Dinata & Hvala Waffle Bar @ 313 Somerset

The last two stops in Tring 313 Food Trail 2015 adventures at 313 Somerset. Held in a single-day where 10 bloggers ate their way through 313 Somerset with 7 food stops in 5 hours. As Dinata and Hvala are both kiosk styled shops, will write about them in the same post.

shop front

pastries

sweets

Dinata is a shop that specializes in Portuguese pastries. Lots of interesting stuffs such as Cornucopia and coconut bread.

(front) chicken "drumstick", hazelnut cornucopia, (back) egg tart and doughnut

On the other hand, if you have a craving for waffles but do not want to eat the whole lot, then Hvala Waffle Bar would be perfect for situations as such. Oh, they do have soft-serve as well in case you want some ice-cream.

shop front

menu

apple waffle, tiramisu and original plus soft serves at the back

The tiramisu waffle was so nice. Chewy on its outside but soft inside. Loved it. I'd have the entire waffle to myself. Not gonna share.

tiramisu

let's dig in!

Dinata

Location: 313 Somerset #B3-42
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dinatasg

Hvala Waffle Bar

Location: #B3-50, 313 Orchard Road Singapore 238895
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HvalaWaffleBar


With that, we concluded our Tring 313 Food Trail 2015. Once again, many thanks to the hosts; 313 Somerset, Tring 313 app, and owner/manager/PRs/staff of the respective shops (Soup Stock Tokyo, Chabuton, O'my Spoon, Pie Face, Chir Chir Chicken, Dinata and Hvala). To my fellow foodies and bloggers, it was a pleasure meeting with you guys. Take care and see you next time.

Chir Chir Chicken Fusion Factory @ 313 Somerset

Korean Fried Chicken seemed to have taken Singaporean's tastebuds by storm. Chir Chir Chicken requires no further introduction and its relentless queues during weekends are testaments to its popularity amongst the diners. I'd think it's safe to say that the demographics of diners here ranges from the tweens to young working adults and the occasional families. Whichever demographic group that you belong to, one thing is for sure. Bring your friends along. Chir Chir Chicken serving portions are really meant for 2-3 pax. If you intend to order more than one mains, then 5 to 6 pax would be ideal.

let's all queue

Don't know what to order? Just browse through instagram or do a quick search in the internet. Loads of pictures and write-ups! The main draw for me, was obviously the chickens. The group managed to sample a variety and the amount of food that we had, could have fed 15 pax of big eaters!

Nest Snow @$32.90

The Nest Snow would be the most interesting looking ones, with that huge dollop of cream nested ontop plus the white sauce that was deceptively spicy. The boneless chicken tenders were more tender that I had imagined it to be. Enjoyable but watch out for that sudden spike in heat.

Speaking of which, there are some cool drinks or rather mocktails that one could order. For example the Tok Tok drinks (blue or yellow). Which was fizzy soda infused with flavoured drinks. Likeable.

the fizz infusor

Yellow Tok Tok (non-alcoholic) @$14.90

Coconut Milktail @$12.90

Coconut Milktail Redgizer (with Red bull) - for wakeup call?

On to the food. The original or just crispy fried chicken wings had quite a good crisp on its skin and still juicy insides. The salsa was fantastically tangy and refreshing. The garlic chicken wings didn't have much garlic taste and ended up tasting pretty similar to original fried wings. The Rosemary chicken looked a tad healthier as it was not deep fried but baked. Tasted of herbs and nicely tender. All the chickens be it deep fried or baked, had the non-greasy feel to it. Nice.

Crispy fried wings @$26.90 with mustard dip and salsa

Rosemary Chicken @$29.90 with baked potatoes and salsa

I saw what you're doing

The best drink for fried chicken, of course would be beer. Chimaek for the win! Here, one could order the Chir Cream Beer for that cream beer 'kiss'. I'd just get a Cass, 'coz no likey with cream.

Chir Cream Beer meet the pints - one (left) and half (right)

Speaking of cream, and if you want something sweet and termed as 'salad', do try the Honey Grape Salad. Mix the whole thing together and scoop up those yummy grapes with the honey drizzled pastry. The combo was so good!

Honey Grape Salad

Haven't had enough chicken? Here are some more.

Spicy Wings @$28.90 (sorry, we ate some already, not the full basket in pic)

What a feast to be shared amongst friends! The place was super packed when we visited on a weekend, and the chicken were good. Personal favourite would be the spicy wings. Yums. The spice level was enjoyable.

Chir Chir Chicken feast - good for 15 pax

Chir Chir Chicken Fusion Factory

Location: #B3-04/05/06, 313 @ Somerset, 313 Orchard Road, 238895
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chir-Chir-Singapore/1551584908411319


Read about the experience at Soup Stock Tokyo, Chabuton, O'ma Spoon Korean Dessert Cafe, Pie Face, Dinata & Hvala Waffle Bar.

Pie Face @ 313 Somerset

Many would have seen those pies with smiley faces on various social media platform by now. Pie Face originated from Bondi Beach Australia since 2003 and came to our shore in 2014. Currently, there are 3 outlets in Singapore and we visited the one in Somerset 313 as part of our Tring 313 Food Trail 2015, and was our fourth food stop.

shop front

Pies are baked fresh, and those smiley cheeky faces are hand-piped. There are 8 flavours for savouries and about 10 for sweet pies. Just pick your favourites and grab a drink. There are some limited seats inside the shop.

steak pies are crowd favourite

here are the sweet mousse pies

non-pies

Amongst the savouries sampled, were the Chunky Steak, Chicken + Mushroom and Spicy Chicken. It was actually quite apt. The Spicy Chicken indeed will nett you a surprised look. It was indeed spicy!

let's bring out the savouries

the sweet pies

The chunky steak was very likeable and pleasant but I think the spicy chicken was interesting. For those who love spicy stuffs.

For the sweet pies, I like the almond frangipane pie as its sweetness was just right. The other sweet pies were smaller in size, and I preferred the butterscotch flavoured one. The coffee mousse pie was also quite nice. Other flavours included green tea with red bean pie, raspberry pie, chocolate pie and apple crumble.

Pie Face

Location: #B3-10 313@Somerset, Singapore 238895
Website: http://pieface.com.sg/


Read about the experience at Soup Stock Tokyo, Chabuton, O'ma Spoon Korean Dessert Cafe

O'ma Spoon Korean Dessert Cafe @ 313 Somerset

There were lots of first experiences during the Tring 313 Food Trail 2015, and eating bingsu was one of them. Didn't get to try it while in Seoul the other time, so am glad that we in Singapore, has that luxury of choice to eat foods that originated from other countries.

With a recent wave of hot weather, the idea of having ice-cold desserts was really enticing. Or, perhaps a necessity even. Up at Level 4, can't miss the neon-purplish signage. Oh my spoon.

striking colour!

order counter

It's an open-spaced shop, and one orders from the counter. Bingsu is actually meant to be shared with friends or loved ones, but if you'd like to enjoy it alone, there is a petite option as well.

from Korea, with love

O'my spoon is quite a lovely place to enjoy cool Korean desserts in a comfy environment. Mostly couples, and occassionally the family.

seating area

Want to know what we tried? As you may have guessed, popular items such as Injeolmi Toast and a variety of bingsu. Ah... but did you also know that the bingsu here is made out of shaved milk instead of ice? It was so fluffy and milky! That means, the bingsu here is actually of the Sulbing (雪冰) variety.

Let's try the breads. Injeolmi Toast is basically bread toasted with rice cake and coated with soy-bean powder. Hence, we get bread-like texture with some chewy and stickyness. The Choco Strawberry is basically Honey Butter Bread with ice cream. Would have preferred more choco sauce though. The addition of ice-cream to both of these toast is a good idea. Best combo as a sweet snack; bread and ice-cream.

Injeolmi Toast @$8.90

Choco Strawberry @$14.90

Next, let's roll out the bingsus! And, what a line-up we had. The Injeolmi Bingsu, The Green Tea Bingsu and my personal favourite, The Mango Cheesecake Bingsu.

Injeolmi Bingsu @$12.90

Green Tea Bingsu @$13.90

Mango Cheesecake Bingsu @$18.90

All the bingsu depicted above were meant to be shared amongst 2-3 pax. If not, then the price would be really really steep for a single-pax dessert.

Why I liked the premium bingsu of mango cheesecake? Let me list the reasons; the fluffy shaved milk that just melts in your mouth, the chunks of sweet mango, the dense texture of the cheesecake, some chewyness from the dried berry and the creamy ice-cream that when combined with the shaved milk flakes, magically turns into a condense-milk kind of flavour. Keke.

my love, from this star

Actually, the Green Tea Bingsu was also really good. Strong green tea flavour, with green tea ice-cream and that read bean...I'm a fan!

give me more

look, a layer of green tea powder inside

Very likeable, very good to share with friends especially during hot weather season. Hmm, Singapore is hot whole year round, isn't it?

O'ma Spoon Korean Dessert Cafe

Location: 313 @ Somerset 313 Orchard Road #04-20/32 Singapore 238895
Website: http://www.omaspoon.com/
Facebook: http://purple-eats.blogspot.sg/2015/08/soup-stock-tokyo-313-somerset.html


Read about the experience at Soup Stock Tokyo, Chabuton.

Chabuton @ 313 Somerset

A ramen shop by "King of Ramen" and Michelin-starred Chef Yasuji Morizumi. Chabuton has been much blogged about and was excited that it was scheduled as our stop #2 of the 313 Somerset Food Trail 2015.  The place was quiet but I think that's because no one really eats ramen at 1130am, or do they? Well, at least this group of foodies, did!

interior

menu

Was served with their bestseller ramen, the Chabuton Tonkotsu Ramen. Besides that, also tried Kara Kara Miso Ramen and Shoyu Zaru Ramen. Glad to report that all ramen (soups) here are not too strongly flavoured and that really meant, it was not too salty for local tastebuds. Pleasant and should be able to satiate when that craving for ramen strikes.

Chabuton Tonkotsu Ramen @$11.90++

Kara Kara Miso Ramen @$13.40++

As usual, one could opt to add a lava egg to the ramen.

additional order of beautiful lava egg

But the one that stood out? Was the simple Shoyu Zaru Ramen. The noodle didn't look exciting but it was so good to eat. It was pleasantly chewy and springy and tasted wonderful with the sauce. Add some hot tonkotsu broth to the sauce at the end (after all the non-stop dip and slurp) to enjoy a drinkable soup.

Shoyu Zaru Ramen @$11.90++

Also sampled some of its fried items. The Hitokuchi Gyoza was really a flat looking one-bite gyoza. The Aka Ebi Mentai was tasty and ika karaage was good as a snack, with beer. But beer in the morning? Unlikely. Will settle for green tea.

hitokuchi gyoza

ika karaage

Aka Ebi Mentai @$4.90++ for 2 pieces (limited time promo)

Chabuton 

Location: #B2-01, 313 @ Somerset, 313 Orchard Road, 238895
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chabutonsg


Read about the experience at Soup Stock Tokyo , O'my Spoon

Soup Stock Tokyo @ 313 Somerset

It was really early in the morning, and Soup Stock Tokyo might have just started its service for that day. Part of the Tring 313 Food Trail and our first pit stop, we were going to have soups and rice for breakfast.

おはいよ！

It is a self-serve styled place known for its selection of soups. And by that, there are plenty of options to choose from. Have asked the manager, and as of current, its bestseller is the Hokkaido Crab Bisque. Liked that it has three soup sizes for customers to choose from; small, medium and large. The large size is about 350ml, while the small size is about 180ml.

For those that must have rice, good news as Soup Stock Tokyo had introduced two types of curry rice; The Onion Chicken Curry and the Tomato Chicken Curry rice. Better still, they have a "Buddy Curry & Soup Set" combo. Usually, a Curry Soup Set where one gets a curry rice and a small soup for $16.80. Now, with the "Buddy Curry & Soup Set", one gets two sets of curry rice and two small soups plus one drink for just $30.80. That's akin to getting a small discount and a free drink. Now, where's my buddy...

おいし！

Buddy Curry & Soup Set @$30.80

Frankly speaking, am liking the curry rice, especially the Tomato Chicken Curry. That tangy flavour with sweetish undertone from the tomatoes, very likeable tender chicken pieces and plenty of sauce ontop the Japanese rice. In Japan, it is usually served bare, without the parsley garnish. I agree. Can do without. Had thought that I wouldn't want to eat rice early in the morning, but can't help but take in scoops after scoops of rice and curry. Yums.

Tomato Chicken Curry, Soup of your choice (small) and a drink

Onion Chicken Curry and Hokkaido Crab Bisque Soup

The brown rice was enjoyable and the onion chicken curry was really mild but fragrant. Comforting flavours.

As for the soups, the Hokkaido Crab Bisque has a smokey flavour to it but was not quite how I'd imagined it to be. The Chicken Vegetable Soup tasted like something that I might choose if am feeling under the weather. It was rather mild and tasted homely. Pork and Tomato Stroganoff might be considered if I want tangy flavours in slurpable form. Personal favourite of mine, would be the Tokyo Beef Borsch. Really flavourful, and has that essence of beef.

Tokyo Beef Borsch (front) and Pork and Tomato Stroganoff (back)

Currently, the beef used in the beef borsch soup has some fats. Word has it that it will be changed to a leaner cut sometime soon. But, I must confess that I actually liked it the way it is/was now.

SG50 Challenge before 9th August, hurry!

Soup Stock Tokyo

Location: 313 Orchard Road, #B-14 & B2-53/53A, 313@Somerset, Singapore 238895　
Website: http://www.soup-stock-tokyo.sg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Soup-Stock-Tokyo-Singapore/396889403787913
Instagram: https://instagram.com/sstsingapore/


Read about the experience at Chabuton,O'my Spoon