It's the Mooncake season again a.k.a. Mid Autumn Festival and based on the mooncakes that i've been sampling, i think the trend this year is... YAM. We aren't strangers to this gorgeous purple pink root in our desserts and i love how it's presented in the flaky filo pastry! Also, Mao Shan Wang Durian is still a hot favorite in the snowskin collection of many restaurants.

Hai Tien Lo at Pan Pacific Singapore

With seven delicately handcrafted mooncakes, you will be spoilt for choice by Hai Tien Lo at Pan Pacific Singapore. Their highly popular Mao Shan Wang Durian Snowskin Mooncake is also making a comeback this year!

Well i'm certainly going Japanese with the Green Tea Paste with Single Yolk in a golden brown pastry! Also, how can anyone resist the Black Sesame with Single Yolk that has the most amazing fragrance. Pre order these now to be the first to get your hands on these golden parcels, available from 15 Aug to 15 Sep. 

Hai Tien Lo is also doing a specially crafted Six-Course Mid Autumn Reunion Set Menu available for dine in in the same period! Might as well gather the whole clan and celebrate!

I've written about how Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore offers an affordable Sunday Champagne Brunch with Perrier Jouet.. BUT GUESS WHAT? J65 restaurant is launching its latest dining promotion that allows guests to Eat Through The Week with a series of dining options from Monday to Sunday. Every day for dinner, J65 will launch a different theme, from Crab! It’s Monday, Tuesday’s Beef Yourself Up!, Wednesday’s Lobster Rock ‘n’ Roll, Thursday’s His Majesty the King Prawn, Hooked! Seafood Mania on Friday and Saturday, and Sunday’s Let’s Go Local.  

Yes there is going to be something for everyone but it does sound like there's going to be a lot of seafood! Crappy Mondays will be made better with Salted Egg Crab, Black Pepper Crab and Homemade Crab Popiah..

Meat lovers would delight in the Beefy Tuesday offering with Rib Eye Roast, local Sup Ekor and Beef Rendang Tok. Tiger Beer Draft goes for just $5!

The star of Wednesday is the Lobster and I want some of that Hand Tossed Lobster Roll, and Roasted Lobster Bisque. Even the local laksa gets a makeover with some lobster in them. PLUS it's Ladies' Night, so you girls get first sampler Sangria for free and subsequently, one-for-one Sangria at $14 ALL NIGHT LONG.

Prawn lovers should make it down on Thursday for a medley of King Prawn dishes- Baked Sea Salt King Prawns, Claypot Live Prawns in Herbal Broth and Penang Prawn Mee will delight your tastebuds. 

If you love ANY type of seafood, you have Fri AND Sat to feast on fresh seafood including Fin de Claire oysters, lobsters, crabs, prawns and scallops. 

Sundays are for spending with the family and your folks would certainly enjoy the local spread that includes Lamb Briyani, Chef’s Signature Popiah, Fried Oyster Omelette and Teochew Braised Duck. 

The Eat Through The Week promotions are available for dinner (6 - 9.30pm Sun - Thu; 6 - 10pm Fri & Sat). It is priced at $55/pax (Sun - Thu) or $60/pax (Fri - Sat).

J65 Restaurant

Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore, Level 1 

1A Cuscaden Road, Singapore 249716

Tel: +65 6831 4374 

Fancy English Afternoon tea with dainty finger sandwiches and bites in a colonial setting? YES PLEASE. While we were on our staycation at Goodwood Park Hotel, we couldn't help but be tantalized by the sight and smell of these gorgeous savory and sweet delights at L'Espresso.

Say goodbye to the plain 'ol cucumber sandwiches and hello to a whole range of interesting sandwiches. How about Meatloaf & Zucchini Piccata; Turkey Ham with Granny Smith Apple & Cheddar; Smoked Pork with Emmental Cheese & Orange Marmalade; Peppery Beef pastrami with Gruyere Cheese & Sauerkraut? 

If that sounded interesting, wait till you see the little open-face sandwiches. Here we have the Duo of Smoked Salmon with Avruga Caviar; Croissant with bacon and avocado apple; Blue cheese with Fig & Quince Jelly; Spiced Chicken Roll with Potato Crumble and Sour Cream. 

In particular, the Crabmeat salad with avocado & tomato salsa in Vol-au-vent (a light pastry puff), and the salami & truffle mille-feuille should not be missed. Other than the regular cold cuts, there's also the creamy spreads like the sweet-ish Emmental with Cranberry & Walnut, and the earthy and fragrant Truffle Mushroom. The Duck Rillette didn't fare that well due to the lack in flavor.

Classic Cantonese dining is made chic and edgy at Holland Village's latest hit Full of Luck Club 福乐. Brought to you by the same team behind award winning Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant, you can be sure that you're getting quality Cantonese dishes with a contemporary twist. I think it would appeal to the millenials very well. 

A selection of classic dimsum is available at Full of Luck Club and we highly recommend the Stir fried Radish cake with X.O. sauce ($6.80).

This is one of the standard dishes i order in order to evaluate dimsum restaurants fairly and Full of Luck Club doesn't disappoint. Flavorful lup cheong (wind dried Chinese sausages) is mixed with juicy radish in a slightly dense kueh with a lovely all around sear. Oh and that umami shrimpy XO paste! I'd say top it with a little more of their bean paste chili and you have a winning Chai Tow Kueh. 

Other snacks that i approve of- Poached Wontons in Chilli Soy ($8) that is like a 红油抄手 with less vinegar. The parcels were packed with juicy chunky pork and prawn meat. I thought it was pretty well balanced. The Chili Glazed Fried Fermented Bean Paste Chicken Wings ($8) make the best beer grub with the super crunchy batter coated with the pungent sweet chili bean paste that tasted innocent at the start but trust me, that heat will kick in at the end. While the Golden Sand Corn with Salted Egg Yolk ($4.80) was raved about on social media, i thought the salted egg flavor was lacking and the corn could be juicy. Perhaps it's meant to be exactly what it is, popcorn?

I know Japan is just a short flight away if there's an insane craving for fresh and crafted local eats but guess what? You can get the same stuff right at Japan Food Town, which is just less than an hour away from your doorstep! The newly opened food hall at Wisma Atria has gathered 16 F&B outlets that are guaranteed to satisfy any type of Japanese delicacy craving you may have. 

All 16 tenants will procure more than 50% of their ingredients directly from Japan, and in some cases on a daily basis, as part of the collaboration with the Japan Association of Overseas Promotion for Food & Restaurants (JAOF). Trust me they got their logistics all set to ensure fresh and unique ingredients such as Matsuzaka Beef, Kinme-Rice, and Kindai Maguro etc. get to your mouths in the fastest and most affordable way. 

On to the food. Let's start with the meats. Look at the marbling of this lovely cow at Yakiniku Heijoen. At Osaka Kitchen, sizzling Teppan-yaki specials will satisfy your meat craving. There's the locally famed Okonomi-Yaki too, but do also look out for their Japanese Omelette with Pork Belly ($8).

An affordable protein loading option is found at Shabu Shabu Tajimaya which does a 90min buffet in either shabu shabu or sukiyaki style.

Love dim sum but bored of going to the ‘same old’ restaurant? Fret not, Avenue Joffre’s Master Chef Ge Xian’e, China’s “Queen of Dim Sum” (who also has numerous prestigious Dim Sum titles under her belt!), has introduced many new and creative Dim Sum items for the month of July!

Dig in to traditional Dim Sum items such as Steamed Crystal Prawn Dumpling 冬笋鲜虾饺 ($6), Steamed Minced Pork & Abalone Siew Mai 鲍鱼烧卖($6), Steamed Shanghai Pork Dumpling 上海小笼包 ($7) and Pan-fried Pork Bun filled with Soup 灌汤上海生煎包 ($7).

The traditional items are superb.. and Oh My Dumpling! The Steamed Shanghai Pork Dumpling is THE dream dumpling. Super thin skin yet holding its hearty contents. Check. Juicy pork. Check. Intense and flavourful stock. Check. LOTS of soup and pork. Check. My only thought: Can I have a bigger spoon please?

Are there another outstanding dishes? YES. Rolling off our tongues is the Steamed Preserved Turnip & Sesame Rice Roll 香麻菜脯肠粉 ($6). The delicate layers of rice roll coiled under the mildly spiced and crunchy preserved turnip. Drizzle the roll with savoury-sweet shallot-y sauce and I’m seduced. This must be the best plate of rice roll I have ever tasted—in both texture and taste.

Tuned to the trends, Avenue Joffre has also included Dim Sum varieties to excite the modern palettes.

Buffets be the death of waistline and 6 packs! Honestly I'm still recovering from the massive eating from the Weekender Food Mania Awards and we tried as much as we could from the buffet stations at Mezza9 (Grand Hyatt), Marriott Cafe (Marriott Singapore Tang Plaza), and AquaMarine (Mandarin Oriental). BTW results are out and congrats to Mezza9 for clinching the top spot in this judging! 

Mezza9 Sunday Champagne Brunch Grand Hyatt- 10 Scotts Road Singapore 228211

If you're looking for an indulgent and quality buffet, then you certainly ought to have Mezza9 on your list. Their Sunday Champagne brunch is one to behold with fresh and delicious treats from a variety of cuisines. Seafood is obviously fresh and they are also from a sustainable source. Talk about yummy responsible eating. 

I was superbly impressed with the Japanese section. The sushi and sashimi beats most mid range Japanese restaurants! Plus there's also a live yakitori station that serves up smoky morsels of goodness.

From The Grill, make sure you grab that delicious buttery short rib that falls off the bone! Loved that nice caramel flavor and char that is Cantonese charsiew-like! The lamb chops are one of the best I've tasted here and the pairing with the mint chutney was a match made in heaven. Chinese food was decent too but the chili crab was too starchy for our liking.

The European Category was certainly one of the highlights of the Weekender Food Mania Awards 2016. When i saw the nomination list that is! Of course i expected to check out hot favorites like Andre and Joel Robuchon during the judging BUT unfortunate things happen ALL THE TIME and food judges don't get to choose what they want to taste. So here is a quick highlight of the 3 restaurants that we judged- Bread Street Kitchen, Stellar at 1-Altitude, and Cafe Iguana.

Bread Street Kitchen- Bay Level, L1-81. The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
Gordon Ramsay is one hated man by people in the food industry (jealousy perhaps) and given the flake that he has received for Bread Street Kitchen Singapore, I did not bother checking it out, which was a mistake thankfully corrected by the Weekender FMA judging! 

Bread Street Kitchen Singapore is modeled on the London original, and offers classic British European fare with a lovely waterfront view. The starters fared better than the mains and the refreshing slightly ginger spiced Sea bass fillet carpaccio ($21) with avocado puree; and tangy garden party that is the Tomato Tart ($24) tantalized our tastebuds. The Tamarind spiced chicken wings ($18) left us craving for some Korean Fried Chicken however. 

I also adored the crunchy cracker-like Flatbread ($28) with caramelized onion, ricotta cheese, San Daniele ham and green asparagus. It's a super thin cracker pizza wonderfully balanced with the sweet onion jam, creamy cheese, and that nutty asparagus. 

It’s hard to resist dim sum. There’s always the sweet and savory that bring happiness to the tummy. At Shang Palace, Head Dim Sum Chef Li Shou Tao has introduced 14 classic sweet and savory dim sum dishes that highlights this season’s produce.

The skin of the dumplings reveals the skills of a master dim sum Chef and Head Chef Li is certainly worthy of the title. You know how we'd rather save our calories for the fillings by stripping these bite sizes naked, but these.. we ate them whole.

Take my word and order the new items: Steamed seafood and egg white dumpling 赛螃蟹海鲜饺 ($7/3pcs); Steamed sakura shrimp and chicken dumpling 樱花虾蒸粉果 ($7/3 pcs); Steamed assorted fungus and carrot dumpling 双耳金笋饺 ($7/3pcs); and Steamed scallop dumpling with water chestnut and chinese celery 带子马蹄香芹饺 ($7/3 pcs). Fresh succulent seafood such as sakura shrimps are used. What is unique is the thinly sliced vegetables that give the dumplings an added crunch.

Find me a Singaporean who doesn't love Japanese food for i believe it's quite impossible. Sushi, dons, ramen, sashimi, yakiniku, yakitori, shabu shabu... all these delicious Japanese food are so readily accessible to us and it's practically part of our diet! No doubt we had many contestants for the Japanese cuisine category for the Weekender Food Mania Awards 2016 but somehow all our favorites failed to make the list :/ We are left to judge 3 very surprising finds, each of a different style! Headache.. Oh well.

Tenkaichi- Yakiniku

6 Raffles Boulevard #03-129 Marina Square Shopping Mall

I have my regular yakiniku haunt and that is Gyu Kaku and fellow judge Tim also has his own fav Tajimaya. Well Tenkaichi exceeded my first impression of this place (it looked like a cheap bbq place despite being in Marina Square). We were tantalized with some premium Wagyu Beef (HELLO A5 Miyazaki Wagyu) and some other glorious cuts of beef (no special treatment for us really). Tenkaichi's Premium Wagyu Buffet only costs $98/pax; the regular yakiniku buffet which includes the Australian beef (all pretty decent) alongside pork, and some seafood goes for $78. There is an ongoing promotion that takes 35% off the stated price! Do check their FB page for promotional updates.

A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Tokujo Karubi ($45.90) also available a la carte.