Prior to this Between X OpenRice Food Tasting Session, my only experience with German-based cuisine had been a couple of visits to Brotzeit for some schnitzels and bratwursts. My Deutsch foodie experience was thus greatly enhanced during this Tasting Session, courtesy of Between and OpenRice.

Stuttgart Blackforest Boutique S-Café is a lovely little German eatery that appears to pride itself on delivering an authentically German experience to its patrons. This was evident throughout my visit.

While waiting to be seated, one already catches a glimpse of the exquisitely-furnished café interior. An impressive variety of pastas and spirits sits invitingly on large wooden shelves. Stepping inside, I was struck by the sight of large majestic trees scattered across the eatery, their branches reaching towards the lofty ceiling. Much thought and care was indeed put into the decorations, with a spinning water wheel and a wall of antique cuckoo clocks among the more outstanding features.Water wheel: attention-catching centrepieceWater feature complete with fishShelves upon shelves of specialty pastas

After getting to meet the fellow OpenRicers present as well as Joash, the General Manager (Singapore) of VCNC (which is behind the Between app), we were ready to choose our dishes from a selection of mains and desserts to accompany a Wurstsalat (SGD 18++), a salad with sausages, onions and gherkins.The Wurstsalat was simple yet satisfying in a understated way. The sausage slices possessed a unique mix of tastes, with a slight sourish tang adding some tart zest to the otherwise salty meat. The accompanying greens and cherry tomatoes added the finishing gustatory as well as visual touches.

For my main, I went for the Schwäbische Maultaschen (SGD 25++), which consists of two large pockets of Swabian pasta, each stuffed with savoury minced beef. These were served on a bed of sautéed onions and potatoes. Accompanying these was a mesclun salad complete with bright cherry tomatoes. The two maultaschen were generously sized and appetizingly presented, with the onions, potatoes and salad each adding a distinct dimension to the meat pockets. The pasta itself was soft and subtly fragrant, and provided a perfect foil to the more intense flavours of the minced beef. The maultaschen were well-complemented by the bed of potatoes and onions, whose tangy flavours I presume may be attributed to a vinaigrette dressing. It was indeed a flavourful and well-balanced dish.Flavourful minced beef within!

Accompanying my meal was a cappuccino (SGD 10++) which was easily the most frothy and fluffy coffee I have ever encountered. Check out the froth!

If you cut through all that fluff (literally), you will find that Stuttgart does really do quite a mean cappuccino. The coffee was thick and full-bodied, with intense aromas wafting up with every (divine) sip. Rounding off the feast was a slice of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (SGD 12++), a freshly-baked Blackforest cake that was fluffy, creamy, light and rich all at once. The spongy cake layers were interspersed with sweet and gooey cherries, with cream and chocolate shavings holding it all together. The cake was delightfully sweet and intensely flavoured with Kirschwasser, a traditional cherry liquor, making it a wonderful flavourful burst on the palate.

While service was reasonably attentive and polite to a fault, it was at times a little slow. We were made to wait uncomfortably long for some of the dishes, but this could be put down to the large group we were in. Overlooking this blemish, the homely ambience and quality of food were indeed top notch, making a visit to Stuttgart Blackforest Boutique S-Café an advisable one. Just be sure to visit only when not in a rush, and go prepared to spend a leisurely evening over some great-tasting German cuisine. Do also take the opportunity to take a few photographs (unintrusively of course), as the café is painstakingly decorated.

En Guete!

Amidst the recent sprouting of hipster cafe comes Old Skool Dessert House; a dessert cafe situated in The Odeon Katong that focuses more on well-loved local desserts that is familiar to all generations alike. Given the naming, the cafe adopts a more old-school theme with the use of chalk boards for menus, simple furnishings and comes equipped with its own “detention corner” for patrons waiting for seats or takeaways. Both warm and cold desserts are available, ranging from Black Glutinous Rice to Snowflake, with a small variety of dimsum available. Beverages include coffee, where Latte, Long Black and Mocha is strangely included in the largely local-based menu.We were rather torn between the Yam Cream with Gingko Nut ($3.30) and Black Glutinous Rice, so we went with our instincts by going for the former. It was decent and had a comfortable level of sweetness without cloying up as well as being smooth. Gingko Nuts were soft as well. While it was not too bothersome, it could do a bit better by being a bit thicker.XO Durian Lovers ($5.50) was one of the items that is highly recommended by the waitress for Durian lovers, and after a spoonful we could see the reason why. Thick, fibrous puree of XO Durian dumped in an equally thick and rich durian mousse, it was mildly sweet yet immensely flavoured by the pungent fruit with its strong flavour. So rich, so thick and so satisfying, it was moments before the entire bowl was finished and I was really hoping for another one more!For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/05/06/old-skool-dessert-house-the-odeon-katong/