light foamy cream but still not quite my idea of desserts.

FOC Hamburguesa de chocolate FOC chocolate burger ($12). Now here is one carefully crafted dessert burger made from white chocolate, vanilla mousse, strawberries and mint leaves. You should eat it all together for a balanced review of this dessert. The combined flavors of the smoky caramel, sweet milk chocolate and the tart strawberries were delightful. The cream in the 'bun' had a marshmallow texture too!

If you find the food a little too pricy, i'd suggest that you line your tummy somewhere else and then come here for drinks and some snacks anyway! The impressive and affordable drinks menu curated by Dario certainly gives 28 HongKong a run for their money plus there are available ALL DAY. Dario also started FOC’s own solera system to age a range of spirits and makes an extensive list of syrups, infusions and bitters.

The Madame Butterfly ($13) was a delicate like a rose with many house made ingredients e.g. lavender honey infusion and Floral Gin Blend N. Great drink for the ladies.

If you're for something refreshing, the Indochine Enchantée ($16) will cool any Singapore heat. Distinct passion fruit, mint, lime and honey could be tasted. If they could up the ginger flavor, the drink would be perfect.

If you want something with a kick (spice), then the Blacked Out in Bangkok ($13.50) would be your thing with the home made Lemongrass-Ginger-Cachaçz, Kaffir Lime Leaves Infusion and Chili Padi-Lemongrass Tincture. SPICY!

For Serious Drinkers, El Vermouth de Dali ($15.50) is a strong one. It's citrusy with a light bitterness and spice. You will also taste a hint of the smokiness.

I would recommend the bar counter for an interactive dining experience (only if it's just the 2 of you).

For bigger groups, i love the space at the further end of FOC Restaurant with double-height ceilings, a large skylight and three communal tables that seat up to eight diners each. Very cosy indeed.

Adding to my list of favorites for tapas and drinks. Will certainly be back with friends!

FOC Restaurant
40 Hongkong Street
Singapore 059679

Mon - Sat: 12pm - 2.30pm; 6 - 11pm

Cocktails and bar bites available all day

Thanks to the Derek Low saga on Singapore Airlines Suites, I believe that the awesomeness of our National carrier product is now known to many. I've loved the Suites since I first tried it on my Melbourne trip (read it here)but didn't truly get to fully enjoy the experience (other than the bed) due to motion sickness. A travel mishap with Thai Airways (TG you suck for your last min change of aircrafts) called for a rebooking on SQ Suites instead (a happy problem I say). The other good thing that came out of it? An extensive review of The Private Room, the exclusive lounge for Suites passengers, just for you! 

Our golden ticket to awesomeness was handed to us at our private check in facility at T3. Fond memories of the private first class check in lounge where I spent a good hour with the helpful SQ staff who sorted out my travel woes some time back. These folks are amazing I tell you. So we breezed through the private immigration counter and headed to the Krisflyer lounge.

Many travelers would check in way ahead of their flight to enjoy the comfort of The Private Room.

I love that The Private Room is situated far away from the crowded Business Class lounge (gosh it could be crazy in there) and it's also a walk through the buffet lines of the First Class section. Since the sprawling and peaceful TPR is only reserved for Star Alliance first class passengers and SQ's top tier elite members, you can be guaranteed of impeccable but non-intrusive service (it was previously only for SQ passengers).

Love the little nooks right by the windows but the daylight could be pretty harsh at times.

Choice beverage for breakfast! Bubbly to kick start the vacation. It's Krug or Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame. I only remembered that it wasn't Dom Perignon. :P

Here is the breakfast menu at The Private Room. We checked in slightly earlier just so that i could sample the breakfast selection. Such hard work for the blog really. :P

Some of the Asian dishes are available for lunch and dinner so i thought i'd give the English breakfasts a shot. Well i regretted immediately. TIP: Stick to the Asian dishes. Really. You'll see why later but first, my top favorite- the Roti Prata.

I should have listened to the folks on SQ flyer talk and gone for the prata immediately. These freshly made pan fried doughs are possibly the best roti pratas that i've eaten in Singapore. Crispy layered buttery goodness. I was so gheeful after eating them (punny me). And that flavorful chicken curry that packs a punch! OMG. They need to sell this somewhere i swear. I think i need another trip back in here to convince the chef to open shop. 

Assorted Dim Sum. Stellar as usual. Freshly made, quality ingredients, just like what i'd get in a good Chinese restaurant in Singapore or Hong Kong. Always order this too. Good thing is that it's available for lunch and dinner too. 

Bak Chor Mee- Egg noodles with a minced pork gravy with shredded mushrooms and meat balls. This is done in a somewhat Cantonese style with mildly sweet saucy minced meat. The noodles are also the more delicate Hong Kong egg noodles which were crunchy. Remember to get the dried chili to pair with. 

Now to the extremely disappointing English Breakfast menu. TPR really needs to do something about this. Can you see the papery egg whites is this Eggs Benedict? Too much vinegar in this one! That hollandaise sauce was also weak in flavor and texture.

And overdone egg yolks. The crispy pancetta slices failed to save the dish.

Even Prima Deli does better waffles than this Waffles with cinnamon apple and raisins. The texture resembled those from the supermarkets.

I can make better french toast than these from the TPR. The bread was too thin and it's definitely the regular white bread from the supermarket again (Brioche should be used by the way). I didn't see what's so Singaporean about this Singapore French Toast. No we don't eat such lousy french toasts in Singapore. The citrus flavored mango coulis was very thin and tasted processed. 

Do yourself a favor and skip the coffee as well. 

Now the lunch/dinner menu at TPR, most of which we have sampled before.

Go with the Lobster Thermidor with 3 cheeses. Well freshly cooked lobster is always better than what you'll get on board plus it's unlimited servings. Love the creamy cheese.

I don't know what got into my head but i opted for a lighter option which is the Baked Snapper Fillet. It's good if you're sick and lacking an appetite but it was too darn plain for me.

Instead of having the entire Wagyu Beef Burger (ok it's actually pretty small but the patty isn't that flavorful), we would always order the seared foie gras on its own (it's supposed to be in the burger). Sadly, it seemed to have gotten more oily! :( 

The Asian selection was yummy once again. The Lap Mei Fun (Claypot Rice)- a dish of steamed white rice with Chinese preserved pork sausage, waxed duck leg, pork belly, salted fish, all cooked in a dark sauce (prep 10mins) is a refreshing dish to see on the menu. Taste wise it was decent.

Assorted Satay- chicken, beef or mutton, served with onions, cucumbers and rice cubes, with peanut sauce. Tastes the same as what is served on the SQ Biz/ First class but slightly juicier.

S enjoyed the Beef Brisket Hor Fun (rice noodles) served with tender braised beef brisket.

Other than eating, there's not much to do in the lounge other than to relax before the flight and i find myself most relaxed if i'm able to get a pre flight/ between flights bath. TPR's shower facility is great with ample space and regular bath amenities.

It doesn't have a full rain shower but this nozzle works equally well. 

Also, the jacuzzi jets to give you a nice back massage during your bath. It'd be great if they provide better bath amenities though. 

Hope this gives you a better idea of what The Private Room provides. Enjoy your next transit here!

XOXO

Travelerintransit