Within just a short 20 minutes waitThe famous French roasted chicken Poulet Roti ($15.80 for half, $28.80 for whole) was served after the announcement of all the good news. Here's how the story for this supposedly amazing poultry goes - the entire chicken was brined for a full day in a traditional recipe before being placed in the rotisserie for a slow roast till the skin turns to a golden brown. We have to give it to the french when it comes to presentation. The sight of the beautifully roasted chicken was enough to whet our appetite and get us all hungry. On its own, the chicken was tender and succulent but not amazing yet. It only manages to hit home run with its home made mushroom Chardonnay sauce, that's what gave it the X factor.

Mediterranean Stew Lamb Shank ($15.80) consisted of baby lamb shank stewed with root vegetables and rosymary in its own jus infused with orange. The lamb meat was nice and soft but diners who are not comfortable with the distinctive smell of lamb should steer away from this dish. I am afraid I could not sense traces of orange infusion at all.

Braise De Canard ($15.80) was braised duck leg in sweet wine sauce on baby spinach topped with cranberry and glazed shallot. I came to the conclusion that the chefs here are pretty good with their meat. The dulcet wine sauce was truly an additional bonus!

Iberico Pork Belly ($15.80) consisted of braised Spanish iberico pork belly served with mashed potato, leek confit and double mustard. I am not sure if I am personally biased towards pork belly in general but it is just impossible to go wrong with this delectable part of the pig. Ladies need not be overly concerned. Despite the word belly, the meat was still pretty lean overall with mild hints of fats in every bite. This is definitely my favourite dish for the evening!

To sum it up, Poulet offers casual French dining that's decent and won't hurt your pocket.

For full review and photos, please visit http://www.aspirantsg.com/poulet-the-french-roasted-chicken-flew-to-chinatown-point/

Not known to many of the younger Singaporeans, the very spot where the cafe stands used to be the canteen of the former River Valley Swimming Complex. The cafe conserved the wall and floor mosaic tiles from its nostalgic 1970’s.

Bulk of the cafe sitting spaces are outdoors which makes it quite a 'hot' chill out place during the day. This was really a pity because I really loved how they spruce up the area with recycled pellets and the bright pink chairs. Nevertheless, I know where to bring my BFFs for post dinner coffee and cakes.

For those who can't take the blazing noon time heat (like me), you either have to call and reserve your table a few days in advance or keep your fingers cross. There are 2 table tops and a long side table in the air-conditioned area. Thankfully, we managed to secure one of the round tables. Overheard the owner sharing with his other customers that the kitchen behind the 'Keep Calm' wall used to be the swimming pools male changing room. What an incredible change of use!

The staffs were amazingly friendly and attentive. Coffee & tea were promptly served within minutes after we have made our orders. That's my cappuccino.

Both our orders were served together. Great job on the service! That's my friend's order of TFBB Champion Breakfast ($23.00) - a really heavy brekkie which consist of 2 poached eggs served on a toasted brioche, roasted rosemary potatoes, garlicky mushrooms, swirly sage chicken sausage and 2 chicken chipolata (to replace a side of beef bacon as he does not take beef). Despite his usual big appetite, he did not manage to clear his plate. The portion was just too huge.

I opted for Towkay Ng’s Egg Benedict ($11.50). Not sure why I kept calling it Towkay Neo, was there a Mediacorp drama with Towkay Neo previously? Anyway, mine was a much smaller breakfast with 2 poached eggs served on a toasted brioche, sauteed spinach, roasted rosemary potatoes and an Italian version of a Hollandaise. The treatment of the eggs was perfect but I am not that excited about Italian Hollandaise. It's a significantly watered down version of the original hollandaise, doesn't taste as sinful. As much as we would love to try Today's Special, our stomach had absolutely no more room for more.

Still, we went over to their cakes counter to check out their offerings. The Ab Fab Red Velvet Cake (Single $9.00, Whole 9" $90.00, Cupcakes (by the dozen) $4.50) looks absolutely stunning! Plus they use only valrhona chocolates to bake it.

Their Green Tea Almond Praline (Single $7.50, Whole $75.00, Cupcake (by the dozen) $4.50) -an almond praline butter torte is filled and covered with a delicious swiss meringue Macha butter cream looks equally desirable.

Thanks for making my weekends fabulous, baker boy!

To read the full review with photos, please visit http://www.aspirantsg.com/the-baker-boy-at-viridian-arthouse-made-my-sunday-fabulous/

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/exquisite-french-christmas-eve-dinner-2fifteen-kitchen/singapore

My Christmas Eve Feast comes free this year with a lucky win from OpenRice Christmas Contest. This means ditching the traditional turkey and all for an exquisite 5 course French Dinner at 2fifteen Kitchen in Buona Vista’s Rochester Mall.

Having made reservations for 2, we were quickly settled in by an attentive waiter. If not for the win, I will need to fork out $98 per pax for what's to come next.

Bread was served for small talks before the course commence. Warm & crispy at the edge, the bread was perfect with the flavorful chilled tuna. Pity that only butter was served for the 2nd serving.

We started our festive meal with Sea-fruit Platter. The use of 'fruit' was not a spelling mistake, it was deliberate to highlight the delightful pairing of fresh seafood with fruits. The colourful dish included Poached Boston Lobster with Grapefruit and Citrus Oil, Warm Octopus Leg with Pomelo Jelly, and Oyster on Watermelon and Passionfruit Coulis.

The Oyster on Watermelon and Passionfruit Coulis was especially pleasing to the eye. The raw oyster accompanied by sweet watermelon and zesty passionfruit coulis offered an enjoyable erratic flavour that's hard to forget.

Next up was the lobster bisque-infused Brittany-style Scallop with Chorizo Sausage. The scallop delivered a lovely bouncy chew. There was too little of the sausage to make out much from it.

We moved on to Jerusalem Artichoke Soup and Duck Foie Gras with a touch of Garlic Oil. The gratifying soup was just what was needed to balance the richness of the foie gras.

For the main, we have a choice between the Australian 150-day grain-fed Beef Hanging Tender with Truffle Mashed Potatoes or Pan-seared Rosy Snapper Fillet with Crispy Herb’s Crust with Truffle Mashed Potatoes and Brown Jus.

The sweet ending to the 5-course meal was a dainty Chestnut ‘Christmas Tree’ Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream. Points awarded for the pretty layout but the 3-layer chestnut cake and ice cream was a little too ordinary. Fruits never really cut it when it comes to desserts for me.

Tea was ordered after our 5 course dinner to aid digestion. The side cookies are unbelievably cute!

The food borders between good & amazing but the service by the more experienced waiter was excellent.

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/celebrate-christmas-with-your-beloved-pets-sun-ray-cafe/singapore

Felt guilty at times when you left out your pets out from festive celebrations? Make this year an inclusive Christmas where your beloved pet gets to enjoy the company of family, friends and loved ones at pet friendly Sun Ray Café!

Located at 79 Brighton Crescent Serangoon Gardens, the café allow you to break away from Christmas dining at the clattery, overcrowded spaces in the city and enjoy a more relaxed pace at this secret find in Serangoon Gardens village. The café has consistently enjoyed mentions from Straits Times, 联合早报 (Lian He Zao Bao), 8-Days, i-Weekly, CHIC magazines, 9tro magazines as well as popular radio stations such as 938 Live, Symphony 924 and Love 972 FM. The award of ‘Best Loved Prawn Pasta’ by CozyCot was a further testimony of the café dedication to great taste and value for its customers.

North-easterners and pet owners from all over Singapore adore Sun Ray Café all day breakfast and house specialities such as Sun Salad, Asparagus & Bacon, Minute Steak & Eggs, Poached Salmon Fillet, Cumin Crusted Lamb Rack, Yorkshire Pork Racks or Paella Ala Valencia. You can check out them out in my previous post here.

However, we are now going to shine the limelight on the café latest Christmas Menu. Priced at S$60, diners get to enjoy a delectable six course Christmas Dinner that includes Amuse Bouche, Appetizer, Soup, Sorbet, Main and Dessert. The amazing part about the Christmas Menu is that everything was created out of fresh ingredients sourced by Chef Derrar and Chef 'Bob'. Nothing was obtained conveniently from a can, even down to the sorbet. Can't wait to get started!

We started with Amuse Bouche which literally meant Mouth Amuser in French. Amuse Bouches differ from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by diners but are selected and served according to the chef's selection alone. Our Amuse Bouche consist of Avocado & Salmon on Crostini, Beef Carpaccio & Truffles and Cherry Tomato & Mozzarella.

Beef Carpaccio & Truffles comprises sliced raw beef with truffle essence. The raw part sounded daunting at first but it turned out to pretty good. The meat was a little chewy but it went well with the truffle essence.

Smoked Salmon Roulade was the first of our 2 appetiser served. Smoked slowly over the oak wood strained with The Macallan, there is a faint presence of the premium single malt whiskey.

A closer look revealed its stuffing of mascarpone cheese, orange zest, dill herb, lemon juice and black caviar. The combination of the flavours was rather well managed.

Foie Gras was presented next. Duck fattened liver was marinated with port wine, brandy, cinnamon, salt, pepper and baked in bain marie for 20 minutes before being served with diced apple and pear accompanied by port wine and bitter chocolate sauce.

The health conscious would frown at the generous yellow concentrated duck fat. The fat tasted like cold salted egg yolk. It was a little too salty for me.

Lobster Bisque was our soup item for our Christmas Feast. This was one of the best lobster bisque that I have tasted. Carrot, celery, leek, onion, garlic, lobster meat and shell were cooked for a long period of time to dissolve the shell so as to intensify the flavour.

Before we start proper on the main, a shot of refreshing lemon and pineapple sorbet was offered to clean our pallet.

Moscato D'Asti was brought in while we were enjoying our desserts. This is a "Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita” (DOCG, controlled designation of origin guaranteed – the highest quality assurance label for Italian food products) sparkling white wine produced mainly in the Asti, Italy. It has also recently scored 88 points on the 100-point Wine Spectator published on 11/30/2012.

The wine is sweet and low in alcohol, and often enjoyed with dessert. Typically reminiscent of ripe melons and blossom, it has an uplifting perfume and although sweet, it is light and refreshing. Enough said, let's cheers to this wonderful meal!

First main up was Turkey Breast stuffed with chestnut, minced pork and served with roasted potato and cranberry sauce.

Unlike the usual dry and tough Turkey, the meat was delightfully tender and moist.

Our 2nd contender Salmon En Croute consist of salmon fillet seasoned to perfection with salt, pepper, lemon juice wrapped in filo pastry. It was served with Jerusalem artichoke and green asparagus with lemon, cream and white wine sauce.

Our final dessert was Christmas Pudding made from mixed dry fruits, brandy, cinnamon and served with creamy egg yolk brandy sauce.

You can choose to top up your Christmas Set with mocktails, cocktails or good old fashion coffee. For the alcoholics, there's Orgasm - a delicious drink made from Irish cream, coffee liqueur and an orange-flavoured liqueur, it's one of the sexiest cocktails in the world.

Or the cheeky Charlie Chaplin - a premium cocktail which was once one of the premium cocktails drunk at the famous Waldorf Astoria in the 1920, it has equal mixes of gin, lime and apricot brandy to create a gentle cocktail that is thick and sweet.

If you are driving, you may want get Out of the Beach (Not to be mistaken with Sex on the Beach). This is the cafe's all-time favourite.

Else you can also opt for Minty Cooler - A sparkling mixture of cranberry juice and mojito mint syrup.

Despite the café relatively modest background, its Senior Baristas Shermaine was trained by 3 award winning baristas from the acclaimed Oriole Coffee and 4 other staff are also trained Baristas from Specialty Coffee Association of Europe*. They know good coffee.

Of course, we were not the only ones enjoying ourselves.

The chefs prepared a lovely dish of Boiled Lamb for Shaun's Tracce too!

After a lovely meal, we could not resist taking a group photo with our talented chefs who made it happen!

Come visit Sun Ray Café from now till 31 December 2012 and enjoy 10% discount by simply being their Facebook Fan. Do remember to check out their Facebook time to time to get updates on their latest offerings and promotions!

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/antoinette-a-great-taste-of-french-hospitality/singapore or follow me on twitter for food reviews: https://twitter.com/AspirantSG

The health-conscious can dine in delight with Salade Antoinette ($16.50). Loved the refreshing combination of crab meat, boiled egg, tomato, pine nuts, toasted brioche and mixed greens sprinkled with yuzu dressing. Easy on the eye, it was a really good appetizer for a small group of 4.

Nordic Savory Crepe ($18.50) was crispy on the edge, we enjoyed the strong taste of smoked salmon that was accompanied by red onions, capers and dill cream cheese.

Their Morel Mushroom ($26.00) was a sight for sore eyes! This is a MUST order for all Carbonara lovers. It's good that the serving portion was appropriate, the intense creamy texture can get pretty overwhelming after a while.

If you are into burgers, check out Burger Antoinette ($20.00) which consist of Pan-fried apple, chicken leg patty, pommery mustard mayonnaise, butter lettuce, onion chutney, plump tomato, chips and petit salad with house dressing.

End the meal with their signature dessert - Antoinette (S$9 each). My fork just glided through this divine concoction of chocolate, earl grey and hazelnut with minimal resistance.

Although the menu was a little steep on the price tag, I feel that its worth it for the wonderful food and ambience.

You may also like to check out my posts on other delicious food places here