You know in life, there’s usually only one opportunity, and like they say, if you missed the train, it’s gonna be gone forever. That is why, gracious and forgiving, as cliché as it may sound, is important. Second chance.
Making the wrong choices once is bad enough, this time, we are going for the safe option. What better than their signature Le Royale ($7). If I’m to be a scientist, all the cures and breakthrough will never occur. But call me a mathematician, the cake had 64% of dark chocolate mousse. Of hazelnut feullitine and praline, I could never differentiate them apart. But I love them both, yes I do. So it doesn’t matter, anything with hazelnut & feullitine works for me. You know I love you, xoxo Le Royale.
Some of the female companions that I know, does not like to drink coffee. Yet they always frequent Starbucks, well just for their green tea frapp. Yes, call it irresistible, healthy, or whatever, our ladies love their macha. The lovely light shade of green tea mascarpone mousse was appealing. I’m no expert when it comes to green tea, but what I do know, the macha was very subtle. And the chestnut cremeuex was an interesting choice for the middle layer. Not that i’m a fan of chestnut. Oh yes, simply named, the macha ($7)
Oh dear, if looks can kill, so can Tarte Citron ($5.50). The beautifully burnt effects from the blow torch was a sight to behold. Italian meringue with lemon cream on almond tart. My, my. This really is a beauty. And if you think she is a bimbo, the taste was as good as the looks too.
I never know Canelé has good ice cream. Well, they are known for their cakes, and chocolates, but ice cream! I love surprises. And Nougatine ($8) is all about that. Praline ice cream with hazelnut nougatine was always my beloved. But it was the salty caramel dripped alongside the ice cream, which really made it so good.
Total bill was $33 for three cakes and one ice cream. Well I thought that the ice cream was pretty decent even at eight dollars per pop since it was more than the size of two scoops elsewhere. The raffles city branch is canelé restaurant instead of patisserie, since they offered main course as well. But I resisted putting the word restaurant on my title since we didn’t try any of their main course. That will be another time of course.
Usually opportunities only come knocking once, but I’m gonna knock on the door a few more times.
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 was the usual weekly dinner with my folks again and the venue of choice was The Chinese Restaurant at Raffles Town Club. Apparently this is a members only restaurant so I didn't harbour any hopes of a fantastic meal even though prices aren't exactly the cheapest around.
In the glossy pages of the club magazine, the restaurant looked like a blast. However reality is harsh and the interior turned out looking more dreary then glam. What was rather amusing was that the restaurant required us (the customers) to switch off our cell phones during our meal. Fortunately, it wasn't strictly enforced though.
Smoked Salmon with Passion Fruit & Vegetable Salad - There were only 2 slices of the smoked salmon, which was quite pathetic if you ask me. And the salmon was way too salty but I guess not having the overwhelmingly raw taste is a plus.
Braised Superior Shark's Fin with Bean Sprout - The broth was a tad too starchy but the fins were relatively generous, though of the mediocre variant. Adding to the woes was the overdose of salt, which made the soup rather heavy.
Braised Seasonal Vegetables with Bean Curd Stick & Conpoy in Chicken Stock - This dish was a major turn off. The spinach wasn't properly washed and I could hear the resounding crunch of sand/sediment with every bite. The bean curd stick tasted like flour but to give it credit, it was well deep fried and topped with shreds of deep fried dried scallops.
Sauteed Scallop & Fresh Prawn in Sichuan Sauce - This was probably the best dish of the evening as the scallops were crunchy and sweet while the prawns fresh but a tad small. The bed of broccoli wasn't over or undercooked but the sichuan sauce came across as mildly spicy and very normal.
Steamed Sea Perch with Chilli - I couldn't quite make out the chilli in this dish. What I could taste was black bean sauce. And lots of it. The meat was firm, a tad too firm actually, from being overcooked.
Braised Vermicelli & Mian Xian with Dried Seafood - This dish was well fried with a discernible wok hei taste and the noodles weren't too soggy. However too much of it rendered me nauseous.
I thought $215 for an unsatisfactory meal for 4 was expensive and if given a choice, I would never return, ever again. There is a strict dress code as well, which adds to the annoyance.
Four. I wasted three opportunities before I got to know you. On our brief initial encounter, we brushed past each other as I was going somewhere else. On the subsequent two occasions, I wasn’t fully prepared, not when I’m in running attire. Despite all that, I’m glad we finally met, this time prim and proper, Hello Riders, my name is Brad.
Here is the place where you can look at horsies galloping freely on the greens. Here is the place where you can escape from the hectic city life. Here is the place where you can have brunch at a tranquil and serene environment amidst the lush greeneries. Riders Cafe.
Nothing beats having morning pancakes ($10) to start off your day. There was berries compote, there was whipped cream, and there was maple syrup on the pancakes of course. Who can resist the smiley pancakes, certainly not me. Well, we should have asked for more butter!
In my dictionary, eggs and brunch are synonymous with each other. A hearty brunch won’t be completed without any Egg Benedicts ($12). Instead of the smoked salmon, we decided to have ham with eggs. And personally, I felt that hams complimented eggs better. I still loved the latter though. Poached eggs, with hams on a toasted muffins, and breakfast potatoes to go along with. This is brunch.
The Riders Breakfast ($13) was supposed to be very reasonable. But we heard the waitress wrongly, so we said we wanted smoked ham, bacon and sausage. All three of them, instead of just choosing one. The damage was $8 more for the two additional sides. Well it’s quite a heartache getting the bill in the aftermaths, to pay the money for 2 tiny sausages and 2 strip of bacons. The money would be more well-spend if we got another dish instead. But this was solely our own mistake, and there’s no denying the breakfast was excellent, all of my favourite. Scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, sausages, beans, potatoes and toast.
Total bill was $56 for three breakfast items, and 1 drink. Well it would be around ten bucks lesser if we had not added the extra sides, so I say brunch at Rider’s is really value and excellent for the superb ambience of the place. But, fairways drive is hardly a place where you will call accessible unless you got transport, or cab.
I will definitely come back again, for brunch, or even for lunch. Their lunch and diner menu looks very affordable too! But another thing to note, I went on a weekday morning, so it was relatively peaceful. If you were to go on a weekend for brunch, the result might not be the same. See you there!
ps: if you had noticed, I had also included my signature See you there! tag for my previous two post on Graze and Patisserie Glace as well. It just so happened I went to four fabulous place within this two weeks!
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 Angel on my right says she is innocent and pure. The Devil on the left rebuts, she is gullible and inexperience. A simple play of words, show the different perception of people. The same word could mean two totally different thing. Naive, is all about the absence of artificiality, in a good way.
Rather than a vegetarian restaurant, the owners of Naive know exactly how human perception is, most people tend to associate vegetarian with distasteful food, so lets just call them the first meatless restaurant.
Tofu is always a staple in the meatless cateogry, and it was no surprise we had it for the Golden Oats ($8.80). Essentially crispy deep fried soft golden tofu with oats and fragrant leaves. I didn’t get to try much of this, but it was a good rendition of the cereal prawn. The tofu was a fitting replacement with its crispy texture and soft interior going well with the oats.
Not the best in terms of the looks department, but the Penang Rendang ($9.80) was better than expected. Pan-fried mushroom on bed of greens. Red, hot, and spicy.
When red riding hood ($7.80) meets the big bad wolf. How apt. It was almost like the real deal. Imagine sweet and crispy,and instead of pork you get beancurd. Sweet & sour pork wannabe? This is even better than some of the ones I had before.
The ladies man. He have all sorts of tricks in his bag, and can please all of you. Battered organic oyster mushroom ($9.80). If you have been avoiding fried food for a while now, because of the double damage; unhealthy fried food and too much meat. This is the one for you.
Tangy and refreshing. The mango tofu cake ($12.80) was all about that. Slightly sweet, slightly sour. Crispy skin, soft body. Talk about contrast.
With a cheesy tag line like mega in taste, and mini in size, the Mega mini mushroom ($10.80). While I ain’t a big fan of Sze Chuan cuisine, one bite was enough to tell me the flavourful spicy szechuan sauce.
Enchanted forest ($12.80). Indeed, I was smitten by her charming ways, her strong perfume smell of wolfberry, her strong and wilful texture.
From the braise, you would certainly associate it with cooking for many hours. Yes, but somehow for monkeyhead mushrooms, it does not turn soft. We were expecting the meat-lookalike to be tender, but instead it was still rather tough in texture. Heartwarmer ($13.80)
I always love to order garlic rice when I frequent Japanese restaurants. They are so oh-so good! And I think the same could be for Naive, their Oliver twist ($3.80). Instead of the Japanese pearl rice, we have the fragrant Thai rice, with a olive twist. And I agreed, so good it can be eaten on its own.
Naive promises to offer healthy food without compromising on taste. And I will like to say they did it. I never knew vegetarian, or rather, meatless could taste so good. However, prices are rather steep given the small portions. And their main courses are all monkeyhead mushrooms.
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!
Seems like many people have actually blogged about this up and coming patisserie hidden at the corner of the Notorious Keong Saik Road, Craig Road and Neil Road intersection within Chinatown Plaza - a rather dilapidated private apartment of sorts. Helmed by Master Chef Yamashita who hails from Nara, Japan, this tiny patisserie has been garnering rave reviews in the media and blogosphere alike.
Banana Mille-Feuille ($4.50) - I thought that the mille feuille was a great way to start off as it was light and crisp due to the layer of puff pastry thats sandwiched in between layers of chocolate mousse, sponge and bananas. The chocolate mousse itself was very well balanced and didn't threaten to overwhelm.
Strawberry Hill ($5.20) - Topped with sliced strawberries on layers of light and fluffy sponge sandwiching fresh cream on a wholesome oven baked tart base, the strawberry hill was sublimely good. What's interesting about this cake is that the name really suits it! The cake gets substantially more dense towards the bottom, very much like a hill, where the soil is looser at the top and gradually becomes more compact towards the bottom.
Strawberry Soufflé ($5.30) - The pièce de résistance. Dense yet light on the palate with a tinge of lemony zest and topped with strawberries. Its probably one of the best cheesecakes I've eaten in a long long while.
I believe the seventh day of the week, Sunday, is meant for us to relax and enjoy; without any of the problem and stress that come along as part of the package in our life. I believe breakfast, is the most important meal of the day, having a good start will certainly makes thing behind easier. Brunch, at Graze.
I believe in having a good ambience for me to enjoy my food, albeit paying a slightly higher price, everything is worth it when you get to enjoy this scenery while sipping down a cup of tea, and eating your breakfast.
The al fresco at Graze @ Rochester Park was amazing. The picturesque lush surroundings, the tone of the white colonial-style bungalow. Full stop.
I believe your dining companion plays an even vital part in making the meal an enjoyable one. Given good food but eaten with people you disliked, and ordinary food but with people you enjoyed hanging out with. It’s hell lots of difference.
The little white piece which is so common on our table for the first meal of the day, simply bread. Our original intentions were to order the “door stopper” toasts which consisted four slices of white, wholemeal, multi grain, and cinnamon & raisins toast. But luckily, the waiter informed us that they will served complimentary bread. A slice of white, and wholemeal. Like the Gardenia slogan, so good you can even eat it on its own!
And how can any brunch be short of Egg Benedicts ($17). Classic or smoked salmon and spinach, we opted for the latter. The beautiful poached egg and smoked salmon sat on a piece of slightly char toast. The salty taste of the salmon enhanced the flavour of the wonderful poached egg. I’m so hooked on the idea of having brunch every weekend, if only just for the eggs.
The idea of big-breakfast was clearly conceptualise in the cast iron pan ($20). With the best of everything, bratwurst sausages, smoked bacon, mushroom, tomato, country potato, fried eggs, baked beans, and plum chili salsa. They clearly could read my mind, everything was my favourite, and it came sizzling on the hot pan. And oh yes, I forget to mention how good the mushrooms were! While prices might be slightly steep, and the portions didn’t seem that big, let me assured you, the two of us couldn’t finish everything on this pan.
Total bill was $50.61 for brunch. Contrary to what some people might have say about Graze, I found the service from the staff to be good, they were attentive and friendly without being over-disturbing, and even offered to get me a small chair to put my bag after I left it on the floor. The combination of superb ambience, good service, and a lovely brunch meant that even though prices are slightly steep, I will not hesitate to go back again. I want to try the pancakes and waffles the next time round. See you there!
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!
Breeks located at the corner of level 3 at T2 is a nice place to chill while waiting for friends to arrive or depart. >.<
Being Halal certified also means that everyone is able to enjoy the food and wide variety of desserts here.
If you're looking for powerpoint for your machines, there's only one (I think) near the entrance on the red wall.
Food here is nice and the serving size fits my tummy just fine. The chicken patty is packed with crunchy onions, and some unknown stuff which I simply ignored. I digg anything chicken and with melted cheese!
The Nutella Milkshake though could be better. The shake isn't thick enough imo.
Looking at the crowd here now, at this hour (yes I'm writing this review while I'm still here) on a Friday night, I guess it shouldn't be a problem getting a table for meal.
Perhaps if I'm going to stay here longer, I might give one of their desserts a try. Anyone wants to join me?
Leisurely lunches have, for most working class people, always been the exception rather then the norm. I attest to that norm personally so it was with much delight that I embraced a rare opportunity to engage in one at Marmalade Pantry - home to the tai tai crowd.
Marmalade's Orchard outlet is aptly located at the upscale Palais Renaissance, boasting an open concept sitting area smack in the middle of the mall. Wrap leather sofa seats coupled with heavy wooden tables and chairs complete the somewhat "cafeish" look. The clientele here consists mainly of reasonably well heeled executives and of course the tais tais, who spend hours on end sipping their tea/coffee over a slice of cake or dessert. So there I was, like a fish out of water.
Pan-Roasted Red Snapper - I didn't think too much of this dish as it didn't exactly strike me as good. The almond/breadcrumb crust gave it a nice crunchy texture and the fish overall had a zesty tinge to it. But it just wasn't sweet. I'm pretty sure the chickpeas didn't help matters.
The Ultimate Beef Burger - For something to be termed "The Ultimate", it must possess a certain level of quality, something that was sorely lacking in this dish. The beef patty was hard and dry even though there were evident traces of juices within and not to mention, salty. So salty that it overwhelmed any beefy taste that I would have appreciated in any beef burger. It didn't help that the patty was dwarfed by the huge buns that made the whole burger look like the letter 'I' as well. And before I forget, the fries were probably factory cut frozen fries.
Homemade Lemon Tart - I'm not usually a fan of sourish stuff so I reserve my comments on this one save for the fact that I didn't cringe when I took a mouthful of it.
Sticky Date Toffee Pudding - Words elude me as I attempt to describe the sticky date pudding. Would words like amazing fit the bill? Absolutely not. Moist yet compact and spongy, it brought back distinct childhood memories of eating MacDonald's hotcakes with honey syrup, very much like what the serving of ratatouille did to Anton Ego in the movie. The vanilla bean ice cream alongside proved a nice complement.
The burger aside, I think food quality is generally decent for the price ($83 for 2 mains and 2 desserts) but the piece de resistance would have to be the desserts. Service seems a little inexperienced but still generally decent.
The simple pleasure of life. People always chase after complicated stuff all their life, but if you would just slow down your steps, you will notice some of the simple things are the nicest things around. What I’m going to introduce to you for this post, is anything but simple. The location is inaccessible, there are practically no nice decorations, the seats are merely a few tables, but the service are so friendly, and the desserts are amazing!
This cake, they called it the Strawberry Souffle ($5.0). Patisserie Glace’s rendition of the Japanese cheesecake. The texture of the cake was so smooth that it was quite unlike of what I’ve eaten before. My friend and I took our first bite, and there was silence till we finished the cake. It was so good that we didn’t know why they were able to make the cake in this way, that we kept on eating it. And the puff pastry layer at the side of the cake brought back nostalgic memories for me. Well, cliché as it sounds, you got to try out for yourself to find out. Amazing stuff.
It was my third shortcake only after trying the ones from Canelé and Bakerzin. I was determined to find something better, so we picked the Strawberry shortcake ($4.80). The cream wasn’t fluffy enough and did not hold its shape after a while. But what I liked was the fact that it was sweeter than the ones that I’ve tasted before. Not the best yet.
Two layer of mango cheese mousse with two layer of sponge. The rare cheese mango ($4.20) was an offer for this month only. Dense yet not heavy. It may seem easy to use this four words, but it is definitely not simple at all to create the taste. The mango taste was very subtle, with the focus on the cheesecake.
Total bill was $14 for three cakes. Patisserie Glace has remarkable cakes at very reasonable pricing due to their lower rental which allows them to pass on the savings to customers. Even at the ulu Chinatown plaza, customers be it Japanese expats or locals, just keep coming in. I went back twice in the short span of four days, for that they already merited “See you there!“
My simple pleasure. Life’s sweet.
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!
Ah ma! Ah ma! I want another slice of that. The brownish-orange cake with the smooth cream frosting on top. What is that name again? Yes, carrot cake. Another slice please, before kor-kor comes back from school. Time passed, and ages caught up with us eventually. Ah ma is no longer as young as she was before. And the energy, effort put into making the kuehs, also diminished with every passing day.
***
Coffee Bean’s carrot cake isn’t the best carrot cake that I’ve. But then again, I didn’t have that many before to compare it with. And yes, I know I haven’t try the legendary one from Cedele yet. Anyway, even though the cream frosting was generous, but the raisins were too much for my personal liking. And the No-study sign is a joke.
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!
1=SGD 0.0587
You know in life, there’s usually only one opportunity, and like they say, if you missed the train, it’s gonna be gone forever. That is why, gracious and forgiving, as cliché as it may sound, is important. Second chance.
Making the wrong choices once is bad enough, this time, we are going for the safe option. What better than their signature Le Royale ($7). If I’m to be a scientist, all the cures and breakthrough will never occur. But call me a mathematician, the cake had 64% of dark chocolate mousse. Of hazelnut feullitine and praline, I could never differentiate them apart. But I love them both, yes I do. So it doesn’t matter, anything with hazelnut & feullitine works for me. You know I love you, xoxo Le Royale.
Some of the female companions that I know, does not like to drink coffee. Yet they always frequent Starbucks, well just for their green tea frapp. Yes, call it irresistible, healthy, or whatever, our ladies love their macha. The lovely light shade of green tea mascarpone mousse was appealing. I’m no expert when it comes to green tea, but what I do know, the macha was very subtle. And the chestnut cremeuex was an interesting choice for the middle layer. Not that i’m a fan of chestnut. Oh yes, simply named, the macha ($7)
Oh dear, if looks can kill, so can Tarte Citron ($5.50). The beautifully burnt effects from the blow torch was a sight to behold. Italian meringue with lemon cream on almond tart. My, my. This really is a beauty. And if you think she is a bimbo, the taste was as good as the looks too.
I never know Canelé has good ice cream. Well, they are known for their cakes, and chocolates, but ice cream! I love surprises. And Nougatine ($8) is all about that. Praline ice cream with hazelnut nougatine was always my beloved. But it was the salty caramel dripped alongside the ice cream, which really made it so good.
Total bill was $33 for three cakes and one ice cream. Well I thought that the ice cream was pretty decent even at eight dollars per pop since it was more than the size of two scoops elsewhere. The raffles city branch is canelé restaurant instead of patisserie, since they offered main course as well. But I resisted putting the word restaurant on my title since we didn’t try any of their main course. That will be another time of course.
Usually opportunities only come knocking once, but I’m gonna knock on the door a few more times.
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:
It was the usual weekly dinner with my folks again and the venue of choice was The Chinese Restaurant at Raffles Town Club. Apparently this is a members only restaurant so I didn't harbour any hopes of a fantastic meal even though prices aren't exactly the cheapest around.
In the glossy pages of the club magazine, the restaurant looked like a blast. However reality is harsh and the interior turned out looking more dreary then glam. What was rather amusing was that the restaurant required us (the customers) to switch off our cell phones during our meal. Fortunately, it wasn't strictly enforced though.
Smoked Salmon with Passion Fruit & Vegetable Salad - There were only 2 slices of the smoked salmon, which was quite pathetic if you ask me. And the salmon was way too salty but I guess not having the overwhelmingly raw taste is a plus.
Braised Superior Shark's Fin with Bean Sprout - The broth was a tad too starchy but the fins were relatively generous, though of the mediocre variant. Adding to the woes was the overdose of salt, which made the soup rather heavy.
Braised Seasonal Vegetables with Bean Curd Stick & Conpoy in Chicken Stock - This dish was a major turn off. The spinach wasn't properly washed and I could hear the resounding crunch of sand/sediment with every bite. The bean curd stick tasted like flour but to give it credit, it was well deep fried and topped with shreds of deep fried dried scallops.
Sauteed Scallop & Fresh Prawn in Sichuan Sauce - This was probably the best dish of the evening as the scallops were crunchy and sweet while the prawns fresh but a tad small. The bed of broccoli wasn't over or undercooked but the sichuan sauce came across as mildly spicy and very normal.
Steamed Sea Perch with Chilli - I couldn't quite make out the chilli in this dish. What I could taste was black bean sauce. And lots of it. The meat was firm, a tad too firm actually, from being overcooked.
Braised Vermicelli & Mian Xian with Dried Seafood -
This dish was well fried with a discernible wok hei taste and the noodles weren't too soggy. However too much of it rendered me nauseous.
I thought $215 for an unsatisfactory meal for 4 was expensive and if given a choice, I would never return, ever again. There is a strict dress code as well, which adds to the annoyance.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Four. I wasted three opportunities before I got to know you. On our brief initial encounter, we brushed past each other as I was going somewhere else. On the subsequent two occasions, I wasn’t fully prepared, not when I’m in running attire. Despite all that, I’m glad we finally met, this time prim and proper, Hello Riders, my name is Brad.
Here is the place where you can look at horsies galloping freely on the greens. Here is the place where you can escape from the hectic city life. Here is the place where you can have brunch at a tranquil and serene environment amidst the lush greeneries. Riders Cafe.
Nothing beats having morning pancakes ($10) to start off your day. There was berries compote, there was whipped cream, and there was maple syrup on the pancakes of course. Who can resist the smiley pancakes, certainly not me. Well, we should have asked for more butter!
In my dictionary, eggs and brunch are synonymous with each other. A hearty brunch won’t be completed without any Egg Benedicts ($12). Instead of the smoked salmon, we decided to have ham with eggs. And personally, I felt that hams complimented eggs better. I still loved the latter though. Poached eggs, with hams on a toasted muffins, and breakfast potatoes to go along with. This is brunch.
The Riders Breakfast ($13) was supposed to be very reasonable. But we heard the waitress wrongly, so we said we wanted smoked ham, bacon and sausage. All three of them, instead of just choosing one. The damage was $8 more for the two additional sides. Well it’s quite a heartache getting the bill in the aftermaths, to pay the money for 2 tiny sausages and 2 strip of bacons. The money would be more well-spend if we got another dish instead. But this was solely our own mistake, and there’s no denying the breakfast was excellent, all of my favourite. Scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, sausages, beans, potatoes and toast.
Total bill was $56 for three breakfast items, and 1 drink. Well it would be around ten bucks lesser if we had not added the extra sides, so I say brunch at Rider’s is really value and excellent for the superb ambience of the place. But, fairways drive is hardly a place where you will call accessible unless you got transport, or cab.
I will definitely come back again, for brunch, or even for lunch. Their lunch and diner menu looks very affordable too! But another thing to note, I went on a weekday morning, so it was relatively peaceful. If you were to go on a weekend for brunch, the result might not be the same. See you there!
ps: if you had noticed, I had also included my signature See you there! tag for my previous two post on Graze and Patisserie Glace as well. It just so happened I went to four fabulous place within this two weeks!
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 Angel on my right says she is innocent and pure. The Devil on the left rebuts, she is gullible and inexperience. A simple play of words, show the different perception of people. The same word could mean two totally different thing. Naive, is all about the absence of artificiality, in a good way.
Rather than a vegetarian restaurant, the owners of Naive know exactly how human perception is, most people tend to associate vegetarian with distasteful food, so lets just call them the first meatless restaurant.
Tofu is always a staple in the meatless cateogry, and it was no surprise we had it for the Golden Oats ($8.80). Essentially crispy deep fried soft golden tofu with oats and fragrant leaves. I didn’t get to try much of this, but it was a good rendition of the cereal prawn. The tofu was a fitting replacement with its crispy texture and soft interior going well with the oats.
Not the best in terms of the looks department, but the Penang Rendang ($9.80) was better than expected. Pan-fried mushroom on bed of greens. Red, hot, and spicy.
When red riding hood ($7.80) meets the big bad wolf. How apt. It was almost like the real deal. Imagine sweet and crispy,and instead of pork you get beancurd. Sweet & sour pork wannabe? This is even better than some of the ones I had before.
The ladies man. He have all sorts of tricks in his bag, and can please all of you. Battered organic oyster mushroom ($9.80). If you have been avoiding fried food for a while now, because of the double damage; unhealthy fried food and too much meat. This is the one for you.
Tangy and refreshing. The mango tofu cake ($12.80) was all about that. Slightly sweet, slightly sour. Crispy skin, soft body. Talk about contrast.
With a cheesy tag line like mega in taste, and mini in size, the Mega mini mushroom ($10.80). While I ain’t a big fan of Sze Chuan cuisine, one bite was enough to tell me the flavourful spicy szechuan sauce.
Enchanted forest ($12.80). Indeed, I was smitten by her charming ways, her strong perfume smell of wolfberry, her strong and wilful texture.
From the braise, you would certainly associate it with cooking for many hours. Yes, but somehow for monkeyhead mushrooms, it does not turn soft. We were expecting the meat-lookalike to be tender, but instead it was still rather tough in texture. Heartwarmer ($13.80)
I always love to order garlic rice when I frequent Japanese restaurants. They are so oh-so good! And I think the same could be for Naive, their Oliver twist ($3.80). Instead of the Japanese pearl rice, we have the fragrant Thai rice, with a olive twist. And I agreed, so good it can be eaten on its own.
Naive promises to offer healthy food without compromising on taste. And I will like to say they did it. I never knew vegetarian, or rather, meatless could taste so good. However, prices are rather steep given the small portions. And their main courses are all monkeyhead mushrooms.
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:
Seems like many people have actually blogged about this up and coming patisserie hidden at the corner of the Notorious Keong Saik Road, Craig Road and Neil Road intersection within Chinatown Plaza - a rather dilapidated private apartment of sorts. Helmed by Master Chef Yamashita who hails from Nara, Japan, this tiny patisserie has been garnering rave reviews in the media and blogosphere alike.
Banana Mille-Feuille ($4.50) - I thought that the mille feuille was a great way to start off as it was light and crisp due to the layer of puff pastry thats sandwiched in between layers of chocolate mousse, sponge and bananas. The chocolate mousse itself was very well balanced and didn't threaten to overwhelm.
Strawberry Hill ($5.20) - Topped with sliced strawberries on layers of light and fluffy sponge sandwiching fresh cream on a wholesome oven baked tart base, the strawberry hill was sublimely good. What's interesting about this cake is that the name really suits it! The cake gets substantially more dense towards the bottom, very much like a hill, where the soil is looser at the top and gradually becomes more compact towards the bottom.
Strawberry Soufflé ($5.30) - The pièce de résistance. Dense yet light on the palate with a tinge of lemony zest and topped with strawberries. Its probably one of the best cheesecakes I've eaten in a long long while.
See all my pictures here.
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I believe the seventh day of the week, Sunday, is meant for us to relax and enjoy; without any of the problem and stress that come along as part of the package in our life. I believe breakfast, is the most important meal of the day, having a good start will certainly makes thing behind easier. Brunch, at Graze.
I believe in having a good ambience for me to enjoy my food, albeit paying a slightly higher price, everything is worth it when you get to enjoy this scenery while sipping down a cup of tea, and eating your breakfast.
The al fresco at Graze @ Rochester Park was amazing. The picturesque lush surroundings, the tone of the white colonial-style bungalow. Full stop.
I believe your dining companion plays an even vital part in making the meal an enjoyable one. Given good food but eaten with people you disliked, and ordinary food but with people you enjoyed hanging out with. It’s hell lots of difference.
The little white piece which is so common on our table for the first meal of the day, simply bread. Our original intentions were to order the “door stopper” toasts which consisted four slices of white, wholemeal, multi grain, and cinnamon & raisins toast. But luckily, the waiter informed us that they will served complimentary bread. A slice of white, and wholemeal. Like the Gardenia slogan, so good you can even eat it on its own!
And how can any brunch be short of Egg Benedicts ($17). Classic or smoked salmon and spinach, we opted for the latter. The beautiful poached egg and smoked salmon sat on a piece of slightly char toast. The salty taste of the salmon enhanced the flavour of the wonderful poached egg. I’m so hooked on the idea of having brunch every weekend, if only just for the eggs.
The idea of big-breakfast was clearly conceptualise in the cast iron pan ($20). With the best of everything, bratwurst sausages, smoked bacon, mushroom, tomato, country potato, fried eggs, baked beans, and plum chili salsa. They clearly could read my mind, everything was my favourite, and it came sizzling on the hot pan. And oh yes, I forget to mention how good the mushrooms were! While prices might be slightly steep, and the portions didn’t seem that big, let me assured you, the two of us couldn’t finish everything on this pan.
Total bill was $50.61 for brunch. Contrary to what some people might have say about Graze, I found the service from the staff to be good, they were attentive and friendly without being over-disturbing, and even offered to get me a small chair to put my bag after I left it on the floor. The combination of superb ambience, good service, and a lovely brunch meant that even though prices are slightly steep, I will not hesitate to go back again. I want to try the pancakes and waffles the next time round. See you there!
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!
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Comfort food in cosy setting.
Breeks located at the corner of level 3 at T2 is a nice place to chill while waiting for friends to arrive or depart. >.<
Being Halal certified also means that everyone is able to enjoy the food and wide variety of desserts here.
If you're looking for powerpoint for your machines, there's only one (I think) near the entrance on the red wall.
Food here is nice and the serving size fits my tummy just fine. The chicken patty is packed with crunchy onions, and some unknown stuff which I simply ignored. I digg anything chicken and with melted cheese!
The Nutella Milkshake though could be better. The shake isn't thick enough imo.
Looking at the crowd here now, at this hour (yes I'm writing this review while I'm still here) on a Friday night, I guess it shouldn't be a problem getting a table for meal.
Perhaps if I'm going to stay here longer, I might give one of their desserts a try. Anyone wants to join me?
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Leisurely lunches have, for most working class people, always been the exception rather then the norm. I attest to that norm personally so it was with much delight that I embraced a rare opportunity to engage in one at Marmalade Pantry - home to the tai tai crowd.
Marmalade's Orchard outlet is aptly located at the upscale Palais Renaissance, boasting an open concept sitting area smack in the middle of the mall. Wrap leather sofa seats coupled with heavy wooden tables and chairs complete the somewhat "cafeish" look. The clientele here consists mainly of reasonably well heeled executives and of course the tais tais, who spend hours on end sipping their tea/coffee over a slice of cake or dessert. So there I was, like a fish out of water.
Pan-Roasted Red Snapper - I didn't think too much of this dish as it didn't exactly strike me as good. The almond/breadcrumb crust gave it a nice crunchy texture and the fish overall had a zesty tinge to it. But it just wasn't sweet. I'm pretty sure the chickpeas didn't help matters.
The Ultimate Beef Burger - For something to be termed "The Ultimate", it must possess a certain level of quality, something that was sorely lacking in this dish. The beef patty was hard and dry even though there were evident traces of juices within and not to mention, salty. So salty that it overwhelmed any beefy taste that I would have appreciated in any beef burger. It didn't help that the patty was dwarfed by the huge buns that made the whole burger look like the letter 'I' as well. And before I forget, the fries were probably factory cut frozen fries.
Homemade Lemon Tart - I'm not usually a fan of sourish stuff so I reserve my comments on this one save for the fact that I didn't cringe when I took a mouthful of it.
Sticky Date Toffee Pudding - Words elude me as I attempt to describe the sticky date pudding. Would words like amazing fit the bill? Absolutely not. Moist yet compact and spongy, it brought back distinct childhood memories of eating MacDonald's hotcakes with honey syrup, very much like what the serving of ratatouille did to Anton Ego in the movie. The vanilla bean ice cream alongside proved a nice complement.
The burger aside, I think food quality is generally decent for the price ($83 for 2 mains and 2 desserts) but the piece de resistance would have to be the desserts. Service seems a little inexperienced but still generally decent.
See all my pictures here.
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The simple pleasure of life. People always chase after complicated stuff all their life, but if you would just slow down your steps, you will notice some of the simple things are the nicest things around. What I’m going to introduce to you for this post, is anything but simple. The location is inaccessible, there are practically no nice decorations, the seats are merely a few tables, but the service are so friendly, and the desserts are amazing!
This cake, they called it the Strawberry Souffle ($5.0). Patisserie Glace’s rendition of the Japanese cheesecake. The texture of the cake was so smooth that it was quite unlike of what I’ve eaten before. My friend and I took our first bite, and there was silence till we finished the cake. It was so good that we didn’t know why they were able to make the cake in this way, that we kept on eating it. And the puff pastry layer at the side of the cake brought back nostalgic memories for me. Well, cliché as it sounds, you got to try out for yourself to find out. Amazing stuff.
It was my third shortcake only after trying the ones from Canelé and Bakerzin. I was determined to find something better, so we picked the Strawberry shortcake ($4.80). The cream wasn’t fluffy enough and did not hold its shape after a while. But what I liked was the fact that it was sweeter than the ones that I’ve tasted before. Not the best yet.
Two layer of mango cheese mousse with two layer of sponge. The rare cheese mango ($4.20) was an offer for this month only. Dense yet not heavy. It may seem easy to use this four words, but it is definitely not simple at all to create the taste. The mango taste was very subtle, with the focus on the cheesecake.
Total bill was $14 for three cakes. Patisserie Glace has remarkable cakes at very reasonable pricing due to their lower rental which allows them to pass on the savings to customers. Even at the ulu Chinatown plaza, customers be it Japanese expats or locals, just keep coming in. I went back twice in the short span of four days, for that they already merited “See you there!“
My simple pleasure. Life’s sweet.
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:
Ah ma! Ah ma! I want another slice of that. The brownish-orange cake with the smooth cream frosting on top. What is that name again? Yes, carrot cake. Another slice please, before kor-kor comes back from school. Time passed, and ages caught up with us eventually. Ah ma is no longer as young as she was before. And the energy, effort put into making the kuehs, also diminished with every passing day.
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Coffee Bean’s carrot cake isn’t the best carrot cake that I’ve. But then again, I didn’t have that many before to compare it with. And yes, I know I haven’t try the legendary one from Cedele yet. Anyway, even though the cream frosting was generous, but the raisins were too much for my personal liking. And the No-study sign is a joke.
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: