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I can picture myself sipping on a cup of coffee with a sketchbook in hand, just lazing around and gazing out the floor-to-ceiling windows. It almost feels like I’m on a holiday in Europe, but in reality, I’ve wandered into PS.Cafe at Palais Renaissance. Perhaps it’s the high ceiling, chic decor and palm trees that makes me feel like I’ve been transported to a different country.For a weekday lunch the place was pretty packed, mainly with expatriates – a couple of Japanese ladies seated to our left and another group of westerners to our right. Lots of idle chatter and a fragrant whiff of freshly brewed coffee fills the air. We ordered 2 mains to share – a Steak Sandwich ($36) and Chicken in a Basket ($28).Served on thick slices of char-grilled sourdough bread, you can see the steak glistening in the light just waiting for you to sink your fangs into its juicy, slightly pinkish meat. For those of you self-acclaimed meat lovers, the steak is a 400-day grain fed striploin. I’m just glad the cow got to live for over a year before it entered the slaughterhouse. =DThese are one of the most gorgeous looking fries I’ve seen and even its name is pretty too – Sesame & Nori Shoestring Fries. Served together with the steak sandwich, the fries seemed to be a little bit on the bland side, but I like it that way. It feels somewhat.. healthier, I guess. =P But you also have that tangy mayo dip which is oh-so-sinfully-good.You can’t really go wrong with fried foods, as long as the ingredients are fresh and the temperature is right. I find the Chicken in a Basket pretty “standard fare”. Sure enough, the chicken was chunky and juicy (not dry at all) and the mayonnaise dip that comes with it is rather good too. It also comes with slightly thicker wedges instead of fries and some veggie sticks.Sadly, it was time for me to bid farewell to my holiday in Europe and jump back into reality once again – time always seems to speed up when you’re on holiday. Overall, PS.Cafe is a great place to dine in style and quiet elegance. Don’t expect too much from the food, but I’m sure that great company (or your favourite book) and the change of environment will leave you feeling refreshed and recharged.

For more food reviews, check out my blog at www.jerjerjer.com

My all-time FAVOURITE dessert - Tiramisu! A simply divine combination of good coffee, mascarpone cheese, chocolate powder and kahlua. Here at Benjamin Browns, they create a rather unique Tiramisu which comes as 2 ice-cream scoops.

When they initially served it to me, I took a double take and was thinking to myself "oh no, did the menu say it was Tiramisu Ice-Cream and not the classic Tiramisu cake". But to my relief, it IS a classic Tiramisu cake! Presented in the form of 2 ice-cream scoops. You can't quite see the Savoiardi biscuits (ladyfingers) that are hidden within the scoops of mascarpone cheese. The espresso coffee they make here is splendid and the same goes for the coffee they use in their Tiramisu.

They have an open-concept kitchen too, so you can actually watch the chef while they work on making the food for you. Not only is the presentation of their desserts splendid, the quality is great too. Plus, it's located at a really cozy and quiet corner of Forum Shopping Mall where you can lay back, relax and take a break.

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Italian cuisine is my second favourite type of cuisine, next to Japanese food that is. And I was really glad that I had the chance to participate in a Food Tasting by OpenRice at Ristorante Pietrasanta (along Portsdown Road at Wessex Village and just next to Temasek Club). This restaurant is truly a hidden gem located in that area. You’ll need to do a bit of searching to find the place – exit AYE after North Bouna Vista, go past Temasek Club and you’ll see a forested area with low lying tin-roofed buildings. Here you’ll find a cluster of rather unique and interesting restaurants, similar to those you find at Dempsey Hill enclave.

The food tasting session began with a demonstration by Chef Alfredo Colle on how to make some Homemade Mozzarella Cheese.Apparently, this is the only Italian restaurant in Singapore that makes their own fresh Mozzarella cheese by hand. Look at just how stretchy that cheese can go. Mozzarella cheese is usually semi-soft and has high moisture content which makes it stringy and great for pizzas.The final product that comes from all that stretching, spinning and cutting is a ball of perfectly round cheese which is chewy and slightly rubbery in texture. Since the Mozzarella on its own does not have much of a taste, it was served with some Burrata – another type of Italian cheese made from a combination of Mozzarella and fresh cream to achieve a more flavourful and rich, creamy taste.We also had a basket of freshly baked Focaccia Bread to eat with the cheese. The bread also goes really well with some extra virgin olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.These Parma Ham Mozzarella Rolls are wrapped in more Mozzarella cheese and also has rocket leaves rolled up within it. The pungent taste of the rocket does not overpower the salty parma ham and I thought the combination went really well together. Both equally strong flavours rolled up into one and wrapped up in a rather tasteless cheese. Mmmmmm.. mamma mia~! How refreshing..After all that cheese, it’s time to dig into the main course! First we had some Fettuccine al Tartufo ($24.90) which is basically Fettuccini pasta cooked in a mushroom truffle sauce. It also had minced sausage meat in it which gives it a rather interesting texture. The truffle taste was quite strong too and since I love mushrooms, I really enjoyed this pasta! =DNext we had some Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli ($17.90) served with a butter and sage sauce. The thing I love about Italian cuisine is that it is very rich and flavourful but that also means that it can be rather fattening, especially when almost everything contains butter, cream and cheese. Well, I say eat first and worry about the calories later! =PThis is one of my favourites here – the Risotto Porcini ($23.90) with saffron and bone marrow. You’ll probably notice a few red strands in the sauce – those are the saffron which is one of the most costly spices available in the world. A few strands of saffron also has a coloring effect which turns the sauce into a deep orange colour. This dish is creamy, rich, and oh-so-very satisfying.We also got to sample some Mixed Sausages which turned out to be quite average end when compared to the many delectably rich pastas we just had.Doesn’t this piece of meat on a bone look impressive? Well, it’s a Lamb Shank ($28.90) with Chianti wine that has been braised for over 4 hours, such that its meat is tender enough to just fall off the bone. However, I felt that the tomato-based sauce was a little bit on the bland side for me. I would have preferred it to take on a stronger, saltier and richer flavour.I seldom associate fish with Italian cuisine, but here’s one on the menu – Grilled Lemon Sole. Fish, to me, is mainly about how fresh it is more than how it is cooked. The meat for this was fresh enough and also flavourful enough, but it’s not exactly the kind of dish you would think of ordering at an Italian Restaurant.

Finally, for my absolute favourite part of every meal; it’s dessert time!The Lemon Tart here is sour and refreshing enough to invigorate your senses, but at the same time the sourness is not too overpowering and well balanced out with the sweet meringue on top and tart pastry. Plus, it comes with a little bit of jam on the side too, if you’re not good with sour foods.And finally, the main star of the show is… Tiramisu! One of my all time favourite desserts. This Tiramisu reminds me of the one I used to get at Paragon (though the restaurant that sold it closed down a long time ago). It has really light mascarpone cheese and a rich, strong espresso coffee flavour to it. Though I would have liked my Tiramisu with a bit more Tia Maira liqueur in it to give it that extra kick! =P Still, this is one of the best Tiramisu I’ve tasted in a long time.

Overall, I really enjoyed the good Italian food and with the great company of other food bloggers as well. Here’s a big THANK YOU to Chef Alfredo Colle and Ristorante Pietrasanta for hosting us!

More food reviews on my blog: www.jerjerjer.com

I’ve never been so excited to blog about my lunch before, but I have just tried Maison Kayser at Wheelock Place and was pleasantly surprised with the food I found there. So much so that I simply can’t wait to blog about it! =DThere aren’t many choices for mains at Maison Kayser if you’re looking for something heavy to fill your tummy. The menu is dominated mainly with salads and sandwiches which they are famous for. They even bake all their bread fresh everyday! Well, I didn’t quite fancy the choices of sandwiches they had so I decided to go for their Steak Loin Spaghetti ($13).Look at that medium rare piece of meat – it’s perfectly the way I like my steak. The outside is char-grilled to perfection while the inside is still pink and juicy! I’m not much of a meat lover, but this cut of steak is simply so tender that it melts in my mouth. You would have expected something tougher based on its char-grilled appearance. But it turned out surprisingly good!You will also get a basket of freshly baked bread with all their main courses. And the best part is that the bread is re-fillable once for free (if you want to load up on carbs, that is). I only had two slices of bread from the basket but it was so fluffy that I had to resist the urge to gobble down the rest of it. Their coffee is also really good – I ordered the Iced Latte ($6), which usually tends to be too milky, but this one was already super invigorating on the first sip. Just the way I like my coffee (with a punch).And just when I was about to leave, I decided to backtrack and takeaway one of their tarts for dessert. Good thing I did that because I would have totally regretted it if I had not done so! Their Raspberry Tart or Tarte au Framboise ($5.80) is so super-deliciously-awesome! It’s absolutely not sweet and the raspberries are not that sour too. The tart base is also really crumbly and buttery. There is actually another outlet nearby at Scotts Square, so I'll probably check that out next time to takeaway more of their yummy desserts!

One of the best things I like about Tonkichi is their deep-fried "katsu"! A worthy place for you to pig out over some sinful, breaded and deep-fried meats. This time round, I decided to go for a cold soba dish so I ordered their Katsu Zaru Soba Set ($24.90) It even comes with Chawanmushi too.I love how the Japanese like eating everything with sesame seeds. Even for cold soba, they gave me this small bowl of sesame seeds with a pestle for you to grind the seeds (or lightly crush them) to get the flavour out.Usually I would put crushed sesame seeds into a hot bowl of ramen, but seldom do so for cold soba..Their pork cutlet is as amazing as always. Albeit deep-fried and unhealthy, but the crispy and buttery crust is super awesome! The meat inside is also cooked just right and you can still see the light pinkish glow of the meat. I don't usually eat a lot of deep-fried food, but it's always good to have some once in a while.