Run by the same guys behind the now-defunct Ronin and Punch at North Canal Road, Gather is their new concept at Raffles Hotel Arcade that opened its doors on the 1st of February.

Gather serves both sweet and savoury French crêpes, sandwiches, baked goods, coffee and other beverages. Being a treat loved by most, crêpes are no stranger to us, but what makes Gather stand out amongst the rest? Read on to find out!

Being situated in a British colonial designed building, Gather boasts an old-school charm. The simple interior and open concept was inviting and comfortable;  it is a cosy place to unwind and spend some private time.

They have a merchandise corner as well for those who might be interested in take-homes such as soap, fragrance oil and so on.

We had the Parma Ham (S$18) that came with Italian parma ham, Gruyère, cheddar and egg. It was absolutely delightful with a crispy outer layer and when layered and folded, it had a chewy and fluffy texture. The parma ham and cheeses paired well with the light batter, while the egg in the middle helped to reduce the saltiness.

You’d expect this combination to be too overwhelming with sodium that it might be cloyingly sick but we promise you, it isn’t.

You get to witness the skilful crêpe making process over the counter as they freshly prepare it upon ordering at their open-concept kitchen.

Currently, they have six types of savoury and three types of sweet crêpes on their menu. Main or dessert, up to you!

Breakfast is never complete without a cuppa. The White (S$5 for 5oz) had a nice froth and was fragrant, but no wow-factor from it nor a differentiating flavour from other coffee shops. Still, it is a decent cup of coffee for a casual caffeine fix.

The crêpe itself was enough to make us want to revisit this cafe again. Good ambience and great hospitality from the staff there! They were really cheerful, welcoming and polite, constantly making sure everything was of satisfaction and made appropriate recommendations.

Also, they are still in their soft launch period until the 5th of February where payment is by a tipping basis to pay-as-you-like. Give these guys a visit ASAP for some great food and vibes!

Gather
328 North Bridge Road
#01-12 Raffles Hotel Arcade
Singapore 188719
Mon to Sat: 8am to 10pm
Sun: 8am to 6pm

Living in one of the world’s most expensive cities has its pros and cons. While those residing in Singapore are blessed with an impressive variety of watering holes, the drawback would be the exorbitant prices of alcohol.

These days, it is extremely common to pay at least S$20 for a glass of champagne in Singapore; going out for drinks is far from affordable.

So, imagine our surprise when we were told that Raffles Hotel’s Bar & Billiard Room is offering an awesome value-for-money promotion. You guys, two glasses of premium champagne, four freshly shucked oysters and a complimentary bucket of Indian flatbreads papadums – all at only S$30++ on every Friday from 6pm to 9pm.

Now, that is a rare indulgent treat without an extravagant price tag!

Located on the ground floor of the luxurious Raffles Hotel is Singapore’s oldest existing bar, Bar & Billiard Room. The drinking spot is characterised by high ceilings and elegant chandeliers; a great venue for business meetings and romantic dates alike.

Play a game or two at Bar & Billiard’s century-old pool table and experience what it feels like to be teleported back into Singapore’s colonial era.

Boasting over 400 whisky labels and a cabinet of high quality cigars, this gorgeous institution is a must-visit for all whisky-and-cigar connoisseurs. A comprehensive whisky-centric programme run by resident whisky expert Christoph B.

Nyfeler is conducted here and guests can expect exciting events such as whisky appreciation nights and whisky master classes.

Whisky aside, Bar & Billiard Room features an extensive list of artisanal cocktails too. Do check their handcrafted concoctions out during Singapore Cocktail Week. A must-try would be the ‘Stray Tiger’ – a strong mix of absinthe, lemongrass foam, lime juice, orange liqueur, rum and vermouth.

Hanging out at Bar & Billiard Room sounds like a costly affair but it need not be when you visit on Fridays. Usher into the weekend with just S$30++ and you are entitled to luxuriate over four Irish oysters that are shucked right in front of you, two glasses of award-winning Ernest Rapeneau Selection Brut Champagne and savoury papadums. That is a spanking good deal for things that we would otherwise have to break a bank (well, sort of) for!

You now have a better idea on how to welcome the weekends, don’t you? And who knows? Friday nights might just be when you get to rub shoulders with other celebrities at Bar & Billiard Room!

Bar & Billiard Room
1 Beach Road
Raffles Hotel
Singapore 189673
Mon: Closed
Tue to Thu: 5pm – 11pm
Fri and Sat: 5pm – 1am
Sun: 12pm – 3pm (For Sunday Brunch)
Reservations: +65 6412 1816 / dining.singapore@raffles.com
Nearest Station: City Hall / Esplanade

This post is brought to you by Raffles Hotel.

Whenever people ask me to recommend buffets in Singapore, even before they open their mouth, I know exactly what’s coming – they want a suggestion for a restaurant that has a good and cheap buffet.

I’ve repeated this many times, but it’s almost impossible to find a good international buffet that is budget-friendly. You can usually find the best buffets at 5 star hotels, but the problem is they usually come with a price tag.

The thing about life is sometimes you get something that you never expect. I was surprised when I received an email from a reader, asking me to recommend a good buffet, and budget is not an issue. Now, that’s interesting.

I suggested Bar and Billiard Room at the iconic Raffles Hotel as I feel that it is definitely one of the better buffets in Singapore.

I’ll go straight to the point. The buffet at Bar and Billiard Room is not cheap, but the whole dining experience is worth the price.

The stations at the Bar and Billiard Room are beautifully designed and the staff were friendly and genuinely pleased to see the guests. Everyone started with the antipasti and cold cut stations, which had an impressive selection of food. (I started with desserts.)

I won’t go into details about the food that we had since they are constantly rotating the dishes. But I want you to know that the specialty pasta counter – prepared a la minute with fresh condiments from potted herbs – is worth trying. I also managed to have some of the main courses like lamb chop, salmon and beef; they were pretty decent.

And of course, what’s a good buffet without the seafood counter? Freshly shucked oyster and tiger prawns on a bed of ice, as well as smoked salmon are there waiting for you.

The highlight of the buffet, for me, was the desserts. They have a really good Tiramisu – you MUST try it when you are there. The other desserts like Strawberry Tartlet, Cheesecake, and Bread & Butter Pudding will make sure that you end your meal on a high note.

Like what I’ve mentioned at the beginning of the post, the buffet at Bar and Billiard Room at Raffles Hotel was good enough to justify the price tag, and I can see myself returning there if my friends want to eat buffet.

The buffet from Monday to Saturday is $60++ for lunch and $75++ for dinner . Which I feel is a pretty acceptable price to pay for a buffet in a five star hotel.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Bar and Billiard Room
1 Beach Road, Raffles Hotel
Tel: +65 6412 1816

Lunch: 11.30am – 2pm (Mon – Sat)
Brunch: 11.30am – 2.30pm (Sun)
Dinner: 7pm – 10pm (Mon – Sat)

For more recommendations, read my list of Best Buffets in Singapore

For most people, it seems almost like an annual ritual during the Singapore Mooncake Festival to visit the Takashimaya Mooncake Fair as you can find all the mooncakes by the different restaurants and hotels there. Be it buying mooncakes, or just hanging around to try the various new mooncakes flavor for 2010, the response to the Takashimaya Mooncake fair is always overwhelming.

But if you hate to squeeze with the crowd just for a box of mooncake, go to Raffles City level 3 – there’s a smaller Mooncake fair with 22 participating retailers.

I know this post is kind of late since most newspapers, magazines and food blogs have written on some of the must-try new mooncakes flavors for 2010. Nonetheless, I decided to share a list of the interesting mooncakes flavors that I want to try during the Mooncake Festival 2010. So lets find out which are the best Mooncakes in Singapore 2010.

Goodwood Park Hotel Mooncakes

Goodwood Park Hotel has a strong reputation for its durian pastries and desserts, with the durian puff and cake among the most popular items on it’s menu. Naturally, one of the signature mooncake of Goodwood Park Hotel is the D24 Durian Paste Snowskin Mooncakes ($50 for 4 pcs). Their mooncakes are definitely a must-try if you like durian, but please stay 10 feet from me after you have them.

22 Scotts Road
Tel: +65 6730 1786

Marriott Hotel Mooncakes

I’m not sure about you, but I prefer the traditional baked mooncakes to the snowskin mooncakes. The white lotus seed paste with single yolk ($49 for 4 pcs) from Marriott Hotel may sounds boring, but I think it is exactly what I need for the Mooncake Festival 2010. How many yolks do you like in your baked mooncakes?

320 Orchard Rd
Tel: +65 6735 5800

Raffles Hotel Mooncakes

52 bucks for a box of 8 ridiculously tiny snowskin mooncakes? I must be mad to pay for this. Tell me again: why am I doing this? Oh, it’s champagne truffle! Right. Everybody knows about the famous Champagne truffle mooncakes from Raffles Hotel. Enough said.

(North Bridge Road Entrance)
1 Beach Road
Tel: +65 6412 1122

Paradise Group Mooncakes

Being a fan of the Chinese cuisine at Taste Paradise, I must say I’m quite curious how their mooncakes fare against the more experienced hotels and restaurants. Some of the creations from Paradise Group include: Golden Pomelo, Fragrant Black Sesame, Sweet Custard with Cashew Nuts, and at just $38 for a box of 8, their mooncakes are priced slightly lower than the ones from the hotels.

Any Paradise Restaurants in Singapore
Tel: +65 6288 8961

The Regent Singapore Mooncakes

Consumers are a very fickle-minded bunch, and we want novelty.

Every year, the chefs from the different hotels and restaurants will think of new creations to satisfy the consumers’ growing demand for different flavors. For the Mooncake festival 2010, The Regent Singapore came up with Baked Ham & Pork Floss with assorted nuts and the Ginger Paste with Pine Nuts snowskin mooncakes. Personally, I feel that it’s really an acquired taste, but by all means go ahead if you are game enough to try the exotic mooncakes.

1 Cuscaden Road
Tel: +65 6733 8888

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Which are the best mooncakes in Singapore 2010? Let us know which mooncakes have you tried, and which are the ones that you are tempted to get! Have a good Mooncake Festival 2010 indulging in all the different mooncakes!