Mister Donut

Mister Donut is the largest chain of Donut store in Japan, with more than 1300 stores found in almost every main street of Japan. They are popular for their cheap, delicious donuts and you don't have to queue for a long time unlike Krispy Kreme. 

Periodically, they will have a JPY100 sale for their donuts, which normally sell between JPY120 - JPY150. 

And just like St Marc cafe, donuts are self service where you take a tong and tray, select your favourite donut and pay at the cashier at the end of the line.

You will also find a seasonal or special edition item in the stores and these items changes every few months. When I visited, the special item was the snoopy mont blanc house. 

We ordered the chocolate french cruller, angel cream donut and a cup of coffee. And did you know that their coffee is refillable as well? Their service is so good that the waitress even brought the coffee pot to your table to refill the coffee for you!

These are some of the special items that have been created by Mister Donuts for the past years. Kudos to the people who think up of all these creative donuts!

Mister Donut

www.misterdonut.jp (Japanese only)

St Marc Cafe Chococro

Saint Marc Cafe opened it's first doors at 1998 at Tokyo Ginza and has gained popularity from it's signature product, Chococro - a short form for Chocolate Croissant. 

The secret in the croissant lies in 3 points:
Chocolate - using the best Ghana and Ecuador beans which has a slight bitter taste
Pastry - Butter and Margarine are mixed and the pastry has more than 20 layers
Kiln - the pastries are carefully baked in a Kiln at 230 degrees 

All pastries are displayed at the self service counter and you can just pick any up and pay at the cashier. 

I ordered the Fresh chou cream croissant set which includes a cup of coffee at JPY390 (SGD 6)

They also carry seasonal items, such as the white chococro - a white chocolate croissant symbolizing the white snow of Christmas. You can also get a box of white and chocolate croissant at JPY790 for 5. 

Besides the seasonal white choco croissant, some of the other seasonal croissant includes: banana, strawberry choco, match and milk tea. All sounds so delicious!

When in Japan, just look out for this orange circle logo for the nearest St Marc chococro cafe!

p.s. you can also get your fix of chococro at Vivocity Unit 01-108/10

http://www.saint-marc-hd.com/cafe (Japanese only)

Lucky Pierrot Hamburger, Hakodate

Lucky Pierrot is a popular chain of hamburger shops only found in Hakodate. Featured in most guide books and ranked No.1 in the local hamburger chain across Japan, Lucky Pierrot has become a "must eat" place when you visit Hakodate. 

Each shop has it's own unique theme, such as Santa Claus theme, guardian angels theme, audrey hepburn theme, flower theme etc. The one I went to was located at the Hakodate Bay Area, and it has a rocking horse and swing theme! This is also the first Lucky Pierrot hamburger shop set up. 


If you are not comfortable sitting on a swing while eating, there are also normal seats in the restaurant. 

The number one popular burger on the menu is the Chinese Chicken burger. You can order a set including fries and oolong tea at JPY650 (approx SGD9).

Lucky Pierrot menu - a wide selection of western and Japanese style burgers. Some burgers are very interesting, such as the Hakodate Snow burger, pork sukiyaki burger, Genkis Khan burger, or dare to try the Futotcho burger - a super sized burger consisting a combination of the Chicken hamburger, Lucky Egg hamburger and Pork Cutlet hamburger.   

Besides burgers, they also serve a variety of Japanese curry rice, and in fact quite a lot of customers were having it in the restaurant as well. 

The ordering counter was filled with a variety of posters, with the majority promoting their no.1 best seller - Chinese Chicken burger. 

Of course we had to order the Chinese Chicken burger set to try. The chicken was well marinated, crispy while juicy inside, dipped in a mild sauce. Delicious also when eaten on it's own, but tastes even better when eaten together with the soft sesame bun, lettuce and mayonnaise. Indeed worth the No.1 title. The fries (or what they call fried potato in Japan) comes in a mug, and was also very good, with a drizzle of melted cheese and meat sauce along with it. 

A variety of merchandise are also sold in the restaurant, mostly mugs and glasses. 

There was also some pictures framed on the wall, showing an event in 2008 where they made a 15kg super burger. 

Lucky Pierrot - a burger place worth visiting when you are in Hakodate. You definitely won't miss their shop! Just look out for the huge clown signboard. And there's no mistake - he's no Ronald McDonald clown!

Lucky Pierrot Hamburger (Bay Area main branch)

函館末広町23-18
23-18 Suehiro-cho, Hakodate
Opening hours : 1000 - 0030hrs 

www.luckypierrot.jp (Japanese only) 

Hatched, Holland Village

Hatched opens in Holland Village! I've always heard about Hatched at Evans lodge, but didn't have the chance to try their highly popular egg menu. Since we were having a brunch gathering and pondering where to go, Ms A suggested trying Hatched at Holland Village, so we were all thumbs up for the suggestion. 

When we arrived the cafe, there were actually very limited tables in the cafe. When informing the staff that we made a reservation, we then found out that they also had a 2nd floor as well. But 2nd floor's air conditioning wasn't working very well, hence they switched on the ceiling fans for better ventilation. But it made the surrounding very cold and distracting with air constantly blowing on your face and food.

The menu looks interesting, with colourful cartoon characters. However, the laminate had came off from most of the menus, so it made them look quite old. 

90 percent of the menu consists of eggs, hence the name of the cafe "Hatched". As per their website says: baked, boiled, fried, poached and scrambled, we have them all and more... 


We ordered a few of the popular items on the menu: 

Sir Benedict - half an English muffin topped with smoked ham streaky bacon, poached egg and hollandaise sauce, topped with homemade mash. I liked the homemade mash, as it was covered in a mushroom sauce, something like your mushroom soup, only in a thicker consistency.

The poached eggs were a tad too overcooked - no egg yolk flowing out here when cut into it. 

Another recommended item from the staff - beef pot pie topped with scrambled eggs. It was not exactly like the normal oven toasted pies. They actually pour cooked beef slices over a soft bread. But soft bread actually goes well with the scrambled eggs and sliced beef. A normal oven toasted pie crust would be too dry to match the eggs. 

We also ordered the caesar salad, and of course topped with another poached egg. The poached egg was also too overdone, like the eggs benedict. 

The sausage platter looked interesting, so we ordered for sharing. They had some chicken, pork and beef sausage.

And this super red sausage is their beef and pork sausage. It's not exactly something I would order again... a tad too dry and at the salty side. I had to put alot of mustard on it and to eat with lettuce and bread together. 

We also ordered a ciabatta and sauteed mushrooms on the side. 

I spotted a blueberry bircher muesli on the menu, and had to order it to try. The staff told me that there were no raisins in it, only blueberries (as I am not a raisin fan), but it still contained raisins afterall. I still prefer the Sheraton Ho Chi Minh version where it has a thicker consistency. 

After a full meal, we just had to try their sweet items, so we ordered a waffle with strawberry sauce. To our utter dissapointment, the waffle was very hard and I couldn't even cut it up with a knife. Our culinary expert - Ms S commented that they must have made the waffle beforehand, maybe kept in the fridge and reheated it when we ordered it. Otherwise I couldn't believe how anybody can make/serve such a hard waffle to the table. After informing the staff, they made another waffle for us, this time much better, but it's not something I would order in their menu again. 

Lastly, how can brunch be called brunch without my cuppa latte... 


Overall, Hatched has a reasonable menu, with affordable prices. The staff who served us was also very helpful and knowledgeable, except for one who banged the plates on the table when we asked for a change in plates for dessert. Not exactly the best of the whole lot of places serving all day breakfast, and I still prefer jones the grocer for their higher quality food.

Maybe I should try their Evans lodge branch someday for comparison.


Hatched at Holland Village

267 Holland Avenue
(located along the same stretch as Starbucks and Swensons)

open Tuesday to Sunday: 8am - 10pm
reservations are encouraged to secure a table: 6463 0012

Breakfast at Sheraton Ho Chi Minh

The destination for our company trip was Ho Chi Minh. Some of my colleagues told me that the best meal they had in Ho Chi Minh during the trip was the breakfast at Sheraton. Does it really measure up? 

The entrance of Sheraton Hotel Ho Chi Minh. I remembered also staying at this hotel previously during a business trip. Located at the heart of Ho Chi Minh city at 88 Dong Khoi street, within walking distance to the various attractions and shopping, Sheraton is a good hotel choice when staying in Ho Chi Minh. 

Most of the international hotels in Vietnam have this signage outside which certifies their star rating by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. 

The hotel has a spacious lobby. At various timings, there are even traditional instrument performances by Vietnamese ladies. 

The lobby lounge. Good atmosphere for a cuppa or some light snacks. Oh did I mention, there is also free wifi available at the lobby area! 


Ok, back to the main topic - the breakfast. Like all international hotels, American buffet breakfast is served at the hotel. The breakfast area is segregated into various sections: 

The cooked food and cold dish section. 

As usual, they have the egg section. Besides eggs preparation, the pancake / waffle section is also here. What is unique is that they also have a selection sausages, beef, chicken and lamb available at this area as well. Tell the chef your choice of meats and they will prepare it in front of you. and don't forget, we are talking about breakfast here! 

The Asian / Japanese section. This is where the porridge, fried noodles, dim sum, miso soup and some Japanese foods are served. 

They even have a separate section which serves Vietnamese pho (beef noodle soup). 

The fruits section - get your quick fix of variety of fruits and juices here. 

When seated, as usual the staff would ask you if you would like coffee or tea. And to our surprise, the coffee and tea comes in a big pot - for you to pour on your own. 

I would normally look for the bread section when I start my breakfast, and I was immediately attracted to this structure. From far, it looks like a decoration with fake bagels on it. But they are actually real bagels! As what my friend Ms M calls it - Bagels do grow on trees! 

They offer a wide assortment of pastries and cupcakes. 

This is actually a toaster for heating up your pastries. Simply love it. Don't you hate those conventional bread toasters, when you try to heat up breads other than the normal sliced bread and they get stuck in the toaster? and you have to end up eating either burnt bread, or cold bread, which are both equally bad. 

Cherry tomatoes with pesto. The menu changes everyday, as when I went on the second day to take this, it was replaced by another tomato dish. 

The tomato lasagne. I was lucky to take a shot of it when they just replaced with a new plate, as it would be snapped up quite fast. As I am a cheese lover, this is just a great dish, with generous servings of cheese and bechamel sauce. Too bad this dish was not available on the next day. 

Crispy bacon. And I'm not joking when I say crispy. It's really crispy. One of my colleagues even took a portion of it as a snack by it's own. Remember  this bbq pork snack from Bangkok? Well it tastes just like the snack, only that it's the fresh version. 

Shrimp dumpling with chives. 

This is unique - salmon dumplings. Salmon is mixed with prawn paste and made into a dumpling. 

Steamed siew mai. 

Fried samosas and sugar cane prawn paste. 

My plate of Asian selection foods. They even have Japanese natto, which I so miss after coming back from Japan. Must have my natto. and it goes well with the cold tofu too!

Fruits are replenished frequently. The pink guava looks so tempting!

Yogurt - they offer original and blueberry flavour. 

This is the only food I remembered during my previous stay at Sheraton Ho Chi Minh. And after so many years, they are still serving it! It's actually Bircher Museli, served in individual glasses. Rich and creamy with hints of nuts and apples in it. 

And here's a close up shot of it. I had 2 servings of it! yummy. If you want to know how to make it, here's the recipe from Jamie Oliver's The Return of the Naked Chef cookbook:

Ingredients (makes around 4-7 portions)
8 large handfuls of organic rolled oats
2 large handfuls of ground bran
1 handful of chopped dried apricots
1 handful of chopped dried dates
1 handful of crumbled walnuts
1 handful of smashed or shopped almonds, hazelnuts or brazil nuts
milk (or soya/almond/oat milk) to cover
1/2 crunchy apple per portion, washed and unpeeled

Put oats and bran into a large Tupperware with apricots, dates and any other soft fruit. Add the walnuts, almonds, any other nuts and seeds. This mixture will keep for up to two months in an airtight container.

The night before you want to eat your pukkolla, put two portions of the oat mixture into a bowl and cover with the milk, grate in half an apple per person and stir immediately to keep apple from discolouring. When you’re ready to eat it, add some cinnamon or banana. 

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Good American buffet breakfasts are what I call comfort food. Best meal of the day, especially when you have all the time to enjoy. Also provides me with some sanity, amidst all the phos, raw vegetables, rice rolls and fish sauces in Ho Chi Minh. Thank you Sheraton, for serving such a wonderful breakfast.   

Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers

88 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh

Breakfast served at Saigon Cafe
Daily 6am - 10am