We interrupt your daily business to bring you an important message. We think we have found the best cheesecake of the year.

Yes. From LeTao. And I don't know why it is not repeated like a broken record in my social media feed. The only articles I came across mentioning LeTao were the Straits Times and Daniel Food Diary.  After seeing Daniel's Instagram video which included someone breaking down into touched moments of "Omg it's very nice..", I was left with no choice but to check out LeTao.

For the uninitiated, LeTao is a super famous cheesecake from the land of desserts a.k.a. Hokkaido. Finally, LeTao has found home in Singapore, in the form of a takeaway counter store in Ion Orchard, located at B1 level near the Moleskine store if you know where is it. 

The best thing is there are no queues. Initially I was trying to see if there was some hidden queue.. You know, like Bake Cheese Tart's queue at B4 level which had me grinning like a lottery winner when I first saw there was no queue at its store... only till I was informed that the queue begins a few hundred meters away so that traffic is unblocked for other shops. 

But nope, no confusing queue system for LeTao. No never-ending queue. I repeat, no queue at all. #NeverUnderestimateSocialMedia

Petit Chocolat Strawberry ($12 per 50 grams)

Before we get to the best cheesecake of the year, the very helpful salesgirl gave us some samples of their chocolates and biscuits to try. The petit chocolat strawberry is a whole freeze-dried strawberry encapsulated by sweet white chocolate and dusted with a layer of strawberry powder. It's neither overly sweet nor sour, and makes a perfect TV or reading snack for the freeze-dried strawberry lover.

Otaru Rue Ironai Fromage ($10/box of 9 pcs; $19/box of 18 pcs)

I noticed many people were buying the Otaru Rue Ironai Fromage, or cheese cookies in English. I can see why. In between the crispy biscuits was a smooth creamy layer of cheese, which is the same mascarpone cheese used in the famous cheesecake. The affordable price-point makes it a popular add-on item too.

Double fromage ($28)

Now, for the pièce de résistance, the double fromage. The beauty comes in two layers: a froth-like creamy no-bake cheesecake that's not overly rich, and a rich solid baked cheesecake. 

The joy is when I eat them in one mouthful together. That's when the light airy layer melts into the solid layer, resulting in a sensational out-of-the-world taste and texture.

The cheese used in the no-bake cheesecake is Italian mascarpone. And I tell you, the Italians make really good cheese. Mascarpone cheese is a buttery-rich double-cream to triple-cream cow's milk cheese. Instead of using rennet which is an enzyme from ruminant animals to coagulate the cheese, citric or tartaric acid is used instead. Hence, the taste is softer and more delicate than other cheeses, making it a perfect combination with the rich cream cheese used in the baked portion.

Mascarpone Creme Brulee ($25)

We wanted to get their chocolate double cheesecake but it was sold out. But it's ok, I found love in the creme brulee cake. It uses the same Mascarpone cheese, Hokkaido milk and Madagascar vanilla. There is no caramelized top but the joy is not affected as I tucked into the creamy, egg-fragrant smooth creamy custard. The crust is a thin layer of flaky pastry akin to mille-feuille. Very good!

Take note that the double fromage costs $28 for a 12cm cake. That's equivalent to 4 slices. Which is about $7 for a slice.. not that expensive if you can slice it. LeTao Singapore does not sell in slices as it is the brand directive from Japan HQ. They can only sell pre-packed cakes with no direct contact with the food. But they provide disposable forks and knives so you can share with a friend and cut the cake on the spot. But I personally think it will be unwise to share.. kekeke..

There is no "we" in food.

Ok quickly go and eat LeTao before you make your new year resolutions on dieting, clean-eating,  blah blah blah..

Address: Ion Orchard B1-K7, 2 Orchard Turn Singapore 238801

Tel: +65 8799 3551

We live in the golden age of ramen, especially in Singapore where ramen shops sprout faster than you can say "oisshi". As I've always confessed openly, my favourite type of men is ramen. So when Tsuta Ramen, the first Michelin starred ramen in the World, has set up its first ever outpost in Singapore, I was left with no choice but to join the unwinding queue to find out more.

I queued on a Saturday morning. It was also Kam's Roast opening day in the same building Pacific Plaza. Kam's Roast is brought in by Hersing Culinary, also the same company that brought in Tsuta Ramen and 1-Michelin star Tim Ho Wan. Seems like Hersing is trying to build a Michelin empire in Pacific Plaza.

I posted a live update on the situation on Instagram that day.

The situation at 11.30am. Reporting live from Pacific Plaza, Singapore. . 🍜 🍗 Kam Roast will open at 1pm today. The plan is to eat Tsuta first then move to Kam. #determined

A photo posted by @weekendeatwhat on Nov 18, 2016 at 7:46pm PST

For the record, I didn't eat Kam after Tsuta because #TooFull.

Managed to get in after an hour plus of queuing (thank god for my Kindle which made the wait more value-adding).

I ordered the unusual shoyu ramen ($22.80 / 4 pieces of char siew / 1 ajitama egg), which is Tsuta's award winning ramen. The truffle oil and clam-based dashi stock was a weird combination for me. Hmmm let's just say I can't appreciate the exotic broth which was umami with a hint of truffle pungency. It wasn't inedible but personally, I don't think pungent and umami goes well together. The redeeming factor was the amazing seasoned runny egg which was sweet and savory, as well as the lean yet flavourful pork collar. I wasn't expecting myself to like the pork slices as they aren't the usual melt-in-mouth and fatty char siew.. but they turned out to be the most favourite ingredient of the day. The thin noodles were al dente and springy, just the way I like them.

Ramenologists would know that there is no such thing as a perfect ramen, given the huge variety of ramen types in this world (see Lucky Peach's A Guide To The Regional Ramen of Japan). Just like men, ramen comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Each person has their own preference. For me, I still prefer my thick milky pork-based broth, the typical ramen next door. Till then, doubt I will be going back to Tsuta anytime soon.

Address: 9 Scotts Road, #01-01, Pacific Plaza, 228210

Teppei-san strikes the Japanese food scene again after his wildly popular omakase restaurant (read review here). This time with an electrifying move to open the first unagi specialty Man Man Japanese unagi restaurant in Singapore. I love unagi and hence made a special trip to 1 Keong Saik Road to find out more.

Man Man restaurant is not very big. It's quite smoky and could do with better ventilation. You can choose to sit in front of the kitchen which you would be treated with a gory theatrical trailer of your eel being killed live, skewered and grilled in front of you. I would prefer to pretend that my food's previous life was not a living animal so thank you very much, I'll pick the seat near the door.

Theatrical smoke effect

I got the una tama don ($18.60+) which is basically grilled unagi, soft tamogo and rice, soup. The char-grilled unagi's firm sweet meat is perfect with the accompanying Japanese rice that is drizzled with the special soy sauce. The thin layer of crispy grilled skin soaked with sauce was just enough to add flavor without greasing up the dish. The fluffy tamago adds a different dimension of texture to the entire dish.

The portion is not very big. So if you are looking for a mega feast of fleshy unagi meat, you might be disappointed with Man Man.

Man Man's queue on Saturday noon was fortunately not too man man (慢慢) (about 20 minutes). But I would recommend to bring insect repellent, sunblock, sunglasses, portable fans, caps etc as the queue is not sheltered from the blazing hot sun and the wildlife.  

Overall, I would recommend the unagi lover to try this at least once in his lifetime. I would also recommend the unagi lover to stop eating unagi for the rest of his life after that. According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unagi), unagi is an endangered species. Sorry for ending your dreams. Your sacrifice will be greatly appreciated by sustainability organisations worldwide. Thank you.

Man Man Japanese Unagi Restaurant

Address: 1 Keong Saik Road Singapore 089109 

Tel: +65 62220678 (No reservations for lunch hour)

Getting a reservation for Teppei's omakase dinner used to be equivalent to waiting for a blue moon. The reservation list is a few months wait. And they only open their hotline for reservation every quarter. You might as well try buying 4D too if you are the lucky one that gets through their literally hot-line.

That's until one fine day, they finally changed the reservation system which allows first-timers (with super fast broadband) to have a comparative advantage.

So the drill is I need to get into their webpage to register my name and mobile number. After which, they will scan the mobile numbers for first-timers and call me back. And the drill starts at 8am. On a Saturday.

After utilizing five alarm clocks to wake me up on a Saturday morning at 8am, I finally got the reservation. Though I struggle to understand why 8am Teppei??

And you thought I would glam up the occasion by taking leave, scrub myself up, and arrive like 1 hour earlier on the day. The reality was I was late by 15 minutes. Rushed there after work on Friday.

Which is still fine because they started the omakase only when I arrived.

Seriously I can't recall how many courses were served. They only served the $80 course on weekends including Friday. 

Foie Gras, not Teppei san's liver 

Edamame or Wasabi - Depends on your luck

Peanut - Teppei san joked it is from NTUC 

A chef who loves his job

Till death do us part

Yuzu / Matcha icecream

The million $80 question: Was it worth it?

Honestly, for the amount of courses we got, it was totally worth it. I can't recall a bad course. I enjoyed the uni (see urchin), foie gras, and the beef most. As for the sushi, I had better ones at Tsukiji Market. But I guess nothing can't beat that because I ate at 6am in Tsukiji (see post here) which the fish was like just caught.

And the value of it was probably higher since sleep was sacrificed on a weekend to get the reservation. 

All in all, it's possibly the most affordable omakase in town. This is likely my only most expensive meal of the year. I think I chose well.

Address: 1 Tras Link, Orchid Hotel, Singapore 078867

Orchid Hotel has a lot of famous Japanese restaurants, for example the wildly famous Keisuke chicken ramen, and Teppei which I have given up on getting a reservation. Totally surrender. Menya Sanji is like the hidden gem that dishes out surprisingly good ramen.

The shop has very few seats, probably maximum 25 including bar seats? But we were able to get seats at 5pm on a Saturday. We got the Sanji Ramen ($11.5++) each. 

The soup was distinctively more milky white than other ramens and I could taste caramelized onion. But the main star is actually the char shu (pork). It has the right ratio of fats and lean meat that melts in the mouth. The edges were also crispy and the meat was flavorful. Excellent. The egg was also perfect - sweet and runny.

I think I would be going back very soon.

Address:  Orchid Hotel, 1 Tras Link #01-14 Singapore 078867

Phone: 6604 8891