Welcome to Alexandra.

Their new ala carte buffet. I had forgotten such a soup exists and I really liked it. The chicken-based broth was flavourful. My other thought is French cuisine is very rich to be buffet, and I couldn't eat as much as I wanted!

Their new ala carte buffet. This is similar to the pate, but of course with more meat texture. Nice. My other thought is French cuisine is very rich to be buffet, and I couldn't eat as much as I wanted!

Their new ala carte buffet. I love pate! My other thought is French cuisine is very rich to be buffet, and I couldn't eat as much as I wanted!

Their new ala carte buffet. I was surprised duck could be like this. There were none of the flaws associated with duck. In fact the rubbery texture helped. Served with black garlic aioli. My other thought is French cuisine is very rich to be buffet, and I couldn't eat as much as I wanted!

Don Lechon is a name that some familiar with the local F&B scene would probably have probably come across — an establishment that had first started out operations at Grandlink Square, Don Lechon had once expanded its operations to a second location at East Village. While the East Village location has since ceased operations, they had found new digs in Alexandra Central; they had taken over the former premises of the now-defunct location of STR TAO Taiwan Cuisine 台湾街头. Whilst the kitchen, counter and some part of its dine-in space is situated within the said shop unit, some part of its dine-in space is located in another shop unit across from the said space in the middle of the shopping aisle — this would be where some of the dine-in seats for the now-defunct Sizzling Woks 2 煮炒来咯 used to be. An establishment that is known for its specialty in Lechon, the menu at Don Lechon does feature quite a number of dishes available in single diner portions with rice and sharing portions — they also do serve up a line-up of desserts as well.

We wanted to try a Filipino dish that we had yet to give a go so far, and our eyes were set on the Tokwa’t Lechon. The Tokwa’t refers to extra-firm / dense tofu with water being pressed out; somewhat similar to that of Tau Kwa in Singaporean terms — the menu described this dish to come with Lechon and Tofu Cubes stir-fried with soy sauce and vinegar. Other elements which we had noticed being served with the Tokwa’t Lechon Rice Meal would be chopped onions and chopped chilli padi; the rice coming in a separate plate away from the bowl of Tokwa’t Lechon. Digging into the Tokwa’t Lechon, we found that the chunks of Lechon Belly could be found deeper inside the portion served to us in the bowl; these pieces do come with a layer of thin, crisp skin over the top while the meat comes all chunky with a good bite considering how it does feature a good balance of lean parts and fattier parts with the latter being slightly more tender. The tofu cubes provide a textural contrast against the Lechon belly — coming with a soft but firm bite, while the chopped onions do give the dish an extra element of crunch. The mix of soy sauce and vinegar provides a familiar savouriness and tang — there is the addition of chili padi here, though this doesn’t quite give the dish a piquant kick of spiciness that we would have preferred; would do well for those whom have low tolerance to spiciness in general.

Their new ala carte buffet. This fries also has bacon and fig balsamic glaze. It's okay. My other thought is French cuisine is very rich to be buffet, and I couldn't eat as much as I wanted!

There has been some talk on social media on the opening of a new establishment named CAFE ON:DO on the second level of Alexandra Central recently; these folks had taken over the former premises of the now-defunct Viet & Beans Bistro there (some might recall the space to be occupied by La Saigon Cafe before Viet & Beans Bistro) — other establishments located within the vicinity in the same shopping galleria include that of an outlet of Nature Cafe and WANGXIAOZAN Hunan Cuisine 王小赞湖南菜. It does seem that the folks at CAFE ON:DO are going for a simple yet cosy look for the space — just like how Viet & Beans Bistro was previously set-up, much of the dine-in seating is being lined by the side of the shop unit right beside the counter on one side; there isn’t much emphasis on any sort of theme though it does seem that these folks do want their patrons to feel welcomed without feeling intimidated by the surroundings with the entire look being sufficiently tasteful, homely and with comfort in mind. CAFE ON:DO does seem to be a cafe offering various Korean-style bakes that are displayed prominently at the counter; the beverages listed on the menu are segmented into sections dedicated to Coffee, Coffee Signature, Matcha, Chocolate, Signature Tea, Jeju Tea and Ade.

One thing that we have noticed during our visit to CAFE ON:DO is how the establishment does seem to pride themselves over their scone offerings — these folks do offer a wider variety of scones as compared to other types of bakes that they also retail; the scones featuring both sweet and savoury flavour profiles as well. Displayed in an area separate from their other scone offerings would be the Egg Scone; this is actually their unique take on an egg tart that features an infusion of a scone within the base that replaces the usually cookie crust / pastry of the usual egg tarts that we see being retailed at other local / Hong Kong-style bakeries around. Going straight for Egg Scone, the pastry itself does come with a caramelised egg curd filled in the middle that pretty much replicates the same as what one would expect of a typical egg tart — one could definitely detect those eggy notes whilst the egg curd wasn’t overly sweet as well. The scone base of the pastry was an interesting mix of crunch and crumbly textures that provided a firm bite with somewhat softer insides that gave a textural contrast that was fairly unique in this application, though this also does make it a little heavier than the typical egg tart. Don’t leave CAFE ON:DO without giving the Butter Tteok a go as well; definitely better than most Butter Mochi pastries we have come across thus far!

[Alexandra, Singapore 🇸🇬]

Breakfast available Monday to Friday 8am to 10am
Fried Vermicelli 米粉炒 (小份)
Carrot Cake 萝卜糕
S$4.80+

Topup S$1+ for Taiwanese Milk Tea (cold) 台式奶茶 (冰)

Love the texture of the crispy carrot cake. Wish there’s more chilli sauce.

Jiak Ba Food Heaven
Address 🛖 : 460 Alexandra Rd, #01-18 Alexandra Retail Centre (ARC), Singapore 🇸🇬 119963
Open ⏰ : 11am - 9pm
MRT 🚇 : Labrador Park

[Alexandra, Singapore 🇸🇬]

Tomato Kiss Pasta (S$6)

Garlic Shrimp Pasta (S$6)

O’Lava (S$6.90)

The staff would heat up the food after paying at the cashier. There’s tables available outside. Surprise that there’s lava flow in the moist cake even after it’s cooled down.

Bingo
Address 🛖 : 438A Alexandra Rd, #01-11 Alexandra Technopark, Singapore 🇸🇬 119967
Open ⏰ : Mon - Fri : 7.30am - 5.30pm
MRT 🚇 : Labrador Park

Their new ala carte buffet. Surprisingly, the chicken beat the duck and steak. Tender with nice flavour. This came with duck fat potato sarladaise, spring vegetables, mustard brown sauce. My other thought is French cuisine is very rich to be buffet, and I couldn't eat as much as I wanted!

Their new ala carte buffet. This might be my favourite dish. It's melty inside with crunchy zucchini. My other thought is French cuisine is very rich to be buffet, and I couldn't eat as much as I wanted!

Their new ala carte buffet. I can't remember encountering this variety of pasta. Interesting approach, cream pasta topped with tomato sauce. I'm not a fan of tomato pasta but I applaud the freshness. My other thought is French cuisine is very rich to be buffet, and I couldn't eat as much as I wanted!