Montana Singapore...

Known for their delectable sweet and savoury waffles, Montana Singapore returns with a brand new menu set to delight your palette. Also, they will be opening up a new bar at the ground level where you can enjoy their latest ‘Freak Cakes’ as well as their naturally-brewed wines. Located conveniently at PoMo, Montana Singapore is the perfect place for you to let loose yourself over a good and satisfying meal.


In frame, featuring some of their latest creations – Five Spice Pulled Pork Burger, Crab Burger with Yuzu Coleslaw, Braised Beef Cheek with Carrot Kimchi and Peking Chicken Confit with Waffle.



Peking Chicken Confit with Duck Waffle // $16.50


Five Spice Chicken Confit, Chive Waffle, served with Smoked Ginger Plum Coleslaw and Smoked Ginger Plum Sauce.
The chicken was amazing! The skin was so crispy that it literally melts in my mouth. It was also very flavourful and well-marinated (could taste and smell the spice used to marinate the chicken). The inner layer was juicy and tender. The waffle was crispy, soft and fluffy! It was really addictive – couldn’t stop myself from finishing it. The plum sauce was not bad, not as sweet as I thought it was going to be. It also complements the chicken quite well. The salad was not too bad – it was refreshing and crunchy, but I thought there could be more dressing to enhance the freshness of the salad.





Braised Beef Cheek with Carrot Kimchi // $20.80

Served with Sweet Potato and Potato Mash, Free-range Poached Egg, and Wholemeal Toast on the side.

The Beef Cheek was well-marinated, flavourful, juicy and tender. It was not as jelat as what I expected it to be. It was quite intimidating when it was served onto the table. The sweet potato and potato mash was really delicious and addictive. It was so soft but the flavour was so compact that it bursts when it’s in my mouth. It goes very well with the Beef Cheek. The poached egg was also flowy and runny. Shiok! The only thing that I thought could be improved would probably be the toast. A bit more butter would do the trick. Overall, a must-try at Montana!




(Left) Five Spiced Pulled Pork Burger // $16.80

Char Siew Sauce, Choya Pickled Daikon, Japanese Mayo, Served with Fries.

The shredded pork was sweet (because of the Char Siew Sauce) but I like it. It was juicy and tender. The pickled Daikon was surprisingly good and addictive. It adds a crunchy texture to the burger. Bun was lightly-buttered and soft as well.

(Right) Crab Burger with Yuzu Coleslaw // $24.00

Crab & Seafood Patty, Yuzu Coleslaw, Raisin Caper Relish, served with Thick Cut Fries.

Since Montana used fresh and real crab meat to make the patty, you can expect to taste the natural freshness and sweetness of the patty. It was well-marinated and well-spiced which explains why the patty was relatively flavourful when I took the first bite. The flavour becomes stronger after a few bites and the taste lingers in my mouth. The fries were also well-seasoned!


In frame, their latest ‘Freak Cakes’ – featuring the Matcha Black Sesame and Caramel Cookie Butter.


Matcha Black Sesame // $14.80

Matcha Sponge, Black Sesame Frosting, Matcha Buttercream, Black Sesame Glaze.

 It tastes as good as what it looks like. The cake was soft and fluffy. The flavour was strong and the Matcha and Black Sesame combination was refreshing and good. The Matcha was bitter while the Black Sesame was sweet, thus complements one another very well. Definitely for the sweet tooth!



Caramel Cookie Butter // $14.80

Vanilla Sponge, Cookie Butter Buttercream, Salted Caramel Glaze

Again, the cake was soft and moist. The salted caramel and cookie butter flavour was strong. Also, remember to share the Freak Cakes because it’s really big and filling!

Thank you Montana Singapore and Ying for the invitaion, as well as See Toh for the great hosting!
Also, quote my name "Yong Wei Kai" to the service crew to enjoy a 10% discount off your total bill!


Nearest Mrt Station: Rochor
Location: 1 Selegie Road #02-25 PoMo. Singapore 188306
What To Order: Waffles, Burgers and Freak Cakes
Café Rating: 4/5
Food Ratings: 8.5/10

Written by: Yong Wei Kai (Follow me on Instagram @yongweikai or @sgcafehopping)

Joo Bar...

Bibimbap has always been one of my all-time favourite Korean dishes. During my exchange programme in Seoul, I’m constantly on the lookout for delicious Bibimbap and it has since became one of my comfort food even up till today. Voted as the number 40 on the “World’s 50 Most Delicious Foods Reader” by CNN Travel in 2011, Bibimbap has over the years undergone a series of changes as a result of modern influence. Today, we see so many different variations of Bibimbap available in the market. 

Even though they are so many different types of Bibimbap in the market, I can’t seem to find one that allows us to choose the ingredients we fancy in our Bibimbap. Only at Joo Bar, you can mix, match and create your very own Bibimbap in accordance to your preference. Located at 5 Tan Quee Lan Street, Joo Bar is also the only Korean restaurant in Singapore that serves flavoured Makgeolli. 


You can design your own Bibimbap at Joo Bar for only $10.90.

1) Pick 1 Carbohydrate: White Rice, Purple Rice or Quinoa (Additional Serving +$3)
2) Pick 1 Protein: Spicy Chicken, Stir-fried Pork, Beef Bulgogi, Broiled Saba (+$1.50), Argentinian Grassfed Steak (+$4.50) (Additional Serving +$5)
3) Pick 3 Complements: Baby Lettuce, Kimchi, Carrot, Corn, Cucumber, Korean Beansprout, Marinated Spinach, Pickled Radish, Sauteed Zuchinni, Fried Tofu, Edamame (+$1), Korean Anchovies (+$1), Spam (+$1.50), Sauteed Mushrooms (+$1.50)
4) Choose 1 Sauce: Spicy or Soy (Additional Serving +$0.50)


Instead of the usual White Rice we always see in a Bibimbap, Joo Bar also offer healthier alternatives such as Purple Rice and Quinoa. The portion was relatively huge and they were generous in the amount of ingredients they gave.

My favourite sides were definitely the spam, stir-fried pork, kimchi and stir-fried tofu. It reminded me very closely to the ones I had when I was in Korea. The spam was so addictive and crispy. The stir-fried pork was well-marinated and flavourful. It was also very tender. The kimchi was crunchy and I like how it was both sour and spicy at the same time. The tofu was so crispy on the outside and so soft on the inside. It really complements the rice very well. 


Thank you Joo Bar and Cherry for satisfying my long yearning for Bibimbap! 



Nearest Mrt Station: Bugis
Location: 5 Tan Quee Lan Street, Singapore 188094
What To Order: Bibimbap
Restaurant Rating: 4/5
Food Ratings: 8.5/10

Written by: Yong Wei Kai (Follow me on Instagram @yongweikai or @sgcafehopping)

Starker...

Encountering high level of stress at work is inevitable in a fast-paced country like Singapore that it almost becomes negligible to us. The vicious work cycle – You wake up early in the morning, end work late at night, and sometimes you have to bring your work back home – is petrifying. We also have to deal with all sorts of office politics which I believe everyone has their fair share of stories to tell. Everyone has their own ways of coping with stress, as long as there’s a platform for us to vent our frustrations. 

Located at Zhongshan Park, Starker Bistro is the ideal place for you and your colleagues to unwind after a long hectic day of work. With their freshly-brewed German beers, mouth-watering international cuisine and live bands, your stress would be gone in no time. Also, the nice atmosphere at Starker would definitely chase all your work blueness away. 


In frame, Starker's SignatureTraditional Pork Knuckle, Pork Belly, Pepperoni Pizza, Seafood Aglio Olio & their German Beers.

In frame, Starker Fresh Beer: Lager, Charcoal, Dunker, Lychee and Aromatic as well as some of their all-time favourites such as Classic Wings, Fiery Wings, Chilli Crab Sliders and Sweet Potato Fries with Salted Egg Sauce.


Starker Fresh Beer (Lager, Charcoal, Dunker, Lychee & Aromatic)

Starker Fresh Beer is an authentic German style fresh beer, derived from the German word that means stronger. Keeping to the German tradition of beer drinking, Starker beers are stored in barrels for consumption and a wooden mallet is used to drive a metal tap into the barrel to dispense the beer.

I’m not a beer expert but I’m a big fan of beers. The Starker Beers are refreshing, clean and consistent. They have five different types for you to choose from, of which you would definitely find one that suit your palette. My favourites were the Dark Beers – I like the bitter taste when you first sip it in your mouth and it later becomes sweeter once you swallow it down. Verdict: Worth getting drunk from it!



Sweet Potato Fries with Salted Egg Sauce 

The sweet potato fries were lightly-salted, flavourful and very consistent. They were still crispy even though I left it on the table for quite a while. The salted egg sauce was rich, creamy and a little spicy. They were also small chunks of salted egg in the sauce. Did I not mention that it was also very aromatic? I could smell it even though it was quite a distance away. Very addictive and this is a must to order especially if you are having an iced cold beer!


Classic Wings & Fiery Wings

Wings are the perfect bar snacks to have to go with beers. The wings at Starker are well-marinated and well-fried which makes them super-duper crispy. You can literally hear the “Ka-chah” sound when you bite the wings. Out of these two, my favourite would definitely be the Fiery Wings because they were flavourful but not too spicy. The wings also complemented a beer very well. Once you start, you can't stop! It was finger-licking good!


Chilli Crab Sliders

 The sliders were not too bad but I thought the crab could be crispier. The sauce was flavourful and not too spicy. The buns were lightly-buttered and soft. Overall, I would say that this was quite decent for a bar snack. 


Pork Belly

Oh My God! Pork Belly! Even though sometimes I try to skip it because of the amount of fats it have but the pork belly at Starker is surprisingly not as fatty as what I have thought it would be. The outer layer was so crispy and the meat inside was so tender and soft. The mustard sauce at the sauce is the best condiment I can ask for to go with the Pork Belly. You will regret if you never try this!



Seafood Aglio Olio

The seafood aglio olio was aromatic and flavourful. The noodles were also very springy. They were also very generous in the amount of seafood they put in the pasta. All the seafood were really fresh as well. Portion was just good!


Pepperoni Pizza

The pizza was extremely crispy because it was thinly-sliced. The melted cheese on the pizza was so sinful but it’s definitely worth the calories gained. It was so addictive. The pepperoni was not too bad. Again, this would go very well with an iced cold beer!



Traditional Pork Knuckle

This was really intimidating but in a good way! The portion was so big that we were all dumbfounded when it was served onto our table. The fried onions were so addictive that I couldn’t stop myself from eating it. The Pork Knuckle was juicy, fatty and chewy which most people would like it. The meat was also tender and flavourful!

Thank you Starker and Vanessa for inviting me! I would definitely be back for a drink!

Nearest Mrt Station: Novena
Location: Address: 1 Jalan Rajah, #01-02, Singapore 329133
What To Order: Sweet Potato Fries, Traditional Pork Knuckle and Pork Belly
Restaurant Rating: 4.5/5
Food Ratings: 8.5/10


Written by: Yong Wei Kai (Follow me on Instagram @yongweikai or @sgcafehopping)

Sugar Lips...

How do you go about winning a girl’s heart? If you search up the net, it’ll provide you with a whole list of things you probably need or even have to do to capture a girl’s heart. Here’s a tip: You can make a girl’s heart flutter by bringing her to a place with nice ambiance that also serves aesthetically-pleasing and mouth-watering desserts. Sugar Lips, a newly-opened dessert café located at Orchard Gateway which serves a wide range of colourful, over-exaggerated and bombastically-beautiful cakes and waffles is the perfect place to impress and exhilarate your girlfriend or date. 

In frame, Rainbow Fantasy Cake, Chocolate Seduction Truffle Cake and Over The Rainbow. 
There are 3 different sizes of Dessert Platters for you to choose from, each with a choice of either cake, waffle or lava cake. The Standard Dessert Platter which costs $12.90 comes with only 1 topping, the Medium Dessert Platter costs $14.90 and it comes with 2 toppings and the Large Dessert Platter comes with 3 toppings at $16.90.



Chocolate Seduction Truffle Cake

Just like what it’s called, the cake did seduce me a bit. The cake was rich, soft and moist. It was also not too sweet. The chocolate flavour was strong but not too overpowering. The Thai Milk Tea Ice Cream was rich and creamy. It was also not too chunky. Definitely caught my attention. The only thing that I thought could be improved would probably be the brownie. It was too dry and jelat for me. Other than that, in terms of aesthetic and taste, this scored pretty high.



Rainbow Fantasy Cake

Rainbow Cakes are always so disappointing, at least for me. The ones that I’ve tried are either too sweet or too creamy. There’s yet to have one that makes me jumping for joy but the Rainbow Cake at Sugar Lips was pretty alright. I wouldn’t say it’s the best but at least it was flavourful and not too sweet. It was also soft and moist!


Red Velvet Fluffy Waffle


The waffle was not too bad – the outer layer was relatively crispy while soft and fluffy on the inside. The flavour was strong and the waffle was not too sweet. The chocolate ice cream was also rich and creamy. 


Other than their sugar-licious desserts, Sugar Lips also have their own version of “Over the Top” non-alcoholic drinks such as Over The Rainbow, Pink Sunrise, Jungle Fruity Punch and Pineapple Mint Daze. 


Nearest Mrt Station: Somerset
Location: Orchard Gateway, 277 Orchard Road, #02-01, Singapore 238852
What To Order: Cakes & Waffles
Café Rating: 4/5
Food Ratings: 7.5/10


Written by: Yong Wei Kai (Follow me on Instagram @yongweikai or @sgcafehopping)

Meet & Melt...

The family-run dessert café opens their second outlet at the youthful and hipster *SCAPE, greeting the public with a whole new outlook. Besides adding new lava toasts to their dessert collection, Meet & Melt also made changes to their logo. Instead of the old red and white font, the current logo (an animation of their youngest daughter) is more adorable, and it also illustrates the quirky side of Meet & Melt.

This humble café never fails to surprise and impress me with their innovative dessert creations, but also more of the values that I’ve learnt from the family members each time I interact with them. The bond of the family is really strong which can be clearly seen through their solid teamwork. Wybron (the elder son) inputs new ideas, Keef (the father) experiments and creates the ideas, Carol (the mother) plays the supporting role while Erin (the daughter) focuses on the marketing strategy. Their robust teamwork is one of the main reasons why they can always create trending desserts which are also well-received by the general public in such a short period of time.



In frame, featuring two of their newest toast - Charcoal Shibuya Toast with Mentaikou Sauce & Curry Shibuya Toast and also their in-house Thai Iced Milk Tea & Thai Iced Green Tea.



Charcoal Lava Toast with Ferrero Rocher Filling and Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter Ice Cream // $14.90 (Only 1 Scoop of Ice Cream)

The toast was really on point – the crust (the edges especially) was so crispy and the middle part was soft but not too soggy. The Ferrero Rocher sauce was rich and creamy, and they were really very generous in the amount of chocolate sauce being infused into the toast which could be seen in the large amount of ooze when it was cut open. This would definitely win the hearts of all chocolate-lovers. The toast also goes very well with the in-house Dark Chocolate and Peanut Putter Ice Cream. The ice cream was rich, creamy and flavourful. It wasn't too icy or too chunky as well!




Curry Shibuya Toast // $14.90

Again, no complains about the toast! The curry sauce was extremely flavourful (I could smell and taste the different spices used in the curry). It tasted very similar to Indian curry but it wasn’t very spicy. The curry sauce really complements the toast very well. They also provide a small potato to go with the rich curry sauce. A must-try savoury toast at Meet & Melt!



Charcoal Lava Toast with Salted Egg Filling // $14.90

Meet & Melt also has their own rendition of Salted Egg Lava Toast which was launched not too far back. Their version is less jelat and they mixes their salted egg with melted cheese! The salted egg ooze was so aromatic and also alluring to both the eyes and nose. Definitely worth the calories gained!

Charcoal Shibuya Toast with Mentaikou Sauce // $14.90

The torched Mentaikou sauce was really addictive! They were so generous in the amount of Mentaikou they put on top of the toast. So creative and yummy! Meet & Melt has also recently launched their Mentaikou Lava Toast and you can expect to see rich, creamy and flavourful Mentaikou sauce oozing out from the toast! 

Thank you Meet & Melt for having me once again! You can also check out my review on their Tampines by clicking here.



Nearest Mrt Station: Somerset
Location: 2 Orchard Link #02-33/34 SCAPE, S237978, Blk 915 Tampines Street 91 #01-49
What To Order: Lava Toasts
Café Rating: 4/5
Food Ratings: 8.5/10


Written by: Yong Wei Kai (Follow me on Instagram @yongweikai or @sgcafehopping)
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Yong Wei Kai Founder of SgCafeHopping Promoting Singapore's food scene has always been my dream.

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