NAMBANTEI JAPANESE RESTAURANT

Location: 14 Scotts Road #05-132 Far East Plaza 
How to get there: Orchard Mrt, Take the exit at Tangs and walk straight down to Far East Plaza
Opening Hours: Daily
Lunch: 1200pm - 1430pm (Last Order 1415pm)
Dinner: 1800pm - 2230pm (Last Order 2215pm)
Contact Number: 67335666 / 67387470

HI PEEPS! How's it going? It's just the start the of the week, hopefully all's been good for you all! School life has just begun for the both of us. It's only Day 1 and work's awaiting; all the readings and practice worksheets. 
One lecturer said "Learning in it's nature is painful, and it should be painful. Anyone who told you learning is easy is obviously not learning in depth." Judging by the lecture today, there's no need to beg to differ.

So before school started, MAY&FJ decided to chill at Nambantei before school throws it's weight and burden on us. They have like awesome Lunch Sets that May heard about and we went there even though the skies decided to cry on that very faithful day. Nambantei has been around for many years in Singapore and is celebrating it's 30th birthday this year!
It's a really cosy little restaurant located at the 5th floor. Business was brisk! It's a place where Japanese expats frequent as well. 

We ordered a Yakitori Bento ($13.50), a Okonomi Yaki ($8), a Pitan Egg Tofu ($7) and 2 cups of Japanese Hot Tea ($1). We paid a total of $34.72.
We've included their lunch set menu here. They have other menus which you can check out on their website.  (It had too many pages to include them here!)

Yakitori Bento:

• Their mushrooms were SOOOOO juicy! We were utterly amazed! It was soooooooo good! Honestly!
• Their Yakitori Sticks were well grilled.
• They had this stick of asparagus wrapped with a layer of Bacon. May absolutely loved it and she's no asparagus lover! The bacon's saltiness complimented the asparagus. 
• They had this little cache of sauce that goes really well with their salad sticks that consists of a raw carrot, radish and cucumber. Awesome stuff that sauce!
• The pork skewer was a little dry.
• The meatballs were not bad. It had it's moisture retained, juciy!
• The dessert that came with this set was chilled Red Bean with Mochi. This dessert had no added sugar, red bean wholes were given and the paste was thick, and it came together with a chewy plain Mochi!

(Red Bean Dessert)

Pitan Egg Tofu:

• It's actually cold tofu. There was an eggy taste in it. We figured it was egg tofu.
• There was only a slight tinge of Pitan taste. It wasn't overwhelming.
• The Ebi Roe was fresh!

Okonomi Yaki:

• They gave GENEROUS servings of fish flakes,mayo and Okonomi Yaki sauce.
• There were uber loads of spring onions and cabbage in the flour as well.
• The Okonomi Yaki had a soft interior and did not lack texture. Heavenly~

Overall Advantage:

• Food's good!
• They have goof ventilation. We sat at the bar counter seats which was directly in front of their grills and we did not smell like barbecue when we left!
• Lunch Set prices are reasonable

Overall Disadvantage:

• They had to charge for tea and they forgot to refill it for us. (The staff apologised; there were too many to attend to that day, so wells~)
• Their A la Carte grills were rather expensive. You can check out the menu I've linked above.

Note:

• We would suggest reservations to be made, especially during dinner It's still alright for lunch, you can sit at the counter. But if you're bringing a big group we'd suggest you make that reservation!
• GST and Service Charge applies

We really loved their lunch bento sets! This is a place where MAY&FJ would recommend you peeps to check out for lunch! So if you all have sometime in town, here's a Japanese Restaurant to check out! Till next time you all!!! Stay safe and healthy! Best of all, enjoy life!

(We love you all ^^)

<3 MAY&FJ

TARATATA BISTROT

Location: 35A Keong Siak Road Singapore 089142
How to get there: Outram Mrt Station or Chinatown Mrt Station (gotta google map your way through, that was what we did)
Opening hours:
Tues - Fri & Sun:
Lunch: 1130am - 1430pm
Afternoon Tea: 1430pm - 1730pm

Tues - Sun:
Dinner: 1730pm - 2300pm

Contact Number: 62214506

HIHIHIHI!!! MAY&FJ are back with a new review, this time round on French food. As you all know, French food requires an acquired taste. I (FJ) am still trying to find it in me, still finding. We went out with our University friends that day with an intention to try out the AWESOME Char Siew at 6A Keong Siak Road, but it was CLOSED on Sunday. Blur us! So we decided to settle for an alternative around that area as it was raining quite badly that day, hence we got ourselves into Taratata as they serve Sunday Brunch! We love Sunday Brunch~

When we stepped in, it was like we were in another world, away from the messy streets and the rain. It felt like a typical tiny French Restaurant we'd see in the movies with all the classic warm lights, pictures hanging on the walls featuring little bits of French/France and soothing jazz music filled the air. We gotta give them plus points for such an atmosphere.

We ordered a Eeuf Cocotte a la Ratatouille & et au Chorizo ($12), Classique Croissant Jambon Fromage Servi Chaud ($13), Croque Madame ($16) and Bechamel Champignons Jambon & Fromage ($12), a glass of French Apple Cider ($8) and a glass of White Wine House Pour ($10). The bill totaled to a $83.07. Here's their Sunday Brunch Menu and their Drinks Menu. You can refer to the rest of their menus here.

Eeuf Cocotte a la Ratatouille & et au Chorizo:

• Oven-baked creamy eggs casserole with Ratatouille and Chorizo Sausages.
• It had a tangy taste, very appetizing.
• The egg was soooooooooooo good! The yolk was runny!
• They had cheese in it.
• They had many types of vegetables which is good for it makes you feel that it's a healthy dish. (But you'd know better sometimes)
• It had this herbal sprinkles on it, it smelled sooooo good.
• The bread was slightly hard, but once you dip it, it's fine.
• The portion was just fine.
• The whole combination was just great! I (FJ) would personally recommend this to you peeps to try!

 Classique Croissant Jambon Fromage Servi Chaud:

• Croissant filled with Ham and Gruyere Cheese.
• The Croissant looked T-I-N-Y. Not something you wanna have if you're looking for a hearty Brunch.
• It looked kinda charred too.
• The cheese was good, so cheese lovers this is a to go!

Croque Madame:

• Baked Ham & Gruyere Cheese Sandwich with Bechamel sauce topped with a Fried Egg.
• IT had generous servings of Ham and Gruyere Cheese.
• Sandwich was crispy.
• It came with a PERFECT Sunny Side Up.

Bechamel Champignons Jambon & Fromage:

• Morney, Mushrooms, Ham and Emmental 
• Cheese and cream makes the dish slightly salty.
• The cream itself was rather thick.
• The crepe itself was thin, so you'd mostly taste the cream and you'd get kinda sick of eating it after awhile.
• The fillings in the crepe were fine.

Overall Advantage:

• Atmosphere was great!
• Staff were really nice and friendly. They take initiative to recommend you their dishes and advice you the best way to eat your food.

 (French Apple Cider)

(House Pour: White Wine)

Overall Disadvantage:

• They go around with this basket of Croissants and ask if you'd like to have one. We were asked a couple of times and it got kinda irritating honestly.

Note:

• Brunch ends at 1630pm and it is only available on Sunday.

We would say that Taratata Bistrot is a place to go if you'd wanna have a restaurant with a good ambiance to chill over wine and food. But not all dishes are really worth paying the money, so do give the menu a little more thought before you take your pick!

Have you ever been to Taratata Bistrot? If you do, do share your experiences with us!!! We'd love to hear from you!

Till next time lovelies!

<3MAY&FJ

THE ORANGE THIMBLE

Location: #01-68 Eng Hoon Street
How to get there: Tiong Bahru Mrt Station, it's near Tiong Bahru Market and right next to Tiong Bahru Bakery
Opening Hours:
Tues - Thurs and Sun: 0900am - 2130pm
Fri - Sat: 0900am - 2300pm
Contact Number: 62238068

HIHIHIHIHIHI!!!! May&FJ are back today with a food outing at The Orange Thimble with Joey!!!! We're sure many of you have heard of this little cafe located near the Tiong Bahru Market. It was a cafe that we've chanced upon and made a mental note to visit again. 

We met at about 7pm to walk in to the cafe, it was about a 7-10 min walk from the Mrt Station. We almost got ourselves lost if not for the somewhat trusty google map that decided not to fail us.

The interior was nice, rather cosy. We stepped in and got ourselves treated a couple lazying on the couch showing some great amounts of PDA. (This sentence is, was and still is, loaded with a whole bag of sarcasm) So we decided to stay FAR FAR away from them. 

Okay, back to food, we ordered a Chixie ($8.50), a Chicken Stew ($10.90),a Shepherd's Pie ($9.90), a Single scoop of Sea Salt Caramel Ice Cream ($4), a Double scoop of Cookies&Cream and Lychee ($7.50) and Joey had a Tiramisu ($8). The bill totaled to a $48.80. Yes, we have included their menu here!!

Chixie:

• Crispy Bread, perfectly toasted. Even after it was left out for a long time, it was still crispy. We were AMAZED.
• Generous servings of Salami, Cheese, Lettuce and Chicken Chunks
• The Salami complemented the Cheese.

Chicken Stew:

• The chicken was tender.
• Soft potatoes and carrots, but not to the point of mushy. (Real good stuff!)
• The stew was absolutely appetizing!
• You have a choice to either have plain pasta to go with it or have some toasted Baguette. Take the Baguette, the plain pasta does not absorb the soup taste. You'd just taste the different items separately even though you've mixed them together.
• We feel that the soup's kinda small in portion. (Could have offered more soup and less of the pasta.)

Shepherd's Pie:

• Generous servings of Cheese and Minced Beef that was well seasoned.
• We would say that it's not bad but not an absolute must try dish.

Desserts:

• When we first saw that one scoop of ice cream costs $4 we all said that Wimbly Lu charges cheaper. But when we saw the portion, it was worth the $4. It's like 3-4 times the size of Wimbly Lu's which costs $3.
• Sea Salt Caramel ice cream came with Almond wholes. It was savory and sweet, a good combination.
• The Lychee ice cream had Lychee bits in it. Awesome!
• The Cookies&Cream was so so.
• The Tiramisu was little too small to warrant that $8. It was stronger on the rum taste said darling Joey.

(The Chicken Bowl)

Overall Advantages:

• Good desserts
• Great atmosphere

Overall Disadvantages:

• They have a limited menu.

(The pretty Daisy on our table, just had to have a shot of it^^)

Note:

• All Day Breakfast only in Fri (0930 - 1100), and Sat & Sun (all day)
• All prices are nett.

So yeaps, this is our take on The Orange Thimble. It's a rather cosy place for a gathering! You peeps  should check check check it out too and share your experiences there with us :)

Till next time!!! Remember to love life!! Thanks for checking our blog out, love you all!

<3May&FJ