It was with great anticipation when we visited Goodwood Park Hotel on the first day of their dessert buffet with durian pastries at the Coffee Lounge. For a limited period only from 1 June to 21 July 2013, this ongoing lunch and dinner buffet will serve 6 of their signature scrumptious durian creations namely the Durian Puff, Durian Chocolate Hazelnut Tartlet, Durian Mousse Cake, Durian Pandan & Coconut Cake, Mini Durian Cupcake and a special live station highlight - Durian Pancake! The lunch buffet starts from 12 noon through to 2.30pm while the evening session starts at 6pm and ends at 10.30pm. For the dessert buffet with durian pastries standalone, it costs S$33.80+ per person, coming to an approximate S$40 inclusive of GST and service charge. If you have any ala carte main course ordered at the Coffee Lounge, then you could enjoy the dessert buffet at an additional charge of S$26.80+.

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Signature durian puffThis was a simple, honest offering of the classic durian puff. The serving of the rich, creamy durian flesh in each puff was generous and plenty, leaving the puff 'gapping' open. The king of fruit is no joke when it came to flavours, with a touch of mild sweetness to please. Some might find it pungent and appalling but for us, it was divinely delicious. We enjoyed the fact that the creaminess of the puff was owed to the good quality durian flesh used and not from the addition of cream. While it could be pretty filling, especially the plenty of fibre in the durian flesh, it was pleasing on the palate rather than satiating on the appetite. The puff pastry on the other hand felt like pre-made shells and not as fresh and crusty like those freshly made cream puffs one would enjoy elsewhere. It seemed too 'airy', hollow and did not have a solid crust and crispness to the texture. There was also very little butter flavour and taste to the puff to make it a good pastry on the whole but the limelight was nonetheless that beautiful durian fruit.

Durian Chocolate Hazelnut TartletI would not go on further to rave about the durian flesh and cream for they were the same ones used universally across the various durian pastries, apart from the one for pancake but we will go onto that later. I liked the size of the tartlet, making it bite-sized, but I struggled to taste the flavours of the hazelnuts for the generous portion and flavours of the durian flesh overwhelmed. The chopped up hazelnuts contributed to the crunchy texture of the mouthful while the tartlet was again mediocre.

Durian Mousse CakeAlternating between layers of sponge and durian mousse, the creaminess from the durian mousse complemented the sponge cake to make it a good combination. The durian mousse was almost melt in your mouth and the sponge cake was soft and moist. It was a classic example of a simple cake made illustrious due to good quality ingredients. It was a shame though that Coffee Lounge stopped bringing out new cakes to replace the finished tray at the buffet bench even 20 minutes before the end of the service.

Durian Pandan & Coconut CakePersonally I enjoyed this cake the most amongst the offering of durian desserts at the buffet. The layer of coconut shavings atop a rich cream gave the cake a beautiful texture with an added crunchiness to the smooth and moist cake. While some might argue that finer shavings would do the cake better justice, I actually enjoyed the coarse shavings which defined the varied texture prominently. The alternating layers of sponge and mousse was similar to the durian mousse cake only this had a fragrant pandan sponge cake. It tasted very South-East Asian with a nice blend of durian aroma complemented with the enticing fragrance of pandan and the coconut shavings were really the icing on the cake to sum up a good dessert.

Durian CupcakeThe cupcake was plainly butter and just had a topping of the durian paste that had a tinge of pandan flavour so it, with a slice of almond flake. For some reason, it tasted like 'kaya' to us probably cos of the infused pandan. This I suppose was meant to be the usual frosted icing on cupcakes. Regrettably, the cupcake on its own tasted dry. Well the best verdict is probably we did not quite felt like getting a second serving of the cupcake after the first try.

Durian PancakeThe durian pancakes were freshly made on the spot by the chef at the counter so it was as fresh as one could possibly ask for! We also tasted that the durian flesh used was slightly different in a good sense, with a good balance of sweet bitterness from the durians. This tasted more like 'Mao Shan Wang' premium durian. The pancakes were thin and very soft on the inside with a slight crisp. The filling was generously applied to the extent that it was almost spilling out of the pancake when we tried to savour it!

Quite frankly, the rest of the items on the dessert bar apart from the durian pastries were mostly of mediocre standards and we struggled to finish them. What we found surprisingly familiar was their offering of traditional nyonya kueh, which looked and tasted like they were catered by Bengawan Solo.

I am not going to rate the respective desserts individually for in our humble opinion, they were not really worth the calories and the limelight for the dessert buffet was really the durian pastries. The offering of the dessert buffet was actually quite limited, though local favourites like pulut hitam or even the mango pomelo sago were on the bench. When we saw the ice cream counter, we thought there might be durian ice cream but to our disappointment, only the familiar strawberry and couple other normal ice creams were available. The speciality durian ice cream was only available on the ala carte menu which was not included in the price paid for. In general, we felt that at about S$40 per person, it might be better off for you to head few steps down the alleyway and buy some of the durian pastries from the takeaway bar. With just 6 types of durian desserts offering and not all of them being 'MUST-TRYs', it might be more value for money to just buy the selected desserts on its own as ala carte.

The durian strudel as a whole at S$56+ and the signature 'Mao Shan Wang' Power Puff at S$16.80+ were but some of the more enticing offerings which we would return for takeaway orders but I believe it might be our last visit for the dessert buffet.

It would be hard not to notice this coffee stall located in the middle of Chinatown Complex. With a grinder to the rear of the auntie manning the stall, the roasted coffee beans would be poured into the grinder, ready for her to perform her 'tarik' (pulling) act on the coffee and tea. It was no wonder that there was a persisting queue for the coffee at all times of the day. On this instance, the gentleman in front of me ordered 8 cups at one go!My 'kopi-o-kosong' (Black coffee without sugar and milk) was a high roast, full bodied cup of fresh brew that was rich yet smooth and did not leave my throat dry. It was definitely a surprising cup of mellow coffee, and at 90 cents per cup, it was definitely much better than the ones offered at high-class cafes from S$4 up. The 'kopi' (coffee with milk) was equally rich but having drank 'kopi-o-kosong' my entire life, it was a challenge for me to appreciate a brew with additives.

Verdict: 8.5/10(-) The milk tea however was somewhat lacking, whereby the taste of milk overwhelmed the aroma and fragrance of the tea.

Verdict: 6.5/10(-) Lack of fragrance from the coconut milk and pandan flavour was barely delectable.
(-) The toast was too thick, which deprived the flavours of the kaya from being heightened at first bite.

Verdict: 6.0/10

Those who have visited 40 Hands or Open Door Policy probably wouldn't be unfamiliar with the new kid on the block, SocialHaus. What caught my eye about this place was actually the name of the place and the decor. I walked past this place before it opened, had a peek at its interior decor and liking its clean and sleek design.A first sip of the stew, I was surprised by how flavourful it was and thought it was a bit too strong in fact. The beef was also cooked for too long and was quite tough. However, don't be put off by the first taste, as the flavour got more and more addictive after your taste buds have warmed up to it. The fine bread complimented it well, as it was able to soak up the gravy well. It would have been better if the bread had been toasted though.Quite pricey for a starter of calamari, but I must say it was worth it! Unlike the usual calamari batter, this had a different twist to it with breaded crisps. The thin layer of batter also allowed us to taste the tender squid inside and you don't have to worry about the batter coming off from the squid. Dip it into the saucer of sweet chilli for the finishing touch!Thought we'd order their specialty to try out, it turned out to be just another ordinary beef patty burger. Like any usual gourmet burger, it comes with a thick beef patty in the middle. I like the degree to which it was done, pretty much similar to a medium rare steak, except this is in the patty form. It was tender on the inside and the juices were well locked in. Just don't expect anything special, and enjoy a plain beef burger.

Overall, I thought it was a little pricey for such ordinary food fare. The ambience was good, and the service staff was very friendly and attentive as well. They don't have any service charge so what you see is what you get. A nice place to chill-out probably over their bar counter before 8pm for their Happy Hour house pours. It's not worth travelling all the way down to the little roads of Yong Siak Street for their food, though you might want to pay them a visit if you happen to be in the area. Personal opinion, I'll definitely choose this over 40 Hands.

For full review: http://makeyourcaloriescount.blogspot.sg/2012/09/sg-torte.html

Hidden in a corner of SCWO (Singapore Council of Women's Organisations) at Waterloo Street, we were surprised to find this secret hideout almost full. We managed to occupy the last table available at about 8ish on a Friday night. Most were there for their rather affordable mains and of course, the torte for which their cafe is named after.

Torte is usually a multi-layered cake made with buttercream, mousse, jam or fruits. Its unique taste lies in how it is made with little or no flour, giving it a dense and smooth texture. Famous for its chocolate torte, I thought it must be worth a visit even though I'm not a fan of chocolates. Afraid that we would get too jelat with just the chocolate torte and after finishing a rather fiery dinner, we decided to complement it with this chilled creme caramel, hoping to douse our tongues that were on fire. I was rather alarmed to see it being served in such small portion and it looked rather ready-made. As you can see, it's just the pudding at the bottom drizzled with gula melaka at the top. A rather fuss-free serving method I suppose.

There wasn't a tinge of caramel taste in it, unlike the traditional kind which would have a layer of caramel poured into the base before adding the custard. The caramel sauce on top was also substituted with gula melaka. The custard was a tad hard (imagine the agar kind of hardness) and the gula melaka lacked its coconut fragrance. The thick sauce became overly sweet for our liking and it would have been better if it wasn't so dense. It felt like thick sugar syrup drizzled over hardened custard pudding.The presentation of desserts has always been important to me as desserts are usually my form of indulgence. I was shocked that the chef told us as a matter-of-fact that the ice cream had slipped and simply placed it on our table after that, serving the next table the exact same dessert with the ice cream intact. The ice cream was also very melted, and as we peered over the next table, it looked almost the same.

I shall not be biased, so beyond the presentation, I was actually quite interested to find out what a torte tastes like. Digging into the rich chocolate portion, it was extremely smooth and tasted just like a slightly harder version of pudding. It wasn't served warm as what we'd expected but I supposed the chilled version goes better with the smooth velvet texture of the torte. It was rich, yet not overpowering nor overly sweet, and didn't have the bitter taste of dark chocolates. It won me, the non chocolate lover, over and I thought this was one of the rare chocolate desserts that I actually enjoyed. It really depends though, as my friends thought it was a little too rich for their liking. I thought it went really well with the ice cream, though it would have been better if the ice cream wasn't on the verge of becoming milk shake right upon serving. It was very soft throughout, probably been placed outside for quite a while before it reached our table, or the fridge wasn't working very well.

I'd probably return if I have chocolate cravings since this is a rare place where I like the way it was prepared. Service wise, I thought they weren't quite up to it as we were quite lost with their cues. After asking us to take a seat when we wanted to have a look at the menu inside and order immediately, they took quite a while to reach us and even the payment took quite a while. I'm still quite anal about the attitude towards the messed up presentation of the torte too, but taste wise, I would still recommend that you give their torte a shot.

For full review: http://makeyourcaloriescount.blogspot.sg/2013/05/sg-old-airport-road-food-centre-part-1.htmlThere were two stalls adjacent to each other selling wanton mee, both with celebrities' photos and recommendations plastered all over the stall fronts, but for some reason there was a queue at this stall and none at the other. Following herd instinct, we decided to join the queue, albeit shamelessly. The most prominent part about enjoying this dish is that you will need to order it through a lady who for some reason is obnoxiously rude. Once you get past that and get served your bowl of beautiful noodles, after a 10 - 15 minutes queue, it is really quite a delicacy.

We especially enjoyed the generous offering of deep fried sliced shallots to give that much desired crunch and crispness to the noodles and that beautiful fragrance. The chilli sauce was spicy and delivered a solid punch of heat that cut through the savouriness of the soy-sauce based wanton noodles. The wanton (dumplings) were okay, packing a mouthful bite of fatty minced pork but nothing too impressive. The char siew was disappointing, thin, dry and lacked any roast flavour. The noodles were cooked al dente, springy and chewy but the noodles were sticking to each other, giving a rather starchy feeling to the palate.We ordered the deep fried wanton to complement the noodles, just for that extra oomph with something crunchy and crispy. The wantons were fried perfectly to a crisp surface and golden brown delicious, but there were remnants of the oil being splattered onto the plate, probably from a rushed serving. There were barely any meat wrapped under that wanton skin, but well, it complemented the main noodle dish.