It's been long since I stepped into Marche. Sad that the 2 other outlets are no longer in business and this one at Vivo gets packed almost everytime I was there. Good thing we were there on a Monday and was still early for dinner crowd. Managed to get in without queuing.
The place was smaller than we expected, and it looks very cramp with all the decorations and furnishing inside. But it does gives the traditional market-like feel but yet still homely.
Food we ordered...
SweetBread - aka Filled Crossed Bun at $1.50 This is something which I never thought of buying while at Marche in the past. But thanks to bf, now I'll make sure I buy one whenever I'm there. I like the fluffy texture of the bun and the skin (outer layer) of the bun has a sweet taste to it. Makes the bun very enjoyable to eat. But the fillings is very little, filled only 1/8 of the bun. But still I won't mind paying $1.50 for it. Of cos, if they stuff in my fillings, it'll make it just perfect.
Vegetables small plate at $4.90 I loveee mushrooms. And this "buffet" style vegetables stall has great mushrooms. It's tasty and fragrant. We mixed the mushrooms with baby potatoes. Quite nice too. Will want to try the rest of the vegetables the next time.
Crepe Mushroom at $10.90 This one is my most most favorite! Thin crepe freshly made upon order. The fillings is generous and the mixed of vegetables, cheese, sauce and mushrooms is simply delicious! Just thinking of it now makes me drool for more!
Chanced upon this modernly decorated shop while browsing around Marina Square over the weekend. The concept is somewhat similar to inQbox which has been around for awhile already. But Cactus Farm gives me a better impressions. The products on display are very neatly arranged and the entire shop gives a comfortable feel for their customers. The lighting of the shop plays quite an important part too.
The products on display are mostly from indie designers from Singapore. I noticed they do have products imported from overseas. There's this one that caught our attention at the entrance. It's a pair of square slippers. Looks quite interesting. Will sure to draw attention when worn around town. It cost about $40 if I didn't remember wrongly.
A quick check at their website and the rental is only from $8/day. Sounds pretty cheap, but that's only if your products are attractive and good to draw buyers.
If you're an indie designer, you might want to go check out Cactus Farm and look for their G.O.D or B.A.D! They also has got a M.A.D too! Interesting designations for the team. :)
The cravings for dim sum meant that i am always on the lookout for places be it restaurants or eateries which can answer to my stomach’s calling. Victor’s Kitchen has been around for quite a while now, and has been labeled with the “good dim sum at affordable price” tag.
Located at Sunshine Plaza off the corner at Bencoolen street, it is a no-frills, grab-your-seats kind of place. Victor’s is divided into two seating area, with both holding a maximum of maybe fifteen people each. Seats are limited, you must be prepared to queue up for them, and squeeze in the small seating area. Well, more like a small eatery than a cafe or restaurant kind of environment.
Chicken & Sausage in Glutinous rice ($4) I always like glutinous rice, dim sum style. Opening the leave that wrapped the rice, the aroma of the glutinous rice flowed out, and it was just so good. The chicken was tender and the chinese sausage palatable, the fragrant and soft rice, all the combinations made the glutinous rice a praiseworthy dish.
Tasty Queen size Siew Mai ($3) You don’t say you eat dim sum if you did not order siew mai and har gau. Nicknamed the queen size siew mai, its actually the normal size i guess that’s why they didn’t named it as King size siew mai instead.
The pork meat in the siew mai is very lean, not those fatty type. The portion of prawn to pork is actually very low, so not much of prawn taste, its the more porky kind.
Victor’s King prawn dumpling ($3.80) Prawn dumpling or har gau, another mainstay in the dim sum menu. The skin of the Victor’s King prawn dumpling is rather thin, and the prawns inside looked like its going to burst out anytime. The fresh prawns go easy on the palates and always welcome with second helpings.
Carrot cake with XO sauce ($3.80) I was rather amazed when i saw the Carrot cake with XO sauce served. For one i wasn’t expecting the carrot cake to be literally soaked in xo sauce, i thought it will be something like the one i had at Peach Garden, or Yan Ting, but i guess again, there isn’t any “fried” or “pan-seared” attached with the name here.
The name’s scallop, sausage carrot cake with xo sauce, but i hardly had any hint of the presence of scallop and sausage in it, and i think i still preferred my carrot cake to be fried than soup. Nonetheless, the amount of XO sauce given was rather generous, and i guess its more of a personal issue, some might just fancy this over the normal fried carrot cake.
Oyster sauce Char Siew Bun ($2.80) I preferred my char siew bun to be those restaurants-type where there is three parts one. There’s no trace of oyster sauce in the char siew bun, or maybe i happened to miss the flavor.
Nevertheless, the char siew bun is still quite soft and fluffy, the juicy char siew captured within is also enjoyable. Not the best char siew bun i had, but it will suffice.
Milky Custard Bun ($2.80) I am getting warm up to Custard bun nowadays since i used to only flavor char siew bun when i had dim sum. You know a good custard bun when you see one, hot milky custard oozing out of the bun, tempting you with both visual and taste.
However, the case is not to be with Victor’s Milky custard bun. Touted as their signature dish, i was totally disappointed with the one i had here. Maybe the ones at Victor’s don’t ooze out, but for the custard buns to come cold is another complete matter all together.
Having heard many wonderful things about their signature custard bun, i must said i was shocked by the revelation in the quality of the buns. Maybe its a case of a bad hair day, but i’ll give it a chance and re-visit to try it again the next time.
Spare Ribs rice ($3) I’m not even sure if i want to elaborate on the spare ribs rice. First thing first, the rice is hard, too hard. I do understand that ribs being ribs do not have much meat, but this one, the pork ribs were not even tasteful. A waste of 3 bucks, kindly ignore this if you ever go to Victor’s.
Phoenix Porridge ($3.50) The century egg porridge or pi dan chow is transform in the name of Phoenix porridge. However the majestic name did itself no favors with a run of the mill watery porridge. There are bits of century egg and chicken chunks, but i don’t see the point in paying $3.50 for an average small bowl porridge.
Deep fried spring roll ($3) The deep fried spring roll is pretty decent, with the usual mix of turnips inside. The vinger dip was a commendable mention, with the slightly sourish sauce going well together with the deep fried stuff. The spring roll was crispy and you could hear the “crisp” sound with every bite you took.
Char siew cheong fun ($3) The trails of a good char siew cheong fun are smooth and silky skin, which comes with juicy char siew. However the skin of the cheong fun or rice roll is rather thick, i’ll prefer it to be slightly thinner. The char siew within the cheong fun is still acceptable.
King prawn cheong fun ($3.50) I think we over ordered, which results in having another one, the King prawn cheong fun. I presumed the prawns are the same as the ones in the har gau, and they are fresh and good, pity the skin of the cheong fun though.
Total Bill is $51.1 for 3 person. Victor’s kitchen is definitely affordable and rather cheap with its array of dim sum served. The maths work out to be around less than a dollar per piece for most of the items, which can be a good place for your dim sum fix if you want something cheap and not bad.
Victor’s Kitchen is a case of hits and misses. However the misses hit me more because i had high expectations of the place since there are much rave about the dim sum here. With the silky custard bun as the biggest upset in this visit, it is likely i will visit the place again in the future, to prove whether its a fluke or one-off thing.
The place is small, and they don’t take any reservations, do go at earlier timings or be prepared to queue a while for the seats. Its also advisable to go in small groups since there aren’t much space and table to accommodate a large crowd.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
The 2 for 1 tag line is recognized with Canadian Pizza, and their easy-to-remember hotline 6241 0241 is another reason which has make Canadian Pizza a widely popular choice for pizza delivery services.
With mainstream competitors Pizza Hut which besides the delivery services has their own restaurants, and Sarpino’s which offer the same gimmick by having the 1-for-1 promotion, and the new Rite pizza, it can only mean good things for consumers who want a quick one on their pizzas.
Having tried Canadian Pizza a couple of times before, i thought that for the prices their pizzas are actually not bad, so on this occasion i decided on having Canadian Pizza instead of Sarpino’s as the previous time i have tried them already.
Teriyaki Chicken (Reg 10”) Teriyaki chicken, mushrooms, sweet corn, capsium, roasted sesame seed. The first bite of the pizza already told me everything i should know, i ordered the wrong pizza! All right, i understand that you can’t really be expecting huge chunks of the teriyaki chicken, even though i accepted the small bits of chicken, but where’s the taste? There’s not much of a flavor in the chicken, and this is supposed to be a teriyaki chicken pizza.
Canadian pizzas are all thin-sliced, personally i would prefer my pizza to be those thicker kinds rather than the thin ones. But there are places which served excellent thin slices, and the same goes for thick slices, so it largely depends on the place where you get your pizza.
Hawaiian Classic (Reg 10″) Turkey ham, turkey bacon, diced pineapples, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and edam cheese. The Hawaiian classic fared slightly better, although not much to redeem Canadian Pizza. I supposed the turkey ham is cut rather generously, but other than that, not much really.
This shows exactly the effects of not having enough cheese. If the pizza is cheesy enough, then when you pull the scene will be a total different one. Yes cheese can be expensive and its understandable that Canadian needs to cut cost given the pizzas are 1-for-1. But i feel pizza without enough cheese is not pizza. Period.
Total bill is $23.90 for 2 reg 10″ pizza. To say that i am utterly disappointed with the quality of Canadian pizza is not an understatement. And i will probably not call 6241 0241 again. Based on my previous experience with Sarpino’s, i think they fared better than Canadian, but i’ll have to try again to find out.
Pizza hut is of course the better one among the three, but obviously more expensive. But one common problem among the three pizza deliveries, is that they often does not provides enough cheese sachet. For this order, they only provided me with one cheese sachet, and i remember my previous encounter with Sarpino’s, they didn’t even give me any cheese sachet!
I have to admit, on my part i forgot to remind them to give me more cheese sachet. But really, how much can a pack of cheese sachet cost? Does it happens to you too, or i happened to be unfortunate on those severals occasions i called for pizza?
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Just opened at basement of Plaza Singapura on August 1st. This is the place to go for quick takeaway meals. They offer curry rice and curry udon sets where you can choose to have the curry mild or spicy. They also sell bento set which includes potato salad, vegetable sald, rice, fukujinzuke (japanese pickles) and takuan (japanese radish).
Mum bought 2 sets for dinner last night. Seafood Croquette Curry Udon Set ($5.90) and Ebi Unagi Bento Set ($8.90).
We had the sets an hour later when we reached home. The food was not too cold for consumption yet. It was still a little warm when we ate the food.
Mum's first verdict after tasting the rice in her bento set "Not nice!" The rice didn't have the usual stickiness of japanese rice and was tasteless. Not even taste of the usual rice fragrant. But the ebi and unagi was still acceptable. Though we felt that the unagi was a tad too small. The salads that came with the bento set was not bad. Nothing to wow about.
The Curry Udon was still alright for me. I don't recall tasting any japanese curry recently and have forgotten how it should taste like. But this one has quite a strong smell which I don't really enjoy. The seafood croquette was quite sad. There was only a small piece of prawn in it. I remembered the lady told me its a mixed of seafood. But I couldn't taste any.
Overall I feel that the food was not up to standard. Perhaps they're still new in such creations. Hope they'll improve as they gain more experience. Will probably give it another try few months later.
Sage the restaurant, recently relocated to one of Mohamed Sultan’s historical conservation shophouse, just across the street from their previous place at a rather obscure location on the second front of Robertson Walk. Sage is one of the widely hype restaurant in our local food scene who has won acclaims from many foodies.
Sage the restaurant has just started their set lunch menu which offers 3 course at $38 , and 4 course meal at $45 . Given that the main course for their dinner menu ranges from 30s to the 40s individually, i’ll say that the set lunch do seems rather value. And note that lunch is only served from Wednesday to Friday.
The husband and wife combination works very well for Sage, with Chef-owner Jusman So helming the kitchen while his friendly wife, Kimberly taking charge of the service aspect. Chef Jusman So also recently won the choice title of rising chef of the year in the World Gourmet Summit (WGS).
The interior of the newly furnished restaurant speaks contemporary chic. With Black and grey being theme colour, the white simplistic tables strikes out bringing the simple-yet-elegant feel of the place. There is just a single picture frame to adorn the black wall, with the back of the room leading to the open kitchen
The open kitchen concept provides a insight of the chefs hard at work to provide a satisfactory meal for us. I do believe that having an open kitchen concept is a rather important aspect of a restaurant, for one, diners can have a look at the chefs at work, and also by doing an open concept, it shows that the restaurant has nothing to hide, and it does build a bridge linking the diners stomach and the chefs heart for their effort.
I applaused the fact that Sage chose to retain its seating capacity at 38, when they can actually have no problem expanding the place and filling it up every night. That for me, is a true sign of Sage’s intention, not to compromise the standards of the food quality with any increase in capacity.
Complimentary bread
The complimentary bread was very good, soft and fluffy, with the cheese spread that comes along together, i’ll have asked for second helpings if not for the fact that we still have a four course meal ($38 ) to finish.
Smoked Salmon ($12)
Scottish smoked salmon loin on cucumber relish with avruga caviar. Cauliflower couscous salad and dill infused leek & potato vichyssoise. The smoked salmon loin was tasty although i found it to be slightly salty. I didn't like the cauliflower couscous salad as i felt that its rather heavy for a salad but my friend thought that it was all right.
The avruga caviar, pearlescent black in colour, is a more sustainable alternative to its more expensive relative, Beluga caviar, completes the salmon loin.
Crab & tomato ($12)
Marinated crab salad topped with oven dried tomatoes and avocado mousseline, taggiasca olive tapenade and vine ripe tomato gazpacho. The oven dried tomatoes and the vine ripe tomato gazpacho, enhances the flavor of the crab meat. I couldn't quite make out the taggiasca olive tapenade, but it tastes nice to me. Same goes for the avocado mousseline, but then again i am not really a fan of avocado.
Overall a simple dish (maybe not that simple in cooking it) that packs a lot of different flavors into one. The cooking method do seems to be the trademark of Chef Jusman who use many different type of ingredients to blend into one.
Mushrooms soup ($12)
Cappuccino of wild mushrooms. My friend and i had no words to describe the soup after having a spoonful. The plain-looking mushroom soup has a make-over and the interpretation comes in the form of a cappuccino, not quite what you will picture for a soup.
Nevertheless, the mushrooms soup was nothing short of excellence. Like what i mentioned before, mushrooms are always a tricky task, cook it for too long and the mushroom becomes over-cooked, while finishing it too early the soup will fail to absorb the essence of the mushrooms.
The mushroom soup arrived in a cup of cappuccino, with foamy top layer, and creamy base. Some common mushroom soups might still have bits of mushrooms in it, but not this one. The wild mushrooms seem to blend together naturally, and every mouthful just tasted so flavorsome.
Personally i do not like mushroom soup, but the fact that one spoonful of soup leaded to the other, with me finishing the whole soup tells you how good the soup is. There are definitely better mushroom soups out there, but for now, this is the best mushroom soup i had before.
French Onion soup ($12)
Perhaps the mushroom soup was too good, that we actually find the French onion soup to be quite normal in contrast. Nonetheless, the soup was still very rich, with its strong onion taste.
Traditional French onion soup with crouton and melted gruyere cheese. Crouton is the small piece of sauteed bread that acted as a companion to the soup. However we did not really taste the melted gruyere cheese because the bread became rather soggy in a short while.
Cod ($42, with $15 supplement applies to set menu)
Roasted fillet of cod topped with prawn and cognac butter on salt cod brandade and bouillabaisse sauce. The Cod was definitely the star of the show. Both my friend and i arrived at the conclusion that the cod was class. The roasted fillet was wonderfully balanced, there were hints of the roasted element, but it did not shows on the fillet.
If the end product of the Cod was the magic produced, then the prawn and cognac butter was certainly the wand that produce the magic. The cod on its own did not warrant a perfect score yet, but wait until you tasted the cod together with the prawn and cognac butter layer, that was pure magic.
The mashed potato beneath the cod also tasted well together with the bouillabaisse sauce. The sauce which was made from a traditional provencal fish stew has a fulsome flavor, and when you have a piece of the roasted cod with the prawn and cognac butter on top, and dipped with the bouillabaisse sauce, there was nothing quite like to describe the taste.
Duck Confit ($28, with $10 supplement applies to set menu)
Duck leg confit on a savoy cabbage parcel stuffed with field mushroom, leek and red onion in pommery mustard sauce. We chose duck confit because it's always a dish that is difficult to handle, and can test the skills of the chef. The mark of a good duck confit obviously lies in the meat, if the duck is cooked for too long, the meat will become soggy and soft, while under-cook will make it becomes too tight and hard.
Poking a fork into the duck leg confit, we were glad to find that the duck meat remains firm while retaining its perfectly crispy skin. With the price tag, this was one expensive duck leg, which you otherwise could have a whole duck elsewhere, but made no mistake, the duck leg confit was certainly worth the money.
The pommery mustard sauce did come across to us as rather weird initially, but mixing it with the firm duck meat brought out the brilliance of it.
My friend enjoyed the Pernankan-inspired cabbage parcel stuffed with field mushroom, leek and red onion, but it did not works for me. I felt that the cabbage parcel was too salty for my liking, and the leek and red onion combination did not really suit my tastebud.
Strawberry Panna Cotta ($12)
Vanilla panna cotta topped with strawberry jelly and chocolate ganache, compote of strawberries and crunchy nougat. The sweet vanilla panna cotta and chocolate ganache striked a good balance with the slightly sourish strawberry.The panna cotta itself was quite thick and rich with the fragrant vanilla taste.
The serving size was quite adequate, and the strawberry panna cotta was quite good, until i try the Oreo Semifreddo, which is in a different league all together.
Oreo Semifreddo ($12)
Oreo cookie semifreddo with frozen raspberry mousse and soft coffee scented meringue. This, is the first time i am having a semifreddo, and i am already regretting why have i not try this earlier. The Oreo semifreddo was made up of three different compositions, with the top layer being the soft coffee scented meringue, the middle layer the oreo cookie semifreddo, and the base the frozen raspberry mousse.
The oreo semifreddo really, was playing with our scents, the soft coffee meringue was more to the bitter side, while the oreo cookie ice cream added the sweet touch, and the frozen raspberry mousse completed with a chilly sourish zang. Trying the three different parts separately yielded nothing special, but it was when you united the three layers together then you realised what the oreo semifreddo was about.
Total bill is a princely $135 for 2 person, and this is lunch, not dinner. This ought to be the most expensive lunch i ever had, but all the same, the best lunch. The amount is madness really, two set lunches at $45 each, we topped up $10 for the duck confit, $15 for the cod, and factor in the 17% additional charges, do your sums!
The way that Chef Jusman uses a combination of many different ingredients in one dish is one thing, but to blend all the tastes is another matter all together. There are of course positive and negative things for everything, and there is no exception here too. The slightly negative aspect will be every dish is too flavorsome and it really takes time to absorb and digest what you eat. However you can choose to look at that from a positive angle too.
One thing i ought to mention as well, before this visit to Sage i made a few attempts to go actually but on those few occasions i were held up in the very last minute and couldn’t make it. Each time i called up Sage to make another new reservation, and each time Kimberly picked up the phone and answer my every inquiry politely and patiently. There was never a time where i felt that she was frustrated by this guy here calling up a few times to keep on postponing the reservation. For that i applause her for her sincere altitude, which can be genuinely felt across the phone.
I rave about Sage the restaurant, I praise the way Chef Jusman uses his ingredients and play with his food. I appreciate the manner which Kimberly treats her customers, genuine, friendly yet professional which makes you totally free at home. Not to mention the other serving staff at Sage which i find are quite knowledgeable and know when’s the right time to approach us and when not to disturb us. The combination of all the factors make Sage the restaurant a strong contender to ladyironchef’s best restaurant 2008.
I do believe that there are certainly better restaurants out there, Les Amis, Saint Pierre, Iggy just to name a few, are all stronghold in their own rights, but since i have not try the other restaurants, i can only comment on what i have tried. And for the restaurants which i have been to, i say Sage is one of the best, until i experience a better one then, Sage the restaurant it is!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Competition is very tough in the Food & Beverage industry. Comparison is thus inevitable among the different competitors. In the cut-throat environment, we have to give credits to entrepreneurs who dare to be different, who dare to venture out, experiment with different food and put their creativity to use.
And this can only be good news to consumers like you and me, with competition will there then be improvements and innovations, and this can only mean there will be more variety and choices for us to choose from. Applause to the food entrepreneurs who make all these happen, and to do that, we need to support them by trying their food.
P.Osh is the brainchild between the two owners, Paul and Josh who both have a passion for brownies and cookies. Well they find most of the brownies to be fairly similar, and boring. Then through experimental, they came up with their own version of how a good brownie should be like, and hence the born of P.Osh.
P.Osh is located at the shopping belt of Dhoby Ghaut Mrt, where it is ideal in serving the shopping and the working crowd. It is the name P.Osh which stands out though. Remembering i seen the name before, i follow the trait to the little outlet and this leads to the brownie discovery!
The owners explained that there are currently about 11 types of brownies available, and you can get 5 in a box for $13, and 10 mini ones for $20. Like i said, comparison is inevitable in this line, and having tried brownies from the Brownie Factory recently, it’s no surprise really that i’ll compare both to give a big picture.
The folks at P.Osh says that each brownie tastes different, smells different, looks different, and feels different. Excitingly unique, and full of character. Some bake brownies, we give brownies life. Find a brownie that is so you, then fall in love with it. Some say, ‘you are what you eat’. We say, ‘you eat what you are’
Triple Earle C. ($3) “He has switched lines many times, and they simply love him wherever he goes. Jack of all trades, yet master of all. No surprise, he is everybody’s favourite dude”
The Triple Earle C. like the name implies, is make up of three different type of chocolates, namely dark, milk and white chocolate. However, it is not as sweet as the the name suggests, compare with the other few, i certainly don’t find the triple chocolate sweet, i guess the dark chocolate helps to balance the sweetness, which is quite similar to the triple choc which i had at Brownie Factory.
Mint E. Choc ($3.30) Mint mousse and dark chocolate constitutes the Mint E. Choc brownie. I like the refreshing mint mousse which coupled with the dark chocolate makes a good balance between the mint and chocolate taste.
The Mint E. Choc brownie is the newest creation of P.Osh, so if you brought their brownie before, it is likely you haven’t seen this one unless you been there recently.
Coff E. Choc ($2.90) “He always starts the day early and keeps it intense throughout. Driven and dashing, he never fails to keep everyone on the edge of their seats”
The coffee caramel brownie or Coff E. Choc is also one of the favourites at P.Osh. The strong hint of caramel is evident, but there isn’t much coffee taste. I guess it’s good news to non-coffee lovers like me, but a disaster if you would want the best of both worlds, your coffee and caramel.
Marsh E. Mellow ($2.80) “With such a colourful character, no one thought he would be so soft inside. Sensitive to everyone in need, he will put a smile on your face.”
Now, the Marsh E. Mellow is what we are looking for, this without a doubt, is my favourite brownie among the 5. The marsh mellow is slightly toasted to bring out the sweet flavor. And the staff actually designed this brownie on the spot, so you need to wait a while as they helped to make it pretty.
Wal Nutt B. ($3) “To some, he opens up and cracks nutty jokes. To others, it is hard to get past the wall to really know him. He likes to think those are the little light and dark sides he chooses to show them.”
This is actually the same as the Triple Earle C just that Wal Nutt B is triple chocolate on walnut. I preferred the triple earle c maybe because i don’t really fancy walnut. But i have to admit the walnut does help to reduce the sweetness level, that is if you don’t want your brownie to be that sweet.
Total bill for a box of 5 brownie is $13 with choice from 11 brownie selections. The brownies at P.Osh is creative and pretty to look at, but i have to point out one fact, the base of all the brownie here are actually the same, with the difference mainly in the toppings.
Whereas for Brownie Factory, the brownies there have brownie bases which differs in taste and looks with some being more chewy, some being softer and harder. But for the brownies at P.Osh, all of the brownie bases are the same, and i become a little sick after i try all the brownies, because all of the bases taste the same except for the exceptions of the toppings above.
The owners explained that their competitors actually add different fillings into the base, but for P.Osh they decided not to because they felt that by using toppings they will be able to match tastes which would not go well if infused. And infused tastes would go almost as well if done as a topping. And most importantly, the looks of the brownies are much better in terms of colour and design.
I do agree appearance wise, the brownies at P.Osh certainly are up a notch with their bright and vibrant colours as toppings. But i guess its really up to the individual, personally i’ll prefer to have more variety in the base, but if you are all right with it, the pretty brownies here certainly makes a good box of gift.
I’ll like to once again applause all the food entrepreneurs out there, for you all make our world of food more interesting. And to the folks at P.Osh, continue your brownie revolution!
Buy flowers as gift? That is so passe. A box of chocolate as present? That is so last season. Buy a box of brownies, from P.Osh!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
SLII Muffin is quite prominent in the Marina Square food loft, since its the only shop that looks rather empty and selling muffin in a food court certainly draws attention. Curiosity kills the cat, and i can’t help myself in buying a muffin and tart.
Prices are reasonable, with $1.50 being the highest. There’s the promotion of buy 5 get 1 free, however i wasn’t feeling very adventurous that day, and my friend ain’t a fan of muffin and tart, so there’s no way i can finish all 6.
There are quite many variety to choose from, and i find myself looking at strawberry, raisin, lemon, cranberry, even black sesame muffin! In the end LIC decided to go for the safe choice, chocolate chip muffin and chocolate cheese tart.
Chocolate Cheese tart ($1.50) I didn’t make a wrong choice on the chocolate cheese tart. The fillings were cheesy and coupled with chocolate, wins the thumbs up from me. The tart is cris, and not those soft type, the chocolate swirl does makes a pretty scene. And at $1.50 for quite a big tart, i think its rather worth the price.
Chocolate chip muffin ($1.20) The chocolate chips on the muffins are big and chocolaty, and the muffin body is soft and fluffy. Always a safe option if you are not feeling too adventurous. While not exactly a fan of muffins, i thought this one is rather all right, given i did not set high hopes since this is found in a food court.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
I always dislike eating at food courts. Reason is very simple, the food is not as nice as the hawker centre, selling the same type of food but the price maybe twice as higher. You can’t compare it with cafe neither. So food court are like nowhere there, just hanging in between.
Its no wonder that you don’t see me eating at food courts, even really no choice, i also won’t eat there. I rather go our local hawker centre for my all time favourite char kuay teow, the awesome hokkien mee, or fried oyster ommelette, and maybe a plate of wanton mee?
Bacon claypot rice ($4.50) You must be wondering since i dislike food court, why do i even bother posting on them. Well this is the first time i ever see claypot rice using bacon instead of chicken. So i guess its more of a novelty. Anyway, they also have ham, seafood claypot and a few others variety. But sad to say, the claypot doesn’t taste nice at all, i guess that vindicate what i had mention earlier.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
PK Xpress fish & chips. This store is reputed for their Aussie Fish & chips, and selling at $6 per set in a “hawker centre environment” they really got quite a lot to live up to.
Aussie Fish & Chips ($6) The aussie fish & chips certainly does not fail to disappoint. Cripsy on the outside, fluffy and soft on the inside. Plus the serving is quite huge. Another thing worth mentioning is the accompanying salad, there’s nothing special about the greens, the slices of mango mixed with the greens are really sweet!
I don’t like the fries though, its just like normal potato fried and served. Anyway we got 2 portions of it and cannot finish because we had other food as well.
Banana Walnut cake ($2.50) Besides having fish and chips, the store also serve some awesome home-made desserts and cakes. The banana cake may looks quite small at $2.50, but my friend finish it in a mouth-full!
Chocolate Cake ($2.80) The home-made chocolate cake is really a steal with such a large slice at $2.80. After eating so much food, we really struggle to finish the cake. The chocolate cake can be better if there’s more layer of thin chocolate in between the cake as i find it a tad on the dry side.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
It's been long since I stepped into Marche. Sad that the 2 other outlets are no longer in business and this one at Vivo gets packed almost everytime I was there. Good thing we were there on a Monday and was still early for dinner crowd. Managed to get in without queuing.
The place was smaller than we expected, and it looks very cramp with all the decorations and furnishing inside. But it does gives the traditional market-like feel but yet still homely.
Food we ordered...
SweetBread - aka Filled Crossed Bun at $1.50
This is something which I never thought of buying while at Marche in the past. But thanks to bf, now I'll make sure I buy one whenever I'm there. I like the fluffy texture of the bun and the skin (outer layer) of the bun has a sweet taste to it. Makes the bun very enjoyable to eat. But the fillings is very little, filled only 1/8 of the bun. But still I won't mind paying $1.50 for it. Of cos, if they stuff in my fillings, it'll make it just perfect.
Vegetables small plate at $4.90
I loveee mushrooms. And this "buffet" style vegetables stall has great mushrooms. It's tasty and fragrant. We mixed the mushrooms with baby potatoes. Quite nice too. Will want to try the rest of the vegetables the next time.
Crepe Mushroom at $10.90
This one is my most most favorite! Thin crepe freshly made upon order. The fillings is generous and the mixed of vegetables, cheese, sauce and mushrooms is simply delicious! Just thinking of it now makes me drool for more!
*SLURPS!*
Rating given:
Chanced upon this modernly decorated shop while browsing around Marina Square over the weekend. The concept is somewhat similar to inQbox which has been around for awhile already. But Cactus Farm gives me a better impressions. The products on display are very neatly arranged and the entire shop gives a comfortable feel for their customers. The lighting of the shop plays quite an important part too.
The products on display are mostly from indie designers from Singapore. I noticed they do have products imported from overseas. There's this one that caught our attention at the entrance. It's a pair of square slippers. Looks quite interesting. Will sure to draw attention when worn around town. It cost about $40 if I didn't remember wrongly.
A quick check at their website and the rental is only from $8/day. Sounds pretty cheap, but that's only if your products are attractive and good to draw buyers.
If you're an indie designer, you might want to go check out Cactus Farm and look for their G.O.D or B.A.D! They also has got a M.A.D too! Interesting designations for the team. :)
Rating given:
The cravings for dim sum meant that i am always on the lookout for places be it restaurants or eateries which can answer to my stomach’s calling. Victor’s Kitchen has been around for quite a while now, and has been labeled with the “good dim sum at affordable price” tag.
Located at Sunshine Plaza off the corner at Bencoolen street, it is a no-frills, grab-your-seats kind of place. Victor’s is divided into two seating area, with both holding a maximum of maybe fifteen people each. Seats are limited, you must be prepared to queue up for them, and squeeze in the small seating area. Well, more like a small eatery than a cafe or restaurant kind of environment.
Chicken & Sausage in Glutinous rice ($4)
I always like glutinous rice, dim sum style. Opening the leave that wrapped the rice, the aroma of the glutinous rice flowed out, and it was just so good. The chicken was tender and the chinese sausage palatable, the fragrant and soft rice, all the combinations made the glutinous rice a praiseworthy dish.
Tasty Queen size Siew Mai ($3)
You don’t say you eat dim sum if you did not order siew mai and har gau. Nicknamed the queen size siew mai, its actually the normal size i guess that’s why they didn’t named it as King size siew mai instead.
The pork meat in the siew mai is very lean, not those fatty type. The portion of prawn to pork is actually very low, so not much of prawn taste, its the more porky kind.
Victor’s King prawn dumpling ($3.80)
Prawn dumpling or har gau, another mainstay in the dim sum menu. The skin of the Victor’s King prawn dumpling is rather thin, and the prawns inside looked like its going to burst out anytime. The fresh prawns go easy on the palates and always welcome with second helpings.
Carrot cake with XO sauce ($3.80)
I was rather amazed when i saw the Carrot cake with XO sauce served. For one i wasn’t expecting the carrot cake to be literally soaked in xo sauce, i thought it will be something like the one i had at Peach Garden, or Yan Ting, but i guess again, there isn’t any “fried” or “pan-seared” attached with the name here.
The name’s scallop, sausage carrot cake with xo sauce, but i hardly had any hint of the presence of scallop and sausage in it, and i think i still preferred my carrot cake to be fried than soup. Nonetheless, the amount of XO sauce given was rather generous, and i guess its more of a personal issue, some might just fancy this over the normal fried carrot cake.
Oyster sauce Char Siew Bun ($2.80)
I preferred my char siew bun to be those restaurants-type where there is three parts one. There’s no trace of oyster sauce in the char siew bun, or maybe i happened to miss the flavor.
Nevertheless, the char siew bun is still quite soft and fluffy, the juicy char siew captured within is also enjoyable. Not the best char siew bun i had, but it will suffice.
Milky Custard Bun ($2.80)
I am getting warm up to Custard bun nowadays since i used to only flavor char siew bun when i had dim sum. You know a good custard bun when you see one, hot milky custard oozing out of the bun, tempting you with both visual and taste.
However, the case is not to be with Victor’s Milky custard bun. Touted as their signature dish, i was totally disappointed with the one i had here. Maybe the ones at Victor’s don’t ooze out, but for the custard buns to come cold is another complete matter all together.
Having heard many wonderful things about their signature custard bun, i must said i was shocked by the revelation in the quality of the buns. Maybe its a case of a bad hair day, but i’ll give it a chance and re-visit to try it again the next time.
Spare Ribs rice ($3)
I’m not even sure if i want to elaborate on the spare ribs rice. First thing first, the rice is hard, too hard. I do understand that ribs being ribs do not have much meat, but this one, the pork ribs were not even tasteful. A waste of 3 bucks, kindly ignore this if you ever go to Victor’s.
Phoenix Porridge ($3.50)
The century egg porridge or pi dan chow is transform in the name of Phoenix porridge. However the majestic name did itself no favors with a run of the mill watery porridge. There are bits of century egg and chicken chunks, but i don’t see the point in paying $3.50 for an average small bowl porridge.
Deep fried spring roll ($3)
The deep fried spring roll is pretty decent, with the usual mix of turnips inside. The vinger dip was a commendable mention, with the slightly sourish sauce going well together with the deep fried stuff. The spring roll was crispy and you could hear the “crisp” sound with every bite you took.
Char siew cheong fun ($3)
The trails of a good char siew cheong fun are smooth and silky skin, which comes with juicy char siew. However the skin of the cheong fun or rice roll is rather thick, i’ll prefer it to be slightly thinner. The char siew within the cheong fun is still acceptable.
King prawn cheong fun ($3.50)
I think we over ordered, which results in having another one, the King prawn cheong fun. I presumed the prawns are the same as the ones in the har gau, and they are fresh and good, pity the skin of the cheong fun though.
Total Bill is $51.1 for 3 person. Victor’s kitchen is definitely affordable and rather cheap with its array of dim sum served. The maths work out to be around less than a dollar per piece for most of the items, which can be a good place for your dim sum fix if you want something cheap and not bad.
Victor’s Kitchen is a case of hits and misses. However the misses hit me more because i had high expectations of the place since there are much rave about the dim sum here. With the silky custard bun as the biggest upset in this visit, it is likely i will visit the place again in the future, to prove whether its a fluke or one-off thing.
The place is small, and they don’t take any reservations, do go at earlier timings or be prepared to queue a while for the seats. Its also advisable to go in small groups since there aren’t much space and table to accommodate a large crowd.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
The 2 for 1 tag line is recognized with Canadian Pizza, and their easy-to-remember hotline 6241 0241 is another reason which has make Canadian Pizza a widely popular choice for pizza delivery services.
With mainstream competitors Pizza Hut which besides the delivery services has their own restaurants, and Sarpino’s which offer the same gimmick by having the 1-for-1 promotion, and the new Rite pizza, it can only mean good things for consumers who want a quick one on their pizzas.
Having tried Canadian Pizza a couple of times before, i thought that for the prices their pizzas are actually not bad, so on this occasion i decided on having Canadian Pizza instead of Sarpino’s as the previous time i have tried them already.
Teriyaki Chicken (Reg 10”)
Teriyaki chicken, mushrooms, sweet corn, capsium, roasted sesame seed. The first bite of the pizza already told me everything i should know, i ordered the wrong pizza! All right, i understand that you can’t really be expecting huge chunks of the teriyaki chicken, even though i accepted the small bits of chicken, but where’s the taste? There’s not much of a flavor in the chicken, and this is supposed to be a teriyaki chicken pizza.
Canadian pizzas are all thin-sliced, personally i would prefer my pizza to be those thicker kinds rather than the thin ones. But there are places which served excellent thin slices, and the same goes for thick slices, so it largely depends on the place where you get your pizza.
Hawaiian Classic (Reg 10″)
Turkey ham, turkey bacon, diced pineapples, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and edam cheese. The Hawaiian classic fared slightly better, although not much to redeem Canadian Pizza. I supposed the turkey ham is cut rather generously, but other than that, not much really.
This shows exactly the effects of not having enough cheese. If the pizza is cheesy enough, then when you pull the scene will be a total different one. Yes cheese can be expensive and its understandable that Canadian needs to cut cost given the pizzas are 1-for-1. But i feel pizza without enough cheese is not pizza. Period.
Total bill is $23.90 for 2 reg 10″ pizza. To say that i am utterly disappointed with the quality of Canadian pizza is not an understatement. And i will probably not call 6241 0241 again. Based on my previous experience with Sarpino’s, i think they fared better than Canadian, but i’ll have to try again to find out.
Pizza hut is of course the better one among the three, but obviously more expensive. But one common problem among the three pizza deliveries, is that they often does not provides enough cheese sachet. For this order, they only provided me with one cheese sachet, and i remember my previous encounter with Sarpino’s, they didn’t even give me any cheese sachet!
I have to admit, on my part i forgot to remind them to give me more cheese sachet. But really, how much can a pack of cheese sachet cost? Does it happens to you too, or i happened to be unfortunate on those severals occasions i called for pizza?
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
"Curry so Good"
Just opened at basement of Plaza Singapura on August 1st. This is the place to go for quick takeaway meals. They offer curry rice and curry udon sets where you can choose to have the curry mild or spicy. They also sell bento set which includes potato salad, vegetable sald, rice, fukujinzuke (japanese pickles) and takuan (japanese radish).
Mum bought 2 sets for dinner last night. Seafood Croquette Curry Udon Set ($5.90) and Ebi Unagi Bento Set ($8.90).
We had the sets an hour later when we reached home. The food was not too cold for consumption yet. It was still a little warm when we ate the food.
Mum's first verdict after tasting the rice in her bento set "Not nice!" The rice didn't have the usual stickiness of japanese rice and was tasteless. Not even taste of the usual rice fragrant. But the ebi and unagi was still acceptable. Though we felt that the unagi was a tad too small. The salads that came with the bento set was not bad. Nothing to wow about.
The Curry Udon was still alright for me. I don't recall tasting any japanese curry recently and have forgotten how it should taste like. But this one has quite a strong smell which I don't really enjoy. The seafood croquette was quite sad. There was only a small piece of prawn in it. I remembered the lady told me its a mixed of seafood. But I couldn't taste any.
Overall I feel that the food was not up to standard. Perhaps they're still new in such creations. Hope they'll improve as they gain more experience. Will probably give it another try few months later.
Rating given:
Sage the restaurant, recently relocated to one of Mohamed Sultan’s historical conservation shophouse, just across the street from their previous place at a rather obscure location on the second front of Robertson Walk. Sage is one of the widely hype restaurant in our local food scene who has won acclaims from many foodies.
Sage the restaurant has just started their set lunch menu which offers 3 course at $38 , and 4 course meal at $45 . Given that the main course for their dinner menu ranges from 30s to the 40s individually, i’ll say that the set lunch do seems rather value. And note that lunch is only served from Wednesday to Friday.
The husband and wife combination works very well for Sage, with Chef-owner Jusman So helming the kitchen while his friendly wife, Kimberly taking charge of the service aspect. Chef Jusman So also recently won the choice title of rising chef of the year in the World Gourmet Summit (WGS).
The interior of the newly furnished restaurant speaks contemporary chic. With Black and grey being theme colour, the white simplistic tables strikes out bringing the simple-yet-elegant feel of the place. There is just a single picture frame to adorn the black wall, with the back of the room leading to the open kitchen
The open kitchen concept provides a insight of the chefs hard at work to provide a satisfactory meal for us. I do believe that having an open kitchen concept is a rather important aspect of a restaurant, for one, diners can have a look at the chefs at work, and also by doing an open concept, it shows that the restaurant has nothing to hide, and it does build a bridge linking the diners stomach and the chefs heart for their effort.
I applaused the fact that Sage chose to retain its seating capacity at 38, when they can actually have no problem expanding the place and filling it up every night. That for me, is a true sign of Sage’s intention, not to compromise the standards of the food quality with any increase in capacity.
Complimentary bread
The complimentary bread was very good, soft and fluffy, with the cheese spread that comes along together, i’ll have asked for second helpings if not for the fact that we still have a four course meal ($38 ) to finish.
Smoked Salmon ($12)
Scottish smoked salmon loin on cucumber relish with avruga caviar. Cauliflower couscous salad and dill infused leek & potato vichyssoise. The smoked salmon loin was tasty although i found it to be slightly salty. I didn't like the cauliflower couscous salad as i felt that its rather heavy for a salad but my friend thought that it was all right.
The avruga caviar, pearlescent black in colour, is a more sustainable alternative to its more expensive relative, Beluga caviar, completes the salmon loin.
Crab & tomato ($12)
Marinated crab salad topped with oven dried tomatoes and avocado mousseline, taggiasca olive tapenade and vine ripe tomato gazpacho. The oven dried tomatoes and the vine ripe tomato gazpacho, enhances the flavor of the crab meat. I couldn't quite make out the taggiasca olive tapenade, but it tastes nice to me. Same goes for the avocado mousseline, but then again i am not really a fan of avocado.
Overall a simple dish (maybe not that simple in cooking it) that packs a lot of different flavors into one. The cooking method do seems to be the trademark of Chef Jusman who use many different type of ingredients to blend into one.
Mushrooms soup ($12)
Cappuccino of wild mushrooms. My friend and i had no words to describe the soup after having a spoonful. The plain-looking mushroom soup has a make-over and the interpretation comes in the form of a cappuccino, not quite what you will picture for a soup.
Nevertheless, the mushrooms soup was nothing short of excellence. Like what i mentioned before, mushrooms are always a tricky task, cook it for too long and the mushroom becomes over-cooked, while finishing it too early the soup will fail to absorb the essence of the mushrooms.
The mushroom soup arrived in a cup of cappuccino, with foamy top layer, and creamy base. Some common mushroom soups might still have bits of mushrooms in it, but not this one. The wild mushrooms seem to blend together naturally, and every mouthful just tasted so flavorsome.
Personally i do not like mushroom soup, but the fact that one spoonful of soup leaded to the other, with me finishing the whole soup tells you how good the soup is. There are definitely better mushroom soups out there, but for now, this is the best mushroom soup i had before.
French Onion soup ($12)
Perhaps the mushroom soup was too good, that we actually find the French onion soup to be quite normal in contrast. Nonetheless, the soup was still very rich, with its strong onion taste.
Traditional French onion soup with crouton and melted gruyere cheese. Crouton is the small piece of sauteed bread that acted as a companion to the soup. However we did not really taste the melted gruyere cheese because the bread became rather soggy in a short while.
Cod ($42, with $15 supplement applies to set menu)
Roasted fillet of cod topped with prawn and cognac butter on salt cod brandade and bouillabaisse sauce. The Cod was definitely the star of the show. Both my friend and i arrived at the conclusion that the cod was class. The roasted fillet was wonderfully balanced, there were hints of the roasted element, but it did not shows on the fillet.
If the end product of the Cod was the magic produced, then the prawn and cognac butter was certainly the wand that produce the magic. The cod on its own did not warrant a perfect score yet, but wait until you tasted the cod together with the prawn and cognac butter layer, that was pure magic.
The mashed potato beneath the cod also tasted well together with the bouillabaisse sauce. The sauce which was made from a traditional provencal fish stew has a fulsome flavor, and when you have a piece of the roasted cod with the prawn and cognac butter on top, and dipped with the bouillabaisse sauce, there was nothing quite like to describe the taste.
Duck Confit ($28, with $10 supplement applies to set menu)
Duck leg confit on a savoy cabbage parcel stuffed with field mushroom, leek and red onion in pommery mustard sauce. We chose duck confit because it's always a dish that is difficult to handle, and can test the skills of the chef. The mark of a good duck confit obviously lies in the meat, if the duck is cooked for too long, the meat will become soggy and soft, while under-cook will make it becomes too tight and hard.
Poking a fork into the duck leg confit, we were glad to find that the duck meat remains firm while retaining its perfectly crispy skin. With the price tag, this was one expensive duck leg, which you otherwise could have a whole duck elsewhere, but made no mistake, the duck leg confit was certainly worth the money.
The pommery mustard sauce did come across to us as rather weird initially, but mixing it with the firm duck meat brought out the brilliance of it.
My friend enjoyed the Pernankan-inspired cabbage parcel stuffed with field mushroom, leek and red onion, but it did not works for me. I felt that the cabbage parcel was too salty for my liking, and the leek and red onion combination did not really suit my tastebud.
Strawberry Panna Cotta ($12)
Vanilla panna cotta topped with strawberry jelly and chocolate ganache, compote of strawberries and crunchy nougat. The sweet vanilla panna cotta and chocolate ganache striked a good balance with the slightly sourish strawberry.The panna cotta itself was quite thick and rich with the fragrant vanilla taste.
The serving size was quite adequate, and the strawberry panna cotta was quite good, until i try the Oreo Semifreddo, which is in a different league all together.
Oreo Semifreddo ($12)
Oreo cookie semifreddo with frozen raspberry mousse and soft coffee scented meringue. This, is the first time i am having a semifreddo, and i am already regretting why have i not try this earlier. The Oreo semifreddo was made up of three different compositions, with the top layer being the soft coffee scented meringue, the middle layer the oreo cookie semifreddo, and the base the frozen raspberry mousse.
The oreo semifreddo really, was playing with our scents, the soft coffee meringue was more to the bitter side, while the oreo cookie ice cream added the sweet touch, and the frozen raspberry mousse completed with a chilly sourish zang. Trying the three different parts separately yielded nothing special, but it was when you united the three layers together then you realised what the oreo semifreddo was about.
Total bill is a princely $135 for 2 person, and this is lunch, not dinner. This ought to be the most expensive lunch i ever had, but all the same, the best lunch. The amount is madness really, two set lunches at $45 each, we topped up $10 for the duck confit, $15 for the cod, and factor in the 17% additional charges, do your sums!
The way that Chef Jusman uses a combination of many different ingredients in one dish is one thing, but to blend all the tastes is another matter all together. There are of course positive and negative things for everything, and there is no exception here too. The slightly negative aspect will be every dish is too flavorsome and it really takes time to absorb and digest what you eat. However you can choose to look at that from a positive angle too.
One thing i ought to mention as well, before this visit to Sage i made a few attempts to go actually but on those few occasions i were held up in the very last minute and couldn’t make it. Each time i called up Sage to make another new reservation, and each time Kimberly picked up the phone and answer my every inquiry politely and patiently. There was never a time where i felt that she was frustrated by this guy here calling up a few times to keep on postponing the reservation. For that i applause her for her sincere altitude, which can be genuinely felt across the phone.
I rave about Sage the restaurant, I praise the way Chef Jusman uses his ingredients and play with his food. I appreciate the manner which Kimberly treats her customers, genuine, friendly yet professional which makes you totally free at home. Not to mention the other serving staff at Sage which i find are quite knowledgeable and know when’s the right time to approach us and when not to disturb us. The combination of all the factors make Sage the restaurant a strong contender to ladyironchef’s best restaurant 2008.
I do believe that there are certainly better restaurants out there, Les Amis, Saint Pierre, Iggy just to name a few, are all stronghold in their own rights, but since i have not try the other restaurants, i can only comment on what i have tried. And for the restaurants which i have been to, i say Sage is one of the best, until i experience a better one then, Sage the restaurant it is!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Competition is very tough in the Food & Beverage industry. Comparison is thus inevitable among the different competitors. In the cut-throat environment, we have to give credits to entrepreneurs who dare to be different, who dare to venture out, experiment with different food and put their creativity to use.
And this can only be good news to consumers like you and me, with competition will there then be improvements and innovations, and this can only mean there will be more variety and choices for us to choose from. Applause to the food entrepreneurs who make all these happen, and to do that, we need to support them by trying their food.
P.Osh is the brainchild between the two owners, Paul and Josh who both have a passion for brownies and cookies. Well they find most of the brownies to be fairly similar, and boring. Then through experimental, they came up with their own version of how a good brownie should be like, and hence the born of P.Osh.
P.Osh is located at the shopping belt of Dhoby Ghaut Mrt, where it is ideal in serving the shopping and the working crowd. It is the name P.Osh which stands out though. Remembering i seen the name before, i follow the trait to the little outlet and this leads to the brownie discovery!
The owners explained that there are currently about 11 types of brownies available, and you can get 5 in a box for $13, and 10 mini ones for $20. Like i said, comparison is inevitable in this line, and having tried brownies from the Brownie Factory recently, it’s no surprise really that i’ll compare both to give a big picture.
The folks at P.Osh says that each brownie tastes different, smells different, looks different, and feels different. Excitingly unique, and full of character. Some bake brownies, we give brownies life. Find a brownie that is so you, then fall in love with it. Some say, ‘you are what you eat’. We say, ‘you eat what you are’
Triple Earle C. ($3)
“He has switched lines many times, and they simply love him wherever he goes. Jack of all trades, yet master of all. No surprise, he is everybody’s favourite dude”
The Triple Earle C. like the name implies, is make up of three different type of chocolates, namely dark, milk and white chocolate. However, it is not as sweet as the the name suggests, compare with the other few, i certainly don’t find the triple chocolate sweet, i guess the dark chocolate helps to balance the sweetness, which is quite similar to the triple choc which i had at Brownie Factory.
Mint E. Choc ($3.30)
Mint mousse and dark chocolate constitutes the Mint E. Choc brownie. I like the refreshing mint mousse which coupled with the dark chocolate makes a good balance between the mint and chocolate taste.
The Mint E. Choc brownie is the newest creation of P.Osh, so if you brought their brownie before, it is likely you haven’t seen this one unless you been there recently.
Coff E. Choc ($2.90)
“He always starts the day early and keeps it intense throughout. Driven and dashing, he never fails to keep everyone on the edge of their seats”
The coffee caramel brownie or Coff E. Choc is also one of the favourites at P.Osh. The strong hint of caramel is evident, but there isn’t much coffee taste. I guess it’s good news to non-coffee lovers like me, but a disaster if you would want the best of both worlds, your coffee and caramel.
Marsh E. Mellow ($2.80)
“With such a colourful character, no one thought he would be so soft inside. Sensitive to everyone in need, he will put a smile on your face.”
Now, the Marsh E. Mellow is what we are looking for, this without a doubt, is my favourite brownie among the 5. The marsh mellow is slightly toasted to bring out the sweet flavor. And the staff actually designed this brownie on the spot, so you need to wait a while as they helped to make it pretty.
Wal Nutt B. ($3)
“To some, he opens up and cracks nutty jokes. To others, it is hard to get past the wall to really know him. He likes to think those are the little light and dark sides he chooses to show them.”
This is actually the same as the Triple Earle C just that Wal Nutt B is triple chocolate on walnut. I preferred the triple earle c maybe because i don’t really fancy walnut. But i have to admit the walnut does help to reduce the sweetness level, that is if you don’t want your brownie to be that sweet.
Total bill for a box of 5 brownie is $13 with choice from 11 brownie selections. The brownies at P.Osh is creative and pretty to look at, but i have to point out one fact, the base of all the brownie here are actually the same, with the difference mainly in the toppings.
Whereas for Brownie Factory, the brownies there have brownie bases which differs in taste and looks with some being more chewy, some being softer and harder. But for the brownies at P.Osh, all of the brownie bases are the same, and i become a little sick after i try all the brownies, because all of the bases taste the same except for the exceptions of the toppings above.
The owners explained that their competitors actually add different fillings into the base, but for P.Osh they decided not to because they felt that by using toppings they will be able to match tastes which would not go well if infused. And infused tastes would go almost as well if done as a topping. And most importantly, the looks of the brownies are much better in terms of colour and design.
I do agree appearance wise, the brownies at P.Osh certainly are up a notch with their bright and vibrant colours as toppings. But i guess its really up to the individual, personally i’ll prefer to have more variety in the base, but if you are all right with it, the pretty brownies here certainly makes a good box of gift.
I’ll like to once again applause all the food entrepreneurs out there, for you all make our world of food more interesting. And to the folks at P.Osh, continue your brownie revolution!
Buy flowers as gift? That is so passe. A box of chocolate as present? That is so last season. Buy a box of brownies, from P.Osh!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
SLII Muffin is quite prominent in the Marina Square food loft, since its the only shop that looks rather empty and selling muffin in a food court certainly draws attention. Curiosity kills the cat, and i can’t help myself in buying a muffin and tart.
Prices are reasonable, with $1.50 being the highest. There’s the promotion of buy 5 get 1 free, however i wasn’t feeling very adventurous that day, and my friend ain’t a fan of muffin and tart, so there’s no way i can finish all 6.
There are quite many variety to choose from, and i find myself looking at strawberry, raisin, lemon, cranberry, even black sesame muffin! In the end LIC decided to go for the safe choice, chocolate chip muffin and chocolate cheese tart.
Chocolate Cheese tart ($1.50)
I didn’t make a wrong choice on the chocolate cheese tart. The fillings were cheesy and coupled with chocolate, wins the thumbs up from me. The tart is cris, and not those soft type, the chocolate swirl does makes a pretty scene. And at $1.50 for quite a big tart, i think its rather worth the price.
Chocolate chip muffin ($1.20)
The chocolate chips on the muffins are big and chocolaty, and the muffin body is soft and fluffy. Always a safe option if you are not feeling too adventurous. While not exactly a fan of muffins, i thought this one is rather all right, given i did not set high hopes since this is found in a food court.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
I always dislike eating at food courts. Reason is very simple, the food is not as nice as the hawker centre, selling the same type of food but the price maybe twice as higher. You can’t compare it with cafe neither. So food court are like nowhere there, just hanging in between.
Its no wonder that you don’t see me eating at food courts, even really no choice, i also won’t eat there. I rather go our local hawker centre for my all time favourite char kuay teow, the awesome hokkien mee, or fried oyster ommelette, and maybe a plate of wanton mee?
Bacon claypot rice ($4.50)
You must be wondering since i dislike food court, why do i even bother posting on them. Well this is the first time i ever see claypot rice using bacon instead of chicken. So i guess its more of a novelty. Anyway, they also have ham, seafood claypot and a few others variety. But sad to say, the claypot doesn’t taste nice at all, i guess that vindicate what i had mention earlier.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
PK Xpress fish & chips. This store is reputed for their Aussie Fish & chips, and selling at $6 per set in a “hawker centre environment” they really got quite a lot to live up to.
Aussie Fish & Chips ($6)
The aussie fish & chips certainly does not fail to disappoint. Cripsy on the outside, fluffy and soft on the inside. Plus the serving is quite huge. Another thing worth mentioning is the accompanying salad, there’s nothing special about the greens, the slices of mango mixed with the greens are really sweet!
I don’t like the fries though, its just like normal potato fried and served. Anyway we got 2 portions of it and cannot finish because we had other food as well.
Banana Walnut cake ($2.50)
Besides having fish and chips, the store also serve some awesome home-made desserts and cakes. The banana cake may looks quite small at $2.50, but my friend finish it in a mouth-full!
Chocolate Cake ($2.80)
The home-made chocolate cake is really a steal with such a large slice at $2.80. After eating so much food, we really struggle to finish the cake. The chocolate cake can be better if there’s more layer of thin chocolate in between the cake as i find it a tad on the dry side.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given: