Molly Malone's set lunch

Ultimate SGD25 nett lunchtime fix at Molly Malone's. Comes with soup, main, dessert and drink

Since the onset of my pregnancy, I have developed an aversion to fish and hate its smell.

Things have since improved in recent weeks. I no longer cringe at the thought of eating fish and even managed to round up my kakis recently for lunch at one of our all time favorite fish and chips joints- Molly Malone's.

Molly Malone's is an Irish pub tucked along the corner of Circular Road. It has dark woody interiors which reek of stale smoke. Ang Mohs like to congregate there for their beer fix (even during lunchtime!) I've been a fan of their fish and chips for more than 8 years and am pleased to report that the quality of their food has not changed a single bit.

In a bid to attract the lunchtime crowd to dine in their pub, Molly's has come up with a SGD25 nett sett lunch promotion which comes with a soup of the day, fish and chips, dessert and soft drink/coffee/tea. We all ordered a set for ourselves each.

Typical of pub food, portions are super generous. The cream of cauliflower soup served that day was thick and delicious. Being small eaters, most of the ladies in our party were half full after this course and could not finish their main course of fish and chips- which is a great pity.

I really dig the fish and chips from Mollys, which represents the holy grail of deep fried food to me Eaten piping hot from the fryer and doused with a generous layer of tartar or chili sauce, the crisp batter and flakes of fork tender fish taste exceptional when downed with a gulp of ice cold beer or 7-up. Mollys also does a wicked rendition of thick cut chips, which come smokin hot and crisp on the outside.

Dessert that day was a pretty slice of tiramisu. Everyone was pretty stuffed by then but managed to polish off their plates (girls just love their desserts). It wasn't the best tiramisu we had eaten but was a fitting end to a perfect meal.- save for the spotty service.

Molly's has evolved into an lunchtime institution in Raffles Place that I have grown to embrace over the years. I hope it continues to keep up its winning formula so that die hard fish n chip aficionados like myself can have our fix when we need it.

Molly Malone's Irish Pub
56 Circular Road
Tel: 6536 2029

Royce has been dethroned!

I'm no chocolate connoisseur. However, there are days when Cadbury chocolate just doesn't make the cut. For days when I crave something more, I usually reach for a box of Royce nama chocolate.

Over the Chinese New Year celebrations, we played host to some friends. After dinner, a guest furtively shoved a packet of these into my hands and urged me to try them asap. She then proceeded to explain how she had magically chanced upon these delish creations at an obscure sweet shop tucked in Parco Bugis. After some egging from the cute Japanese boss, she bought a packet to try.

The rest is history.

I apprehensively unwrapped the packet and helped myself to a piece. Appearance wise, the cocoa dusted sphere looked small and unassuming. After popping it into my mouth and biting into the chocolate, I was impressed by its smooth finish, which left a pleasant nutty bittersweet aftertaste on my tongue. As I ventured on to make out the remaining flavors, I was surprised to discover the addition of cheese! The resulting blend of bittersweet and savory was bizarre yet so orgasmic-ally good. I couldn't resist taking a second and third helping. Soon the whole packet was empty.

And the rest is history.

I wonder why I don't get this "shiok" factor from high end ang moh chocolates like Hediard, Godiva and Laurent Bernard. Perhaps my tastebuds are still not sophisticated enough.