I know it’s too early to ask, but what did you do for Christmas last year? I had an awesome impromptu party back in December with Monoxious, Dweam and Jayleif. When I say impromptu, I really mean impromptu since the whole party was planned in less than twenty-four hours.

It was a mad rush trying to find a nice restaurant for Christmas Eve dinner since most places were already packed. Rather than having traditional Christmas food like turkey, log-cake and ham, we decided to go for some exotic Vietnamese food instead.

Located at Orchard Central’s Sky Garden, NUOC is a relatively new Vietnamese restaurant in the Singapore food scene. It’s positioned as a semi-fine dining Vietnamese restaurant, and naturally prices are slightly steeper.

I always have problems when it comes to ordering. It was a hard decision trying to choose from the deep-fried and the Fresh Vietnamese Spring roll ($18 for 4 rolls), so we went for the easy way out and ordered both.

Fresh prawns, sliced pork, lettuce, Vietnamese herbs & vermicelli rolled with traditional Vietnamese rice paper. That’s what inside the spring roll. Or rather, that’s what the menu says. And there’s mint inside too. The mint was somewhat like the final touch to enhance the freshness of the rolls. Crisp, and sharp, every bite was delightful – unless you don’t like mint.

Which is better? The Fresh Spring roll or the Deep-fried Vietnamese Spring Roll ($12 for 8 pieces)? I’m a sucker for deep-fried food. As much as I know that deep-fried food is unhealthy, but it always makes the food taste so much better.

We also ordered the Egg plant ($12) and Stir-fried lemon grass and ginger chicken ($16). The former was mashy, and it kinds of resembled fish rather than egg plant, while the latter was mediocre.

When it comes to soup, I only like hot soup. Somehow I never like cold soup, I mean, soup should always be hot, otherwise it’s not soup right? At least, that’s my definition of soup. Even when it’s hot soup, I only like home-cooked Chinese soup. Which is why, you seldom see me ordering soup in restaurants. I’m not against soup, but I’d rather spend the money having another appetizer, or even better – an extra dessert. The intriguing name of Fresh Prawn in young coconut ($20 for 6 pieces) caught our attention, and the soup base was probably prepared for hours; it was rich, and intense and sweet.

* * *

NUOC is a very new restaurant, and they are still sorting out all the teething problems. When we went in December, the signature Vietnamese Pho (I remembered it as fur) was not even offered on the menu, I mean how can a Vietnamese restaurant not serve Pho right? Hopefully they should be serving Pho by now. Anyway, the view is gorgeous, if you want Vietnamese food in a nice ambience and do not mind paying more, NUOC might just be the place.

Now tell me, how did you celebrate Christmas last year?

Restaurant Review
NUOC Vietnamese Restaurant
181 Orchard Road
#12-01 Orchard Central
Tel: +65 6884 6808

How far will you go for the best popiah? When cravings call, we do crazy stuff like going to Ang Mo Kio for crabs, or queuing up half an hour for the best char kway teow.

I wanted the perfect popiah. And I didn’t care if I had to go all way to Toa Payoh Lorong 7 – just in search for the ultimate popiah at Long House.

I have tried Long House popiah at Bukit Timah Hawker Centre before, but they say you need to go Toa Payoh for the best. For someone who likes to explore new places, I’m a tad lazy when it comes to traveling for food. I mean, it’s acceptable when I’m in the area. But it’s kind of silly when you go all the way to Toa Payoh just for the popiah.

Was it worth the while? Yes, definitely.

Now where do we start? Everyone knows the legendary Long House Popiah. Homemade popiah skin with fresh ingredients, and it’s incredibly crunchy. If you fancy a popiah party at home, Long House sells their skin and fillings for DIY popiah too.

I always envisage throwing a popiah party. It seems to be so much fun: from filling the popiah skin with lots of ingredients, to wrapping of the popiah, and admiring the piece of art, before gulping it down in a bite. What’s there not to like about popiah party?

Okay maybe less the wrapping part since I’m a lazy bum. I probably will go for the crispy Kuay Pie Tee instead. The same awesome fillings in the crispy shells. Happiness now comes in the form of a crispy cup.

Now tell me, where is your favorite place for popiah?

Restaurant Review
Blk 22 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh
#01-03 Toa Payoh Food Centre
Tel: +65 9171 7157
Closed: Mon & Tue

I love a good restaurant. But if there’s one thing I like even more, it’s having good company for dinner together. Dining in a fine-dining restaurant is very nice, but it really depends on the people around you to make it even better. Sometimes we get lucky, it’s an extra bonus when we are dining with nice people, and it happens to be a very romantic restaurant.

Many people always ask me to recommend a romantic restaurant in Singapore, I’d like to tell them: so long you are with your other half, everywhere is romantic. But I can’t possibly do that can I? You want to know a romantic place for your first date, a romantic restaurant for birthday parties, a romantic restaurant for that special occasion, and like today, a romantic restaurant for Valentine’s day; it’s all about the ambiance.

I’m very pleased to ‘stumble upon’ Boathouse, a newly opened Modern European restaurant at Fullerton Water Boat House. Chic decorations that exudes a laid-back and homely feel, gorgeous view that overlooks the Marina Bay area, elegant and simple furniture, oh I love this place.

Fish Chowder Sea Bass Carpaccio ($15)

I had Wagyu beef on a couple of occasions before, but this was the first time that I actually had a Wagyu Beef Ribs. The first bite? It tasted just like pork ribs. The second bite? It’s definitely a lot better than the normal pork ribs. It’s a superior version, no it’s  wrong to even compared it with pork ribs. My dear, you are looking at the Wagyu Beef Ribs with Aged Red Wine Jus ($33).

The meat was so tender that it falls off the bone and melts in your mouth splendidly. Placed together in a plate, the wagyu beef ribs absorbed the aged red wine jus, and in turn the latter captured the essence from the long braising process. How good was it? Catherine wiped the plate clean with bread.

Ju had the Atlantic Pink Snapper ($25) instead of the Wagyu beef ribs. She mentioned that the fish was fabulously fresh, firm, sweet, and didn’t want to share it with us. An excuse to return? I’d think so!

I seems to be having a lot of pasta recently. Boy I’m glad all of them were good quality ones, and the Tagliatelle Wild Mushroom in Truffle Sauce (S$19) was no exception. Every slurp of the tagliatelle was intense, and so flavorful. Some might find it to be too salty and overpowering, but I thought that it was pretty well done.

The Caramel Apple tartlets ($15) were small. Fine, they were tiny. Initially the restaurant told us it was tasting portions, but after confirmation from a few friends who went there for dinner, they were still serve the mini apple tartlets for the full price.

Fifteen bucks for three mini tartlets and ice cream? I wouldn’t pay for this, and neither should you. Please do not order the apple tartlets until the restaurant made changes to it.

The mind is a funny thing. It always play tricks on you, and subconsciously conjured images of things that you wouldn’t want other people to see. Halfway through the meal, my mind decided to play a game with me. Like as though there was a remote control, it pressed the ‘play’ button, and memories of a very good semifreddo that I’ve before started to flash.

Reason #1 why the pastry chef here does not have a sweet tooth.

With the sourish fruit compote to compliment the White Chocolate Semifreddo ($15), it gave the impression of an anti-sweet establishment. Desserts, are after all, meant to be sweet. I tried the semifreddo on it’s own, and it was so good. In order to see the reasoning behind the inclusion of the fruit compote, I reluctantly had a taste of the semifreddo with the tart berries – well it wasn’t so bad, but I’d obviously prefer dessert to be sweet.

In my opinion, a good Panna cotta must have a firm yet wobbly-like texture. This one here was fairly competent, but under the limelight of the excellent semifreddo and creme brulee, the Panna Cotta did not make a statement.

Reason #2 why the pastry chef here does not have a sweet tooth.

The presence of the licorice reduction, with the Creme Brulee. I was told that the evil licorice was planning on taking over the dessert world, in a test-tube-like container.  Okay I exaggerated. You know, the guys (& some girls) who raise their eyebrow at the slightest mention of desserts? The licorice reduction would be perfect for them since it literally reduced the sweetness level, making me wondered why anyone would do that.

Oh well, that aside, I enjoyed the creme brulee very much.

Torched to a magnificent golden-brown, the underlying custard was naturally sweet. The contrasting layer of the cranky caramelized sugar with the beautiful custard: I’m in love with the creme brulee.

My middle name is dessert: apple tart with ice cream, creme brulee, panna cotta, and white chocolate semifreddo.

* * *

This is the second part of a series that I’m doing on the waterfront restaurants in One Fullerton. I’ll like to thank Fullerton Heritage, Sophia and Kannan of Boathouse for arranging and hosting this dinner.

BoatHouse is definitely one of my favorite restaurant now, and I will not be surprised if they are one of the best new restaurants in 2010. There’s a separate rooftop bar on the third floor called Prelude. Stunning, stunning place with an awesome view of the Esplanade and Marina Bay.

Prices range from $20s for pasta to $30s for a main course. For the superb location and wonderful ambiance, Boathouse is offering a very value set lunch; the 2 course set lunch is $22++, while I’d go for their 3 course set lunch at $29++. Most of the items on their set lunches are from the main ala carte menu which make it extremely tempting.

See you at the Boathouse Fullerton.

Restaurant Review
BoatHouse
#03-01 The Fullerton Waterboat House
3 Fullerton Road
Singapore 029415
Tel: +65 6538 9038

Boathouse is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore.

Now that December has gone by and January is officially here, I kind of missed her already! December is the festive month, everyone was in a holiday mood and it provided us with the reason to indulge and feast.

Usually I don’t really fancy going out on Christmas eve and New Year’s eve because the whole world seems to be out on the street, but this year I had an awesome Christmas dinner, and good company to count down as we ushered into the new year.

Oh yes, December has been a good month to me.

Okay I will suggest you run along to grab a bag of chips first, and make yourself comfortable, because the photos are going to make you very hungry. We had a small gathering back in the last week of the year, it was very nice of Ivan to invite Catherine, Cheryl, Leroy & me over for the dinner party.

Call it the Post-Christmas party, or a Pre-New-year celebration, whatever – it’s just an excuse for us to come together and feast!

As a kid, the only form of Salad dressing that I knew, was the thousand island salad sauce. I also figured out that it tasted exceptionally nice with anything, I still like it now, but I came to discover more sophisticated ones like the Dijon vinaigrette that Ivan used for the tomato salad.

Is there a word that is more delicious than delicious?

The braised oxtail stew in red wine jus was simply, uh, delicious. The meat was so tender that it falls off the bone and melts in your mouth splendidly. The baguette that I brought along, came in real handy, everyone was tearing it into bits and soaking everything inside the stew.

Oh my, the potatoes are as simple as it can get, but they are so tasty. As I was trying to save room for the steak, I only had three baby potatoes, but the others adored them, we blinked, and there’s no potatoes left.

I couldn’t believe my ears when Ivan said that he only used salt and pepper to season the meat, and he did that just before it went into the pan. The secret was a block of real, solid butter. I like the medium rare taste of the meat, I like the slightly charred texture, I like how the steak was even thicker than a thumb, and I like it because Ivan cooked it for us.

We were stuffed to the brim by now, but there was still Cheryl’s apple pie for desserts. and I had two helpings of it. We were also spoil for choices when it comes to the ice cream, there were vanilla beans, rum & raisin, and even stem ginger, but I was really excited by the tiny specks of real vanilla seeds. Sweetie, cool vanilla beans ice cream, with the warm crusty apple pie; this, was a slice of heaven.

* * *

Thank you Ivan for inviting all of us to the dinner party! Great food, wonderful company, good wine, sweet desserts, and lots of food stories to share. Oh man, I’m really spoil when it comes to food.

It took me a year to finally visit Raw Kitchen Bar. Actually I dropped by when they just opened a year ago, but I did not have my dinner there back then. And despite staying just 10 minutes away from the place, it took me until now to pay them a visit. Yes, I’m a year late, but it’s better to be late than never isn’t it?

And boy oh boy, December is almost here. I like the year-end, for one it’s the month of celebrations with Christmas and New year, and I get to sum up my adventure for the whole year. Food-wise, this has been a fulfilling year, and I thought my winner for the best new restaurant is already decided, until I visit Raw.

Stepping inside, there’s just something different about this place. There’s the flimsy light bulb with different pieces of whimsical furniture to begin with. Then you have the quaint and charming backyard that looks like an awesome place to throw a tea party. The chef/owner Javier comes out and greet every table, all in all, you have the feeling of dining in the chef’s house.

The food is pretty good too. While we looked through the menu debating over spaghetti mentaiko, and commenting that the bun noodle sounds cute; we finally decided on the Capellini cream of ebiko and sauteed prawns ($19). Every slurp of the angel hair pasta seems to make its existence for your taste of the food. The portion might be a tad small, but it should be adequate for one person’s serving. We also like how the succulent prawns and flavorful ebiko enhanced the taste of the al dente pasta.

The Balsamic duck ($23) was a bit of let-down though, and not that it wasn’t good. The duck drumstick was firm and quite unlike that of a duck confit, but it had an uncanny similarity to the Chinese braised duck in terms of the smell and taste. We would probably enjoy it more if we did not have braised duck before; fusion dishes don’t work in this case, but maybe it’s just us. And for someone like me who usually don’t like mashed potato, the ones that came together with the petite drumstick here, was gorgeous in all sorts of ways.

The choice of the pizza was through an elimination method since there was only three to choose from. Spring vegetables pizza didn’t sound exactly appealing to us, and my friend did not want the mozzarella basil rosemary pizza, so we were left with the Prawns & chili pizza ($19). It was an irony that Raw Kitchen Bar was housed in the former premises of a firestation, wewe were about to call in the fire brigade for help – this pizza’s one kick-ass, fiery, spicy pizza.

This might not sounds convincing since I do not have high tolerance for chili to begin with; but even my friend who claimed that she grew up eating chili, agreed that this pizza was literally hot. And for the price, we weren’t expecting it to be so huge, which sort of compensate for the petite portions in the other two dishes.

Now I have a tough choice for the best new restaurant (among the places that I went to), and I know there’s probably a few more like Spruce & Hacienda (I have not been there yet) that will probably make the cut too. See you there!

Raw Kitchen Bar
276 Upper Bukit Timah road
Firestation
Tel: 6467 3987

Raw Kitchen Bar is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

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

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Ate. Nine. Ten.

Esplanade we were at, yet it certainly didn’t feel anything like Esplanade. The al fresco area was within the ground floor, yet while sitting there and people-grazing, the mood was out away from this world.

Service was almost impeccable. Since most of the tapas were off-the-menu, we wanted to know what we were eating and started asking the staff a lot of questions. Initially when they served us the first few appetisers, they were not sure of the names, and the ingredients in it. But they got used to us asking questions, and when they served the rest of the tapas, they made sure they checked the names and ingredients. Well we did make them stress that day, akin like taking a spelling test. Nonetheless, the staffs were always cheerful and friendly.

In the time of recession where people cut down on their expedition, it takes a brave soul to come out with interesting dining concept. The idea that the chef serves whatever he wants, is actually not new. But there just isn’t much places doing it, most people after all, aren’t adventurous enough and want to have a say in what they are eating. 7atenine. Catchy name, check. Unique concept, check. Ambience, check.

There’s something about Salmon which makes them irresistible to ladies. For some unknown reasons which continue to elude me, most ladies seem to love them. The salmon tartare. For the ladies! Fresh crunchy salmon in lemon cream sauce, with walnuts & some leafy greens providing the crunch. What impressed me was the effort entailed in preparing the cucumber. Instead of short slices, the cucumber was peel off vertically, in a long string. This, surely warrant our praise.

What I liked about the Taco cerbice was the simplicity of the dish. The crunchy sour dough plus the smooth octopus meat. Topped with greens, it further beautify and added balance to the appetiser.

Like couples who are always together, ham always comes with cheese. The dish is a basically an appetiser of ham & cheese. Cubes of green apple, cheese, and ham. While there’s nothing intriguing about the combination, it’s a simple dish to kick-start the meal.

I always remember the significant and special food that I’ve before. Like the best mushroom soup, the best dim sum, all those are deeply engraved in my memory. And the Beef roll on hot stone, would definitely be the latest addition to my memorable list. Putting the thinly-sliced beef rolls on the heated up stone, a brilliant idea! The usage of salt to bring out the natural taste of the beef, with the hot stone keeping the beef warm at optimum temperature. Divine.

Tangy, was the best way to describe the lobster gaspach. Shredded lobster fried was good on its own. But having left it too long in the slightly sourish sauce, it was soggy when we tried it. And did I mention I loved the way 7atenine decorated the bowls with a brush of the sauce. A stroke of genius.

With the pairing of cheese and anchovies, the Mozzarella cheese with anchovies certainly let our imagination ran wild. Just exactly what does the humble small salt-water fish and cheese have in common. Well nothing, but that’s what makes the pairing unique. The presence of bell pepper and tomato brighten up the aesthetic aspect. Much as I’m for creative cooking, this dish didn’t exactly impress.

The best. Mushroom Risotto. 7atenine rendition was done close to the porridge form, quite unlike the harder glutinous-rice like version I had before. Boiling several types of mushrooms to get the stock, the end result was a strong mushroom infused flavour in the risotto. The presence of strong cheese taste was a plus. I do not think words alone can describe the goodness of the risotto. Comfort food.

Again, we see the use of raw salt to bring out the natural flavour of food. Poached lightly, the Salmon with potato wrapped bacon was another worth mentioning dish. Even when eaten on its own, the salmon was fresh, but when you dip it with the sauce, it brought it to a brand new level. The bacon bits, by the side, was salty and flavourful. My date enjoyed her roast mini potatoes, although I didn’t quite fancy that.

When ocean meets farm, the Seabass in celery cream. Sprinkled with bits of salt, the seabass reminded me of my mom’s home-cook fish. The fish was better eaten alone, rather than together with the brown sauce. The mesh celery represented the farm.

At first look, we were guessing the ingredient used to “dye” the calamari black. Guess guess, squid ink! An interesting twist to the otherwise boring calamari. The tomato salsa was refreshing, but other than that, there wasn’t much wow factor. The crusted calamari.

A cheesy pasta. The spaghetti with ham symbolised every aspect of the cheese pasta. A simple dish done right. We were wondering what ham was used though.

If 7atenine is all about interesting new dining concept, then the sizzling wings would definitely be the best representative. Using the pegs (for hanging clothes) to hold the chicken wings so that diners were not dirty their hands. Bravo! While the effectiveness of the peg remained to be questioned, we should applause the innovation. On the other hand, the chicken wings were nothing to shout about. I was pretty astonish when they served the wings, since nothing in my dictionary told me that wings were classified under tapas.

The beef flank was the last main course that we had before serving desserts. The meat was tough and inelastic actually. I didn’t touch much of it. Well, a disappointing anti-climax for the main course.

Caffe latte trifle was the first of the three desserts we started with. Everything coffee. From the ice cream, meringue, to the thin layer of sponge, all of them are coffee flavoured. There’s rice krispies on top too.

With a base of berries, there’s the strawberry ice cream and vanilla bean on top. The execution of the simple strawberry gazpacho was enough, for us to end the meal on a sweet note.

We were surprised by the inclusion of vanilla bean ice cream since the sight of the normal walls ice cream was so common everywhere else. I liked the fact that they spreaded some Oreo crust by the side. I can taste vanilla bean, and with some help from the crust, it turned into Oreo ice cream. And oh yes, warm chocolate brownies must always be eaten together with chilled, cold ice cream.

Total bill was $86.58 for 2, lunch unlimited buffet. In my humble opinion, my date and I agreed that 7atenine is the best new restaurant in 2009, that is until i try a better one. Although not all the tapas impressed me, but the food taste is more on the extreme ends, it’s a case of whether you love it or hate it. Personally, I felt food lovers will generally accept this concept better than the rest, especially so if you are the type that are adventurous and love to try new creations.

It is definitely fun to be keep in the suspense, and wondering what is coming next. Of course, with expectations there will be disappointment. I’m sorry if you do not agree with me. But I love this type of dining concept,  the playful presentation of food, the friendly services, bold creations, the ambience and the amazing value. Of course, the company of my date plays a vital part as well. This year, the best meal I had so far, 7atenine!

7atenine
8 Raffles Avenue
#01-10/12 Esplanade Mall
Tel: 6338 0789

7atenine is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

The official term is potluck, some called it an outing. You can also see it as a pre-xmas celebration. Whatever, it is just a bloody excuse for the dessert enthusiast to get together, have fun and eat! Everybody brought something along, for those experts in baking, a chance to showcase their amazing skills, while the rest of us brought it from elsewhere.

Macarons, the speciality of Evan. She made hazelnut praline, rose, and pistachio flavours this time round. You might be think that i’m biased, but her macarons are one the best i tried so far. And we got some of the strictest dessert authorities who tasted them. Her macarons are available for sale on her site, do order some and give it a try!

Well, i tried rose flavour macarons from Canéle before, and i must say i wasn’t too impress with the rather artificial rose flavouring. While Canéle’s one was subtle in flavour, Evan’s rendition was fulsome in rose flavour. The shell was crispy, not the brittle type. The innard cream fillings were moist and light, and the aroma of the rose spread through, and was contagious like happiness.

Bright green in colour, the pistachio macaron was easy to spot among the desserts. I ain’t a big fan of pistachio, but this one was good enough, with the use of pistachio and almond. Personally, I felt that the almond taste was a tad strong though, and sort of covered the pistachio nut.

The hazelnut praline macaron, was clearly the best among the three. Everybody love hazelnut, who doesn’t like nutella? The strong hazelnut flavour was very nice, with the shells chewy and the whole taste simply blew me away. Everybody had one, while i couldn’t help myself and secretly took two! And do you believe this is actually Evan’s first time trying out with hazelnut for her macaron?

Next up, Vicki’s Swedish cinnamon rolls. Warmed up in the oven, sprinkled with icing sugar, the pretty cinnamon roll wasn’t as soft as i thought, but i enjoyed eating them round and round. Only the mountain of desserts behind stopped me from taking second helpings.

If we were to give out the best actress award for the event, it’ll definitely be the marshmallows. Her sweet looks deceived us completely, as she didn’t turn out to be as sweet as we thought it would. And that’s a good thing, most marshmallows are usually too sweet, but this one was just nice, and there was the hint of peppermint within. Another of Vicki’s creation. Her first time.

The Macha sponge cake ($20) was brought from Minamoto Kitchoan in the basement of Takashimaya. Some felt that the macha flavour wasn’t strong enough, and the sponge cake tasted more like our Chinese Fa kueh. Quite a disappointment actually.

There was rum, and there was nutmeg. The eggnog cheesecake was all about the liquor, and a hint of cinnamon. With the decoration of the pretty strawberries, the cheesecake was simple, and pretty enough. But i ain’t a big fan of liquor desserts, so this one didn’t make it for me. While others thought the liquor level was still acceptable and enjoyed it. Brought to you by caicancook.

Being the novice baker i am, it’ll be very embarrassing to bring my amateur bakes along for potluck. Therefore, i shared the Goodwood Park Hotel traditional Christmas chocolate log cake ($53 before 15% discount) with Fen.

How can Christmas be without the iconic log cakes? Goodwood Park’s one was very chocolatey, with rich layers of chocolate mousse, in between the home-made chocolate sponge. I haven’t had a proper log cakes for years, and to share it with friends who appreciate desserts, it was even more significant.

I wasn’t sure what the cake was initially. With some explanation from Sinny, who made the dessert. I googled the term, and here’s what i got. The bundt cake identity attributed from its ringed shape, it is pronounced “bunt” with the ‘d’ being silent. And guess what again? This was Sinny’s first time making this cake. The bakers were all like, “oh this was my first time making this and that“, when all of us were enjoying their desserts thoroughly!

We ended off our meal with some awesome pepper crabs by Claire’s father. There was also chicken wings, prawn rolls too! What are you thinking? We didn’t just ate desserts for the whole day!

Claire’s dog come out to play

Our first-ever potluck outing was a blast, and i believed everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We spent like two hours taking photos of the food, and there was laughter the whole day. Thanks claire for hosting us at her house, and there’s definitely gonna be more potluck outings in the future!

Check out the rest of the dessert enthusiast entries:
Fen @ sgcake.com
Evan @ bossacafez
Sinny @ Fundamentally-flawed
Vicki @ herlittleblackdress

Until our next dessert enthusiast outing then! Happy Christmas everybody!