For full review & more photos - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/04/birthday-dinner-at-white-rabbit.html

I've been wanting to check this restaurant out since I stumbled upon pictures of its beautiful interiors on the web. I finally got my wish when my sistas asked where I wanna go for my birthday celebrations this year!The White Rabbit restaurant was a former military chapel, the name comes from the rabbit in the novel Alice in Wonderland, which was written in the 1860s, around the same time the British Military took over Dempsey hill and built barracks to house their families there. This century old chapel has been beautifully restored and converted into a modern European diner.We were blown away by the awesome and wonderfully preserved interiors. Majority of the original interior of the chapel was kept, with additions of modern touches such as aircon and furniture, the conversion of the former priest quarters into the kitchen, and the sacred altar into a chic bar counter.They have a main Ala Carte menu, a Drinks menu with a long list of wines and other alcoholic drinks and a handful of non alcoholic beverages. For dinner, they also have a 4 course Prix Fixe menu priced at $98++, additional $58++ for wine pairing option.Warm bread was served right after we were seated. Choice of regular mini baguette or the tomato roll. Check out the pretty looking chilled butter that comes with the bread!I had the tomato roll and it has a soft and fluffy center with crackling crust...nice!
4 of my sistas chose the 4 course set dinner while I shared the Black Truffle Roast Free-range Chicken for two $76++ (min 30-40mins waiting time) with one of my sistas. Both of us also ordered sides to go with the chicken.The serving staff presented the freshly roasted whole chicken to us first before whisking it away to the kitchen for carving and plating. The chicken was cooked just right, the meat was tender and moist and very well scented by the generous amount of black truffle mushrooms. The truffle infused natural jus that comes with the chicken was amazing as well...thumbs up!
For sides, I picked the English Peas w/ Crisp bacon $8++, while my sista had the Truffle Mac & Cheese $16++. My green peas were disappointingly dry and wrinkled, and bacon bits found in it weren't crispy at all. My sista was very happy with her Mac & Cheese though, and the dish looked fabulous too.The 4 course set dinner consists of a Salad, Starter, Main & Dessert.
Salad Niçoise, an ensemble of tuna, french beans, soft boiled egg, potatoes & anchovy. My sista was fine with everything in this salad accept for the fishy anchovy.Wagyu Carpaccio, sprinkled with shaved parmesan, celery cress, balsamic pearls and topped with truffle cream. This was suppose to be TWR's signature Starter dish but 2 out of 3 sistas found the dish too salty for their liking.Another sista topped up $8++ for the premium Starter Foie Gras Duet. Done two ways, salt-cured with apple flan and pan seared with cherry compote. The seared liver was soft and creamy which she liked, but the salted version didn't impress her as much.Seabass en Papillote, fish fillet steamed in a parcel made from baking parchment, infusing it with natural flavor of the assorted vegetables. The fish has a very light taste which goes well with the flavorful and aromatic broth.36-hours Brandt Short Ribs (top up $8++) served with truffle miso glaze, parsnip purée and field mushrooms. The short ribs was very well marinated and tender but the portion was rather small though.Dessert time. White Chocolate Soufflé $18++, made with Valrhona Opalys white chocolate and served with dark chocolate ice cream. The souffle was unusually tall and holds its shape really well, it didn't collapse even after a couple of minutes wait (while we're busy photographing other desserts). Its texture was super fluffy and light as air...this warm dessert pairs impeccably well with the icy cold ice cream. One of the best souffle we had!My dessert choice, Crêpes Suzette with Grand Marnier, Flambéed tableside $18++. We were very excited about the live preparation of this dessert by our tableside. All of us turned into paparazzi for a couple of minutes!After a 'fiery' performance by the restaurant staff, I was elated to see the special plating for my dessert! Beautifully written 'Happy Birthday' on my plate The crepes were soft and fully infused with orange liquor aroma, it has a tangy aftertaste that goes well with the sweet vanilla ice cream...delish.
We ordered some drinks during dinner, and I had the French Rose tea $9++. Organic french rose buds was used here, and it was served with a cute little rabbit cookie by the cup.The tea has a powerful rose fragrance and leaves a lovely aroma in my mouth every time I sipped it. A refreshing drink to have with rich tasting food.
Some of my sistas had cocktails and mocktails. I got mixed reviews from them in terms of taste, but all of us agreed on the eye-pleasing presentation.
Bettina $10++ with lime, orange, lychee, apple in soda, Isabella $10++, a fruity juice with Sarawak pineapple and seasonal grapes and And, Elderflower Grape Fruit Fizz $18++, a mixture of Gin, grapefruit juice, lime juice, elderflower syrup, egg white and club soda.The White Rabbit is an utterly charming place to dine in, the ambiance is 100 marks! Service was excellent, and they do serve magnificent food...if you know what to order. I would say the Ala Carte dishes are more worthwhile than the set meals cos the salad and main courses' portions are kinda lacking (to justify the hefty price tag). I would gladly return to this 'wonderland' to try out their popular weekend brunch!

Even before my impending Macau trip I'm already bingeing on my fave Koi Kei's almond cookies. This time round we bought their phoenix rolls to try too.

The Koi Kei flagship store at Temple street, Chinatown.There's several variation of almond cookies available and we bought 3 types back after trying the samples.

Original whole almond cookie (12pcs) $12.10
Almond cookie w/ egg yolk (12pcs) $14.40
Salted almond cookies (12pcs) $12.10Koi Kei's owner is very particular with the quality of his cookies and insisted to use imported high quality whole almonds for making the cookies (I learned that from 巨輪). Their cookie really stands out from every other almond cookie I've ever tasted. Other than having intense real almond aroma, every cookie is loaded with crushed almond bits, giving it extra crunch.The salted egg yolk ones does not have crushed almond bits but has distinct taste of savory salted egg yolk. The salted baked almond cookies is the best, its slightly salty and contains the crushed almond that I liked...my fave among the three.

I had wanted to try the seaweed phoenix rolls but they don't carry this item at SG outlet so we got the normal Phoenix Rolls $8.90 instead.This version contains half pork floss and half grated coconut, its sweet rather than sweet & savory like the seaweed version. I guess I will have to wait till I'm in Macau to get my hands on them.

Service staffs there are very friendly and professional, you'll feel great shopping at Koi Kei.

for full review & more photos - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2013/11/koi-kei-bakery.html

鸿食藝 Food Artistry is one of the dining & art jamming concept restaurants under Arteastiq. This place serves up traditional Chinese cuisine with a modern twist. This is the venue of choice for our November birthday celebration with fellow sistas.

The restaurant decor, inspired by olden chinese ways of the affluent community spending the day sipping tea and listening to chirping birds in cages, has a ceiling full of hanging bird cages painted in black, giving it a modern touch. In stark contrast with the all black ceiling is pristine white tables and chairs with some being 'caged' up in fuschia pink dividers.We had a big group so we were allocated seating outside the pink 'cages'. Table setting is in consistent with the white theme with touches of black.

The menu, with food items being carefully divided into various categories. They have good selection of items in every category. There is also a Set menu with set meals available for 1pax - 8pax.As the prices are on the steep side for main courses, we decided to order assorted dim sum dishes and 2 fried rice to share. The kids also shared 1pax set meals.

Instead of peanuts or pickles, we had Beancurd skin salad 凉拌豆腐皮 $3++ (charged as pickle dish on bill) served at every table. This was delicious, the springy beancurd skin is tossed with vinegar, chili oil and shredded cucumber for extra crunch.This being the 2nd visit to an Arteastiq restaurant, I ordered Lychee Tea $8.90++ (cold) from the premium tea section and viola, this is how the tea set looks like...cute isn't it?Other than just looking cute, this tea was bursting with lychee flavor and was refreshingly sweet. These delish teas were initially priced at $11++ and would come on a nice tray with a shot glass of sugar and a cookie/biscuit, similar to those we had at Museo. But they have since revised the price downward and do away with the nice presentation.

The first dish to arrive at the table was the Fried rice w/ crabmeat, dried scallop & egg white $16.90++. This pricey dish didn't score in the looks department but amazes us with rich flavors of crabmeat and savory dried scallops. It was perfectly fried with enough wok hei and the egg white compliments the crabmeat really well...everyone was singing praises after having the first mouthful!The dim sum dishes started arriving in custom made Japanese style wooden steamers. We had the Custard & Salted egg yolk buns $4.90++ first, it was really good, with buns being soft and fluffy and the filling was thick and flowy. Thumbs up.Shanghai Xiao Long Bao $7.90++, this was another stellar dish, the juicy marinated minced pork was swimming in a big pool of broth! We were all pleasantly surprised with the amount of broth these thinly skinned dumplings can contain. This is yummier than the Din Tai Fung ones in my opinion...must try!Crispy mango prawn rolls w/ sesame seeds $4.90++, this was delish too. The skin was dotted with aromatic roasted sesame seeds and the savory prawn meat filling blends well with the tangy mango puree...yums.The much anticipated Twelves beauties 金陵十二钗 $25.90++, consists of 6 pairs of the restaurant's signature dim sum. Impressive presentation!The Sesame glutinous rice dumpling was not bad, nice and chewy with not too sweet red bean paste. The Crispy wanton was packed with crunchy fresh prawns and the savory Chicken wrap with crispy prata skin was pretty good though.

Dining experience here was very pleasant with fantastic food, chic & cozy ambiance and decent service from the waiting staffs. I highly recommend the dim sum dishes for those who doesn't have a deep pocket as they are great value for money!

For full review & more photos - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2013/11/lunch-at-hong-shi-yi-food-artistry.html

Met up with girl friends to try out the much rave about afternoon tea at Landing Point restaurant. They are having a purple themed X'mas decor...nice!This place was formally the Clifford pier (红灯码头), now converted into a hotel. This place is nicely decorated with tall ceiling, plush sofa and scenic seaview..There is a selections of cold/hot coffee and TWG tea. I chose the Silver moon, some of my friends ordered ice latte and ice fruit tea..After sometime, the much awaited 3 tier goodies arrived. We had a X'mas menu due to the festive season. Top and bottom tier are sweet items and middle tier has a range of savory items.

The 4 items on top are hazelnut cream choux pastry, orange choco opera cake, madeleines and cinnamon creme brulee choc tart.At the middle, there are turkey wrap, onion quiche, salmon cone, egg mayo toast, cheese biscuit, parma ham burger, smoke salmon & cucumber sandwiches. Bottom tier has cinnamon macaroon, mince pie, x'mas fruit cake and butter cookie.

Some of my food choices...the best sweet item is the cinnamon creme brulee choc tart...thumbs up! I also liked the hazelnut cream choux pastry...not too sweet and the puff is soft. The orange choco opera cake is not bad but sweet, the madeleines are too sweet. The macaroon is nice and light and not too sweet, the mince pie and fruit cake is disgusting sweet. Butter cookie was alright.The savories are more popular with the girls, we had multiple servings of turkey wrap, salmon sandwich, egg mayo toast, onion quiche and the cheesy biscuits..the salmon cone is quite good but they didn't replenish often and we had to ask for it, so was the yummy creme brulee tart..

During the tea, some items not on the menu was served...there is raspberry cream cake in a shot glass, mont blanc cake and mini choc log cake...we were very full by then and only tasted the sour/sweet raspberry cake...it was not bad.We had a nice time catching up over tea and yummy finger food here. The service here was very good, ambience was nice and relaxing and food was of high quality. We paid $46 per pax after 10% discount using UOB card...my verdict is it is worth the price to dine here.

For full review and more photos please see - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2012/12/hi-tea-at-landing-point-fullerton-bay.html

Full review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2015/06/goodwood-park-durian-fiesta-taiwan.html

Evil sistas food adventures continues, and our latest haunt is Coffee Lounge at Goodwood Park Hotel. There is a Durian Fiesta promo going on (30 May - 2 Aug 2015) and special durian pastries are offered as part of the Dessert buffet spread, on top of regular desserts, for daily Lunch and Dinner sessions.

A couple of dining options are available during the Durian Fiesta:

- $35.80++ per person (Dessert Buffet with Durian Pastries only)

- $28.80++ per person (Top-up of Dessert Buffet with Durian Pastries w/ any ala carte main course order)

- $49.80++ per adult, $24.90++ per child (Taiwan Porridge A La Carte Buffet, inclusive of Dessert Buffet w/ Durian Pastries)Greedy us opted for the Taiwan Porridge buffet with the Durian Dessert buffet option. The Taiwanese porridge at Goodwood Park have been an all-time-favorite for decades, and I've finally got the opportunity to savor it, together with my fave durian pastries!

The porridge buffet menu includes unlimited order of Sweet potato porridge, and an ala carte selection of 31 Savory dishes to go with it. We ordered over 10+ items from the 8 different categories, and really stuffed ourselves silly with yummy food.Shredded bamboo shoots w/ chilli oilSalted eggs & Salted fishDeep-fried pomfret w/ black soya sauceSauteed prawns w/ dried chilliBaby squid in sweet oyster sauceHome style tofuPrawn paste chickenFried omelette w/ chye pohPork w/ preserved vegetablesFrench beans w/ dried shrimpsBroccoli w/ garlic

All of the dishes were very good, my personal fave are the crunchy and refreshing Bamboo shoots, crispy Pomfret fish, the fresh and mildly spicy Prawns, sweet and crispy Baby squid and the flavorful bite-size Prawn paste chicken. There are several dishes that I'm still keen to try but couldn't make space in my stomach anymore.

And so, we made our way to the Dessert buffet station and check things out.Live station á la minute Durian PancakesDurian Mousse CakeDurian PuffsDurian Chocolate Wafer RollsDurian Cappuccino CakeDurian MacaronsTau Suan & Red bean soup hot dessertsNonya kuehsIn addition to the usual dessert spread, 7 Durian creations are available;

- D24 Durian Ice Cream w/ Rainbow Bread (one serving per guest, or ala carte at $7.50++ per serving)

- Durian Macaron

- Mini Durian Chocolate Wafer Roll

- Durian Cappuccino Cake

- Durian Mousse Cake

- Durian Puffs

- Live station á la minute Durian Pancakes

As I'm already feeling quite full, I only took the 6 durian pastries from the buffet station, and ordered the last item through the waiting staffs.Durian Ice Cream w/ Rainbow Bread

My fave items were the Durian Pancake, Chocolate Wafer Roll, Durian Cappuccino Cake and the Macarons. The Durian Mousse Cake and the Durian Puffs which weren't chilled anymore, tasted quite disgusting. That is not the case if I buy them frozen from the Deli, and kept them fresh in the freezer. I'm also a little disappointed with the Durian Ice Cream w/ Rainbow Bread, the colorful bread was really dry and we ended up only eating the ice cream which was very delicious.

The Durian Fiesta doesn't just end here, well at least not for me. I bought more durian goodies from the Deli (the bakery beside the main lobby), and took advantage of my UOB credit card's 15% discount. Some of the items were bought earlier, but I shall share all of them here.Durian Rainbow Ice Cream Cakes ($11.75 each)Durian Puffs (2 for $8.55/ 6 for $21.40/ 20 for $51.35)Durian Macarons ($22.45 for 6pcs)The 20pcs Durian puffs are a must buy for me every year (they have a temp. kiosk at Compass Point yearly). The puffs are one of the best in town, with durian cream filling of at least 1 inch thick, and it's always satisfying to have them with warm beverages. The Macarons are new creation for this year, the chocolate shells matches the durian center perfectly, but they're quite sweet though. And lastly, the photogenic Durian Rainbow Ice Cream Cakes tasted as excellent as they looked.

Although a tad pricey, I feel they are an occasional indulgence I have no qualms about paying for once a year.