Welcome to Clarke Quay.

For those whom have been following the happenings around the local F&B scene for the past couple of years, perhaps the mention of Kuro Kare may be a name that some would be familiar with. Kuro Kare is an establishment that was previously situated within the campus of Singapore Management University; they have since moved out of their former premises but have opened at a new location in the basement of Havelock II; other notable tenants that are situated there includes an outlet of KangJi Curry Mee, an outlet of Golden Mile Thien Kee Steamboat Hainanese Restaurant and Little Lady Bakes. Kuro Kare occupies a kiosk space at Havelock II though the unit it occupies does have sufficient space for a few dine-in tables as well as counter seating that overlooks its food preparation area. It serves two (2) menus; one for lunch service and the other for dinner service — the former comprising of sections dedicated to Mains, Add-ons and Sides.

During our visit to Kuro Kare, we went for the Iberico Pork Katsu Curry from the Mains section; patrons do get a choice to opt for the Value Set for the choice of their mains which sees the addition of 3pc Aged Salmon Sashimi, White Miso Negi Soup and Unlimited Genmaicha for an extra charge of $5.90 on top of the Main opted. It is noted that Kuro Kare now serves the choice of meat away from the Japanese curry rice on a separate plate — the menu describes the Iberico Pork Katsu Curry to feature a 250g slab of Iberico Pork Katsu; it is also observed from our order that there is the inclusion of pickled cucumbers and mustard coming on the side as well. Going straight for the Iberico Pork Katsu, the Iberico Katsu does come with a deep-fried batter featuring pank crumbs; very crisp and not particularly greasy — all that whilst the slab of pork was tender and juicy that it did not require any effort to chew through. The pork was free from any undesirable porky stench, though does come with a hint of natural sweetness amidst the meatiness; the sprinkling of salt further enhances the flavour of the pork, while pairing the pork with the mustard sauce on the side adds an earthy note that cuts through the meatiness quite well. Kuro Kare is probably most noted for its “black curry”; we did note that the consistency of the Japanese curry here does come a little runnier but also came at a darker shade than what one would typically expect — the result is actually quite a savoury Japanese-style curry that delivers a punch without being too starchy nor gloopy. The flavours of their Japanese curry was not too peppery, but there is a deep earthiness and light sweetness with a savoury undertone that is pretty unique — goes especially well with the short-grain rice that is sprinkled with Furikake for a slightly umami twist.

Red Star Restaurant is a heritage restaurant in Chinatown that serves old school trolley dim sum. We had lunch there ($125 for 3 pax) and every item delivered. The siew mai was really good - the minced meat filling was mixed with chopped shiitake mushroom, which gave it a very nice fragrance. Apart from the typical dim sum items, we also ordered the Roast Suckling Pig that came with jelly fish on the side - it was quite pricey at $28 per plate but it was sooo good!

Normal can eat

Got to learn about the opening of the new Little Lady Bakes that had recently opened in the basement of Havelock II whilst passing by the shopping gallery fairly recently; the basement of Havelock II does seem to be bustling with eateries especially with the opening of the outlet of Golden Mile Thien Kee Steamboat Hainanese Restaurant there — we did catch other new establishments such as the likes of Simmering Bowl and Stylo Soup 尚汤饭 that had also set up shop there in recent times. Little Lady Bakes takes up a kiosk space that is primarily meant for takeaway operations — there is no dedicated dine-in area for its patrons but there are a few benches located throughout the entire shopping gallery across various levels should one prefer to consume their purchased bakes on the spot. All bakes available for the day are prominently displayed at the counter here — the menu is being split into sections dedicated to Bundt Cakes, Financiers, Brownies, Madelines and Cookie Box.

There were quite a number of variations of Financiers being offered at Little Lady Bakes when we made our visit on a weekday afternoon; one of the variations of financiers that caught our attention whilst skimming through what was available in the display case would be the Teh Gao Cashew Financier — this would also be one of the few items offered by Little Lady Bakes that does consist of an infusion of a local element within the bake itself. Going for the Teh Gao Cashew Financier, we did notice that the Financier does come a little bit more crumbly given the use of crushed cashews here, though the Financier does still come with a slightly crusty exterior and a firm bite within. The insides of the Financier is still reasonably buttery and moist, though it definitely perfumed of a milk tea-esque fragrance that was pretty evident from the first bite — definitely one in which the aroma of black tea could be felt, and is something that would be a hit especially with tea lovers out there!

Not fanatic but can eat

Not too sweet and creamy. Nice

Traditional Beijing Fried Sauce Ramen 🍜 🤔🤔 Zha Jiang Mian for the win 🥳 in D Life Chinatown.

Classic appearance, simple ingredients with just minced meat, lettuce, fried beancurd and the zha jiang sauce 🤓 Taste blends well with each other, awesome dish 🙌

Vegetarian restaurant with eggless and vegan options available.

Conveniently located in Chinatown Point from Chinatown MRT Exit E.

Highly recommended for the Chinese Delights that they serve here 😍

If anything, it does seem like the folks patronising Hong Lim Food Centre does have quite some options for post-meal desserts or tea-time treats to go for when at the hawker centre — taking over the former premises of the now-defunct Sabah Sandakan UFO tart at the second level of Hong Lim Food Centre is the new Vic’s Mini Lava Cheesecake; for those whom are not familiar with the previous tenant of the space, the stall can be found beside the unit of Hiong Kee Dumplings at the second floor of the food centre which is also diagonally opposite the outlet of SLII Muffin there. As the namesake of the stall suggests, Vic’s Mini Lava Cheesecake focuses pretty much on their mini lava cheesecake offerings (more about it later), though they also do serve up Portuguese Egg Tarts as well for those whom prefer something a little warm and without the cheese for a tea-time treat.

Vic’s Mini Lava Cheesecake offers their mini lava cheesecake in four (4) different flavours — matcha, chocolate, taro and original; we found ourselves opting for the Taro Lava Cheesecake. One thing that are being told about is how the Lava Cheesecakes are intentionally served chilled; posters of the item that can be found at the store also mentions the lack of use of cake flour, as well as a molten lava texture for the mini cheesecake. The mini lava cheesecakes are also intentionally made less sweet to cater to the modern, health-conscious palate as well. Digging into the Taro Lava Cheesecake, it is undeniable that the texture of the cake here is molten to the point that it is incredibly runny; one thing we did note about the Taro Lava Cheesecake is how it does seem to carry a good balance of flavours — amidst the savouriness that one would expect out of a cheesecake, one can also feel the subtle notes of taro providing an added hint of earthiness that also concurrently runs at the back of the tongue. We also saw how the Taro Lava Cheesecake was kept with sweetness on the lower side just like how Vic’s Mini Lava Cheesecake promises their mini lava cheesecakes to be on the posters; a flavour that was pretty much clean and makes the cheesecake easy to have since it was not particularly overwhelming either.

This is my first visit to Xiaoyanzi Tomato Hotpot at Clark Quay Central and their tomato hotpot is really good! We ordered 2 soup bases, namely their signature tomato broth and collagen chicken soup . The chicken soup was decent but the tomato soup stole the show - there was a good balance of sweet and sour notes and the soup was very flavourful.

We ordered a variety of hotpot ingredients and my favourite includes the Australian Marbled Beef Short Rib (so good!), Mixed Ball Platter and good old beancurd ring rolls. They go really well with the tomato soup!

The dinner added up to $127 for 3 pax and it was worth it for the quality, service and comfortable environment. Enjoyed this!

29 Nov’25, Sat🌦️
📍Red Star Restaurant 紅星酒家 (Chin Swee Rd, SG)
- Dim Sum 港式點心🥟

Average dim sum I would say, but for 100% for the old school push cart vibes…

It very tasty and delicious

Having been intrigued with Burmese cuisine ever since our first time trying it out at Chuki Kitchen, we had been on a hunt for Burmese cuisine all over the island. One of such establishments that had caught our attention whilst being in the City Hall area that we had been passing by quite often would be that of Golden Cart Authentic Burmese Cuisine — these folk are situated at the ground floor of High Street Plaza; the shopfront of Golden Cart Authentic Burmese Cuisine directly faces High Street Plaza, while it also occupies a shop unit right at the corner that is closer towards New Bridge Road. Golden Cart Authentic Burmese Cuisine should be quite impossible to miss considering how the store does feature a bright green signage that catches one’s attention fairly easily. The menu at Golden Cart Authentic Burmese Cuisine has been revamped once to better accommodate to non-Burmese speakers — the current menu features English descriptions to all dishes apart from the Burmese script that was the only language used in the previous iteration; the menu is split into categories dedicated to Signature Cuisines, Rice and Curry Set and Soups, though certain headers are still listed in Burmese script only.

The Zalon Rice Salad is also known as Htamin Thoke in Burmese — it is also one of many variants of rice salad dishes that is an item commonly featured in Burmese cuisine. Patrons do get to pick between various types of meats to pair with their order of the Zalon Rice Salad at Golden Cart Authentic Burmese Cuisine; we went with the chicken. Digging into the Zalon Rice Salad, we are not really sure of what are the elements that came featured within the dish — that being said, the rice did come with a savoury and tangy note that was immensely fragrant to say the least; expect rice grains that is mixed with flavours almost similar to the likes of picked chilies and fried shallots which was especially appetising and umami. Wasn’t too much of a fan of the chicken that we had opted for though; whilst we did notice how most of the chicken that we have had with Burmese fare are typically on the drier side, the ones at Golden Cart Authentic Burmese Cuisine was especially tough and difficult to even pick up using the fork. Still a spot that works out great for those wanting to give Burmese fare a go considering how they do have a good variety of dishes listed on the menu here.