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I know it seems like I am always scheming and teasing to get you hungry, but trust me: everything that I do is for your own good. Today is Sunday. And as my favorite saying goes: Sunday is made for brunch.
Epicurious Cafe has always been well known for their weekend brunch. It’s almost impossible to get a table without waiting if you reach after twelve noon, and here’s the good news – Epicurious has recently opened a new branch at Railmall. And the best part? The breakfast menu at railmall is exactly the same as the one at Robertson Quay.
Sharon the co-owner of Epicurious Cafe recommended me to go for the Baked Eggs with Toast Soldiers ($6.50 for 1) and I agreed that it’s absolutely divine! Eggs and bacons are the best couple in this world. The latter always makes eggs become so much better!
When the trio of eggs, bacon, and cheese are baked together, there’s only a word to describe everything – magic!
Having tried the Eggs Benedict on my previous visit, I decided to go for the Ratatouille Omelette ($12). Tomatoes and eggplant added color and contrasting texture to the smooth and silky egg. If I may add, the side potatoes were really tasty, and I like the combination of the slightly sourish fillings with the omelette.
Breakfast is all about eggs and pancakes. And the pancakes ($7 for 3) here are definitely one of the most value-for-money.
For desserts, we had the Apple Crumble and a slice of carrot cake. The apple tart was lovely. Warm and soft and tart, it had a very appley flavor, with a scoop of cold ice cream – this was the perfect fairytale ending to our wholesome breakfast.
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Epicurious Cafe is my favorite place for brunch. If you are one of those who have problems waking up early for breakfast and never seem to be able to get a table at Epicurious Robertson Quay; dude, it’s time to go to the Rail Mall branch.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Many food lovers always like to go Holland Village as it has always been one of the popular dining spots in Singapore that has so many different restaurants. I recently came to know that Mykii restaurant actually serves brunch on weekends. It wasn’t even on my list of Brunch Places in Singapore when I had compiled it back then.
Breakfast at Mykii Brasserie Cafe is available on weekends from 11.30am – 4pm, and there are three brunch menus to choose from: Hearty Deluxe ($38), Gourmet Chic ($28) and Classique ($28). We had a Hearty Deluxe brunch set which came with a starter of homemade bread & muffin/scone/cupcake, Mykii Brunch platter, a choice of main course, dessert, coffee/tea and fruit juice. I know, that’s quite an handful isn’t it? In addition to that, we shared another Gourmet Chic brunch set which was essentially about the same as the Hearty Deluxe brunch set – less the main course.
Most of the time, I prefer to order from the ala carte menu, rather than having a brunch buffet. There’s no need for so much variety for breakfast, I’m a cereal-eggs-pancakes-desserts kind of guy. I like to keep brunch simple – nothing too heavy.
The scones are sturdy, yet crumby, hard on the outside yet so moist inside, it’s the type that I will love to have every morning. On the other hand, the Oreo cupcake was just okay, very sweet and a little too dry. The homemade bread, however was excellent. While waiting for the food to come, we couldn’t help but spread the room-temperature butter onto the bread and wolfed down two slices each.
The Eggs Benedict was more than just a pretty face. The magical combination of eggs and bacon always works. While the holladaise sauce wasn’t as buttery as I would like it to be, it’s just assuring to have Eggs Benedict for breakfast.
Mykii’s Brunch platter consisted of French chipolata sausage, grilled fresh tomatoes, streaky bacon with farmhouse eggs. For the eggs, we chose to have the ocean’s catch omelette with squids and prawn with a tangy thai-sweet chili mayonnaise. Hearty and satisfying, this is my classic interpretation of a big breakfast.
By the time the Iceland Smoked Salmon Sandwich arrived on our table, our stomach was already almost filled to the brim. I had no idea why it was named the Iceland smoked salmon sandwich, but I do know for a fact that the fries that accompanied the sandwich were delicious. It was nicely cut, and had a great potato taste. They were also light and not too salty; we finished every fry without feeling guilty.
If you have been around for some time, you will know that I have always been against the marriage of chocolate and banana. There are plenty of different options like orange chocolate and chocolate mint, but yes, I do not like chocolate banana.
The Chocolate Banana cake here did not change my opinion of the popular dessert, but at least it wasn’t that bad. For one, the bulk of the cake was chocolate ganache and only a thin layer was the banana component. I have nothing against banana, but chocolate banana doesn’t work for me.
I was elated when the dessert menu had a choice of Sweet Morning Platter, which was petite old English pancakes with pear compote, smoothie shooter, and vanilla bean gelato. When the dessert came, the size of the pancakes caught us by surprise. Again, I blamed myself for not reading the menu carefully, petite old English pancakes.. Yes it’s petite, small, tiny or whatever vocabularies you can think of.
Well, it wasn’t too bad. It’s pancakes, you know – pancakes always taste good. The slightly sourish smoothie shooter provided a good counterbalance to the sweet duo of pear compote and ice cream. Ooh, there’s vanilla beans! Perfect. Just the way I wanted to end a good and hearty brunch.
Compared with the other brunch places in Singapore, Mykii probably won’t be among my favorites, but that’s not because it’s not good. The food was pretty decent, not top-notch, but good enough. Their brunch menu really spoils me with so much food, and I’m very sure that my stomach will hold a protest very soon if this goes on.
Actually come to think of it, the beautiful part about breakfast food is the simplicity of it. Having a cup of coffee while reading Sunday Times, beginning breakfast with starter-eggs-mains-desserts, and most importantly, having it with your favorite person – what more can you ask for?
Go and have a good breakfast today! Weekends are meant for brunch.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Ever since my friend went to Max Brenner Chocolate Bar, she has been telling me: “you must go to Max Brenner, they have the best waffles in Singapore!” I have heard of Max Brenner before of course, it’s the chocolate bar at Esplanade that all chocolate lovers should go to.
It’s strange how even when I saw Max Brenner while holidaying in Australia, I never had the urge to go there. You know how they say sometimes it hits you when you least expect it? Well, that time was now. When the word ‘Max Brenner’ appeared in twitter so many times a week, I know it’s only sooner or later before I try their famous chocolate desserts.
When we saw the picture of the amazing Chocolate Souffle on the menu, I couldn’t help but mis-read it as ‘Best Chocolate Souffle‘. It’s funny how our eyes like to play tricks on us, and with that, we ordered the Banana Split Waffles, and the Chocolate Souffle.
Then everything went silent. We didn’t speak for at least a minute. If you have ever experienced this phenomenon, it can only mean two things: a) the food is so good that everyone forgot how to speak, and b) your dining companion is too busy, desperately trying to figure out how the chef came up with this out-of-this-world creation. We smiled at each other, and the silence continued until we finished the Chocolate Souffle.
Between the two of us, we wiped everything clean within a minute. It was so good! I have no vocabulary to describe it; excellent or fantastic are simply not good enough to explain how it tasted like. Maybe, maybe heavenly is the only word that fits the description. This is the Best Chocolate Souffle in Singapore.
Initially, I felt that it’s expensive to pay $16 for a dessert. But I changed my mind after having it – I’d definitely pay for the best chocolate souffle every single time.
Today is waffles day – because I say so.
Adrenaline flowed through my body as we poured the tube of chocolate over the Belgian waffles. Although it wasn’t as fluffy nor as hot as I’ve imagine (time spent on taking photographs), the waffles were very satisfying. Both of us had been craving for waffles for a whole week. When the staff brought the waffles to our table; it was like bringing a helpless lamb to the mercy of the wolf – we devoured it in a split second.
Scrambling to maximize the tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream, every mouthful was so gratifying. And subconsciously, we started to Ooh and whoa. Who needs bananas and berries when there’s waffles? Give me more waffles!
I’ve always insisted that every guy should have a waffle maker at home, it’s the best thing you can do for your girl the next morning. Otherwise, please be a good boyfriend and bring her to Max Brenner for this orgasmic experience – I promise she will love you even more.
* * *
We finished both the Chocolate Souffle and the Banana Split Waffles within ten minutes. Chocolate overdose? Definitely not, can we have another Chocolate Souffle please?
Now if you can excuse me, I need to go check out Laurent Bernand’s Chocolate Souffle.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Ice Cream Kingdom is one of the new Ice Cream places in Singapore. The owner of the 8 month old Ice Cream Parlor at Holland Grove, is Stella, who quit her HR job in exchange for the impressive title CICO: Chief Ice-Cream Officer.
With so many ice cream places in Singapore, it can be quite a thwarting experience trying to decide on a place to satisfy the ice cream craving. I like Ice Cream Kingdom (ICK) and I am going to tell you why.
Unlike the other ice cream parlours in Singapore, it’s an one-woman-show at Ice Cream Kingdom. From making the ice cream to serving them – everything is done by Stella. Having ice cream in ICK, it makes you feel right at home.
Ice Cream Kingdom has 15 ice cream flavors – some are essentials like vanilla, chocolate and cookie & cream, while there are other unique flavors like kaya, green tea brown rice, and honey wheat crunch.
We were like kids in an ice cream shop, there’s so many flavors and we wanted to try all of them! For ‘research purposes’, we had 8 different scoops: Nutella Nutella, Vanilla Bean, Sticky Chewy Chocolate, Earl of Grey, Honey Wheat Crunch, Green Tea Brown Rice, Toasty Kaya, and Rasping for Raspberry.
Vanilla > Chocolate
When it comes to ice cream, Vanilla ice cream always win hands down – especially so when there’s speckle of vanilla beans in it. But that’s not to say that the Sticky Chewy Chocolate isn’t good. Before this visit, a dear friend brought me the chocolate flavor from Ice Cream Kingdom (ICK) and I had a whole pint of it for dinner.
Besides Vanilla bean, another of my all time favorite is definitely Nutella! I’m not sure about you, but I like nutella very very much. Since I’m not a tea lover, the Earl of Grey didn’t really appealed to me, but most of the rest raved about it as one of the better earl grey ice cream.
The Green Tea Brown Rice sounded a little too healthy for my liking; there was green tea, and there was brown rice – there you go – Green Tea Brown Rice ice cream! I know it’s not my best description – try it for yourself if you are curious. Among the different options, Toasty Kaya caught our attention with the catchy name and familiar taste, while the playful Rasping for Raspberry was sweet but not overly sweet, sour and not too much so, with an intense raspberry tinge.
Have you ever fantasized about having ice cream for breakfast? With the Honey Wheat Crunch, I think your little fetish can actually come true. Tasting it for the first time, it’s like having tiny bits of wheat cereal – in an ice cream. Ho ho, lets have ice cream for breakfast!
I did not exercise, but I only had a taste of everything instead of having eight scoops.
Rainy days are the perfect weather for having ice cream. But the same goes for a hot day too. There’s nothing more gratifying than to have a cold melting ice cream under the scorching sun. I’d also go for warm fluffy waffles, topped with a single scoop of cold vanilla ice cream and drizzled with hot chocolate.
I like the idea of ice cream: be it on a cone or in a cup, the sight of the melting ice cream always proved to be irresistible, I mean, who doesn’t like ice cream? It’s like the best creation (other than nutella) in this world!
Special for ladyironchef readers:
Mention that you are a reader of ladyironchef to Stella, get an additional scoop of ice cream when you ordered the Waffle with Single Scoop OR 1-for-1 deal on scoops. Promotion is valid for one month till 24th April 2010.
For directions please click here, and you can give a call to ICK before going down. What are you waiting for? Drop by Ice Cream Kingdom and say hi to Stella for me!
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
It was a mad rush trying to find a nice restaurant back in December for Christmas Eve dinner since most places were already packed. Rather than having traditional Christmas food like turkey, log-cake and ham, we decided to go for some exotic Vietnamese food instead.
Located at Orchard Central’s Sky Garden, NUOC is a relatively new Vietnamese restaurant in the Singapore food scene. It’s positioned as a semi-fine dining Vietnamese restaurant, and naturally prices are slightly steeper.
I always have problems when it comes to ordering. It was a hard decision trying to choose from the deep-fried and the Fresh Vietnamese Spring roll ($18 for 4 rolls), so we went for the easy way out and ordered both.
Fresh prawns, sliced pork, lettuce, Vietnamese herbs & vermicelli rolled with traditional Vietnamese rice paper. That’s what inside the spring roll. Or rather, that’s what the menu says. And there’s mint inside too. The mint was somewhat like the final touch to enhance the freshness of the rolls. Crisp, and sharp, every bite was delightful – unless you don’t like mint.
Which is better? The Fresh Spring roll or the Deep-fried Vietnamese Spring Roll ($12 for 8 pieces)? I’m a sucker for deep-fried food. As much as I know that deep-fried food is unhealthy, but it always makes the food taste so much better.
We also ordered the Egg plant ($12) and Stir-fried lemon grass and ginger chicken ($16). The former was mashy, and it kinds of resembled fish rather than egg plant, while the latter was mediocre.
When it comes to soup, I only like hot soup. Somehow I never like cold soup, I mean, soup should always be hot, otherwise it’s not soup right? At least, that’s my definition of soup. Even when it’s hot soup, I only like home-cooked Chinese soup. Which is why, you seldom see me ordering soup in restaurants. I’m not against soup, but I’d rather spend the money having another appetizer, or even better – an extra dessert. The intriguing name of Fresh Prawn in young coconut ($20 for 6 pieces) caught our attention, and the soup base was probably prepared for hours; it was rich, and intense and sweet.
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NUOC is a very new restaurant, and they are still sorting out all the teething problems. When we went in December, the signature Vietnamese Pho (I remembered it as fur) was not even offered on the menu, I mean how can a Vietnamese restaurant not serve Pho right? Hopefully they should be serving Pho by now. Anyway, the view is gorgeous, if you want Vietnamese food in a nice ambience and do not mind paying more, NUOC might just be the place.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Right on the heels of a romantic dinner at Forlino, I had another amazing Italian feast – the following day. The original plan was to have a simple lunch somewhere else.
“Why don’t we go to Valentino?” I asked jokingly.
Apparently, my lunch date took it very seriously. To cut the story short, we ended up at Valentino’s after calling to confirm a table. Stepping inside Ristorante Da Valentino, it feels like we are in our charming Italian neighbours’ house for dinner.
Most squid ink pasta, or at least the ones that I’ve tried, had the quirky and murky flavor. This one tasted like squid ink. It tasted like fresh ink extracted on the spot.
Like the one that I’ve at Forlino the night before, the Fettucine al Granchio ($23.9) here was also infused with squid ink. Huge chunks of crab meat with the fettucine, tossed with the creamy tomato sauce – it was absolutely wicked!
Now we have a problem. I want every slurp of the pasta. No, I do not want to share.
Option A: Finish everything and re-order before my partner returns from the washroom. Option B: Try to convince her that the mushroom risotto is better than the squid ink pasta. I could see no Option C, even though I was secretly praying that she’d not like the pasta.
Unfortunately not. In case you are wondering, we wiped the plate clean. I’d die for the squid ink pasta, or less dramatically, save up and come here every week – just for this.
I want Risotto. My dear Seafood linguine, it doesn’t mean I don’t like you anymore. It just means right now, I’m craving for risotto more.
Mushroom risotto has a very important place in my heart. I don’t always order it, but when I do – it has to be good. Maybe subconsciously, we wanted more of the squid ink pasta, or maybe we had small appetite that day. Either way, just a word of caution: see the plate of Porcini Mushroom Risotto ($23.9) up there? It might not look like a lot, but trust me, both of us couldn’t finish it.
Sweetie, it’s desserts, and Perla’s Pastry Boutique is calling!
Right beside the restaurant, there is Perla’s patisserie by Valentino’s sister. There’s no dine-in area for the patisserie, but the desserts are available if you are dining in the restaurant. It was an agonizing choice between the tiramisu, panna cotta, frutti bosco and their signature chantilly cake. But the sight of the gorgeous mixed berries were simply irresistible.
There’s a wise saying that goes like this: never trust a beautiful woman, and if I can add on to it, never trust the beautiful berries to taste sweet. Call me shallow, but I actually fall for it. Oh well, what to do, I’m superficial. Anyway I believe there’s blackberries, raspberries and strawberries in the Frutti Bosco ($8.80).
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A romantic dinner for two is not necessary just about fantastic view or fanciful cuisine. Lovely, lovely place. Valentino is my definition of a romantic restaurant, it is all about us having good food in a cozy ambiance. Here’s a restaurant for Valentine’s day, reservations are definitely a must for dinner.
I’m going to bring all my friends to Ristorante Da Valentino for their homely, authentic Italian food. Rifle range road is directly opposite King’s Albert Park & Bukit Timah Plaza. Pick up your phone, and dial the eight digit numbers. Get on with it.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Remember the times when you were a kid, and blew soap bubbles into the air, making you go ‘aww..’ inside, I have the same feeling when it comes to ice cream too. In this world, not many things can give you that type of feeling and I believe, ice cream is one of them.
You do not need an excuse to eat ice cream.
Whenever I feel happy, I will indulge in ice cream as it makes me even happier. And besides having a patissier to cheer me up when I’m feeling down, ice cream practically does the same thing as it always chase the blues away.
How good can a good ice cream be?
I mean ice cream, being ice cream, is already perfect. How do the ice cream places in Singapore reinvent and continue the trend for something that is already done to death and found everywhere? Well, they either come up with all sorts of fanciful flavors, throw in some exotic toppings, hire pretty girls, let you mix-and-match your own ingredients, reinvent ice cream in the form of sundaes, or this case, milkshakes. Yes, milkshakes.
Ice cream, can never be bad. Even an exceptional ordinary ice cream will taste good when you are craving for it. Unike the other ice cream parlours in Singapore that scramble to compete on the varieties of flavor, the folks behind Once Upon A Milk Shake (OUAM) are a smart bunch; they keep things simple to just a couple of flavor, and package everything nicely.
What’s there not to like when it a) has a catchy name, b) sports a clean and yet bold color in white & purple, c) gives you choices of either ice cream, milkshake, or both, d) comes up with whimsical names like Agent Strawberry and Nutty Peanut Butler.
On the two occasions that I went there, I had the Chocolate Truffle Castle, Sir Cookies & Cream, Vainillapot, and Nutty Peanut Butler. The Chocolate truffle ice cream was awfully good. Thick and chocolaty, there’s no way any chocolate lover can resist this. But it was not my favorite pick, don’t get me wrong, I like chocolate, but I never really fancy chocolate ice cream; chocolate on its own, is already divine.
The Cookies & Cream milkshake, is oh-so-good. There are some renditions of the cookies and cream that are too dense and heavy, while there are others that are too light and hardly have any cookie texture. I like the lush vanilla base that has rich Oreo cookies bits, and at the same time, it’s also not cloyingly sweet. All in one cookie – this is a keeper.
Recently I’m hooked on Vanilla ice cream. Since there’s a huge supply of Ben & Jerry ice cream in my fridge, I’ve been having vanilla ice cream almost every day for the past week. Vanilla, is perhaps the simplest flavor there is, and yet the hardest to attain perfection. I think it’s the nature of vanilla, the subtle, yet sweetly-flavored, distinct elegant taste that appeals to me. Vanilla milkshake, anyone?
Peanut butter can perhaps, be mentioned in the same legendary status like Nutella. Peanut butter, I’m sure, was invented for the sole purpose of satisfying the wildest desire of the human species. Oh yes, there is the lovely strawberry jam, those are great, but it pales in comparison when you put it side by side with peanut butter. The richness of the thick and creamy peanut butter milkshake simply makes anything ordinary, taste delicious. It’s so addictive that you will eat it straight from the jar.
Which makes it a pity when my friend claimed that she had tasted better Peanut butter milkshake elsewhere before. Perhaps the one here, is still not the one to beat.
The milkshakes are available in 2 sizes (mini @ $3.30 and regular @ $5.50). The mini ones are really tiny, but I’d go for mini and try different flavors. Best ice cream and milkshake in Singapore? Maybe, maybe not. But does it really matter?
Among all the ice cream parlours in Singapore, Once Upon A Milkshake (OUAM) is all about gimmicks, but I love it! You know what? It’s like a guy knowing that the girl is lying to him, and yet, is willing to be deceived. I know I’m superficial. Whatever, I’m a sucker for all things pretty.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
One of the things that I like about the Singapore Dining scene is the vibrancy, there are new restaurants opening all the time. Some open with a big fanfare, while others prefer having a soft opening to fine-tune and tweak their menu before they are plot on the to-dine-at restaurant radar.
And when a new restaurant is being helm by chef Sufian Bin Zain’ who helped his previous restaurant Iggy’s being listed as one of the world’s top 100 restaurants, it’s not surprising that everyone will rush to the new establishment. I am not one of those that like to chase after new restaurants, that’s one of the reasons that it took me until now to drop by L’Entrepot Bistrot.
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I hardly blog about restaurants in Clarke Quay, there’s nothing wrong with the area; in fact it is a well-known places for tourists to dine at, when visiting Singapore. And that’s precisely the problem. Awesome riverside view, gorgeous restaurants interiors, but I’d imagine it comes with hefty bills and the made-for-tourist stamp too.
For restaurants, set lunches are one of the ways to attract more customers and increase sales. In times like this, not everyone can still afford to splurge on extravagant lunches, and that’s when you have value set lunches. Given that a normal meal and a drink in a food court will probably cost you six dollars upwards, an affordable lunch for $15 nett in a nice restaurant with everything plated nicely, is very tempting.
Besides the perfect excuse to indulge in a good lunch, it’s an opportunity to check out the restaurant and see if it’s worth coming back for dinner. On normal occasions, L’Entrepot Bistrot’s normal 2 course lunch is $25 , while the 3 course menu will set you back by $30 , but there’s a current promotion for all the Clarke Quay restaurants where a 2 course set lunch is $15 nett.
The promotional menu is almost identical to the normal lunch menu, with a few exceptions. One of those is the escargot which we wanted to get, but since it wasn’t available for the promotion, we went for the French Onion Soup, served with Emmenthal Cheese. It was a good decision, the onion soup is the classic example of the rustic French Bistro food.
On this visit, I chose the Vongole, which came with clams amidst the leeks, onions tomato and spaghetti. There was a subtle white wine taste in the spaghetti sauce. The generosity of clams were admirable, but the presence of leeks drove me to verge of irritation; I ain’t no fan of leek.
I’m not one who will always order fish for main courses while it comes to dining outside. I like fish, but it pales in comparison when you can have steak, chicken, or duck – meat in general. But still, I love fish, it sounds fickle but I am only human, you know. So I was glad when my Evangeline ordered the Pan Fried Seabass, with mashed potatoes. It may sound very ordinary, but the seabass was actually pretty good. It sounds like a layer of crispy pan-fried skin with the fillet nicely settled underneath.
It was a toss between Creme Brulee and Profiteroles when it came to desserts, but as Tampopo deli is nearby, we went for the former. Now, there will be vanilla beans inside, I’m sure. And true enough, there were tiny speckles of them in the custard, and the surface was caramelized beautifully.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Even though I can’t really take spicy food well, I do enjoy Indian cuisine. Many people dream of opening their own restaurant or cafe one day, I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but not everyone has what it takes to be a restaurateur.
There are so many aspects to make a good restaurant; other than delicious food, there’s the training of your staff, gorgeous interior design, an accessible and attracting location, a good wine list, visual-appealing menu, handling the suppliers and one, ten, twenty other small minor details.
The Muthu’s Flavors is the latest brainchild by renowned Muthu’s curry on Race course road. Now you get to enjoy the same good Indian food in a contemporary restaurant setting, with everything plated nicely, in the lush Dempsey hill.
Interior design wise – I’m a sucker for white. It’s interesting to see a traditional Indian restaurant using a bold and unique orange-white combination, and this actually makes The Muthu’s Flavors different from the original Muthu’s Curry. Well I can’t say for all the staff service wise, but I do think that they have a good manager in Joseph, and his assistant is equally knowledgeable about all the food.
Even though I can’t really take spicy food well, I do enjoy Indian cuisine. Many people dream of opening their own restaurant or cafe one day, I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but not everyone has what it takes to be a restaurateur.
There are so many aspects to make a good restaurant; other than delicious food, there’s the training of your staff, gorgeous interior design, an accessible and attracting location, a good wine list, visual-appealing menu, handling the suppliers and one, ten, twenty other small minor details.
Pappadam, the Indian flat bread was used instead of the typical toasted bread for the Pappadam Bruschetta ($5.50). I always have a thing for diced tomatoes. I’m not sure why, but somehow, they just look so appealing when it’s diced into tiny squares.
Eating the Crab meat stir-fried with fennel ($18.9), it makes me think that I’m eating chicken floss, with the addition of green chili and onions.
I was tweeting the previous night before this dinner, that I’m craving for some awesome curry, lo and behold, the famous Muthu’s Fish Head Curry ($25). Served with ladies finger and pineapple chunks in a rich gravy of aromatic spices, the tangy, slightly spicy sweet curry gravy makes me blush, like a young boy meets love.
Why do we even bother to order the other dishes? This is as good as it gets, and no, we are not going to debate on the ‘best curry fish head in Singapore’ topic. Pour the curry gravy on fragrance white rice, and that’s my dinner.
Tomato and garlic marinated chicken served with Cheese naan, frankly speaking, I could not recall much of the Chicken Tikka Masala ($15.5). Barring the fact that I was already sweating profusely after the sensation from the curry fish head, I stuffed myself with cheese naan.
Between the Massala prawn and the Muthu’s Prawns 65 ($17.9), we decided to go for both. I have no idea of the reason behind the inclusion of 65 in the name, but all of us agreed unanimously that Massala prawn was a better choice as the freshness of the prawns were lost in the deep-frying process.
The Massala Prawns ($23.9) were definitely much better. Huge tiger prawns cooked with a combination of chilies, tomatoes and spices. It’s one of the sweetest thing in life to have someone peeling prawns or crabs for you, some love to get their hands dirty, while others either try to use a fork and spoon to shell the prawns, or simply refused to eat it.
In between our debates over the proper terms of whether it is called de-prawning or de-shelling the prawns, here’s my version of ‘how to peel a prawn‘. 1) Use both hands and hold the god-damn prawn steady. 2) Remove the head and all the tiny legs. 3) De-shell the shell starting from the legs area 4) Pull off the tail and eat your prawn.
Okay fine, so I got greedy. We were full but still, the Lamb Rack Ananas ($22.9) was too alluring for us (or rather, me) to resist. I like how they barbecue the pineapple and add the distinct fruity flavor to the meat. They look good. They smell good. I like to hold it by the bone, gnaw it right up and finish every single bit.
Lamb rack aside, I didn’t know barbecued pineapple can actually taste so good! The others were too full to finish the rack. If the lamb isn’t attractive enough – there’s the tantalizing tandoori chicken beckoning to us.
This Tandoori Chicken ($16.9) is a wonderful all-weather kind of food: I’d imagine holding the drumstick and biting off the meat on a cold rainy day, and feasting on the flavorful chicken during summer. I usually don’t like chicken breast because it’s tough, dry and unappetizing (at least to me), but you know what?
I absolutely love the chicken breast here. It was so tender, and moist. This is the first time I’m giving such high praises to a chicken breast, and I actually like the breast as much as the drumstick.
So, it was a choice between Kulfi or Masala Chai Flan ($7.9), I never enjoy the Indian style ice cream, and having a good impression of a flan dessert helps. The ladies thought that the flan was too sweet; if you’re anything like me, I bet you’d happily finish the whole dessert on your own – I did.
This, is the Beetroot Halwa ($6.9). I know what you are thinking. Beetroot, and dessert? Weird? Yes. As much as I agree that beetroot is always very interesting as it provides the natural reddish purple coloring, but I’m sorry darling; beetroot just don’t work very well with dessert, for me.
Being a new restaurant, there are still a lot of teething problems to sort out, but it will be interesting how people react to the new Muthu’s Flavors concept. Purist and loyal supporter of Muthu’s Curry at Race course road may, or may not receive well to the idea of dining in such a classy and contemporary Indian restaurant, but I’m sure the younger crowd, and especially those who frequent Dempsey often, will be happy to have a new option for good and affordable Indian food.
I’ll like to thank Rayner from Contagious and the folks behind Muthu’s Curry for the invitation to the food tasting session. If you are keen to try out the food, The Muthu’s Flavors, Dempsey is having a 25% off total bill promotion from now until 28th Feb, and they have a new outlet at 313 @ Somerset too.
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given:
Many months ago, a long time before I fall in love with food, I have totally no idea what eggs benedict is, much less heard of hollandaise sauce.
My first encounter with Eggs benedict was a bitter-sweet one, back then I looked at the eggs ben, and then I saw the price; I wasn’t willing to splurge twenty bucks on two poached eggs, or what I called the most-expensive-eggs-you-ever-eaten.
I immediately regretted it when I saw the heavenly holladaise sauce that was drizzled on top of the gorgeous poached eggs. And ever since then, I went on a brunch-frenzy to make up for what I have been missing out; to seek all the lovely breakfast food all over the island.
Excluding the ones that I had while I was traveling overseas, it suddenly occurred to me that it was a long time ago since I last had brunch in Singapore. There’s nothing like an all day brunch when you can have breakfast at any time of the day, as and when you crave for it. Cafe Hacienda does not serves all day brunch, but it’s pretty close – they have brunch till late afternoon everyday.
I find the idea of having my breakfast in the afternoon very alluring; sitting down in a chic and cozy cafe, sipping a cup of coffee and tweeting “I’m having brunch while the rest of you are busy at work”.
The credits go to Choupinette of course, it’s a shame that I have not tried eggs benedict and holladaise sauce before that, but it really does not matter now. Although I’m twenty years late, but it’s always better to be late than never isn’t it? Honestly, I do not understand what’s the big fuss with wild rocket, Yes, it’s pretty as an adornment, but other than that, it doesn’t really goes down well in the mouth, or maybe it’s just me.
Hacienda’s Eggs Benedict ($13.50) is a replication of Prive’s, I always preferred bacon rather than salmon with poached eggs; there’s nothing like a sinful fried bacon streak to make me go ga-ga.
Memories they say, are the stuff that make our life worth living for. I remember a ferrero rocher cake that I had a year ago, it was definitely one of the best I had – it was awesome. Fast forward to the present, taking a sniff of the cake, I actually felt butterflies inside my stomach.
Please, please let this be good.
I leaned forward cautiously, desperately wanting to get back the moment that I’ve before; I took the dessert with a fork, and carefully placed it into the tip of my tongue. The cake went down, and I refused to acknowledge the ugly truth, so I took another mouthful, and another mouthful, until it was evident that the Hazelnut Praline ($6.80) was really not as good as before.
This, to me, is a great disappointment. My friends had warned me that the cake had lost it’s former glory – I refused to believe it until I tasted it myself. The praline base used to be one of the thickest, but now it’s reduced to a mere thin layer which lacked the crunch of the ferrero rocher cake.
* * *
Cafe Hacienda is Prive without the seafront view, but nestled in the greens of Dempsey. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Michel Lu, the dining concept that he brings about is simplicity; a nice cafe that serves delicious comfort food at a reasonable price – but some people just don’t get it. See you there!
Long story short, if you like my review please do come by ladyironchef . . . for the delicious in you
Rating given: