Violet Herbs is what we call an alternative dating spot if you want to do away with the crowd and pretentious vibes at posh establishments.

Conveniently located at Tanjong Pagar, this modern semi-fine dining restaurant is within walking distance from the train station. The restaurant occupies the entire three stories of the shophouse unit along Tras Street – with the first two floors for dining, and a rooftop herb garden where fresh produce are used for the cooking.

Helmed by Chef Edward Hoe, Violet Herbs is one of the most underrated restaurants in Singapore that offers splendid 3-course set lunches (S$33+/pax) and 4-course set dinners (S$58+/pax) at very decent prices that feature high quality and intricate plating.

The main courses are also nothing short of impressive. Mark Violet Herbs down – it should be your next romantic lunch/ dinner spot.

Chef Edward Hoe runs the show in Violet Herbs’ kitchen. He who was part of the pioneer team that spearheaded Restaurant Ember has 20 years of culinary experience, and at Violet Herbs, traces of familiarity are evident from the restaurant’s star dishes. Chef Edward was the head chef in The 2nd Floor-The American Club, as well as Greenwood Fish Market & Bistro.

SOUPS & APPETISERS

The menu boasts a good range of appetisers that include both hearty and light options. Lighter options include the Basil Pesto Salad (S$18) and one that we thoroughly enjoyed – Pistachio & Herb Crusted Scallops (S$18).

The scallops were wonderfully plump and we liked the textural distinction between the soft juicy scallop flesh and the crunchy outer layer of pistachio and herbs. The dish is complete with tasty butternut pumpkin puree, bisque gel, parma potato chip and chocolate soil. This dish deserves a star for its presentation too!

Guess what we love most about Violet Herbs’ appetisers? The variety of foie gras options from Roasted & Poached Foie Gras (S$24) and Truffle Foie Gras (S$26).

We are usually unimpressed with lobster bisques because they are more often than not fishy or artificially flavoured. But the Lobster Cappuccino & Brandy (S$16) at Violet Herbs is easily the best we’ve tasted in recent times.

The bisque was so intensely flavoured – the sheer sweetness of fresh lobster coupled with brandy is a feat in itself. With every scoop, we became more and more addicted. This is one stellar soup.

ALL THE MAINS TO LOVE

With so many interesting mains to choose from, it will be one of those I-can’t-decide-because-I-want-everything-from-the-menu moments. We started with Violet Herbs’ bestseller – the Marinated Red Miso Cod (S$39). It is an a la carte main, but can be a top-up option in the dinner menu.

The cod cooked to a glistening glory with a miso marinate was spot-on. With a side of roasted pumpkin puree, almond eggplant and some dehydrated parsnip chips, this stunning dish is a combination of healthy veggie goodness and fresh white fish presented in varying textures and colours.

Even if you are not the biggest fan of lamb, we still urge you to try the Colorado Lamb Rack (S$48). Of course, besides the fantastic medium-rare cook on the lamb, it was the simple marination itself that made it so tasty with every bite.

It also comes with mini pistachio foie gras roulades that you can choose to eat with the meat to cut the richness.

Duck Confit is something we have to try if we see it on a menu, and of course, we tried the one at Violet Herbs. The Sous Vide Duck Confit (S$36) has a crackling outer crust and the most tender duck meat inside.

The duck jus reduction that accompanied the duck was just right. We also liked how the duck confit is placed atop a bed of rustic vegetables of herb potatoes and sautéed baby spinach.

Feeling really hungry or looking for something hearty? The Sous Vide 48 Hours Wagyu Beef Cheek is for those who are after something more robust.

The beef is fork tender, has a sweet red wine glaze, and is jazzed up with Sardinian fregola sarda and zucchini spheres.

In the pasta menu, you can find dishes such as Homemade Butternut Squash Gnocchi (S$42) and Lobster Risotto & Fregola Sarda (S$44).

These aside, you should go for the Ebi Angel Hair Pasta (S$38) if it is your first trip to Violet Herbs. The pasta is cooked to a beautiful al dente, then tossed in lobster essence, rayu oil and bird eye chilli (or as we call it, chilli padi). Using only premium air-flown Japanese sakura ebi, the pinkish-red dried shrimps are sweet and crispy. That’s all we need for our pasta, really.

SWEET TREATS

Some desserts to expect here include Yam Strudel (S$12), Chef’s Special Tiramisu (S$16) and Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake (S$16).

However, our heart was stolen by the Frozen Nougat (S$14). The dessert comes with little bits of lychee sorbet all around that complements the nougat with varying sweetness.

Also, being huge fans of chocolate-anything mean we couldn’t miss the Valrhona Chocolate Fondant (S$16).

The surprise of this dessert lies in the fact that it comes with truffle oil – an unexpected ingredient that actually makes the dessert even more fragrant.

VALUE-FOR-MONEY SET MENUS

Violet Herbs has superb set menus for lunch that is priced at S$33 per person, and that includes a total of three courses.

To sample Chef Edward’s signature foie gras dishes, you have the option to upgrade your set menu appetiser to a foie gras (+S$7) of choice. It is little wonder Violet Herbs is such a popular lunch spot, especially for business luncheons. Such value for money; we can all do away with the lunch hour rush and noise everywhere else, and embrace the cosiness of Violet Herbs with an intimate lunch.

Dinner degustation menus begin from S$58 per person. Now, that is practically impossible if you want some fine dining. A typical main at fine dining establishments would usually start from S$40 already! But at Violet Herbs, the degustation menus begin from S$58 for a 4-course meal.

EVENTS AND PARTIES

If you are looking to host your events and/or plan your company gatherings here, you can also have a menu personalised for you. Private rooms are also available, else if all else fails, we say book the entire second level – which is the prettiest spot at Violet Herbs that is more than befitting for events of all sorts.

For more information and reservations, call +65 6221 3988.

Violet Herbs
81 Tras Street
Tanjong Pagar Conservation Area
Singapore 079020
Tel: +65 6221 3988
Mon to Sat: 11:30am – 3pm, 6pm – 10pm
Sun: Closed
Nearest Station: Tanjong Pagar

This post is brought to you by Violet Herbs.

Awfully Chocolate is a familiar name for chocolate lovers. Who can resist their famous dark chocolate cake, and the signature ‘hei‘ ice cream?

When I heard from my friends that the folks at Awfully Chocolate have started a new restaurant, Loola’s by Awfully Chocolate, I was excited for two reasons. First, it is located at the beautiful Esplanade with a great view of the Marina bayfront line.

What caught my attention, though, is the array of desserts at Loola’s – with most of them not available at the regular Awfully Chocolate stores.

If you are looking for a place to satisfy your sweet tooth, Loola’s by Awfully Chocolate is worth a try.

On the dessert menu, you can find sweet temptations like chocolate mille crepe, hazel crumble, brownie, cupcake, chocolate tart, and churros. While the desserts are not exactly cheap – most of them are priced between $12-15 – I appreciate that they are well-made, and given that Loola’s has a very nice ambience, it is a price that I am willing to pay.

Besides serving desserts, Loola’s by Awfully Chocolate also has savoury food and you can get starters like capellini with truffle oil dressing ($15), crab cheese souffle ($18); main courses such as braised beef shortrib ($32), pan seared pork belly ($28), and Hoegaarden mussels ($25); as well as all day breakfast items like French toast ($18), egg benedict ($20), and egg white omelette ($22).

I went to Loola’s twice and I had the chance to sample quite a few desserts. The Loola’s brownie ($12), a very moist and dense rendition, was one of the better brownies that I have enjoyed in recent memory.

I am a big fan of anything-citrus, so I was happy to see the lemon yogurt cake ($12) on the menu. A generous slice of citrus infused moist cake with lemon cream cheese, and accompanied by a scoop of dark chocolate ice cream. It is an ideal afternoon cake. I’d have it with a cup of coffee.

The chocolate tart ($12) has a rich and deep chocolate filling in a nice and firm cookie base. It is further elevated by a scoop of good vanilla ice cream. You can’t really go wrong with chocolate and ice cream.

We also had a pear tart – part of the daily dessert menu (the items rotate on a regular basis) – which is decent, but nothing to write home about. Another dessert that you must try is Loola’s dark chocolate riser ($14) -  a dark chocolate souffle with vanilla bean emulsion.

I especially like the fact that Loola’s by Awfully Chocolate opens all day, and it is very quiet during non-peak hours from 3-6pm. Definitely a place to stay as long as you like, order a few slices of cake, and chat for hours with your friends.

I would probably go back for their savoury food, but if you beat me to it, do leave a comment to let me know which are some of the must-try dishes.

Loola’s by Awfully Chocolate
8 Raffles Avenue
#02-14 Esplanade Mall
Tel: +65 6336 9563
Mon to Thu: 12pm – 12am
Fri: 12pm – 1am
Sat: 10am – 1am
Sun: 10am – 12am

One of the best meals that I had last year was at JAAN Restaurant Swissotel, and I’ve been suggesting it whenever someone asks me for recommendations.

I was thrilled when Chef Julien Royer extended an invitation to try his summer menu. But at the same time, I was a little afraid. What if it wasn’t as good as before? I had a fantastic experience at JAAN previously and I did not want to tarnish that memory.

I went back and I had a spectacular meal. Chef Julien has done it again. I dare say you will find it very hard to find a restaurant which can offer a better dining experience.

He has been helming the kitchen for a year, and given that he has managed to settle down, I have no doubt that the upcoming year will be good times for the restaurant and we can definitely expect greater things to come. JAAN is still one of the best, if not the best restaurant in Singapore.

We started the meal with the amuse bouche platter: croquette, crispy chicken skin with Indian spices, smoked eel with pickled apple and jelly.

Amuse bouches, for the uninitiated, are different from appetizers in that you do not order them from the menu. Instead, they are served free, and it is up to the chef’s creativity. They are little surprises meant to prepare the guest for the meal; to tease the palate so as to speak.

The tiny bites were excellent; they did what they were supposed to do – to “wake up” the palate.

The second amuse-bouche, mushroom soup – a mainstay on JAAN’s menu – was also very good. In fact, I am going out on a limb to say that it is one of the best mushroom soups that I’ve had.

Then, we had a selection of bread – walnut raisin, mini baguette, truffle brioche, and sourdough – with wonderful butter from Brittany, France.

After we were done, we had our first appetiser – cannelloni of new caledonian obsiblue prawn & avocado ($58). It was a medley of flavours: the smoothness of the avocado melting in your mouth; the sweetness of the obsiblue prawn; the slight tinge of saltiness from the chorizo iberico; and the oscietra caviar, tiny bubbles of oceanic pleasure popping in your mouth. So delicate, so fresh, so light, so delicious.

“This is too beautiful to be eaten,” I said to my dining companion as the server brought the tomate ‘coeur de boeuf’ to our table. Drizzled with a sauce made of fresh almond and truffle, the appetiser tasted as good as it looked.

The use of almond provided texture to the burrata, which had a tofu-like consistency; it was smooth and crumbly at the same time. The intensity of the two different types of tomatoes, sun-dried and coeur de boeuf, also added wonderful layers to the dish.

To use the word ‘good’ for describing it, is an understatement.

Next, the 55′ rosemary smoked organic egg ($44) with garden peas, fairy rings, and bellota. Among all the dishes, it stood out with its dramatic entrance. The eggs – delicately poached at 64 degrees for 55 minutes, presented in its original shell on a typical egg tray – were accompanied with dry ice on the side, making it a feast for the eyes.

To sum it up; the perfect poached eggs. I want to have this for breakfast every morning.

This was followed by the escalope of landes foie gras ($53), which was paired with a slightly fruity Brut Rose champagne. It was a very well-balanced dish, with a myriad of different flavours and textures – the foie gras was cooked to a taut consistency; the crunchiness of the hazelnut; the acidic undertone from the rhubarb drop; the freshness of the strawberry topped with fresh coriander and ginger; and accompanied by the toasted brioche.

As the meal progressed, I found it hard to continue describing the food because every dish was exceptional. I wanted to drop everything (taking photos and jotting down notes) and just eat.

This probably explains why I can’t tell you much about the next dish – Chef Julien’s pigeon from bresse ($115) – except that the pigeon breast was so soft and tender that it’s a kind of texture (for a lack of a better word) that you would not usually associate with breast meat. The pigeon leg confit, without going too much into details, was excellent. We saveured the pigeon with a glass of Gevrey-chambertin (2009).

Before heading into desserts, the manager offered us a chef’s special cheese plate, and since I wanted to save room for sweets, I requested to have a portion for sharing. How I regretted it after taking the first bite!

The cheese was good, but it was the truffle ice cream that blew us away. Forget about truffle fries, all you want is truffle ice cream. My life will never be the same again.

To wrap up the meal, we had a fraicheur d’ete – a crème brûlée with lemon, basil, and thyme; and the choconuts 3.0 ($28). During my previous visit, I had the first version of the choconuts which consisted of jivara mousse, peanuts, with macadamia nut ice cream. Chef Julien has since came up with two improved version, and for the latest edition, you have the sable breton, tanariva chocolate, tonka bean ice cream, macadamia & pecan nuts, and walnut snow.

This was again, a good built-up of flavours and textures – the intensity of the different chocolates; the saltiness of the sable, and nuts; the effortless blend of tonka bean ice cream – made it a very interesting and delicious dessert.

And finally, petit four with a cup of coffee.

I am sure you have noticed that I’ve repeatedly used the words ‘texture’ and ‘flavour’ in this post. Yet, this is truly what the food at JAAN is about – making use of the freshest produce, respecting ingredients in it’s natural form and combining it with simple everyday spices, to create multi-dimensional dishes.

Sometimes when you eat at fine dining restaurants where they serve multi-courses, it gets a little draggy and often the waiting time in-between is too long. This is, however, not the case at JAAN. The four hour lunch that we had did not seem long. A good meal is about having fun, and I think they managed to accomplish that.

I think I’ve said enough. For a special occasion, you should definitely go to JAAN – it is a restaurant that you will not want to miss out trying.

For lunch, JAAN has a 3 course set menu at $55, but I’d suggest the 5 course degustation lunch, which is a steal at $88. And for dinner, the 5 course degustation menu is available at $198, while there is also a more elaborate 7 course degustation menu at $238.

JAAN Restaurant
2 Stamford Road
70F Swissotel The Stamford
Tel: +65 6431 5670
Mon to Sat: 12pm – 2.30pm, 7pm – 10pm
Note: This was an invited media tasting

Words and photos by Sarah Lim.

You know the food has to be good when a restaurant gets booked well in advance despite being housed in a location away from the bustling office crowd. The tranquillity is lost once inside the restaurant. A waitress piles her arms with several dishes, hastily serving them up before disappearing behind the kitchen doors.

Restaurant Ember at Hotel 1929 serves modern European cuisine, and it is not a secret that they have one of the best set lunches in Singapore.

The restaurant has a minimalist interior design; no white tablecloth, no ostentatious cutlery, even the lunch menu came in the form of a piece of card, simply printed in black-and-white and folded in half.

It took some time for the complimentary bread to arrive, but more than redeemed itself up for the wait. Two loaves of sun-dried tomato focaccia, specked with herbs and each haphazardly divided in six unequal pieces, were served to us piping hot. Crusty on the outside yet chewy inside, we struggled to decline our waitress’ offer to replenish it in anticipation of our meal.

A generous slab perched atop cubes of syrup-soaked fruits, the pan-seared foie gras with caramelized apples and clove, port and raspberry glaze was prepared with expertise, resulting in a dish of wobbly, fatty goodness encased in a delicate crisp exterior. We savoured each forkful of the delicacy and it was gone all too soon.

We were equally amazed by how the roasted and poached foie gras (pictured at the start of the post) with mirin, shoyu and shiitake managed to retain its shape on the plate when it simply disintegrated once in our mouths. The tangy, mild-tasting sauce cut through the richness of the foie gras perfectly. Of the two, we preferred the pan-seared version simply for the striking contrast in texture.

The pan-roasted scallops with parma ham, citrus and tarragon vinaigrette was a feast for the eyes. Two plump, juicy scallops wrapped in savoury bacon served with a heaping mound of salad. The dish was competent on its own, but simply paled in comparison to the stellar foie gras appetisers.

We were once again blown away by the faultless preparation of the crispy duck leg confit with new potatoes, caramelized onion – thyme jus, one of the best renditions of the dish we have tried. It was just unfortunate that the sauce was a tad one-dimensional in flavour.

The marinated cod with black miso, sweet peas and herbed potatoes would please those with a sweet tooth. A fillet of oily cod coated with a generous layer of sticky, caramelized miso, this proved to be a safe choice – too safe, perhaps, as the presentation left us slightly underwhelmed.

Among the mains, the pan-seared Chilean seabass with mushroom and smoked bacon ragout, truffle yuzu butter sauce was a clear winner. A thick slab of fatty, flaky fish served atop juicy mushrooms in a pool of luscious golden-yellow sauce. We refused to have the plate cleared until we managed to mop up the last of it. If we were to nitpick, we didn’t particularly like how searing dried up the fish. We’d have gladly forsaken the pretty golden-browned hue it added.

Meant for sharing between two, we slightly regretted our order of the apple tart tartin with vanilla bean ice cream since this meant that we could only order one other dessert. Tasting it did not convince us otherwise – the cloyingly sweet apples atop the soggy tart simply failed to impress.

The crispy caramelized pear tart with homemade baileys ice cream, on the other hand, fulfilled all the requirements of a perfect tart – crispy, buttery and crumbly. We just wished that the baileys ice cream had a more alcoholic edge to it.

Service while not top-notch, is attentive and earnest. At $39.50++ (or $45.50++ if you pick a foie gras appetiser), Ember is more than what we can ask for. This is the kind of place that will leave you yearning for a return, simply for the delicious food in an unpretentious setting.

Restaurant Ember
50 Keong Saik Road
Hotel 1929
Tel: +65 6347 1928
Nearest Station: Outram

Regular readers know that I am a big fan of the Prive Group by restaurateur Yuan Oeij. After trying their new Josper Grill menu recently, I am convinced that Prive Restaurant at Keppel Bay is one of the best restaurants in Singapore.

The Josper grill is favoured by many well-known chefs around the world. The system has a greater heat control, and the dual function of oven and grill significantly reduces the cooking time of the meat.

There are 8 items on Prive’s Josper Grill menu, with options like seafood platter, kurobuta pork, lamb rack, ribeye and tenderloin. Naturally, prices are slightly steeper. The rack of kurobuta pork is available for $52, while the 280g Ribeye Cap is $75. The normal ala carte menu, on the other hand, is much more affordable. Prices range from $13-24 for appetisers; $24-35 for main courses; and $10-16 for desserts. Prive Restaurant also offers a 3 course set lunch during weekdays at $35.

Between the three of us, we shared 3 appetisers, 4 main course and a dessert platter. For appetisers, we started with the Grilled Watermelon Stack ($15). The sweet and juicy grilled watermelon was great, but I’m not sure if I’d pay $15 for it. I’m not a big fan of salad, but we had a pretty decent Apple, walnut & Brie Salad ($13). For me, the highlight from the appetiser menu was the Pan Seared Foie Gras ($24). Yummy goose liver with caramelised banana strudel, baby spinach and raisin brioche.

After having three appetisers and a glass of wine, we proceeded with the main courses.

To be honest, I thought that the Capellini with Sakura Ebi tasted like bee hoon – an atas $24 bee hoon. Having said that, it was done just right, and the sakura ebi added an additional dimension to a tasty plate of bee hoon.

We also had the Double Rib Lamb Rack ($58) which you see in the photo above. It was actually quite good, but I was preoccupied with the kurobuta pork and ribeye.

I was delighted to see the Rack of Kurobuta Pork ($52) on Prive’s Josper Grill menu. I love pork. The 280g corn-fed U.S Snake River Farm Kurobuta Pork (the first picture of this post) was gorgeous. I’d gladly give up a steak for this rack of kurobuta pork anytime.

“Our steak is better than CUT Steakhouse”. Yuan told us at the start of dinner.

Having heard raved reviews about the steaks at CUT Marina Bay Sands (my foodie friends boldly proclaimed that they have the best steaks in Singapore), I was a little sceptical initially.

My partner and I were left speechless when we had our first bite of the steak. It was SO GOOD – definitely one of the best steaks I’ve had. And you know what? I wouldn’t exchange this steak for any kurobuta pork.

There are four steak options on the Josper Grill menu: the premium Black Angus Tenderloin ($58), 340g Centre-cut Ribeye ($58), 280g Ribeye Cap ($75) and the humongous 450g Thick Cut Ribeye Steak ($90).

The Dessert Platter ($32) is a great way to end the meal on a sweet note. It offers 6 mini version of the ala carte desserts. Clockwise from top left: Lychee Granite, Valrhona Chocolate Mille Feuille, Cinnamon Apple Strudel, Lemon Meringue Tart, Ice Cream Profiteroles, and Sticky Date Pudding.

While you are paying fine dining prices for the experience at Prive Restaurant, the food is hardly so. It is unpretentious and uncomplicated. Prive is definitely in my list of must-go restaurants in Singapore.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Prive Restaurant
2 Keppel Bay Vista
GF Marina at Keppel Bay
Tel: +65 6776 0777
Note: This was an invited media tasting.

* * * Now closed * * *

My fourth, her third, another’s second, and many others first. Our common love for food. That’s how it all began. At the heart of East-Meet-West. Persimmon.

Kopitiam, the symbolic of our local heartlands. The place where everybody grew up sipping their milo & coffee, where everybody settled their three meals when their mother was on strike, and the gateway to many delicious heritage hawker food.

Persimmon is quintessentially a swanky and upmarket kopitiam, retaining the traditional feel by using the classic kopitiam furnitures and floor tiles. The furnishings were a combination between comtemporary and rustic. And not to mention her location is right in the middle of Tiong Bahru, with the shophouses and kopitiam lining side by side.

Choices of desserts pick from a la carte buffet. Bread pudding, carrot cake, mango pudding, panna cotta, chocolate mousse. For the discerning us, perhaps only the carrot cake made the cut.

The kong ba bao (stewed pork belly) was way off my radar. The bun was hard and dry, the meat was not fatty enough, and lacked the delicious gravy. And oh ya, it wasn’t part of our menu, but was under the a la carte buffet offered.

Inspired by NoSignBoard white pepper crab, Persimmon white pepper Crabcake is all about that. Enjoyed the white pepper “crab”, no doubt in the form of crabcake, without any hassle. Under the sunny weather, the crab was toned prefectly brown, with a crisp-cross shell, and savoury meat within. Adiós

The crown of Persimmon. Hainanese Chicken Salad. Featured in almost all the media publications, there isn’t any excuse for you to miss this dish. The concept is simple, Singaporeans loved their chicken rice, but dreaded the calories. So what do you do? Remove the rice, throw in some greens, and voila! Singapore’s very own Hainanese chicken salad. Poach chicken, fresh local herbs & mesclun greens, rise crisps, and special dressing.

Tomato base pasta? Boring! How about our rich cream base instead? I hate cream! Right, why not try our Linguine laksa leaf Pesto? Specially created for your exquisite taste buds, the laksa infused linguine will definitely blow you away with its unique taste. Think laksa, but swop the thick rice noodles with pasta. Some felt that the laksa leaf was too heavy and overwhelm the whole dish. On the other hand, i thought the pasta was perfectly fine. Innovative with a big I.

Mixed blonds (fusion) are interesting in some ways, and the 8 treasures certainly roused my curiosity. Three mushrooms, two nuts, chinese sausage, parmesan cheese and risotto. What happens when Italian Risotto combine with the 8 treasures? You get the 8 treasure Risotto! The intial impression was Glutinous rice, but it was way better. I need to be honest, i couldn’t taste all of you. But in the end, it doesn’t really matter, you are all mine!

Staying true with the principle of fusion food, we have the European-style steak meeting heads on with our Asian carrot cake. The grilled ribeye with “chye tao kueh” carrot cake is bound to make your eyes popped out. The carrot cake was fried with XO and balsamic, with the latter providing a sour taste. A vast contrast with the steak. Not everyone could accepted sour carrot cake with steak though. Aspiring combination, but somehow failed to sizzle with the seemingly weird taste.

Eaten alone, the Slow poached salmon with zuchinni ribbons didn’t come as tender as we thought it will. But dipped in the green curry sauce, the fish went through a make-over in the taste department. There was cucumbers used in the green curry, which caught my attention. Like what one of our fellow friend say, when you don’t understand, just say “fusion!”

Our humble Otak is given a upmarket transformation by going créme brulée. With richly flavoured spicy kaffir lime & coconut used as the main ingredients, there was fish mousse hidden beneath the otak. The otak creme brulee is a very creative fusion dish indeed, but the experiement could perhaps be better. Some of us found the otak to be too watery, and maybe it’s meant to be this way. But is créme brulée ever so soggy?

There was a slight tweak to the menu compared to the one i previously shown. And the cost per person was 20 dollar nett, which everybody agreed was a reasonable price given we managed to try a variety of food. I hope everybody enjoyed their meal, and see you all at the next LIC food outing! We had 27 people for this outing, which was quite a healthy figure.

Well, like what some of you mentioned, it was a case of hits and misses, fusion food is pretty much an experiment between the Asian and Western cuisines, and it was certainly interesting to try some food which we’ll never get to try elsewhere.

And not to forget, LIC outing is all about the fun, joy and laughter during the event, and getting to know more friends. I’ll also like to take the opportunity to thank Helena and Sharon, the co-owners of Persimmon for having us there.

Do add me on facebook, if you missed the links earlier.

Read Jaime-la-nourriture chinese post on the outing here

For those who missed this Persimmon outing, you can get the best discounts when you mentioned ladyironchef while you are at Persimmon. So do go down and give the fusion food a try.

While co-owner and partner Mac excel in decorating the desserts, June enjoyed researching the use of new flavours instead. Perhaps it is the unique combination and strength in the partnership that gave Obolo Patisserie its success. ladyironchef decided to organise a dessert outing there and it went on smoothly with the support that the partners provided.

The interior of Obolo is very small, and could only fit in 15 people. Mac and his team rearranged the tables and did the settings for us, with the print of our dessert degustation menu, Obolo’s christmas catalogue, and a small gift in the form of cookies.

Our dessert degustation menu consisted of 12 desserts platter, namely 7 petite cheesecakes & entremets, 2 petite tartlets, 1 dessert shooter, and 2 les macarons. As always, i requested sampling portions for the menu as it’ll allowed us to try a variety of the desserts available at Obolo. Therefore, the pictures that you’ll be looking at are all mini-size, and does not reflect the actual size of the desserts.

Tartlet filled with milk chocolate & passion fruit ganache. The chocolate-passion was a sourish petite tart, mainly from the passion fruit used. Most of us found it too sour for our liking, and the sourness from the passion fruit completely overwhelmed the milk chocolate. I preferred it sweet.

Dark Chocolate ganache mousse, cassis ivoire mousse, praline feulletine base and moist dark chocolate-almond biscuit layers. Having tried Le Cassis before, i still enjoyed the contrasting taste between the slightly sour blackcurrent and the sweet of the chocolate ganache. I’m a big fan of the crunchy praline feulletine, but i thought that the layer was too thin, and not enough! Nonetheless, Le Cassis is definitely a hit with most of us.

Baked cheesecake infused with mango and passion fruit. While i didn’t really fancy passion fruit as i found it too sour, but in this instance the mango actually provided a better balance in the overall taste. The layer of biscuit crumb base would be nicer if it was thicker. The Mango-passion cheesecake had mixed reactions, with some finding it too sour, and some giving a thumbs up for the creative use of flavours.

67% caramel chocolate mousse, dark chocolate ganache, pecan chocolate fudge cake base. We were debating whether the nuts at the base were walnuts, but it’s actually pecan. The caraibe was one of my favourite of the night with the velvety chocolate mousse, dark chocolate ganache and chocolate fudge base. It was all about contrast and layering, really.

Tartlet filled with dark chocolate ganache. One of the few real chocolate of the night, the Chocolat Noir was better than the one that i had at Cova. One of the main feedback from the rest was, there was more sour than sweet dessert for the night. Mac explained that for decoration purposes, they liked to add in berries. But it ain’t the season for berries, and those that looked nice actually taste sour.

Some would prefer her to be drenched with liqueur, but the purist certainly say no! If you asked me, I’m on the purist side. The light mascarpone creme, dark chocolate ganache & chocolate genoise infused with coffee. Pull-me-up, of sugar and espresso. The tiramisu au chocolat.

Remember Pineapple tarts? You reminded me of Chinese New year, even though its only two months away. Pinada cheesecake, despite given a make-over, I still missed my pineapple tarts. The rum-soaked raisins didn’t help also.

Looking at the pistachio ivoire mousse, your eyes must be green with envy. Not to mention there’s still the cherry-raspberry gelee to deal with. I never like jam, definitely not the gelee in between the way of the dark chocolate ganache mousse, and the chocolate almond biscuit with kirsch. Almost prefect, the Nikta.

All the way from the states, there’s the New York cheesecake. Smooth, creamy, with a hint of lemon. At the pinnacle, seats the stunning strawberry. She’s the one that teased me all right, during our precious encounter. And now that I’ve conquered you, what do you have to say?

Appearance is secondary, they say inner beauty is more important. Nonetheless, the outer beauty sure makes a good impression. Sprinkle with gold dust, the ginormous strawberry garnished the top. There was tangy mascarpone mousse, and there was red berry gelee. Add in some kirsch-mixed berry compote, and i give you Summer Berries.

Miss macha was a last minute substitution, simply we got sick of Mr passion fruit. By common consensus, the shell was very thick, chewy, and a tad sweet. It’ll be better if she was lighter. But you couldn’t deny the fact that the macha macaron’s filling was prettily done.

Always a safe choice, the pairing of hazelnut and chocolate. Certainly a crowd teaser with that fulsome filling. Once my favourite, always my favourite. I don’t care what they say, i’m in love with you.

I’ll like to thank everyone who attended the dessert outing last night, and hope you all had a great time. There were old friends, and new faces, but everybody’s welcome! Also my thanks to Mac and June who supported and hosted us, for without them, this outing wouldn’t be possible.

For the rest of you folks who missed out on this dessert outing, not to worry. Details for my next food outing will be out tomorrow! So do let me know ASAP if you can make it for the lunch.

ps: read fen’s detailed review at sgcake.com
evan’s beautiful photos at bossacafez.com
jia xin at foodies queen

Cheers,
Brad