Our latest gastronomical expedition took us to D’Dream Café in SS2, P.J. This unique themed café serves classic Taiwanese dishes in Doraemon’s company, literally. From its Doraemon-adorned walls and ocean-blue interior (or Doraemon blue, if you prefer) to its exit sign, background music (remember the Doraemon theme?), and blue display cabinets full of Doraemon figurines! The café opened only April this year. It’s a brainchild of 39-year-old Nicholas Lim, a food-loving Doraemon fanatic. Running a Doraemon-themed café had been a dream of his since childhood; hence, the café’s name. He’s been collecting Doraemon merchandise for 30 years. In fact, all the Doraemon collectibles in the café are from his personal collection. To help warm things up, everyone participated in a little brain-teaser. The first player begins with a food-related term (say, pasta). Then, each of the following players will have to build on it with another food term (say, the second player adds to the first word meatball, and the third one adds to the first two words tomato, and so forth…). The longer the game persists, the lengthier the chain of words gets — and the more challenging it becomes for the subsequent players to remember and utter every word mentioned without mistake! After that, we sampled Lim’s menu of Taiwanese delicacies, designed and prepared by him and his Taiwanese friend who also happens to be an excellent cook. We savored some the café’s signatures, like: Sweet Potato Fries with Sour Plum Powder (柑梅地瓜) Crunchy on the outside; soft and pleasantly sweet within. Every bite exposes the gorgeous deep orange flesh. The general dusting of sour plum powder on top accentuates sweet potato’s natural sweetness and earthy flavor. “Popcorn Chicken,” a.k.a. Taiwanese Fried Chicken (現炸鹽酥雞) A close call to the real deal. Enrobed within the crunchy crust is juicy, tender meat. The coating — a special blend of salt and pepper, ground chili, fried Thai basil leaves — gives it a savory boost that turns every morsel into an addiction. Red-Braised Beef with Ramen (紅燒牛肉拉麵) Springy wheat noodles served in a bowl of hearty, mildly spicy broth, with tender chunks of beef from Lim’s Red-Braised Beef. Wheatgrass Jelly with Milk (鮮草奶凍) A light and refreshing dessert. It shows off the café’s bouncy house-made wheatgrass jelly, served almost unadorned, simply with healthy low-fat milk. We were also treated to other culinary delights, such as (from right, clockwise) Taiwanese Stewed Bean Curd (台式滷豆腐), Three-Cup “Phoenix” (現炒三杯雞), Deep-fried Pork Chop with Ramen (現炸豬扒拉麵), and Fruit Tea (水果茶). As the saying goes, “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.” At some point the members had just got to satisfy their curiosity by asking questions during a chat with Lim. Some even tried to “probe” him into giving away his culinary secrets! Before the evening concluded, the winner for the evening’s fun and game session was presented with an OpenRice Tote Bag and an OpenRice Bowl. As for the runner-ups, a little gift of OpenRice Name Card Holder each. No one was left out! A big thank-you to Lim and his staff for the awesome food and hospitality. Thanks to Doraemon, too, for being a part of this memorable evening. It’s been fun, and we are already looking forward to the next MakanVenture with you. Sign up now!