It is not a secret that I lurveeee desserts, but not many people know what is my favourite dessert. The truth is, I don’t have one. You see, I’m afraid of commitment. Today, I want a Chocolate Souffle, but come tomorrow, I’ll be craving for Tiramisu. It will be something different the day after. My cravings change all the time.

I’m not going to tell you which is my favourite dessert, but I can say that Strawberry Shortcake is never far away from my thoughts. I’ve gone on a quest to try many dessert places and here’s a list of the Best Strawberry Shortcakes in Singapore.

This post is about (edible) Strawberry Shortcake made of sponge cake, cream and strawberry. For Strawberry Shortcake cartoon character, please google and try again.

Antoinette Patisserie

To me, Antoinette is the best patisserie in Singapore. However, I do not think that they have the best Strawberry Shortcake. It is good, but not so exceptional till I’d think about it everyday. Still, it is worth a try if you are there for afternoon high tea.

30 Penhas Road
Tel: +65 6293 3121

Bakerzin

After going on a hunt for the best Strawberry Shortcakes in Singapore, I can gladly say that Bakerzin’s rendition is definitely one of the better ones that I’ve had. I’d come here when I’m craving for Strawberry Shortcakes. And of course, it helps that they have many outlets around the island.

1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-207 VivoCity
Tel: +65 6438 8700

Barracks Cafe

Barracks Cafe’s strawberry shortcake ($9.5) is the one that most people mention when you ask them where to get a good strawberry shortcake. Unlike the usual Japanese Strawberry Shortcake that has sponge cake sandwiched with whipped cream and strawberries, Barracks Cafe’s version comes with vanilla bean sauce, and it has a much firmer texture.

It is listed as my Top 10 Cakes in Singapore.

8D Dempsey Road
#01-01 to 06 Tanglin Village
Tel: +65 6475 7787

Recipe for good Strawberry Shortcake = Sponge Cake + Strawberry + Cream + Magic.

Canele Patisserie

Since Chef Pang left Canele Patisserie, they’ve come up with a new recipe for Strawberry Shortcake. Many people have been raving about it, so be sure to drop by Canele to try the new Strawberry Shortcake!

11 Unity Street #01-09
Robertson Walk Singapore
Tel: +65 6738 8145

Flor Patisserie

“Where can I get cheap and good cakes?” I get this question a lot, and I always tell people to try the cakes from Flor Patisserie. The little cake shop at Duxton Hill has a Strawberry Shortcake ($5.5) which is really moist and fluffy.

Definitely one of the better Strawberry Shortcakes!

2 Duxton Hill #01-01 Singapore
Tel: +65 6223 8628

Forget about love, give me Strawberry Shortcake.

Glace Patisserie

When you put incredibly soft sponge cake with delicious fresh cream, it’s really not difficult to see why Glace’s Strawberry Shortcake ($5) – in the first picture – is so popular. The first time I had it, I knew I’d found something special.

12 Gopeng Street #01-33/34
ICON Village Singapore
Tel: +65 6400 0247

Mezza9

Mezza9, the hotel cake shop in Grand Hyatt, is the place that I always frequent whenever I’m in town. And of course, I always buy their Strawberry Shortcake ($4.5) for my breakfast next day.

Here’s the amazing part, Mezza9 offers 50% discount off all cakes after 9pm – you can get a slice of Strawberry Shortcake for under $3! For that kind of price, Mezza9′s rendition is unbeatable!

10 Scotts Road
2F Grand Hyatt
Tel: +65 6416 7189

I think I am in love with Strawberry Shortcake.

Rive Gauche Patisserie

Rive Gauche by the Pokka Food Group probably needs no introduction. It is a takeaway kiosk that serves cakes at affordable prices. At $2.8 a slice, it is the cheapest Strawberry Shortcake; making it a great option if you are on a budget.

68 Orchard Road
#B2-57 Plaza Singapura
Tel: +65 6341 9936

Sun Moulin Bakery

One of my favourite places for good Japanese bread. My friend is a big fan of Sun Moulin, and after she brought me there to the bread, I’ve been going there ever since.

However, it took me until recently to find out that Sun Moulin also makes a competent Strawberry Shortcake ($5.6). It is light, and airy, and smooth. Utterly delicious.

350 Orchard Road
Basement 1 Isetan Scotts
Tel: +65 6235 6093

1 Caramel Dessert Boutique

I really liked 1 Caramel’s Strawberry Shortcake ($6). I liked the flaky pastry around the cake. I liked how it is different from the usual Japanese Strawberry Shortcakes. I liked the combination of fluffy sponge cake and strawberry bits.

This is definitely one of the best Strawberry Shortcakes in Singapore.

1 Rochester Park, Level 2
Tel: +65 6774 1302

For more recommendations, read my list of Best Dessert Places in Singapore

Antoinette is a Parisian pâtisserie and salon du thé by Chef Pang Kok Keong, who is one of Singapore’s best pastry chefs.

Sugar Daddy Group – which currently includes Antoinette and Pique Nique – is Chef Pang’s first business venture after a career of working for different hotels and Les Amis group’s Canele restaurants.

I was over the moon to hear about Antoinette Patisserie. Needless to say, I was very excited to try all the desserts. My first visit was a media tasting session and we had the chance to try quite a few dishes.

Since then, I’ve been there on numerous occasions as a regular customer, and ordered various items on the menu. My goal was, or still is, to try all the cakes by Chef Pang.

Cakes make me happy. I want to eat cakes.

Antoinette currently has three outlets at Penhas Road (near Lavender MRT), Mandarin Gallery and Scarlet Hotel. While the French tea salon at Mandarin Gallery has a great location, it is much smaller than Penhas Road.

I’d definitely recommend going to Penhas Road instead of Mandarin Gallery as the latter does not allow reservations and there is always a queue during peak hours.

If I could only choose one cake, I would definitely go for Antoinette ($9).

Even up till now, I could still remember my first encounter with it. The Chocolate Earl Grey cake caught my attention with its glossy surface; I could almost hear it calling out to me.

I took a fork and tapped it lightly, unsure of how soft or hard it would be. My fork easily went through the milk chocolate mousse infused with earl grey tea cake. The only words to describe it? Luxurious, chic, and heavenly.

I will go so far as to say that my hunt for the best cake in Singapore ended with the Antoinette chocolate earl grey cake. It is rock-my-socks-off good!

If the Antoinette cake was divine, the Saint Honore L’amour ($8.5) – made up of choux pastry, rose petal cream, and strawberry compote on an almond tart – would be the perfect representative of love and romance.

Another interesting option is the Chocolieux ($9.5). When the staff brought it to our table, we thought that we were having ice cream as it was molded into the shape like a magnum. How wrong we were.

It was actually a dessert (I find it difficult to call it a cake) made up of dark chocolate cream, hazelnut nougatine, dark chocolate biscuit and almond chocolate.

On my fourth (or fifth time) there, we tried Strawberry Shortcake ($8) and Café Caramel ($8).

The Café Caramel ($8) – an almond tart composing of caramel a la fleur de sel, genoise cafe, and coffee mousse – was well executed, but nothing special.

To be honest, I was a little unsure about the Strawberry Shortcake as I didn’t have a good impression of the one Chef Pang made at Canele Patisserie. It was actually not too bad. I’d include it in my list of best Strawberry Cakes in Singapore, but it is not my favourite.

I marvelled at the Religiuese of Caramel with fleur de sel ($8) when it arrived at the table. It was so beautiful! I found it to be a little too sweet, so you might want to order this to share.

Among the cakes at Antoinette Patisserie, I also had the Exotique ($8.5) – mousse exotique with coconut cremeux and poached pineapple; Pudding Maple ($6.5) – maple flan with caramel, in a cup; and Strawberry Baba ($8) – baba pastry, citrus rum syrup and vanilla crème Chantilly.

If you prefer savoury food, you must try their Chicken Burger, which is one of the better burgers that I’ve had. Besides desserts, Antoinette also has All Day breakfast ($9 – 20) such as Eggs Florentine, Baked Omelette; French Toast ($10.5), Crepes ($15 – 20) and Pancakes ($10 – 15); entrees ($10.5 – 23) like Salad and Foie Gras Terrine; and main courses ($16.5 – 38) which include options like Bouef Bourguignon and Gnocchi Carbonara.

Antoinette, without a doubt, is my favourite patisserie in Singapore. But then again, I am a big fan of Chef Pang, so I’m definitely biased. Don’t take my word for it, go there and try the cakes for yourself. Service can be very patchy depending on the time you are there, but really, who cares so long we can have good cakes.

The French patisserie is a great place for a quiet afternoon high tea. If I lived near the Lavender area, I could imagine myself dropping by the Parisian tea salon every other day.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Antoinette Patisserie Tea Salon
30 Penhas Road
Tel: +65 6293 3121

333A Orchard Road
#02-33/34 Mandarin Gallery
Tel: +65 6836 9527

33 Erskine Road
#01-02/03 Scarlet Hotel

For more recommendations, read my list of best dessert places in Singapore.

1 Caramel Patisserie used to be located at The Luxe at Handy road (besides The Cathay). They have since shifted to Rochester Park, sharing the space with their sister restaurant, 1 Rochester.

With only a few tables in a narrow rectangular space, 1 Caramel dessert boutique at Rochester Park is much smaller than before. But I like the cosy feel of the new outlet; it is a lovely dessert place to have a cup of tea and a slice of cake for a quiet afternoon high tea.

I lurveee to be in a kitchen of a patisserie. It makes me feel as though I’m in Disneyland. We were browsing the cakes on display as the Hazelnut Praline ($6) called out to me. I immediately knew that was the cake that we had to get.

But for the other cakes, we had a hard time trying to decide between tempting choices like the Tea-ramisu ($6), Chocolate Molten Cake ($14) and Earl Grey Creme Brulee ($14). In the end, we had a Lychee Cupcake, Vanilla Souffle and a Strawberry shortcake to go together with the Hazelnut Praline.

I had fond memories of their Lychee Rose cake, so I was hoping that the Lychee Rose Cupcake ($3.5) could replicate some of the magic. Unfortunately, the cupcake was way too dry, and I didn’t enjoy it very much.

Let’s observe five minutes of silence for the fallen souffle…

It was really fun to watch the rise and fall of the Soufflé, but other than that, we were not blown away by the dessert. Don’t get me wrong, though. The Vanilla Souffle ($14) with strawberry ice cream was not bad, but for the price, we were expecting a little more. Expectations are the root of all problems. That said, 1 Caramel has interesting options like hazelnut, passionfruit, and miso souffle.

I really liked 1 Caramel’s Strawberry Shortcake ($6). I liked the flaky pastry around the cake. I liked how it is different from the usual strawberry shortcakes. I liked the combination of fluffy sponge cake and strawberry bits.

This is definitely going into my list of best strawberry shortcakes in Singapore.

Besides cakes and desserts, 1 Caramel Patisserie at Rochester Park also serves all day brunch like Eggs Benedict ($12), Pancakes ($12), Croque Monsieur ($12), and French Toast ($10).

Singapore Food Blog Review
1 Caramel Dessert Boutique
1 Rochester Park, Level 2
Tel: +65 6774 1302
Weekday: 11.30am – 10.30pm
Weekend: 10am – 10.30pm

For more recommendations, please read my list of best dessert places in Singapore

Cakes were invented, I believe, for the sole purpose of making us happy. With so many dessert places in Singapore, we are simply spoiled for choice.

Among all the bakeries, cake shops and patisseries in Singapore, where can you find the best cakes? Which sweet treats are worth a try?

There really is no “best cake” since each one has a different story and appeals to different people accordingly. We all have our own favourite desserts, but whatever yours is, I hope you’re eating it.

Here’s my list of the top 10 cakes in Singapore.

I crave desserts like people stranded on the desert crave water.

Antoinette from Antoinette Patisserie

I had the namesake cake (milk chocolate mousse is infused with earl grey tea) when I went to the new patisserie by Chef Pang Kok Keong, and I fell in love with it.

The Antoinette (picture above) from Antoinette Patisserie is good. Okay, maybe ‘good’ is not the right word since it doesn’t convey the depth of my feelings. How about wonderful? Amazing? This is, without a doubt, one of the top 10 cakes in Singapore.

30 Penhas Road
Tel: +65 6293 3121

Napoleon Cake from Flor Patisserie

Flor Patisserie’s Mille-feuille (also known as Napoleon cake) has a layer of cake in between the layers of puff pastry and cream. I love how the puff pastry crumbled in the mouth together with the cake and cream.

2 Duxton Hill #01-01 Singapore
Tel: +65 6223 8628

Plaisir Sucré from Laurent Bernard Chocolatier

One of my favourite cakes from Laurent Bernard Cafe is the Pleasure ($9.80). The classic Plaisir Sucré comprises whipped chocolate cream and ganache in between the beautiful and delicate chocolate sheets, and a base of hazelnut and praline; it is out-of-this-world good.

80 Mohamed Sultan Road #01-11
The Pier @ Robertson Singapore
Tel: +65 6235 9007

Strawberry Shortcake from Barracks Cafe

Barracks Cafe’s rendition is the one that most people mention when you ask them where to get a good strawberry shortcake.

8D Dempsey Road
#01-01 to 06 Tanglin Village
Tel: +65 6475 7787

Tiramisu from Da Paolo Gastronomia

When it comes to the tiramisu, very few can do it better than Da Paolo. Considered by many people to be the best tiramisu in Singapore, this is definitely a must try if you are a fan of the popular Italian dessert.

290 Orchard Road
#B1-20 The Paragon

Matcha from Canele Patisserie

Smooth and delicate green tea mascarpone mousse, with chestnut cream in the middle of the cake – the Matcha cake from Canele Patisserie is a must-try for green tea lovers.

11 Unity Street #01-09
Robertson Walk Singapore
Tel: +65 6738 8145

Chocolate Amer from Bakerzin

The flawless combination of flour-less chocolate sponge and bitter chocolate mousse makes the Chocolate Amer one of my favourite cakes from Bakerzin.

3 Temasek Boulevard
#B1-016 Suntec City Mall
Tel: +65 6338 4656

Chiffon Cake from Tampopo Deli

The chiffon cake from Tampopo Deli is one of the most under-rated cakes. Try it and you’ll know why it is in my list of top 10 cakes in Singapore.

177 River Valley road
#B1-16 Liang Court
Tel: 6338 7386

Chocolate Cake from Max Brenner

No words are required. This picture tells you everything you need to know about the chocolate lava cake from Max Brenner.

8 Raffles Avenue
#01-06/08 Esplanade Mall
Tel: +65 6235 9556

Strawberry Souffle from Patisserie Glace

This is Patisserie Glace’s Strawberry Souffle, also known as the gateway to heaven. To me, this is one of the best cakes that I’ve ever eaten.

12 Gopeng Street #01-33/34
ICON Village Singapore
Tel: +65 6400 0247

For more recommendations, please read my list of best dessert places in Singapore

I have been on a mission to try all the afternoon high tea places in Singapore. One would imagine that there are plenty of nice dessert places to go for a leisure afternoon tea. But the problem is, I have been to most of them, and sometimes, I end up going to the usual ones because there are only that few high tea places in town.

After having dim sum at Paradise Pavilion, my partner-in-crime and I were greedy for more food, and we I suddenly thought of the macarons at Jean-Philippe Darcis, Marina Bay Sands. Life is good when you have desserts after dim sum.

I have heard of the chocolatier before, but it was only when I did a quick search online, then I knew that he holds the prestigious title of Belgian Chocolate Ambassador along with other awards.

Anyway, back to Jean-Philippe Darcis at MBS. The chocolate cafe sells pralines, Belgian Waffles, Cupcakes, and an assortment of macarons (around 14 flavours to be precise).

At $3 per piece, the macarons are not exactly cheap. But still, no one can resist macarons. Death by macarons! Death by macarons!

We were debating if we should get a dozen macarons, but our common sense told us otherwise. We ended up getting 5 macaron (Almond Milk, Passion-fruit chocolate, Pistachio, Vanilla, Hazelnut) and a passion-fruit cupcake (a little dry).

Among the ones that we had, my favourite was the vanilla and hazelnut. We thought that the Pistachio was lacking in the nutty flavour, while the Almond Milk and Passion-fruit chocolate were decent, but not life-changing.

Do they have the best macarons in Singapore? Well, the macarons at Jean-Philippe Darcis are definitely some of the better ones that I’ve had. But I am not sure if it is the best. There are after all, so many patisseries and cake shops in Singapore. This gives me the perfect excuse of doing a taste-test of all the macarons in Singapore, but that’s a separate story.

All in all, Jean-Philippe Darcis at Marina Bay Sands is a nice place to have Belgian waffle, macarons and a cup of tea. It is not as popular as the chichi TWG Salon (yet), so I will definitely go back and try the other macarons.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Jean-Philippe Darcis
10 Bayfront Avenue, #01-38
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
Tel: +65 6688 7202

For more recommendations, read my list of afternoon high tea places in Singapore

In this world, not everything that happen will be bad. And I believe some things occur in one way or the other, for a reason. It must be fate that I get to know Cream Puff (C). I remember vividly the first time we met; she was sitting in a corner, dainty, and oh yes, stunning. I hesitated a while, then with the corniest pick up line that I can think of, I approached her:

“Hello, my name is Brad. I couldn’t help but noticed you when I walked by just now, and it will be such a regret if I didn’t say hi. I know this may sound superficial, but you are really pretty, can I get to know you?”

With that, we became lovers. It’s almost like an affair actually, I mean you don’t go around telling everyone about your great love. We are friends, we are lovers, we are soul-mates, we are life companions; she’s the half apple that I have been searching for.

I love you because I know you will always be there, whenever I’m feeling down and unhappy, when we are seeking for some thrill, when I need nobody, nobody, but you. I love you because you never fail to make me smile, our kisses are the best thing ever in this world, there’s nothing so magical, and wonderful. I love you, because I love you.

Give me a cream puff, and I will love you forever.

Forever, till the far side of forever? That was before I met Mont Blanc (M). I’m not sure if this is what you call destiny, but I’m very sure our meeting was a beautiful accident that was always meant to happen. In every way, she was very different from C. If C is summer, M will be winter. The former is full of passion, warmth and love, but the latter is the exact opposite; she’d keep me at an arm’s length and push me away, she’d ignore me whenever I tried to get to know her. Maybe this is why I’m so attracted to her. Man always like to chase, the things that we cannot have – all the more we will try and get it.

I shouldn’t be telling you all this, now it makes me feel guilty to C. I’m sure I told you this before,  C is incredible, like really really incredible. She kissed me lightly on the lips, and before I knew it, I swallowed her in a mouthful. I’m not sure if there’s anything on this world that can make me so happy.

But I like M too. I knew of her existence from a long time back, but somehow, she never interest me even though there were countless of opportunities for us to get acquainted. Her chestnut cream, was surprisingly, not as sweet as I thought, and somehow I’m grateful that the chestnut taste was quite subtle as I have never been a fan of the nut. Oh, the dilemma. I like Mont Blanc dessert too.

In between our love triangle, there’s Matcha Chiffon. I like her, in a platonic way. You don’t believe in platonic friends? Neither do I. But we seem to be able to get along very well, to begin with, she’s light, moist and airy in all the right places, and I did mentioned that she’s matcha right?

With this Matcha chiffon, will you please forgive me?

Restaurant Review
Tampopo Deli
177 River Valley road
#B1-16 Liang Court
Tel: 6338 7386

Many months ago, a long time before I fall in love with food, I have totally no idea what eggs benedict is, much less heard of hollandaise sauce.

I always remember my first encounter with Eggs benedict, it had a hefty price tag and I wasn’t willing to splurge twenty bucks on two poached eggs, or what I called the most-expensive-eggs-you-ever-eaten.

I immediately regretted it when I saw the heavenly holladaise sauce that was drizzled on top of the gorgeous poached eggs. And ever since then, I went on a brunch-frenzy to make up for what I have been missing out. My goal? To seek all the lovely breakfast food in Singapore

Excluding the ones that I had while I was traveling overseas, it suddenly occurred to me that it was a long time ago since I last had brunch in Singapore. There’s nothing like an all day brunch when you can have breakfast at any time of the day, as and when you crave for it. Cafe Hacienda does not serve all day brunch, but it’s pretty close – they have brunch till late afternoon everyday.

I find the idea of having my breakfast in the afternoon very alluring; sitting down in a chic and cozy cafe, sipping a cup of coffee and tweeting “I’m having brunch while the rest of you are busy at work”.

Credits go to Choupinette of course, it’s a shame that I have not tried eggs benedict and holladaise sauce before that, but it really does not matter now. Although I’m twenty years late, but it’s always better to be late than never. Honestly, I do not understand what’s the big fuss with wild rocket, Yes, it’s pretty, but other than that, it doesn’t really goes down well in the mouth, but maybe it’s just me.

Hacienda’s Eggs Benedict ($13.50) is a replication of Prive’s, I always prefer bacon rather than salmon with poached eggs; there’s nothing like a sinful fried bacon streak to make me go ga-ga.

Memories they say, are the stuff that make our life worth living for. I remember a ferrero rocher cake that I had a year ago, it was definitely one of the best I had. Fast forward to the present, taking a sniff of the cake, I actually felt butterflies inside my stomach.

Please, please let this be good.

I leaned forward cautiously, desperately wanting to get back the moment that I’ve before; I took the dessert with a fork, and carefully placed it into the tip of my tongue. The cake went down, and I refused to acknowledge the ugly truth, so I took another mouthful, and another mouthful, until it was clear that the Hazelnut Praline ($6.80) was really not as good as before.

This was a great disappointment. My friends had warned me that the cake had lost it’s former glory – I refused to believe it until I tasted it myself. The praline base used to be one of the thickest, but now it’s reduced to a mere thin layer which lacked the crunch of the ferrero rocher cake.

* * *

Cafe Hacienda is Prive without the seafront view, but nestled in the greens of Dempsey. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Michel Lu, the dining concept that he brings about is simplicity; a nice cafe that serves delicious comfort food at a reasonable price – but some people just don’t get it. See you there!

Cafe Hacienda
13A Dempsey Road
Tel: 6476 2922
(Opposite PS Cafe)

Cafe Hacienda is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

My adventure in Australia is drawing to a close, but I will like to share one final post with you: Adriano Zumbo. This is the patisserie that has caught Sydney by storm, this is the bakery that has created many lovely creations each season – this is the place in Sydney that I wanted to go the most.

Cakes arrived at our small round table, plated nicely. I’ve no idea exactly how the name Google it, Real life ($7.9) came about. But I do know for a fact that it is banana passion-fruit creme tart, and it is not just a pretty face. The diguise of almond croquante within the midst of the creme was clever; it added a crunchy dimension and provided a slightly salty aftertaste to the tart.

First and foremost: banana passion-fruit creme, a pretty orange-yellow layer on top of the crispy tart, beautifully dressed by the presence of the fresh berries. Banana and passion-fruit provided a good balance with each other, on it’s own, passion-fruit taste slightly sourish, but the banana is like the key to the lock, just like how chocolate always works with hazelnut.

The fine balance meant that neither fruits were overbearing, and in this case, it was rather surprising that both the banana and passion-fruit maintained a subtle, yet distinct flavor.

Your frund in the frudge.. toasted ($7.90), turns out to be a quirky interpretation of sandwich with tomato and cheese, in the body of a cake. I’ve ordered it solely based on the crispy puff pastry; the toast mousse had one of the weirdest taste I ever came across, flanked with the addition of the tomato jelly and the melted cheese creameaux, with hints of black pepper; I’d give it full marks for the creative idea, but it was too much for me.

Most of the creations have cheeky and whimsical names, and the 5, 6, 7, 8 ($8) is no exception. The flavors practically exploded on my tongue, each portion was trying to out-do the other; the lemongrass pandan & vanilla creame legere was by far my favourite among the three components of the cake.

You can discover the robust lemongrass taste among the smoothing and fragrance pandan; to the right of it there’s a case of identity crisis with the pineapple palm sugar sous vide – Adriano did something to it, but I’ve totally no idea whatever that is.

Coriander creamaux completes the trio with a peanut stable base the the bottom. 5, 6, 7, 8 is a highly complex creation, it looks good with the three complimenting colors, and there’s an intense mixture of different taste and texture involve – you’d either love it, or get lost trying to follow each and every unique flavor.

I’m glad we left the Not too S-h-a-b-b-y ($7.9) for the last, it was again, a combination of many different individual flavor, blend in to make one wholesome cake. There was flourless biscuit, muscavado creme brulee plantation chocolate mousse, and chocolate malt creme legere; all of which did not make sense to me. Tasting the stuff, one struggles for words, memories came flashing back and I felt like a kid again; I remember the first time I tried nutella, the first time I put foie gras into my mouth – I know my life will never be the same again.

It took every bit of discipline I had not to moan and giggle and rave after my first bite. I’m in love with this cake, so in love, she’s the reason for my very existence.

I’m really happy that I went to Adriano Zumbo patisserie before I left, his bold yet unique creations are indeed worth the effort to travel all the way there, I think Adriano Zumbo really deserves the accolade he has earned so far.

The fact that the patisserie is out of town in Balmain, yet managed to garner so much support, tells you everything about the desserts. Adriano Zumbo – he’s a genius! Thank you Richard & Simon for bringing me here!

* * *

This is the last post of my Twelve days in Sydney. It is not exaggerating to say that I planned the itinerary based on food, and all these will not be possible without the awesome food blogs in Sydney. I had the pleasure of meeting 50 Sydney food bloggers at a Christmas party while I was there; Helen & Lorraine are practically food bibles of Sydney, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading Billy’s, Howard & crew and many other great food blogs that is impossible for me to list all of them here.

I’m not sure when I will be back again, but there’s something I’m certain of: Sydney is a great city, with real friendly folks, and good food. See you there!

Adriano Zumbo Patisserie
296 Darling St
Balmain, Sydney

The idea was to eat, eat, and eat, but plan b, or rather the lack of a proper plan, meant that we start at Plan B. We started off easy, but it was surely one of the best burgers that I’ve.

It took everything that I got to resist ordering another burger for myself, and missed out on all the stuff that was about to come – and so three hungry dude shared one burger.

Plan B by Becasse is famous for their wagyu beef burger, and at just ten bucks, you must try this burger! What is wagyu, anyway? When even the MacDonalds in Sydney sell Angus beef burgers, you probably think it’s not a big deal.

But the real wagyu burger, comes in the form of a thick beef patty, everything was kept simple; there’s no exotic ingredients like foie gras, nor were there redundant sauce – it was so good that you could feel the sauce gushing out! Interesting, beetroot was used, and it provided the contrast from the other burgers.

Plan B, 204 Clarance sheet, have you taken down the address?

It will be disappointing if one did not step into any pub/bar when in Australia. The folks here simply love (read: adore, head over heels, cannot do without) drinking. Be it a glass of the fine wines from the vineyard, or a pin of beer straight from the brewery, say cheers! There’s a strong drinking culture here; it’s not surprising to see people drinking during lunch time, or 3pm in the afternoon.

I was glad when Richard proposed that we make a trip to his favorite pub, Bavarian Bier Cafe for some beer to chill down the hot afternoon heat. Since I always have a sweet tooth, I went for the Mango, which had a smell consistency of the fruit. The taste however, did not have such a strong mango flavor.

No one in their right mind will pass on the chance to have German Sausages, and so we ordered a platter to share. There was a krunching sound when I bite the cracking roast pork, as with the German food that I visualize, it was hearty, tasty and definitely not enough.

‘Deep-fried sushi?’

Richard casually asked if we are keen to try it out, but I could sense the excitement in his seemingly-subtle-tone.

‘I don’t know, I’m not so sure.. about this’

And the next thing I know, we were standing in front of Kana Express kiosk. This is one place where most people wouldn’t have heard of, much less try the snacks here; an oblivious kiosk by the corner of a back alley.

The sushi was done Korean-style, and there’s other popular Korean snacks like spicy rice-cake, but our focus was on these two words: Deep-fried, & sushi.

As the guest, or so they said, I was entitled to the first bite. It was edible. I think one’s enjoyment of this sushi comes from the revelation of deep fried to the mind. On it’s own, the sushi tasted very tame, but the addition of the fiery hot chili sauce enhanced the flavor greatly.

I love summer. I really do.

Summer, is the perfect excuse for us to indulge with ice cream, and more ice cream. We dropped by Passionflower, a dessert cafe which exotic ice cream flavors. The choice of vanilla hazelnut & burnt caramel was made by me, the former was evidently the favorite, and I liked the nutty taste in the vanilla ice cream, while the latter had a strong burnt caramel taste.

Summer, is not summer, without ice cream.

I stole a glance at Krispy Kreme when we walked by the shop, and was immediately dragged in and convinced to have one (just one) of the original donut. This should be the definition of how a good donut taste like: glazed with a layer of sugar, yet not to the point of being cloyingly-sweet, there wasn’t any hint of oilyness that a poor donut will have. One, simply isn’t enough.

Our original plan was to have tonkatsu at a nearby Japanese restaurant, but it was closed by the time we got there, so we went to Harry’s instead. I’m sure, any reputable guidebook will list the pies & hotdog at Harry’s Cafe de Wheels as one of the must-try in Sydney. Tiger pie is particularly famous, but to be honest, I’m not very certain of it. Mashy and meaty, maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t really enjoy it.

On the other hand, we thoroughly enjoyed the hotdog, it was a shame that we only had one to share. I’d imagine one to hold the big sausage with both hands, and put the whole thing into the mouth!

While on the way to Max Brenner, we passed by Le Patissier and decided to stop here for some sweets instead. For a small place, they have quite an array of desserts to choose from. I wanted to try vanilla pastry cake but it wasn’t available that day, so we had the Lemon Ganache. The sourish lemon ganache provided a good counterbalance to the sweet chocolate layers, but the whole cake was too dry, and I’m not a big fan of kirsch that’s also present in the cake.

When the fork first sank into the Creme Brulee, we already came to the conclusion that it failed. And unsurprisingly, the surface of the dessert was not caramelized properly; it was either a leftover, or they had torched and caramelized too early. However, the custard underneath was actually quite decent, and there’s even vanilla beans used.

* * *
Just in case you are wondering again, yes, we ate all of these in one afternoon.

Plan B by Becasse
204 Clarence Street, Sydney 2000
Tel: 9283 3450

Bavarian Bier Cafe
24 York Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel: 02 8297 4111

Kana Express kiosk
Corner of Central Street

Passionflower
580 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000

Krispy Kreme
Queen Victoria Building
429 – 481 George Street,
Shop 95 – 97 Lower Ground Floor,
Sydney, NSW 2000

Harry’s Cafe De Wheel
Haymarket, NSW 2000
Next to Paddy Maguires Pub
Tel: (02) 9281 6292

Le Patissier
50 Clarence Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9299 0015

Any tiramisu will do the trick, but if you want a particularly good one, I would recommend the one at Galbiati Deli. This timeless favorite never fails to thrill me with the awesome combination of coffee, liqueur, & mascarpone cheese.

I’m sure you know I have a sweet tooth, and really, I can’t imagine a day without having any dessert. I’m also sure all of us have different favorite desserts. but whatever yours is, I hope you’re eating it. There’s simply no excuses if you don’t even spend some time for a slab of chocolate or a scoop of ice cream; well all I can say is you are missing out. Since the New Year is coming, maybe you should do some reflection, and set a new, new year resolution – have more sweets.

. . . I eat desserts first

Galbiati Gourmet Deli
400 Upper Bukit timah road
RailMall
Tel: 6462 0926

The rains, oh, it rains. It is that-time-of-the-year-again.

I like rainy days, I really do. It’s perfect for snuggling in bed, surfing food blogs with a cup of hot chocolate, and a slice of that-very-delicious-carrot-cake.

If you have not tried Cedele’s carrot cake yet, you are definitely missing out on some of the nice things in life. You don’t like carrots? Give them a try first, it’s never too late to split it out if you really detest the taste. The thick cream cheese frosting on top of the moist carrot cake was sweet, but not to the extent of cloyingly sweet – the balance was just right.

Honey, they shrink the cake!

I’m not sure if it’s just me, but Queen C (what I call Cedele’s carrot cake) seems to be much smaller than before, oh well, I’ll just get another slice of it then.

You know I like girls who like their desserts. And you are also aware that I’m that guy who’s a keeper right? Let’s be sweet!

ps: Just in case you are wondering, this is not a dessert blog. It just happens that I have been eating a lot sweet stuff lately, there will be more savouries in the next post!

Cedele
1 Kim Seng Promenade
#01-01 Great World City
Tel: 6836 1426

You already know by now, I’m sure, that I like desserts. However, it does get me into trouble as I constantly (read: all the time) think about them and the craving just won’t go away. At least not until I satisfied the sweet tooth. So much so that I eat desserts first, and I can even skipped the main course for the sweet stuff.

Anyway, our initial plan was to have desserts for lunch at Buttercake n Cream – only desserts and nothing else. But we just couldn’t resist the kurobuta pork that was waving at us, I mean who can?

Buttercake n Cream was formerly known as Peaberry & Pretzel (selling German food), but the owners have since changed the concept to an ice cream parlour and dessert place. They are famous for their sundaes, and when I heard that they are serving sundaes, the first thing that came to my mind was MacDonald’s hot chocolate fudge. But trust me, their sundaes are really much better than that; we were considering between their berry berry good and Apple Pie Ala Mode ($7) since we didn’t want chocolate or banana in their other options, and we had the latter.

On paper, it was two scoops of vanilla ice cream, with apple pie fillings and almond crumble. Spotting the speckles of vanilla beans was enough to make my heart flutter, and surprisingly, the manner in which they deconstructed the apple pie ice cream (as we like to call it) turns out to be good. I like how the almond crumble provided the crunch while the apple pie filling added an tangy touch to the cold vanilla ice cream.

Tiramisu. Say it with me: Ti-ra-mi-su!

Desserts too, are special. Why end off your meal with a cup of espresso or a shot of alcohol when you can have soaked sponge fingers into both of them, with the mascarpone special that will set tongues wagging and licking at the whipping combination of coffee-liquor-mascarpone. And there’s the most wonderful cocoa powder sprinkled on top of the fluffy mixture which makes you go: oh-my-it-is-so-good!

As our spoon cuts into the Tiramisu ($5.50), the top cocoa powder layer gave way and filled our spoon. Eaten separately, the soaked finger layer tasted like wet biscuit with espresso, and the masarpone like any other ordinary cream, but combine both together, the result is totally different. The different layers seem to fuse perfectly, and the effect is a yummy sensation.

Maybe it’s just me, but honestly, all tiramisu taste good to me; how bad can a tiramisu be? Okay, you are thinking about the really lousy one; what I meant was between the pretty decent, and the very good one. This means us to the question: is a good tiramisu one that has a) strong liqueur taste b) no liqueur or c) a good mixture of both espresso and liqueur? Some people swear by the strong liqueur taste lingering in the tiramisu, while the original tiramisu actually do not have any alcohol as they were meant for children. There’s no such thing as a best tiramisu, everybody have a different preference to the espresso-alcohol proportion.

I feel silly discussing this with you, but the-best-tiramisu has been over-debated for centuries. But who cares? I like all tiramisu.

Here’s another reason for you to explore Sunset way, TGIF!

Buttercake N Cream
Blk 106 Clementi St 12
(Sunset way) #01-52
Tel: 6777 3477

This is a story of boy meets love, and you should know up front, this is definitely a love story. Boy meets dessert, boy fall in love, oh yes, this is a happily-ever-after ending.

The Tart pudding was highly raved upon by the staff at Tampopo Deli; we decided to get it since there’s no harm trying – I mean how bad can custard and tart be? It’s almost like an egg tart, albeit in an Japanese manner, so lets just call this the Japanese egg tart. I enjoyed every bite of the crispy tart, with the soft eggy custard sitting on top; it was not wow, but pretty good.

Meet Chiffon, she’s terrific, if I may: light, moist and airy in all the right places. The texture of the chiffon is amazingly soft, and it’s one of those things that you have totally no idea of what you are eating, and you just keep putting more into your mouth, until it’s gone. And there’s the shredded cheese which gave the light chiffon an additional distinct taste. This is it.

Cream puff is one of my all-time favourite dessert – they are incredible. Like really really incredible. The sweet Japanese cream within the crispy choux pastry was amazing, I took a bite and I don’t know if there’s any thing else that can make me feel so happy. I swear – Tampopo Deli has one of the best cream puffs!

Apparently, the cream puffs are in such great demand that they get sold out very fast. Either make a call to reserve them, or go on the hourly spot (they baked each batch by the hour). There’s no denying that I have a massive sweet tooth. Cookies, chocolate, fudge cake, cheesecake, give them to me, give them all to me. Can you ever say no to them? In short, I like anything sweet, I’m definitely a dessert-holic! It’s so tempting to just order every single dessert from the shelf, and for now, boy will meet love in the dreams.

Tampopo Deli
177 River Valley road
#B1-16 Liang Court
Tel: 6338 7386

Tampopo Deli is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

I eat desserts first. There is not a single day that I will stop thinking about them. I have a really sweet, sweet tooth, and I don’t know how to control it. Oh heck, I don’t want to control it. Sweets are good, they make me happy.

First bite – wow. This is definitely a ferrero rocher cake. Even though the Caraibe ($8.50) was touted as a dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate cream, but it was really a lot sweeter than what we would like it. And this comes from someone who has a penchant for sweet stuff. It would be nicer if there’s more of the crunchy hazelnut nougatine. If you are a big fan of anything-hazelnut, go for Canele’s Le Royale instead.

Among all the different cakes on showcase at Canele, the Jupiter ($7) must be the most outstanding one with its attracting dome shape. The combination of the 64% dark chocolate mousse provided a good counter-balance to the flourless chocolate sponge; the sweetness was done just right, with a subtle hint of caramel and pecan nut nougatine in between.

If I have to use a word to describe the Baked fruit tart ($5.50), it will be pleasant. The whole thing was so nice, we thoroughly enjoyed the lemon filling on top of the tart. You definitely will not go wrong with it.

The Nougatine ($8) is one of the best ice cream around. No kidding. What’s there not to like about hazelnut praline ice cream and salted caramel? The ice cream was divine, and the salted caramel drip by the side was literally the icing on the ice cream. I fell in love, all over again.

* * *

I’m a guy. I like desserts. And I think you should too! Come on, take a nibble, sweets make you happy. This is my fifth (or sixth) time to Canele, and I almost tried all their cakes with just a couple of them left, so another visit should do the trick.

Canele Patisserie
290 Orchard road
#B1-25 Paragon
Tel: 6733 8893

Today is not Monday, but I decided to surprise you with a slice of rich and good cake anyway. Sorry I have been kept busy by a lot of stuff, and I’m not able to blog as frequently as I’ll like, there are so many places that I went recently and I’ll love to share them with you. Until then, lets keep our attention to the cake shan’t we?

Cakes come in all form and sizes, there are the pretty-but-can-be-better-ones, and also some-which-I-absolutely-fall-in-love-with. There’s also those which are very simple and made me go back twice in four days. Cakes are good on a date, and it’s meant to be share with your love ones and friends, there’s just nothing like ending on a sweet note yeah?

I love the look on your face when you grazed upon the slice of rich and good cake, so stop resisting, you know you need that slice of cake! I think I’m getting pretty obsessed with cakes, I even dream about them at night. Oh gosh.

I confess: I’m definitely a dessert-holic, and why not? Desserts chase your monday blues away, a slice of good cake never fails to cheer you up, and I couldn’t help feeling “oops I did it again” everytime I eat a dessert. But who cares? Desserts make me happy. I’m superficial. Whatever.

Coming back to the rich and good cake, I have been hearing so much about it. Therefore when I was in the area last week, I know I have to get it. The sponge was very, very delicate, it’s quite unlike your typical sponge cake. But the kaya can really be better, it would be perfect if they give more kaya fillings too! Not that I’m complaining anyway, it’s still a slice of rich & good cake.

You know a guy’s a keeper when he eat desserts right? You know I love you. xoxo

Rich & Good cake
24 Kandahar Street
Tel: 6294 3324

It’s not difficult to associate District 10 with Wild rocket, not when they have the bitter green for almost all their dishes.

Much as I agreed that Wild rocket is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but it’s too much when all the appetizers and the mains are adorned with the same greens. And yes, we started our first appetizer with Wild Rocket Salad ($10).

The Selection of traditional cold cuts ($14) had an assortment of parma ham, salami, chicken, with grilled ciabatta bread.

How about some Deep fried calamari and tiger prawns ($10) to get you started? Oh yes! I was actually looking at the portion and realise there’s at most one prawn and two calamari for each of us, so I immediately took my fork and started eating. And after that? I kept a lookout for signs to see whether the others wanted their share!

Wow, there’s even duck in spring rolls now?

The name Homemade duck spring roll ($10) caught my attention first, from the exterior you would have think that it’s just like the other normal spring roll, but there’s shreds of duck meat enveloped within the crispy fried skin. There’s a subtle taste of duck meat, and I like how the sweet sauce actually complimented the dish very well.

The Chili crab pizza definitely has the “Made-in-Singapore” brand stamp all over it. While credits have to be given to the chef who came up with the audacious creation, but the chilli gravy meant that the crispy pizza was moist and soggy. There’s other interesting new school selections such as the sambal chilli prawn and chilli flakes pork floss pizza.

Wagyu meat balls? Isn’t that a waste of the Japanese beef! I’m never a fan of penne, and this case the pasta was a bit over-cooked. But somehow I got hooked to the fulsome tomato sauce in the Rigatoni ($18)

When we were browsing through the menu, I knew we had to order the Crispy Duck Confit ($24). One of the things that I always lamented about, was the lack of duck dishes in restaurants, there’s nothing like a good duck confit to make you happy all day! The duck confit here was a lot smaller than expected, and while I tried very hard to convince myself this will be good, but it wasn’t. The lack of the crispy skin and the dry duck meat – let’s just say I had better duck confit elsewhere.

I thoroughly enjoyed the steak fries that came along with the Country style baby back ribs ($24), but the portions of the ribs were not as hearty as I would like it to be. Come on, give me a full rack, I can finish it!

Did I tell you how I like the way District 10 presented their fish and chips on the old-fashioned newspaper? And how excited I got when I saw peas (yes green peas) served along side the chunky fries and beer battered fish? Fish & chips is all about the crispy battered fish, the thick-slab of fries, with tartar sauce and green peas! I couldn’t remember much of the beer-infused taste in the soggy buttered crust though. But everything’s forgiven with the fresh fillet, and not to mention I totally adored the way they dressed up the fish & chips ($19).

I was tempted to order the beef burger but reckoned that we should save some room for the many desserts that were coming up. And luckily among the six of us that night, there’s four desserts enthusiasts, so we ordered almost everything from their dessert menu. The tiramisu ($9) caught my eye immediately, I’m a sucker of the Italian dessert and all of them tasted good to me.

The American Bramley apple pie ($9) was sweet-licious too. We ignored the accompanying butterscotch set cream and attacked the crusty apple pie. Every mouthful was filled with delightful apple flavour.

This wasn’t the typical heavy type, you know the thing about cheesecake; it’s the kind where you either love it or hate it. For those who preferred the creamy texture, this was a no-no, while for those who enjoyed the light airy cheesecake, the white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake ($10) will be the one for you.

I always wanted to try profiteroles ($9) and you must thinking how can I have not tried since I absolutely swore by my cream puffs. Taking a spoonful of the choux pastry, I carefully placed it into my mouth, and swoon! At that precise moment, I kicked myself for not knowing you earlier, it was good – it was damn good. If cream puffs with whipped cream is wonderful, imagine what’s it like when there’s ice cream in cream puffs!

For a split second, I thought that my taste bud must have gone haywire as punishment for being a glutton. There’s liqueur taste in creme brulee! But luckily the others reassured me that I’m not the only one who tasted that, there’s really rum-infused with the burnt cream. Traditional creme brulee with Bourbon vanilla & rum ($9).

Oh-oh-oh! the Palvova must be the prettiest among the rest. She’s so sweet, and charmed everyone with her beautiful red coat. You like meringue? You will like her here.

There’s something about old school that’s irresistible to me; the charming environment as though you are taking a trip back in time, with flashbacks of your carefree innocent school days. It was District 10 (by Bonta Italian restaurant) second week of operation when we went, and they were packed full house (160 seaters) on a Tuesday night. That’s something to reckon with! To be frank, there wasn’t any particular memorable dishes which wow me, but the reasonable prices and charming location might just do the trick. I’ll like to thank Hungrygowhere.com for the invitation to the food tasting session.

District 10 Bistro
10 Winstedt road
#01-17
Tel: 6738 4788

Our very special night with DBS Foodster started with the limo fetching us to The Queen & Mangosteen. Cheerful staff greeted us, the smoothing sea breeze, with the relaxing ambience, the stage was set for a wonderful dinner.

We started off by ordering from the Nibbles menu. The portion of the Fish & Chips ($15) was more than enough to be served as an entrée, three pieces of fish with a big bucket of fries. Mind you, it’s not just the usual side fries, it’s a whole bucket of tasty potatoes! I would prefer them to come in thicker wedge with some green peas by the side – the traditional British good O’ fish & chips. But still, it’s good enough.

And oh yes, I forgot to mention about the special curry tartare sauce. It was awesome! Indian cuisine has always been a big influence on the Brits, the sauce provided another different dimension which we never had before.

The shredded slow-braised duck with crusty bread ($13) was ordered out of curiosity, and the staff did warn us it could be an acquired taste, but we went ahead anyway. The taste was quite close to a pate, but somehow it reminded me of the tuna spread that I put on my bread.

Following on the adventurous tone that has been set, we went for the Spicy minced beef ($14). There wasn’t anything spectacular when we had the minced beef or corn chips separately. But it was a hit when we spread a generous layer of minced beef on top of the chips and drizzled some sour cream together.

Love comes in all shapes and sizes, the Mini hamburgers & chips ($18 for 3 mini burgers) were not only cute but also pleasing to the palate. I didn’t think much of it initially, but after taking a bite, the small beef patty was delicious! And just like the fish & chips, it came with a big bucket of fries too.

Just in case you were wondering, no we’ve not started on our main courses yet, all those you seen thus far are all just appetisers. At The Queen & Mangosteen, they offered a wide range of its signature craft brews including old favourites like Archipelago Straits Pale to pair with the food.

We wanted to order everything from their menu; the wild mushroom risotto is totally my kind of dish, the clayfish cooked in beer and fisherman’s pie are crowd-pleaser, roasted rack of lamb is music to the ears of a carnivore, but there was just too many to choose from so in the end we didn’t have all of them.

The rope-grown blue mussels ($28) came highly recommended and it did not disappoint. Using a fork to pitch the shell, we slurped down each mussel which was cooked in chilli, with delight.

I always wanted to try Bangers & mash ($26) which was quintessentially three sausages – pork, lamb and beef with mashed potatoes served with caramelised onion gravy. The lamb sausage had a very distinct and gamy taste that might be too much for non-lamb eaters, and the beef was fairly good too. But it was the pork sausage that grabbed our attention!

Bea’s a big fan of beef, so naturally we ordered the rib-eye of beef ($38). Steak with thick cut chips, yorkshine pudding and a choice of wild mushroom sauce, thyme jus or caramelised shallot pepper sauce. We chose the latter with the steak done medium rare.

“It’s one of the better steaks that I’ve!” She exclaimed. I like the thick cut chips, while the chewy texture of the Yorkshire pudding sort of tasted like choux pastry.

The Cambridge Burnt cream ($10) or affectionately known as Creme Brulee was our favourite dessert. Beneath the beautifully burnt caramelized sugar, was a rich custard base. We dug in, and finished every bite of it.

“Whoa“, and “Ooh” were heard when the Mango coconut truffle ($12) arrived on our table. Our first impression: was it ketchup? There was a generous amount of berries and mango within the layers; the strong mango taste hit us first, with a subtle hint of coconut.

Between you and me, this shall be fondly remember as the ketchup soap.

It was one of those desserts that you didn’t know how they manage to make it this way, which you just keep on eating, and eating until it’s gone. I totally enjoyed the White chocolate & Cassis cake ($12). Interestingly, the triple chocolate ice cream on top of the cake took very long to melt. The white chocolate cassis cake was sweet, the girls found it too sweet, and so I had most of it to myself!

* * *

While the menu doesn’t have a wide variety of selection, there’s some pretty good selections for sharing and the portions were substantial too. My appreciation to Lynda from DBS, Cherylene & Seema from Eurorscg, and the folks at The Queen & Mangosteen for making the dinner a blast!

I will be going to different restaurants for three consecutive Saturdays with DBS Foodster, find out more information about the DBS Indulge Series here and you can also watch a video which I took in the restaurant here. I’m definitely looking forward to the next dinner at Umani this coming Saturday!

The Queen & Mangosteen
1 Harbourfront walk
#01-106 Vivocity
Tel: 6376 9380

Senso ristorante is a fine dining Italian restaurant in Singapore that is located at Club Street.

If I do it my way, I will start every meal with desserts. A typical dinner usually goes something like this: complimentary bread and cheesesticks to keep you entertain, but that’s no dessert. Then there’s soup, appetisers, main course, blah blah blah until we reach desserts! So why do we eat desserts at the end when we are clearly anticipating for it from the start!

And when I go to an Italian restaurant, the first thing that comes to my mind will always, be the tiramisu. It is, the heart and soul, the perfect ambassador for Italian cuisine. Fine, I exaggerated. It is at least one of the first thing that you will think of when we are talking about Italian desserts. The Tiramisu Senso ($14) here was way better than the one I had at their bistro before.

And the second thing (for me) when it comes to Italian cuisine will be pasta of course! However, I was tempted to try Senso’s risotto, so we had the Risotto ($28) – carnaroli risotto served with saffron and sea scallops. It was good, but company always make the food taste better, and since my dining companion wasn’t a big fan of risotto, I should have gone for their pastas instead.

My companion also raved about the excellent Agnello (rack of lamb) that she had at Senso before, but we decided to try something new this time round. Food is always an adventure no? The choice of the second main was contested by the Manzo (beef tenderloin), Milanese (rack of veal) and the Ossobuco (braised veal shank). I was initially skeptical of having the braised veal shank since my previous encounter was a complete diaster.

But I was sweet-talked into it, and I’m glad that we ordered this; the Ossobuco ($34) was done just right, the veal shank absorbed the goodness of the sauce, I know tender is a word over-used when it comes to describing food, but yes, it was tender!

The Bruciata ($14) made its appearance in a very creative way and we were completely fascinated by the mini frying pan. Oven-baked egg custard, or more commonly known as Creme Brulee, I finished everything on my own!

* * *

I didn’t manage to take any shot of the place, we dined in the charming al fresco area, but it was the private room that caught my eyes! That place is perfect for a group of twenty, I will definitely love to do a party there some day.

Senso Ristorante
21 Club street
#01-01
Tel: 6224 3534

A dreamy Sunday out with you, eating nothing but eggs and pancakes. And a glass of that bubbly champagne is just the icing on the cake. I love brunch! I really do. There’s just something about brunch that makes me excited, just the mention of it will be enough to get me on a high.

And how about a buffet brunch? Excellent, you get to eat a bit of everything (not that I’m a big fan of buffet), and free flow of champagne? Swoon!

I can never say no to desserts, you are my weakness. And we couldn’t resist taking photographs at the desserts section first since it’s right in front of the restaurant. All the petite desserts were waving to me, with the alluring cakes winking and making signals for me to step forward.

Do you want a piece of chocolate?

How about a chocolate tree? I’ll pluck the chocolates off and give them all to you. I know you want the bitter one, and you can feed me the sweet one. The chocolates, they were so good!

And there were a few different whole cakes, crepes, selections of bread alongside the mini cakes and petite shooters.

Rows, and rows of them: mustard lox salmon, smoked salmon, Thai smoked salmon, and an assortment of smoked fish platter. I bet you will just stand there all day and finish every slice of them.

Breakfast to me, must consist of eggs benedicts, pancakes, sausages; that sort of stuff. They had poached eggs here, but there wasn’t any hollandaise sauce, and sadly because the breakfast section was prepared beforehand (not on the spot), the eggs, sausages, and hash browns were cold.

But there’s an ala-minute section where the chef prepared eggs-done-in-any-style. Omelettes, sunny sideup, overeasy, you name it, they have it.

And while you are at the same area, the chef will prepared Vol Au Vent on the spot too. There’s Prawn with Brandy Sauce, Duck Confit with Foie Gras, Chicken Ragout with Mushrooms and Ham & Cheese Ragout to choose from. I’ve the duck confit with foie gras, which sort of reminded me of the kueh pie tee; crispy shells with savoury fillings

The array of seafood selection at Global Kitchen consisted of the typical mussels, prawns, scallop, and there’s Alaskan king crabs too! But it was the spoilt-for-choice of oysters that impressed me! The usual buffet line-ups will mostly just have, you know, fresh oysters on a bed of ice. But not here, there’s so many options, this is oysters at their best!

Among all, the fried oyster with bacon wrap was my favourite; I know this might not be the best way to taste the oysters as there probably wouldn’t be “freshness” left since it’s fried, but you know the thing with fried food, it’s always tasty. The saltiness of the bacon greatly enhanced the whole thing, not that you need to “add more flavour” to the oyster anyway. The purist probably couldn’t accept it since this was akin to killing the oyster, but I like it!

I also enjoyed the baked oyster with cheese tremendously. What’s there not to like when oyster marry with cheese? Fans of oysters will most likely gulp down a dozen of them at one shot, but not me. I had enough after having about five different ways of oysters, and there’s a few other ways which I didn’t try!

In buffets, I will always go for the ala minute food – stuff that are cook by chefs on the spot. And the fish & chips were pretty impressive. For one, they had mashed green peas, yes green peas! It totally exudes the “British feel” of a hearty fish & chips.

And can you imagine my excitement when I saw the chef preparing risotto and pastas too? There’s not much ingredients to choose from, you know the typical mushroom, tomato, but there’s no need for fanciful stuff when a plate of simple and comfort risotto/pasta is all I need.

There’s actually a lot more food, main courses like duck breast, salmon, seabass, beef, lamb, pork loin; in short, something to cater to everybody. I didn’t try all of them, just a bit here and there. Camemberu managed to take all the photos of them, so check it out over at her blog!

Free flow of champagne, amazing company with Camemberu, and Aromacookery, we pigged out for three hours ( including one hour for taking photos), this is what I call brunch! My appreciation to Cheryl and Merissa of Pan Pacific Hotel for hostingus for the media tasting session. We did not eat a lot, just a bit of everything, and  yet at the end of it I was feeling sick – over stuffed with food. And we didn’t even try all the things available at the buffet! The champagne brunch is on Sundays from 12.00pm to 3.00pm.

Price:
$98++ per adult (with Champagne, wines, cocktails, beers, juices and soft drinks)
$88++ per adult (with wines, cocktails, beers, juices and soft drinks)
$78++ per adult (with juices and soft drinks)

Global Kitchen
Level 3, Pan Pacific Hotel
7 Raffles Boulevard, Marina Square
Tel: 6826-8240

In life we have dreams; they are our goals to work towards to, one step by one step, and approached it. I’ve always wanted to visit Spain; the country, with its rich culture and vibrant cities appeal to me, and of course, Spanish food.

I simply love the idea of Tapas; the option of having more variety of food in smaller bite sizes, seduces me. Why have two dishes when we can have four? And so our Spanish adventure started with the Plamuk tod ($12), tempura style calamari rings. Limon did a thinner version using less batter which allowed the taste of the squid. But the amazing thing was the strawberry yoghurt dip which came along with the calamari!

Tartar sauce? That’s so last season. Mayonnaise? That’s so passe. Try strawberry yoghurt dip!

Tapas has many similarities with our Chinese Dim sum; it’s the communal way of sharing food. Both encouraged people to try out more varieties, and at the same time shared the food with others. The Patatas bravas ($10) was essentially Spanish fried potatoes.

A little bit of this, plus a little bit of that

No I’m not talking about our saliva! We get to share food and try a bit of everything without getting full, isn’t that a brillient idea? There’s no beef in the Moo curry ($12), instead there was pork & potato cubes pan-fried, with the red curry sauce being a tad strong.

How come the sausage tasted like brinjar?

It was hilarious when we mistook the eggplant for sausages at first bite, I’m never a fan of the purple plant. The fusion aspect was on display by preparing the Spanish Bibao (sausages) with Thai green curry sauce. Chorizo con curry verde ($14)

Honey, they shrunk the prawns!

I was sceptical when the “king prawns” that they’d mentioned was so tiny, but for what was lacking in size, the prawns more than made up in taste. The “tiny” creature was so prawny and crunchy! With ingredients like olive oil, lemongrass, black pepper, garlic, nameko mushroom; it was a mixture of flavours.

The Gazpacho con vino blanco ($12) was a traditional Spanish cold soup, with the novelty level upped by serving it in a baby coconut husk. The white wine flavour was subtle, but the experience of drinking soup was redefined into drinking coconut!

Tom-kha Guy ($10)

Besides the “coconut soup”, Limon has a few other soup available for selection, and you know I never like such soups, so use your own imagination how it would taste like.

Pumpkin fusion soup with strips of Serrano ham ($13)

Tomato, Orange and lemon soup ($10)

Paella. This was THE dish besides churros that I was looking forward to. And I had problem pronouncing it the whole night, so I came up with a simple way of remembering it, paella (my own pronunciation: Pie-ya). It was done with a Thai twist; incorporating tom-yum with the Spanish paella, there was plentiful of mixed seafood. It was delicious, every grain of rice tasted so good. Since I did not have paella before, there was no way I could make comparison, but it was good enough for me. And the tom-yum flavour wasn’t even strong (at least to me). Paella de tom yum ($20 for main size)

You like fish?

You will definitely love the Bacalao ($36)! The blue cod fillet was so fresh that it seemed alive on my plate, but I would prefer it to be slightly more pan-fried on the surface. Every piece of flesh was so delicate when our utensils touch it, oh baby, I’m gonna eat you up!

The lomo de cordero ($35) was a perfect sight to behold. There’s something about the Rack of lamb, which always make it so sexy! But somehow the ingredients like rosemary, oregano, mint, white wine, lemongrass sauce did not manage to cover the gamey taste.

Lobster, I love lobster! And I’m not going to share with you. No, get your hands off, it’s mine, it’s all mine! I was freaking excited when the Live lobster krapow ($38) arrived on our table. Every bite of the oven-baked lobster was so good, but there wasn’t enough meat for me! Taking a fork, I tilted the lobster head upside down, and dug at the shell beneath it, and yes, there was more lobster meat there!

On first look, I thought it was panna cotta, the Italian dessert. But it wasn’t. The dessert in picture was a Lemon caramel egg custard flan ($10). The texture was very similar to panna cotta, but I couldn’t quite figure out what was the difference.

And yes, I know chocolate cake has nothing to do with Spanish or Thai, but apparently the pastry chef at Limon does such a good chocolate cake that they decided to put it in the menu. And boy, it was true. The Homemade Chocolate cake ($9) paired with vanilla ice cream was a delight! If you could look at the plain chocolate cake up there, there’s the lava-flowing chocolate on top of the moist chocolate cake. Even though it was a pity there wasn’t any vanilla bean ice cream, but a scoop of cold icy one was enough to bring out the best of the chocolate cake.

I love to share food. But somehow the evil twin in me took over when we had the Crema Catalana con frescas ($10). There are times where you eat something that was so good, yet you couldn’t tell what it was, so you just ate, and ate, and ate. This was what I did, I took a spoonful of the egg based cream, put it in my mouth, and I couldn’t taste what it was. And the second bite became even better. So I simply took up the whole glass, dug, and dug further into, until the whole dessert was finished.

* * *

It was a medley of flavours when the Spaniards and the Thais come and play together. This was my first time trying Paella, and I’m glad I tried it! My appreciation to Towie, the owner of Limon, and Nicole for hosting us for the food tasting session.

And now for the good/great/terrific/fantastic news, I’ll be doing a food outing event (yes finally), at Limon on the 10th August for dinner. It would be a public holiday so I hope to see all of you there. The details of the outing will be in my next post.

Limon restaurant
7 Purvis street #01-01
Tel: 6333 9004