I was there with a group of friends. Luckily we were early so managed to get a table for four. The food is reasonably priced. I had the mushroom cappuccino and chicken dish (A roulade of chicken thigh stuffed with foie gras-infused chicken farce, creamy basmati rice & parmesan sauce).
The mushroom cappuccino is good. Creamy. Tasty.
The chicken - too salty for my taste though.
The ambiance is good. Nice cosy feeling. The staff are helpful. One of my friend is pregnant and they take special care for her entrance in the crowded space. :)
I will definitely return to try out their other dishes.
Attracted by the flower shop that is not only littered with these multi-coloured pretty living things, the decorational metal vases and wooden counter top trinkets intrigued me. I entered LALU with much anticipation of being blown away by the infusion of Japanese Countryside. A flower shop in a clothing store is simply genius...
What else is genius, a small living area with toys for children and husbands to hang out comfortably! If you like what you see, you can bring them home as well... Wow.. this not only could entertain the loved ones of these female shoppers, it would encourage them to come by to browse even if they feel they have nothing to buy. Love the trinkets and the country living decorations for sale. Some designs are very special and unique to this shop.
The style of the clothing and colour schemes are more japanese country side. Though I find some fluorescent brightly coloured pieces, they are mostly in a softer tone and materials that felt very natural. I think the pieces are priced at a good range for fashion, however living items are slightly on the high side.
Its a very interesting shop and its worth the visit for the family. Great merchandises and a pretty unique theme that is very rare to find in Sunny SG Island.
Luring people into its shop by offering feel nail polishing or trial packs. First a friendly smile "i avoided eye contact", then the approach "I tried to siam by walking quickly away" then comes the innocent question... "Can I ask you something..." I felt obliged to be friendly to the visiting foreigner especially when she is an Ang Mor... And the conversation started and one thing lead to another and I ended up with 2 sets of nail repair kit and hundred over dollars poorer. When I got home.. I was about to smack myself silly...
Though I must say their marketing skills are terrific, it left me a bad aftertaste... Their skin care products are pretty comprehensive and I really like some of their products especially the all natural mineral filled ingredients. The fragrance for the body lotions, sea salt scrubs and other accompanying skin care products are mild and nice. The nail polisher works like a miracle leaving a glossy nail finish and comes with a lifetime replacement of the strips, on top of that with purchase of one nail kit, I get 2 150ml body lotion and another set of nail kit free.
The products are pretty nice but prices are too steep and the way I was being marketed, I kinda felt pressured. On top of that while i returned home, I tried to go online to get my free strips, then I realised, its not so free... coz I have to pay the freight from the website, mailed out from USA. The freight is so expensive for a few pieces of small sized sand paper I felt as though i was buying the FREE LIFETIME REPLACEMENT STRIPs , totally not worth it.
Next time they come to you.. you better try to run away, less you regret like me. I could literally hear my wallet crying :'''0
A new steakhouse, Bull & Butcher, recently opened up in town and I had the opportunity to drop by to sample a couple of its signature dishes, courtesy of the restaurant. The eatery attempts to differentiate itself from the other steakhouses by offering diners a view of the butchers in the kitchen (dressed in traditional chain mail aprons, no less) slicing up their choice of meat. And in case you are wondering if it is in the same league as the big boys (Morton's, Ruth Chris etc), no it definitely isn't. Price wise at least.
Occupying a rather prominent unit just next to the main entrance of Plaza Singapura along Orchard Road, Bull & Butcher doesn't come across as very big but there is an outdoor alfresco area if you prefer Singapore's humidity and heat (not to mention cigarette smoke). Inside, tables are spaced decently apart which makes for relaxing conversation but the overall design isn't much to rave about - very much like your typical western restaurant.
Prawn Cocktail ($14) - Dinner kick started with a prawn cocktail, which featured huge, crunchy prawns amidst an avalanche of thousand island sauce. Decent.
Roast Whole Garlic ($8) - This was actually a side and although I do like garlic, I don't quite relish the experience of eating it whole with skin and all. But that's just a personal preference.
Crab Cake, Sundried Tomato Sauce ($16) - The crab cake had a generous amount of crab meat but the breaded coating probably wasn't the best way to encapsulate the crab meat due to the absorption of oil. And the sundried tomato sauce failed to capture the intense burst of tangy, mildly sweet flavour that I had hoped for. Instead, it had a mild curry tinge to it for an Asian slant. Fusion maybe? Personally I still prefer the renditions from Morton's and Ruth's Chris.
Australian Wagyu Bolognaise Pasta ($26) - I'm of the humble opinion that good beef should never be minced because it would affect the texture and taste of the beef. And this pasta dish wasn't about to change my mind. Minced beef coupled with a rather mild tomato based sauce and less than al dente tagliatelle made for an average, carbohydrate laden dish.
Braised Australian Wagyu Beef Cheek ($38) - Melt in the mouth tender beef cheek sitting on a bed of charmingly smooth mashed potato and a stock that's not overwhelmingly sweet - what's not to like? Well maybe the price to portion ratio. But that aside, this was easily one of the best dishes of the evening in my humble opinion.
Petit Tender - The petit tender or "beef shoulder tender" is a small centre cut beef tenderloin which lies below the flat iron steak and is known to be of similar quality to the filet mignon. This cut isn't used much as it apparently requires a certain level of skill to extract. And it is currently exclusive to Bull & Butcher (off the menu though!).
First looks, the medallion shaped piece of meat was of reasonable thickness and done up medium rare. Natural flavours were drool worthy and accentuated through the use of a little salt seasoning. The only gripe I had was that the meat came across as a tad too dry for my liking.
Pear and Chocolate Crumble, Vanilla Ice Cream ($12) - And for desserts, pear and chocolate crumble served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The crust lacked the oven baked taste whilst the chocolate came across as a little underwhelming. But on the bright side, I loved the little wayward chunks of crumble.
I popped by this outlet today and liked it immediately. At level 3 of Liang Court, this bookstore is filled with books of all kinds... and loads of Jap Reading Materials, Stationaries, Magazines and everything else Japanese. The store is neatly packed at shelves at a good height for browsing.
The books are priced a little bit high but they do have the most of the popular and IN books ready stock for you to grab them. For those who love Jap Manga (Comic) books or cosplay reading materials, they do have plenty for you to choose from. Japanese Fashion, Business and travel magazines are also available and I am surprised with variety they supply.
Judging by the fact that I am Miss Stationary Queen, my favourite hangout must be at the Stationary Department in which is pretty unique to this outlet. You cannot imagine how many nice stuffs I wanna bring home... Lets talk about the pens, pencils and every writing gear.
Do you know that the Pilot Pens made in Japan is different from the ones we have in the local stationary supply.... They are smoother to write on, easier on the hand and extremely stylish.
Do you know that Japan made notebooks have a mild yellow/ beige hue on their paper, usually thin and light weight and extremely smooth yet the pen ink do not penetrate through.
Do you know the Japan made notepads usually have these tiny proliferation that are not huge, unsightly and flimsy like our local made notepads. Yet they are almost non-existent and when you need to tear off a piece, you can easily do so and leave a nice straight cut behind, not damaging your notepad.
Beautiful cartoons, prints, and comics on textured and fabric lined stationary is an extreme stationary lover's most wanted fantasy and you can find many there at this outlet...
I can go on and on for days on the stationary and how nice and useful they are however I'm leaving space for other stationary freaks like me to venture. Meanwhile, I also discovered this BARGAIN ALLEY... which i thought is a GREAT IDEA! At this alley is where discounted and marked down books are. They are mostly still in great conditions and you could take time to browse and you never know you could find something you like to curl up and read.
I ended up with a large bagful of pens, pencils, notepads and some beautiful and useful notebook personalizing stuffs like a stick-on notebook rope fastener, like those from that really old brown envelope that we used to make a 8 shape on the thread that holds the mouth close. Great buys and fast service.. I enjoyed myself :)
I visited the national museum on a saturday afternoon as it is one of the open house days and am surprised by a flea market at the second level.
After browsing through the various stalls displaying their choice products and creation, I stopped by littlehouseofdreams because this is one stall that caught my eye. I was surprised by how they could make such a confined space of a small square table look so professional, interesting and products so appealing.
Dressed in a red polkadot table lining with white cake stands and wooden shelves. Yes, they are selling cakes, cup cakes and interestingly, jar cakes. Every cake is opened midway to allow customers to view the cross section of the cakes is a perfect idea. I'm surprised.... The insides of the cakes looked as perfect as the outside. Dressed neatly with dainty decorations outside with a soft hue of pink, these cakes appealed very much to the sweet nature of a girl. The flavors looked wonderful and I am most attracted to the carrot cake and chocolate rootbeer bundt because they look different from my previous carrot cake experiences and chocolate rootbeer bundt i've never tasted such a creation before.
The cupcakes looked dainty and lovely too... Very Pretty I must say and the Jar Cakes are what attracted me the most. I've never tasted a Jar Cake, its actually cake in a jar and the wooden shelve where they display these Jars made me curious of the taste. So I chose a funky flavor... Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge... I believe will be an ultimate bewildering experience for me.
After purchasing the cake and strolling around whatever that is left of the flea market, I proceeded outside to seat at the Foyer of the museum. My Curious kitty caught me there.. I must try the newly acquired JAR CAKE...
To my amazement, the inside looked as pretty as the outside. Upon popping the lid off, what greeted me was a swirl of cream with droplets of caramel. After admiring it for a while, I dipped my spoon in.. and yes... its a spoonful of whipped cream with droplets of caramel and chocolate fudge with a rich chocolate cake. The taste was overwhelming... I could taste the saltiness of the caramel, with the rich fudgy texture of the chocolate cake, which i find bouncy and lastly the soft fluffy cream. The balance was good, salty then sweet and a fluff, yet this small jar cake is filling and rich... So its good to share though its small as its very creamy.
I have an extremely good impression of the products, display and the enthusiastic staff that served me. If I have any parties, I think it would be such a luxury to have their cakes as part of the catering... Sure to UP the BLISS index :)
Love to hangout at this outlet on my non-working weekdays, though I find it always packed to the brim even for weekday brunches. It must be the super aromatic thick and traditional tasting coffee that brought the crowd...
I like the deco of the place, the old antique looking everyday living items they place all over the walls and shelves, made me feel like i'm in a 60s kopitiam. The music in the background is a soothing tune of the 60s oldies in a contemporary jazz rhythm, extremely alluring. I love to just seat and watch the uncle behind the counter make his coffee as steam arises and feels the air the potent caffeine fused aroma.
Love their traditional toast and half boiled eggs. The eggs are seriously the 'bigger' eggs and you sure feel full after having the eggs plus 2 slices of thinly sliced toast with kaya and cold storage butter which tasted very much like cheese to me :) Love the crispy slightly burnt toast and the sticky sensation of the kaya, slightly sweet yet balanced by the slightly salty hard creamy butter. The combination brings forth superb taste, right mix of crunchiness and softness and right mix of memories from your beloved childhood for some.
Its a good place to hang and service is pretty good. I once saw a guy who complained that his eggs were (1) cold, they changed for him a new set of eggs, (2) not cooked enough, they changed for him, (3) overcooked, they made a new batch for him. So for the patience and customer service its a 5 star :)
The place would be more comfortable if the seats werent placed so close and perhaps a larger entrance as the queue filled up the entrance and its really hard to move in or out :)
If you like handmade candies, then you will like sticky.... Freshly handmade and fully customizable. These candies unlike the regular off the shelf candies are brightly colored and full of flavor. Lots of interesting flavors to choose from and priced economically.
It takes a longer time to melt in your mouth because its almost 100% GULA GULA (Sugar). I love to watch them mold and make the candies... The thumping, the dragging of the sugar dough looks like it requires a man with super strong arms. The gloves are huge and thick and I can imagine how hot the sugar dough is. The smell of hot sugar somehow appeals to me...
Love their free flow of trial candies.. you can almost test every flavour before you buy them and they sell by 100grams.... My favourite flavors: Pomegranate, watermelon, strawberry and cream and bubblegummy!!!
Love the art of making candies, their demo, their customization and most importantly bringing live candy making into the heart of Singapore. Its an educational and fun service they offer.. Loving it :)
Popped by Bistro Du Vin's original outlet one sunny weekday afternoon for lunch with a couple of my colleagues. Promising to serve up honest to goodness classical French food, the restaurant is one of the many brand names under the Les Amis umbrella.
Located on the 2nd floor of Shaw Centre, Bistro Du Vin plays neighbour to a Vietnamese Restaurant and of course it's upmarket sibling, Les Amis. The interior is reminiscent of a typical French brasserie, from the red walls right down to the tiled floor. However, tables are spaced a little too close for comfort which makes normal conversations a tad difficult. Proper sound proofing is also lacking and the entire place sounds like a market when running at full capacity.
Complimentary Bread - The bread was a simple and simple crusty baguette served with orange butter. Pretty nice and a great way to stave off the hunger pangs.
Char Grilled Australian Angus Ribeye - This required a top up of $10 to the price of the set lunch but it was well worth it in my humble opinion. Done up medium as per my request, the meat was flavourful and juicy with hints of smokiness from the char grilling. The accompanying truffle mash ( $3 ) was smooth and fragrant as well and the truffle honestly helped elevate what would have been a boring, bland side of mash.
However, in a subsequent visit, I had the exact same thing and it was still good, just that the salt content was a little too high for my liking.
Walnut Tart - And for desserts I had a pretty good walnut tart - solid tart base with walnuts set amidst rich chocolate and caramel filling. Between this and the Pink Tiramisu which I had on my subsequent visit, I honestly preferred this (though the pink tiramisu was something different). Served up with a scoop of real vanilla bean ice cream.
The standard lunch set is a reasonable $30 but it is the top ups that really "upsize" the bill. Still, food quality is pretty decent and I especially like their steaks. Service is rather clinical and lacks warmth though - an area that the restaurant might want to look into.
This is a pretty small outlet of art supplies store of the ART FRIEND branches however it has all that i needed for my art ventures.
Sketching supplies, oil paints and all that you need for that art project of yours, they do carry a good range of materials with various textures, colours and make. These supplies are neatly stacked according to their types on rows and rows of racks making browsing a breeze. I could quickly find what I wanted, some foam rubber number and letters, a few A4 pieces of glittering foam sheets, a wooden plaque backing, some paint markers in my desired fluorescent hue and some spray on adhesives.
While looking through the items I wanted for my art project, I also noticed other stuffs that got my creative juices flowing. Simple materials like wooden blocks, steel wires or even crepe paper are some of the things we could easily get from hardware stores or small shop houses about a decade ago, however these things have become uncommon items and could only be found in the art supplies store and being priced as a premium.
I think their prices are reasonable. Not exactly cheap but I don't mind paying a little more when I can get everything under one roof. Service is great, the staff seemed to know whats anything for and where to get what you want. Its not as big as compared to the other outlets but its good enough for me. Easily accessible location near the main road but parking could be a problem.
1=SGD 0.0587
I was there with a group of friends. Luckily we were early so managed to get a table for four. The food is reasonably priced. I had the mushroom cappuccino and chicken dish (A roulade of chicken thigh stuffed with foie gras-infused chicken farce, creamy basmati rice & parmesan sauce).
The mushroom cappuccino is good. Creamy. Tasty.
The chicken - too salty for my taste though.
The ambiance is good. Nice cosy feeling. The staff are helpful. One of my friend is pregnant and they take special care for her entrance in the crowded space. :)
I will definitely return to try out their other dishes.
Rating given:
Attracted by the flower shop that is not only littered with these multi-coloured pretty living things, the decorational metal vases and wooden counter top trinkets intrigued me. I entered LALU with much anticipation of being blown away by the infusion of Japanese Countryside. A flower shop in a clothing store is simply genius...
What else is genius, a small living area with toys for children and husbands to hang out comfortably! If you like what you see, you can bring them home as well... Wow.. this not only could entertain the loved ones of these female shoppers, it would encourage them to come by to browse even if they feel they have nothing to buy. Love the trinkets and the country living decorations for sale. Some designs are very special and unique to this shop.
The style of the clothing and colour schemes are more japanese country side. Though I find some fluorescent brightly coloured pieces, they are mostly in a softer tone and materials that felt very natural. I think the pieces are priced at a good range for fashion, however living items are slightly on the high side.
Its a very interesting shop and its worth the visit for the family. Great merchandises and a pretty unique theme that is very rare to find in Sunny SG Island.
Rating given:
Luring people into its shop by offering feel nail polishing or trial packs. First a friendly smile "i avoided eye contact", then the approach "I tried to siam by walking quickly away" then comes the innocent question... "Can I ask you something..." I felt obliged to be friendly to the visiting foreigner especially when she is an Ang Mor... And the conversation started and one thing lead to another and I ended up with 2 sets of nail repair kit and hundred over dollars poorer. When I got home.. I was about to smack myself silly...
Though I must say their marketing skills are terrific, it left me a bad aftertaste... Their skin care products are pretty comprehensive and I really like some of their products especially the all natural mineral filled ingredients. The fragrance for the body lotions, sea salt scrubs and other accompanying skin care products are mild and nice. The nail polisher works like a miracle leaving a glossy nail finish and comes with a lifetime replacement of the strips, on top of that with purchase of one nail kit, I get 2 150ml body lotion and another set of nail kit free.
The products are pretty nice but prices are too steep and the way I was being marketed, I kinda felt pressured. On top of that while i returned home, I tried to go online to get my free strips, then I realised, its not so free... coz I have to pay the freight from the website, mailed out from USA. The freight is so expensive for a few pieces of small sized sand paper I felt as though i was buying the FREE LIFETIME REPLACEMENT STRIPs , totally not worth it.
Next time they come to you.. you better try to run away, less you regret like me. I could literally hear my wallet crying :'''0
Rating given:
A new steakhouse, Bull & Butcher, recently opened up in town and I had the opportunity to drop by to sample a couple of its signature dishes, courtesy of the restaurant. The eatery attempts to differentiate itself from the other steakhouses by offering diners a view of the butchers in the kitchen (dressed in traditional chain mail aprons, no less) slicing up their choice of meat. And in case you are wondering if it is in the same league as the big boys (Morton's, Ruth Chris etc), no it definitely isn't. Price wise at least.
Occupying a rather prominent unit just next to the main entrance of Plaza Singapura along Orchard Road, Bull & Butcher doesn't come across as very big but there is an outdoor alfresco area if you prefer Singapore's humidity and heat (not to mention cigarette smoke). Inside, tables are spaced decently apart which makes for relaxing conversation but the overall design isn't much to rave about - very much like your typical western restaurant.
Prawn Cocktail ($14) - Dinner kick started with a prawn cocktail, which featured huge, crunchy prawns amidst an avalanche of thousand island sauce. Decent.
Roast Whole Garlic ($8) - This was actually a side and although I do like garlic, I don't quite relish the experience of eating it whole with skin and all. But that's just a personal preference.
Crab Cake, Sundried Tomato Sauce ($16) - The crab cake had a generous amount of crab meat but the breaded coating probably wasn't the best way to encapsulate the crab meat due to the absorption of oil. And the sundried tomato sauce failed to capture the intense burst of tangy, mildly sweet flavour that I had hoped for. Instead, it had a mild curry tinge to it for an Asian slant. Fusion maybe? Personally I still prefer the renditions from Morton's and Ruth's Chris.
Australian Wagyu Bolognaise Pasta ($26) - I'm of the humble opinion that good beef should never be minced because it would affect the texture and taste of the beef. And this pasta dish wasn't about to change my mind. Minced beef coupled with a rather mild tomato based sauce and less than al dente tagliatelle made for an average, carbohydrate laden dish.
Braised Australian Wagyu Beef Cheek ($38) - Melt in the mouth tender beef cheek sitting on a bed of charmingly smooth mashed potato and a stock that's not overwhelmingly sweet - what's not to like? Well maybe the price to portion ratio. But that aside, this was easily one of the best dishes of the evening in my humble opinion.
Petit Tender - The petit tender or "beef shoulder tender" is a small centre cut beef tenderloin which lies below the flat iron steak and is known to be of similar quality to the filet mignon. This cut isn't used much as it apparently requires a certain level of skill to extract. And it is currently exclusive to Bull & Butcher (off the menu though!).
First looks, the medallion shaped piece of meat was of reasonable thickness and done up medium rare. Natural flavours were drool worthy and accentuated through the use of a little salt seasoning. The only gripe I had was that the meat came across as a tad too dry for my liking.
Pear and Chocolate Crumble, Vanilla Ice Cream ($12) - And for desserts, pear and chocolate crumble served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The crust lacked the oven baked taste whilst the chocolate came across as a little underwhelming. But on the bright side, I loved the little wayward chunks of crumble.
Thanks to Bull & Butcher for the invite!
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
I popped by this outlet today and liked it immediately. At level 3 of Liang Court, this bookstore is filled with books of all kinds... and loads of Jap Reading Materials, Stationaries, Magazines and everything else Japanese. The store is neatly packed at shelves at a good height for browsing.
The books are priced a little bit high but they do have the most of the popular and IN books ready stock for you to grab them. For those who love Jap Manga (Comic) books or cosplay reading materials, they do have plenty for you to choose from. Japanese Fashion, Business and travel magazines are also available and I am surprised with variety they supply.
Judging by the fact that I am Miss Stationary Queen, my favourite hangout must be at the Stationary Department in which is pretty unique to this outlet. You cannot imagine how many nice stuffs I wanna bring home... Lets talk about the pens, pencils and every writing gear.
Do you know that the Pilot Pens made in Japan is different from the ones we have in the local stationary supply.... They are smoother to write on, easier on the hand and extremely stylish.
Do you know that Japan made notebooks have a mild yellow/ beige hue on their paper, usually thin and light weight and extremely smooth yet the pen ink do not penetrate through.
Do you know the Japan made notepads usually have these tiny proliferation that are not huge, unsightly and flimsy like our local made notepads. Yet they are almost non-existent and when you need to tear off a piece, you can easily do so and leave a nice straight cut behind, not damaging your notepad.
Beautiful cartoons, prints, and comics on textured and fabric lined stationary is an extreme stationary lover's most wanted fantasy and you can find many there at this outlet...
I can go on and on for days on the stationary and how nice and useful they are however I'm leaving space for other stationary freaks like me to venture. Meanwhile, I also discovered this BARGAIN ALLEY... which i thought is a GREAT IDEA! At this alley is where discounted and marked down books are. They are mostly still in great conditions and you could take time to browse and you never know you could find something you like to curl up and read.
I ended up with a large bagful of pens, pencils, notepads and some beautiful and useful notebook personalizing stuffs like a stick-on notebook rope fastener, like those from that really old brown envelope that we used to make a 8 shape on the thread that holds the mouth close. Great buys and fast service.. I enjoyed myself :)
Rating given:
I visited the national museum on a saturday afternoon as it is one of the open house days and am surprised by a flea market at the second level.
After browsing through the various stalls displaying their choice products and creation, I stopped by littlehouseofdreams because this is one stall that caught my eye. I was surprised by how they could make such a confined space of a small square table look so professional, interesting and products so appealing.
Dressed in a red polkadot table lining with white cake stands and wooden shelves. Yes, they are selling cakes, cup cakes and interestingly, jar cakes. Every cake is opened midway to allow customers to view the cross section of the cakes is a perfect idea. I'm surprised.... The insides of the cakes looked as perfect as the outside. Dressed neatly with dainty decorations outside with a soft hue of pink, these cakes appealed very much to the sweet nature of a girl. The flavors looked wonderful and I am most attracted to the carrot cake and chocolate rootbeer bundt because they look different from my previous carrot cake experiences and chocolate rootbeer bundt i've never tasted such a creation before.
The cupcakes looked dainty and lovely too... Very Pretty I must say and the Jar Cakes are what attracted me the most. I've never tasted a Jar Cake, its actually cake in a jar and the wooden shelve where they display these Jars made me curious of the taste. So I chose a funky flavor... Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge... I believe will be an ultimate bewildering experience for me.
After purchasing the cake and strolling around whatever that is left of the flea market, I proceeded outside to seat at the Foyer of the museum. My Curious kitty caught me there.. I must try the newly acquired JAR CAKE...
To my amazement, the inside looked as pretty as the outside. Upon popping the lid off, what greeted me was a swirl of cream with droplets of caramel. After admiring it for a while, I dipped my spoon in.. and yes... its a spoonful of whipped cream with droplets of caramel and chocolate fudge with a rich chocolate cake. The taste was overwhelming... I could taste the saltiness of the caramel, with the rich fudgy texture of the chocolate cake, which i find bouncy and lastly the soft fluffy cream. The balance was good, salty then sweet and a fluff, yet this small jar cake is filling and rich... So its good to share though its small as its very creamy.
I have an extremely good impression of the products, display and the enthusiastic staff that served me. If I have any parties, I think it would be such a luxury to have their cakes as part of the catering... Sure to UP the BLISS index :)
Rating given:
Love to hangout at this outlet on my non-working weekdays, though I find it always packed to the brim even for weekday brunches. It must be the super aromatic thick and traditional tasting coffee that brought the crowd...
I like the deco of the place, the old antique looking everyday living items they place all over the walls and shelves, made me feel like i'm in a 60s kopitiam. The music in the background is a soothing tune of the 60s oldies in a contemporary jazz rhythm, extremely alluring. I love to just seat and watch the uncle behind the counter make his coffee as steam arises and feels the air the potent caffeine fused aroma.
Love their traditional toast and half boiled eggs. The eggs are seriously the 'bigger' eggs and you sure feel full after having the eggs plus 2 slices of thinly sliced toast with kaya and cold storage butter which tasted very much like cheese to me :) Love the crispy slightly burnt toast and the sticky sensation of the kaya, slightly sweet yet balanced by the slightly salty hard creamy butter. The combination brings forth superb taste, right mix of crunchiness and softness and right mix of memories from your beloved childhood for some.
Its a good place to hang and service is pretty good. I once saw a guy who complained that his eggs were (1) cold, they changed for him a new set of eggs, (2) not cooked enough, they changed for him, (3) overcooked, they made a new batch for him. So for the patience and customer service its a 5 star :)
The place would be more comfortable if the seats werent placed so close and perhaps a larger entrance as the queue filled up the entrance and its really hard to move in or out :)
Rating given:
If you like handmade candies, then you will like sticky.... Freshly handmade and fully customizable. These candies unlike the regular off the shelf candies are brightly colored and full of flavor. Lots of interesting flavors to choose from and priced economically.
It takes a longer time to melt in your mouth because its almost 100% GULA GULA (Sugar). I love to watch them mold and make the candies... The thumping, the dragging of the sugar dough looks like it requires a man with super strong arms. The gloves are huge and thick and I can imagine how hot the sugar dough is. The smell of hot sugar somehow appeals to me...
Love their free flow of trial candies.. you can almost test every flavour before you buy them and they sell by 100grams.... My favourite flavors: Pomegranate, watermelon, strawberry and cream and bubblegummy!!!
Love the art of making candies, their demo, their customization and most importantly bringing live candy making into the heart of Singapore. Its an educational and fun service they offer.. Loving it :)
Rating given:
Popped by Bistro Du Vin's original outlet one sunny weekday afternoon for lunch with a couple of my colleagues. Promising to serve up honest to goodness classical French food, the restaurant is one of the many brand names under the Les Amis umbrella.
Located on the 2nd floor of Shaw Centre, Bistro Du Vin plays neighbour to a Vietnamese Restaurant and of course it's upmarket sibling, Les Amis. The interior is reminiscent of a typical French brasserie, from the red walls right down to the tiled floor. However, tables are spaced a little too close for comfort which makes normal conversations a tad difficult. Proper sound proofing is also lacking and the entire place sounds like a market when running at full capacity.
Complimentary Bread - The bread was a simple and simple crusty baguette served with orange butter. Pretty nice and a great way to stave off the hunger pangs.
White Asparagus Velouté - I honestly didn't quite take to the white asparagus veloute, which was a little too runny for my liking. There was also a bitter aftertaste to it - something which I certainly didn't appreciate.
Char Grilled Australian Angus Ribeye - This required a top up of $10 to the price of the set lunch but it was well worth it in my humble opinion. Done up medium as per my request, the meat was flavourful and juicy with hints of smokiness from the char grilling. The accompanying truffle mash ( $3 ) was smooth and fragrant as well and the truffle honestly helped elevate what would have been a boring, bland side of mash.
However, in a subsequent visit, I had the exact same thing and it was still good, just that the salt content was a little too high for my liking.
Walnut Tart - And for desserts I had a pretty good walnut tart - solid tart base with walnuts set amidst rich chocolate and caramel filling. Between this and the Pink Tiramisu which I had on my subsequent visit, I honestly preferred this (though the pink tiramisu was something different). Served up with a scoop of real vanilla bean ice cream.
The standard lunch set is a reasonable $30 but it is the top ups that really "upsize" the bill. Still, food quality is pretty decent and I especially like their steaks. Service is rather clinical and lacks warmth though - an area that the restaurant might want to look into.
See my pictures here.
Rating given:
This is a pretty small outlet of art supplies store of the ART FRIEND branches however it has all that i needed for my art ventures.
Sketching supplies, oil paints and all that you need for that art project of yours, they do carry a good range of materials with various textures, colours and make. These supplies are neatly stacked according to their types on rows and rows of racks making browsing a breeze. I could quickly find what I wanted, some foam rubber number and letters, a few A4 pieces of glittering foam sheets, a wooden plaque backing, some paint markers in my desired fluorescent hue and some spray on adhesives.
While looking through the items I wanted for my art project, I also noticed other stuffs that got my creative juices flowing. Simple materials like wooden blocks, steel wires or even crepe paper are some of the things we could easily get from hardware stores or small shop houses about a decade ago, however these things have become uncommon items and could only be found in the art supplies store and being priced as a premium.
I think their prices are reasonable. Not exactly cheap but I don't mind paying a little more when I can get everything under one roof. Service is great, the staff seemed to know whats anything for and where to get what you want. Its not as big as compared to the other outlets but its good enough for me. Easily accessible location near the main road but parking could be a problem.
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