Foodography: A Singapore Food Blog

One of the greatest things in life is food. Of food, the greatest must be the buffets. Buffets are when you set your stomachs on ‘limitless’ mode to just do nothing but feast. People always like to ask for the cheapest buffet available in Singapore, but for a good buffet, you must never mention the budget. The Line Buffet at Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore is considered affordable compared with the other top notch buffets in Singapore, with prices coming up to $68++ at those hotels.

On my maiden visit to Shangri-La in Singapore to try out its buffet, I was satisfied by the spontaneous service by the staff over there. Plates were cleared very quickly, and the crew was friendly and polite. The dining area I lunched at was very white and airy, but I dislike the yellow, orangey and darker dining area nearest to the food – it seemed like a place where you can’t see your food properly. Al fresco dining areas are available as well. Besides the excellent service, the best part was definitely its food.

The two most popular stations are the seafood and Japanese food. The freshness of these two types of food gains its popularity. Oysters are opened by the chefs on the spot! Other stations include the local, Indian, dessert, Chinese and English (Italian)

(From L to R: Magherita pizza, pork & bacon pizza, German bratwurst, roasted potato, cheesy meatballs)

(Naan, seafood beehoon, roasted turkey with giblet sauce, dory fish.) The roasted turkey was flavorful and tasted much more than you would expect from turkey meat. The giblet sauce complemented it.

The roasted meats at the Chinese section are a must-try. The skin remains crisp and are as good as those from traditional street or hawker stalls. You can also choose between a selection of Chinese noodles and the chefs will have it cooked on the spot.

(Chocolate ice cream)

Desserts galore! My favorite section of the buffet would be their desserts buffet. I love how their ice-cream was of some quality, how big the selection of mini cakes and nyonya kueh was, as well as how the chocolate fondue captures my attention right away.

(Chocolate cremeux)

(Tiramisu)

(Lemon meringue tart): Definitely a favorite for people who not only want their desserts to be sweet, but a little sour as the lemon as well.

(Tiramisu log cake) A selection of log cakes were there as I went during the days of festive Christmas.

(Cheesecake)

(Pistachio financier): Small and dainty, pop it into your mouth for an explosion of sweetness

2011’s been one heck of a year, and this would be my last post for this… indescribable year. Thoughts, feelings.. I’m at a lost of what to say, I am just mindblown that it had passed so quickly, it took me a while to register that in my head.

Ministry of Food at NEX serves food of Japanese cuisine at affordable prices. Besides that, they are also famous for its Japanese High Tea Buffet ($19.80/pax for adult, $16.80/pax for child) everyday from 2-6pm. Due to my forgetfulness of retrieving the receipt back, the prices won’t be available for the food I had in this post. So I went to dine with my pretty cousin here, as she wants me to put it that way.

Talk about Japanese food, and chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) is a classic favorite that tastes great no matter where you go. No one dare says they don’t like it. The only thing people want is for that cup of delicious steamed goodness to be bigger. The same goes for this cup right here.

I’m not an expert with the different types of ramen, so having tried tonkotsu ramen all the time I tried the Chashu Miso Ramen for the first time. Somehow, the thick, curly and slightly chewy noodles did not appeal much to me and the miso broth was too heavy-tasting for me to slurp it all up. Perhaps it’s because I can only take a couple of spoonfuls of miso soup usually.

I could not remember the name of this dish but it was full of prawns and eggs. The small serving size of the shallow dish seemed insufficient for a cost of almost reaching 10 dollars.

This ricebox consists of chicken, mushrooms and egg but my brother did not seem to enjoy it very much.

We did not get to try it that day but I believe their more popular hotstone rice where you get to “cook” it together with your friends should be of quality.

I was glad that I picked the right dessert after a tip-off from a friend that the ice-cream served here was nothing special. The red bean mochi I ordered was the saving grace. I loved the crispy mochi skin with the tender mochi in it. Topped with red bean and paste, it was simply unique and worth the try.

Beside MOF is a western restaurant, LENAS, which is under the same group as MOF. I’ve heard some good reviews but have yet to try it for myself. Another joy is that Gongcha is just beside MOF as well! In fact I think they share the same unit.

As for now, I wish my readers a Happy New Year’s eve eve. Hope to rush out another post before school starts on the 3rd of January!

Serangoon NEX Mall

#02-04/04/06

First of all, Merry Christmas to my fellow readers! I’m a stalker who looks at my number of readers everyday and I’m nothing but full of delight when the number soars and people tell me how nice my blog is to read. And so because of all of you, I’ve decided to blog a post today as well! Hardworking mode 🙂 With only a few days left to a brand new year ahead, let’s do nothing but indulge in nothing and nothing but food. 😉
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Even people who frequent Plaza Singapura may not come to take note of this little, dimly lit cafe-cum-ornament store at the corner of level 5. People walking by may just note it to be a store selling angelic and decorative items for a lovely apartment, but on a closer look it also houses a dine-in area. I was dumbfounded by surprise when I came to know of this place selling comfort food, being a frequent visitor of Plaza Singapura for its Golden Village.

I find the Spicy Tandoori Pita Sandwich ($12.95) an interesting dish. At first glance, the reddish color of the chicken meat did not seem to attract my tastebuds. However, you will find that upon tasting, the pita and chicken fused well with the tomato and cucumber to create a great sandwich. The only bad thing about it was its meagre serving size, for I find it not filling enough. They were small enough to be considered mini bites.

Dessert time! Their cupcakes on display looked colorful but in the end I opted for the Ebony and Ivory (). One thing to say about this and that is, it was great! 4 bite-sized portions of sinful scoops of vanilla ice cream atop warm chocolate brownie – goodness. The serving was just right for a dessert: not too little to complain about or too much to feel fearful of.

Tea Cosy also offers a high tea set which is commendable as well. Other than eating, you can go shopping under the same unit! All the ornaments and items on display are for sale! It would be better if the place was brighter, for eating in a dim place really defeats the purpose of eating. Prices would seem a little high for less food, but I thought it was worth a try.

Hope you guys enjoyed your Christmas! Love, Crystal.

Plaza Singapura
#05-10

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