photos and more: http://andmorefood.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/loolas-by-awfully-chocolate-town/

looks good, tastes not-so-good is happening alarmingly frequent nowadays – and it’s even sadder when desserts are the object of discussion. when you have chocolate and sugar and butter floating about in a little baked good, it’s depressing when they don’t end up being good. how can that even happen!

these were lackluster – very, very unimpressive. they weren’t too terrible to eat, but most certainly not worth the price nor the wait. it’s a pity, because the cafe itself is lovely – conducive for intimate conversation, spacious enough for comfortable seating.

I wonder if we went in expecting too much, but reality did quickly deflate our hopes – much like their soufflé.

supposedly a green tea pistachio riser of roast ground pistachios, green tea soufflé and a vanilla bean emulsion – this was really just a sweet omelette and lots of air. no matcha flavour, and no discernible pistachio – when we asked, the waiter came back after ‘consulting the chef’ that the flavours were to be subtle. I would argue they were so subtle as to be non-existent.

we hopped on the waiter’s rather enthusiastic recommendation of their loola’s floating island – crusty meringue, loola’s brownie, brandy flambé and a vanilla bean infused sauce. the good thing: enough salt in the brownie to bring out the chocolate and entertainment in brandy on fire; the bad: dry-almost-crumbly brownie encased in a too sweet meringue surrounded by a pool of sweet sauce. I had thought it would be too sweet – and it was.

but at the end of it – the food was just sad. I’m not wiping this place out entirely – I thought it was aesthetically-gorgeous (much like its desserts). it was a calm, serene sit-down place good for post-dinner, and really good for a bit of chat.

photos and more: http://andmorefood.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/jones-the-grocer-town/

disappointing expensive dessert at this town outpost of the australian delicatessen newly opened on the top floor of the ion orchard mall. I wish this place actually served good food – orchard really is lacking in nice places you can sit down for a break between shopping – but I think I’ll be sticking with the marmalade pantry for now.
we had a sticky toffee pudding and a lemongrass panna cotta, both rather doleful renditions. the toffee pud looked great but the ice cream was icy and the cake was microwaved. i’ll give them credit for a good salty caramel though, dark and addictive – I was using this to help finish our order of the pannacotta.

the pannacotta was an insult to its name; this was a firm pudding, closer in texture to and gelatinous like an asian mango pudding, almost bouncy.

I wish this place had worked out – but it really didn’t. it’s just as expensive as you’d expect it to be – not ridiculous for the area but you’re much better off going shopping with that money (or head downstairs to the marmalade pantry).

photos and more: http://andmorefood.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/jones-the-grocer-town/

disappointing expensive dessert at this town outpost of the australian delicatessen newly opened on the top floor of the ion orchard mall. I wish this place actually served good food – but I think I’ll be sticking with the marmalade pantry for now - I haven’t tried their savory items, so while I can’t give you a full low-down on the cafe, the desserts sure don’t provide any impetus to return.

we had a sticky toffee pudding and a lemongrass panna cotta, both rather doleful renditions. the toffee pud looked great but the ice cream was icy and the cake was microwaved. the pannacotta was an insult to its name – this was a firm pudding, closer in texture to and gelatinous like an asian mango pudding, almost bouncy. that lemongrass proved a soapy aftertaste – coupled with the jelliness of the pannacotta, it felt almost like eating some sort of soap gel.

I do wish this place had worked out – but it really didn’t. it’s just as expensive as you’d expect it to be – not ridiculous for the area but you’re much better off going shopping with that money.

photos and more here: http://andmorefood.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/dean-deluca-singapore-town/

incredibly disappointing and wholly vapid food – even after tempered expectations – at the dean & deluca cafe in orchard central. I’ve been to their pretty shop – with highly magnified prices – before, read the dismal reviews everywhere on the blogosphere – and I still went because I was drawn to an image I saw online of their pancakes. it was a regrettable experience, and one that’s made me feel quite a bit foolish.

the pancakes seemed commercially pre-made and were rather stodgy, and the smoked salmon sandwich with scrambled eggs terribly salty. we left wholly disappointed – and it was a pretty expensive meal, especially for what we got – and so the emptiness of the cafe even at dinnertime (yes, I like breakfast for dinner) is rather justified. pretty place, pretty food, terrible taste – perhaps you might be better off going for their cheese counter or charcuterie and doing a takeaway with all their gourmet products. just steer clear of the food.

photos and more here: http://andmorefood.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/amuse-bar-global-tapas-town/

the most impressive dish we had – and their most famous: an egg wrapped in crispy ciabatta and topped with ham. a modernesque blumenthalesque rendition of a ham-and-egg-sammie with unctous yolk and proper ham, served over truffled jus and spinach: terrifically good. if the rest of the meal had followed in this vein, it would have been amazing – but it didn’t.

the restaurant is done up in black and red – modern colours rather in line with the robuchon chain, but which I think looks a little gaudy in the daytime. it was empty when we arrived (rendering my reservation unnecessary), and there was a single waitress who recommended everything on the menu – not a good sign.

we paid too much for the entire meal – in contrast, I think the egg was well-worth it, even reasonably-priced – and were pretty glad we went easy on the ordering. it’s also a good thing there were no celebratory aspirations staked on this meal. not worth coming to, unless merely for the eggs.