A brightly lit and clean place was the first impression I had when I stepped into this highly raved desserts place for the first time. All white is the theme. Pretty surprised that the whole place was empty on a Saturday afternoon around 2pm.My friends and i were introduced to the whole range of eclairs and parfait sets at the counter. As the name says it all, "Karafuru" which means colorful, so you can really expect to see many colorful eclairs available.There were at least 15 flavours to choose from and its not easy to decide which ones to get. In the end, we gave up (hahaha) and blindly chose 4 eclairs and a Hanami parfait set.
(1) Matcha Azuki $6.00- Matcha creme, azuki beans and matcha sables. Although I'm not a matcha person but this flavour do catches my tongue notice. The cream was smooth and matcha taste was distinctive. The soft azuki beans' paste blends in well with matcha creme, adds sweetness to the eclair while balancing the slight bitterness from the matcha.
(2) Cafe Au Lait $6.00- Milk coffee creme, chocolate sables and edible gold dust. I like this flavour most among the rest of our choices. Being a coffee and chocolate lover myself, coffee and chocolate combi usually works pretty well together for me. Coffee aroma was so fragrant and the milk coffee creme inside so creamy. The chocolate sables adds additional crunch to the eclair. Although gold dust wasn't any necessary but it does makes the overall looked prettier.
(3) Black Forest $7.00- Kirshwasser creme, candied wild cherries, raspberries and dark chocolate. Felt that the pairing of kirshwasser creme, dark chocolate and berries was a mistake. These elements doesn't taste good together. Brandy taste wasn't clear and when combine with sourish berries and chocolate, it's simply weird. I would suggest to skip this.
(4) Sakura Rose $6.00- Sakura rose creme and marzipan. Having the most pretty color among the rest 3 eclairs, this eclair smells really floral. First bite into it eventually stops me from having the second. Taste reminds me of pink cough syrup from clinics; A very strong dose indeed! Yucks! Sorry but I do not know how to appreciate this highly raved flavour.
(5) Hanami Parfait set $20.00- Sakura soufflé, Vanilla pudding, Sakuru syrup, cereal crunch, hanami dango, raspberries, strawberries, red fruits coulis and Sakura langue de chat. A detailed crafted plate of dessert comprising so many wonderful elements.
Milky yogurt softserve was smooth and creamy. Paired with the sourish red fruits coulis provided was brilliant. Sakura soufflé was very soft and cotton-liked. The fluffiness made me fell in love with it immediately. Vanilla pudding texture was coarse and the sakura syrup (cough syrup taste) drizzled over it made things worst. Hanami dango were really chewy and I liked the greeny piece most because matcha taste was distinctive. Not forgetting the cereal rice puffs that gave this dessert the crunchiness among all the soft ingredients on the plate. Overall look of this pinkish parfait set was pretty and attractive, girls will definitely choose this.This $20 parfait set comes with a pot of tea and we chose "Soba seed stem" tea to go along. Made using aromatic soba grains and stem tea, this blend was light with slight sweetness aftertaste. A great choice to have after all the sweet treats. The mini brown sugar madeleine that comes with the tea was yummy too!! (Better than the eclairs)Verdict: For me, their parfait set was more worth the calories. As for their eclairs, the choux dough texture were too soft and dry inside for me liking. Appearance definitely scores but as for taste, it's really subjective among all 5 of us. Not much to rave about this place but just another instagrammable dessert place with colourful instagrammable food. I might step into Karafuru again for other parfait sets as there are many selections but for their eclairs, it's definitely a "no-no".
 

SingaporeA pretty cosy place to chill at during weekdays as it wasn't really crowded. Location is quite accessible, its less than 10mins walk from Lavender Mrt or Farrer Park Mrt. Co-owned by two talented chefs from Le Cordon Bleu Paris, who love to bake and explore new recipes, thus the name "Two Bakers" came about.(1) Purple Gold Tart $7.80
- What's in it? Lavender infused chocolate ganache, caramel ganache, roasted almond bits and caramel tuile. The wedd of chocolate + caramel results in this very sweet tasting tart, best suits chocolate lovers (like me). Almond bits didn't play much part because it was too little to provide with the additional crunch or nut fragrance. Tart shell was firm but teeth still manageable.(2) Yuzu Summer Cake $9.80
- The Yuzu lemon yogurt mousse was smooth & creamy but tasted too zesty, sourish which i prefer to be less. The matcha sponge within is redundant as matcha taste was too weak and Yuzu taste was too overwhelming.
(3) Halloween themed baked goods:(A) Greedy Val Cake $7.0
- The chocolate cake is very soft and moist. The cake itself wasn't too sweet, sweetness only comes from the vanilla buttercream. Love the melt-in-your-mouth Rasberry coated meringue.(B) Wicked John Cake $7.0
- The content of the Wicked John cake is exactly the same with the Greedy Val, except that it is drizzled with Rasberry glaze instead of chocolate.(4) Halloween themed Macarons $3.50 per pc/ $12 for 4.
-Flavours are Yuzu, Rose, Matcha and Lavender Chocolate. I can honestly tell you I bought them because they looked pretty in Halloween costumes, it is the appearance that attracted me first. Taste wise, the flavours are quite distinctive and shells are crisp.Verdict: Quite love this place because it is quiet in the afternoon and I could have proper chat with my friends without disturbance. Staff are very courteous and approachable. Taste of baked goods are definitely above average but my personal choice are their cakes. I think their cakes flare better compared to rest. Two bakers also serve coffee, snacks and other mains. I will be back

[Kay Lee Roast Meat - Tanjong Katong Branch]Kay Lee Roast Meat, a renowned local brand for more than 30 years, created a big hype recently when lady boss, Betty Kong, sold her business to AZtech group for $4million dollars.

AZtech group, aimed to keep this big name ongoing, had now expanded to another 6 more outlets across Singapore apart from the main store at upper paya lebar. Meats were roasted at central kitchen now but other items such as double boiled soups and dumplings were prepared at individual outlets.Tonight, we land ourselves at Tanjong Pagar branch, to try out the taste of new Kay Lee. The interior decoration and furnishings were simple and neat.

We then started off our night with drinks made in-house.

[1] Drinks[a] Iced Roselle Tea $1.50
Iced Barley $1.50
[c] Iced Citrus $1.50
[d] Iced Honey Plum $2.00

- Among these 4 drinks, I love iced honey plum the most. Slight sourish yet very refreshing, it gave me more appetite to eat more! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[2] Salted Vege Duck Soup $4.50 per bowl

 

- Among the varieties of soup, salted vegetable duck soup was one of the top choice since Paya lebar days as told by my friend. But the bowl I had, although packed with essence from the duck, it contained too strong ginger aftertaste, the soup tasted more spiced than salty. My personal vote still goes to Lotus root soup. Nevertheless, it's still tummy warming on a cold day. 👍🏼👍🏼

[3] Kay Lee Savory Meat Roll $6.90 per portion

 

- "Ngoh Hiong" was how I usually called these meat rolls, were one of the snacks offered here. There's also crispy chicken, fish nuggets, breaded shrimps etc on the snacks menu. These ngoh hiong were very meaty, wrapped with the thinnest bean curd skin but if only there were more chestnuts inside to increase the crunch. 👍🏼👍🏼

[4] Shrimp Dumpling Noodle/ Wanton Noodles $5.00 per portion

 

 

- If you let me choose between shrimp dumplings and wantons, I chose the first. Reason being I love shrimps thus love the combination taste of shrimps and minced pork, rather than pork alone which were usually the case in wantons. The black fungus added in the dumpling fillings increased the crunchiness too, I liked! Noodles texture was springy, goes pretty well with the light sauce and fragrant oil mixed in. 👍🏼👍🏼

[5] Char Siew Noodles $5.00 per pax

 

- Char siew was nicely roasted to a beautiful color, then glazed with honey to give the sweet finish. Meat texture was abit hard and chewy as our portion did not contain much fats. Quite disappointed as char siew meat should have ratio of 50% meat: 50% fats to obtain that divine enjoyment on our palate. As for the noodles, it tasted better when I mixed in the braised soya sauce (lor chap) meant for the roast meat platter. 👍🏼

[6] Three Combi Roast Meat Platter $44.00 (comes with 6 rice)

 

- Char siew I had mentioned earlier so I just go straight to the roasted duck and roasted pork belly. Duck was nicely roasted, came with charred fragrant and skin with a crisp. Breast meat part was a little dry but dip into the dark braised sauce or plum sauce provided for a more savory taste. Pork belly well marinated with spices and the saltiness level just right. If only the skin was more crackling... 👍🏼👍🏼

Other than the dishes mentioned above, Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint now serves traditional chinese desserts too but only at Suntec city branch. There were red bean cream with glutinous rice balls, ginger tea with glutinous rice balls and yam paste.

 

 

We were honored to enjoy these desserts tonight, all thanks to Ms Noelle, marketing personnel from Kay Lee, who brought them over to Tanjong katong branch for us to try out.

 

Among these 3, my vote goes to yam paste. It was so smooth and fine-detailed, texture really creamy. Happy it wasn't too overly sweet and its vegetarian too 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

** Overall experience at this Tanjong Katong outlet was pleasant. When Miss Noelle told us fatty meats were mostly sent to Upp. Paya lebar shop, we were really disappointed. We felt all outlets should standardized. Food items and prices wasn't same across all outlets too. Hits and misses bound to have, but I felt that this household brand for more than 30 years definitely have a way of survival for another 30 years! Maybe one day we will see Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint in foodcourts islandwide.**

Read full reviews and more food photos at http://jellylovesfood.blogspot.sg

📍 Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint
283 Tanjong Katong Road
Singapore 437066
Tel: 6594 2204
Opens daily
Mon to Fri 12noon - 9pm
Sat/ Sun/ PH 11am - 9pm
More details & outlet details here:
http://www.kayleeroastmeatjoint.com/stores.html

My jelly ratings:
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 Yummy
👍🏼👍🏼 Not too bad
👍🏼 Needs improvement
👎🏼 I won't take a 2nd bite/look

[East 8]Named after a street in New York City, East 8 New York Fusion Tapas + Bar land their feet in Singapore 3 years ago. Popular with lotsa their own cocktail creations, most of the customers here, drinks. Situated at a unit just beneath Grand Park Hotel, location was an advantage for hotel guests/ tourists to patronize other than our own locals.
Heard news that they were ending their business so came to give our last support.
(1) Kimchi Apple Salad $15.00- Rocket leaves given were too much, causing bitter aftertaste while kimchi apple cubes, cherry tomatoes & bacon paired together were pitifully little. The dressing served were too minimal to get the leaves soaked. Proportions of the ingredients wasn't right and I felt like eating a bowl of grass.
(2) Kimchi Potatoes $14.00- I always loved roasted potatoes with skin on and glad this dish had it all. Roasted potato cubes, loads with kimchi, then covered with thick, melted triple cheese on top. So cheesy with tingling sourish moments from the kimchi, it was an interesting delicious combi.
(3) Yuzu Miso Scallops $16.00- Scallops were very thinly sliced, drizzled with yuzu miso dressing and topped with salmon roe. Scallop was soft & slight mushy, texture improved with salmon roe popping inside our mouth. Yuzu zest wasn't distinctive but surprisingly the dressing ends with a liquor aftertaste (or izzit just me?).
(4) Wings n Kicks $13.00- Chicken mid wings tossed in chilli lime lemongrass sauce. The crispy, zesty lemongrass infused skin was a to-die-for. A western dish infused with Thai elements, I like! Savoury & great with a beer or two.
(5) Molten Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Lava Cake $15.00- A great marriage between two rich flavours, Peanut butter & dark chocolate. My love was to the slightly burnt sides (sticking to the pan), together with the center molten peanut butter and almond nuts, it was HEAVEN! French vanilla ice cream given was too small to mention, not even a full scoop and tasted too milky. Well, lava can do without this ice cream lah.Verdict: Nice ambience for gatherings with friends or colleagues. Hidden in a dim cosy corner, it's definitely a great drinking place (too bad I don't drink). Food wise, pretty decent but yet to wow. Prices abit steep for the small portion tapas meant for 下酒菜 but the great service rendered balances off bit of my heartpain-purse. Nevertheless, still sad to know that they are going into history as hotel is undergoing major renovation. Hope to see them again around soon.

East 8
Grand Park Hotel
10 Coleman Street
#01-21/22
S179809
Tel: 6338 8289

[Street 50 Restaurant & Bar]
First impression of Street 50 restaurant was cosy, elegance, with dark colored furniture used throughout the whole space. Quiet environment with mostly tourists dining here, it would be a perfect venue for meals without much disturbance.
This upcoming Christmas and New Year, Street 50 restaurant had come up with festive buffet for you guys to enjoy great food at affordable prices.
(1) Salmon Carpaccio with Corriander and Pinenut Vinaigrette- Love the start off with salmon carpaccio. Salmon was fresh and pairs well with the zesty pinenut vinaigrette dressing. I took my share in 1 whole bite and enjoyed the corriander leaves fragrance bursting in my mouth when chewed.
(2) Smoked Oyster & Crab cake- Crispy breaded batter wrapped with lotsa fresh crabmeat and smoked oysters. Smoked oysters was cleverly added in to provide the overall saltiness. Sauce drizzled on top was sambal chilli with pineapple bits. A unique combi to provide some asian touch to this dish. The best dish of the night.
(3) Bay scallop with Warm Tomato Essence- Tomato essence was too overpowering in this dish. I could only taste the sourness of tomato and not the sweetness of the scallop. Radish shreds were paired together to give that extra crunch.
(4) Seafood Paella- A beautifully crafted bowl of paella filled with fresh prawns, squids, white clams, scallops, mussels, tomatoes and olives. Pretty appearance but tasted otherwise. Spanish rice texture was mushy and tasted bland. Seafood were overly cooked and turned out dry, especially the squids which were tough to chew.
(5) Black Pepper Alaska Crab Claw with Gingko Nut- You heard it right! Alaskaaaaa crab claws at Street 50 festive buffet spread! The spicy peppery sauce made me kept going for more, it's never enough. The flesh were firm, although slight salty but I still love them. Kitchen staff were also sweet enough to pre-slit the claws for our easy consumption. Chef's idea of adding gingko nuts to this dish was just to add a little Asian twist to it. But was it necessary, opinions differ.
[Optional] Take the Spanish rice with this black pepper sauce, it's yum!
(6) Smoked Tandoori Turkey Breast- What's Christmas without turkey? This big sharing portion was enough to go round our table twice. Meat was soft but slight dry, common when comes to breast meat. Two different sauces were served: Cucumber Corriander and Pineapple Sweet chilli. Personally I preferred the cucumber corriander sauce but corriander can be heavier. The sweet chilli sauce was just common.
(7) Crepe Suzette- A french dessert with a very nice tangy aroma when served. Crepes were soaked in a sweet caramelized tangerine sauce topped with a slice of the fruit. Crepe was too chewy for my liking, felt like eating our chinese "min jiang kueh" but it does works well with this citrus sauce. Definitely a sweetness overloading dessert.
There were other highlights at this buffet such as Roasted boneless lamb leg, Crayfish printanier, Baked prawns with red current and ginger compote, Blue mussels bourguignon, Christmas log cake and many more. So what are you waiting for? Book your seats now.
"Bejewelled Christmas By The Bay"
Festive Buffet Promotion Period:
- 24 & 31 Dec '15
$68++ Per Adult
$32++ Per Child (6-12yrs)
- 25 & 26 Dec '15, 1 & 2 Jan '16
$58++ Per Adult
$28++ Per Child (6-12yrs)
Maybank credit cardholders enjoy 1 dines free with 2 paying adults privilege.
Street 50 Restaurant and Bar
Bay Hotel Singapore
50 Telok Blangah Road
Singapore 098828
Dining reservations: +65 68186681
www.bayhotelsingapore.com