Thanks Openrice and Serena for the invitation to Charcoal Thai.

This Charcoal Thai branch at NEX seems to be very popular with diners. Queues started to form at the entrance and restaurant's phone keep rininging non-stop during weekdays lunch hours. Though only 3-4 staffs seen at this hour, service was still prompt and attentive to each table.

 

Thai Milk Tea ($3.95) was surprising good. This milk tea was thick and milky with nice aroma of english tea leaves. Those not having a sweet tooth maynot like the overly sweet taste.

 

Thai Lemongrass Tea ($3.95) on the other hand was quite bland. Lemongrass flavour was mild with added sugar syrup to the tea. I could understand that current fresh lemongrass from the market does not have much aroma or taste.

 

Three different types of Thai chili with different strength of hotness were given to every diner. I prefered the middle one, mild hot with corriander flavour. 

 

Mookata set ($39.95) was a hybrid of BBQ on top and steamboat on the bottom. This reminds me of similar Korean BBQ steamboat that was once popular in Singapore. The marinated pork and chicken was good, fresh, tender and juicy. I loved the charred BBQ meat with the smoky scent. The chicken soup tasted mild, even after cooking the vegetables and meat. This set had minimum seafood.

 

 

Thai Beauty Collagen set ($48.95), according to the staff, chicken collagen and chicken soup are the main ingredients for the soup. Beancurd liked chilled collagen are placed on the hot pot, allowing to melt. The collagen soup have a very mild aroma and has a slight starchy texture. The taste of the collagen soup was smooth and creamy. However, the meat or seafood boiled in the collagen soup, does not add any enhanced taste to the meat. 

 

 

Thai Chicken Hotpot ($19.95) was surprising value for money. I learnt form the staff this was actually a Chinese style hotpot. The fermented bean soup based was good with nice aroma of sesame oil and tasted of spicy miso soup. The boneless chicken thigh meat was used. The fermented bean goes deep into the tender chicken meat. This dish goes well with steamed rice.

 

 

Overall, the food at Charcoal Thai was okay, prices would be a little high if opted for ala carte menu. I would recommend to dine at this restaurant during lunch hour, with the 50% discount promotion during 11am-5pm.

​I must admit that any place with a focus on delicious​ and ​pretty desserts is huge drawing factor for me. ​​Throw in a charming decor as well and I am sold. So when I learned about Pique Nique and saw photos of their place and desserts, I knew that I couldn't pass up a chance to check it out!I managed to find someone to have a little 'picnic' with me at Pique Nique and we went on a Saturday evening. We were expecting a queue especially since this was a weekend evening but ​we were rather thrown off to find the place nearly empty.​ It got me wondering if Pique Nique might be more popular in the morning instead due to its breakfast and brunch​ menu...Despite the​​ uncertainty​,​ we decided to stick to our original plan after actually seeing the place in person. The place looked very welcoming ​especially with the ​lovely array of sweets and​ ​desserts in the display counter ​​​at the entrance, which ​just seemed intent on ​beckoning us in.​ There were the Classic Chocolate Whoopie ($2.15) and pretty little Macarons ($2.15) ranging in flavours from Salty Caramel and Pistachio to French Chocolate. There were also cupcakes like Lemon Meringue Cupcake ($5.15) ​and Banana Split Cupcake ($5.15) as well as cakes like Chocorocco ($8.55) and Strawberry Cheesecake ($8.05). How can anyone resist​ ​such pretty ​desserts, right??With its English Garden themed interior, the entire place was very tastefully decorated and ​had a homely, rustic charm to it. There was even a ​"​tree​"​ planted in the middle of the cafe, which add​ed to the illusion of having a ​lovely ​picnic ​in the place​. Due to the lack of crowd, the place was relatively quiet. That and the ​​cozy ambience of the place made it ​very ​pleasant to hold conversations. ​​We thought that Pique Nique would certainly ​make a nice stop to try out​ the desserts and enjoy a small chit chat while soaking in the environment. We were pretty impressed with the decor​, so much that we took ​quite​ a long time ​to order our food because ​we spent the time trying to ​(secretly) ​take snapshots of the place!​ Fortunately, the staff were mostly understanding and patient with us! Single Shot Espresso ($4.00) - left
​The cup of Espresso was not even half filled​ but this was probably roughly the portion for a single shot (about 30ml). ​This was quite concentrated in taste and there was a creamy foam on the surface of the coffee ​as well, but for $4.00, we found thi​​s to be​ really​ ​pricey and regretted not getting the Latte at $5.00 instead.

Hot Chocolate ($7.00) - right
The cup of hot ​chocolate didn't come with the fluffy cloud marshmallow like it mentioned on the menu, although the ​staff made sure to inform us of it. I was sorely disappointed about it, but nevertheless, we still wanted to try the hot chocolate. Fortunately, this came in a bigger and fully filled cup. ​This didn't look very smooth on the surface but it was slightly thick and the ​taste of ​cocoa was strong​ with a slight​ bitter aftertaste​. It wasn't very sweet ​either ​although I'd have liked it ​to be ​a tad ​more ​so.​Hot Iron Waffle with Salty Caramel ($11.80)​
This ​​was the best among all the food we ordered. The waffle was crispy on the outside and ​was quite​ soft and oh-so-spongy inside!​ ​The ice cream was thick, creamy ​a​nd rich with a strong taste of fragrant vanilla.​ ​I found the caramel taste to be a tad light, but otherwise this was simply a delight to eat! We had originally planned to share this but ended up agreeing that we might as well have skipped the fries and got two portions​ of the waffles instead for each of us! ​Whoopie Fries ​($8.80)​
​Initially fearing ​that ​the waffles might not be too filling for us, we also got the fries to share. Oh boy, bad mistake. ​The portion was HUGE and we struggled to finish it between the two of us. We ended up giving up and not finishing it in the end, which was kind of a waste. The fries itself was pretty nice although we found the seasoning powder to be rather dry​; it was a tad grating on the throat after several fries. You definitely need lots of water with this. The sauce was disappointing though, just normal chilli and tomato ketchup with the mayonnaise in between. For the price, we would expect a better, or inhouse, ​blend of ​dip. ​​Overall, this was something we felt we could do ​w​ithout​​ in this meal.​Chococheese ​Cupcake ($4.80) ​
​​It was a tough choice between getting a cake or a cupcake but we eventually opted for the cupcake. ​The Chococheese Cupcake was a chocolate cupcake topped with cream cheese and chocolate shavings. ​Th​e price for the cupcake listed on their display counter was $5.15 but we paid $4.80 for it. Not sure if the cakes and cupcakes would be a little cheaper if you dine in, but we still found it to be a bit pricey at $4.80. However, the cupcake​ was decent and the chocolate ​shavings given were rather big pieces!​ The thick cream cheese topping was also quite delicious although​ we found ​the cupcake to be a tad dry​​.​Snickerd​oodle​ Cinnamon Shortbread ($6.50)​
​We noticed that ​Pique Nique was also selling​ ​"old fashioned ​​homemade" cookies ​​​and shortbreads in pretty little packagings​, which​ would make really great gifts! ​The cookies came ​in various flavours such as​ Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, Dannish Butter Cookies, Scottish Shortbread and Chocolate Butter Ball ($6.95 each).​ We bought the Snickerdoodle Cinnamon Shortbread to go, ​although we were also tempted to get the Chocolate Butter Ball too! This ​was priced at $6.95 but we got it at $6.50. I personally ​found this to be worth its price. The bite-sized​ ​cookies ​were coated with cinammon sugar and tasted strong​ly​ of cinnamon​.​ ​They were also very crisp and crunchy and remained ​so even after a week!​ ​I'd highly recommend these cookies although I'd suggest finishing them soon after opening as these tend to expire quite fast compared to mass-produced ones.

After our not-so-cheap "​p​icnic" ($50.50 for two person), ​w​e found the waffle and snickerdoodle​ cookies​ to be our best purchases yet - these were worth every cent despite the price. The espresso and ​whooper ​fries on the other hand were not exactly value for money although the portion of the fries was quite a lot and would probably be more reasonable if you are sharing the food and cost with a group of friends. The cupcake and hot chocolate were decent but perhaps a tad pricey. Service was also decent and the staff were generally friendly, understanding and patient.

​The ambience, in my personal opinion, was certainly a major selling point. If you are looking to have a casual, laid back meal with friends or a date ​and cost is not a major concern​, then a "picnic" at ​P​ique ​N​ique might be just for you! I certainly wouldn't mind coming back again for the waffle and to check out the other desserts like the macarons and​ cakes, and especially the other 'homemade' cookies!

Chef Yamashita, the co-owner of the popular bakery Flor Pâtisserie, has left the joint venture and started his very own bakery. I got the news of this move from posts of follow foodies on FB. His new shop is located in the nostalgic heartland of Tanjong Pagar Plaza.Situated in a quiet corner with a modern minimalist decor theme, Chef Yamashita Japanese Artisan Bakery stood out like a sore thumb among all the old school shops on level 2.Mrs Yamashita, who was manning the shop welcomed us with a sunny smile and Japanese's enthusiasm to serve. At around 4pm, most of the popular pastries were already sold out! I had to make my choice with what's left for the day. I managed to grab the last two pieces of Banana Caramel luna wrap and a few other Petit Gâteau (small cakes).Banana Caramel Luna Wrap $5.90 and Ichigo Luna Wrap $5.90, looked exactly like the ones sold in Japan bakeries. They do not just look good but taste super as well. The vanilla sponge cake was fluffy and light as air, and pairs perfectly with the fresh cream and the generous serving of sweet tasting cut fruits.Thumbs up!Rikyu 利休 $6.80, a Matcha flavored cake with green tea cream atop of green tea meringue roll with fresh cream & azuki bean filling, sprinkled with chopped Japanese chestnuts. This cake is a Matcha fan's dream come true, it has aromatic matcha flavor oozing from inside out.Chocola Hill $6.80, dark chocolate brownie with walnuts topped with chocolate cream and chocolate tuile. The brownie turned out a bit hard to chew after leaving in the fridge overnight, overall passable but no wow factor.Darkcherry Tart $6.80, a cream cheese tart with dark cherry compote topping. Hubby ate this one, he said it was yummy.Do note that all their pastries are freshly made every morning with no added preservatives, and must be refrigerated asap if not consumed within 30-45mins after purchase.


For full review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/06/chef-yamashita-japanese-artisan-bakery.html

Department of Caffeine ('DOC') is one of the most recent happening café in Duxton. So when my caffeine buddy (Monkey Boy - 'MB') was in Singapore for a stop over, I decided to brought him here for a quick shot of cuppa.Our first impression when we enter the cafe was that “Wow! This place is packed”. Where did all this people come from and it was 3pm on a working day. Luckily we manage to get a table, a two seater. However, getting in and out of that table was actually quite a challenge as you don't have enough walking space.After several minutes of consideration, MB decided to order Buttermilk Waffles with Banana and ice cream ($13.50) & cappuccino ($5). I ordered the Sticky Date Pudding ($9) and Latte ($5).It took them about 10 mins before the food arrived. While we were catching up I realised the temperature of this place is quite high. Even though there are several air-conditioners , it is just not enough to cool down the place. We were basically melting inside.First to arrive was my Sticky Date Pudding and latte. The pudding is soft, moist and sticky. The ice cream combines well with the caramel sauce. While the almonds gave a crunchy texture to the desserts. The latte has a nice rosetta latte art. It looks very smooth, however the coffee is average. When you reach the middle part of the latte, it seems to be more air in the froth.MB's waffle came and looks delicious. The serving is quite generous, especially on the caramelised banana. Good presentation. The waffle is rich and crunchy. The bananas toppings will be better with another 30 seconds on the heat. Cappuccino has a nice latte art, but we both agree the coffee is average.The décor of this place is simple and with an open concept. You can see the back of the cafe once you enter the door. It has a cone shape, where the space at front is quite small and become wider and wider to the end. The setting of the tables and chairs are close to each other. They really maximise the available space. The size of the table is very small only enough for dessert and coffee. I can't even put my phone on the table. Service is limited and forgettable.Overall DOC served good quality dessert. However, it seems the coffee is not to our preference. A small suggestion, the best time to visit this place is before noon or after 5pm unless something is done to lower down the temperature of restaurant. Cheers!!

For the complete Chubby Botak Koala dining experience, click / copy the link below to your browser:
http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2014/06/Department-of-Caffeine.html