House has been a Dempsey Hill feature for the longest time, known for their fries and vintage afternoon tea (which I've always wanted to try). I wasn't a fan till now, as they have refreshed their way overdue menu! New hits and improved house classics, plus a new dessert menu, will lure you from newer players at the idyllic Dempsey (I like Becasse).

Almost lunch and i'm craving for some crisp and fresh greens that will keep me satisfied. Introducing Skinny Salad, a fresh new concept by the crackling good folks of Skinny Pizza. Located at 100AM, in Tanjong Pagar, you lucky CBD folks out there can dine on yummy salads, tasty grilled wraps and vitamin-packed juices. 

While i like to create my own salad, having a pre-determined menu takes the pain from having too many permutations. Skinny Salad has engaged Celebrity Chef Philip Davenport of Toque 12 TV show fame for their 8 salads and 7 wraps for their opening. These salads are influenced by flavors of Thailand, Europe, Japan and the Mediterranean. Dressings are made from scratch and herbs thrown in for that special something something. Of course Ms Skinnyfat had to try everything at Skinny Salad so here's the low down, in order of preference! I'll start with the salads first. 

Roasted Roots & Goat Cheese ($11.50 with lamb). I love roots and can never say no to pumpkin, sweet potatoes and baby beets. This is a hearty but healthy salad because it's low in GI and i love how the basil, herb dressing and goat cheese gave the dish an added twang. Absolutely love goat cheese with pumpkin! The lamb shoulder was a little tough IMO. There's also the choice of chicken instead and they are both $3 

My second favorite is the Cabbage & Nouc Cham ($9) which is typically Asian with the pungent and salty nouc cham dressing with Vietnamese mint and chili. It could do with a little more spice actually but i do love this interesting salad, after i removed all the bean sprouts of course. Make sure you add on the yummy master-stock pork which was super umami and tender!

I'm a kale fan and the Kale & Quinoa ($11.50) is what i'd call a 'meaty' salad even if you don't add any meats to it. I guess that's because it's full of sprouted beans and leafy, leathery vegetables.

I like how Skinny Salad doesn't stinge on their greens. There's a wide and interesting selection of vegetables instead of lousy ones like lettuce and cabbage. In this salad, there're kale, green beans, zucchini, sprouted lentils, spinach, watercress, cherry tomatoes, beetroot and quinoa! Honestly you'd be paying through your nose for a mix like this elsewhere. 

The next 3 salads were ok and not fantastic but it's a matter of preference i guess. I found them a little bland for my liking. Here's the Seared Tuna & Radicchio ($13.50) which has white anchovies and olives. I love their red onion jam in this one though.

The Organic Chicken & Spinach ($12.50) was boring compared to all the exciting smells and flavors of the other salads. I guess you can't expect the cumin yogurt to spice things up. The chicken was a little dry for me.

The Fermented Cabbage & Yuzu ($11.50) was interesting but i found the mix a little too stringy for me with all the shredded up and shaved carrot, cucumber, enoki and mung bean sprouts. I liked the fermented cabbage and the spicy yuzu dressing though. Add on the confit salmon (made fresh daily) or the tuna for some Omega-3!

If a hot toasty meal is what you are craving for, then the wraps will be your thing. I preferred the heartier salads though as the wraps don't seem to fill much. The fillings may be similar to those of the salads but they're not entirely the same. They're wrapped smugly in a soft flour tortilla (comes in various flavors) before panini-ed for a crisp exterior.

My favorite of the wraps was the creamy Roasted Chicken ($8.50) that packed in a cauliflower tabbouleh, baba ghanoush, hummus, confit garlic aïoli, baby cos lettuce. No prizes for getting the inspiration behind this wrap right. They had me at hummus. A similar wrap is the Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder ($9.50) with feta, roasted garlic mayo and mint-yogurt dressing but the overall bite wasn't as rich as the Roasted Chicken though.  

Again, because of my love for pumpkin and cheese, the Roasted Pumpkin & Goat Cheese ($8.50) was my second love. Oh and because there were sweet caramelized onion, tomato chutney and basil sauce to give it that tangy, herby and salty flavors, it didn't even strike me that this is a vegetarian wrap. NOMS!

It's the return of the Master Stock Pork Belly ($8.50) in the form of a Vietnamese salad wrap using spinach tortilla, this time enhanced with kimchi aioli, mint and coriander. Give me more kimchi aioli please! 

For fish lovers, the Seared Tuna & Tapenade ($10.50) is a decent option provided that you like olives (i do!). The tuna is seared on site to ensure freshness and it paired well with the light lemon aioli and basil. This is wrapped in a tomato tortilla.

I did not like the Coconut & Turmeric Chicken ($8.50) because bean sprouts. This is a raw-ish and cool dish with cucumber and tofu and a rather bland coconut cream. 

Amp up your meal with some Vitamin C with Skinny Salad's freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices from $5. They're not cold pressed but they're still full of goodness! 

Skinny Salad is giving the other salad bars a run for their money honestly. With a changing salad and wraps menu created by culinary talents that they'll be working with, you'll never get bored of the selection. So go before your favorite salad/wrap gets replaced!

Skinny Salad

#01-03 100 Tras Street, 100AM. Singapore 079027 

Tel: +65 6444 2136 

Daily: 8am - 8pm 

Added to the decor mood board of my future home is Black & Ink, a cosy monochrome cafe with all my favorite elements- glossy tiles, marble tabletops, dark wood, and a light touch of color (preferably green or brown). 

The space is very tiny, meant for a quick cuppa and a slice before heading back to whatever you're supposed to be doing. I'm sure people wouldn't mind hanging around if the space were bigger. 

Coffee is pulled by Big Roy himself and served in the pretty Bodum Provina Double Wall Glass (which i'm tempted to get for myself). 

Beans are from a local micro-roastery and we had the house blend of Ethiopian Amaro Gayo and Columbian Excelso Timana. Medium bodied with a sweet berry acidity and dark chocolate finish. I always look out for the foam first and this was perfection. Single origins are also available in small quantities and sadly the Kenya Karogoto AB was sold out when we visited.

To accompany your coffee, there are light bites like tea cakes and savory muffins like Turkey Bacon Cheese Lava Egg and Chicken Meatball muffin ($4.50). Reminded me of the Pacific Marketplace's savory muffins. 

What you must certainly order is the Under The Table Cake, Big Roy's own creation. It's named such because it comes from the refrigerator under the table. Yeap. Banana mascaporne (with bits of banana) on a smooth milk chocolate center and a crunchy cookie base. This is more crumble than cake but tasty nonetheless. You cannot go wrong with banana and chocolate. Well, adding PB wouldn't hurt as well. Heh.

Black & Ink is kinda in the middle of nowhere but that's what specialty cafes are about ain't it? Well, they are also a social enterprise and will be working with people at risk, to help them get back and stay on track. Do pop by if you have a chance!

Black & Ink

168 Changi Rd S419730

Daily: 9am - 7pm

Closed Tues

"If it aint broke, don't fix it. Don't reinvent the wheel." Those were the thoughts that ran through my head as i sat through the preview of The Fabulous Baker Boy's new dinner menu. If only Juwanda were to stick to his brunch fare and cakes, I'm pretty sure people would love to have that for dinner as well (read my previous review here)..

Let's start with my favorite part of the meal- the cakes. TFBB is known for their cakes and while there were hits and misses (Green Tea Praline was too dry, Red Velvet a tad sweet), the latest addition, the Pam D'OR stole the limelight. This cake was created in honor of Juwanda's muse, actress Pamela Oei, a dear friend of his. 

What's better than sticky date pudding? A sticky date cake sandwiched with layers of butterscotch and cream cheese. Oh brown sugar, latte butter cream, and Valrhona chocolate. This cake wouldn't always be available in store but i think it should be made a staple. A 3kg 9" cake will set you back by $105 and each slice is $10. Love this one!

Back to the dinner menu, skip the salads and starters as they are quite blah. The Almond Encrusted Salmon with a mango hollandaise ($22) had several decent elements, such as the fragrant fat-free mango hollandaise sauce that had just a hint of sweetness. The salmon was a little overcooked but still palatable and would certainly do well with more sauce. The contrasting textures could be enhanced with a creamier spinach rather than one that looked like it came through the cold pressed machine but the flavor of the veg was on point.

I thought the Duck Confit ($21) was regular and by regular i do mean that it's not too bad. One of the more flavorful dishes of the night and the plus points were that it was fork tender and not too dry. I liked the cranberry plum compote that accompanied the duck.

Steak Frites ($25) 230g NZ grass fed sirloin, grilled on the griddle, dressed with mushrooms and caramelised onions and the horrible fries. No comments on this one as it was forgettable. The fries were just horrid i can't even begin to describe them (gosh the oil).

Serious room for improvement in the Fish Burger ($14.50). The components that i liked about this dish don't maketh a burger- the tangy Siracha tartar sauce, hint of curry leaves in the batter and the buttery billowing brioche. The batter needs to be WAAAY thinner and the fish needs more flavor on its own. Comes with the same horrible fries. 

The bastardized Fried Chicken & Waffles ($21) which was served with a half chicken. The horrors!!! Always chicken fillet. ONLY chicken fillet. I didn't like this dish due to the super hard and dense waffle and the overdose of syrup on this one (it was already drenched when served). TFBB definitely needs to work this one out man. That said, the meat was sufficiently moist though the buttermilk flavor could be enhanced.

Well well, that's my honest take on TFBB's dinner menu. Honestly i'm pretty certain customers would be happy with an all day brunch menu here with some heartier options. I do hope they work things the kinks out for dinner. In the meantime, be glad that you can now enjoy a slice (or two) with the extended opening hours at TFBB! 

The Fabulous Baker Boy
The Foothills, 70 River Valley Road, #01-15, Singapore 179037 

Tel: +65 6694 8336/ 9729 8560 

Tues to Thu: 11am - 10pm 

Fri & Sat: 11am - 11pm 

Sun: 11am - 5pm 

Looking to beef yourself up? Well head on over to Triple Three at Mandarin Orchard Singapore for some supersize-me action. From now till 26 Apr 2015, eat like an American at their Great Big American Buffet where iconic American dishes made from freshly flown ingredients from the U.S. are served.

Bespoke cocktails are still all the rage but it's tough to find a decent one in town, since most of them are in the Tanjong Pagar area. Well, if you are looking to enjoy a tipple in Orchard Road, a great place to head to is Elixir Bar in KUVO. We previously visited KUVO for brunch and tea (read about my KUVO dining review), and were rather satisfied. This time, i headed to the bar for their latest cocktail and tapas promotion which is going on till 31 May 2015, daily from 5 to 8pm.

Another waffle cafe that is on the hit list of SG Instagramers is the FATCAT Ice Cream Bar, located in sleepy Bedok. Do a quick Google search and you'll definitely see photo after photo of what i call the the 'Salted egg yolk Pour-over method'. And here's my contributing photo to add to that never ending list. 

Fatcat is known for their waffles first and there are 2 types- Original Waffles ($4) and Gourmet Waffles ($6). The first is a brown butter waffle served with salted caramel, chocolate fudge sauce and a sprinkle of lavender and the latter is slightly more fancy looking with its dark charcoal appearance. It has an added element of salted egg yolk sauce.

I think people are kinda too easily distracted by the waffles. If i can bring your attention to their name, it's Fatcat Ice Cream Bar and not Fatcat Waffles Bar. Get your priorities right people because the ice cream is pretty yums! It's $3.90 for standard flavor (white tag) and $4.50 for premium (black tag). Some of the popular flavors include butter beer, hay and honey and thai milk tea. 

We added pistachio and thai milk tea ice cream to our charcoal waffle. Don't you love the big round spheres of ice cream? The pistachio was very creamy and had an intense nutty flavor. It's a little on the sweet side though. I thought the Thai milk tea was so so, but it's definitely better than Sunday Market's which was more icy and diluted.

I liked the waffle at Fatcat. They are crispy on the outside and didn't get too soggy even with the ice cream. The plus point is that they are CHEAP. I wouldn't mind paying a little more for that extra bit of salt in their batter though. Having tried the charcoal waffle with salted egg sauce, i thought the normal ones would be sufficient. The superb smokey salted caramel and that hint of lavender were more than enough actually (it wasn't like the salted egg sauce was anything close to spectacular. i found it diluted in fact). I would however gladly have more of the salted caramel.

I suppose it's possible to finish 1 waffle on your own.

Fatcat also does a plated dessert menu that changes once every 2-3 weeks. Desserts come with an amuse bouche as well. Well, it's a gimmick that works i guess, though i think that Fatcat's waffles and ice creams can hold their ground. 

FATCAT Ice Cream Bar

Blk 416 Bedok North Avenue 2 #01-25 Singapore 460416

12/1pm till 10/11pm
Closed Tue

I've always been a fan of the curly yellow Sapporo ramen because i love love miso ramen. Well, that's till i had the most famous variant of ramen, right from ramen city that is Hakata, Fukuoka. This is the birthplace of famous ramen chains like Ichiran 一蘭 and Ippudo 博多一風堂 and any decent ramen fan ought to visit Hakata at least once. 

It's been a couple of months since Japanese bakery chain Asanoya Boulangerie opened its first-ever outlet outside of Japan in Singapore but i wasn't too quick to join the queue at the Queen Street outlet. Well i guess that's a good thing since when i recently visited, i found the place quiet and peaceful (also empty) during brunch time on a Saturday. 

The only reason why i'd want to go to a buffet would be for the sheer variety (must be quality item of course) but i wouldn't mind going for a crab buffet since the meal wouldn't be that heavy (so i thought). On that note, if you're a crab fan, then you should check out Brizo Restaurant & Bar at Park Hotel Clarke Quay as they are presenting their second run of ‘Crazier about Crabs’ Buffet from 1 April to 28 June 2015.