For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/exquisite-french-christmas-eve-dinner-2fifteen-kitchen/singapore

My Christmas Eve Feast comes free this year with a lucky win from OpenRice Christmas Contest. This means ditching the traditional turkey and all for an exquisite 5 course French Dinner at 2fifteen Kitchen in Buona Vista’s Rochester Mall.

Having made reservations for 2, we were quickly settled in by an attentive waiter. If not for the win, I will need to fork out $98 per pax for what's to come next.

Bread was served for small talks before the course commence. Warm & crispy at the edge, the bread was perfect with the flavorful chilled tuna. Pity that only butter was served for the 2nd serving.

We started our festive meal with Sea-fruit Platter. The use of 'fruit' was not a spelling mistake, it was deliberate to highlight the delightful pairing of fresh seafood with fruits. The colourful dish included Poached Boston Lobster with Grapefruit and Citrus Oil, Warm Octopus Leg with Pomelo Jelly, and Oyster on Watermelon and Passionfruit Coulis.

The Oyster on Watermelon and Passionfruit Coulis was especially pleasing to the eye. The raw oyster accompanied by sweet watermelon and zesty passionfruit coulis offered an enjoyable erratic flavour that's hard to forget.

Next up was the lobster bisque-infused Brittany-style Scallop with Chorizo Sausage. The scallop delivered a lovely bouncy chew. There was too little of the sausage to make out much from it.

We moved on to Jerusalem Artichoke Soup and Duck Foie Gras with a touch of Garlic Oil. The gratifying soup was just what was needed to balance the richness of the foie gras.

For the main, we have a choice between the Australian 150-day grain-fed Beef Hanging Tender with Truffle Mashed Potatoes or Pan-seared Rosy Snapper Fillet with Crispy Herb’s Crust with Truffle Mashed Potatoes and Brown Jus.

The sweet ending to the 5-course meal was a dainty Chestnut ‘Christmas Tree’ Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream. Points awarded for the pretty layout but the 3-layer chestnut cake and ice cream was a little too ordinary. Fruits never really cut it when it comes to desserts for me.

Tea was ordered after our 5 course dinner to aid digestion. The side cookies are unbelievably cute!

The food borders between good & amazing but the service by the more experienced waiter was excellent.

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/celebrate-christmas-with-your-beloved-pets-sun-ray-cafe/singapore

Felt guilty at times when you left out your pets out from festive celebrations? Make this year an inclusive Christmas where your beloved pet gets to enjoy the company of family, friends and loved ones at pet friendly Sun Ray Café!

Located at 79 Brighton Crescent Serangoon Gardens, the café allow you to break away from Christmas dining at the clattery, overcrowded spaces in the city and enjoy a more relaxed pace at this secret find in Serangoon Gardens village. The café has consistently enjoyed mentions from Straits Times, 联合早报 (Lian He Zao Bao), 8-Days, i-Weekly, CHIC magazines, 9tro magazines as well as popular radio stations such as 938 Live, Symphony 924 and Love 972 FM. The award of ‘Best Loved Prawn Pasta’ by CozyCot was a further testimony of the café dedication to great taste and value for its customers.

North-easterners and pet owners from all over Singapore adore Sun Ray Café all day breakfast and house specialities such as Sun Salad, Asparagus & Bacon, Minute Steak & Eggs, Poached Salmon Fillet, Cumin Crusted Lamb Rack, Yorkshire Pork Racks or Paella Ala Valencia. You can check out them out in my previous post here.

However, we are now going to shine the limelight on the café latest Christmas Menu. Priced at S$60, diners get to enjoy a delectable six course Christmas Dinner that includes Amuse Bouche, Appetizer, Soup, Sorbet, Main and Dessert. The amazing part about the Christmas Menu is that everything was created out of fresh ingredients sourced by Chef Derrar and Chef 'Bob'. Nothing was obtained conveniently from a can, even down to the sorbet. Can't wait to get started!

We started with Amuse Bouche which literally meant Mouth Amuser in French. Amuse Bouches differ from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by diners but are selected and served according to the chef's selection alone. Our Amuse Bouche consist of Avocado & Salmon on Crostini, Beef Carpaccio & Truffles and Cherry Tomato & Mozzarella.

Beef Carpaccio & Truffles comprises sliced raw beef with truffle essence. The raw part sounded daunting at first but it turned out to pretty good. The meat was a little chewy but it went well with the truffle essence.

Smoked Salmon Roulade was the first of our 2 appetiser served. Smoked slowly over the oak wood strained with The Macallan, there is a faint presence of the premium single malt whiskey.

A closer look revealed its stuffing of mascarpone cheese, orange zest, dill herb, lemon juice and black caviar. The combination of the flavours was rather well managed.

Foie Gras was presented next. Duck fattened liver was marinated with port wine, brandy, cinnamon, salt, pepper and baked in bain marie for 20 minutes before being served with diced apple and pear accompanied by port wine and bitter chocolate sauce.

The health conscious would frown at the generous yellow concentrated duck fat. The fat tasted like cold salted egg yolk. It was a little too salty for me.

Lobster Bisque was our soup item for our Christmas Feast. This was one of the best lobster bisque that I have tasted. Carrot, celery, leek, onion, garlic, lobster meat and shell were cooked for a long period of time to dissolve the shell so as to intensify the flavour.

Before we start proper on the main, a shot of refreshing lemon and pineapple sorbet was offered to clean our pallet.

Moscato D'Asti was brought in while we were enjoying our desserts. This is a "Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita” (DOCG, controlled designation of origin guaranteed – the highest quality assurance label for Italian food products) sparkling white wine produced mainly in the Asti, Italy. It has also recently scored 88 points on the 100-point Wine Spectator published on 11/30/2012.

The wine is sweet and low in alcohol, and often enjoyed with dessert. Typically reminiscent of ripe melons and blossom, it has an uplifting perfume and although sweet, it is light and refreshing. Enough said, let's cheers to this wonderful meal!

First main up was Turkey Breast stuffed with chestnut, minced pork and served with roasted potato and cranberry sauce.

Unlike the usual dry and tough Turkey, the meat was delightfully tender and moist.

Our 2nd contender Salmon En Croute consist of salmon fillet seasoned to perfection with salt, pepper, lemon juice wrapped in filo pastry. It was served with Jerusalem artichoke and green asparagus with lemon, cream and white wine sauce.

Our final dessert was Christmas Pudding made from mixed dry fruits, brandy, cinnamon and served with creamy egg yolk brandy sauce.

You can choose to top up your Christmas Set with mocktails, cocktails or good old fashion coffee. For the alcoholics, there's Orgasm - a delicious drink made from Irish cream, coffee liqueur and an orange-flavoured liqueur, it's one of the sexiest cocktails in the world.

Or the cheeky Charlie Chaplin - a premium cocktail which was once one of the premium cocktails drunk at the famous Waldorf Astoria in the 1920, it has equal mixes of gin, lime and apricot brandy to create a gentle cocktail that is thick and sweet.

If you are driving, you may want get Out of the Beach (Not to be mistaken with Sex on the Beach). This is the cafe's all-time favourite.

Else you can also opt for Minty Cooler - A sparkling mixture of cranberry juice and mojito mint syrup.

Despite the café relatively modest background, its Senior Baristas Shermaine was trained by 3 award winning baristas from the acclaimed Oriole Coffee and 4 other staff are also trained Baristas from Specialty Coffee Association of Europe*. They know good coffee.

Of course, we were not the only ones enjoying ourselves.

The chefs prepared a lovely dish of Boiled Lamb for Shaun's Tracce too!

After a lovely meal, we could not resist taking a group photo with our talented chefs who made it happen!

Come visit Sun Ray Café from now till 31 December 2012 and enjoy 10% discount by simply being their Facebook Fan. Do remember to check out their Facebook time to time to get updates on their latest offerings and promotions!

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/sun-ray-cafe-a-ray-of-happiness-for-singapore-pet-lovers/singapore

Pet lovers all around Singapore can now rejoice with yet another premium cafe to spend quality time with their beloved animals and fellow pet lovers over casual meals and coffee. Located at 79 Brighton Crescents Serangoon Gardens, the café is wonderful hideaway from city clattery, overcrowded spaces and hurried pace of life.

Established in December 2010 singlehandedly by Dave Lim, this cozy pet friendly café has consistently enjoyed write ups and mentions from Straits Times, 联合早报 (Lian He Zao Bao), 8-Days, i-Weekly, CHIC magazines and 9tro magazines. If you drive, you are likely to have also heard praises of their cuisines on popular radio stations such as 938 Live, Symphony 924 and Love 972 FM.

The award of ‘Best Loved Prawn Pasta’ by CozyCot - online magazine offering articles about beauty, fashion and woman lifestyle was a further testimony of the café dedication to great taste and value for its customers. North-easterners and pet owners from all over Singapore adore Sun Ray Café all day breakfast especially during the lazy weekends.

But if you woke late (like the few of us), you can opt for brunch instead. We started our meal with 4 exotic beers. Can you believe we actually started sampling 4 exotic beers on an empty stomach. Tsk tsk. Here's a quick introduction to the drinks:

Taiwan Lychee Beer ($11) offers a sweet lychee taste, with a good overall mouth feel and a clean after taste. Sun Ray Café also offers Taiwan Honeydew-Melon Beer which is a sweet honeydew melon flavoured beer with hints of cane sugar and flowers.

Fruli Strawberry Beer ($11) is a unique blend of white beer and strawberry juice. The strong zest of the beer was well balanced by the sweet and refreshing taste of strawberry

Swedish Rekordelig Cider ($12) is an ever popular cider made from Swedish spring water by a family-owned brewery. Available in 2 lovely flavours Pear as well as Strawberry and Lime.

Japanese Craft Beer Hitachino Nest White Ale ($12) also known as Japanese "Owl" Beer is a multi-award winning beer with hint of coriander, nutmeg and orange peel.

For starters, we had the popular Sun Salad ($8) which consist of Baby romain lettuce, tossed with caesar dressing (mayonnaise, anchovy, garlic, lemon juice) and tomato XL, crispy bacon (pork) served with soft boiled egg crusted with cornflakes. The presentation was deliberately to reflect that of a rising sun over the horizon. Crisp lettuce together with its refreshing dressing made this an excellence appetizer. What impressed me most was that the soft boiled egg within the deep fried cornflake crust still contained a runny egg yolk - not an easy feat to master.

Asparagus & Bacon ($11) was up next. These U.S. asparagus were poached in salted water before being wrapped in pork bacon to be served with poached eggs and orange hollandaise sauce (clarified butter with egg yolk, orange zest & orange juice). The pork bacon was a sinful delicacy. It went perfect with the runny eggs and orange hollandaise sauce.

True to its name, Minute Steak & Eggs ($18) tender beef loin was only grilled for a minute before it was served with crashed baby potato, baked cherry tomato, rosemary herb, garlic and olive oil.

Poached Salmon Fillet ($22) consist of a thick & succulent salmon fillet with its skin off. Poached for 4 minutes in soya milk, it was served with U.S. Asparagus, with lemon juice, butter and cream.

Cumin Crusted Lamb Rack ($26) was crusted with dijon mustard and cumin baked for 15 minutes to achieve medium rare texture. Served with Ratatouille created out from courgette, red, yellow, green capsicum, garlic, onion, bay leaves, tomato paste, tomato whole, red wine, rosemary and lamb juice. This is a must order for lamb lovers.

Our final main was Yorkshire Pork Racks ($22). The pork rack was grilled for 10 minutes, finished in oven for 4-5 minutes before its served with sweet potato, mushroom and apple cider sauce. Yorkshire Pork is a famous breed of white swine that boost of just the right amount of lean meat & fats for an unforgettable bite.

We ended off the meal with delicious Double Chocolate and Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream. We strongly recommend the Matcha Green Tea flavour. It commands a strong taste of Premium Japanese Green Tea which is quite difficult to find even at well known Japanese restaurants.

Jessie's darling dog did not go hungry while we were sampling the chef's cuisine. We ordered a portion of Lamb Meat Ball ($6) for her.

While we were sipping our post meal coffee, Chef Derrar Hassane (Head Chef at Sun Ray Cafe) came in to check on his guest. Besides sharing with us the preparation work behind the entrées, the bubbly chef also share with us his adventurous past of perfecting his European style culinary skills at different countries. Notably, and as recent as 5 years ago, he has served as the Head Chef for 10 Downing Street (UK ‘Istana’). Leading a team of 8 chefs, he prepared dishes for the UK Cabinet as well as for state banquets up to 800 covers. That’s indeed food fit for kings and queens! Two years ago, he served as the Executive Chef in L’Opera in Piccolo Hotel at Bukit Bintang, KL Malaysia where he led a kitchen brigade of 27 chefs, with up to 800 daily covers.

Patrons were thrilled with coffee on the house a week before we came. It was a special treat for all to celebrate the completion of Specialty Coffee Association of Europe* (SCAE) Barista Course by 4 of Sun Ray Café staffs.

You should come visit Sun Ray Café from now till 31 December 2012 and enjoy 10% discount by simply being their Facebook Fan. Do remember to check out their Fan Page time to time to get updates on their latest offerings and promotions!

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/is-there-a-sequel-to-the-little-part-1-cafe/singapore or follow me on twitter for food reviews: https://twitter.com/AspirantSG

My boss eyes laterally sparkles each time we suggest a new place for lunch. But having worked at Caldecott Hill for a while, we are fast running out of interesting options. That's when one of my colleague suggested checking out this well hidden Little Part 1 Cafe located near Thomson Plaza.

To be honest, I still can't really give clear instructions on how to get to the cafe. We drove pass the usual eateries stretch along Upper Thomson Road, then Thomson Plaza and the next thing we knew, our car stopped right outside this quaint little cafe!

Ooo... now we know Wednesday nights are a great time to visit!

While looking at the cafe's logo on one of its white walls, I wondered the rationale behind 'Little Part 1', is there a Part 2 or Part 3 cafe hiding in some secluded corner in Singapore?

We quickly settled down in a cozy corner right in front of a shelf with old toys, collectibles and happily started blabbing away.

The clean white wall just next to our table displayed framed travelogues of presumingly the cafe owners.

They are reputed to serve great crepes but if you need something more substantial for lunch or dinner - there's always the mains.

Hmm.. Cheeky Rascal sounds like a fun beverage!

When in Rome do as the Romans do. Make sure you obey Regulations #33!

Interesting way of delivering our cutlery.

Their Buffalo Wings were not mind-blowing amazing but still pretty good when they are served piping hot.

Chicken Schnitzel is one of their signature dishes. For me, it's just typical chicken cutlet. The only thing unique about it was the accompanying white wine sauce that went with the parmesan breaded chicken. Try it for the experience.

Next to arrive was our Bratwurst Brat - Smoked german sausages with Dijon sauce. It wasn't spectacular.

My colleague had the Belgian Fish & Mussel Stew. They are pretty generous with their serving of mussels and fish slices. I didn't get to try it but the colours looked really good and she sang praises of it till date.

Our Salmon Crepe wrapped with marinated salmon, sautéed onions and mushrooms with mozzarella cheese for sharing. No matter how hard I try, eating crepes is always a messy affair. Let's try not to imagine the aftermath.

Our sweet ending - Warm Apple Crumble With Ice Cream

Besides the interior dining area, the cafe offers Al fresco dining too!

Doesn't look that great in board daylight but might be a nice corner to chill out with friends over drinks on a weekday evening.

My verdict? It's a nice cozy cafe that serves decent food at a reasonable price but you will not want to travel cross the island just to visit it.

You may also like to check out my posts on other delicious food places here: http://www.aspirantsg.com/restaurants-cafe-eateries-food-list-singapore

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/flavours-of-thailand-at-parkroyal-on-beach-road/singapore or follow me on twitter for food reviews: https://twitter.com/AspirantSG

Just a short 2 months since Karen invited me for a special themed Crab Feast @ Plaza Brasserie, PARKROYAL on Beach Road buffet, the good people there lead by Executive Chef Jackson Goh recently launched a brand new themed buffet spread!

Besides the usual fresh oysters, dim sum and delectable roast selection...You get to experience the myriad of Thai cuisine at Plaza Brasserie from 5 September to 31 October, as Executive Chef Jackson Goh presents a range of Thai culinary favourites! Relish appetizers that include zesty Thai Papaya Salad, Thai Glass Noodle Salad, Thai Beef Salad, Thai Fish Cakes, Prawns on Toasts and the whole assortment of Tom Yam Fruit Salad, Thai Duck Salad, Thai Seafood Salad, Thai Spring Rolls, Thais Chicken Wings, Deep-fried Minced Shrimps with Thai Herbs!

We started the sampling of the main dishes with the signature Thai Fish Maw Soup. Chef Goh was really generous with the ingredients. The fish maw was nice and tender. Taste of this starchy concoction resembled our familiar Shark Fin Soup and goes really well with a little vinegar and pepper.

Next to be served was the Thai Beef Noodle Soup. The beef slices were not tough and gamey, they went well with the broth laced with herbal goodness.

The Thai Red Curry With Roasted Duck looks appealing but it wasn't exactly up my alley. The red curry and roast duck would have been delicious on their own merit. The combination was just odd for me.

The vegetables in Stir Fried Kai Lan in Thai Style were fresh, crunchy and pretty addictive. I cannot figure where the Thai Style comes in, the cooking seems really Chinese to me...

Stir Fried Minced Pork with Basil Leaves was a little too salty and watery. The minced pork is usually served on top of rice which probably absorbed some of the liquid away.

Back by popular demand is their selection of freshest catch of the day available from Mondays to Thursdays: Promfret, Sea Bass, Kee Fish, and Tilapia Fishes. Chef Jackson Goh will prepare your favourite fishes in one of various styles, which includesSpicy Thai Lime and Chilli, Thai Green Curry, Thai Red Curry or Basil in Coconut Cream.

You can also select your favourite seafood over the counter and have them prepared the way you liked it.

We had our seafood prepared in spicy sambal style.

Of course, there's also the Fried Kway Teow “Phad Thai”, Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken Floss, Stir-fried Crab Thai Style, Thai Red Beef Curry, Thai Duck Kway Teow Soup, Spicy Chicken Soup, Thai Green Chicken Curry, Deep Fried Minced Shrimp with Thai Herbs and the popular Tom Yam Goong.

If you have a sweet-tooth, savour their range of delicious desserts from Glutinous Rice with Durian Paste, Banana Fritters, Thai Red Ruby with Coconut Cream, Tapioca with Coconut Cream, Assorted Royal Thai Kuehs, Fresh Fruit Platter and Assorted French Pastries.

Crispy on the outside while firm & sweet on the inside, it was tough resisting another one of these Banana Fritters.

It seems like our dear Mango has been replaced. I personally feel that Durian Paste taste fantastic on its own and it may be a little too strong in flavour to act as the accompanying fruit for the Glutinous Rice. Bravo for the Durian Paste, I had many, many rounds of helpings before calling it a day.

If these traditional Thai desserts aren't sufficient to satisfy your sweet tooth, you can always finish off the scrumptious buffet spread with a MYO (Make Your Own) Ice Kacang!

Plaza Brasserie has outdone itself once again with its brand new Flavours of Thai theme. This themed buffet spread is available for limited time only, make sure you make your way down fast! Here are the full buffet details:

Flavours of Thai @ PARKROYAL on Beach Road

Date: 5 September to 31 October 2012

Venue: Plaza Brasserie

Address: 7500 Beach Road Singapore 199591

Prices: Dinner (Mon to Thurs): Adult $52 Child $31 (Fri to Sun): Adult $55 Child $33

Prices are subject to 10% service charge and 7% GST

For enquiries or reservations, please call Plaza Brasserie at 6505 5710.

You may also like to check out my posts on other delicious food places here: http://www.aspirantsg.com/restaurants-cafe-eateries-food-list-singapore