I got very annoyed on the first few hours of the New Year because of packed trains - but that would normally still be tolerable - but with extremely uncivilized shoving, staring, unwarranted careless touching, this overcrowding situation is getting on my nerves too much. That is why I love Pasarbella. It has sprawling space, friendly people, clean air to breathe, beautiful trinkets to play with, and most of all: top-notch and an assortment of food choices for your picking. None of that squeezy weekend shopping malls misery. I was back to this piece of heaven along Bukit Timah in Singapore, and I always enjoy my time so much here. With the amount of lazy genes I have running amok in my veins, I'll probably never come to the ulu Pasarbella without its shuttle bus (from Clementi/Toa Payoh/Sixth Avenue). The shuttle bus saves a lot of leg-ache and here are the timings.

I was really glad to try the roasted meats from Keith's Crackling Roast which was the most unassuming and quiet one around. Carnivorous humans would be delighted with the crackling and honey roast ($10 per small portion as pictured). We tried the honey roast first, which was juicy and succulent to every single bite and so good that I was swooning with happiness. The sweetness from the honey sauce melded with the fatty goodness of the pork, and without being cloying, it gave rise to the perfect tray of meat. This is very addictive and we could hardly stop! They also had the crackling roast which we bought home as takeaway. The crisp crackle of the pork roast was clear as day when the knife went through it, and survived well even hours later for dinner. Dinner party idea to impress your guests? Yes, definitely. 

2. Winchester Pies

With fragrant wafts of pies drifting in the atmosphere, we could hardly not visit Winchester Pies and snitching a pie to nom on. You might be thinking... is the name Winchester inspired by the English city? Contrary to first instincts, the dashing fictional character from Supernatural - Dean Winchester - is the motivation behind this name. With four savoury and five sweet pies ($9.90 each) up for your selection, your inner glutton will be badgering you to have all of them. One thing's for sure - their Shepherd's Pie has got us reaching for it repeatedly till we're scraping bottom. Simply delicious.

Who invented cake? Surely someone who knows the deepest secrets to enjoying life. At Laman's Delight, you can get to savour one of the best cakes ever... the sort that you will wake up in the middle of the night, craving for it. Suddenly, $12 a slice isn't that much to pay for these exotically lipsmacking Russian pomegranate cakes with its juicy and generous pomegranate arils. You even get a hint of floral fragrance to its moist and decadent creamy base. Just like what cakes should be like.

The founder of this artisan chocolate shop, Anjali, is a very passionate artisan chocolate chef. She began with creating a range of chocolate confections in her own kitchen and received a lot of positive comments from her friends and family which motivated her to set up a brick-and-mortar shop at Pasarbella. She has gone through multiple trials of all kinds of ingredients (including durian and chili) before arriving at the flavours available in the shop right now. These luxury chocolates are best enjoyed as elegant post-meal desserts.

At Latte E Miele on, it's 45% off every Tuesday for students and children. That makes it$4.90 for a grande cup of 3 flavours. That wouldn't be the only reason I'm stopping by this ice-cream parlour - they have a plethora of interesting flavours. After much deliberation, we settled for Honey & Yogurt, Lavendar Vanilla, Green Tea flavours. Their ice-cream is definitely of high quality with a smooth and rich consistency resting on the sweeter side. The Honey & Yogurt is strikingly similar to llaollao, while the lavender vanilla is very distinctly floral. The green tea is too sweet for my liking, as I wished it could be more muted. A wonderful place for a whole afternoon of gathering and chatting without pressure to leave because of the low customer turnover rate here.