We swung by ONDA on their opening day and had a go at their La Rosita, an iced Cuban coffee with milk and caramel, and were mega astounded with how delicious it was. Super bold, nutty, smooth and strong brew, very creamy, with but just a touch of sweetness from the caramel. Personal I’d have liked the caramel to come across stronger cause it dilutes into this very subtle earthy sorta sweetness in the background, but I’ve got no beef with how it is at the mo. We finished this in no time at all.

If you can resist this, well then off with your head. This Crème Brûlée Bomboloni ($8) by PBD is, beyond a doubt, the most memorable doughnut I’ve had this year. As a crème brûlée dessert, it’s got that hard, burnt sugar crust that cracks audibly when you bite (or tear in my case) into it. The custard filling’s smooth, creamy and rich, but not overly heavy or thick so it’s very light on the palate. As a bomboloni, it boasted the quintessential fluffy and buttery dough and a GENEROUS amount of filling. I was a little sad to find the custard pooling into the box, but the thing is there’s sooo much of it you can just dip and dunk the doughnut as you eat along. And I’m proud to share that there was zero wastage — sustainable dining at its finest 🙃 What I found really interesting, is that as the sugar’s being torched and caramelised on the surface some of it melts into the doughnut as well; so when eating the doughnut it tasted extra moist and shiok while still retaining its fluff, structure, and crumb. Also noteworthy is how neither the dough nor the custard was too sweet, so as saccharine as this sounds it’s actually just perfect.

Cause in @dreisoen and @parkbenchdeli I trust, and I know I’d leave with nothing but a solid fucking experience. And boyyyyy did these make for a mega satisfactory lunch. First off, look at the amount of meat in there. Trust me: I opened my sandwich to pick apart the meat and there was so much in there. Layers and layers of thinly sliced sweet ham and lechon are jam-packed into this deceivingly slim sandwich, together with some sharp oozy Swiss cheese and light pickles. These are all simple, straightforward ingredients; but they are also good, quality ones that, eaten together, gives you the medley of flavours and textures you want in a sandwich. I loved that their soft roll didn’t share a touch-and-go relationship with their panini press, rather an intensely heated one that resulted in a crazily toasted, browned and crisp exterior. You’ve got that audible crunch vs chewy yet soft crumb, nutty toastiness vs mildly sweet dough. If anything I’d have liked a touch less mustard — but that’s just me I’ve never been much of a fan — and sharper pickles, but dudes this is a sandwich I’d happily down any day.

I felt that the custard was a little too cold so it’s definitely stiffer and less oozy compared to my previous takeaway; and perhaps cause it’s freshly piped so the custard didn’t quite have the time to nestle into the dough and work some magic, so I did find the doughnut drier. Not that it was bad; it was still fluffy and tender, but wasn’t quite as moist and shiok as before. Still a fabulous bomboloni nonetheless, I may just let it sit longer before tucking in the next time 😉

Our Iced Black had some boldness and acidity yes kudos to them, but in exceedingly muted notes. Overall it tasted very flat and oddly a little lukewarm?

Their Mount Sweden I thought sounded really promising, with a frozen espresso “mountain”, milk, coconut milk, gula melaka, and coffee jelly. But it turned out a lot less impressive 🙃 It could’ve been a fabulous drink if I could actually taste the coffee, but it took waaaaaay too long to melt. Which might have been salvageable with some patience — if it were the only frozen component in the drink. In order to prop up that frozen espresso mountain so it looks aesthetically pleasing, there were toooons of ice cubes placed beneath. Which also makes it harder for the espresso to melt + by the time it does every other component just tastes diluted. Down to the individual components: I could taste the gula melaka but it wasn’t punchy and sorta tasted like a syrup instead. Would’ve liked it to be more aggressive. Coffee jelly’s not bad, and I like the balance of milk to syrup there’s not too much of either. On the whole, it’s still a fail for me. It could taste decent at the first sip, but if I’m waiting for the espresso to melt and all I get in the end is some watered down milk and sweetener then…nah bruh.

A nondescript stall with the most unassuming yellow signboard, they make among the best homey dumplings I’ve ever had in a hawker centre. Neatly sealed in those yellow wanton wrappers our mamas use at home, their dumplings (and wantons but dumplings especially) are stuffed with lean minced meat and prawns, no-fillers, and super well-seasoned. Dip those beauts in some of their punchy homemade chilli sauce — WEEEEEW. Stunning. They also make some bombass fuzhou fishballs that are mega qq and juicy. Now I’m not gonna call these the best craziest yummiest ones out there, but it’s very comforting and homey to me and I’ve never once dined at Maxwell without ordering from them. Besides, the old couple manning the store are super adorable 🥰

Not the prettiest of cross sections (I blame P2HA and disposable cutleries), but don’t let that take away from how amazing this Signature Har Jeong Gai ($14) sandwich was. The fried chicken was juicy and tender (albeit a lil soggy cause of the whole takeaway circumstances), the prawn paste marinade fragrant and discernible. Now I like very punchy and aggressive flavours so I’d say they can afford to be more heavy-handed, but that’s not to say it was tasty as it is. Very well-executed in fact, I was very pleasantly surprised. The sweet chilli sauce was commendable as well: sweet enough and not one-dimensionally so, nicely balancing out the fried chicken. Kick up the spice a notch and it’d be perfect. What I loved the most however, was their chye poh sourdough — our bread of choice. It’s kinda like a super savoury and umami a sourdough focaccia with a great crust and soft, fuwa fuwa insides. It’s a shame I couldn’t taste actual bits of chye poh in there, or else I’d buy loaves of this back immediately.

Gem Bar really nailed the basics of a good cheeseburger: great buns, oozy melted American cheese, and a crazy thicc patty. Their brioche buns are really fluffy, squishable, and super buttery — just the way I like mine. Patty boasted a wonderfully charred and blackened crust, with a juicy, tender, well-seasoned and perfectly medium center. Tie that all in with a surprisingly addictive sweet and tangy relish, and you’ve got yourself the amazingly delish Gem Cheeseburger.

For one, they really don’t skimp on the matcha; not in the bread dough, and definitely not in the oozy flowy custard. It’s rich, it’s got matcha’s characteristic bitterness, and it’s sweetened just right. The bread’s as fluffy as it’s moist and tender-crumbed, the perfect canvas for that thick custard filling. Psst, I hear today’s the National Doughnut Day and yes this ain’t one but I’ll tell y’all it beats some bombolonis I’ve had out there.

I don’t have much to share about either cause I took a tiny sip and remember them to be very decent though nothing outstanding — the black had a mild acidity and a good nuttiness — but I had to share this photo cause of their Cold Brew with Smoked Maple and Oat Milk that I DON’T (unfortunately) have a photo of. Now that drink, my friends, is one you definitely shouldn’t miss out on. Whether you’re a caffeine addict or not. It’s such an amazingly complex drink with so many nuances, it’d be an absolute sin to not try it. It’s considerably creamy seeing how they used oat milk, with the distinctive nuttiness of the oat milk shining through. But what’s so amazing is that the smokiness from the maple really really comes through at the end, and complements the oat milk so so well.

A soft, custardy centre that’s tender and moist, but not so dense it congeals together to look like a kueh without any crumb or bubbles. Top that off with a delicate caramelised crust that boasts a decisive crunch, and you’ve got a winner on your hands. I’ve had @nassimhillbakery’s canelés a couple of times now, and I’d confidently say they’ve never disappointed. I won’t promise the best canelés ever (tbh I’ve forgotten how exactly the ones in France I’ve had before were), but I’d say this ticks all the boxes in terms of technical execution and flavour.

I mean that already ticks all the right boxes in this glutton’s tummy. Toss in some spam, omelette, and melty cascading Swiss cheese in there and dayum guys we’ve got a winning sammie here. The flavours are no stranger to us, but the way they’re assembled together’s what excites me. Stacking the tamago-like pressed omelette, spam, and cheese together, before breading it and frying it up like a regular katsu patty, then sandwiching that crunchy thicc golden patty between 2 slices of fluffy white bread — absolutely delish. I did find the batter a little thicker than I’d like, and the spam a little too thin a slice (I eat spam by the can mind you), but this was plenty yummy and I’d order it again in a heartbeat.