Popped by &Made by Bruno Menard for brunch one late Saturday morning since we were in the area. Read pretty good reviews about it and coupled with the fact that it is 3 Michelin Starred Chef Bruno Menard's (owner of the now defunct 3 star L'Osier in Tokyo) first restaurant in Singapore under his own name, we were pretty psyched about dining there.
&Made occupies one corner of the ground floor at Pacific Plaza and has a rather quirky (a cross between a typical 80's video game and Alice in wonderland) feel to it. Seating capacity isn't extensive, probably about 60 pax or so and the best pick seems to be that of the booth seats if you have no more than 4 pax. Interestingly, with all the hype surrounding the restaurant, it was practically empty, save for 2 tables.
The 'B' Burger - The 'B' Burger was a tad tinier than expected whilst the patty, though done a perfect medium well, came across as tender but a little dry. The onion confit atop also proved a little overwhelming and I could hardly make out any beefy taste from the patty. I did like the bread though, soft and lightly toasted. For sides, the truffle fries ( $3) was definitely a good choice, lightly salted with the strong fragrance of truffle oil. Overall still a pretty decent burger.
Viking Toastoo - It's the first time I'm seeing a Toastoo on a menu and apparently it is a new generation sandwich made with French buckwheat crepes (according to the menu). The viking version spotted smoked salmon, cream cheese, curry and broccoli, which sounded really interesting. Alas, it was nothing out of the ordinary. The sandwich had a crisp exterior with a stuffing of salmon (couldn't taste the smokiness unfortunately) and broccoli. The curry taste was hardly existent and honestly, the whole sandwich tasted healthily (probably due to all the broccoli) normal.
Lollipop Waffle - One of the rather quirky desserts on offer at &Made, the lollipop waffle. In actual fact, it is nothing more than a waffle cooked in a huge lollipop mold and served on a stick with 3 cylindrical containers of white, dark chocolate and caramel sauce respectively. But I did appreciate the visual creativity and the dessert looked almost too good to be eaten. However, the waffle did seem a little limp but credit goes to the consistency in cooking and the crisp edges. Not something I would personally order again for dessert though.
Hot Caramel Lava Cake - This, in my humble opinion, is the star of the entire evening, the pièce de résistance, if you may. Warm, not cloyingly sweet caramel oozing out of a fissure in the soft shell and served with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream coated with crispy flakes. Simply decadent! If you like your chocolate fondants, you should definitely try this.
The both of us literally stuffed ourselves and even had 2 smoothies to round up the meal, all at a cost of about $95. Cheap? Definitely not. The prices of individual items aren't really expensive per se but add everything up and the bill can be a tad alarming. After all, food quality is only slightly above average at best, save for the caramel lava cake. Service wasn't quite up to scratch with periods of inattentiveness.
To sum up, I think &Made offers a decent meal proposition in a nice setting but lacks actual finesse in its food (bar desserts) and service can definitely be improved.
Okay I know it sounds abit auntie to review this place thus revealing that I actually go there but where else can you find a 45min foot massage for $18 and not far from town too?
The store front looks a tad sleazy (haha!) because of their location and the set up is really really simple - just massage chairs for you to sit on and there's even no washing of feet (abit yucky for me), so you walk in, plonk on a chair, and get massaged.
The masseur whom I had was a Chinese lady Lili, who seems to have the knack for finding your sore spots. She has pretty strong hands too , which is very good for back massages.
The place is not your atas spas but for a cheap and good massage, I would recommend this place.
To be fair, I've only gone twice and both times I looked for the same masseur as I think she is quite good
My attempt to add the Malacca Street outlet failed despite multiple tries (the system just blanks out and refreshes the page as blank as if I am re-entering the new business again!) so I'll review this outlet instead.
All Browhaus-es are very similar in its look and feel and honestly unless you find a particular therapist you take a liking to, going to any other branches probably wont make too much of a difference in how your brows look after that.
Each session is quick, about 10mins for me as I have very very sparse brows. The therapist are usually friendly and civil, and have quite deft fingers.
I also try to do my upper lip threading together so I dont have to make my way there again, and that despite my being a seasoned 'threadee' is still ultra painful each time.
Combined with the brow threading, my face looks like I suffer from extreme allergies every time I leave the place.
But without fail, they will try to sell the brow resurrection every time I show up. It didnt seem to matter to them that the last time I got convinced enough to let their 'eyebrow master from hongkong' draw my brows to show me supposedly how the resurrection results will look like, my brows ended up lop-sided. And the master further tested my patience by telling me if I dont do it, I will be 没头没尾.
Dear browhaus: if you're trying to sell something to potential customers of your very expensive treatment ($1,200 for one-time plus $150 for every follow up required), dont insult them.
I was enticed by Her World's reader's promotion of a Gold Mask Facial Therapy at $35 (usual value of $200 ) I think, for which they also throw in a free eye or neck treatment, plus a 10min shoulder massage. I opted for both the eye and neck treatment which needs a top up of $15 so my total price is $50 . But of course for 1st timers only~
Booking - making the booking was easy as the ad came with a number to sms to, and a staff called to make an appointment after that. I made an appointment for a Friday evening 7:30pm.
Location - Apparently the appointment can only be for the Chinese Swimming Club outlet which is located at Amber Road, a relatively ulu location for me. Its not that far a walk from Parkway Parade, maybe 10-15mins? But please be warned that the club cafe doesnt allow non-members to dine there, even if you're a guest of the spa. The only other non-member option is Tung Lok Classics on the 3rd floor but that is mad expensive. For a cheaper option, eat at Marine Parade of Katong Shopping Centre if you want to eat before or after your appointment.
Service - you are ushered to a small room for a pre-treatment consultation which surprisingly doesnt involve any machines to analyze your skin condition; just based on visual impression. There you fill up a form with your particulars, any allergies etc.
Treatment - Treatment is done in a private room where you change into a standard robe. The treatment includes extraction (sometimes painful) with a steam machine. It also has a scrub, mask etc done with a machine. The eye treatment and neck treatment claims to moisturize and hydrate which worked quite well for me. Some steps include massaging with an aid of a machine to help the ingredients penetrate the skin better. The shoulder massage was average though. But I did like that my therapist, Carrie, was very gentle and detailed, including informing / warning me of the steps and that some masks etc can be quite cold.
Packages - The treatment was over in about 1hr 15mins and you're brought back to the same pre-treatment consultation room. Carrie then proceeded to 'sell' their packages but I liked that she was not at all hardselling but seem quite sincere about it in fact. She even offered to throw in 6 free eye treatment as goodwill. But at $2,250 for 30 sessions, it was too big an investment for me even though I felt a difference in my skin after that. They cut it down to half - 15 sessions for $1,125, but I still needed some (am still am) mulling over it. The installment plan doesnt incentivize me so much as its the total value is what I am considering.
But overall a much better experience than New York which hardsells you like crazy or say Touch Elite where the masseur fell asleep on me. Sad but yup, that's what is considered 'better' for me.
This mainstream newspaper keeps revamping and each revamp just makes it better! I've since gotten used to the current version where the news is split up into different sections so members of the family dont have to wait until one another finishes it before getting to read it.
The colours of the headings also makes it easily recognizable and I have no problems with fonts, articles, etc.
And kudos to SPH for keeping the price low despite the rising costs of living! It is still in my opinion the most affordable read in Singapore.
But I have to say it can be quite heavy to lug around if you buy it from a newspaper stand, so save the trouble and order it to be delivered. The deliveries reach before 6am which is perfect for people who wants a read before zipping off to work.
I end up here most of the time because of my gym on the 8th floor.
It is one of the most crowded places on weekends and just trying to get to it from Orchard MRT is a nightmare.
It is a vast area to cover in terms of shopping inclusive of the 2 basements and the the departmental store itself carries many stuff to be shopped for. Throw in the branded bags / shoes / stuff stores and you'll understand why the mall attracts the whole wide range of shoppers.
The lift though is a perpetual nightmare - its the only way to reach the gym for me so I have no choice. It is almost all of the time filled up with families with prams of all shapes and sizes. I am perfectly at ease with family outings, but its just that it'll be nice to not have to wait so long for an available lift - and especially not when I am rushing for classes!
But as a mall, I have to say it is obviously successful and have been packed since day 1. The overflowing dining choices are also one of the reasons why you can probably spend 1 afternoon there without getting bored.
I have a love-hate relationship with Her World. Love because of the amount of information (plus gossip) they can pack into each issue every month. Hate because of its size - it is getting difficult to hold it up to read due to its thickness and weight.
Also hate because the price has been steadily increasing, but then again so has the other magazines.
The contents are a good mix of news bites for the modern women with just the right amount of gossip without being too tabloid-ish.
Keep it up SPH but the price is an increasingly deterrent for me to buy it! Have more promotions too!
This is my favourite spot for skin care window shopping. The layout of the level 1 skin care counters are nicely packed without being too close to each other, and is also easily navigable too. The array of skin care products are aplenty and you can easily while 1hr away just looking at choices.
The shoes department on the same level also offer plenty of choices and brands for shoe-pa-holics.
The 2nd and 3rd floors are not places which I often visit and are usually quieter but nonetheless spacious enough for window shopping without having to fight the mad weekend crowds.
The only negative comment is how small the bag section is. Not too exciting if you're looking for bags but then again an excuse to not blow more moolah!
I shop here alot as its the nearest Watson's to me. It is a smaller store compared to the latest megastores but it is sufficient to get daily essentials and makeup stuff here without the frills.
I come here more to buy the korean hair care which other places dont carry - but I'd wish they have more promotions for it as it is expensive! Other than that, their Listerine mouthwashes are sometimes cheaper than the supermarkets too.
Being a watson's member will be better as you get rebates off - since you're going to spend at Watson's anyway, might as well get something out of it isnt it? It is a tedious process as the rebates are pegged at 0.3% but it'll slowly accumulate.
Every now and then they offer members special prices and members' day too where the rebates go up to as high as 6% so well worth the $5 you pay for a lifetime membership.
You can also quote your NRIC if you dont have the card with you, which is always convenient.
My mum for some reason had a random buffet craving and picked this place for her birthday dinner. Strange choice I thought as Grand Park was never in my mind for food. But heck, I put forth my trust in the Park Hotel Group brand and we went for it.
Which turned out to be a good choice~
Ambience - The way to the hotel can be packed if you go during weekends but once you step into the hotel, it's nice and quiet. You can hardly tell looking at the exteriors of the hotel that the inside is almost luxe and elegant but it was.
Price - $48 per pax for a Sunday buffet dinner, with 20% discount with DBS cards. We paid about $135 for 3pax as the discount barely scrapped off the but better than nothing I guess.
Selection & quality - the selection was good in my opinion, ranging from very fresh seafood (lobsters!) to sushis, appetizers (spinach tofus, cured meats), salads (with mutiple toppings), carving stations (roased pork leg anyone), soups (tomato and salted duck), hot dishes (indian curries, steamed fish, roasted root veg, risotto, pastas) and finally desserts galore (chocolate fondue, macaroons, ice cream, cookies, egg tarts, strudels). Except for the salted duck soup, everything was rather good! The buffet comes with coffee / tea too.
Service - Only a few other tables were filled, so service was not so bad, except for the times when a handful of staff were more engrossed in spacing out than watching for patrons waving for attention.
We had a surprisingly good experience, although I'm not sure if the quality can be maintained. I also did spot their Sunday champagne brunch priced at $100 per pax inclusive of free flow champagne, wines, and beers - which looks like a good deal as compared to other hotels' champagne brunches.
1=SGD 0.0587
Popped by &Made by Bruno Menard for brunch one late Saturday morning since we were in the area. Read pretty good reviews about it and coupled with the fact that it is 3 Michelin Starred Chef Bruno Menard's (owner of the now defunct 3 star L'Osier in Tokyo) first restaurant in Singapore under his own name, we were pretty psyched about dining there.
&Made occupies one corner of the ground floor at Pacific Plaza and has a rather quirky (a cross between a typical 80's video game and Alice in wonderland) feel to it. Seating capacity isn't extensive, probably about 60 pax or so and the best pick seems to be that of the booth seats if you have no more than 4 pax. Interestingly, with all the hype surrounding the restaurant, it was practically empty, save for 2 tables.
The 'B' Burger - The 'B' Burger was a tad tinier than expected whilst the patty, though done a perfect medium well, came across as tender but a little dry. The onion confit atop also proved a little overwhelming and I could hardly make out any beefy taste from the patty. I did like the bread though, soft and lightly toasted. For sides, the truffle fries ( $3) was definitely a good choice, lightly salted with the strong fragrance of truffle oil. Overall still a pretty decent burger.
Viking Toastoo - It's the first time I'm seeing a Toastoo on a menu and apparently it is a new generation sandwich made with French buckwheat crepes (according to the menu). The viking version spotted smoked salmon, cream cheese, curry and broccoli, which sounded really interesting. Alas, it was nothing out of the ordinary. The sandwich had a crisp exterior with a stuffing of salmon (couldn't taste the smokiness unfortunately) and broccoli. The curry taste was hardly existent and honestly, the whole sandwich tasted healthily (probably due to all the broccoli) normal.
Lollipop Waffle - One of the rather quirky desserts on offer at &Made, the lollipop waffle. In actual fact, it is nothing more than a waffle cooked in a huge lollipop mold and served on a stick with 3 cylindrical containers of white, dark chocolate and caramel sauce respectively. But I did appreciate the visual creativity and the dessert looked almost too good to be eaten. However, the waffle did seem a little limp but credit goes to the consistency in cooking and the crisp edges. Not something I would personally order again for dessert though.
Hot Caramel Lava Cake - This, in my humble opinion, is the star of the entire evening, the pièce de résistance, if you may. Warm, not cloyingly sweet caramel oozing out of a fissure in the soft shell and served with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream coated with crispy flakes. Simply decadent! If you like your chocolate fondants, you should definitely try this.
The both of us literally stuffed ourselves and even had 2 smoothies to round up the meal, all at a cost of about $95. Cheap? Definitely not. The prices of individual items aren't really expensive per se but add everything up and the bill can be a tad alarming. After all, food quality is only slightly above average at best, save for the caramel lava cake. Service wasn't quite up to scratch with periods of inattentiveness.
To sum up, I think &Made offers a decent meal proposition in a nice setting but lacks actual finesse in its food (bar desserts) and service can definitely be improved.
See my pictures here.
Rating given:
Okay I know it sounds abit auntie to review this place thus revealing that I actually go there but where else can you find a 45min foot massage for $18 and not far from town too?
The store front looks a tad sleazy (haha!) because of their location and the set up is really really simple - just massage chairs for you to sit on and there's even no washing of feet (abit yucky for me), so you walk in, plonk on a chair, and get massaged.
The masseur whom I had was a Chinese lady Lili, who seems to have the knack for finding your sore spots. She has pretty strong hands too , which is very good for back massages.
The place is not your atas spas but for a cheap and good massage, I would recommend this place.
To be fair, I've only gone twice and both times I looked for the same masseur as I think she is quite good
Rating given:
My attempt to add the Malacca Street outlet failed despite multiple tries (the system just blanks out and refreshes the page as blank as if I am re-entering the new business again!) so I'll review this outlet instead.
All Browhaus-es are very similar in its look and feel and honestly unless you find a particular therapist you take a liking to, going to any other branches probably wont make too much of a difference in how your brows look after that.
Each session is quick, about 10mins for me as I have very very sparse brows. The therapist are usually friendly and civil, and have quite deft fingers.
I also try to do my upper lip threading together so I dont have to make my way there again, and that despite my being a seasoned 'threadee' is still ultra painful each time.
Combined with the brow threading, my face looks like I suffer from extreme allergies every time I leave the place.
But without fail, they will try to sell the brow resurrection every time I show up. It didnt seem to matter to them that the last time I got convinced enough to let their 'eyebrow master from hongkong' draw my brows to show me supposedly how the resurrection results will look like, my brows ended up lop-sided. And the master further tested my patience by telling me if I dont do it, I will be 没头没尾.
Dear browhaus: if you're trying to sell something to potential customers of your very expensive treatment ($1,200 for one-time plus $150 for every follow up required), dont insult them.
Rating given:
I was enticed by Her World's reader's promotion of a Gold Mask Facial Therapy at $35 (usual value of $200 ) I think, for which they also throw in a free eye or neck treatment, plus a 10min shoulder massage. I opted for both the eye and neck treatment which needs a top up of $15 so my total price is $50 . But of course for 1st timers only~
Booking - making the booking was easy as the ad came with a number to sms to, and a staff called to make an appointment after that. I made an appointment for a Friday evening 7:30pm.
Location - Apparently the appointment can only be for the Chinese Swimming Club outlet which is located at Amber Road, a relatively ulu location for me. Its not that far a walk from Parkway Parade, maybe 10-15mins? But please be warned that the club cafe doesnt allow non-members to dine there, even if you're a guest of the spa. The only other non-member option is Tung Lok Classics on the 3rd floor but that is mad expensive. For a cheaper option, eat at Marine Parade of Katong Shopping Centre if you want to eat before or after your appointment.
Service - you are ushered to a small room for a pre-treatment consultation which surprisingly doesnt involve any machines to analyze your skin condition; just based on visual impression. There you fill up a form with your particulars, any allergies etc.
Treatment - Treatment is done in a private room where you change into a standard robe. The treatment includes extraction (sometimes painful) with a steam machine. It also has a scrub, mask etc done with a machine. The eye treatment and neck treatment claims to moisturize and hydrate which worked quite well for me. Some steps include massaging with an aid of a machine to help the ingredients penetrate the skin better. The shoulder massage was average though. But I did like that my therapist, Carrie, was very gentle and detailed, including informing / warning me of the steps and that some masks etc can be quite cold.
Packages - The treatment was over in about 1hr 15mins and you're brought back to the same pre-treatment consultation room. Carrie then proceeded to 'sell' their packages but I liked that she was not at all hardselling but seem quite sincere about it in fact. She even offered to throw in 6 free eye treatment as goodwill. But at $2,250 for 30 sessions, it was too big an investment for me even though I felt a difference in my skin after that. They cut it down to half - 15 sessions for $1,125, but I still needed some (am still am) mulling over it. The installment plan doesnt incentivize me so much as its the total value is what I am considering.
But overall a much better experience than New York which hardsells you like crazy or say Touch Elite where the masseur fell asleep on me. Sad but yup, that's what is considered 'better' for me.
Rating given:
This mainstream newspaper keeps revamping and each revamp just makes it better! I've since gotten used to the current version where the news is split up into different sections so members of the family dont have to wait until one another finishes it before getting to read it.
The colours of the headings also makes it easily recognizable and I have no problems with fonts, articles, etc.
And kudos to SPH for keeping the price low despite the rising costs of living! It is still in my opinion the most affordable read in Singapore.
But I have to say it can be quite heavy to lug around if you buy it from a newspaper stand, so save the trouble and order it to be delivered. The deliveries reach before 6am which is perfect for people who wants a read before zipping off to work.
Rating given:
I end up here most of the time because of my gym on the 8th floor.
It is one of the most crowded places on weekends and just trying to get to it from Orchard MRT is a nightmare.
It is a vast area to cover in terms of shopping inclusive of the 2 basements and the the departmental store itself carries many stuff to be shopped for. Throw in the branded bags / shoes / stuff stores and you'll understand why the mall attracts the whole wide range of shoppers.
The lift though is a perpetual nightmare - its the only way to reach the gym for me so I have no choice. It is almost all of the time filled up with families with prams of all shapes and sizes. I am perfectly at ease with family outings, but its just that it'll be nice to not have to wait so long for an available lift - and especially not when I am rushing for classes!
But as a mall, I have to say it is obviously successful and have been packed since day 1. The overflowing dining choices are also one of the reasons why you can probably spend 1 afternoon there without getting bored.
Rating given:
I have a love-hate relationship with Her World. Love because of the amount of information (plus gossip) they can pack into each issue every month. Hate because of its size - it is getting difficult to hold it up to read due to its thickness and weight.
Also hate because the price has been steadily increasing, but then again so has the other magazines.
The contents are a good mix of news bites for the modern women with just the right amount of gossip without being too tabloid-ish.
Keep it up SPH but the price is an increasingly deterrent for me to buy it! Have more promotions too!
Rating given:
This is my favourite spot for skin care window shopping. The layout of the level 1 skin care counters are nicely packed without being too close to each other, and is also easily navigable too. The array of skin care products are aplenty and you can easily while 1hr away just looking at choices.
The shoes department on the same level also offer plenty of choices and brands for shoe-pa-holics.
The 2nd and 3rd floors are not places which I often visit and are usually quieter but nonetheless spacious enough for window shopping without having to fight the mad weekend crowds.
The only negative comment is how small the bag section is. Not too exciting if you're looking for bags but then again an excuse to not blow more moolah!
Rating given:
I shop here alot as its the nearest Watson's to me. It is a smaller store compared to the latest megastores but it is sufficient to get daily essentials and makeup stuff here without the frills.
I come here more to buy the korean hair care which other places dont carry - but I'd wish they have more promotions for it as it is expensive! Other than that, their Listerine mouthwashes are sometimes cheaper than the supermarkets too.
Being a watson's member will be better as you get rebates off - since you're going to spend at Watson's anyway, might as well get something out of it isnt it? It is a tedious process as the rebates are pegged at 0.3% but it'll slowly accumulate.
Every now and then they offer members special prices and members' day too where the rebates go up to as high as 6% so well worth the $5 you pay for a lifetime membership.
You can also quote your NRIC if you dont have the card with you, which is always convenient.
Rating given:
My mum for some reason had a random buffet craving and picked this place for her birthday dinner. Strange choice I thought as Grand Park was never in my mind for food. But heck, I put forth my trust in the Park Hotel Group brand and we went for it.
Which turned out to be a good choice~
Ambience - The way to the hotel can be packed if you go during weekends but once you step into the hotel, it's nice and quiet. You can hardly tell looking at the exteriors of the hotel that the inside is almost luxe and elegant but it was.
Price - $48 per pax for a Sunday buffet dinner, with 20% discount with DBS cards. We paid about $135 for 3pax as the discount barely scrapped off the but better than nothing I guess.
Selection & quality - the selection was good in my opinion, ranging from very fresh seafood (lobsters!) to sushis, appetizers (spinach tofus, cured meats), salads (with mutiple toppings), carving stations (roased pork leg anyone), soups (tomato and salted duck), hot dishes (indian curries, steamed fish, roasted root veg, risotto, pastas) and finally desserts galore (chocolate fondue, macaroons, ice cream, cookies, egg tarts, strudels). Except for the salted duck soup, everything was rather good! The buffet comes with coffee / tea too.
Service - Only a few other tables were filled, so service was not so bad, except for the times when a handful of staff were more engrossed in spacing out than watching for patrons waving for attention.
We had a surprisingly good experience, although I'm not sure if the quality can be maintained. I also did spot their Sunday champagne brunch priced at $100 per pax inclusive of free flow champagne, wines, and beers - which looks like a good deal as compared to other hotels' champagne brunches.
Rating given: