Everytime when I passed by this open concept restaurant in Bugis Junction basement, the kaypoh side of me will stretch my kaypoh neck to see what the diners are eating. The food looked good.. Gyozas in soup. So one fine day, my friend and I decided to step in.

I love restaurants that use electronic ordering system. Super efficient and less errors. 

I don't like restaurants that charges for water. Tap water is drinkable. And Kotsujiru's water at $0.30 is non refillable. 

Kotsujiru Nabe's specialty is its mochi like gyoza. There are 4 different soups that you can choose from: Original, Miso, Miso Kimuchi, Tom Yam. I got the tom yam soup + pork ($20.80). The thinly sliced pork that were delicious and flavourful. The soup was really spicy and sour. My friend got the original soup with pork ($18.80).

The only thing that the gyoza is different from the usual Chinese soup dumpling is the Mochi-like skin. The skin is thicker and has a snowy texture that is chewy like mochi. Other than that, the meat is similar to those in Chinese dumplings.

The set comes with meat balls which we loved it to the max. Glazed with caramelized sweet soya sauce, they were really crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Hmmm overall I find it quite expensive for the quality of food which I think is slightly above average. I think it's overpriced. 

Address: Bugis Junction B1-21/22

Telephone: 63380343

Dessert Station @ Albert Market

The feast continued with Part 2 which is dessert from our favourite dessert station in Albert Street Market Centre. They have a killer Cheng Tng which has a generous amount of longan, dates, sago, barley, ginkgo, white fungus and a lot of other ingredients in soup that is light and yet well balanced with sweetness.

My friend loves the sesame paste which was thick and awesome too. Desserts are around $1.30. Cheap and good :) We love Chinese desserts and I highly recommend this one at Albert Market!

Address: Albert Centre Market & Food Centre, 270 Queen Street, #01-41, Bugis

This is the Best. Chocolate. Ever.

Just like Rihanna singing “where have you been all my life??"...  that was what I felt about my virgin experience with Chocolate Origin’s chocolate lava ice-cream.

A plethora of “omg .. omg.. OMGG..” was unleashed when I first ate it. It was a touching moment for me.

At $5 a cup, the Cuppa Lava Cake, which is chocolate lava vanilla ice-cream is totally worth it for that moment of ecstasy.

And I missed it so much that I want to write a love letter now (warning: mushy content ahead).

Dear Cuppa Lava Cake,

I love you.

I love how intense and rich you are, and the bittersweet feelings that invoked within me when I devoured you.

I love how you are hot and cold at the same time.

I love how your warm chocolate lava gives me moments of bliss and indulgence, and how the moist fluffy soft sponge cake absorbs the flowing lava.

I love your cold and sweet vanilla ice-cream that is waiting for me at the bottom of the lava cake.

I love how serious you are as a chocolate, and yet seem like a dreamy fairy tale to me.

I love how therapeutic it is just to say your name.

I love you.

It was as if I have been sleeping for the longest time.

Until I met you.

This is an apt representation of my love for Cuppa Lava Cake.

Address:
230 Victoria Street, Bugis Junction, B3-10A (near escalator near Subway)
They have outlets at Changi Village, AMK Hub and 313 Somerset too!

I think Smoulder has the biggest variety of lava cakes I've ever seen. Apart from the standard chocolate lava cake, they have pistachio, Black Forest, milk chocolate banana, raspberry, matcha. *blink blink blink at the matcha!!* Full menu available at their website here.

The lava cakes are bite-sized versions so that one doesn't get sick from eating it.  Or is it Smoulder's strategy to let one feel less guilty eating more than one lava cake?

Baby Lava Cakes

These small sinful cakes are meant to be consumed at room temperature. I reheated them as I ate them the next day. Reheating instructions are available on the box or on their website too. I think I reheat for too long. My raspberry lava cake erupted in my toaster oven. Boo..

Dark Chocolate: 
The signature dark chocolate was amazing. One of the best chocolate lava cakes I've ever eaten. The warm molten chocolate oozed out of the soft moist spongy crust, and the rich and robust chocolate was like doing a dance in the mouth. Although it's name is dark chocolate, it's not bitter at all. 

At that moment, I regretted I only bought one. 4.75/5

White Chocolate Matcha:

Being seriously biased towards all things matcha, the white chocolate matcha was no doubt my most favorite. This is the first time I come across a matcha lava cake. The intense slight bitterness of the matcha was unmistakable and when matched with sweetness of the white chocolate, it was pure heaven! If there was ever a matcha volcano, I would gladly live in it. 5/5 (warning: Non matcha lovers should take note this rating could be biased.)

White Chocolate Raspberry:

A pity the raspberry cake "erupted" in my oven. There was still some molten raspberry in it though. The raspberry lava is strictly for the sweet and sour tooth. With raspberry fruity bits in the lava, one can't help but feel blissful devouring it. 4/5

Verdict: 
At $2.80 per piece, I find it ridiculously expensive for its small size. But if quality is what you are looking for, look no further. Smoulder has some of the best lava cakes I've ever eaten. They also take special orders for parties or baby showers too. Maybe it might be cheaper if buy in bulk.

Trivia: 
NYC 3 Star Michelin chef Jean Georges is the inventor of the molten chocolate cake in 1987, but French chef Jacques Torres disputed that the dessert already existed in France. Jacques Torres supposedly took out a cake which was not fully baked from his oven and found that the centre was runny. Regardless of who invented the lava cake, I am the biggest winner Mwahhahaha... So blessed to be born in this century to eat it!

Outlets:

Raffles City B1-68 

Takashimaya Basement Food Hall

There are some food that you can never forget. For me, Tim Ho Wan's Baked Char Siew Pau is one example. I am very fortunate that my list of unforgettable food has expanded to include Lady M's Green Tea Mille Crepe Cake ($8.50). Layers of buttery flaky crepes were coated with green tea mousse. The mousse was so soft and it sticks to the fork. Loved how it was not overly rich or sweet, and also not overly bitter. Combined with the flaky milky layers of crepe, this was a well balanced dessert.  How can it be? How can a dessert be so perfect leh?

Here are the different poses of my new found love. Yes I am perverted, so what?

The mysterious pose

The innocent pose

The come-and-devour-me pose

The 5/5 pose

Omg life will never be the same again! Green Tea Mille crepe, I love you!

It's other cousins were less memorable for me. They include the plain vanilla mille crepe which was average, buttery and had a caramelized top. Each layer tasted similar - too milky for my liking and soon I was tired of it. The banana mille feuille had a piece of small banana in the middle, which was engulfed by layers of fattening whipped cream which made me cringe.

Plain Vanilla Mille Crepe ($8) - 3.5/5

Banana Mille Feuille ($8.50) - 3/5

It was surprising to find that the outlet was pretty empty on a weekend. Are we not at One Fullerton? It's a bit weird because there were throngs of passer-bys and tourists outside.

Address:
1 Fullerton Road
#01-10
Singapore 049213