May 17 2013
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Food

Ladurée Boutique Singapore

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The macaron craze is back. Thanks to the much awaited Laduree which set up operations not long ago in Singapore, of course. Moreover, other than the permanent boutique fixture, there is yet another takeaway counter. To add a cherry  macaron on top of the ice cream, both are conveniently located in the heart of Singapore in Takashimaya shopping centre. The former is at level 2 while the latter is at level 1. Oddly enough, the queues at both counters are of about the same length so I would definitely recommend to peek in at the classier, bigger boutique. 

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It starts off with a wallpapered ceiling of a picturesque sky and classic chandeliers against the backdrop. Then are the rows of shelves of boxes, tote bags, jars of soft caramel and scented candles exclusive to the boutique.

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A minimum of 8 macarons are needed to get you a box to fit them all in, otherwise it’s just a scrawny paper bag. I decided to go ahead with the Singapore Limited Edition box (8 macarons) despite the $38 price tag which can make hearts skip a beat. A macaron costs $3.80 but there are only 8 of them, so essentially you’re paying about $8 for the box. That was hefty but I took it anyway.

The Strawberry Candy Marshmallow was one of my favorites. The marshmallow bit in the filling was a surprise and gave the macaron some different mouth feel compared to usual, creamy fillings.

However, the Chocolate Coconut Marshmallow did not meet my expectations – what I felt was an incompatible taste of chocolate with coconut.

I’ve had tons of really sweet pistachios which I liked a lot. The rendition of Laduree’s Pistachio was not overly sweet yet it did not fail to amaze me.

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The Salted Caramel is another hot favorite. It was more substantial than those from other macaron places.

An interesting macaron would be the Marie-Antoinette Tea. It has a bubblegum feel to it which was refreshing.

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The Liquorice (black) was average.

The Coffee flavor had a lingering aftertaste of – well, coffee.

As aforementioned, macarons here cost $3.8 each. Except for the 24K Gold Chocolate which costs $7.8. Basically it’s a chocolate macaron coated with “24K gold”. You can see that I actually bought it – for the pure reason of curiosity and tempt. Tastewise… yup it’s just a chocolate macaron.

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The overall feeling speaks of classiness and it’s not hard to understand why: simple ganache fillings but made more than ordinary and macaron shells of the right texture (at least for me). What’s next for Laduree in Singapore? A tea salon – coming soon.

 

391 Orchard Road

#02-09 (boutique)

#01-24A (counter)

Takashimaya Shopping Centre

Ngee Ann City

10am – 9.30pm daily

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May 11 2013
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Food

Menya Musashi Kodou

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Named after Miyamoto Musashi, the 5 branches of Menya Musashi are currently enjoying some attention as they join the new ramen scene in Singapore. Originating from Tokyo, it seems that their ramen stalls in Japan sell a-huge-number of bowls a day with stretching long queues.

And then, it’s always a battle in the mind between choices of ramen. Over at Menya Musashi, Ramen comes in white (original), black (garlic and onion) and red (spicy) flavors for the soup base.

We went with something rather original to start with. If there’s anything memorable about the White Kakuni Ramen ($14.9), it would be its braised pork belly which was juicy, tender and oozing with goodness. I also had the Bokuto Gyoza ($5.9) as my I’m-bored-I-want-my-ramen appetizer and sure enough it served as a dish solely for that purpose.

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The tsukemen, a.k.a dipping noodles, was something new I’ve never tried. Tsukemen comes in white, red and black as well. Unlike the usual ramen served in soup stock within the same bowl, the noodles are dry and separated from an independent bowl of hot, piping stock which is much thicker than soup. The right way to devour the 2 bowls is to dip a pair of chopsticks full of noodles in soup and slurp them up right after. Otherwise, you may find yourself a mouthful of extremely thick and salty soup. I had the Black Tsukemen ($14.9) which was interesting. The soup can, however, get less warm if you stop too long for photos though….

Overall, I still find their soups a little too salty for my liking. It appears to encourage you to drink more water rather than the soup. Despite those, the tsukemen experience is worth a try.

 

2 Orchard Turn

ION Orchard

#B3-25

Daily 11.30am – 10pm

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Apr 26 2013
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Food

Wild Oats: in the park

Funny how Punggol Park is one of my frequent haunts yet I never got down to Wild Oats ever since it took over Bliss Cafe sometime back. So on an unfortunate evening which rained, I had no excuse to make about jogging at the park instead of eating at the cafe. Wild Oats is under the same family together with Wild Rocket and Relish, with another branch at Mount Emily.
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We started off with something safe on the menu – Golden Chicken Wings ($7.8). A good appetizer indeed – what with its crispy, prawn paste-like texture with a tinge of spiciness from accompanying chili sauce.

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Moving on to the mains, Wild Oats offers both western and local delights such as sambal fish. Ribeye Beef ($17.2) was not that worthy of a mention. The tenderness of the beef was clearly lacking.

The Fish & Chips ($14.5), on the other hand, was much more decent with an outer layer crispy enough while the fish remained tender.

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We were practically left with 2 desserts since the rest were unavailable. The Brownie ($6.3) was not that bad. The chocolate fudge brownie was real thick with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream and heavy drizzles of thick chocolate sauce as well.

Wild Oats’ version of the local favorite Chendol ($6.3) has it in a tall drink glass instead of a bowl, transforming it into a dessert somewhat like a cool milkshake or ice cream. Its taste is comparable to the chendol we can find in hawker centers, or perhaps even better than local renditions.

Service is a little shaky at times – the crew is mostly attentive but fall short in other areas. Another gripe would be the fact that plain water is not served here. They do a wide variety of booze though, making it a late night hang out as a liquid kitchen. This also leads me to another point that the alfresco furniture has a heavy, lingering feel of beer from people drinking them the previous night. Other than that, the cafe does make a pretty sight from across a lake.

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Hougang Avenue 8

Punggol Park

Mondays to Thursdays 4pm – 12am
Fridays 4pm – 1am
Saturdays 4pm – 2am
Sundays 4pm – 12am
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Apr 20 2013
4 Comments
Food

The Fabulous Baker Boy

At the foot of the less visited side of Fort Canning Hills is a quiet area, now transformed into a party place for food. The Foodhills, is what I’ll call it.

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At TFBB, the Xmas Special Sandwich ($11.5) is always here no matter the season. Of caramelized onions, salad, turkey breast, edam cheese and cranberry jelly in foccacia, their colors truly bring the christmas feel across. More than that, the combination of cranberry on turkey breast made the sandwich a little more than ordinary with a refreshing feel on your taste buds.
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For the other main, I had a hard time choosing between eggs benedict and all the pancake flavors they had… In the end I ordered the Blueberry Pancakes ($11). Their pancakes, unlike the usual round and golden brown ones, were more old skool. They were a much darker shade of brown and had jagged edges. I would say they tasted as good as other ones. Among the fluffiness expect pops of whole blueberries embedded within. My only gripe is the insufficient maple syrup drizzled on the pancakes.

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The Fabulous Baker Boy lives up to its name, so don’t forget to pick a few slices of cakes from the array. Even though it hardly looks a luscious red, the Red Velvet Cake ($8.5) is mostly spot on. The chocolate icing went incredibly well with the layers of red velvet surprisingly.

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Last but not least…. Big Lub’s Carrot Cake ($8). Some comment that red velvet is their best but I beg to differ. Big Lub’s Carrot Cake was moist to my liking, sweet to the right amount and outlined with a copious serving of coconut shavings. Comparable to classic versions in Singapore.

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That’s not all. TFBB serves a bigger mains menu for dinner on Fridays and Saturdays and also does customized birthday cakes and cupcakes. Other big names on the menu include pot pies, garlic fries, pastas and gourmet coffees. You can hardly get a seat on weekends especially so reservation is a must – as early as possible.
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The Foothills

#01-15

70 River Valley Road

Tuesdays to Thursdays 11am to 6pm

Fridays  11am to 11pm

Saturdays 10am to 11pm

Sundays 10am to 5 pm

Apr 14 2013
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Food

d’ Good Cafe

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It’s been a while since I’ve entered the food enclave of Holland Village so I thought why not take the chance to go back during the eve of a public holiday. Initially my thoughts were set on Mu Parlour but I did a last minute change to this much-newer-than-mu-parlour cafe that I’ve seen some snippets of on Instagram. (I’ll be back for Mu, though).

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d’ Good Cafe specializes very much in providing the most suitable type of caffeine for you. For a minimal sum, a barista will help concoct a cup of coffee for you based on your likes and dislikes. You can then “save” the concoction under your name for future visits.

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Upon stepping into the 2-level cafe, I was very much impressed by huge coffee machines. I reckon they’re for blending coffee beans. The cafe is neatly divided into 4 seating areas namely: The Bar (where you sit next to baristas), The Lawn (cosy space), The Attic (with child seats) and The Balcony (alfresco area – lights at night!). I fell in love with The Lawn area. Swing seats and carpet grass are really a girl’s thing. I guess the swing seat was the highlight of the day. It was really “swingable” and we rocked on the seats for a good couple of hours while watching the rain fall on Holland Avenue…

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On to the food. I was pretty disappointed with my Eggs Benedict ($13.5). Appearance-wise, it was already lacking much with a sloppy look to it. You can see from the picture that the egg white for one of the eggs wasn’t even nicely atop the runny yolk. Taste-wise, it was nothing more than average.
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The Chicken & Mushroom Pie ($10.5) on the other hand was much better done with a crispy curry puff-like crust with warm chicken and mushroom bits in it.  Although I have since then gotten a bad impression of their food, some reviews do agree that they have decent mains like their pasta and rice. I have seen pictures of their other egg benedicts served to other customers and they sure look a lot better than mine.

The Blueberry Cheesecake ($8) was a huge slice of cake so be prepared to share. It was so rich with cheese and probably impossible for someone to finish it all by herself after a main course.

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I ordered another dessert – the Matcha Red Bean Cake ($6). Sad to say, it was rather tasteless except for the layer of red bean in the middle. I was expecting something more but the matcha failed to give off its flavour, resulting in its blandness.

I say: Snuggle in their coziness. Get addicted to their house brews. Accompanied by a lava cake, macaron, cheesecake or so.

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273 Holland Avenue

#02-01

Sunday – Thursday 1000 – 2200

Friday & Saturday 1000 – 2300

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