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After an impressionable tasting of what we regarded as the best croissants tasted found at Urban Bakery and Le Salon in Hong Kong, we had been on the hunt for a comparable find in homeland Singapore. It was by coincidence that we noticed Saint Marc Cafe, where a like-minded food enthusiast shared a photo of their appetizing signature 'Chococro' on Instagram.

Having learnt that Saint Marc originated from Japan and the raving reviews online, we admittedly visited with a certain level of expectations. Spoilt for choice with the spread of colourful desserts each looking equally tantalizing, we settled for the signature few.

'Little Fuji' (S$6.30/-)An interesting name certainly since many would be familiar with the famous Mount Fuji in Japan. Served on a beautiful golden brown delicious looking butter danish, the vanilla soft serve had viscous caramel sauce drizzled across. Digressing a little, soft serve is actually a type of ice cream which is generally lower in fat (<6%) as compared to traditional ice cream which could contain up to 16% fat. Air is also introduced into the mixture at the time of freezing with air content (typically termed 'overrun') up to 60% of the finished product. What makes it different from normal ice cream then? With a higher air content, it should ideally taste creamier, smoother, light and whiter in colour and that was exactly what we got with this 'Little Fuji'.

Personally, I do not have a good tolerance for excessively sweet desserts and this unfortunately fell into that category. I would imagine that the caramel sauce had undergone a thorough caramelization process where water is removed from the sugar mixture. It resulted in a sauce that was too sweet for my liking and I stopped pretty much after the first mouthful. The after taste of the caramel seemed a little artificial for our picky palate which we unanimously found reprehensible.

It would be unfair to fault the dessert without giving credit to the beautifully baked pastry. The butter danish pastry was everything we could ask for, a relatively generous serving with a nice crisp around the edges and a buttery fluffy inside to complement. I actually fell in love with the pastry and the soft serve but the caramel sauce left the dessert slightly distasteful.

Signature 'Chococro' (S$2.40/-)'Chococro' quite simply refers to chocolate croissant in short. This signature pastry had rich layers of fermented butter and margarine which gave a sharp crisp texture to the surface of the croissant and a strong buttery flavour. While precariously taking out the croissant from the orange pocket sleeve for the all important ceremony of photo-taking, thin layers of the pastry and the almond crunch bits got scrapped off. Most of the bits seemed to have spent a minute or two longer in the oven, leaving it slightly burnt. Oh well, either it was too fragile or I was too hasty. And before I forget, I certainly did not expect the croissant to be 30-40% smaller than the usual croissants!So, the photo-taking ceremony was over. I apologized for the mess created which somewhat did not make it look very appealing to my dining companions. The volume of the molten chocolate inside the croissant was certainly alot less than what I had in mind, so appearance wise I was already mildly disappointed. While the croissant was well baked, encased with a crisp firm crust and fluffy on the inside, the chocolate was artificial in taste and honestly if I tried it with my eyes closed, I would have thought that the chocolate popped from your classic 'Hello Panda' biscuit. It tasted exactly like that classic chocolate filling. Admittedly, I struggled to find myself being 'wow-ed' by this signature pastry regardless the raving reviews splashed all over.

Strawberry Croissant (S$2.60/-)Right, when I mentioned 'Hello Panda' earlier, the taste of the strawberry cream for this croissant tasted like its counterpart too - the 'Strawberry Hello Panda'. I did not know whether a cringe was an appropriate response upon the first bite. There was a lovely 'QQ' texture in the stuffed mochi, complemented with a smooth yet not overly sweet red bean paste was indeed something to salivate over. We loved the clever touch of introducing Japanese ingredients to a classic croissant but the 'Hello Panda' or if you like, 'Pocky' type of strawberry cream, served at this level was beyond redemption in my humble opinion. The spread of red bean paste was too thin to fully enjoy its taste, not to mention it being overwhelmed by the strawberry cream. We also found the crust of the strawberry croissant to be slightly different from the chocolate rendition with this texture on the limp side.

I do not know if my expectations were set too high but I was left largely disappointed having tried their signature offerings.The prices of the other desserts seemed reasonable, ranging from S$6-S$9 per serving. I would consider the serving to be on the generous side seeing what our neighbouring diners had to fix their sweet-tooth. The supposedly famous croissants paled in comparison to what we had tried in HK. Everything was pretty much self-service where you would be issued with a 'Beeping UFO' that basically beeps and alerts you when your order is ready for collection at the counter.

Special shout-out to those smartphone users (pretty much everyone out there...): there is a QR code near the counter where you could scan and register immediately with your name and email address. You will then be provided with a coupon that will entitle you to a 10% discount when you flash it while making payment!

It would be a nice chill-out place to chat with friends and enjoy some desserts to fix one's sweet-tooth craving. What we also liked was that they had an iced water dispenser which had free-flow access to dine-in customers. Umm, I might take my cue elsewhere if I needed some desserts around Vivocity.

With a sweet tooth like mine, there's always room for dessert! A catchy name with raving reviews, it's been a place I've been wanting to try out for quite some time. Though with its short opening hours, it's always hard to catch them especially if you're working.

Known for their red velvet cake as well as having one of the best carrot cakes in Singapore (acclaimed by some), it is no surprise that they run out of both rather quickly. After making the 4th trip down, I finally got my piece of red velvet cake, (it's either closed, or sold out every time I go) and of course, with high expectations tagged to it given that I've made so many trips down!

As usual, the carrot cake was sold out but I'm not a fan of carrot cakes either, so I ended up getting its red velvet and key lime pie.A refreshing twist to the usual sweet desserts, this is good for a little change to your taste buds. The lime was only moderately sour, so fear not if you'd usually cringe at sour plums or raw lime. It's more of the sweetened lime juice you get from most hawkers, made into the curd form. It was very soft and melted in our mouths almost immediately. Surprisingly good I would say. The tart, however, was a tad disappointing as it wasn't crispy enough to give that extra texture to the soft curd, and neither was it the buttery kind that melts in your mouth. It fell apart easily and didn't gel well with the lime curd. The meringue on top wasn't good either. It wasn't whisked till light and fluffy and ended up tasting like sweetened whipped cream.According to the owner (or so I thought since she's the only one I see there all the time), this is meant to be served at room temperature. So if you're buying it for takeaway and refrigerate it for later consumption, do remember to leave it out at least 30minutes prior to serving.

For fans of red velvet cake, I would say, this was the most disappointing piece I've ever tried! I thought it was because I had high expectations but after tasting, we all agreed that it was bad, even without knowing how red velvet is supposed to be like. To put it simply, this tasted like a slice of cheapo birthday sponge cake that you buy off the shelves in neighbourhood bakery stores. I'm not trying to be overly critical, but this simply isn't a fair impression for first-timers of red velvet. Feeling indignant, this was simply doing injustice to the simple yet indulgent dessert.

It wasn't moist enough and didn't have enough cocoa taste to it. The only redeeming factor is perhaps the cream cheese frosting but this time round, it didn't exactly lift the taste of it as it was just a combination of very sweet cake and frosting.

Honestly, I wasn't impressed at all with the quality of desserts, nor the taste of it. Its affordable prices and location in a central yet neighbourhood precinct was attractive to me, giving it a cosy and family-styled feel, but I felt that it had missed out the most important element of any food establishments - its taste. To me, taste should never be compromised for prices. Despite all the rave and good reviews I've heard and read, it isn't a place that I would recommend if you're serious about desserts. It certainly hadn't lived up to my expectations, though that's just based on the two that I've tried. And well, it's unlikely that I'd return again for another round for sure.

For full review and photos, please visit us at http://makeyourcaloriescount.blogspot.sg/2012/10/sg-housedempseys-vintage-tea-party.html

The idea of a tea party never fails to remind me of the scenes in Enid Blyton or Alice in the Wonderland. Recalling the long table filled with tiny bites surrounded by small Alice, the rabbit and many other characters with a whimsical touch to it, and how often the characters in Enid Blyton stories go for tea parties, childhood smells just so sweet.

An exclusive tea party that's only available every Thursdays and Fridays, 3 to 6pm, I was rather surprised to see how crowded it was on a weekday afternoon, right up in the corner of inaccessible Dempsey. Well, perhaps it was the high expectations I had after seeing the decor, hearing so much raving reviews and seeing the crowd on an unassuming Thursday. I thought that this place didn't live up to its hype and expectations created. Nonetheless, I thought there was a pretty good spread, with savory treats so that it doesn't just favour the ladies with sweet tooth like most high tea places do.Out of the different sandwiches they had, I loved this the most! Duck meat with jam, the savory and succulent duck meat went extremely well with the slightly sweet spread. Great combination!This was quite good as well, almost like those you can find in good spaghetti meatballs. The sauce on top, though little, was flavourful enough to go round the tender soft meatball. Somehow it was thick enough that you feel as though it's been covered with that bolognaise sauce, slightly on the sourish tomato side, much to my liking.This is a must-try for all mushroom lovers, if you like the strong flavour of mushrooms. It was a rather love-hate relationship for me as I like the flaky crust and the textures inside but the mushroom taste was just too overpowering for me. It was almost the same as the mushroom soup I've tried at PoTeaTo, or maybe even stronger. Loved how they made the slight creamy mixture though!Just as we were too occupied taking photos of our food and ourselves, the friendly servers came and offered us these petite little madelines, and gosh! The only regret I had was not taking more at that time. Served fresh from the oven, it was warm and had a crispy outside, with soft and fluffy insides that made you crave for more. It had just a tinge of sweetness to it and had a rich buttery aroma to it, that got me addicted.

And everything else from there just went downhill.Well, all these were just too creamy, with a super overdose of mayonnaise in it that made us feel rather jelat. I thought it would have been better too, if the foccacia had been slightly baked to give that extra crisp to the bite.Cold sandwiches just weren't my thing. And the spring roll was pretty out of place I thought. Nothing spectacular, just rearranged probably to look abit more fanciful.I've heard so much about skinny pizzas but haven't had the chance to. There's been very extreme reviews of skinny pizzas that always makes me hesitate at their doorsteps. First time trying, I must say I wasn't impressed at all and in fact, I was very disappointed. The crisp wasn't what I was looking for, and tasted as though it's been left in the open for a rather long time that the sauce from the toppings had seeped through and it lacked that oomph! in the sound of the crust cracking. It pretty much tasted like packaged potato chips, minus the salty condiments we usually have. The combination wasn't fantastic too, the best out of the lot was perhaps the squid ink, where the crust was slightly better and had a slight charcoal aroma to it. This won't get me to their skinny pizza store for sure.Cupcakes were too sweet, and the base's texture was kinda coarse for my liking. The tarts' crusts were too thick and weren't the crumbly type, tasted quite like the packaged sort of tart crusts. Eclairs were very disappointing, there was just too much flour and was extremely airy inside that there was probably only one strip of cream inside (just like what you see on the top). Plus it wasn't served chilled. In the tiny cup of pretty looking berries galore, it was filled with 70% cream, and just got too jelat after a while. The jam inside was also too sweet, the best part was perhaps the pistachio pieces on top.

Best of the lot was the choco-nut ball, where it tasted very much like ferrero rocher, with different layers inside and it was a good mixture that wasn't too sweet and slightly chewy.The cakes weren't up to standard, too compact and bland. You couldn't exactly taste the distinct flavours of the cakes. The blueberry cheesecake wasn't too bad, could have been better with a drier base.They weren't as good as the previous one as it wasn't warm anymore, but the crispy outside still made me satisfied. The orange cake was such a disappointment, tasting just like a moister version of sponge cake. I was expecting a stronger zesty flavour of the citrus fruit to come forth but it was just hidden in the sweetness of the jam and cake. Forgot to take a snapshot of the other side of the cake, it had a rather coarse texture to it that didn't sit well with me at all. The two petite cups were just an epitome of how you shouldn't judge a dessert by its looks.

As we were super dissatisfied with the standard of food served, we wanted to venture into their main menu to see if it was the same for their usual priced items instead of their free flow buffet.A little too adventurous for our own good, we gave up by the time we reached the third fry. The natural sweetness of the pumpkin couldn't be tasted at all and the first thing that struck us at the first bite was the strong taste of bad oil used in the frying. It left a somewhat bitter taste and it just got us rather sick soon after. Highly not recommended, in our opinion.

I have my qualms going back there after a lacklustre experience with the tea party. We thought it was pretty much sub-standard and I would very much prefer the Four Seasons Hotel Dessert Buffet for a wider variety, less the savory items, at almost the same price or maybe lesser (priced at $18 when I last visited). I must say they've got a pretty attractive menu though, probably worth a shot if you happen to be around the area. I'm rather tempted looking at this: http://www.dempseyhouse.com/media/dessert.pdf

For full review and photos: http://makeyourcaloriescount.blogspot.sg/2012/03/sg.html

'Wan dou sek' or printed on their shirt as 126, it is a very family-styled Char Chan Teng that serves dim sum. With a rather deceiving display shelf at the front of the store, I almost thought that it was just a pseudo shop for people to eat on the go.

Stepping into its actual premises, I was surprised to see how spacious it was inside, (for a store that size) to be able to house about 15 tables easily. Luckily we were there during off peak hour, about 1pm and there were plenty of seats for us to choose from. Very similar to Swee Choon in terms of the service staff and ambience, though having alot more variety than Swee Choon.Very crispy skin, packed with lots of solid filling inside. Could really taste prawns in it, though not very fresh prawns used. The skin that was used to wrap the dumpling and fried in was of the right thickness and gave an appropriate amount of chewiness to the dumpling. It was slightly over-fried which made it seem very greasy. Good thing is that it still tasted good even after being left there for some time, only difference between one that's freshly cooked and one that's left on the table for a while is perhaps the temperature!A very unique dish and the best one out of all those that we've tried. With prawn wrapped with potato strips, it gave a very different texture and taste to it. The fine potato strips were fried till golden brown on the outside, tasting like potato chips and once you sink your teeth into the entire piece, you could taste the soft tender prawn and sweetness of the potato strips bursting in your mouth! It was a great mix of flavours and well, for a potato lover like me, I absolutely loved it especially when you can see the real potato strips used!We ordered two of these, one prawn and another char siew. It wasn't impressive and perhaps one of the weirdest I've tried. With a paste-like sauce that tasted very savory, it masked the taste of the prawns and char siew, rendering the different fillings as just something for you to chew on. The sauce was unique and perhaps an acquired taste, seemed very similar to shrimp paste and it certainly didn't go well with me as I felt that it was too strong a flavour. The 'Fun' was also too thick though it gave the chewy texture hence the whole dish became very filling.It didn't look exactly impressive at first and I was even complaining how there wasn't any soup within the XLB itself. Next thing I know, while tossing the whole thing into my mouth to get the full flavour of it, a part of the skin decided to come apart and I jolted with the shot of piping hot soup gushing down my throat in a split second! Such a love-hate relationship with XLBs, you gotta pop it in while it's hot to enjoy the shiok-ness of it, yet always scalding your tongue/throat with the soup. I was delightedly surprised by the tasty soup contained within this deceptive looking dumpling. It doesn't have the strong smell of pork and the soup was awesome (perhaps scarcity made it more cherished!) The skin was also of the right thickness and was chewy enough. It wasn't an impressive rendition, a seemingly simple dish yet hard to perfect. The filling didn't have very fresh prawns and were full of impurities to make up the size I guess. The skin wasn't too bad, though it didn't gel well with the prawns and it became quite a chore eating it. Oh did I ever mention, egg tarts sold in such packaging while eating at the place itself is totally unacceptable! It came cold and soggy, and it doesn't deserved to be called an egg tart at all. There wasn't a slight hint of egg taste to it and the crust tasted more like bread instead. It was totally disappointing and well, regretted ordering it as an add-on to our order as it left us more dissatisfied after that! ):

Overall, I would say that it's not a place worth raving over. Good if you're not exactly particular and have got cravings for dim sum while around the area. One thing I would recommend would be the Fried Fries Prawn, they were probably better with novelty items rather than the standard fare, so perhaps other dishes might be better! Slightly overpriced, we paid about $14 each, which in my opinion, wasn't exactly worth it for such quality. The ingredients used could be fresher and well, the ambience didn't exactly correspond with the price paid.

Stepping into the dimly lit place, it was quite a cosy space that was surprisingly a warm welcome to many young families. This was perhaps one of the few restaurants at Vivo City that enjoys quite a peaceful view of the harbour and the vibrant lights of the Sentosa Boardwalk opposite. I was expecting quite abit of couples hanging out with the rather romantic setting especially during the Halloween celebrations season but was interrupted by the squeals of young children and dropping of plates and cutlery as the kids played with their own special plastic sets. It was quite an interesting sight, seeing how the restaurant was so family-friendly.

We decided to visit Modesto's as I've heard quite a far bit about their wood-fired pizza. But honestly, this was quite a far cry from what I'd expected. An Italian restaurant, I'd presume that their specialty lies in the pastas and pizzas. What we were anticipating turned out to be quite a disappointing dinner though.

Spicy Deep Fried Chicken Wings and Drumlets (S$16.50)Served piping hot, this helped set pretty high expectations about what was going to come our way. With an evenly spread slight crisp that accompanies every bite, this was quite a satisfying treat. I like the marinade used, that was slightly spiced but not throat-burning spicy. I'm usually a pretty lazy person when it comes to eating wings outside, but this was good enough to make me 'fight' to get the small shreds of flesh out. I'm not too sure if it's worth the price though, as it tasted quite a tad like prawn paste chicken, except this had a tinge of spices added in its marinade. After trying the rest of what we'd ordered though, this became the highlight of my meal at Modesto's.

Quattro Stagioni Regular (S$26.50)4 main ingredients of seafood, pork ham, mushroom and black kalamata olives in 4 separate quadrants

This was quite a disappointment indeed. Ingredients aside, the crust wasn't crisp enough and it was just a dull crack that came out of it. The top layer turned slightly soggy by the time it was served and it didn't have the inherent fragrance that usually came from wood-fired pizzas. It tasted pretty normal, a slightly thicker version of the crust by timbre.

I'm a pretty picky eater when it comes to seafood and I didn't like the type of prawns used. Though the servings were rather generous, the processed prawns that gave the fake crunch just didn't have that natural seafood sweetness to lift the flavour of the combination. The rest were just average tasting, and well, I'd say that this didn't live up to the standards of wood-fired pizzas. A pretty decent one that I've tried in Sydney was able to beat this easily, with the added fragrance in its after-taste, and nonetheless, the short-lived crunch to its crust that made it stand out. This just didn't make the cut.

Lasagna ($25)Honestly, this wasn't fit to be called a lasagna, much less the audacity to be charged at $25+. It was the first time that I was able to separate out the layers very distinctly and cut it up nicely into cubes. The layers were all too thick and chewy, tasting a little like kueh layers. There was also a severe lack of cheese in it, and insufficient sauce to go with it. It's probably worse than a pre-packaged microwaved version I can get off the shelves of supermarkets.

This is a place where I'd probably never head back to for quite a long while. Mediocre food that's very much overpriced, I felt that it was really not worth the stomach space. Probably a place to consider if you're looking for a place with good ambience and scenery, but certainly not worth a special trip down for its food.