Canele

This is the second time that I tried the pastries from Canele. The first time was macaroons. They left me with a really "sweet" impression. I mean literally, I felt an overdose of sugary especially the rose flavour. But maybe, macaroons are meant to be sweet. Still, they are one of those lovely sweet treats at the glass windows display which you wouldn't mind stealing a quick glance at them!

This time round, I decided to get a cake from Canele for my Dad's birthday. La Pomme Verte, which means green apple in French. Look at the 'apples' on the cake, don't they make you drool? It does make me and I couldn't wait to get a slice of it. 

La Pomme Verte 500g ($36)

True enough, it tasted as good as it looked. It is actually a green apple mousse. The three 'apples' which you saw, were all filled with mousse too and on top with all the jelly-like substance. See the golden foils too? I actually wonder how does golden foils taste like. The mystery was finally solved. They are just tasteless. They melted the moment they were in your mouth and you really can't feel anything. Finally, the coconut crust was at the bottom outer layer of the cake which adds a little texture to the smooth filling mousse. 

I felt that the cakes at Canele are at a reasonable price since they are all handmade by executive pastry chefs. Highly recommended to get a birthday cake from Canele if you have not tried it before. Trust me! 

Raffles City 

#B1-46/47

Paragon

#B1-K8 

http://www.canele.com.sg/
https://www.facebook.com/canelesingapore

老伴 Lao Ban

I said food makes the world go round. But in fact, money makes the world go round. So you see the vicious cycle; to have good food, you need to have the money and to have the money, you need to work. So that was the reason why I have been missing from this little space for quite some time. But good things are worth the wait, because I have now come back with more recommendation!

Original- $1.50
Almond- $2.00

Yes! I have finally laid my hands on this high popularity chilled soya beancurd. Yeah, I know I'm kind of late since the great hype over the beancurd was quite some time ago. But it's better to be late than never, isn't it? And the good thing about being late is that, I do not have to queue! 

The beancurd has a really silky surface that you couldn't resist to shake it lightly and see the softness of it. I found the level of sweetness to be just right. But some people felt that it was a little too sweet. Well.. I have a sweet tooth, you see. Another thing I like about the beancurd is that, it is not watery. Some of the unknown chilled beancurd which I tried from the hawker centre near my house were just too watery. It's not pudding-like at all. 

Perhaps it was due to all the roaring reviews about the beancurd that caused my expectation for it to be set a little higher. But seriously, I do not think that it is worth it to queue for one hour just to get the beancurd. But if there isn't a queue, I would definitely buy it again when I'm nearby the area. 

And I love how cute the old couple cartoon is. ♥ 

Block 51 Old Airport Road 

#01-127/107

https://www.facebook.com/Laobansoya/

Sarpinos Pizzeria

I am a regular customer of Pizza Hut, I wouldn't say a fan though since I have not tried all the different brands. But I guess the reason for being a regular customer of Pizza Hut is that whenever pizza is being mentioned, the first restaurant chain / delivery service that comes to my mind is Pizza Hut. Perhaps, it is the name that makes it easier to remember or that I did not put in enough effort in finding out more about other pizza-chains.

Recently, I just noticed of Sarpinos Pizzeria located at an unattractive corner at the basement of Bugis Junction when I have been to Bugis Junction for countless time and could almost draw out a floor plan. So I decided to try a pizza that's not from Pizza Hut. (Btw, do take note that the outlet for Sarpinos Pizzeria at Bugis Junction is only available for takeaways.) 

Hawaiian ($4.50) and Pepperoni ($4)

What makes this different from Pizza Hut is that, the crust is thinner and quite crispy. The ingredients are bake to a degree that is just right, neither too soft nor too hard. And the pizza still taste as good when you re-heat it for about 2 to 3 minutes, it does not turn out to be as hard as a rock.  

Another thing I like about it is, the cute little triangular boxes for takeaways! 

Now, I'm craving for more pizzas from Sarpinos Pizzeria! 

Bugis Junction 

Basement 1

http://www.sarpinos.com.sg/ 

CoCo ICHIBANYA

Cream mushroom omelette ($13)

Pork cutlet curry ($14)

Been to the newly open Bugis+ (formerly known as Illuma), there are quite a number of eateries on the first level and the bad thing about this is, you cannot really decide what to eat. In the end, we decided to settle for CoCo ICHIBANYA as my friend tried before and was satisfied with it. Something interesting about this curry house is that, you could choose the level of spiciness you want for the curry and even the portion of rice (which I felt is quite thoughtful since most girls couldn't always finish the rice). However, for the creamed mushroom omelette which I have ordered, everything is fixed.

For the omelette, the curry sauce is not spicy at all, it is quite thick and a little sweet. But, I felt that as you kept eating, it was getting quite boring as there were only the egg and mushroom to complement the rice and curry. Personally, I just felt that it is not that worth it to pay $13 for curry sauce, eggs and mushroom only. Furthermore, soggy rice just reminds me of something which I shall not say here. 

On the other hand, I think my friend loves japanese curry rice. There wasn't even a single grain of rice left on her plate. So I guess, it just varies with different people.   

Bugis+, #01-10

http://www.ichibanya.co.jp/english/index.html

https://www.facebook.com/CoCoICHIBANYAsingapore

Awfully Chocolate

Call me outdated or what, but this is the first time that I tried the popular home-grown chocolate cake chain, Awfully Chocolate. 

Yes, I have ordered a size 6" All Chocolate cake online for my dearest mummy's birthday and collected it at Raffles City outlet. 

All Chocolate 6" ($25.80)

The dark chocolate flavour was not the bitter kind but with a hint of sweetness. I found this level of sweetness to be just right for dark chocolate. Layers of chocolate fudge were in between the cake. The cake was moist but dense. Overall, I was satisfied with the product and service.

Indeed, Awfully Chocolate lives up to its name.


http://www.awfullychocolate.com/

Buffet Town

This is the first time that I could not stop myself from eating before taking photos of the food. So below are the photos which I have taken, at least, after a quarter full; when my stomach was slightly satisfied and allowed my hands to dig into my bag and take out the camera. The reason being, there were just too many choices and I could not wait to try them out! 

Oh and I have been too excitedly typing out this that I have forgotten to mention that this was a weekend dinner buffet at $39.80 ++ (adult). At this price, you are paying for a wide spread of fresh seafood; prawns, clams, mussels, oysters, crayfish, scallops, chilli crab and pepper crab. I love the chilli crab's sauce, it was quite spicy but manageable. With the small little bread dipped into the sauce, the pair was extremely compatible, if this is the correct word to describe it. The bread was sort of fried before, crispy on the outside but soft inside. 

Of course, other than seafood, there are many other selections, just to name a few, Japanese sushi, Italian pizzas and pastas; for the pastas, you could even choose your own ingredients before passing it to the chef to cook in the way you want such as aglio olio, tomato or cream based and our local delights- laksa, chicken rice etc. 

I am not exactly a beef lover but I love to try out new things. And this is the first time that I tried meat as raw as this. Look at the picture above, it is still red! Is this what they called, medium rare? But anyway, it was so difficult to cut it with a knife too, so in the end I only get to eat the brown part.

Sadly, I felt that the cakes were not of the finest quality. They were just average cakes that could be found at the neighbourhood pastry shops. Fortunately, the chocolate-dipped marshmallows were able to appease me as my dessert for that night as they have always been my favourite.

I should have taken more photos but I have been busily tucking into all the delicious dishes. And after almost 3 hours of feast, I think I even had some difficulties of standing up and walking. But it was all worth it, I would only have to wait for the food to digest before I venture on my next food journey. 

Raffles City #B1-44E

http://www.buffettown.com.sg/

Sweet Sweet Tooth

This is what happened when your digital camera run out of battery. I have to resort to using my low-quality phone camera. So I would say these photos do no justice. It is a pity, but I guess it is more important that the food taste better than having nicely taken photos of food that does not taste as good. 

Before we went to Sweet Sweet Tooth, my friend highly recommended passion fruits and grapes snow ice. Telling me how great it was the last time she had it and she assured me that I would surely fall in love with it too. Thinking that she might had exaggerated a little bit, I was skeptical about it. 

However, the first spoonful I had, when the ice melted in my mouth, my facial expression gave me away. I know at that moment that she did not exaggerate at all. It was true. It was sweet but not the type that would make you sick of it but instead, make you want more. There were many different types of real fruits on it such as kiwi, strawberry, grape and mango. I think this is really one of the best choices for dessert especially in the humid weather of Singapore these days. 

Passion fruits and grapes snow ice ($6+) 

Custard eggs (The exact name was in french) ($7+) 

Tried one bite of my friend's dessert too. It tasted something like the custard on egg tarts but this was warm, I think they pre-heat before they served. But my friend said, the passion fruit and grapes snow ice is still the best. 

Marina Square #B1-04
6 Raffles Boulevard
Singapore 039594
https://www.facebook.com/sweetsweettooth 

The Daily Scoop

The Daily Scoop is now officially in my list of favourite ice-cream cafe/stores. I love their cones! They do not just have the usual waffle cones, but quite a great variety such as chocolate-coated cone, "Wonder Women" which is chocolate coated with rainbow sprinkled and chocolate coated with nuts, if I'm not wrong.

Strangely, when I walked into the cafe, the sweet-smelling aromas and all the colourful tubs of ice-cream right before my eyes made me smile happily to myself like a 7 year-old girl. Told you, I couldn't resist these sweet pretty little things.

We saw a little boy with the "Wonder Women" ice cream and my friend said he was holding on to the ice-cream so tightly as if the sky would fall down too if the ice-cream dropped. I wouldn't mind going back to the times when ice-cream was my everything, my world. Now, ice-cream could only chase away the blues for a moment.

Sesame scoop with chocolate-coated cone

Double scoop- Macadamia and Mao Shan Wang

But nevertheless, ICE CREAM IS LOVE.

P.S. Thanks to my best friend for introducing this place to me and giving me a treat!


43 Jalan Merah Saga
Chip Bee Garden #01-78
Singapore 278115
http://www.thedailyscoop.com.sg/

Hatched

Two greatest regrets made at Hatched. 

First, it was the timing we went. Was it brunch time or lunch break? The place was so crowded but lucky us, we did manage to get the last empty seats available even though it was so close to the table next to us. Another thing I do not like about crowded eateries is because it makes me feel sheepish to take out my camera and snap pictures of the food. I know a professional food blogger should not mind the looks from others and would be snapping photos of all the food on the table before he starts eating. But I feel that people would be giving me all the weird stares, thinking why-on-earth-are-you-taking-photos-of-the-food-instead-of-eating-it-while-it-is-hot-and-whatsnot. Thus, due to my fear of being judge by people as a weirdo, below is the one and only presentable photo that I hurriedly took it with a handphone trying not to attract too much attention. 

Sir Benedict ($12 for one)

The second regret was ordering only one benedict instead of two. I would have easily gobble down the second one. Yes, because the combination of muffin, bacon and poached egg was just too satisfying. Now, that's what you called a scrumptious breakfast. The egg white was a little tasteless though. Now that I come to think of it, I have forgotten to add the pepper and salt. Aww.. that makes another regret. Ohwell. And I think that the mashed potatoes tasted a little weird. Well, perhaps KFC's mashed potatoes left too deep an impression in my tastebud that I have set the standard for mashed potatoes to be like KFC's in order for it to be called good.

Anyway, I should definitely make another trip down to Hatched, but at a better timing though.


267 Holland Avenue
Singapore 278989
https://www.hatched.sg/
https://www.facebook.com/HatchedHV
https://www.facebook.com/pages/HATCHED/

Ajisen

Cha Shu Ramen ($10)

Seafood Ramen ($10)

From Tampopo, a 1985 Japanese comedy film, on how you should eat ramen. 

First, observe the bowl. Appreciate its gestalt. Savor the aromas.
Concentrate on the three pork slices.
They play the key role, but stay modestly hidden.
Caress the surface with the chopstick tips.
To express affection.
Then poke the pork.
Gently pick it up and dip it into the soup
on the right of the bowl.
Apologize to the pork by saying,
"See you soon".
Finally start eating the noodle first.
While slurping the noodles, look at the pork.
Eye it affectionately.
Sipped some soup. Three times.
Sat up, sighed, picked up...
One slice of pork as if making an important decision in life
and lightly tapped it on the side of the bowl.
To drain it. 

Source: Tampopo- Ramen Master

Watch this video. It is really interesting. Don't you think that it makes you feel so hungry and would want to grab a bowl of ramen right now? The next time you eat ramen, you should try this method! Okay, maybe except the slurping part when you are in public!


Ajisen
MBS Rasapura Masters

http://www.ajisen.com.sg/

Grin Affair

Grin affair is a cosy little cafe hidden in a quiet corner of Everton Park. You would never have imagined that a cafe is secretly functioning in this seemingly out-of-place location - an old HDB estate. When walking at the dark void deck with low ceiling, you feel like you are in another part of Singapore, especially when my generation has been surrounded by mostly shopping malls and renovated HDB flats. But nevertheless, I love this idea of mismatch concept. 

I got to know about this cafe after looking at some food bloggers' reviews. And you know what, 

I was mesmerized by those photos of cake in a jar, beautifully decorated. I fell in love with them almost instantly. In my head, thinking only of making a trip there as soon as possible, I dragged my friend down with me, forgotten the facts that she doesn't eat cake. 

The drinks menu hand-drawn by the owner giving a personal touch

Drinks - Passion fruit and mango cubes ($2.80), Grapefruit with lychee

Durian ($5.50)

All the flavours just sounded so good that I didn't know what to choose from but in the end I chose my all-time-favourite durian.  It did not disappoint me. The cake was really soft and the experience of eating in a jar make it special. Well, it was just heavenly delicious.

Another special thing about this cafe is the recycling of the jars. For every jar you bought for takeaway, it comes with a ticket. And during your next visit, when you return these jars, you get another ticket for it. Collect 20 tickets and in return you will get a jar of cranberry!

In the end, my friend who only got herself the Grapefruit drink bought some jars of cakes for takeaway too, for her family. Tell me, which girl could resist such lovely sweet treats?

Jody is the owner of Grin Affair, she is a very friendly young lady. We had a little chat with her and found out that she actually gave up pursuing her degree in law and took up a few jobs here and there in order to open this, which I believed, is her dream cafe. I really admire her courage and of course, her innovativeness.

Check out Grin Affair's facebook status updates if you do not wish to make a wasted trip, these lovely jars are selling out fast almost everyday. Or you can simply text the owner to make a reservation of the jars!


3 Everton Park #01-77A
Singapore 080003
http://www.grinaffair.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/grin-affair/

Laksania

($6 ~ 7 a bowl)

Laksa from Laksania at NEX Mall is simply awesome! Love the soup and the ingredients given are generous. You may think it is overrated for a bowl of laksa to be $6 ~ 7 when you can actually get one from the hawker centre at $2.50. But really, they are worth the price you are paying for. Words are insufficient for me to describe how great this is, just two very simple words that could defeat a million things said: Thumbs up!

23 Serangoon Central 

#B1-08, NEX Mall

https://www.laksania.com

https://www.facebook.com/Laksania/

Cupcake Engineer

Another planned trip down to Cupcake Engineer at Cluny Court sometimes in May with a friend of mine to satisfy our cravings for cupcakes. It is not difficult to find this cafe located in between the shophouses. Get down at Botanic Garden MRT Station, walk down Cluny Court and from the glass window, a shop with beautiful displays of cupcakes will catch your eyes before you know it. There you are, at the entrance of Cupcake Engineer. 

We tried the Horlicks and Bandung flavours and they were indeed true blue as their names suggest. What makes each flavour distinctive was the cream. For those people, especially girls, who are afraid of cream that are so milky-creamy, I am sure you will like this! However, I find the cake a little too moist. The cafe is rather small, enough for around 3 to 5 people only, if i remembered correctly. 

Horlicks and Bandung flavours (from left to right) ($4 each)

One of the flavours which I find it rather interesting is Hot Chocolate. The owner told me it is chocolate  infused with chilli, to create a tinge of spicy taste. It's is even topped with a chilli padi! I would definitely try this on my next visit!


501 Bukit Timah Road, Cluny Court
#01-03A
Singapore 259760
https://www.facebook.com/cupcakeengineer

Vanilla Bar & Cafe

 A visit to Vanilla Bar & Cafe situated somewhere along the junction of Amoy Street and Boon Tat Street. My friend and I had quite a hard time trying to find the place since we were walking all the way from Raffles Place MRT Station and the only thing we had was a GPS that wasn't that reliable. But all the walking and trying-to-make-out-where-we-were from the GPS was definitely worth it. The moment we stepped into the cafe, the simple furnishings of wooden chairs and tables gave us a soothing and peaceful feeling. Another plus point was, it was not crowded which is what I personally like. (Though I'm not that sure whether the cafe would get crowded during lunch hours.)

So we settled for these two for our dinner. I love how the smoked salmon is cooked with the right level of saltiness and the salmon does not taste raw, which is to my liking. Though i would have to admit that since this is a creamy sauce, one does get quite sick of it at the end. I tried my friend's curry don and it tasted good too.

Smoked salmon linguine ($11.90)

Japanese curry katsu don ($10.90)

Finally, what's better than having desserts after a meal? So these were what we ordered for our desserts. Yes, you're not seeing the wrong things, that's a flower pot. It is an oreo ice-cream cake served in a flower pot! The oreo crumble as the mud and gummy worms as earthworms. How creative! Actually it tasted somewhere in between cake and ice-cream, not exactly like a cake and not really like ice cream, so i just called it ice-cream cake. Nevertheless, I love it since I have a sweet tooth and I have never tried eating anything in a flower pot before haha! 

My friend ordered sticky toffee pudding. And she actually had to ask for the waitress to confirm again if this is really a pudding because it does not turn out to be what we have thought it should be. But true enough, this is sticky toffee pudding and it tasted like some of the malay cakes, if you get what I mean. (After doing some googling and reading food blogger's blog, I realised sticky pudding is a steamed sponge cake and not the jelly-like pudding.) 

Vanilla dirt cake ($8.90)

Sticky toffee pudding ($7.90)

Overall, I think this is a good place to chill out. Food is a little expensive but sometimes, it is worth it to spend for the ambience and with the people you love.


3 Boon Tat Street #01-01
Singapore 069612
http://www.vanillacafe.com.sg/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vanilla-Bar-Café/