The humble Bo Lo/ Pineapple Bun (菠蘿包) is one that you can find in most bakeries in Hong Kong and overseas Chinatowns. Joy Luck Teahouse has brought in these bo lo buns from Kam Kee Cafe (金記冰室). And to quench your thirst, try the HK Milk Tea (奶茶).

Bo Lo Bun ($2/$2.80 with butter or luncheon meat). Golden brown in colour. Expect a crisp, crumbly, sugary crust that resembles like a pineapple but without any pineapples. The dough itself is extremely soft as they add water roux/ tangzhong (湯種) - heating flour and water to form a paste. I wonder if they add lard like it’s done traditionally though.

To enjoy the full cha chaan teng (茶餐廳) experience, add a slice of butter. Then you can have your Bo Lo Yau (菠蘿油).

Kam Kee HK Milk Tea ($3.50 -hot / $3.80 - cold). What makes a good HK milk tea is how it’s brewed. Essentially Celyon tea with full cream evaporated milk based on their secret recipe. My standard order will be cold/ 凍奶茶 with less sugar.

I had this twice. The first time didn’t taste as good as the second. I allude this to the person brewing the tea.

The humble Bo Lo/ Pineapple Bun (菠蘿包) is one that you can find in most bakeries in Hong Kong and overseas Chinatowns. Joy Luck Teahouse has brought in these bo lo buns from Kam Kee Cafe (金記冰室). And to quench your thirst, try the HK Milk Tea (奶茶).

Bo Lo Bun ($2/$2.80 with butter or luncheon meat). Golden brown in colour. Expect a crisp, crumbly, sugary crust that resembles like a pineapple but without any pineapples. The dough itself is extremely soft as they add water roux/ tangzhong (湯種) - heating flour and water to form a paste. I wonder if they add lard like it’s done traditionally though.

To enjoy the full cha chaan teng (茶餐廳) experience, add a slice of butter. Then you can have your Bo Lo Yau (菠蘿油).

How many of you love banh mi? The Vietnamese variant of the ubiquitous baguette, it’s usually filled with meat and vegetables of your choice. The humble Banh Mi Thit by Star Baguette in Geylang is one of the better places for banh mi in Singapore. And you can tell as it’s frequented by the local Vietnamese community.

A good banh mi is one that’s crispy and crusty on the outside while the inside is light, soft and airy. Banh Mi Thit hits all the right notes. When I took my first bite, I could feel the crunchy texture.

They make their banh mi from scratch and it’s evident as you’re greeted by the delicious aroma as you walk into the shop.

Choose from pork, ham, egg, beef and chicken. I had the ham banh mi which contained slices of ham and sliced pork belly. It’s slathered with a layer of pork liver pate (yum) and filled with coriander, pickled carrots and daikon, onions and chilli. A special seasoning sauce is drizzled on the ingredients to finish off.

My friend had the chicken banh mi.

Any variety sets you back $4.50. It’s extremely affordable for a pretty gourmet sandwich by Singapore standards. Top up $1 and you’ll get a drink including Vietnamese coffee.

Have y’all gone to PIVOT for their desserts and tamago sando? Decided to drop by one day for a quick coffee and cake. And I ordered their bestseller OH! Gee Cha ($8.50) since it’s my first time here.

A houjicha mousse cake that’s light on taste. Beneath the mousse is a rather fluffy houjicha genoise. In the middle lies an Apple compote that adds a fruity element to the cake. It’s decorated with houjicha leaves and houjicha crumble.

I’m not a diehard houjicha fan but this wasn’t great. The roasted, earthy taste that’s typically associated with the roasted green tea was at best faint in the mousse and the genoise. The essence of vanilla from the light and sweet houjicha mousse was much more prominent.

Unfortunately, it’s the chunky apple cubes and added sweetness of the compote that stood out here. If they could make the houjicha flavour stronger, I would rate it a few notches higher.

Revisited Obba Jjajang after two to three years. Am on my hunt to try more Korean Chinese food. So if you got any favourites, let me know!

Obba Jjajang is probably one of the better places to get your jjajangmyeon at an affordable price point.

Jjajangmyeon is essentially noodles with thin slices of pork belly, onions and chunjang - a thick, gooey sweet bean sauce. Enjoyed every bit of it from the sweet, savoury sauce to the generous bits of diced pork in every bite.

Stir the noodles quickly before it gets all clumpy. The portions are big. You may want to share this with a friend. I was too hungry to take a photo of how it looks after we stirred the noodles.

Am on my hunt to try more Korean Chinese food. So if you got any favourites, let me know!

JJAMPONG - a Korean seafood soup with chilli powder.

Obba Jjajang is probably one of the better places to get your jjampong and jjajangmyeon at an affordable price point.

Can you believe it that this is my second jjampong in my entire lifetime? So what you can expect is a HUGE BOWL of noodles is an abundance of prawns, mussels, clams and squid. For greens you get some pak choy, chives and onions.

The mildly spicy seafood soup was delicious and rich in seafood flavour. A comforting treat for the soul.

Last December, Apiary collaborated with Bailey’s to offer ice cream flavours infused with Bailey’s Original Irish cream.

Charcoal Waffle ($6.50). Although I’ve been to Apiary on multiple occasions, this is my first time having their waffles. Surrounding the waffles, is homemade chocolate sauce and maple syrup.

Personally, I prefer my waffles to be more crispy than what’s served here. It was lacking in Apiary’s version. That aside, the waffles were soft and fluffy.

Bailey’s and Brownies (Premium Scoop). A great pairing of flavours theoretically. Bailey’s original Irish cream ice cream with homemade brownies. Love how they are so generous with the little soft, moist brownie bits that was prominently in every scoop.

However, the Irish cream taste was very faint. It’d be great if they were more generous with the amount of Bailey’s in the ice cream.

Bailey’s Cherry Cupcake (Premium Scoop). Bailey’s Red Velvet Cupcake with morello cherries and chocolate cupcakes. The fruity sweetness from the morello cherries were more prominent than the Bailey’s cream unfortunately.

Bailey’s Iced Chocolate ($7). At least I could taste the Bailey’s shot in this iced chocolate. Would’ve done it with coffee if we went earlier in the day.

So with every scoop of ice cream purchased, they are supposed to give you a Bailey’s drizzle cream. Unfortunately, it wasn’t served to me.

Do you like Nonya kuih? If you’re a fan of Nonya kuih or Eurasian cakes just like I am, keep reading and find out more. Think Kuih Kosui, Kuih Bingka and Sugee Cake. I’m not particularly a fan of Kuih Kosui in general but Restaurant Kin’s version blew me over. Pictured here’s the dessert sampler ($24++).

Kuih Kosui (Individual portion $10++). What’s Kuih Kosui? A kuih made from tapioca starch and rice flour that’s mixed with gula melaka (palm sugar) before steaming. It’s then served with grated coconut for texture and flavour. A good kuih kosui will be soft, bouncy and wobbly. Kin’s version hits all these notes and melts in your mouth. I can fathom why people can’t stop asking for more.

Kuih Bengkah/ Bingka (Individual portion $10++). I like kuih bingka in general. But Kin’s version is mind blowing and has kept me yearning for more. Served warm unlike many other places, And I think that’s partially cause it’s served warm. The top is crusty while the tapioca custard is soft, moist and fragrant.

Sugee Cake (Individual portion $12++). A Eurasian classic that’s served during Christmas. It’s made from semolina flour, chopped almonds, butter and egg yolks. Taste wise - rich, dense and buttery.

Kedondong & Coconut Sorbet (Individual portion $12++). With all the rich and sweet treats, this refreshing frozen treat was much needed. Creamy yet distinctively tropical with fruity nuances from the kedondong fruit. Add a bit of gula melaka for additional sweetness.

Some say that 925 Chicken Rice is the best chicken rice in Yishun. Do you agree? Well, read on to find out what I think.

Only steamed chicken is served here. Sorry, roast chicken fans. It’s quite reasonably priced for what you get for $4 (1 person). You get to choose your chicken parts (breast, thigh, drumstick). I chose drumstick as they were still preparing the thigh meat at the time I went. And it’s served with a tiny serving of achar, a side soup (it’s translucent and not clear).

The rice was reasonably fluffy and fragrant where it doesn’t clump together. But not exceptionally flavourful. The chicken itself was tender (it’s drumstick after all) but not as silky and juicy as what I would expect. I like the special sauce as it added a bit of flavour to the dish.

I expected the chilli to wow me over. But it didn’t had the tangy kick or the garlicky punch. And doesn’t have the spiciness factor too.

It didn’t taste the same as when I had it back at its sister outlet at Ang Mo Kio 722. Do the food at the Ang Mo Kio outlets taste better than the OG at Yishun? I feel that the standards have dropped slightly. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good plate of chicken rice. But is it worth the detour? Probably not.

Loads of crispy and fluffy fries. Drenched with mayonnaise and nacho cheese which I truly love and I can’t help to compare this with the version served at a certain fast food restaurant. Maybe the beef bolognese could used minced beef with less fat content as all I tasted was fat.

Thank you @49seats for hosting us.

During my NS/ student days, @49seats has been on my to-do list but it never got checked off somehow. So recently I was invited for a meal there and tried their legendary Tom Yum Salted Egg Seafood Pasta with Chicken Cutlet among other dishes.

Bite-sized fried chicken drizzled with salted egg sauce. The batter itself was crispy and the meat was moist. was I felt the consistency of the salted egg sauce complemented the popcorn chicken better than the pasta.

Thank you @49seats for hosting us.