New Restaurants, Cafes and Bars: December 2014

The ramen scene in Singapore has no doubt grown exponentially, and with so many places vying for a spot on everyone's list of hottest ramen places, it's gotta be hard to distinguish oneself from the competition. Then comes Takumen - a ramen store seving not one, not two, not three, but SIX different kinds of ramen from different distinguished ramen brands in Japan. To stay true to the original flavours of each brand, the ramen soup stocks are imported directly from Japan before being carefully prepared by chefs in the local kitchen. The bowls of ramen served change occasionally to feature new brands, so you'd always be able to go back for something new. Just imagine having six signature bowls of ramen from renowned brands in Japan under the same roof. Now that's a pretty big selling point don't you think?

Priding themselves as Thailand's No. 1 place for wanton noodles and pig trotters is BaaMee Bangkok. Their original wanton noodles are good already, but since you're already there, what you really ought to go for is their specialty tom yum wanton noodles. With noodles of great texture, great flavour, and a great spicy kick, what's not to love? Be warned, though, the blast from the tom yum is not for the fainthearted. To complete your experience at BaaMee, make sure you try their pig trotters as well! It is their specialty after all. ;)

Opened a mere two days ago is spanking new cafe, The Daily Press, located in Toa Payoh Lorong 1. Serving up a range of sandwiches, sharing plates and specialty coffee, this new addition to the belt makes for a casual space to catch up over good food and coffee. Sandwiches make up the bulk of their menu, and popular items include the Korean "fried" chicken sandwich with homemade kimchi on ciabatta ($12) and the roast beef sandwich with garlic, arugula and sesame on rye sourdough ($15). A great space for a casual meal or a sit-down over a cuppa - The Daily Press is a great addition to the cafe scene.

Open for dine-in orders not too long ago is Out of the Cake Box, a cakery specialising in homestyle cakes and bespoke creations. Besides crafting lovely cakes, their choux pastries filled with crème of locally-inspired flavours are particularly noteworthy. Try their Earl Grey-Kaya Gnome Dome or Horlicks Gnome Dome - filled with Horlicks and hazelnut crème pâtissière. For more sweets of local flavours, there's also their Chendol Fudge Cake, made up of layers of gula melaka sponge cake and alternating layers of gula melaka fudge. You ought to head down soon for a taste of some out of the (cake) box creations. See what we did there? ;)

Bringing all-time favourite New York Deli foods to the heart of Orchard Road is newly opened Sacha & Sons. Opened by the married duo behind Wild Honey and located in Mandarin Gallery, this new deli specialises in smoked pastrami, corned beef, roast beef even smoked fish. Sink your teeth into Sacha's Reuben with mouth-wateringly tender pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing, or go for something different like the cured gravlax salmon latke (Jewish potato pancakes). If you're more into sharing, get the increasingly popular specialty meat/ fish/ dip platter that comes with bagels, pickles, coleslaw and sliced onion. This place is definitely a hot new brunch favourite!

Find Joyden Canton Kitchen at HillV2, a newly opened shopping mall at Hillview. If you're in the neighbourhood and looking for high quality cantonese cuisine, then look no further! The Joyden Signature Soy Sauce Chicken is definitely a must-try, along with the Signature Traditional Hakka Salt Poached Farm Chicken. For the ultimate canto comfort food, order the Traditional Rice Vermicelli with Poached Egg White, Crabmeat and Scallop, another one of their signatures. As if all that wasn't tantalizing enough, they also serve the simple but oh-so-great dessert of beancurd skin with barley and gingko nuts, as well as the all-time favourite liu sha bao, which Tastemaker Rachel Xie deems as one of the best she's tried!

After four months of renovation, Shelter in the Woods has once again opened its doors with Chef Masashi Horiuchi as new consultant chef. Been craving for their rotisserie suckling pig? Well clap your hands and rejoice because this favourite is back! In the words of Tastemaker Mandy Lynn, 'The meat; so moist, sweet and succulent, its juices literally dripping off from being slow-roasted over a flame, evenly cooking the meat in its natural jus to caramelize the juices within.' Oh man, do you need any more convincing?! Well, if their decadent suckling pig isn't enough, you can also choose to sink your teeth into other traditional and European classics and rotisserie delights.

Their workstation is unique and unlike any other normal coffee joint. The epitome of cool and industrial-chic with clean lines, steel surfaces and glassy shelves, The New Black brings a new take-away multiroaster concept to Upper Circular Road. At any one time, they offer a multitude of coffee blends from numerous roasters. These options change depending on seasonality of particular beans, so you can always go back in the hopes of trying something new. Prices range from $5.50 to a hefty $18 per cup (no cash accepted). This coffee bar takes their coffee very, very seriously, so if you do too, The New Black is definitely worth a visit.

Barely a week old and located in the previous space of 7th Cylinder at Jalan Pisang, The Lab SG has already gotten our attention! Burppler Mancini Tan is thoroughly impressed and insists this is one new cafe worth visiting. He says, 'Their liege waffles with mixed berry compote and apple crisps are fantastic and pretty different from the normal Belgium waffles. Definitely coming back to try out their mains'. They experiment. A Lot. So expect innovative menu items like taro latte and apple pie tea, as well as hearty mains like the Heisenberger.

Previously known as Sarang Cafe, revamped and rebranded The Return brings us great western bistro food just a stone's throw away from Masjid Sultan. Start with their wild mushroom soup ($8.90), proceed with their signature truffle beef burger ($18.90) - which comes with portobello, tomato, caramelised onion, cheddar cheese, and thick handcut chips, and choose from their range of assorted cakes for dessert! Oh, did we mention their food is Halal?

SWAG is an all-new salad bar situated in The Commerze at Irving Place. They aim to promote healthy eating that doesn't compromise on taste by offering an array of gourmet salads and wraps at affordable prices. Signature salads include the Greek Apple (turkey ham, bacon bits and green apples with maple bacon dressing), Salmonlicious (smoked salmon with wasabi miso dressing) and the Seafood Galore (calamari and cajun prawns with sambalnaise dressing ($7.90-$9.90).

Yes, you heard it right -- meatless. Meat-lovers, instead of dismissing this place as a restaurant only for vegetarians, hold biases at bay and let the flavours of the only the freshest vegetables, herbs and fruits overwhelm you and change your impressions, for the better. Aptly located at Orchard Central's roof top garden, Joie offers a 6-course lunch and 7-course dinner for $38.80++ and $68.80++ respectively.