I love buffets but I think buffet restaurants love me more. It's not my fault that I was born with a non-expandable belly which makes me the ideal customer who contribute the fat profit margins to buffet restaurants. Still, it didn't stopped me from going to Kuishin Bo which I have been waiting to try for the longest time.

I was awed by the huge variety offered by Kuishin Bo. Fried tempura prawn, soft shell crab, gyozas, fish, fresh seafood such as prawns, scallops, mussels, assorted sushi, handrolls, yakiniku, paper hotpots, ramen, soba, udon, chawanmushi, soups etc.. Not to mention the desserts section which is equivalently amazing with its extensive range of cakes, puddings, mochis, konnyaku jelly, icecream (both soft serve and hard serve). To top it off, a chocolate fondue fountain! 

Fresh and juicy assorted sashimi - My most favourite part of the buffet

Fried stuff were pretty good too.

Fresh seafood 

Paper hotpot - Not as good as I hoped for

Ramen - You can give this a miss.

Self serve your soft serve

Surprisingly a very good intense lava cake

Milo is available. But it's a trap to make you feel full

There's a washing facility in-house. So convenient!

nth round

Die die also want to fill up all the 9 slots - The puddings are better than the cakes in my opinion.

For just $38.90++ during weekend lunch, you get a quality unlimited buffet. I like that the seafood and sashimi is fresh. Kuishin Bo Suntec City is also currently running a promotion where 2 adults and 1 child can dine for $84++. Good idea for family sunday brunches.

Whenever I feel like cooking minus the dish-washing, I'll go to Sho Teppan, a DIY cum personal teppanyaki/shabu-shabu restaurant. 

The table setting doesn't make sense for groups more than 2 because you have to sit in a row, rather than opposite each other. It's kind of like a bar table set up with bar chairs that don't have a backing.  I would also prefer if there were shelves or something to place our bags on, instead of our slim thighs.

One can choose either teppanyaki or shabu-shabu, but I think not both. Because each person gets his own teppanyaki/shabu-shabu. There's a range of meats from beef to seafood. For teppanyaki, you can choose from 4 types of sauces: teppanyaki, teriyaki, black pepper, miso. For shabu-shabu, you can choose sweet or salty base. The sets come with salad in shoyu dressing which makes it salty, yummy and appetizing. 

Marbled pork shabu shabu set ($15.90++)

Layered pork teppanyaki set ($12.90++)

I got the teppanyaki with teppanyaki sauce. My companion got the shabu-shabu in salty base, which is boring and doesn't really showcase my cooking talent. 

Everytime when I say I have cooking talent, people start to roll their eyes/stare at me. To those who think I only know how to eat but not cook, I'll show them this glorious photo of my best work and let evidence speak for itself:

Best Sambal Sotong & Shrimp by Yours truly 

I am sure Gordon Ramsay would never say this of my works.

Credits: Quickmeme.com

Or this.

Credits: Memecenter.com

End of bragging. Sorry I digressed.. I just had to.

Please don't assume a chef will appear and cook the raw food for you hor. Unless you are a real emperor. Then maybe. Otherwise, please mix the sauces with the raw food, stir and fry the food until it is cooked (brownish). Try not to over cook until it becomes burnt offerings. But if you really need help, the waiter can help to cook. 

The outcome (my cooking not the waiter's) of my teppanyaki was savory tender pork that was well marinated with the sweet and salty teppanyaki sauce. The sauce was delicious and brought out the best balance in sweet and savory for the chicken meat. The cabbage and shredded carrots were also delicious after grilled. 4/5

For the healthy eaters, the shabu-shabu (below) was not bad and would appeal to the veggie lovers. It was a bottomless pot of cabbages, tofu, tomatoes, mushrooms. Personally I think the sukiyaki base would taste better.  3.5/5

Definitely a place that I would go back again and again to settle my teppanyaki craving. Except that I won't recommend you to go there before shopping/dating cause you'll smell like your food.

I hope you are digesting the important info.. Yes set lunch is super affordable at $8.90++ only! 

Address: 252 North Bridge Road, Raffles City SC, #B1-44B, Singapore 179103

Nam Nam is a place that I've always heard about. It has been satisfying hungry tummies with affordable, healthy (think: no MSG) Vietnamese pho for the longest time. But my taste bud only got on it recently. I have a reasonable excuse:

The queues are always bloody long!

On one fine night at 8.45pm, I saw there was no queue. Fate prevailed and I was destined to get my hands on a bowl of Nam Nam's pho. Finally!

The menu comprises of phos (Vietnamese noodle soups), banh mi (toasted baguettes with meat and vegetable fillings), and also other well known Vietnamese side dishes such as spring rolls. Prices are mostly below $10 (screammmm!!). Ordering is easy - Pay at the cashier and they will deliver the food.

We got the pho chicken ($7.90). The soup was flavourful and infused with herbs and spices (not sure but I think I tasted lemongrass, cinnamon, pepper), spring onions. The citrusy and peppery soup was boiled for 24 hours with the spices and it was tasty even without MSG. We can't really appreciate the lemony spices. I loved the thin flat noodles which were very smooth and slippery. The chicken was a little tough and not flavourful enough. 3.75/5

We got the crispy fried chicken ($4.90) as our side. I loved this a lot! The skin was caramelised with fish sauce and garnished with sesame seeds which gave it a crunchy and crispy texture on the outside, while the meat was tender on the inside. 4/5

The only problem is there were only 3 wings. Not a good idea for sharing between 2 people. 2 competitive people.

The small restaurant was a little cramped but it was cosy enough with its red lanterns, kitchenware that invoked the nostalgic vibe, and newspaper-wallpapers, trying to bring a flavour of street food scene from Vietnam. 

Overall, a good place for Vietnamese cuisine! They just opened a new outlet at Plaza Sing. 

Address:

Raffles City

252 North Bridge Road #B1-46/47 singapore 179103

Opening hours: 8am to 9.30pm

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

We had trekked to Bacchanalia in our tired-looking flats from City Hall MRT station. When we saw the luxurious cars (an Audi, a Merc, and a BMW) parked outside Bacchanalia, we were like, "Oops are we under-dressed?" Luckily the Maître d, who was a white lady, smiled sweetly at us with a "welcome" and granted us access. 

Upon entering, we were greeted by a posh setting. The place was dim and had a soft-light ambience. The chairs looked so comfortable to lounge in. And I loved those bubble lights that gave the place an out-of-the-world feel. 

They are not ghosts. It's the lousy camera's fault.

We were here for the Restaurant Week dinner menu, comprising of a starter, main and dessert at $55++. 

The bread was tasty and served as a great appetizer and answer to our hunger pangs and while anticipating for the food. We heard great stories about Bacchanalia.

Starter

Cauliflower gratin (below) - deep fried cauliflower florets, white truffle and cheese foam, gremolata

Fans of Bacchanolia would not be unfamiliar with this signature dish. I never thought cauliflowers would taste that good! Deep fried, its texture was that of minced meat balls that were crunchy. The cauliflower balls were enveloped in the creamy broth which was bursting with the fragrance of pungent truffles. I don't usually like truffles but this dish amazingly made truffles taste so good. The cauliflowers brought out the best in truffles. A very unique dish that was the highlight of the night for me. 4.5/5

Our friendly waiter informed us that the chef was feeling great that day and hence decided to give us a complimentary French onion soup (below). According to the server, the onion soup was prepared by caramelizing onions for 3 days. Until every drop of the broth was infused with the sweet essence of onion. And the crispy cheddar nuggets and rye bread of which their existence served to soak up the broth and made this dish an unforgettable one. 4.5/5

Mains
We were given a choice to choose between two mains available - chicken risotto or Tahitian vanilla confit salmon.

Chicken risotto (below) - Confit leg of chicken, keluak nut, aged carnaroli rice, rum raisins, pickled lemon & cranberries

My friend had the chicken risotto which she loved it more than the salmon. Hmmm unfortunately none of the ingredients were exactly my favorite. I took a try and didn't feel any love. A classic example of love cannot be forced?

Tahitian vanilla confit salmon (below) - Lightly cooked sashimi grade salmon, roasted garlic puree, shaved fennel, honey emulsion

Our waiter came with a surprise - complimentary caviar to accompany the salmon! The answer to a perfect way to start the weekend. I think something good happened to the chef that day. Or that it was a Friday night so happiness indexes are usually higher. The smooth salmon was so soft that it melted in the mouth. Coupled with the sweet honey emulsion and caviar, the experience was augmented. And the accompanying aromatic shaved fennel balanced the flavors and textures of this dish. 4.5/5

Desserts
Caramel poached apple, white chocolate cinnamon ganache, vanilla ice cream

Save room for the dessert. The succulent poached apple, topped by pieces of white chocolate cinnamon ganache, served as a simple good end to a great meal. Loved the refreshing vanilla ice-cream. 3.5/5

Overall, I think it was a great idea to go to Bacchanalia for Restaurant Week. I went to peek at the menu online and the cauliflower gratin already costs $17, the onion soup costs $20, Tahitian salmon with caviar supplement costs like $50. And we paid just $55++ for this meal! Like oh my goodness?! Totally worth it. And a generous chef and friendly waiters made the whole experience even more satisfying. The waiters were knowledgeable about the food and attentive to our wants. Given its cosy and posh decor, this is definitely a place to be seen at. 

Address:
23A Coleman St, 179806