For more info and pics, feel free to visit my review: http://thedessertprince.com/food-for-thought-singapore-botanic-gardens-the-gratifying-christmas-brunch/

Since it’s the season to be jolly, what could be better to celebrate Christmas with a scrumptious brunch affair with your loved ones? Surely I wasn’t the only “smart” person that think that way because it was really crowded when we arrived by noon. Either way, the cafe’s free sitting so expect to share your space with someone else okay? Brunch came in the forms of Basic Works ($7.00), House Works ($12.00) and Full Works ($18.00) which are just increment of more food if you really want to know. Personally, I like to customise my brunch and I am just glad Food For Thought allows that. Two thick slabs of toast, nicely sauteed garlic mushroom, a good dose of good old scrambled eggs and that’s how ZX loves her brunch.Ever since my last visit to Burger Shack, I’ve been in love with pulled pork burgers! I have to say the Slow Roasted Pulled Pork Burger ($8.00) was tender and coupled with that smoky homemade BBQ sauce and violia! You have one awesome burger to munch already!Another must-try is their Creamy Mushroom Soup ($6.00). For ZX, it’s a must have every time she drops by. Their scones on the other hand may looked unpalatable compared to hotel standards and it looked even harder to take a nice shot of it but trust me, it’s one of THE BEST SCONES I had in years! It was even made perfect pairing with their fresh light cream. Gosh, I just wished I had extra cash to spare for more!Much like you see in the show, Ratatouille ($4.00) is a French way of stewing vegetables. Served piping hot and in a stew of tomato sauce, this is as sweet as it gets! Although I would prefer my veggies sliced and arranged neaty just like how it was done in the movie.

Looking for a nice place to have a wonderful weekend brunch? Why not consider heading down to Food For Thought at Botanic Gardens instead and end off your lovely brunch affair with a sun bathing stroll by the park.

Just beside Next Door Deli is another hidden gem only this time, it takes the form of an old school bakery shop. I have this impression that this bakery shop has been around for the longest of time. Don't go away thinking that as a self-professed foodie, I would have heard of Pine Garden somewhere before since I only got to know this shop the same day my lecturer invited me for lunch. Food bloggers aren't geniuses that knows everything you know?

Perhaps it's the feel I get looking at the entire design of the shop. Just old school. Just only...It's really hard to find a really good slice of cake well under six bucks these days. You can't point fingers at the owners of patisseries for jacking the price unless you want them to close down for good. So whenever I stumble upon a bakery shop/patisserie like Pine Garden and take a quick look at their price tag, I would be baffled as to how could they even do it? Are they even making profit or breaking even given the fact that each slice cost no more than four bucks?

But in reality, there are places like Pine Garden where prices are kept as low as they can while still enough to make a profit. Five alcoholic cakes shared over five people. Each having a certain preference over another, if not overlapping preferences for some cakes as in the case of the Blackforest with soaked cherries bits in between the layers of chocolate sponges. Nuttymisu was another good catch combining the traditional Italian recipe with almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia and walnuts. Bailey's Chocolate Crunch was not bad though after trying so many different ones, the alcoholic taste just taste too plain so just grab one or two and savour each slice one at a time. Afterall, what's the rush? It's not like your boss is after you right? Green Apple Vera Martini Cake was a slight disappointment with comments like it tasted like slurping green apple bubble tea from a few of us. I can't help but to agree with the crowd. It's just that it's bad but I believe there are better ones compared to this green one.But none needs to be said about Pine Garden's Lychee Martini Cake. It's their best seller and how I wish I could get my lecturer and friends to look somewhere while I gobble up the cake in a flare. When they turn their heads back, they will see nothing but a gratified boy smiling and smacking his messy lips. But that's just rude, impolite and above all, all good things should be shared.

I guess I have to wait for another visit just to do what I've just said...

Please don't go away thinking there's only alcoholic cakes in there. I saw mooncakes and old school cream cakes for sales too. It's still an old school bakery that met alcohol during the good old days.

It was a mind boggling task for me when daddy asked me how do I wanna celebrate my nineteenth birthday. You see, I already had in mind as to where I want but that doesn't equate to what my family would enjoy. For me, any meals must be enjoyable not to me but to the people who dine with me as well.

Sometimes it's not just about the food. It's also the diners right?

Dim Sum, high tea and buffet. Those were my criteria I had in mind and after a click or two, I've found Min Jiang @ Goodwood Park Hotel, a Oriental restaurant that fits my criteria at a relatively affordable price ($32++).

Reservations are highly recommended as I've learnt my lessons from past experience when you're dining with a fairly large group. To me, anything above six people is large enough to make me call for booking. Besides, I always like to make my presence known, you know the life of a prince is all about glamour right?Like most established Chinese restaurants, Xiao Long Bao or XLB as I call them, must always be made and served upon request. It was a good 20 minutes before they arrived onto our table piping hot. I pierced the soft skin and clear meat stock flowed out of the man-made dimple. I slurped and took my first bite of the gem within it, a sizable meat is all I see and the rest were made history...

Simply delightful though I would say that Min Jiang's rendition isn't as exquisite compared to Din Tai Fung's with their famous 18-folds XLB. Well, the taste makes up for the visual I guess. It's so disappointing that you could only try it once... Yea, they are served only once.My family doesn't believe in formality. There's no need to wait. Everyone starts at their own leisure pace. For me, I just go ahead with a bowl of Century Egg Congee. The smooth texture of the congee, the taste from the fermented egg and the delicate slices of ginger. Plain and simple that's how I like my congee to bePrawn Dumplings or Har Gau as the Cantonese calls these pearl white treats are a must have for any Dim Sum meals. It would be plain weird if you don't have one of these on the tables but anyway, the prawns were fresh and the skins enveloping the pinkish seafood was of the right consistency. I love them so much that I didn't feel the need to dip them in red (chili) or black (soy) sauce. The sweetness from the prawn is more than my enough to excite my palette.Another quintessential dumpling in Dim Sums, Siew Mai. Though I felt that there's no need to place a small abalone above each of them. It's simply too small to make any impact. I guess it gives the diners the wow factor that they used such an expensive ingredients?Chee Cheong Fun were served in two forms. Either with scallops or roast pork. They were great though a bit too salty for me since it's douse in soy sauce. Sorry for the mess I've made. Mummy wasn't very happy with me playing with my food to get the perfect shot...I dare say this is one of the better Char Siew Pao I had. The bun were soft and fluffy while the meat inside were sweet and tender. Signs that they were made by hand. I lost count of the number of basket we took just to justify the lack of Egg Tarts and Lian Rong Pao that ran out... Yea, we were disappointed about the lacks but that doesn't mean we weren't able to continue our high tea happily right?There was nothing special about their desserts section. Mango Pudding, Cheng Teng, Mango Sago and a few mouse cakes. I can't really remember the name of this one but it was fascinating to see desserts that looks like salad. Pieces of sponge cakes and various fruits all mixed together in a bowl. It's pleasant to the eyes but that's all.

I thought I would walk away feeling disappointed with their desserts, until the staff came to our table and mentioned that they'll be serving durian pudding at 4pm promptly. You have no idea how excited I was when I heard the news. So excited that I begin explaining to my family members how famous their durian desserts were and I think I gave the staff a shock when I stopped her from doing the explanation because I basically said everything within one breath!

But it's true! The name Goodwood Park has been synonymous with the word durian. In my opinion, no patisseries or bakery or any other hotels can rival them in terms of quality and variety of durian desserts they have! I didn't call myself dessert prince for fun ok? Desserts are my eye-candies just to let you know ;)It was four and as told, our Durian Pudding were served individually. The pudding itself was smooth and delectable but I tell you when they say it's durian pudding, it means there's real durian inside which comes in the form of strands, the fibers of the fleshy fruit. Don't be misleaded by the portion though, by the time I finished mine, I was so full that I wish I hadn't eat too much Char Siew Paos!

Like all buffets, there will always be hits and misses. I didn't try all their dumplings because they didn't look worth the extra calories. Some were doused in oil, some looked too daunting and some looked too spicy. What they lacked in variety, they make up in terms of quality. My mum still resent the fact that they didn't have Egg Tarts and Lian Rong Pao...

Service was a tad too slow. I guess the staffs had a hard time meeting our constant demands of refilling the tea pot or clear our mounting plates and baskets. At least they were friendly and approachable, always with a smile that's what I always see.

And there you have it. The Goodwood Park Dim Sum high tea experience...

After hours and hours of shopping at Parkway Parade, we needed somewhere to rest our tired if not sore feet. Cedele was to my disappointment, extremely crowded. The ladies hadn't any mood for ice creams so Anderson, Scoopz and New Zealand's Natural are out. We don't really like conventional coffee chains but just before I ran out of suggestions, I recalled of a cafe named Dome and with everyone's approval, we braved through the crowds and found a table to fit us all...Mum's a coffee person. She loves her coffee smooth and creamy and she ended up with a Flat White ($4.60). She took a deep whiff, stirred in a pack of sweet crystals, took a sip and proclaim the coffee was good. My mum's quite simple unlike her fussy dessert fanatic son, which will expect his Flat White with some sort of latte art incorporated since guys are visual creatures right?Another reason why I always enjoy dining with my family is because we can share our food/drinks with one another. Sharing don't really happen when I dine with friends, especially if I'm meeting people for the first time. So when the brother politely offered his Hazel Twister ($6.50) to me, I was more than happy to accept the offer but was somewhat disappointed by the diluted iced coffee drink but still it's the thoughts that count right?Since young, I always dream about traveling and Vienna's on my must-visit cities. I would envision myself, sitting inside a cafe, resting my aching feet after hours and hours worth of travelling, sipping a cuppa, possibly enjoying a good conversation with the local barista and enjoying the scenic cityscape by the window. Isn't that lovely? I think it really is but sipping locally brewed Vienna ($5.60) would be the closest feeling I will ever get. For now of course...Parfait is a French word for perfect. Scoops of gelatos and well-placed fruits couldn't have been more perfect and that's Dome's Fruit Parfait ($.8.20) for you to know and for me to enjoy...Dome's Lava Cake ($6.90) was served warm and accompanied by a scoop of coconut gelato. Nothing out of this world though the oozing chocolate was the center of attention. Much to many of my friends' disbelief, I'm very much a health conscious person as much as I love to commit sins in the name of good food. I always try to mediate my health conscious side and my sinful nature and carrot cakes always fit that sinful-healthy list of food. Although Dome's rendition ($5.90) is nowhere near what is my criteria for the best carrot cake in town, I would give Dome plus points considering the amount of nuts they included in it.I found myself lost in a world like none other. Good food paired with excellent people holding causal tea session in a wonderful if not dreamy cafe. That moment, I thought I was in Shangri-La. I'm not refering to Shangri-La Hotel but rather an eden of complete bliss, delight and to a certain extend, peace. That's what Shangri-La is all about...

You really have to appreciate consuming raw meat, the Japanese way.

For a fish to be suitable for sashimi and sushi, it has to be bled to ensure that the blood in the fish doesn't spoil the meat upon oxidation. Gutted to ensure that the parasites that are usually found in the guts doesn't migrate out and contaminate the whole fish. Afterwhich, the whole fish has to be thoroughly iced to retain the freshness. All these are happening right at the moment when the fish are caught.

See what I mean when you really gotta appreciate the people who prepare your food?The variety of sushi they have is rather commendable. Bite size little treats but I was quite disappointed when I realised they didn't place wasabi within the sushi. That would be perfect and authentic sushi already but hey, no complains about their quality from me.Sashmi comes in two forms; Sake and Maguro. Between the two, Sake was my preferred choice as was Mr T's as well. I find the maguro to be too thick which makes it laborious to savour and they are not exactly the top quality ones as well that I expected. Besides serving sake in its raw form, there's also different marinated ones. Yuzu was my favorite though Fresh and subtle.Ever tried Corn or Matcha Tofu? Personally, the green matcha tofu on the was more to my liking than the corn one. The Fried Tofu was beautifully crafted and taste just as delectable as it looks but the ultimate winner of the four would have to be the chawanmushi.

I know a good Chawanmushi when I have one. A good cuppa would have a savoury sweetness taste right from the moment it touches the lips. A good cuppa would be delicate but just firm enough to scoop the goodness out without becoming all messed up.

In this case, they did it well! Profiteroles are small little pastry balls filled with pastry cream. I love the feeling of the pastry cream exploding in your mouth when you compress the little brown puffs. The Matcha Creme Brulee was great too! The sugarish caramel was evenly balanced and there wasn't bits of crystals which would otherwise spoil the whole experience as I made my way into the soft green custard.

Swiss Rolls were delightfully sweet although they looked more like sandwiches than rolls if you asked me. Maybe they should change the name to Swiss Sandwiches instead! I think there's nothing much to describe about Panna Cotta. I was hesitant at first. I have never seen panna cotta in squareish forms before but in the end, I decided to give it a try and thank God I did...