I've never watched the film Babette's Feast, but I'm pretty sure the food served at the same-name restro-bar in Singapore is definitely Not as sleep-inducing as the film for me. I love French food as well as Japanese food and nothing could sound more anticipating than the fusion of both. One classic example is the Duck Confit Donburi $28 where the humble rice staple of Japanese students and office workers alike are prepared the French way. Or more precisely, the familiar kentang aka potato is upgraded to premium Japanese grains, drizzled with some mysterious Babette sauce and topped off with a crispy duck leg that was slightly leaden and dry. The steak and foie gras donburi $28, draws from the humble gyudon, though it's difficult to equate both beef dishes in actuality. Yet I would happily trade a gyudon for this hearty bowl because the less-than-medium doneness steak is comfortingly soft, coming close to my best steak in Tokyo. The degree of seasoning might be a little harsh but just fine if you have them with the rice. I love soba but the Salmon & Soba $17 did less to ruffle up my serenity. The sous-vide salmon was overdone and bland, falling out of sync with the sweet tamagoyaki and nori flakes, though I appreciated the smooth firm bites of buckwheat noodles.

On the other spectrum of the menu "Small plates and tapas" are some comfort dishes, meant to satisfy late night pangs without too much unnecessary calories. The Charred Cauliflower ($8) is an unusual order; white flower heads literally "charred" to the right softness, served with a very mild yuzu velouté and lots of aromatic fried ginger. Signature Honey Yuzu Ice Blended, Yuzu Beer, Passionfruit Gin Cocktail, Hot Matcha Latte. I thought avocados and octopus are two very unfriendly lowbrow ingredients but Babette has transformed them into something delicious. Avocado puree are sagely accessorized with fatty aburi, crunchy pickles, tomatoes in the Roasted Avocados $12 to produce an unfamiliar yet awesome texture. Think an inverted salmon tartare. TheOctopus salad with Japanese dressing $17 and citrus segments provided a perky slab of acid to cut thorough the smoky flavours of grilled octopus. The food that night was a mixture of appealing and ho-hum, but not till I chanced upon another gastronomic epiphany of my life. Ladies and gentleman.......let us welcome the Matcha Lava Cake! *applauses*Not a novelty as Smoulders has launched a petty and unsatisfactory version years ago. But this was a terrific, dream-come-true amalgamation of the East meets West. Like the Madame Butterfly in the realm of plated desserts. So delicate was the molten creation that my heart wrenched in agony as I tearing down the walls with a ting fork and let the gooey yet viscous matcha flow. Not only will you feel tremendous guilt with every bite, lusting at the mellowness of the brew. But you'll be left inconsolable and wanting more when you are done.

Full review: http://dairycream.blogspot.sg/2014/10/babette-dessert-epiphany.html

Sunday Folks. Sunday Market. Shrove Tuesday.

I'm not sure why these cafes are named after days of the week but I do know that they are run by passionate young people. Honestly, Shrove Tuesday is only my third cafe after returning from Tokyo. While I still hold a healthy skepticism with regards to the quality of cafe food, I am delighted to discover some stellar food here.Gelato is no longer a novelty but there is something playful when it comes to the Italian ice cream here. It's Gelato desserts. This magnum-lookalike "Milk Chocolate Classico" might not be convince you to splurge $10 but wait till you sink your teeth into the chocolate shell. Instead of the typical artificial-tasting buttery ice confectionary, a dense caramel brownie-like layer concealed in the fresh and smooth vanilla gelato, made it extremely pleasurable yet gratifying. Count yourself lucky if you managed to detonate one of their "BOMB" (bizzare ice cream balls), especially the salted caramel version which was unavailable during my visit.Same goes for the Matcha & Black Sesame gelato ($2.50/$3 for premium). Yes, these might be my two favourite flavors but there is a reason why they are standouts of their own species. The Black sesame gelato grabbed our attention away from its matcha counterpart due to its warm earthy nuttiness, thanks to the incorporation of grinded BS seeds and BS paste. But be forewarned that the sugar content for both flavours were askew. Waffles ($5) were light and delicately crisp on the edges, crawling in with subtle honey sweetness. Cakes are not as stellar as the gelato so expect standards to fluctuate with the nature of pastries. Baked goods like the Strawberry Rose Red Velvet ($4.50) had a stale, uninspiring rose buttercream, clearly not performing at its utmost. Though neither coffee nor orange was discernible in the Ivory Orange Coffee Mousse ($4.50), the texture of the mousse was smooth and wholesome. While there is a range of other cakes such as Peanut Banana, Tiramisu and cheesecakes, I'm contented with their gelato creations, which I hope can be further experimented and one day expand to become the forte of the cafe, apart from waffles and coffee.

Opened by three young culinary graduates, Les Patisserie may be "another cafe in the hoods" but not quite so because it churns out some fine French pastries which caught my curiosity. Very much so since there is a scarcity of good ones in SG. Dulcey Hazelnut $7

I selfishly wished that the people could just focus on pastries and execute them well. But perhaps diversifying into savoury brunches, light pasta meals and coffee is also part of their survival strategy. Trying to be as fair as possible (though it's still impossible la), I went twice and tasted everything except for the Fraiser, Tarte Au Citron and Tarte Tartin.Is this Rocky or Softy?

L'Rocky ($7) created a false illusion of a sophisticated multi-textured gateau when it was simply a chocolate mousse-sponge coated with chocolate ganache. What could be an unadulterated chocolate experience was tainted by the rancid nuts and some compressed honeyed almond chips that failed to impart any exciting crunch. Same goes for the Chocolate macaron ($2.50/pc). It looked pretty but the meringue shells seemed to be subjected under much tension. Too chewy. I would be heavily condemned for trivializing the original inventor of the Plaisir because this is quite a faithful and successful reproduction of almond jaconde, vanilla Bavarian cream and chocolate mousse. Treading a safe and cautious path, the Plaisir could etch out a sharper character if the Pate a Bomb was torched longer for a more brilliantly golden caramelized sheen.But to my great relief, I managed to find the Creme of the crop here-Dulcey Hazelnut $7. Like the buttery sweetness of melted Valhorna Blonde, there is a sublime overload of gooey milk jam, accented marvellously by the under layer of nutty nibbling and crunchy tart shell. Don't say I didn't warn you about the sweetness. But it's truly a revelation of the senses.

(Updates: the original tart shell has changed to chocolate shell on my most recent visit)I can't appreciate coffee but I do love my Opera. The alternating layers of smooth, robust coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache worked in synchrony, triggering relapse of haunting and bitter melancholy. The pastries that I had on my 2nd visit fared much better, though the Salted Caramel macaron is still too chewy. The stretchy innards of the Croissant ($2.80) has a delectable saltiness which most croissants lacked, but it is still not the best in town.If you are a fan of mango, then I'm quite sure you'll like the Mango Mousse Cake. Yes, the components were too prosaic but the silky texture of the mousse was noteworthy. Best of all, the chefs got the right sweetness.

Tiramisu

This mountain-lookalike Italian classic consists of two biscuit sponges layered with mascarpone cream. Texture works but not the java flavour as the espresso and coffee liquor were too weak. Forest Berry $6.50

Not a novelty, but alas something that is quite rarely spotted here. Crunchy, lightly salted Sable Base topped with berries and piped with Creme patisserie. Together with the Dulcey Hazelnut Tart, this gave me the hope that Les Patisserie has the potential to create more promising pastries, if they can break out of the saturated zone.

Run by bankers-turned restauranteurs, The Boiler is an Louisiana style Seafood restaurant located in the most unthinkable place-Tai Seng Industrial area. But the location doesn't seem to matter at all, given that it was brimming with diners on a weekday night of our visit. First up, we kicked off the lobster relvery with the Live whole Boston lobsters that are available in three different sauces. The Works (spiciness ranging from mild to raging hot), Garlic Butter and Peppa Butter. The Works is piquant with an assam-like tang, but not too spicy. With lobsters shipped in daily from US, the taste can hardly go wrong. Sweet and not overcooked, the chunky fleshes might be a hassle to remove from the shells at first but all efforts were rewarded when you mopped down with the sauces.

But we soon found out that it's got more to offer than the lobster. Pick from brown crabs, prawns, mussels, clams and then choose your sauce. That said, the heartiest way to round off the evening is to feast on the Boiler's Bombdiggity Bag ($139/4); literally a seafood bomb filled with everything including sausages, corns and some deep-fried mantou buns at the side for soaking up the juices. The starters were overall quite impressive too. The Louisiana Spicy Mid Joint Wings ($8.90) were zappy with a nice sour kick that makes you grab for more. The Southern Chicks and Waffles ($9.90) had plenty of crisp, not only in the chicken but more importantly in the waffles that were drizzled in maple syrup. I shy away from the Bacon Shrimp ($11.90) in smoky Hickory sauce because they were too salty. As for the Fish & Chips ($12.90), it's a classic in its own league. The fish stayed moist and piping hot within a light, crunchy batter. The Signature Lobsicle ($15.90), aka lobster on Popsicle, might be safer in the Boiler instead of the deep fryer as they were too chewy.Business was so good that the chocolate molten lava cake ran out of stock and so we settled for the C.B.D, a pungent pun on the business district of Singapore because it stood for Crispy Banana Durians. Forget about the Bananas were substituted by yams that night, cos the pungent durians have already stolen the limelight. As we all know, never judge a restaurant by the history or the location. Despite being opened only for a few months, it's no nonsense when it comes to the Cajun-style lobsters here. Walk in, sit down and put on the apron. We did. And we ate. We ate very well indeed.

Full review: http://dairycream.blogspot.sg/2014/09/the-boiler-its-crustacean-feast.html

What comes to your mind when you think of Southern American food? Humongous portions, heavy flavours, deep fried food, bourbon and maybe Paula Deen. Full review and pics: http://dairycream.blogspot.sg/2014/09/the-beast-sunday-brunch.htmlIt seems like a battle half-won for the Chicken & Waffles ($20), a monstrous hunk of deep-fried thigh on waffles. The chicken is excellently crunchy and tender, but the golden batter was too salty and thus one can't help but chomp it down with the partially deflated waffles for a balanced flavour. As a hard truth, the chicken tasted best when doused with the bourbon maple butter sauce. The Pulled Pork Hash $18 may very well typify the savage character of a beast. Imagine strands of meat ferociously teared apart and tossed with cubed potatoes, red peppers and BBQ sauce. But this Beast seems timid at heart for the taste was uninspiring and dry. A little more simmering of the pork with apple cider vinegar and chilli pepper may awake the soul of the Beast. Like most authentic Southern sweets , the desserts here do not go easy on sugar. I appreciate the thick Oreo crust of the Mississippi Mudpie ($14) but this strength also became its weakest link when the pie layer is as stubborn as a rock.The Bacon Waffle Sundae ($12) could be misleading for it is NOT a SUNDAE. But this can be forgiven because it delivered more than just a usual ice cream-waffle dessert. Accompanied by gooey butterscotch sauce, crunchy pecan brittles and a monstrous ball of Honey & Fig Ice Cream, the waffle itself has already surpassed the pallid version we've had earlier due to its sturdier structure and a distinct buttery notes. The crispy candied bacon was a bonus. But what I liked best was the bacon maple glazed donut ($5) which reminded me of a sticky sweet Bak Kwa bun that BreadTalk introduced years before or the "Sweet Mother of Bacon" from Artichoke. And it's actually a SIDE, not a DESSERT. Yes, petite in size but it may just be the wildest creature at the Beast.