Reddy's Early Morning Breakfast Adventure - Neptune Dim Sum

Dim Sum or "Dian Xin" is essentially Cantonese in origin - bite sized, handcrafted portions of food served in bamboo steamer baskets, served typically during breakfast or tea time. Dim sum  is to the the Chinese community, what English Afternoon Tea is to the English (and the rest of the world nowadays). In keeping up with the times, dim sum is now readily available almost throughout the day, be it for breakfast,lunch, dinner and even supper in some places. Dim sum is one of Reddy's top fave comfort food, and any place with a good egg tart will definitely be on Reddy's radar. And that definitely makes Neptune Dim Sum at Marine Parade Hawker Center worthy enough a visit anytime.

Hello sunshine..

Reddy's Newfound Comfort Food - Pho 99

Our hot and super duper humid weather has finally taken a cooler turn, a much needed respite indeed! With the turn of the weather, Reddy's appetite has shifted to anything hot and soupy, and the "discovery" of a (not-so-new) Vietnamese joint couldn't come at a better time! Pho 99 is located right across from Amoy Hawker Centre, in an old conservation shophouse with windows painted vividly in hues of red, yellow, green and blue. If you intend to dine here at lunch hour, please be prepared to set aside some waiting time as there can be a line of waiting hungry diners (as with most places with great food :) )

Picture perfect

Reddy on Ramen Fever - Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King @ Paya Lebar Square

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King is one of the 4 ramen concepts born from Chef Keisuke Takeda's first outlet of Ramen Dining Keisuke Singapore, and the other 3 being Tori King, Tonkotsu King Four Season and Tonkotsu King Matsuri. To add on to the already burgeoning list, Chef Keisuke also has a gyoza dining concept aptly named Gyoza King, Sake Bar Takeda Shoten and also (my personal favourite) Ginza Tendon Itsuki (click on the name to read up more on previous visits). As with most places with good food, there is usually a queue of hungry patrons waiting patiently for their turns. The queue does not get Ippudo-Crazy but ya, there is a queue. What I love about their ramen? The broth is good, yes, but I especially love the thinly sliced stir fried pork belly that garnishes each serving of the "King" option. And oh, for egg lovers? They have FOC hard boiled eggs to accompany your piping hot bowl of ramen - "free flow style"!

Tonkotsu Ramen "King" @ $12.90, add flavoured egg for $2.00 more

One Is Never Enough - Bonheur Pattiserie's (heavenly) Macarons

Too much sugar is bad for you. Like pfft, said who? You can never have too much of sugar, don't be silly. Unless you eat sugar by the mouthful whole day long and 7 days a week, then yea, you should be fine with the occasional sweet treats here and there. One of the huge misconception about macarons is - "It's too sweet!" Like no. If you have the right recipe, it can be the best-est tiny piece of heaven you can have! And by the way, life is so short, eat dessert first!

Eye pleasing soothing shades of pastels. And they taste as good as they look

Ice Cream Man

(**Sung to the tune of Muffin Man**)

"Oh, do you know the ice cream man,

The ice cream man, the ice cream man,

Oh, do you know the ice cream man,

That lives on Drury Lane?"

Yes, the traditional Ice Cream Man who used to come by with a motorcycle modified to add on a "freezer" cart, has now gone up a notch by going around in a colourfully decorated van with sparkling LED lights. Moving ahead with the times to say the least :) Well this Ice Cream Man seems to be an Auntie and Uncle team - the Uncle blares the horn to reel in the crowd while the Auntie does the serving. The have the potong type of ice cream and they also offer some homemade flavours. We tried the Chocolate Chip flavour, and was so hooked that RaRa had to get another cone! While fancy ice cream parlours are all the rage nowadays, simple pleasures derived from a sweet, cold, creamy and messy treat from the humble neighbourhood ice cream man, brings back a sense of nostalgia from days of our childhood era. And that, my friend, is something money cannot buy.

This was simply awesome! Even had cornflake bits!

Christmas Eve with FYR - Reddy's Solo Adventure

Not content with spending Christmas Eve on solo mode, armed with a rumbling tummy and grit determination with each step in the rain (snow we have not, so rain it shall be then), Reddy headed off to FYR for a feel-good-makan. Probably one of the very few places that did not implement the compulsory Christmas dinner menu (with an equally compulsory burn-a-hole-in-the-pocket-pricing), FYR charge the usual $25.00 ($29.42 with taxes) for their monthly changing set lunch menu. Food was good, just as Reddy's first visit was. And it certainly lent some much needed warmth to the otherwise very dreary and depressing wet and grey Christmas Eve.

Sauteéd Shimeji Mushrooms with Truffle Oil, Salted Beurre Blanc

RaRa and Reddy Goes To The Village - Chock Full of Beans @ Changi Village

Chock Full Of Beans have garnered quite a following from what we managed to read online. They are known for their creative 2D and 3D latte art, but unfortunately, we don't drink coffee. Armed with an expectation and growling tummies, RaRa and Reddy paid them a visit one evening. Kiasu-rism ensured that we made prior reservation (just in case we had to wait! First world problem I know), but truth be told, unless you are planning a trip down here over the weekend, there is no need for kiasu-rism for dinner. They didn't seem too packed when we came by. Chock Full Of Beans is located right at the end of Block 4, one of the few old school blocks fronting the main road, they have both indoor and outdoor seating options, outdoor can be quite pretty during the day, but of course, only if you are heatproof and can live without airconditioning. Nonetheless, back to the food, they serve the usual cafe fare - pasta, cakes, pizza (pizza is handmade though). We had our usual Carbonara and customized our own pizza (yay!)

Spaghetti Carbonara with Poached Egg @ $17.00

Pocket Friendly - Sushi Express @ Newly Renovated White Sands

Sushi Express, if I read correctly, is a Taiwanese sushi chain founded over a decade ago in 1996. They pride themselves for offering sushi at a very affordable price, in our LittleRedDot, everything goes for $1.50. There is no varying charges for items of different "colored plates", as it is in some other sushi chain, everything you see, is $1.50 each. Their pocket friendly prices have of course, garnered quite a following. For those who have a tummy with bottomless-pit-proportions, Sushi Express is godsent. Oh just one small note, you are given a 50 minute time limit to gorge :)

Seeing is believing

Reddy's Comfort Food - Ippudo

Ippudo. The name synonymous with a good hearty bowl of ramen - where there is just that little something extra and something different that is so addictive, and it makes me drool myself silly at the very thought. Ippudo was founded in 1985, in what is called the "Ramen Capital of Hakata", by Mr Shigemi Kawahara. Fast forward to present day, Ippudo have since flourished to over 80 stores in Japan alone and about 40 more worldwide. In my opinion, what sets apart one bowl of ramen to the other is nothing but the broth. At Ippudo, the color of the broth seems about the same as everywhere else, but the taste? Oh, the exquisite taste! There is so much depth and aroma to each spoonful, which can only be possible with meticulous and painstakingly time consuming extracting of all the wonderful goodness from hours of boiling of bones and meat (basically that's what I understand from making ramen broth, haha). Ippudo was then my favourite ramen joint, is currently still my favourite ramen joint, and probably will remain as THE favourite ramen joint for some time to come.

Appetiser of Goma Q (Chilled Cucumber) @ $6.00