Cliff(y) Goes Dining

Irish pub with quite a good ambience, but without traditional music... Tomorrow is 26 February 2021, which is the 10th anniversary of my food blog! Pikachu and Melon would like to thank everyone for the continuous support and love. As an early celebration, we went to The Drunken Poet, which is "arguably one of the best Irish pubs in Singapore" as mentioned in their website. It's located somewhere in Orchard.

Take your pick: mock beef, chicken, duck or pork? Even though I'm not a vegetarian, much less a vegan, I occasionally indulge in vegetarian food. Founded in the 1990s, Kwan Inn Vegetarian has been providing vegetarian food at affordable prices, starting with only one stall at 269 Queen Street in Bugis. At the point of writing, there are three other stalls, including one housed inside People's Park Centre in Chinatown.

Grab a seat for a memorable meal before it's gone! UPDATE (03/02/2023):  The restaurant has closed down. No, we're not talking about the creamy candy from China. Housed in a restored 1930s chapel on Dempsey Hill, The White Rabbit has been serving modern European cuisine with a lovely ambience since 2008. Together with The Rabbit Hole, a whimsical gin garden bar, it's going to give way for a new concept slated to launch in late 2021.

"Tell your taste buds their siesta is over!" Guzman y Gomez is a chain of eateries specialising in Mexican food. I started picking up Spanish just recently. Knowing that the word y means 'and', I suppose it's founded by two people named Guzman and Gomez. At the point of writing, there are five branches across the island. I visited the one at Tanjong Pagar.

"Where friends become family" Chug Chug is a gastrobar located in the heart of Tanjong Pagar. As the owner is a lover of fusion food, it's "constantly experimenting and coming up with new dishes, keeping [its] menu fresh for customers." Needless to say, it also offers a wide selection of alcoholic drinks, but I found myself chugging a non-alcoholic beverage instead during my visit.

How's the Express Start ™  Breakfast? I'm not sure about you, but I'm starting to miss self-service buffet breakfast at hotels. I wonder when we can have it again. In today's post, let's take a look at what were offered by Holiday Inn Express Singapore Katong (3*), which is located next to I12 Katong, before COVID-19 came to our shores.

Can you finish the Singapore-exclusive pandan shake on your own? The year 2019 saw not only A&W returning to Singapore, but also Shake Shack coming to our shores for the first time ever. The popular burger chain started out as a hot dog cart at Madison Square Park in New York, the USA in 2001. To date, the company operates over 250 outlets globally.

A healthy plate of succulent grilled sea bass! Has anyone stayed at JEN Singapore Orchard Gateway before? I haven't, but I dropped by the hotel once to have dinner at Makan@JEN located on the tenth floor. For the uninitiated, makan is a Malay or Indonesian word that means 'to eat'. Before COVID-19 hit the world, it used to offer self-service buffet and a la carte menu. My dining partner and I went for the latter.

"A juicer is not a machine!" Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, Joe & The Juice is a chain of stores serving coffee, juice and sandwiches made with organic ingredients. Founded in 2002, it has got more than 300 locations around the world as of 2019. At the point of writing, there are three outlets in Singapore. I dropped by the one at Sentosa Cove during my staycation at W Singapore - Sentosa Cove.

My first taste of French fries ice cream paired with caviar! Iggy's is a fabulous restaurant housed inside Hilton Singapore (5*) that continues to push culinary boundaries. Established in 2004 by a local restaurateur named Ignatius 'Iggy' Chan, the modern European restaurant has been awarded One Michelin Star since 2017. Iggy's has also previously made it to the list of The World's Best 50 Restaurants.

Just ask for more chocolate danish! Hilton Singapore (5*) is the hotel in which I had my last staycation during Singapore's Phase 2 of Reopening. I have to say straight away that even though the hotel seems to be quite proud of its so-called Hilton Breakfast, it was nothing fanciful and could certainly be much better in quality and perhaps quantity too.