Hoshino Coffee – Pricey Japanese Coffee and Tea

Besides eating at Skinny Pizza while I was at Plaza Sing, I also had some tea at Hoshino Coffee in the afternoon after I was tired from walking around.

Hoshino Coffee offers Japanese coffee, matcha lattes and other desserts like soufflé and pancakes. We ordered a caffe latte ($7), an iced matcha latte with soft serve ice cream ($9.50) and a vanilla soufflé ($9.80).

We forgot to take photo of the caffe latte. It was quite a small cup of coffee, and doesn’t have any of the fancy latte art you see in some other cafes, in case that’s what you’re looking for. (Personally I think latte art is not that big a deal though.) Taste-wise, the coffee is okay, not too bitter, but nothing spectacular either.

My matcha latte with soft serve ice cream, like the caffe latte, was really small. In addition to the small cup, they also put huge ice cubes in it, so essentially there was very little of the matcha. I finished the drink in maybe 5 sips, with the ice cream remaining on top of the ice. (I’m not even kidding, I didn’t gulp it down, but I finished it in 5 sips.) Despite the disappointing size of the drink, it was quite enjoyable, because the matcha latte was smooth, creamy and not too sweetened, such that you can still savour the fragrance of the tea. The soft serve ice cream is also matcha flavored, and has a smooth and creamy texture. Very nice!

The vanilla soufflé took a quite a while to come, but unfortunately, it wasn’t worth the wait. The soufflé was fluffy and airy, and has a smooth creamy consistency, but the taste was.. Strange. I know soufflés are made with eggs, but having a vanilla soufflé tasting like steamed egg was just bizarre. It doesn’t have a single trace of vanilla flavour. Strange, isn’t it?

Since Hoshino is located in the middle of Plaza Sing’s new wing, and has quite a lot of customers even on a weekday afternoon, I wouldn’t say it’s the place to go if you want to sip your coffee quietly and relax or read a book. It’s a good spot for friends gatherings though!

Overall, I don’t think Hoshino Coffee is worth another visit. Sure, their matcha latte was nice, but at $9.50, that little mug of drink was seriously overpriced. For a good matcha latte, I’d rather go to Nana’s Green Tea (also at the same floor of Plaza Sing), which serves quality matcha lattes at cheaper prices and in bigger cups.

Skinny Pizza – Not Quite Skinny

I was in love with the Black Pepper Prawn Linguine the first time I went Skinny Pizza, and so I jumped at the chance to eat there again a few days ago when I happened to be at Plaza Sing.

Skinny Pizza changes their lunch time deals quite frequently. Right now they are promoting their new Chicken Satay Pizza. We ordered the two-person lunch set, which consists of the Chicken Satay pizza and a pasta of our choice, and of course I chose Black Pepper Prawn linguine.

Skinny Pizza serves crispy thin crust pizzas. The chicken satay pizza has chewy, tender chicken satay chunks, with satay sauce generously poured over it. At first bite it tastes wonderful, but after subsequent bites I realised a big problem with it. Too much satay sauce. It’s too salty, too oily and too overwhelming, and after a while I was gulping down my water. The pizza also became soggy quickly because of all the sauce.

Then came the black pepper prawn linguine, which is topped with fish roe. I really like it because the prawns they use are fresh and succulent, and the black pepper pasta base has been stir-fried with chunks of prawn, so the linguine absorbs the juices of prawns. But guess what? The same problem – too salty and oily. Towards the end the linguine was literally soaked in oil, and no matter how flavorful it is, it just got me terribly sick.

*Unappetizing photo warning*

 

Take a look at the glistening oil in the linguine… And imagine how much oil we ate just in one meal.

After this I don’t think I’m going back there for another meal. Skinny pizza? I don’t think so.

Tim Ho Wan: Yum, Yum, Yum

 

 

 

Made an impromptu decision to try Tim Ho Wan today, at Sunday 4pm. The time is relevant because going on a Sunday 7pm might result in a wait time of hours! I waited for about 20 minutes in line, and the staff were surprisingly not grumpy despite having to be on their feet running around all the time.

First up, their famous pork buns. It was served less than a minute after I took my seat, so I guessed they had a steady supply of these. Crispy and delicious, a must-try! The other customers bought a set per pax, need I explain why?

Warning: The following photos might look pretty unappetizing, but I took it anyway because I wanted to show what’s IN the food we ate.

I spotted “Teochew Dumplings” on the menu and decided to try it. It looked pretty interesting, a dumpling with translucent skin. Inside, you’ll find pork, spring onions and a bit of shrimp. This dish did not disappoint. I am tempted to compare it to xiao long bao, just because they all fall under the category of “stuff wrapped in skin”. But this, this is different. Imagine a glutinous dumpling wrapped in chee kueh skin, just better.

And, my favorite type of dim sum! I always, always, always get chee cheong fun wherever I go because that’s one of the few dishes without any form of shrimp. The sauce ended up being a tad too salty, but hey, it tasted great anyway!

I spent about $24 in total, which is an acceptable price to pay. I would say that this is going to be one of my favorite dim sum places, and it well deserves its Michelin star!

Tim Ho Wan is located at Plaza Singapura, #01-29A. It’s the shop opposite Starbucks AND the one with a row of chairs outside – yes, the line!

Edit