More delectable food reviews on my blog here: www.jerjerjer.com

Italian cuisine is my second favourite type of cuisine, next to Japanese food that is. And I was really glad that I had the chance to participate in a Food Tasting by OpenRice at Ristorante Pietrasanta (along Portsdown Road at Wessex Village and just next to Temasek Club). This restaurant is truly a hidden gem located in that area. You’ll need to do a bit of searching to find the place – exit AYE after North Bouna Vista, go past Temasek Club and you’ll see a forested area with low lying tin-roofed buildings. Here you’ll find a cluster of rather unique and interesting restaurants, similar to those you find at Dempsey Hill enclave.

The food tasting session began with a demonstration by Chef Alfredo Colle on how to make some Homemade Mozzarella Cheese.Apparently, this is the only Italian restaurant in Singapore that makes their own fresh Mozzarella cheese by hand. Look at just how stretchy that cheese can go. Mozzarella cheese is usually semi-soft and has high moisture content which makes it stringy and great for pizzas.The final product that comes from all that stretching, spinning and cutting is a ball of perfectly round cheese which is chewy and slightly rubbery in texture. Since the Mozzarella on its own does not have much of a taste, it was served with some Burrata – another type of Italian cheese made from a combination of Mozzarella and fresh cream to achieve a more flavourful and rich, creamy taste.We also had a basket of freshly baked Focaccia Bread to eat with the cheese. The bread also goes really well with some extra virgin olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.These Parma Ham Mozzarella Rolls are wrapped in more Mozzarella cheese and also has rocket leaves rolled up within it. The pungent taste of the rocket does not overpower the salty parma ham and I thought the combination went really well together. Both equally strong flavours rolled up into one and wrapped up in a rather tasteless cheese. Mmmmmm.. mamma mia~! How refreshing..After all that cheese, it’s time to dig into the main course! First we had some Fettuccine al Tartufo ($24.90) which is basically Fettuccini pasta cooked in a mushroom truffle sauce. It also had minced sausage meat in it which gives it a rather interesting texture. The truffle taste was quite strong too and since I love mushrooms, I really enjoyed this pasta! =DNext we had some Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli ($17.90) served with a butter and sage sauce. The thing I love about Italian cuisine is that it is very rich and flavourful but that also means that it can be rather fattening, especially when almost everything contains butter, cream and cheese. Well, I say eat first and worry about the calories later! =PThis is one of my favourites here – the Risotto Porcini ($23.90) with saffron and bone marrow. You’ll probably notice a few red strands in the sauce – those are the saffron which is one of the most costly spices available in the world. A few strands of saffron also has a coloring effect which turns the sauce into a deep orange colour. This dish is creamy, rich, and oh-so-very satisfying.We also got to sample some Mixed Sausages which turned out to be quite average end when compared to the many delectably rich pastas we just had.Doesn’t this piece of meat on a bone look impressive? Well, it’s a Lamb Shank ($28.90) with Chianti wine that has been braised for over 4 hours, such that its meat is tender enough to just fall off the bone. However, I felt that the tomato-based sauce was a little bit on the bland side for me. I would have preferred it to take on a stronger, saltier and richer flavour.I seldom associate fish with Italian cuisine, but here’s one on the menu – Grilled Lemon Sole. Fish, to me, is mainly about how fresh it is more than how it is cooked. The meat for this was fresh enough and also flavourful enough, but it’s not exactly the kind of dish you would think of ordering at an Italian Restaurant.

Finally, for my absolute favourite part of every meal; it’s dessert time!The Lemon Tart here is sour and refreshing enough to invigorate your senses, but at the same time the sourness is not too overpowering and well balanced out with the sweet meringue on top and tart pastry. Plus, it comes with a little bit of jam on the side too, if you’re not good with sour foods.And finally, the main star of the show is… Tiramisu! One of my all time favourite desserts. This Tiramisu reminds me of the one I used to get at Paragon (though the restaurant that sold it closed down a long time ago). It has really light mascarpone cheese and a rich, strong espresso coffee flavour to it. Though I would have liked my Tiramisu with a bit more Tia Maira liqueur in it to give it that extra kick! =P Still, this is one of the best Tiramisu I’ve tasted in a long time.

Overall, I really enjoyed the good Italian food and with the great company of other food bloggers as well. Here’s a big THANK YOU to Chef Alfredo Colle and Ristorante Pietrasanta for hosting us!

Full Review & Photos @ http://www.celestialdelish.com/2013/05/spicy-thai-at-the-line.html

During the promotions, diners will be spoil with the usual diverse spread of international cuisine whilst enjoy the specially crafted spicy Thai set menu. Prices start at $72 per adult and $36 per child.

- Tom Yum Mojitos
A complimentary shot of this drink will be served during dinner. Diners can order the big glass @ $10++.The drink is filled with gracious Thai flavours of lemongrass, lime, chillis, mint leaf etc. A sophisticated ways to bring out the sweetness, tangy and hot (spicy) all in a drink. Spicy but very morish, it leave your taste buds tingling in expectation.

- Khaotang Nga Thong (fried rice crackers and assorted chutneys)Fried rice crackers was served with 3 Thai chutneys. The condiment in a bowl is made of pork and prawn, a little sweet and wet. The next condiment is made of salted egg, obviously it will b salty but not overly. Last but not least, Thai chili jam with tamarind is detectable yet mild. The assorted chutneys offer a delicious combination of sweet, salty and spicy to the crackers.- Lab Gai
The small stature has a deep and relatively spicy savory flavours that mingle beautifully with a fresh taste of mint leaf. Wrapped with thinly slice cucumber that add a little crunch and cooling effect to the palate.

- Yam Woon Sen
The glass noodles absorb the spicy, sour and salty flavour very nicely. It's more pungent than the other food, at the same time refreshing.

- Yam Som O
Pomelo sections bursting with juice, savory dried prawns balanced with bright flavor notes from lime and tamarind, and finished with the satisfying scent and crunch of shallot flakes. The salad offers a delicious combination of sweet, salty, sour, spicy and a tad bitterness (from the pomelo) as minor accents to the flavours.

- Kaeng Khiew Wan Gai (green curry with chicken and eggplant)Fragrant spices to create a rich creamy green curry with chunks of tender chicken and eggplant. Thou it was a little too salty, it was still delicious with a mild curry flavour.

- Khao Niew Mamuang (sticky rice with mango)A sweet, creamy and slightly salty coconut cream complement the sweet mango and sticky rice very well.

In celebration of my colleague's birthday, we have reserved the indoor seating for 4 pax. Greeted with a warm welcome by the staff as we walked up to Brotzeit. Reservation was make easy with their professionalism given a choice of outdoor/indoor seating. They have also make two calls (a one day before and few hours) before the reservation to confirmed our attendance. Service was prompt and above average.

Aranciata, S$4.50. Sparkling Orange drink poured from a can.Apfelschorle (Sparkling Apple Juice), S$8.50. Imported from Germany, a refreshing cup of apple juice mixed with sparkling mineral water.Hurray! Here's the feast for tonight! Tuck in!Camembert (Breaded Camembert with Cranberry Sauce), S$12.50. Fried to golden perfection with cheese filled up, the cranberry yogurt like sauce makes a perfect pairing.
Wurstelplatte (Sausage Platter for 2), S$32.50. Comes with assorted flavours of authentic sausages: spicy chicken sausages, Nurnberger sausages, pork cheese sausages, Weisswurst and garlic pork sausage and my favourite sauerkraut. Dab the sausages with some mustard sauce and some sauerkraut and it goes perfectly.Schweinshaxn (Pork Knuckle), S$36.00 are one of the top selling item from a german cuisine menu. This cripsy hind shank of grain fed pork were thick at the exterior especially on its skin is served with potato salad, sauerkraut and the delicious homemade sauce.Spargel mit Lungenbraten (White Asparagus with Grilled Beef Tenderloin), S$46.50. This is only available with a limit period (promotional item) base on the white asparagus feast.Kaspressknodelsuppe (onion soup), S$9.50. Quite translucent bowl of bland tasting onion soup, however the one that steal the show is its yammy cheesy dumping that had dived underneath the bowl of cut onion stripes. Kaiserschmarren (Emperor's Cake), S$12.50. A great choice for after meal desserts! Shredded fluffy pancakes with rum and raisins paired with plum sauce. Apfelstrudel (Apple Strudel), S$12.50 is served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Even though our stomachs have been filled with the scrumptious meal earlier on, we could not resists these alluring sweet treats coming our way. This non sweet version of strudel tastes great.. The icing sugar drizzled over it is sweet but not cloying.The total damage for the night from 4 dinners. Recommendation / Tips
It would be a great dinning experience to enjoy the German draft beers at their outdoor seating.

For the food here, it may require up to 2 hour long queue. But if you're a morning person, you can drop by at 9am (it opens at 10am) and start queueing. Any later than that, you probably have to queue for at least 1 hour, minimum.

Despite being slightly overrated, I must say some of the dishes here are indeed fresher and tastier than other dim sum restaurants. But what are they exactly? Read on to know.

Full review:
http://chiamhuiy.blogspot.sg/2013/04/tim-ho-wan-singapore-michelin-star-dim.html香滑马来糕 Steamed Egg Cake (1pc) $3.80
The Steamed Egg Cake was smooth on the surface, feels smooth while chewed in the mouth, but the taste was alright. The sweetness level of it was a little too much, it feels like an overwhelm of brown sugar in this piece of egg cake. it was indeed very moist and soft. 黄沙猪润肠 Vermicelli Roll with Pig's Liver (3 pcs) $5.50
The Pig's Liver Vermicelli Roll on the other hand faired better. Fresh sliced Pig's Livers are wrapped with silky smooth vermicelli roll, allowing it to glide down your throat oh-so-easily. I like to eat the vermicelli roll with the sauce that comes with it. If you're not a fan of pig's liver, you can try the Vermicelli Roll with BBQ Pork ($5.50) instead.鲜虾烧卖皇 Pork Dumpling with Shrimp (4pcs) $5.00
Pork Dumpling, or a name we are more familiar to - Siew Mai, has never ever appeal to me. I would till give it a try as always but they all failed. That's partly because the yellow skin used to wrap the siew mai often taste weird. Right here, I've finally found one that doesn't have that weird taste anymore. For some reason, I couldn't identify the weird taste, could be the taste of the meat filling itself has successfully covered the weird taste coming from the yellow skin, perhaps? But for a person like me who has never liked siew mai, telling you that here at Tim Ho Wan, it was good, you probably wouldn't want to miss it.
香煎菠萝糕 Pan Fried Carrot Cake (3pcs) $4.50
Another king dish of Tim Ho Wan is the Pan Friend Carrot Cake. I'm pretty sure that Radish was used because there were prominent strands of radish all within the Fried Carrot Cake. Although the strands of radish added texture to the very soft carrot cake underneath the pan-fried layer, I thought it was a little towards the bland side though. 晶莹鲜虾饺 Prawn Dumpling (4pcs) $5.50
Though not under the king dishes, the Prawn Dumpling was amazingly good I promise!
I am always not a fan of prawn dumpling because for one to be really nice and delicious, it requires very fresh juicy prawn wrapped in thin layer of luminous skin. At Tim Ho Wan, the prawn dumplings indeed caught my by surprise with its chewy and non-sticky texture, wrapping around a huge succulent prawn.赛螃蟹春卷 Spring Roll with Egg White (3pcs) $4.20
A usual spring roll often than not has radish, cabbage and minced meat within the fried crispy roll. But the one here isn't quite the same. Instead of minced meat, it's stuffed with crab meat and egg white, and for this reason, it gives a rather different taste. I'm glad to say the spring roll wasn't too oily and yet it was really crispy enough even after airing for a good 10 mins.鼓汁蒸凤爪 Chicken Feet with Black Bean Sauce $4.00
As for the chicken feet, or some people may call it Phoenix feet, they were another pleasant dish for its sweet and tender skin and soft bones, submerged in the black bean sauce. It's a little spicy but definitely worth it even if you don't take spice. 鲜虾腐皮卷 Beancurd Skin Roll with Shrimp (Deep Fried, 3pcs) $5.50
I actually ordered both the Deep Fried and Steamed beancurd skin roll but I realise I didn't take a photo of the steamed one, so let's make do with the deep fried beancurd skin roll! While I quite like the fresh Shrimp hidden within the beancurd skin roll, the skin was a little tad dry to my likings. The steamed Beancurd Skin Roll with Shrimp ($4.00) faired better as it wasn't too dry. In fact, it was a little slimy but still taste good! 酥皮焗叉烧包 Baked Bun with BBQ Pork (3pcs) $4.50
If I really have to mention that ONE dish that is a must-try, it has to go to their Baked Bun with BBQ Pork! No wonder there's a limit order of a plate (of 3) to each person, The soft crispy skin on the outside, probably coated with sugary butter, gives the bun a sweet finishing touch. Yet on the inside, the bun was stuffed with BBQ pork, completing the fusion of sweet and salty taste.Nothing can really describe how surprised and in love I am with this bun. Instead of the usual steamed bun, this was baked, giving it a very soft and tender bun skin. If not because of the limit order, I would have taken away more than one set of buns, because they are really too great.

Undeniably, some of the dishes are indeed different from other dim sum restaurants. Just to conclude for you, the must try dishes (in my opinion) are:

1. Baked Bun with BBQ Pork
2. Pork Dumpling with Shrimp
3. Prawn Dumpling
4. Vermicelli Roll with Pig's Liver


The service here is quite fast also. Once you submitted your order u made while queuing, the food comes within 15 mins.

Hope you liked this review! Remember to follow me on Instagram (@chiamhuiy) to receive live updates of me eating food and more food!

Read more on www.JerJerJer.com (my blog): http://bit.ly/dgoodcafeThanks to a good friend of mine, CalvinTimo, I got to check out this newly opened Cafe at Holland Village! I’m always up for a good cuppa coffee even if it’s 7pm at night – somehow, caffeine does not really have an effect on my body. We had quite a number of cups that night and I could still fall soundly asleep the moment I got home.. haha.. I am like totally born to drink good coffee I guess! =PWhen I’m not drinking a (sinfully sweet) Frappuccino from Starbucks, I usually like my coffee bold, rich and sugarless, so I decided to give their Caffè Macchiato ($4) a shot. For those of you who aren’t familiar with what a “Caffè Macchiato” is – it’s basically a shot of espresso coffee with a tiny dollop of milk. What you’ll get is a creamy, rich miniature cup of coffee, and a shot straight to coffee heaven. =D

They also do Latte Art but it was a pity that I didn’t get a chance to see the barista in action..The bear is waving to you! haha.. isn’t it just too cute to drink? We didn’t drink this cup of Caffe Latte in the end because it got cold, but I did managed to try out their Ice Latte on a separate occasion, which had a bit too much milk and not enough espresso to it. Anyway, here are their delectable Cheesecakes (made by the boss himself!):If you ever visit d’Good Cafe, you definitely MUST try out their cheesecakes. The d’Good Strawberry Cheesecake ($8) is fluffy with a layer of sponge cake at the bottom and cream cheese in the middle, smothered with strawberry jam and a sprinkling of nuts. Plus, they use Korean Strawberries which are known to be sweeter than your regular USA/Australia Strawberries.If you’re like me and prefer something richer and more decadent, then go for the Maple Sea Salt Cheesecake ($8). All that creamy goodness and a crunchy base, typical of your classic New York Cheesecake. But interestingly enough, the owner uses Sea Salt and Maple Syrup to give it rather a unique twist. Well, cheese on its own has always been salty but you usually taste more of the sweet and sour in cheesecakes.

The difference with this Maple Sea Salt Cheesecake is that it’s sweet, sour and also salty! You also get a rather fragrant whiff of the maple syrup with each bite. Mmmmm.. just thinking about it now, has me salivating in front of my computer screen! =PThey were all sold out of this Triplet Cheesecake ($8.50) when me and CalvinTimo were there that day, but I managed to go back on a separate occasion to try it. It’s $0.50 more than the other cheesecakes which makes you wonder what extra premium ingredient did they use that warrants the price difference. *shrugs* I’m not too sure actually, but this is a triple-layer cheesecake. On top, you have a rich layer of chocolate. In the middle is the cheese and right at the bottom is a layer of Oreos. If you’ve got a super duper sweet tooth, then you’ll probably like this because all three layers are just indulgently sweet.

Now on to the main courses for the night..Having just had an awesome Eggs Benedict at Benjamin Browns just a day before I went to d’Good Cafe, I must say that the one I had at Benjamin Browns was more indulgent. The homemade hollandaise sauce they used at d’Good Cafe could not really match up to my expectations for a sinfully rich and creamy sauce to compliment the poached eggs. Their Spaghetti Carbonara ($16) on the other hand was rather good! I do cook my own pastas once in a while and this Carbonara at d’Good Cafe has a rather “homecooked” vibe to it which I enjoyed. The creamy white sauce was thick and rich, and the bacon slices added to the savoury decadence of a good creamy pasta.

Well, our night was just getting started.. next, we had some coffee lessons from the boss himself. And learned about the roasting, brewing and blending of coffee. Check out this video of the coffee beans roasting:



What a cool machine, don’t you think? I would love to have it in my future house, although I’m actually eyeing their “Elektra” espresso machine too, which comes in the shape of a huge silver bell. The boss gave us some tips on roasting coffee beans and how some of the beans are actually “empty shells”. Even though these empty beans do not really affect the flavour of the coffee in the end, the boss still painstakingly takes the effort to pick out each and every empty shell after the beans have finished roasting.If you had noticed the tagline for d’Good Cafe earlier, it’s actually “Blend & Brew it the way you like it”. The reason behind this is that they offer a service where you can create your very own blend of coffee based on the qualities you want your coffee to have! This process is called Coffee Cupping and we had the chance to try it out first-hand.First, you fill up a form stating what type of flavours you like to have in your coffee: be it nutty, chocolatey, winery, citrusy, etc. Next, the barista will prepare a few cups of coffee for you, each made from a different variety coffee beans. You then take some time to sip each cup while rinsing your palate with plain water between each sip. Finally, you let the barista know which cup of coffee you prefer over the others and why.

They will then help you decide on what goes into your final blend of coffee which will be made up of the 3 distinct flavours that you had listed earlier on. Once you have gotten the perfect blend that you want, they will enter it into their database and you can even name your own unique blend! Psssst.. You can now order a “CalvinTimo” blend of coffee from d’Good Cafe if you wanted to. =D I didn’t get to create my own blend that day due to the lack of time..

To end off the night, we had a photo taken using the cafe’s polaroid camera! They decorate the walls with lots of photos of all their customers.. try finding our polaroid shot when you visit d’Good Cafe the next time! =PRead more on www.JerJerJer.com (my blog): http://bit.ly/dgoodcafe