Cliff(y) Goes Dining

Best boiled 'gyoza' I've ever had thus far! If you're looking for nice  gyoza  (Japanese dumpling filled with minced pork and vegetables) in Fukuoka, Japan, look no further than Ni No Ni. The  izakaya  (a type of Japanese establishment serving alcohols and food to go along with) serves cheap and good dishes for sharing.

'Goma saba' - a local specialty! On our first day in Fukuoka, Japan, my BFFs and I went to Nagahama Fish Market, which is Fukuoka's answer to the fish market at Tsukiji or Toyosu in Tokyo. Well, we didn't actually see the wet market itself, but we went there to have lunch at the highly rated Okiyo Shokudo that has been around since 1947.

Virgin experience with Singapore Airlines to Japan! Merry Christmas to one and all! I'm back in Singapore, spending Christmas and New Year at home. From now on, I'll be writing about my recently concluded culinary trip to Japan and Indonesia. Let's take a look at what I had onboard Singapore Airlines SQ656 from Singapore to Fukuoka, Japan.

"Enjoy Food. Enjoy Company. Enjoy Life." Hello, December! This shall be one of the only few posts this month as I'll be flying off tonight, so I'll only be back blogging towards the end of 2019. It was indeed time well spent at Enjoy Eating House and Bar, housed inside Kam Leng Hotel, which has garnered so many positive reviews till date.

The 'greener fries': beer-battered long beans! Roo's Gastrobar is a casual, yet chic dining place at Frankel Avenue lined with landed properties. Marketing itself as "your neighbourhood hangout", it offers a variety of food and drinks, including brunch items on weekends. There's also a pool table if you feel like challenging your buddies to a game.

Lovely fresh 'gindara' with such a soft texture! Founded by Nakano Jiro over two decades ago, Sushi Jiro at Marina Mandarin Hotel aims to offer one of the finest dining experiences in Singapore. The kitchen is helmed by Kenji Nakagawa, a master chef who believes in simplicity at the heart of his culinary philosophy.

Guinness pork ribs, anyone? Crab bee hoon (lit. rice vermicelli) is a truly Singaporean dish that's started gaining popularity since around 2007. While I've never been to Ming Kee Live Seafood, which is said to be the pioneer of the dish, I had a good one at Crab at Bay Seafood Restaurant. Both are located along MacPherson Road.

Kimslaw = kimchi + coleslaw! 4Fingers is a chain of fast food eateries specialising in Asian style fried chicken. It only came to my attention not long ago that it's actually locally owned by a Singaporean called Vijay Sethu. Founded in 2009, 4Fingers has made its way to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia and the USA.

The only Okinawan restaurant in Singapore? UPDATE (26/05/2020):  With the closure of Liang Court, the restaurant has moved to #01-107/108 Great World City at Kim Seng Promenade. For the uninitiated, Okinawa is the southernmost prefecture of Japan, which is geographically closer to Taiwan. Its cuisine is thus markedly different from mainland Japan with a greater emphasis on pork and relatively little seafood despite being surrounded by sea. As I've been to Okinawa before, I can confidently say that the food served at Nirai Kanai is authentic.

Have you tried a ceremonial dish from West Java before? IndoChili is a Halal -certified chain of Indonesian restaurants that processes spices and pastes from scratch without adding any MSG. It prides itself in winning the Food Republic Hawker King Challenge, though I'm not sure when did it earn the title. At the point of writing, there are three branches in Singapore.

Classic main courses done right! Named after the Italian founder's grandfather, Ervino Breitner, Erwin's Gastrobar is inspired by bars and cafés of Italian origins that can be found in financial districts of New York City, the USA. It seems to be a pretty popular place for those working in the CBD area to unwind after a hard day at work.

Virgin experience with squid stuffed with feta cheese! Situated along the bustling Prinsep Street near PoMo, Place to R.E.A.D isn't a restaurant where you can find books to read while waiting for your food to come, but it's simply a place to 'Relax, Eat and Drink'. It boasts a selection of Greek cuisine, as well as fusion dishes.

Could it be on par with the original? Who doesn't know Tim Ho Wan (lit. Add Good Luck), a famous  dim sum eatery chain originating from Hong Kong? It used earn the title of being the cheapest Michelin-starred eatery in the world, though I believe the title has now been claimed by Singapore's Liao Fan Hawker Chan .

Truly enjoyable pizza, if only it wasn't burnt on the edges... Winestone is one of the restaurants housed inside Novotel Singapore on Stevens located to the north of the bustling Orchard Road. The name of the restaurant reflects the two elements of the restaurant: the huge wine selection and the signature stone boards.

Sinful, but fantastic butter cuttlefish! UPDATE (01/12/2019):  The eatery has closed down. Can alcoholic drinks, apart from beers, go hand in hand with Asian cuisine? Maro's Place in Boat Quay is a bar-cum-eatery serves a wide range of Asian cuisine, especially Chinese and Japanese dishes, on top of Western food. The main courses are pretty value-for-money.

How often do you get to see your food served on a rack? Silk Road is a fine-dining Chinese restaurant located on the second floor of Amara Singapore at Tanjong Pagar. It's helmed by a team of chefs from China specialising in a range of provincial cuisines, dishing out a medley of traditional and inventive creations.

Fusion dishes with 'tahini' and the likes! UPDATE (26/11/2019):  The eatery has been rebranded to The Botanic. Salt Tapas and Bar is a spin-off of the Salt brand by Luke Mangan, an Australian celebrity chef, that prides itself in serving  tapas  (small savoury dishes typically served with drinks) with a twist. For one, expect Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences making their way to some of the dishes.

How about lavender-infused honey on your pancake? Hailing from Portland, Oregon's largest city in the USA, Slappy Cakes has become one of the most popular breakfast spots there that offers an experience to make your own pancake right at your table. At the point of writing, there are three branches here in Singapore. I visited the one at Plaza Singapura a while ago.

How often do you get to see green-coloured rice? Housed inside Chinatown Point that's just a stone's throw away from home, China Classic claims itself to be the best Cantonese restaurant around. A rather spacious restaurant, it's equipped with 3 VIP rooms with karaoke facilities. I had a quiet dinner there with my mom on a weekday.

Service was rather jammed that evening... It's said that the traffic jam in Bangkok, Thailand is among the worst in the world. For some reason, that fact became the catalyst for the birth of Bangkok Jam, a chain of restaurants managed by the Creative Eateries group. As my mom was craving for Thai food, we went to the branch at Marina Square, which isn't far from home.

Virgin experience with candied pufferfish! Keyaki is a high-end Japanese restaurant situated at the fourth floor of Pan Pacific Singapore. Surrounded by a serene Japanese garden that's by no means trivial in terms of size, as well as a pond full of koi (Japanese carp), it offers an elegant ambience with Japanese and Western-style private dining rooms.

Ever had sticky rice gelato or green curry gelato before? Gin Khao (lit. Eat Rice) Bistro is one of the restaurants lining up Quayside Isle at Sentosa Cove. After enjoying a peaceful, breezy walk, my BFF and I decided to have Thai cuisine for dinner. At the point of writing, there are two other branches at One Raffles Place and SAFRA Tampines.

Eat clean or indulge dirty? "Surrender or control? Embrace your alter ego." The interesting dining concept at Esplanade Mall not only serves healthy poke bowls from its opening time till 9.00pm, but also whips up sinful dishes from 3.00pm onwards daily. I was there for lunch, deciding to try the poke bowls.

Serving rice burger since its inception in Japan in 1972~ It's been way too long since I last had something from MOS Burger, probably dating all the way back to the time I was a student. The café version exists at three different locations in Singapore at the point of writing. I didn't dine in, but ordered a number of items via a delivery platform.

Don't miss the silky beancurd with wolfberries, of course! Proud of being one of the pioneers of Sichuan cuisine in Singapore, Sichuan Dou Hua was established in 1996 at PARKROYAL on Beach Road, the branch that I visited recently. Besides the four branches here, there's one in Tokyo, Japan and another in Yangon, Myanmar at the point of writing.

Relatively cheap 'tendon' with items like bacon and chicken ball~ The undying craze over tendon , which is a rice dish topped with  tempura  (Japanese battered and deep-fried assortments), has resulted in more eateries jumping on the bandwagon to satiate customers' cravings. Besides tendon , Tempura Tenten at Raffles City Shopping Mall also serves a variety of ramen.

"Good Food for a Good Cause" Food for Thought is housed inside National Museum of Singapore, which is the country's oldest, yet progressive museum. The bistro serves a variety of Western favourites, as well as dishes that honour Southeast Asian flavours. Enjoy the food and make others feel blessed should you have a bit more to spare.

Black baccala cakes with tasty sea urchin sauce! UPDATE (12/10/2021):  The eatery has closed down. Happy belated birthday, Melon! Her birthday is actually on 3 October, but I simply didn't have the time to go out for a meal last Thursday as there were lots of work to clear. SONS is a trendy trattoria-cum-bar housed inside one of the heritage-chic shophouses of Nankin Row in Chinatown.

Five different choices of tortillas for your wraps! Simply Wrapps is one of my favourite DIY wrap stores, although I've never actually DIY since I always go for the fixed creations. Boasting a selection of 5 tortillas, 50 nutritious ingredients and 18 house dressings to choose from, it's the first  Halal -certified salad chains in Singapore.

When 'chye sim' met pasta~ The last post of the month shall serve as the closure of my overseas food adventure in June 2019. After a series of Business Class meals, I wouldn't say I was looking forward to the meal onboard Vietnam Airlines in the Economy Class again, but apparently it wasn't too shabby.

Thank you for the dose of dessert wine! Cathay Dragon is previously known as Dragonair, the airline that I took to fly from Hong Kong to Jeju, South Korea and vice versa in the Economy Class in 2012. For today, let's take a look at the Business Class meal onboard the short-haul flight from Hong Kong to Hanoi, Vietnam.

Have some tea by Jing with pineapple bun and/or egg tart at the teahouse! The Pier is Cathay Pacific's largest lounge at Hong Kong International Airport, which my BFF and I visited during our layover in Hong Kong before flying off to Hanoi, Vietnam. We spent some time at the noodle bar to sample a few dishes before relaxing at the teahouse, which is unique to this particular lounge.

"A balanced diet is a lobster in one hand and beer in the other." UPDATE (01/01/2022):  The restaurant has closed down. Let's review a restaurant that I visited today for lunch since it's Pikachu's birthday and mine! Specialising in lobsters done in various styles, Pince & Pints has been delighting customers since 2014. At the point of writing, there's a branch here in Singapore at Tanjong Pagar and another in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A hard pill to swallow... Here's another review of the relatively new long-haul Business Class dining concept by Cathay Pacific. Two meals - breakfast and lunch - were offered onboard CX855 from Vancouver, Canada to Hong Kong. I was keeping my fingers crossed that they'd be more satisfying than what I had onboard CX810 .

Raise your hand if you love briny egg noodle! Cathay Pacific operates an airport lounge at Vancouver International Airport adjacent to Gate 67 of the International Departure area, offering "a tranquil haven complemented by scenic mountain views". Prior to our morning flight to Hong Kong, my BFF and I made it a point to have breakfast at the lounge.

Didn't expect to have my first plant-based meat there! Tim Hortons is Canada's largest quick service restaurant chain, which was founded in 1964. Having its headquarter in Toronto, it had a total of 4,846 branches across 14 countries as of 31 December 2018. My BFF and I had our last dinner in Canada at its CF Richmond Centre branch.

Enjoying the sizzling sound of meat cooked in oil fondue~ Grizzly House is a famous fondue restaurant in Banff, Canada. It started off as Western Canada's first discotheque in 1967 with the food delivered through literally a hole in the wall from the neighbouring Chinese restaurant until the latter closed down. It was only then that fondue dishes were introduced and became a big hit.

Buffet breakfast in a box! :P The buffet breakfast at Inns of Banff costs  C$18.00 (~S$18.85)  per adult. Given that my BFF and I had two  C$5.00 (~S$5.25)  vouchers to use before checking out, we decided to try the breakfast there. However, as the restaurant was full, we agreed to use a takeaway box and a cup each to grab some stuff to consume elsewhere.

How decadent is the custard snowskin mooncake? September is finally here. As always, here's this year's mooncake review before the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival comes, which falls on 13 September this year. This time round, I opted for more conventional flavours of snowskin mooncakes from East Ocean Teochew Restaurant, which has been around since 1992.

Can you say no to DIY waffle station? While my BFF and I were staying in Banff, Canada for 4D3N, we set aside one day to go to Lake Louise. We took advantage of the Ride & Breakfast Package priced at C$39.95 (~S$41.50)  per adult, which allowed us to get return tickets on Lake Louise Gondola and enjoy filling buffet breakfast at Northface Bistro.

Have some prime rib for dinner before it runs out! One of the most loved steak house in Banff, Canada, Melissa's Missteak was opened by the Borden family in 1978 in the existing building that was then part of Homestead Inn. It was then sold to a group of long-term employees in 1990 and has since continued to be a popular spot among locals and tourists alike.

Delectable spiced French toast and honey wine! The Maple Leaf is a bistro offering a warm, elegant log cabin interior that's located at the busiest corner of Banff Avenue. Chef Pascal McKillican uses local ingredients to seduce your taste buds. My BFF and I went there for brunch after admiring the exhibits at Banff Park Museum National Historic Site.

Slogan: "Laissez les bon temps rouler!" (lit. Let the good times roll!) Tooloulou's is a 50-seater casual restaurant in Banff, Canada that was established in late 2012. On top of the variety of Cajun and Creole-inspired dishes it offers, the restaurant is famous for its very huge array of breakfast items. My BFF and I went there for dinner on our first day in Banff.

Happy marriage between blueberries and vanilla in an ale! Founded in the spring of 2005, Jasper Brewing Company was the very first brewery established in a national park in Canada. In addition to offering a range of beers on tap, wines and cocktails, the pub whips up some light and big bites catering to different palates.

"Baking the world a better place!" Bear's Paw Bakery is a popular spot to have a quick bite in Jasper, Canada. As my BFF and I were staying at Jasper Downtown Hostel that doesn't provide breakfast, we dropped by Bear's Paw Bakery in the morning before taking Jasper SkyTram and conquering the summit of Whistlers Mountain.

Upscale dinner featuring boar, bison and elk meat! Boasting itself in offering "Jasper's most innovative cuisine" with a variety of wild game dishes, Syrahs of Jasper is an intimate restaurant with 15 tables. My BFF and I had the most elaborate meal there throughout the trip, which also turned out to be the most expensive of all.

Have you tried 'donair' pizza before? Lou Lou's Breakfast & Pizzeria is conveniently located near Jasper Downtown Hostel where my BFF and I stayed at for 4D3N. We dropped by the eatery once for breakfast. Besides that, we also ordered a pizza there on one of the evenings after a long walk from Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.

Dijon mustard played an important role for dinner! It felt like it was only a moment ago that my BFF and I had our lunch. As we'd be alighting at Jasper, we were advised to have our dinner from 5.30pm to 6.30pm, and we did. Even though we weren't hungry, we were really satisfied with the dishes offered for dinner.

I'd vouch for the rich chocolate brownie at the end of the meal! The hours of the morning passed by quickly. When the call for the second seating for lunch was made, my BFF and I made our way to the dining car. Prior reservation is required for lunch and dinner to avoid queues and allow for leisurely meal time for each seating.

Fragrant banana pecan pancakes with pure maple syrup! The highlight of my adventure in Canada was the train ride from Vancouver to Jasper onboard The Canadian that took approximately 20 hours. My BFF and I booked upper and lower berth seats in the Sleeper Plus Class cabin. I believe there are usually two meals served on the Vancouver-Jasper route: dinner and breakfast.