Foodography: A Singapore Food Blog

Haato is a Japanese brand in Singapore that sells its most featured gelato ice cream and other premiums such as waffles, cakes and coffee. Its ice-cream is manufactured in Singapore, based on recipes from Japan. Their main branch at Ridgewood Close offers Asian & Western meals for lunch and dinner as well. Currently, Haato even has a log cake to go along with the festive season.

I asked for some flavors to recommend from the employee and received the replies of Royal Chocolate, Cookies and Cream and Rum and Raisin. Their squarish ice-cream cones look pretty cool, but I decide to settle for a small cup of Royal Chocolate ($3.50). The adjective ‘royal’ was well-used to describe it, it being very thick, dark and just chocolatey. However, it has a similar/common taste as some other chains’ chocolate ice cream that I’ve tried before, so it was nothing too special.

At the same time, I thought that having just a midget cup of ice-cream won’t be doing justice to myself. I was delighted to find that they serve waffles too. You can choose to have gelato with your waffle, enjoy some special ones with whipped cream and berries and stuff but I like to have my waffles plain as well. The Waffle with Butter & Maple syrup ($5.20) did not disappoint, the waffle was thick and fluffy of a nice golden brown, and of the right consistency of how a waffle should be.

Overall, the waffle appealed more to me than the ice-cream did so a commendable mention to it. If I have the chance I would definitely be back to try some other flavors.

23 Serangoon Central
#03-K18
NEX Mall, Singapore

Located in a quaint corner of the quiet Mandarin Gallery, this restaurant’s location may not serve it justice. However, despite the small number of patrons there were that day, I heard that it is usually very packed during peak hours, having to wait for a seat. Furthermore, it doesn’t entertain reservations by phone. Anyway, Mandarin Gallery features a few nice restaurants that you might want to check out, such as Arteastiq Tea Lounge, Antoinette and Ippudo Ramen.

Wild Honey’s famous for its all-day breakfast — I love breakfast items! I’ve recently been trying out sandwiches, waffles, eggs and stuff, a little break from the pastas and pizzas and ramen. The place was dimly lit yellow, which is a downside for me since I do not like dining in dark places where you can’t see your food clearly and food photography is a notch more difficult without proper lighting. Their menu is viewable from a black board and iPad at the counter, from which you order your food.

So I got myself a Tunisian breakfast ($18) which is a sizzling pan of red pepper, onion and tomato stew with sliced sausages & two fried eggs, with two huge slices of white bread. The idea of the tomato stew was special, it’s taste was unique as well. After my first few bites of it I thought it was weird-tasting but after that I found it very new and refreshing. The chorizo sausages in the pan stew pulled everything together for a great mouth feel. I feel that the two huge slices of bread were redundant, it would be better if they could be replaced with a bigger pan of stew.

English Breakfast ($22) of creamy scrambled eggs, pork sausage, sauteed mushrooms, baked beans, bacon and tomato.

Their dessert of the day was the Passionfruit Cake ($6.50). The cake was light and airy, and very much spongy. For a passionfruit cake, it’s got the right texture and taste, and I veyr much applaud it for that. Possessing the right amount of sweetness, a plus point is that the cake is rather big for a serving (despite what you see in the picture), definitely worth its price.

Restaurant service was brilliant, with the friendly and approachable staff. Overall, the place gave me a great and cosy feel, very much matching it’s slogan – “Wild Honey – No Place Like Home”. There is also a bar area overlooking Orchard road great for people-watching.

333A Orchard Road

#03-02

Mandarin Gallery Singapore 238897

“Atas” food should not be a miss, but local food is a must. Other than the array of restaurants set up in Singapore, there is the local food fare at hawker centres that should not be ignored. When we’re abroad, the food we miss most are the local specialties and you can’t deny it. Hawker centres in Singapore have come a long way and it is certainly great to see major improvements in the cleanliness at such places. Nowadays, nobody can actually describe such places as ‘dirty’.  The Serangoon Gardens area features two notable hawker centres that serves authentic local fare: Serangoon Gardens Food Centre & Chomp Chomp food centre, the latter only opened in the evening.

Thumbs up for:

• wide variety
• cheap food
• good food
• better light to shoot my food

Thumbs down for:

• non air-conditioning

I ordered Dry Wanton Noodles ($3) because I was sick of the tasteless rendition from the food court near my estate. The noodles tasted alright,  but the star of the plate was the wantons, deeply fried to a perfect crisp with a satisfying, meaty filling. They even give you a bowl of soup with soup wantons in it! Extra delight. The soup wantons tasted just as great, or even better than the fried ones.

The Chicken Rice ($3) was ordinary, I’ve tasted several better ones out there.

I got comments that the Chendol ($1.50) was very sweet, but the bits of coconut hardened very quickly to the surface.

Rolina is a stall selling nothing but curry puffs! All along I thought Old Chang Kee had the best curry puff but oh boy I was wrong. Wait till you try their curry puffs! The Hainanese Curry Puff ($1.20) was spicier with visible chilli flakes in it but also very good.

Who says you can’t have cakes at hawker centres? I was excited to see that PK Express (a stall selling decent fish and chips) sells some desserts including a chocolate cake, banana cake, quiches etc. I randomly picked the Apple Pie ($2.20) since I was in a dilemma. This is what I face when I choose my cakes. Everything seems delicious, can I have them all?! It did not disappoint me, not an ordinary piece of cake at all. I love how the cinnamon tasted very strong with the apple and sauce. It was so worth the money, considering that restaurants selling such apple crumbles would price it with the minimum of 5 bucks.

Other must try in this food centre include the famous kwap chap stall that forever has a long queue (you can spot it so easily) and the serangoon gardens bakery and confectionery (their business seems so lively and brisk).

**I’ve been sick since Tuesday so posts may not come so frequent, hope you understand as well.

Located at the third level of ION Orchard, amidst the big names like Chanel, lies The Marmalade Pantry, a popular place for taitais shopping around to stop for their lunch/tea/dinner. After the lunch at Hatched, afternoon tea at Canele Patisserie, we hopped into Marmalade Pantry for high tea. Yes, we had all of that in a day. I was so full that day I decided not to have the 1-for-1 Starbucks Christmas drink promo. Other than their to-die-for selection of cakes and cupcakes, it also offers mains such as sandwiches and pasta and weekend brunch items. Marmalade Pantry is easy to spot, it does not have an enclosed unit and is parched in the middle of the branded estates.

 

After taking this photo and noticing the oddly black edges, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but it was otherwise. The black interiors of the restaurant made the place look aesthetically cool and modern, with a tinge of dimness in the atmosphere. Even though we went on a weekday, it was on full house and had to wait for several minutes before getting a table.

As I was craving cheesecake that day, I ordered the Sea Salt Caramel Cheesecake ($8). It tasted fantastic. When it was served to me I was amazed at its top layer which look s like a creme brulee, and was half expecting to bite into a hard caramelized crust. Even though it wasn’t so, believe me that you wouldn’t want to miss trying it. I was attracted to its rich and creamy texture, hence this has become my best slice of cheesecake I have ever had so far. I did not taste too much of sea salt caramel but I know it’s there! It was a great fusion for a good slice of cake. Its seving portion was more than enough for me, so the price paid was really worth it. Note that this cake may not be suitable for people who prefer light and airy cheesecakes.

My friend ordered the Strawberries & Cream Cupcake ($4.50) which looked pretty and its flavour did not disappoint her.

The Marmalade Pantry also has an afternoon tea set at $20 if you prefer tea and more finger foods. The Marmalade Pantry has another location at Fairway Drive, also known as Pantry at the Stables which offers a natural and refreshing view of the greenery. I’m not sure if I should come back for their mains, what with more popularity for their desserts and the mains being more costly.

Ion Orchard #03-22/28

2 Orchard Turn S238801

I’m a dessert person. I crave desserts everyday!

Canele Patisserie Chocolaterie currently has 5 outlets islandwide namely Robertson Walk, Shaw Centre, Shaw Lido, Paragon and Raffles City Shopping Centre that specialises in desserts, and is one of the most recommended dessert places that I’ve heard of.  Canele is helmed by executive chef Christophe Grilo after Chef Pang Kok Keong left for Pique Nique and Antoinette. It also serves all-day dining specials like pasta and sandwiches.

The outlet I visited was the one at Shaw Centre, a good place to watch the buzz of people walking up and down Orchard Road, as well as to enjoy some afternoon high tea.  An alfresco dining area is also available if you prefer some fresh air.

I’ve heard praises of the macarons at Canele, so I decided to try them out! The macarons are priced at $2.50 each ($2.30 for takeaway) while the christmas special macarons are at $2.80 each, even though I do not know which ones are the christmas ones. I love how their macaron shells have crisp exterior but softer interior! Next time I’ll have problems choosing between whoopie pies and macarons.

The Hazelnut macaron was what I feel, nutty with hazelnut bits in it. I would love it more if it could be sweeter like hazelnut chocolates.

The Feuilletine macaron was chocolatey and it’s taste was considered quite normal to me.

The Pistachio macaron was incredibly sweet! It’s sweetness was overwhelmingly good and not in a way that will make you sick of it.

Up next, the Salty Caramel! That was my first time trying salty caramel and even though I feel that I may be more suited for caramel than salty caramel, the taste was still unique. Somehow, the shell for this macaron was more crispy than the rest, and this complemented the salty caramel very well. I wonder if it is done to fit this purpose? Between the salty caramel and pistachio, I could not decide which was the best one I had that day. Now I am tempted to buy a macaron tree home!

My 3 other dining companions all had the Sweet Island Paradise sundae ($12.50) for they thought the description in the menu sounded heavenly. Nonetheless, it failed to disappoint them, all of them agreeing that it tastes good. Judging from it’s appearance, it did not disappoint me as well. It looked like a good mix of ingredients like chocolate and fruits.

1 Scotts Road

#01-01A/B Shaw Centre

Singapore 228208

I’ve heard some rave reviews about this restaurant, even two friends asked me out there one after the other. P.S Sorry I didn’t go with you GX, another group of friends tagged me first. Hatched is an all-day brunch restaurant at Evans Lodge, near Bukit Timah road.  The most interesting thing is that it serves egg-based dishes! You can’t ever get enough of eggs. It’s menu was a cute starter for us already!

Now, this place may not be very accessible if you don’t live around the area, there are no train stations or bus stops near it, the nearest being Botanic Gardens. It was after that when I found out that the residential area behind the restaurant is a hostel. Even though we went on a weekday, the place was crowded and we had to wait for a seat. It would be advisable to make a reservation first, as it’s interior can fit no more than 30 people.

POACHED EGG: A rising to fame brunch item would be eggs benedict. The Sir Benedict ($12 for one, $18 for two) was quite good (as stated by my buddies). However it is advisable to have two eggs since the portion size of an egg benny is not enough to satisfy your tummy.

SUNNY SIDE UP: I ordered the Croque Madame ($14) which is grilled egg, cheese and ham sandwich with greens. I felt that the sandwich bread was nicely grilled till a crispy interior and fluffy exterior. The goodness of a sandwich is when all the ingredients in it suit each other and I believe that this combination of egg, cheese and ham is better than a hamburger of steak and egg. The garden greens were refreshing too. The serving size was just right for a very satisfying and filling brunch/lunch. Mmm.

SCRAMBLED EGG: The Papillote ($14) looked gorgeous, what with the color of fresh salmon complementing the sunny yellow of scrambled eggs. One thing to note is not to ignore the firmly shaped tomato, it tastes great.

Even from the exterior of the restaurant, it looked like a cosy and the right place to be. Now, I might contemplate whether to visit this place or not again. The decent brunch food is great and the ambience is casual and comfortable (especially if you get a table by the window). And if you didn’t know, my mouth has been bombarded by tons of eggs since young.

26 Evans Road

#01-06 Evans Lodge

Singapore 259367

Unfortunately this post does not contain any trace of steak. My family is more of a chicken-pork-burger type while I’m the chicken-pasta-pizza-dessert type. But since this place is called Ministry of Steak, I’m guessing it’s steak got to be of some quality? I realised that the Serangoon Gardens Estate area has aplenty of steak houses and I am still trying to figure that out.

The verdict: ordinary food, ordinary prices.

I was disappointed that my Chic Burger ($6.50) didn’t come with fluffy buns. The bottom bun was a tad dry and hard, honestly. I felt that this burger was nothing but an ordinary burger, as it says by its wrinkled appearance. I thought I was supposed to choose a side salad that came with the burger but I made a mistake and ended up buying a side dish as a la carte… Potato Salad ($1.50).  Maybe cold potato salad is not for me, I would choose piping hot mashed potato with gravy anytime!

I think my dessert fetish is going to switch to Lava Cake ($6.90) anytime soon! Warm, rich chocolate cake…. and when you break it open you find a stream of chocolate gushing out. With a scoop of vanilla ice-cream jealously looking down upon it. Perrrfect. It would have been better if the chocolate sauce in it would be more molten and less solid. The vanilla ice cream was from a local brand and I would definitely love it 10x more if it used one with more substance.

Even though the Banana Split ($6.90) looked appetising with the chocolate sauce drizzled over it but I still do not like how their ice cream used were from ordinary brands. It made me feel that the food was not worth it.

 Chicken & sausage Combo ($13.90) that came with chosen sides of mashed potato and crabmeat & corn. They tasted ordinary.

Those living in the Serangoon Gardens Estates are quite lucky to have a fare of local food as well as these steakhouses for them to choose anytime! Maybe I should have tried the steak over here?

Serangoon Garden Estate

4 Maju Avenue, S556682

My current fetish are for cheesecakes. The cheese and the crumb crusted cake. Irrestible.

Bakerzin is becoming a household name recently, especially for it’s array of desserts. I have not yet to try their mains and light bites as I was more eager to taste its sweeter side so do urge me to try if you feel that their mains are worthy as well. The previous time when I got to Bakerzin I tried their Oreo cheesecake which is currently the best oreo cheesecake I ever had. So this time I really felt like having it again but I told myself to always try new stuff.

Even though I feel that the oreo cheesecake tasted better, the New York Cheesecake ($6.50) was something to brag about too. I love how both cheesecakes are creamy rich in texture but not with an overpowering flavor. I also loved how it was soft enough for eating and not like some I tried which were harder and not as creamy.

 Blackforest cheesecake ($6.50)

Bakerzin’s selection of cakes are priced reasonably and maybe even considered cheap if you compare it with other big names. If you’re a food connoiseur just starting an adventure out there, Bakerzin should be your first few places to visit!

1 HarbourFront Walk

#01-207 Vivocity

Singapore 098585