Pastry Shop @ Marriott Hotel

The 2-part (bi?) monthly food bloggers’ gathering took place at Marriott Hotel on Easter Day! It was either Marriott or L’Espresso at Goodwood Park Hotel and we decided to just stay put after checking out the desserts at Marriott. The cakes look pretty decent and it’s somewhat reassuring that there’s a constant (really constant!) inflow of people streaming in to take away their cakes from the pastry counter at the lobby.

If you have been following this blog for awhile, you would know that I don’t post any personal pic of me or anyone else. But there’s always an exception cuz I really like how happy all of us look in this (self-timed!) photo, probably the after-effect of having too much sugar swimming in our systems haha.

Who’s who:

Daniel from Memoirs of Food;

Fen & Yuan from Indulgence after Work-Out;

Harris from The Simplest Aphrodisiac; and

Phoebe from The Food Chapter.

Ok, pretty/handsome faces aside, let’s take a look at the cakes now! Food bloggers being food bloggers, we showed no mercy (as usual) and ordered almost all the cakes displayed at the counter.

Maybe cuz previous encounters with tarts from other hotels were less than promising, this Strawberry Tart ($6.90++) surprises me. This is lovely, with huge and sweet strawberries sitting on a nice crunchy shortcrust base filled with creamy frangipane. I hate to say this, but I like this even more than K ki’s version! -don’t shoot me pls, fans of K ki, I’m just an amateur tart eater-

Rich Chocolate ($5.90++) is indeed rich and smooth. The hint of alcohol in the milk and dark chocolate mousse is so slight that it takes intense concentration to detect it. But it’s there, alright.

So there you go, these were my two personal favourites that day. And alas, the ugliest photos too!

Lychee Mousse ($6.90++) is quite a delight with its light mousse and sufficiently moist sponge fingers. There’s supposedly kirsch in it, but this time, even my 101% focus on it can’t pick out any inkling of said alcohol.

Opera ($7.90++) is as opera should be, very thin layers of almond sponge cake, ganache and coffee buttercream, covered in a chocolate glaze. Good, though I’d still prefer a stronger coffee flavour.

Cherry Michelle ($5.90++) has a nice name but not-so-nice chocolate almond cake crumbs. If not for the embedded dark cherries, I’d have mistook this for a banana cake.

Easter bun ($3++) in honour of Easter Day! We were all amused that actual hard boiled eggs are used to decorate the buns. How weird is that? Luckily, we had one with a (hollow) chocolate egg instead, hah.

Strawberry Cheese ($5.90++) ends up at the bottom of my list by default. Nothing personal, it’s just that I don’t like cheesecakes =p

This pastry shop is an unexpectedly good find! Prices are reasonable, there’s proper napkins and service is great. Compared to Bakerzin, Marriott takes the cake.

 

Lobby Lounge/Pastry Shop
320 Orchard Road
Marriott Hotel
6831 4551

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Private Affairs #2

Brunch (breakfast + lunch) easily turned into tunch (lunch + high tea) as we ate, talked and laughed at Private Affairs. I didn’t expect to spend more than 4 hours there but we did! Amazing how time flies when food is involved.

Sunshine Brunch (11.30 to 3.30pm) takes the form of a semi-ala carte buffet with a single order of main course and unlimited flow of appetisers and desserts. Prices start from $68++/$30++ per adult/child below 12. Add $50++ for free flow of house sparkling, red and white wine or $15++ for free flow of juices and soft drinks.

Brunch started with a lovely 3 tier afternoon tea stand of sunny essentials. Though nothing extraordinary, I particularly like the creamy Yogurt & Berries Espuma, more so than the Strawberry & Raisin Museli. Already thinking of seconds!

Banana & walnut muffins and scones with an interesting basil crème fraiche and berries jam.

Brunch includes 2 eggs (fried, scrambled, omelette or benedict) with choice of sausages, bacon or ham.

The eggs benedict wasn’t well done, with an overcooked yolk and tough whites.

I adore cured/smoked salmon to bits but they can be a bit of a ‘meh’ dish sometimes. But Chef Paul’s version changes my mind completely! His cured salmon with braised leek, avruga and yuzu vinaigrette is a perfect balance of salty and sweet. Love this so much that we had about 4 extra servings of this!

Frankly, the Alaskan King Crab Cake was a major disappointment. May be more appropriate to call this a croquette since the bulk of it is potato with no crab meat in sight =( 

That said, the mango cilantro salsa, peanut & laksa leaf vinaigrette is brilliant! Akin to satay sauce, just so much tastier than I licked the plate clean.

Seared Kurobuta Pork Terrine with grilled melon and olive crumbs.

Chef Paul’s creativity when it comes to plating shines through with the Duck Carpaccio, topped with a delicately thin granny smith and mustard dressing.

For cold appetisers, there’s also an oyster bar with different sauces such as smoked miso powder with yuzu jelly, rice vinegar & coriander, namjin dressing but my favourite is the carrot puree topping.

Soup of the day was green pea soup, which we agreed was too salty to make finishing this feasible.

Another personal favourite of mine after the awesome cured salmon is the seared Hokkaido Scallops with lush purple carrot scrambled, avruga and yellow curry emulsion. Love the combination of different flavours and textures.

The spread of spicy eggplant & cucumber in green pumpkin seed oil, sherry & oyster vinaigrette was nice with a strong flavour but the Naan Pancake was too starchy for me. A little more fluff would be good!

Kurobuta Pork Ribs with confit onion, arugula tossed in papaya seed dressing.

I’ve mentioned before that barramundi is a boring fish to me so I wasn’t exactly jumping with excitement when I knew that the Sunday’s Catch for my main was a pan-fried barramundi.

To be fair, it was very fresh and not overcooked with a crispy skin and soft flesh. Nothing wrong that I can pinpoint but it just didn’t have that oomph factor to make it a memorable fish.

Other mains include Kurobuta Pork Belly with shimeiji mushroom, black pepper star anise sauce, and …

… Wagyu Beef Burger with balsamic onion balls, chips and truffle mayo.

I thought it was a nice ending to brunch when desserts were also served in a 3 tier stand, just like how we started with one too.

Friends know that I’m never gonna be a cheesecake lover but if I really really really have to choose, I’d go for the cheesecakes at Private Affairs. Like the cheesecake I tried at dinner, the Passionfruit Cheesecake with pistachio crumbs was so light and non-cheesy that it’s almost not like a cheesecake at all.

Chocolate tarts with raspberry coulis, bread & butter puddings with black sesame ice cream and lemon cured hazelnut cannelloni.

Desserts of the day: Apple cake with lemongrass ice cream.

No prizes for guessing which ones we like best!

With that, brunch came to an end. While I won’t say I’m blown away by the food (I’m not), there are some items on the menu I really like, such as the cured salmon (I know this is the 3rd time I’m mentioning it but it’s REALLY GOOD!), which I hope won’t be taken off the menu.

To get a real feel of Chef Paul’s culinary skills, go for dinner. Not lunch or brunch but dinner, which is so much more exquisite and impressive.

And good news for oysters’ lovers! Private Affairs recently launched Oyster Nights (Fridays, 7 to 9pm), held at its reservations-only lounge above the restaurant. For $38++, you will be served two glasses of Cava sparking wine from Spain and free flow of aphrodisiacs oysters of the day.

Special thanks to Chef Paul and Melanie for the kind invitation and hospitality =)

 

Private Affairs
45 Joo Chiat Place
6440 0601

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Private Affairs #1

As an eastie, I’m real happy that more and more upmarket eateries are springing up around the Katong/Joo Chiat area. Just 6 bus stops away from my home is the latest kid on the block: Private Affairs, a fine dining restaurant that promises to entice diners with personalized service and innovative Modern European cuisine infused with an Asian touch.

Note: This was an invited food tasting session. While I totally agree with a reader’s comment that “most of the time free food tastes good” (hi, david! if you are reading), rest assured that I won’t rave about any food that doesn’t agree with my tastebuds. 

For dinner, there’s 2 menus available which changes monthly: “Private Affair” (4 course at $98++) and “A Luscious Affair” (7 course at $168++). There’s also a selection of Chef’s Signature Dishes (ala carte or 6 course at $138++) which was what I had.

The interior of the restaurant looks elegant, doesn’t it? Simple yet chic. Kind of reminds me of Sage, The Restaurant.

I went “what’s these?” when I saw these mini plastic pumps pipettes on the table. Turns out to be balsamic vinegar. How cute!

Fresh bread served piping hot from the oven! The focaccia was good and the mantou-like hazelnut and walnut bread roll was even better with ultra soft innards, though I’d prefer a stronger nutty flavour.

I think the sparkling wine we had was the distinguished Cava of Spain. I’m far from being a wine connoisseur but the fizzy texture gave a sublime pleasure to the palate.

At Private Affairs, the first two bottles will not be subject to any corkage charge, should guests wish to bring in their own wine. Subsequent bottles will be levied a nominal fee of $25++. Sounds reasonable to me.

Vine Ripened Tomatoes ($18++): horseradish meringue, green pumpkin seed oil & ginger flower vinaigrette.

I was quite disappointed that the caviar tomatoes were unavailable that day so we had to make do with normal sweet cherry tomatoes instead. Nevertheless, the meringue is interesting, very racy and sharp. Clever starter!

Duck Carpaccio ($24++): granny smith, scallion gel duck consomme jelly.

Marinated paper-thin slices of French duck breast cured in brine for 3 days before being air-dried.

Since I don’t do duck, Chef Paul specially made a beetroot jelly with cucumber and green chili sorbet for me.

I really like the sorbet! Very creative to use chili for that heat factor while the cucumber gives it a refreshing feel.

If I have to choose a dish that’s the toughest to photograph for the night, this is it. No matter which angle I shot it from, the photos turned out weird.

Prosperity Trio Raw Fish Salad: toro, hamachi, salmon, seaweed cracker, japanese yam jelly, papaya seed & sambal oelet vinaigrette.

Obviously a festive new year dish which looks great but sadly, I didn’t get to try it. 

Pan Fried Foie Gras: rosemary brioche, balsamic noodle, cherry & beetroot reduction.

Looks so soft and wobbly, like tofu.

White Lobster Bisque ($26++): salmon & lobster cannelloni, capsicum, lemongrass crumbs.

This tri-coloured tube is highly labour intensive! Made of squid ink, spinach and egg pasta, 10 small portions take 3-4 hours to make. And notice the tiny green scallions on top of the cannelloni? Chef actually uses a tweezer to put these on for a finishing touch. Talk about meticulous.

Like Boathouse Fullerton, the hot bisque is poured into the serving dish right in front of the diner. Still a gimmick presentation, but no longer novel to me.

Though the bisque was rich and hearty, it got a little too salty at the end for me. I’m still much more fascinated by the pasta! The stuffing was generous and the lemongrass infused breadcrumbs added another texture and dimension. Delicious!

Hokkaido Scallops ($25++): corn gnocchi, bed of corn, smoked miso powder, bonito flakes.

Again, presentation is fantastic. You call it messy, I say it’s artsy. Reminds of the dinner at Jaan where every dish was served with a flourish and each component on the plate was there not by accident, but with a purpose. And even the dark serving plates are the same!

As it is, I like this just very slightly more than the lobster bisque so this is officially my favourite dish of the night! Granted, the scallops were a tad over seared but I was far more interested in the intriguing corn sheet and gnocchi. They melt in the mouth and I adore the smoky umami miso powder.  

Chef, may I have more, please?

Seared Scallops in Chardonnay Packet: celeriac spread, apple chips, green peas & fennel foam.

It’s the soup-pouring-in-front-of-diners act again.

Monkfish Cheek: fermented garlic & Oyster glaze, purple carrot, white asparagus.

This is off the menu and somewhat an experiment for Chef Paul. Monkfish is not commonly served in restaurants (maybe because it’s so ugly, hah) and it’s not easy to get it right. I find that the texture is akin to scallops/lobster meat, rather firm and dense. Still prefer boring ubiquitous cod and salmon!

Wagyu Beef Cheek ($58++): duo of potato, chinese kale royale, curry leaf couscous, tomato chutney, port wine grapes reduction.

When the nutritionists say to eat your greens, the kale royale is definitely not what they have in mind. Blended with cream, butter and egg, this is anything but healthy so you can imagine how good it tastes. I’m so glad I stole a bite of this!

Grilled Lobster: Espelette jam, sauteed blue foot mushroom, lardon, purple carrot paint, Alaskan crab & Cauliflower foam.

I wanna try this on my next visit!

Pre Dessert ($10): mangosteen lime granita.

Guess what. 10kg of mangosteen only produces 400g of mangosteen puree! That’s how pure and refreshing the extract is. I didn’t like the coarse texture of the ice crystals though. Maybe jelly cubes are a better option? 

Pistachio & Cheese Sandwich ($16++): passionfruit coulis, strawberry, basil gel.

I don’t like/eat cheesecakes so I was all prepared not to like this. Luckily, the tanginess of the embedded coulis overwhelmed any trace of cheesiness but it was still too creamy.

Anyway, doesn’t this remind you of the old-fashioned ice cream sandwich sold at roadside mobile “stalls”?

Petit Fours: dark chocolate ganache, mini almond financier.

You can hear our exclamations when we saw the lipstick containers. Finally, the guys have an excuse to put on lipstick, hah. These ingenious containers are imported from Europe, I wonder how soon other restaurants will start using them too?

Honestly, I thought that dining at Private Affairs is an expensive affair (pun intended, hah) initially upon seeing the menus online. But after the whole dining experience, I can understand the rationale behind the hefty price tags. Every single food item is prepared from scratch by Chef Paul and his team, and I cannot fault the high quality of the produce at all.

I suppose not everyone of us can afford to dine here on a regular (say, weekly) basis but for that special occasion or just a night of pampering yourself, I’d say that this is definitely a place worth checking out! Personally, the Sunshine brunch ($68++) with unlimited flow of appetisers/desserts is calling out to me, hah.

Many thanks to Veronica of Sixth Sense Consultancy for hosting the dinner, and Chef Paul for presenting such a wonderful menu!

 

Private Affairs
45 Joo Chiat Place
6440 0601

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Blic Ice Cream Cafe

Earlier this month, a bunch of food bloggers and I were invited to Blic for an ice cream tasting session. It’s a new ice cream parlour located in the heartland of Tampines and offers more than 20 flavours to choose from. Of course, being the foodies that we are, we sampled all of them! 

My personal favourites (from left to right):  

Rum N Raisin: The plump rum-soaked raisins topping the scoop are amazing. More than make up for the lighter liquor flavour in the ice cream itself. 

Passion Yogurt: This is really more like sour plum than passionfruit. Love the tanginess! 

Baileys: My favourite out of the favourites! Very smooth and with a strong dose of liqueur for that extra kick. 

Blic’s Tiramisu is uniquely served in a glass with layers of soaked savoiardi and ice cream (instead of mascarpone cheese). Go ahead, be greedy and take a really big and deep scoop so that you don’t miss out any components. 

Banana Peanut Crunch: Surprisingly light and not too sweet. 

Seasalt Malt: Get this if you love Horlicks! 

Black Sesame, Green Tea: You know I’m always on the lookout for good BS & GT ice cream! Sadly, these aren’t making their way onto my list. 

Double Choc, Ferrero, Vanilla Bean: the classic flavours that’s always a hit. 

Dino Milo: Can you believe I’ve never tried the real dino milo drink before? This tastes like… Milo (duh!), hah. 

Lychee Mint: I can’t decide whether it’s a good or bad thing that this is more fruity than minty. 

Coffee: Not as intense as Tom’s Palette’s… 

Mao Shan Wang Durian, Cempedek: Whoa, these are really strong. You either love it or hate it. FYI, durian is the only fruit I don’t eat so you know which camp I belong to, hah. 

Many thanks to Ben & Larry for the kind invite! I’ll always remember Blic since this is the first time I had so much ice cream at one go, hah. By the way, here’s the pricing: 

Single scoop (classic/premium): $3.20/$5.20 

Double scoop (classic/premium/mix): $4.80/$7.80/$6.30 

Sigh, how I wish there’s an ice cream parlour in my neighbourhood too! 

Blic Ice Cream Cafe
802 Tampines Ave 4
#01-23
6786 0860

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Boathouse Fullerton

Housed in a stand-alone colonial style building right next to Fullerton Hotel, Boathouse (used to be Bacchus Boathouse) has undergone a change of new management recently. I didn’t even know of this Modern European restaurant until Harris invited Angeline, Glenn and I for dinner.

Coincidentally, Boathouse invited some famous food bloggers (sadly, yours truly is not one of them, haha) for a food tasting session recently and their reviews were more than favourable. While I take those raving reviews with more than a pinch of salt (it’s only natural that 90% 80% of the contents says good stuff since their dinner was free they were invited guests), I’m still surprised by our vastly different (not in a good way) our experience was, compared to Camemberu, Lady Iron Chef and The Little Teochew.

So, even though I always write with honesty, do read this with a pinch of salt too since your experience may be totally different from mine, but I hope this gives another perspective into dining at Boathouse.

The homemade tomato bread wasn’t served warm, a mistake that many restaurants make and overlook. I don’t think any of us finished it since it wasn’t that fresh or tasty anyway.

Fish Chowder ($15++) is one of Boathouse’s signature dishes so it seemed like a safe enough item to try. A rose petal of sea bass carpaccio was first placed in front of us, and then after all of us had taken all the shots we wanted, the waitress proceeded to pour the steaming hot chowder around the carpaccio.

Immersed in the hot creamy liquid, the thin slices of carpaccio cooked really fast. It tasted good enough to me, nothing spectacular though. Certainly no “wow” moment. Actually, the gimmicky interesting presentation appealed more to me than the chowder itself.

Harris charmed the waitress to let him order the Wagyu Burger ($25++) from Prelude, the rooftop bar just one level up. Bad choice though, the patty was really small (buried under the sunny side up) and both the bun and patty had ugly burnt marks on them.

Our food took a real long time to come even though the restaurant was less than half full. We waited, and waited, and waited… Until Harris finished his burger and we were still waiting. Until the fireworks started (I’m not joking!) and we were still waiting. Note that hungry food bloggers are not happy people, hah.

The food finally came out of the kitchen after an hour or so. While the rest was not impressed with their mains (more on that later), I was happy with the way my Black Cod ($31++) turned out. Instead of a savoury sauce, the chef uses a sweet Japanese plum jus to complement the oily fish. Very unique and different, and this is going on my list of favourite fish dishes (which is saying a lot since I eat lots of fish)!

The waitress recommended Angeline to go for the French Smoked Duck ($26++) braised with mint in orange-infused Frangelico. Her comment? Not tender and Cafe Oliv’s rendition is much nicer so please infer from that.

Another signature item is the Tagliatelle Wild Mushroom ($19++) in a truffle cream rose sauce. Sounds nice on the menu but when I tasted this, I was like “hmm, where’s the aroma of truffle?”. Personally for me, this was on the salty side and pasta was overcooked (way past al dente). I don’t dare to quote Glenn’s comment on his pasta since I don’t want another lawsuit coming my way, hah.

It may be due to our hunger, or portions are not substantial enough, but we were still hungry after the mains. So we headed upstairs to Prelude for desserts and the million dollar view of the Esplanade and Marina Bay area.

There seemed to be a shortage of staff that day. We were not shown to our seats and no menu/water was served even after we were seated for a reasonably long time. Someone noticed our existence at last and we ordered all 4 desserts in the menu. A BIG mistake, I’m telling you.

My favourite (relatively) out of the 4 is the Signature Tiramisu ($12++) made with lots of whiskey. I like tiramisu with a strong liquor kick so this delivered! But the balance of mascarpone cheese (too much) and soaked ladyfingers was disproportionate.

I’m never into Panna Cotta ($11++) because it’s usually too creamy after a few bites so I don’t have high expectation for it. This is not bad if you are into the softer-than-tofu variety.

The shocker came when the Baked Apple Tart ($12++) was served. It’s incredibly tiny, I kid you not. Put your forefinger and thumb together to make a circle now. You got it, that’s the approximate size of the tart mini tartlet. To pay $12++ is daylight robbery so not worth it! And it didn’t even taste good to justify the hefty price tag in the first place.

Creme Brulee ($15++) is your traditional custard caramel infused with lemon verbena so it’s more tangy than sweet. The shot of licorice reduction by the side is meant to clear your palette but it’s superfluous since it’s tasteless. So it serves the same purpose as the glass of ice water? No offence, I may sound harsh but I don’t mince my words.

Even though Boathouse is highly raved about, we feel that there’s still many areas in terms of food and service to improve on. We did give our feedback to Kannan, the manager, and he was really receptive to our comments (basically what you’ve read so far) so that’s a good sign. And I appreciate his kind gesture of waiving off the desserts from the bill. I hope they will brush up their act soon since it does have the potential to be a restaurant with great food (love the cod still!) and a terrific view. Otherwise, diners are going to leave Boathouse dissatisfied and with failed expectations, like us.

Luckily, the company was fabulous! As always.

 

Boathouse
The Waterboat House
3 Fullerton Rd #03-01
65389038

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K ki Sweets ケーキ

Seriously, it’s impossible not to fall in love with K ki. With the concept of quality living in mind, owners Delphine and Kenneth have created a space filled with warmth and love, pastries and art. Do talk to the witty couple if you have a chance! They are so friendly and upbeat, and chef-baker Kenneth makes funny faces when he’s talking animatedly, haha. Cakes are sold out everyday so it really depends on your luck and timing. Not wanting to risk disappointment, the authors of Hungry Epicurean, The Simplest Aphrodisiac, This is Yummy and I were seated inside the cafe bright and early on a Sunday morning, even before the open sign was flipped over!

K ki shares a common shop space with The Little Drom Store (run by the couple’s friends), which sells ultra cool retro knick-knacks, from vintage dresses and handmade bags to old-fashioned polaroids and other whatnots. Great for browsing on a lazy afternoon, with a slice or two of K Ki’s cake for company, of course!

Loving chestnut anything and everything, Mont Blanc ($8.50+) is my favourite! No doubt, no hesitation at all. Every element was perfect: smooth chestnut puree, light whipped cream, super soft sponge and an almond tart base. Not forgetting tiny bits of sweet chopped chestnuts embedded within the cream like hidden gems. Love l.o.v.e LOVE this!

Since there’s Mont Blanc the French mountain, Kenneth decided to have a SEA mountain on his collection too. A deliberate misspelling, Kinabaru ($8+) has layers of coconut mousse, passionfruit creme and a chocolate sponge base. The heavenly sweet-tanginess of passionfruit hits you first, followed by a subtle coconut aftertaste. Very interesting!

I’d be the first to admit that white chocolate is never my favourite because it’s usually so sweet. But the teardrop beauty Antoinette ($8+) defies the norm! The white chocolate mousse literally melts in the mouth *swoon* and hides a molten yolk of mango puree within that’s a tad too mild. Incredibly light and sweetness is just nice! 

Like Antoinette, Mona ($8+) is also named after a friend of Delphine and Kenneth. The latter’s take on the classic combination of chocolate and banana is as flawless as it gets. Mellow banana sweetness, creamy chocolate mousse, what more do you want?

Cafe Dumo ($7.50+) = chocolate + coffee. Another common combination that’s hard to go wrong with. Nice, but compared to the rest, not terribly exciting.

I’m a sucker for pretty food. Doesn’t the Strawberry Tart ($6.50+) look lovely? I’m certainly no tart expert but looks aside, this was humdrum just average with a slightly-too-hard almond tart base. Got to love the smear of gorgeous custard cream with specks of vanilla beans though!

K ki is definitely more than a pastry cafe. It’s love, it’s passion, it’s an experience. It’s a place for dreaming… Because K ki is a dream come true!

K ki ケーキ
7 Ann Siang Hill
6225 6650

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Laurent Bernard Chocolatier #1

I say this time and again: desserts are best shared with good friends. Sweet goodies just ain’t as nice if I’m having them by myself. It’s the “oohing” and “aahing” that makes the difference! This time, I went to sugary chocolate heaven a.k.a. Laurent Bernard Chocolatier with the equally even sweeter (haha!) authors of Divine Essentials, Hungry Epicurean and The Simplest Aphrodisiac. It’s a good thing that the guys had a super filling dinner before this, which means all the more for us girls, yay!

Soufflés are totally my kind of desserts. Good and not-so-good, fruity and exotic, I’ve been there, eaten done that. What’s lacking in my soufflé repertoire is the best one. Until now. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Laurent’s Chocolate Soufflé ($16.50++). This is the standard to beat from now on!

Rich, dark, intense, soft, moist… Trust me, this is exactly the stuff worth risking a sore throat for. And forget about the calories, please. I can describe the soufflé until the cows come home and words still can’t do this soufflé  justice. It’s just awesome. Awesome! Loving the super tangy raspberry sherbet too!

Laurent’s is not all about chocolate. There’s also many other soufflé flavours like Cherry, Rum & Raisins and Grand Marnier too and we had the Strawberry Soufflé ($11.85++) for “comparison” purpose. The first one out of the oven was a pseudo soufflé, i.e. a mere shell hiding zilch innards that collapsed before we could say “strawberry soufflé!”.

Reminder to self: Send soufflé back to the kitchen if it deflats within five ten seconds flat. Something is obviously wrong!

We had a beautiful replacement within 30mins. Notice how vastly different the “before” and “after” looked? I like how light and moist this is but flavour-wise, I’d prefer the essence of strawberry to be stronger.

I’ll take the chocolate soufflé over this anytime!

Crispy chocolate tarte ($6.80++) is my must-order whenever I drop by Laurent’s. Still as good as ever with its layers of hazelnut praline, smooth dark chocolate and crunchy almond base. And it’s pure luck that a new batch was in the oven when we ordered because there’s nothing better than freshly baked tart!

Pleasure ($9.80++) didn’t give me as much pleasure (pun intended!) as the soufflé and tart since I’m not a fan of milk chocolate. Chocolate cream, thin layers of milk chocolate sheets and a base of meringue, hazelnut and praline. It’s exquisitely made but just not the type of desserts I’ll crave for.

I totally adore the deliciously gentle assault on the olfactory senses once I step into the cafe. Just inhaling that subtle aroma of chocolate in the air is enough to make me happy. The power of endorphins chocolate!

 

Laurent Cafe & Chocolate Bar
#01-11 The Pier @ Robertson
80 Mohamed Sultan Road
6235 9007

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Halia Restaurant

Reading food blogs is like reading the morning papers. Something to be done leisurely, and I’ve learnt that it’s best to arm myself with some comfort food within reaching distance so as to placate the rumbling stomach while drooling over the glorious food porn on the screen. And it’s a bonus that I can now put a face to the “culprits” who always make me hungry at the weirdest hour with vivid descriptions of their food escapades, haha. Our bloggers’ gatherings have become quite a regular affair and the recent brunch at Halia Restaurant in the Botanic Gardens was a smashing success with a grand total of 18 showing up! Well done, people!

Poached egg is always a favourite of mine but Halia’s rendition ($14++ for vegetarian option) left a sour taste in my mouth literally. The egg white was very sour, probably due to an overdose of vinegar in the water. Other than that glaringly obvious fault, I did enjoy the soft and thick brioche. Love it when it turned soggy after soaking up the runny yolk!

Other variations of the poached egg include: with crisp black bacon ($16++) and…

… with pan-roasted ocean trout ($24++). Personally, I think that this is overpriced, considering the small portion.

I stole more than a bite of the cinnamon french toast ($14++) with glazed strawberry and it was lovely in a very average manner. Soft and sweet, though the flavour of cinnamon was a tad weak.

Caesar salad with grilled chicken fillet, garnished with bacon bits and garlic croutons ($16++).

Kurobuta pork and portobello burger with apple aioli and mesclun salad ($18++): the controversial burger that elicited extremely mixed reactions!

Blue cheese mousse, maple-glazed roasted walnuts and wild mountain honey on multi-grain toast fingers, with young spinach and fresh fruit vincotto salad ($18++): overwhelmingly strong smell! Definitely an acquired taste.

I wasn’t impressed by the Cappuccino Dunkin’ Pit ($10++) which uses cheapo cream instead of ice cream and topped with cappuccino ice shavings. Chocolate biscotti on the side for your dunking pleasure, haha.

Meet the wonderful foodies gang:

Angeline from Simply Angeline;

Cheryl from The Baker Who Cooks;

Daniel from Memoirs of Food;

Fen & Yuan from Indulgence after Workout;

Glenn from Hungry Epicurean;

Harris from The Simplest Aphrodisiac;

Hui Yuan from Yuan Yuan;

Phoebe & Chloe from The Food Chapter;

Reiz from Sitting Wishing Eating; and

Zaylene from This is Yummy.

 

Halia
1 Cluny Road
Singapore Botanic Gardens
6476 6711

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Checkers Deli (Hilton Hotel)

Even though lunch at La Strada was filling, there’s always more room for desserts! We met up with another group of food bloggers and Checkers Deli at Hilton Hotel was chosen as the place of honour for our gluttony spree. Like the scene from Royal Copenhagen, it was again a case of “we want ALL these except this and that” as we ordered almost all the cakes available to feed our party of 10.

Surprisingly, Carrot Walnut ($8.85) is my favourite for the day as I’m never a fan of American-style carrot cakes. This was moist with plenty of grated carrot and chopped walnuts to make me happy. Cream cheese frosting was a tad sweet though.

I’m rarely impressed by chocolate cakes anymore but Hazelnut Royaltine ($8.85) is an exception. The ratio of crunchy hazelnut praline and biscuit to smooth chocolate sponge and mousse was well-balanced and flavour of dark chocolate was intense without being overwhelmingly sweet.

There’s supposedly coffee cream layering the Coffee Moka Finger ($6.95) but it was so subtle that I couldn’t detect it at all. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the good combination of almond sponge and crispy hazelnut praline.

Snicker’s Cake ($8.85) is like a peanut butter cake with layers of sticky peanut caramel, crunchy peanut crisps and joconde biscuits, and Jivara milk chocolate, topped with a dark chocolate glaze. It’s a good thing that this was for sharing as I couldn’t have finished the entire slice by myself since it was too cloyingly sweet after a few bites.

Encased in the dome known as the Vanilla Chocolate Cake ($6.95) is a mixture of chocolate sponge, praline, mousse and vanilla cream. Nice description, but it didn’t leave any lasting impression on me as it was too average.

The only thing I like about the Lemon Tart ($8.85) is the tart sour lemon curd filling. What I didn’t like is the pastry crust which was too hard.

The Mixed Berries Tart ($8.85) is all looks and no substance. Like the lemon tart, crust was too hard and somehow, the various components of almond cream and fruit jam just didn’t work together.

The cheesecake fanatics in the group swore by Hilton Hotel’s cheesecakes, even saying that they are the best in Singapore. Out of the 3 flavours, only Blueberry ($11.20) impressed with an extremely soft texture while Walnut ($11.20) and Marble ($11.20) are a good reminder of why I don’t eat cheesecakes: too rich with a distinct cheesy taste (which is exactly why people love cheesecakes, I suppose).

These are the people who love their sweets as much as me:

Daniel from Memoirs of Food with his friend, Serene;

Elaine from Divine Essentials;

Gavin from Every Meal an Adventure;

Harris from The Simplest Aphrodisiac;

Justin from j2k3blogs with his mom; and

Phoebe and Chloe from The Food Chapter.

 

Checkers Deli
GF Hilton Hotel
6730 3392

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La Strada

My foray into the Les Amis Group has been limited to French cuisine so far: once at Au Jardin, twice at Bistro Du Vin. Time to remedy that with a trip to La Strada, the Italian arm of the group! This was also the last food bloggers’ get-together for 2009 as we gathered together for a meal during the festive season. The 2 course set lunch is reasonably priced at $28++, 3 course at $34++.

None of us ordered any pizzas but we had a sample of complimentary pizza bread topped with tomato and herbs. The crust was quite thick so I didn’t like it.

Justifiably, the Duo of Crostini garnered raves from all of us. I love the pairing of saltish olive tapenade with sweet confit cherry tomatoes! So simple, yet so good. The company also praised the pork ragu with a piece of pork crankling which I didn’t try.

The chef kindly agreed to change the grilled chicken in the mesclun salad to either salmon or tuna for me. I went for the latter but they got the order wrong and gave me salmon instead. If not for my main of salmon, I wouldn’t mind sticking to this!

I was really glad that I returned the salmon salad to the kitchen when I tasted the tuna salad. Topped with a poached egg, the moist and briny tuna flakes gave the plain greens a boost of flavour. The portion was also substantial enough to be a main course!

After the tuna salad, I had another dose of omega-3 from the pan-fried salmon. It was perfectly done just the way I like: medium-done with some pink in the centre and crispy skin with no burnt marks! The roasted new potatoes on the side were a tad dry though.

The carnivores in the group enjoyed the char-grilled 70 day grain-fed sirloin very much!

The tart of the day was pecan tart with basil ice cream. While the former was just average, the latter was very interesting! The taste of basil was distinct and it’s like a creamy sweet pesto that’s light and refreshing.

The meal ended on a good note with mini madeleines fresh out of the oven. I didn’t expect much but the madeleines were surprisingly good! Not too buttery and sweet, they went well with the cuppa.

Overall, this was a pleasantly long lunch with delectable food and good service, and made even more enjoyable by the company of these lovely people:

Daniel from Memoirs of Food with his friend, Serene;

Gavin from Every Meal an Adventure; and

Justin from j2k3blogs with his candid mother.

 

La Strada
#02-10/11 Shaw Centre
6737 2555

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