Momiji Shabu Shabu has opened its doors to Singapore's first-ever collagen hotpot buffet.

Did someone say... COLLAGEN HOTPOT BUFFET?

For the vain ladies like me out there, yup there is finally a shot at looking younger and possibly prettier while stuffing your face with food. In short, heaven.

Let's take a look at the spread:

I felt like I might have grasped Jem's arm in faint elation at the sight of fresh clams. I say might have because all I remember is trying to find a huge bowl to scoop up the clams asap. A good sign.

Deep sea red prawns recommended by Momiji themselves!

White prawns, sliced fish, MORE CLAMS, and baby squid. By the way, the clams are premium Asari clams, I am proud to announce.

Some protein boost!

Fish pastes, kimchi pastes and whatnots to add flavour into the soup. It's tastes like fish cake you know? The kind that I absolutely dig in Yong Tau Foo. 

Aha, meat lovers look no further. Indulge yourself in the red meat that includes Kurobuta pork. Soft and juicy, it is flavourful and melts in your mouth when cooked to perfection.

Not forgetting our daily diet of veggies! But really, who has time for veggies when you have seafood and meat. I daresay I didn't venture much into this aisle. But I noted that they have quite a range of greens that will complement the meats.

NOW to the divine soup base:

This is how it looks like before it bubbles over and becomes soup. Cool right? Like tofu. Except it is filled with even more goodness. 

This is collagen pudding, which is the culmination of 6 hours of simmering kampong chicken. With the addition of fresh vegetables, the broth is cooled and solidified into a silky smooth pudding that brims with collagen.

The soup takes some time to cook and for the collagen to effectively spread out so that every mouthful you take will help you look younger. Hahahaha OK I might be kidding about the last part but honestly I ain't waiting for no soup to boil if it isn't gonna help beautify me. /uh-uh no way/

While waiting for the soup to cook, you can munch delicately on some sushi. Be sure not to spam, or else the rice will take up too much space in your tummy! Or... you can eat at Momiji with me, then you can spam the sushi because then it means more collagen soup for me.

There's also an aisle for cooked food like fried chicken wings, ebi prawns with mayo and scallop fried rice :)

OK, moving on to the actual hotpot!

So you add the paste in.....

Then all sorts of other food, because cannot wait any longer la. ^.^

In case you guys are wondering how the taste differs from normal hotpot, it doesn't. There's no weird taste at all, yet it is so much more nutritious compared to others.

For every two pax dining in, you are entitled to a complimentary plate of premium wagyu beef or a portion of snow crabs.

Eh, still waiting for?

Oh, for me to hurry up and finish my post uh. Okok, dessert time!

Assortment of cakes, eclairs and cream puffs. There's ice-cream too, though I did not manage to take a photo of it!

Desserts are honestly so-so, but then again you're not there for dessert so you can let this slide :)

Needless to say the table ended up something like that. Foodies galore! 

The buffet selections are extensive, with over 100 items to tuck into, rounding off with unique dipping sauces that you can create from 12 different dipping sauce choices.

Wait no more, now that my post has ended.

Momiji Japanese Buffet

Balestier Shaw Plaza #04-01

Singapore 329783

Tel: 62583398

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Momiji.JapaneseBuffet

Photo credits to Jem.

xoxo,

G.

Westgate has hit again. After Eggs & Berries the last round, cooler restaurants have sprouted in this mall far far far away from my home.

No seriously, why else would you go to Westgate unless you stay in the West?

Simple. This mall is up-and-coming, mark my words. I have only been there twice (for food tastings, or else there will never be a reason for me to be there), and although the first time I was there I did not manage to check out the mall properly because /I was late/, I managed to check it out more thoroughly this time.

Save the earth guys! Apparently the open air concept is in. The mall has some cool shit ventilations that are pretty chilly even though there wasn't any aircons installed in the open space. Or maybe... it rained a little that evening. Oh well.

As you can see from the photos above, I've been invited to SYNC, a modern Korean cuisine restaurant serving your favorite Korean food with a twist. It is a collaboration with Samsung, and is located on level 3 above the Samsung store.

I was pleased as hell at the invitation, because come on, I've been back from Korea for two months and I miss my rice cakes!!!!

Before we move on to the food, let us all take a second to admire the decor. The lighting made me feel like I was SNSD filming their Galaxy Supernova music video. Lol I kid. SNSD has nicer legs than me for sure.

And guess what? There is even a small corner for games and TV, to sit back, relax and watch your Korean dramas. Mom, can I move in here already?

(I spent half the time trying to figure how to use the controller though. Sorry Samsung, but I really love Apple more.)

First dish of the night:

Kimchi Cheese Fries: $8

No way. Kimchi and cheese fries cannot possibly go so well together. Fusion to the next level indeed. A refreshing twist that made the fries irresistible. I could not stop eating (sorry tummy). Ultimate yums.

Korean Chicken Wings: $12 (for 8 pieces)

This was pretty simple though. The sauce was very Korean-like, but the chicken was not as crispy as I would've liked it to be.

Toppoki with Fried Bacon and Egg: new item, price tbc

So honoured to be able to try one of their newest dishes. I was addicted to this the whole night. Kept coming back to this even though other food was served. Fried bacon bits be the bane of my existence. Ditto for the egg. Slice it into half with a knife - cue egg yolk flowing out. 좋아! (I like!) This is a must try, very delish!

Bibimbap: $15

Again, love the egg. But the sauce was quite overwhelming after mixing, and there was a bit too much vegetables.

Jap Chae: $12

I guess there is no English name for this since even the restaurant calls this "Jap chae" (romanised), pronounced "Jarp chae". I had this in Korea while on exchange, and this can compete with the authentic Korean ones. Must try!

K-pot Stew: $16

In Korea, they call it "budae jjigae", which means army stew. Basically, there is a mix of sausages, noodles, dumplings, meat and rice cakes, and they are stewed together with a spicy soup. A Korean delicacy. My only grouch was that they did not serve it Korean style, where there would normally be a fire underneath to keep the broth frothing, so that it will not thicken into a paste. This turned cold quickly, so if you do order, do eat it while it is hot :)

Drinks of the night. I shall remind you guys that their house specials are mostly alcohol-based, using Korean favourites like soju. Oh man, I love Korea but I really hate soju. Hahaha.

 White Chocolate Taro Lava Cake (served with ice cream): $10

Crazily in love with this. Oh my god, this is heaven, I'm not even kidding. I will go down to Westgate just for this. The lava cake just melts in your mouth. And I'm not even a fan of taro.

Matcha Lava Cake (served with ice cream): $10

Not a fan of green tea (you guys MUST know by now), but this is as good as the taro one. Jem can vouch for it. Matcha lovers would love this.

Hotteok with Walnuts, dressed in Cinnamon (served with ice cream) - new item, price tbc

The "pat" (red bean) on top of the pancake-like dessert is a winner. By the end of the meal I was already stuffed, but I still thought this was spiffing. Not to be missed!

Living in Korea for 5 months has undoubtedly made my expectations of Korean food rocket-high, but that doesn't mean I don't see effort or give credit where I deem fit. Singapore's Korean food and restaurants are nothing compared to the quality of Korean food in Korea (you don't say), but I would say this little bistro is testing waters. There is potential and room for improvement as the chefs are always trying to launch new dishes as often as possible, so I would say this is a good start.

Swing by when you have the time, it's worth a meal.

SYNC Korean Fusion Bistro (powered by Samsung)

@ Westgate

3 Gateway Drive #03-01/01A

Singapore 608532

Tel: 63699913

Opening hours: 11.00am to 11.00pm (sun - thur), 11.00am to 12 midnight (fri, sat)

Photo credits to Jem.

xoxo,

G.

Last Friday night, yeah we danced on table tops...

Nah, I danced on the creaky wooden planks of the Singapore River Cruise, more like. 

Pezzo, a 6-stores-islandwide pizzeria, launched its first-ever Laksa and Rendang Pizzas to celebrate the nation's birthday. Taking into account the local sensibilities, Pezzo has infused their classic pizzas with a chunk of local favourites. Read: laksa leaves, tau pok, crab meat. 

Seems like every eatery/restaurant/cafe is celebrating the nation's birthday. Except me. I'll be away this weekend at Bangkok, shopping my guts out. Sorry Singapore, I still love you. I'll eat more coconut ice creams and padthais on your behalf okay :)

Okay yes, back to the pizzas. 

Chicken Rendang Pizza (each slice $4.50)

Full pan: $24.90

Can I just say, I don't even eat rendang normally, but I tore my way through two slices of this. The potpourri of red and green capsicum, totally yums. There is also white onion and oregano chicken, seasoned well. Spiffing.

Laksa Pizza (each slice $4.90)

Full pan: $24.90

Being an ultimate laksa lover, I thought the addition of tuna was a bit weird. Which laksa has tuna?? But fortunately the overall taste was still very much laksa-oriented, especially with the array of seafood (prawns and squid). And because I love crab, the little bits of crab meat were very welcome.

As you can see, I got caught pigging out on camera. /slow claps for my non-existent glam factor/.

With Liqin feat. the overcast skies behind. Thank god it didn't pour on us that evening and instead produced a lovely breeze that allowed me to appreciate the beauty of Marina Bay Sands and the Merlion.

Pretty isn't it! I even forgot all about my motion sickness hahaha.

I would say it was a pretty interesting experience, because come on, how often do you get to eat pizzas on a river cruise?

Thank you so much Jaslyn and Brand Cellar for the invite! x

Credits to Jem for the photos! Check out his page, he's the latest addition to the blogging sphere. No longer a +1. Popular already don't forget me uh! heh heh heh. He should be posting quite often (more than me probably ha ha) and you can also check out our adventures there.

For a list of Pezzo kiosks, you can click here. You can also check out their Facebook page and follow them on Instagram @pezzopizzasg :)

xoxo,

G.