It was time for catching up again and the selected venue is Courtyard at Fullerton. The bright, spacious dining hall was nothing short of sophisticated, with cushy seats and tasteful decor.One of the specialities is the Scones, served in warm cloth tray - crusty, firm and slightly sweetened. The addition of raisins perked me up. The clotted cream and jam spread were lovely flavor enhancers, further boosting the taste of the pastry, though they were both a little runny.All of us had the English Hightea Sets that comprise of a three-tiered tray of savouries and sweets, as well as a beverage. The Creme Brulee with Blueberries was rather nice - break through the crispy layer of hardened caramel and the cream within is luscious and smooth. The pairing of blueberries gave it a rather sharp contrast.The Open Face Smoked Duck Sandwich was rather nondescript save for the fact that the duck was tender but a tad salty in my opinion. The Mini Bagel with Parma Ham and Melon was a palatable combination - succulent but saltish ham balanced by the crunchy sweetness of the melon cubes.I enjoyed the Open Faced Shrimp Sandwich - the shrimp was fresh and bouncy, coupled beauitfully with a sauce similar to mentaiko.

For full review and more photographs, please feel free to visit:
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Bakerzin has been around for years, serving gourmet pastries as well as delicious savoury dishes. Today, we visited the outlet at United Square and got to enjoy their afternoon tea time promotion (weekdays 2-5pm) - a slice of cake and a coffee / tea for just SGD$9.80!For the cakes, *Hallie chose the Adagio (usual price SGD$9.50) - crunchy hazelnut praline, topped with valrhona chocolate, cream, sacher sponge, and hazelnut mousse. A scoop of vanilla ice-cream will be served for the a la carte order.
The base layer was crunchy as promised, and rich with aroma of hazelnut. The chocolate itself was thick, luscious and creamy, a lovely contrast to its crackling base - a lovely indulgence for chocolate and nut lovers.I debated between Riviera and Foret Noir (blackforest) for a long time before settling on the former (usual price SGD$8.80). The colorful Riviera is made up of genoise almond sponge layered with cherry mousse, iranian pistachio and cherry macaron. When ordered a la carte, it will be served with seasonal berries, mango and raspberry sauce.
This cake is soft and moist, with a gentle cherry flavor amongst the hints of nuts. The tiny macaron sitting atop adds a bonus crunch and sweetness to it; overall the Riviera tastes every bit as good as it looks.

For full review and more photographs, please visit:
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They have a very extensive list of traditional Chinese New Year goodies, as well as some innovative ones not found anywhere else.  Besides being affordable and fresh, the cookies are delicious as well - there is a wide range of different types of cookies to fit everyone - be it spicy, savoury or sweet.The Spicy Curry Rolls also crackle deliciously, and has an irresistable curry aroma to it, making it very tasty - we could not help popping roll after roll into our mouths.A traditional must-have would be the Premium Pineapple Tart, in lovely marble shapes with glossy sheen and filled richly with pineapple paste. The crust was soft, moistened but firm, making it easy to eat even if one popped the entire tart into the mouth.Another traditional must-have would be the Egg Rolls - here we have the normal version, and the charcoal version. Not a fan of egg rolls usually, I was swooned by this one. Brittle yet gentle, these slim egg rolls do not break into chunks and fly everywhere, like the usual egg rolls; instead, they break softly like cookies, and taste lightly of eggy aroma - not overpowering. The charcoal ones are of similar texture, with a slightly smoky hint to it, a lovely complement.Next, the Almond Butter Cookies, of a loose texture that still retains crunch on the exterior, yet rich on the inside, another delicacy that melts readily in the mouth and fills the palate with a wonderful combination of butter and almond.

For full review and more photographs, please feel free to visit:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2015/02/chinese-new-year-goodies-from-bread_7.html

A quaint little Japanese-Western fusion restaurant located at Bugis Junction, and has been around for years (thankfully), well known for its delicious pasta and other dishes, Ma Maison was the choice for us that day as we headed for lunch.The Buddy selected the famous Hamburger Steak Set (SGD$16.50) - juicy, thick patty with sunny side up egg, side vegetables and mashed potato, served with rice or burger. The burger was tender, grilled to perfect with hints of smokiness to its flavor, yet still retaining the lusciousness of beef's natural flavor. Pity the Buddy asked for the egg to be cooked fully, because the steak is best eaten with the egg yolk poked and infusing the steak, adding to the taste.I had the Prawns and Scallops Gratin (SGD$13.80) - baked to a lovely golden color and slathered thickly with cheese. The huge fresh prawns and chewy scallops were delicious and lent credence to the cheesy pasta. The gratin melted in one's mouth literally, scoring points immediately.For dessert, there was a slice of Grape Tart - huge, juicy grapes that were sweet, not sour. They did not taste processed, and are laid out beautifully in red and green tones, atop a crunchy biscuit base. I loved how the grapes popped literally in our mouths before we settled the sweetness with the more solid crusty base.
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Prancing across the fuchsia walkway along a secluded block at Dempsey Hill, one stumbles into a very stunning French-inspired Japanese cafe, named Henri Charpentier. There is nothing short of seductive about this sultry setting - complete with wine colored carpeting, silken champagne drapes, and cushy armchairs overlooking lush greenery.We took a seat back so that we could dissect the menu to see what else was instore. But first, I had to have an Iced Muscat Tea (SGD$8.50) first - black tea with rich aroma of jade-coloured Muscat grapes. Living true to its name, the tea tasted good even without adding sugar syrup (provided on the side), the strong flavor of grapes was evident in this tea itself, pure and natural. Imagine grape juice without all the artificial sweeteners and fizz - how refreshing!Then we ordered the Dome - the perfect chocolate ball was carted over with the portable stove, and we watched in amazement as the Japanese crew began to pour heated alcohol over the sphere, ignite it into a beautiful flambe like a show literally - the chocolate cover began to shed and strip into the strawberry and almond center.When served onto our table, disintegrated into an almost unrecognizable form. We were tempted to applaud but held back. The first to late bite were tantalising - rich in chocolatey flavor but not overpowering; enhanced with a little tartiness of strawberry and crunchiness of the almonds.The Suzette Crepe was prepared in front of us as well. The crepe was silky as described, soft but not brittle. There was a distinctive sweetness to it, infused beautifully by the orange-butter sauce with heavy hints of liqueur. We loved alcohol-infused items, so this was definitely the one for us, a blissful mixture of flavors.

For full review and more photos, please feel free to visit:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2015/02/afternoon-tea-at-henri-charpentier.html