L'éclair by Sarah Michelle is the first éclairs cafe in Singapore, specializing in beautiful French desserts that inspired them and caught their hearts while they were in Paris. So now they bring a piece of Paris back to Singapore, bringing éclairs to us made of highest quality ingredients. Decor was chic, timeless and elegant, making for comfort and offering an expanse of view of the outside through floor-to-ceiling glass panels.My first éclair was the Roasted Pistachio & Strawberries (SGD$8.00). The pastry puff itself was soft, carrying the weight of pistachio cream and bits as well as strawberries on top of it, giving it a very lovely combination of nutty sweetness, tart and crunch. The cream within was delicate and smooth, making for a
fabulous choice.Next up, it was Ispahan (SGD$8.50) - comprising of rose, lychee and raspberry. The dark red petal was too pretty for me to resist. Look at the layers of lychee chantilly cream sitting so snugly between the rose-coated top and soft pastry bed. Raspberries were inserted between the cream, adding a refreshing tint of zest to the luscious, feminine flavours of this pink pastry - every bite was filled with the beautifully-orchestrated flavours of rose, lychee and raspberry. Needless to say, I was glad I chose this.

For full review and more detailed information, please feel free to visit:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2016/03/afternoon-tea-at-l-eclair-by-sarah.html

Brauhaus is a 25++ year old, homely but lovely restaurant and bar offering exotic food, good live band and a wide array of beers from all over the globe.  The décor indoors is more exquisite, totally replicate of an European bar concept. Service here was friendly, homely and polite. I always enjoy the easy-going ambiance that mellowed all the stress of a hectic workday away. The owner Michael and his team of long-term staff would sometimes come over to chitchat as though we were all longtime friends, so coming here also means feeling right at home. The extensive beer list never fails to make me spoiled for choice.The Escargots (SGD$10.00) were our starters. Unlike the usual baked escargots served in palettes and coated with cheese, these were simply steamed with spices and therefore we could taste the raw sweetness of the buoyant flesh. It was so fun to eat these, I was tempted to order another half a dozen of them.My mains was the Roast Quail (SGD$19.00) took a while to come, but the wait was worthwhile. The tiny bird was roasted to a lovely golden brown, with the most succulent flesh and was pooled in a scrumptious dark sauce. I loved how it had the refreshing radish as well, adding flavour and a touch of balance to my meaty dish. The baked potatoes, having soaked up the gravy and were utterly soft – were very easy on the palate as well.

For full review and more detailed information, please feel free to visit:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2016/03/dinner-at-brauhaus-restaurant-and-bar.html

Inspired by the standing bars in Tokyo, Singapore's Standing Sushi Bar's first outlet at One Raffles Place in 2009 embraced the standing concept. Standing Sushi Bar's chain of restaurants serve up quality, scrumptious and reasonably-priced food items in an extensive menu featuring set meals, tempura items, fresh sashimi, handmade sushi as as well alcoholic drinks. We decided to drop by Standing Sushi Bar at Raffles @ Income for lunch. It was one of the first places that came to mind when we had craving for Japanese meal.The girls both had the Salmon Set (SGD$19.00) made up of a fragrant bowl of Japanese rice, fresh Salmon Sashimi Sushi, smokey Aburi Salmon Sushi, succulently thick slices of Salmon Sashimi, salad and a dessert of Mochi. Not only was this set extremely value for money, so tasty and fulfilling especially for salmon lovers - this was a balanced meal as well.I chose to have the Bara Chirashi Don (SGD$23.90), comprising cubes of colorful assortment of sashimi in variety - salmon, swordfish, tuna, salmon roe etc. The raw fish pieces were saccharine with freshness and springy in texture - but that was not all - the rice was wild rice, making for a healthy and even tastier meal for me. Don't get me wrong, I love Japanese pearl rice as well, but the use of wild rice allowed me to finish the entire bowl of rice without feeling too guilty; it was utterly satisfying and sumptuous.

For full review and more detailed information, please feel free to visit:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2016/03/lunch-at-standing-sushi-bar-chevron.html

Having eaten at Crystal Jade Kitchen at Toa Payoh before, we wanted to return to eat certain items, and was surprised to see that it has become Jiangnan concept. Nonetheless, we proceeded to check the menu and give the food a try. Interior decor was posh and sophisticated, heavy in modern classic Oriental flavor. Service was efficient and professional.The Signature Szechuan Dan Dan La Mian, which came in a huge bowl but fortunately the portion was reasonable. The handmade noodles were springy in texture, tasting undeniably good in the thick, spicy broth filled with ground peanuts. It was amazing how this bowl of noodles barely contained any ingredients but was addictive to feast on.We started with the delightedly colorful Assorted Flavours Xiao Long Buns (SGD$10.80) consisting of 4 in a tray. Since three of us liked Xiao Long Buns and it was hard to share them, we decided to get a tray each. Vegetable flavor - as name implies, the broth-filled buns were pleasantly sapid of vegetable's subtle green taste. Ginseng flavor - lighter in taste, but bursting with the herb's natural sweetness. Salted Egg flavor - thick and redolent of salted egg's aroma and taste; this was easily a favorite amongst us. Chilli Crab flavor - a little spicy, and robust with a familiar local delight's flavour, this rocked our palates too.  We enjoyed our Xiao Long Buns overall, and the flesh of the minced pork within the buns was succulent.evi

For full review and more detailed information, please feel free to visit:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2016/03/dinner-at-crystal-jade-jiangnan.html

The Refinery Singapore is a cafe / restaurant by day and bar by night, situated in an industrial area at the front of Jalan Besar / Lavender area, an unlikely spot for a lovely dining spot to be expected, but here it is - prettily monochromatic in its neat, clean-cut design complete with high ceilings and organised rows of seating arrangement. It double as a "workspace" in which one could rent a workspace for white-collared professionals to co-work together. How neat is that.... a co-working space mooonlighting as a cafe/ bar / restaurant.For food, we shared an appetiser of Salted Egg Onion Rings (SGD$12.00) - the idea was interesting and refreshing, since everyone is wild about salted-egg items these days. The battered onion rings were crispy and one could easily spot the generous strips of onion within the rings; however the salted egg flavour was light to non-existent. Maybe it wasn't dipped with the salted egg before being deep-fried, since the Salted Egg Custard was served on a separate side saucer? We doused it over the onion rings and could thereafter taste the creamy salted egg coating.The Spicy Mee (SGD$12.00) with pulled pork, pork balls, homemade sambal chilli, sesame seeds, pork lard and signature 72 degree onsen tamago egg. The menu description reminded me of Kin Kin Dry Chilli Pan Mee (review here), and to be frank, it did not differe much in appearance and taste - as déclassé as this may sound. Don't get me wrong, I love the Kin Kin Pan Mee a great lot, so this was utterly delicious to me - the curly noodles were springy in texture (aka "QQ"), the chilli was substantial so flavours exploded deliciously in the mouth; the pulled pork strips were tender and saccharine in flavour. The onsen egg was tossed evenly into the noodle adding a velvet touch as well as sweetness to the dish - even for a carbo-avoider like me, I kid you not when I tell you I finished every single bite of this dish.

For full review and more detailed information, please feel free to visit:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2016/02/brunch-at-refinery-restaurant-bar-jalan.html