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The desserts and cakes served at Department Of Caffeine didn't look that fantastic hence we casted our eyes at FLOR Pâtisserie. This Japanese-styled cake shop serving authentic Japanese inspired French pastry was just a short 5 minutes stroll away.While ordering, we feasted our eyes on the wide array of pretty pastries. It's a tough choice.Their Ice Cheese Tarts ($3.40) are to die for! Plus you get to select from these 7 delectable flavours: Original, Mango, Strawberry, Caramel, Choco Orange, Green Tea as well as Yuzu & Maple. They are kept frozen in the fridge till ordered to maintain their freshness. I adore the intense cheese flavour packed within this small tartlet.We have initial concerns that we will not be able to tell these exquisite fresh cream cakes apart but Earl Grey Choco ($6.95) with its delicate earl grey cream solved the issue with just one bite. The swiss roll of dark chocolate meringue and sweet banana goes really well as a package.Mont Blanc ($6.95) is a swiss roll of special genoise sponge and chantilly cream, topped with whole sweetened Japanese chestnuts and delicate strands of French chestnut cream. It looks too good to be eaten!We utterly enjoyed our weekend brunch. Department of Caffeine delighted us with their amazing breakfast offerings while FLOR Pâtisserie satisfied our cravings for sweet endings. They make wonderful complement for each other! To read the full review with photos, please visit http://www.aspirantsg.com/department-of-caffeine-flor-perfect-complement-at-duxton/…查看更多

The cafe service area is just this narrow strip of real estate, no hidden corners. The semi-industrial woody interior decor gave the cafe a no nonsense, pragmatic character.With no spare seats around, customers are forced to put their bags and barang barang on the floor or have them placed on their laps. It can get quite unsightly, hope the management can provide a solution for this.The cafe does not charge service fees so you have to queue and order your food. Magazines are placed near the counter for customers' browsing pleasure.That's our French rose ($7) by Tea bone zen mind served in a dainty glass tea pot on a petite wooden tray. Hmm for $7, can give more rose buds? The rose tea commanded a light floral fragrance with slight tangy flavour.Mork Speciality Hot Chocolate ($6.50) was supposedly a special blend of hot chocolate that offers greater emphasis on the cocoa flavour. It did achieved its objective ... by withholding sugar. We were not impressed.Caffe Latte ($5) was pretty potent and definitely a great perk me up in the morning. Taste wise, it's quality caffeine but nothing outstanding.Our Sausage, Mushrooms & Egg ($15.50) which consisted of English pork sausages with mushroom ragout topped by a sunny side up egg on toasted sourdough was first to be served. Hidden below the sunny side up was a generous portion of mushrooms. Thumbs up!One of the cafe's 2 Main course & salad ($16 for regular salad and $18 for a large salad portion), Poached salmon with dill and mint sauce accompanied by Soba noodles with wakame, cucumber and sesame was up next. We were surprised that the entire dish was served cold even the salmon! But it was meant to be a cold dish so no fault of theirs. It tasted alright but not as attractive as a weekend brunch items.I personally loved my Sundried tomato & herb waffles ($17). Served with bacon, scrambled eggs & maple bacon jam, it offers the perfect combination of all my favourite breakfast sides. It's like my breakfast dream come true.But D.O.C Platter ($18) won hands down as our favourite breakfast item on their menu. Scrambled eggs & bacon wrapped meatloaf on toasted brioche served with tomato confit & cheese boccincini was a gorgeous sight to behold.The runny eggs reminded me of Mcdonald's Big Breakfast but done so much better. The good people here are really generous with their meat and ingredients, look at that thick stack of meat!The desserts and cakes served at Department Of Caffeine didn't look that fantastic hence we casted our eyes at FLOR Pâtisserie. We utterly enjoyed our weekend brunch. Department of Caffeine delighted us with their amazing breakfast offerings while FLOR Pâtisserie satisfied our cravings for sweet endings. They make wonderful complement for each other!To read the full review with photos, please visit http://www.aspirantsg.com/department-of-caffeine-flor-perfect-complement-at-duxton/…查看更多

Within just a short 20 minutes waitThe famous French roasted chicken Poulet Roti ($15.80 for half, $28.80 for whole) was served after the announcement of all the good news. Here's how the story for this supposedly amazing poultry goes - the entire chicken was brined for a full day in a traditional recipe before being placed in the rotisserie for a slow roast till the skin turns to a golden brown. We have to give it to the french when it comes to presentation. The sight of the beautifully roasted chicken was enough to whet our appetite and get us all hungry. On its own, the chicken was tender and succulent but not amazing yet. It only manages to hit home run with its home made mushroom Chardonnay sauce, that's what gave it the X factor.Mediterranean Stew Lamb Shank ($15.80) consisted of baby lamb shank stewed with root vegetables and rosymary in its own jus infused with orange. The lamb meat was nice and soft but diners who are not comfortable with the distinctive smell of lamb should steer away from this dish. I am afraid I could not sense traces of orange infusion at all.Braise De Canard ($15.80) was braised duck leg in sweet wine sauce on baby spinach topped with cranberry and glazed shallot. I came to the conclusion that the chefs here are pretty good with their meat. The dulcet wine sauce was truly an additional bonus!Iberico Pork Belly ($15.80) consisted of braised Spanish iberico pork belly served with mashed potato, leek confit and double mustard. I am not sure if I am personally biased towards pork belly in general but it is just impossible to go wrong with this delectable part of the pig. Ladies need not be overly concerned. Despite the word belly, the meat was still pretty lean overall with mild hints of fats in every bite. This is definitely my favourite dish for the evening!To sum it up, Poulet offers casual French dining that's decent and won't hurt your pocket.For full review and photos, please visit http://www.aspirantsg.com/poulet-the-french-roasted-chicken-flew-to-chinatown-point/…查看更多

Not known to many of the younger Singaporeans, the very spot where the cafe stands used to be the canteen of the former River Valley Swimming Complex. The cafe conserved the wall and floor mosaic tiles from its nostalgic 1970’s.Bulk of the cafe sitting spaces are outdoors which makes it quite a 'hot' chill out place during the day. This was really a pity because I really loved how they spruce up the area with recycled pellets and the bright pink chairs. Nevertheless, I know where to bring my BFFs for post dinner coffee and cakes.For those who can't take the blazing noon time heat (like me), you either have to call and reserve your table a few days in advance or keep your fingers cross. There are 2 table tops and a long side table in the air-conditioned area. Thankfully, we managed to secure one of the round tables. Overheard the owner sharing with his other customers that the kitchen behind the 'Keep Calm' wall used to be the swimming pools male changing room. What an incredible change of use!The staffs were amazingly friendly and attentive. Coffee & tea were promptly served within minutes after we have made our orders. That's my cappuccino. Both our orders were served together. Great job on the service! That's my friend's order of TFBB Champion Breakfast ($23.00) - a really heavy brekkie which consist of 2 poached eggs served on a toasted brioche, roasted rosemary potatoes, garlicky mushrooms, swirly sage chicken sausage and 2 chicken chipolata (to replace a side of beef bacon as he does not take beef). Despite his usual big appetite, he did not manage to clear his plate. The portion was just too huge.I opted for Towkay Ng’s Egg Benedict ($11.50). Not sure why I kept calling it Towkay Neo, was there a Mediacorp drama with Towkay Neo previously? Anyway, mine was a much smaller breakfast with 2 poached eggs served on a toasted brioche, sauteed spinach, roasted rosemary potatoes and an Italian version of a Hollandaise. The treatment of the eggs was perfect but I am not that excited about Italian Hollandaise. It's a significantly watered down version of the original hollandaise, doesn't taste as sinful. As much as we would love to try Today's Special, our stomach had absolutely no more room for more.Still, we went over to their cakes counter to check out their offerings. The Ab Fab Red Velvet Cake (Single $9.00, Whole 9" $90.00, Cupcakes (by the dozen) $4.50) looks absolutely stunning! Plus they use only valrhona chocolates to bake it.Their Green Tea Almond Praline (Single $7.50, Whole $75.00, Cupcake (by the dozen) $4.50) -an almond praline butter torte is filled and covered with a delicious swiss meringue Macha butter cream looks equally desirable. Thanks for making my weekends fabulous, baker boy!To read the full review with photos, please visit http://www.aspirantsg.com/the-baker-boy-at-viridian-arthouse-made-my-sunday-fabulous/…查看更多

Visiting Necessary Provisions was not part of our agenda on the Sunday morning. We have wanted to check out the breakfast scene at Carpenter & Cook but unfortunately the cafe was undergoing renovations. Apologetically, the kind lady at the cafe pointed to another cafe that was just 5 - 10 minutes' drive away at Eng Kong Terrace, Bukit Timah. Thankfully with the GPS, we managed to work our way around the neighbourhood.Finding the entrance to the cafe wasn't easy; we would have missed it if not for the kids and the vintage toy car.It was hard to hide the disappointment from our faces when we saw the menu. This cafe is essentially a coffee joint, their breakfast choices were pathetic. There was only panini, toast and sandwiches, you can forget about egg benedict, egg florentine, pancakes and bacons etc. Surprisingly, they attracted quite a decent expatriate crowd. We reasoned that the coffee must be pretty good.Despite having a number of service staffs around, we were expected to make our orders at the counter. The cashier lady shared with us that the cafe is currently two months old and they serve a kick ass cold latte.There were also muffins, cakes, breads and other munchies up for grabs.Here's the Cold Latte ($6.50) that I was talking about. It was served in the form of frozen coffee cubes with cold milk on the side. Simply pour the milk over and you have your latte. We figured that to optimise the flavour of the latte, you only pour the milk when you want a sip. I agree that the latte was outstanding.The Warm Latte ($6.50) was equally good but not as fun.They are serious about their beans, a small space was dedicated to house and showcase their coffee equipment.Our first breakfast entrée Rosemary Chicken with Watercress and Parmigiano ($9.00) failed to impress in terms of presentation and tasted really ordinary.My Banana Nutella Panini ($5) cannot be served plainer. Even MacDonald's Sausage McMuffin looks more enticing.It's just nutella and bananas. I can seriously make this myself.That's Toast with Cashew Butter and Jams ($4) for you.Well, there was a Savoury Pancake ($6) that was not included in the menu. The main ingredients are dry shrimps, prawns and long bean. My Korean friend chuckled that the appearance resembles that of a typical Korean fried pancakes.Coffee is an essential component of a cafe but I am not sure if it is enough to keep it afloat. Singaporeans I know loves late weekend brunch with popular breakfast items such as American Bacon & Sausage Breakfast Set, Egg Benedict etc. They are unlikely to patronize a cafe just because they serve awesome coffee.To read full write up with photos, please visit my blog via http://www.aspirantsg.com/necessary-provisions-is-too-basic-for-brunch-eng-kong-terrace/…查看更多

When my colleagues suggested heading over to a Duck Rice Place along South Buona Vista Road, I was still oblivious to the fact that we were patronising the famous Lim Seng Lee Duck Rice Eating House! It made history by being one of the first in Singapore to serve boneless duck in 1968 and is particularly well-known for its Teochew-style Braised Duck.This is a popular lunch joint for the working crowd in the western region of Singapore. And is even more so now after the recent media hype of it closing down for good after 20th June 2013! If you are driving over, alight your passengers first to get a table while you try to get your vehicle parked. Be prepared to wait for around 10 - 15 minutes just to get a table.We ordered half a duck portion ($20) for 4 of us. The legendary boneless braised duck was served minutes later coated with a layer of soy sauce based gravy flavoured with cinnamon and other herbs and spices. The thinly sliced duck meat was amazingly tender and goes really well with the accompanying sweet vinegar chilli. Convenience and ease of accessing the duck meat was also a major plus point.We also ordered braised eggs on the side. They were a little too dry and hard for my liking.I am not exactly sure if this was Sambal Kang Kong ($6) or just Kang Kong. I could hardly taste any sambal in them. You can definitely give this a miss.I never understand how Tofu ($6) go hand in hand with braised duck. The tofu looked and tasted bland. Please save the $6 for a nice dessert after the meal.It is sad to know that Founder Lim Ah Too, 67, and his wife will be ceasing their operations due to poor health and their children are not willing to take over the business. While the side dishes are not amazing, I still recommend readers to pop by before 20th June 2013 for their boneless Teochew-style Braised Duck before it fades into history. To read full write up with photos, please visit my blog via http://www.aspirantsg.com/farewell-to-lim-seng-lee-boneless-braised-duck-rice/…查看更多

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/battling-dungeness-crabs-with-hammers-at-the-cajun-kings/singaporeWhen we accepted the birthday dinner invitation for a close friend, we had absolutely no idea what we were in for. The facts only hit us when we were deliberating over the menu. Choices for mains were amazingly limited and we eventually have to settle for Dungeness Crabs as our staple!Shortly after our orders were taken, small 'pill' containers with salt & pepper mixture and freshly cut green lime were served. Note that this will come in real handy later as a dip for our rather bland crab meat.There is no escaping from getting into a mess with full hands-on action on the seafood later so we were all provided plastic aprons to protect ourselves from accidental spurts! That's our birthday boy posing for the camera!We entertained ourselves with finger food (which was pretty yummy) for a good 20 minutes before our crabs got delivered in huge plastic bags! This restaurant is definitely not going to win any environment friendly award in Singapore. The hot escaping steam makes it really tough to capture a good shot. And it proved to be even harder to remove the large scorching Dungeness crabs with its legs getting tangled all over within the bag.After a few minutes of struggling, we finally got Mr Crabby nicely seated on a wooden board. The crab's rich red tone makes it extremely inviting. In case you have yet to realise, the Dungeness Crab is not Asian. It is a species of crab that inhabits the eelgrass beds and water bottoms on the west coast of North America.I decided to do the opening act of pulling off the top shell. The crab butter or commonly known as the roe wasn't what we expected. They were runny and tasted rather fishy... not exactly a delicacy. However, a big plus point was that it has a lot of meat compared to its Asian cousins.To prevent excessive squirting, the trick was to hammer out those juicy morsels while keeping the crab in the plastic bags. Dungeness crab flesh has a faint sweet taste and that's about it. This Ang Mo style of crab cooking has utterly failed to absorb in much of the delectable gravy that it was steamed in. Other than crab, prawns were ordered as well.The aftermath of Mr Crabby's brutal murder was rather unsightly and the culprits has no intention of hiding the murderous tool.A quick visit to the wash basin will relief you of the post meal awkward stickiness.This will probably be the first and last time that I will patronise the restaurant. Not to get me wrong, the service staffs were wonderful and everyone had fun with the hammers and eating crabs out of plastic bags. Compared to asian crabs, dungeness crabs are definitely more value for money. But I am not a fan of the style of cooking, I very much preferred my black pepper, egg yolk and chilli crab anytime. But if you have yet to experience dungeness crabs, I will encourage you to give it a try. You may also like to check out my posts on other delicious food places here…查看更多

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/exquisite-french-christmas-eve-dinner-2fifteen-kitchen/singaporeMy Christmas Eve Feast comes free this year with a lucky win from OpenRice Christmas Contest. This means ditching the traditional turkey and all for an exquisite 5 course French Dinner at 2fifteen Kitchen in Buona Vista’s Rochester Mall.Having made reservations for 2, we were quickly settled in by an attentive waiter. If not for the win, I will need to fork out $98 per pax for what's to come next.Bread was served for small talks before the course commence. Warm & crispy at the edge, the bread was perfect with the flavorful chilled tuna. Pity that only butter was served for the 2nd serving.We started our festive meal with Sea-fruit Platter. The use of 'fruit' was not a spelling mistake, it was deliberate to highlight the delightful pairing of fresh seafood with fruits. The colourful dish included Poached Boston Lobster with Grapefruit and Citrus Oil, Warm Octopus Leg with Pomelo Jelly, and Oyster on Watermelon and Passionfruit Coulis. The Oyster on Watermelon and Passionfruit Coulis was especially pleasing to the eye. The raw oyster accompanied by sweet watermelon and zesty passionfruit coulis offered an enjoyable erratic flavour that's hard to forget.Next up was the lobster bisque-infused Brittany-style Scallop with Chorizo Sausage. The scallop delivered a lovely bouncy chew. There was too little of the sausage to make out much from it.We moved on to Jerusalem Artichoke Soup and Duck Foie Gras with a touch of Garlic Oil. The gratifying soup was just what was needed to balance the richness of the foie gras.For the main, we have a choice between the Australian 150-day grain-fed Beef Hanging Tender with Truffle Mashed Potatoes or Pan-seared Rosy Snapper Fillet with Crispy Herb’s Crust with Truffle Mashed Potatoes and Brown Jus.The sweet ending to the 5-course meal was a dainty Chestnut ‘Christmas Tree’ Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream. Points awarded for the pretty layout but the 3-layer chestnut cake and ice cream was a little too ordinary. Fruits never really cut it when it comes to desserts for me.Tea was ordered after our 5 course dinner to aid digestion. The side cookies are unbelievably cute!The food borders between good & amazing but the service by the more experienced waiter was excellent.…查看更多

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/celebrate-christmas-with-your-beloved-pets-sun-ray-cafe/singapore Felt guilty at times when you left out your pets out from festive celebrations? Make this year an inclusive Christmas where your beloved pet gets to enjoy the company of family, friends and loved ones at pet friendly Sun Ray Café!Located at 79 Brighton Crescent Serangoon Gardens, the café allow you to break away from Christmas dining at the clattery, overcrowded spaces in the city and enjoy a more relaxed pace at this secret find in Serangoon Gardens village. The café has consistently enjoyed mentions from Straits Times, 联合早报 (Lian He Zao Bao), 8-Days, i-Weekly, CHIC magazines, 9tro magazines as well as popular radio stations such as 938 Live, Symphony 924 and Love 972 FM. The award of ‘Best Loved Prawn Pasta’ by CozyCot was a further testimony of the café dedication to great taste and value for its customers.North-easterners and pet owners from all over Singapore adore Sun Ray Café all day breakfast and house specialities such as Sun Salad, Asparagus & Bacon, Minute Steak & Eggs, Poached Salmon Fillet, Cumin Crusted Lamb Rack, Yorkshire Pork Racks or Paella Ala Valencia. You can check out them out in my previous post here.However, we are now going to shine the limelight on the café latest Christmas Menu. Priced at S$60, diners get to enjoy a delectable six course Christmas Dinner that includes Amuse Bouche, Appetizer, Soup, Sorbet, Main and Dessert. The amazing part about the Christmas Menu is that everything was created out of fresh ingredients sourced by Chef Derrar and Chef 'Bob'. Nothing was obtained conveniently from a can, even down to the sorbet. Can't wait to get started!We started with Amuse Bouche which literally meant Mouth Amuser in French. Amuse Bouches differ from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by diners but are selected and served according to the chef's selection alone. Our Amuse Bouche consist of Avocado & Salmon on Crostini, Beef Carpaccio & Truffles and Cherry Tomato & Mozzarella. Beef Carpaccio & Truffles comprises sliced raw beef with truffle essence. The raw part sounded daunting at first but it turned out to pretty good. The meat was a little chewy but it went well with the truffle essence.Smoked Salmon Roulade was the first of our 2 appetiser served. Smoked slowly over the oak wood strained with The Macallan, there is a faint presence of the premium single malt whiskey.A closer look revealed its stuffing of mascarpone cheese, orange zest, dill herb, lemon juice and black caviar. The combination of the flavours was rather well managed.Foie Gras was presented next. Duck fattened liver was marinated with port wine, brandy, cinnamon, salt, pepper and baked in bain marie for 20 minutes before being served with diced apple and pear accompanied by port wine and bitter chocolate sauce.The health conscious would frown at the generous yellow concentrated duck fat. The fat tasted like cold salted egg yolk. It was a little too salty for me.Lobster Bisque was our soup item for our Christmas Feast. This was one of the best lobster bisque that I have tasted. Carrot, celery, leek, onion, garlic, lobster meat and shell were cooked for a long period of time to dissolve the shell so as to intensify the flavour.Before we start proper on the main, a shot of refreshing lemon and pineapple sorbet was offered to clean our pallet.Moscato D'Asti was brought in while we were enjoying our desserts. This is a "Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita” (DOCG, controlled designation of origin guaranteed – the highest quality assurance label for Italian food products) sparkling white wine produced mainly in the Asti, Italy. It has also recently scored 88 points on the 100-point Wine Spectator published on 11/30/2012.The wine is sweet and low in alcohol, and often enjoyed with dessert. Typically reminiscent of ripe melons and blossom, it has an uplifting perfume and although sweet, it is light and refreshing. Enough said, let's cheers to this wonderful meal!First main up was Turkey Breast stuffed with chestnut, minced pork and served with roasted potato and cranberry sauce.Unlike the usual dry and tough Turkey, the meat was delightfully tender and moist.Our 2nd contender Salmon En Croute consist of salmon fillet seasoned to perfection with salt, pepper, lemon juice wrapped in filo pastry. It was served with Jerusalem artichoke and green asparagus with lemon, cream and white wine sauce.Our final dessert was Christmas Pudding made from mixed dry fruits, brandy, cinnamon and served with creamy egg yolk brandy sauce.You can choose to top up your Christmas Set with mocktails, cocktails or good old fashion coffee. For the alcoholics, there's Orgasm - a delicious drink made from Irish cream, coffee liqueur and an orange-flavoured liqueur, it's one of the sexiest cocktails in the world.Or the cheeky Charlie Chaplin - a premium cocktail which was once one of the premium cocktails drunk at the famous Waldorf Astoria in the 1920, it has equal mixes of gin, lime and apricot brandy to create a gentle cocktail that is thick and sweet.If you are driving, you may want get Out of the Beach (Not to be mistaken with Sex on the Beach). This is the cafe's all-time favourite.Else you can also opt for Minty Cooler - A sparkling mixture of cranberry juice and mojito mint syrup.Despite the café relatively modest background, its Senior Baristas Shermaine was trained by 3 award winning baristas from the acclaimed Oriole Coffee and 4 other staff are also trained Baristas from Specialty Coffee Association of Europe*. They know good coffee.Of course, we were not the only ones enjoying ourselves.The chefs prepared a lovely dish of Boiled Lamb for Shaun's Tracce too!After a lovely meal, we could not resist taking a group photo with our talented chefs who made it happen!Come visit Sun Ray Café from now till 31 December 2012 and enjoy 10% discount by simply being their Facebook Fan. Do remember to check out their Facebook time to time to get updates on their latest offerings and promotions!…查看更多

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/sun-ray-cafe-a-ray-of-happiness-for-singapore-pet-lovers/singaporePet lovers all around Singapore can now rejoice with yet another premium cafe to spend quality time with their beloved animals and fellow pet lovers over casual meals and coffee. Located at 79 Brighton Crescents Serangoon Gardens, the café is wonderful hideaway from city clattery, overcrowded spaces and hurried pace of life.Established in December 2010 singlehandedly by Dave Lim, this cozy pet friendly café has consistently enjoyed write ups and mentions from Straits Times, 联合早报 (Lian He Zao Bao), 8-Days, i-Weekly, CHIC magazines and 9tro magazines. If you drive, you are likely to have also heard praises of their cuisines on popular radio stations such as 938 Live, Symphony 924 and Love 972 FM. The award of ‘Best Loved Prawn Pasta’ by CozyCot - online magazine offering articles about beauty, fashion and woman lifestyle was a further testimony of the café dedication to great taste and value for its customers. North-easterners and pet owners from all over Singapore adore Sun Ray Café all day breakfast especially during the lazy weekends.But if you woke late (like the few of us), you can opt for brunch instead. We started our meal with 4 exotic beers. Can you believe we actually started sampling 4 exotic beers on an empty stomach. Tsk tsk. Here's a quick introduction to the drinks:Taiwan Lychee Beer ($11) offers a sweet lychee taste, with a good overall mouth feel and a clean after taste. Sun Ray Café also offers Taiwan Honeydew-Melon Beer which is a sweet honeydew melon flavoured beer with hints of cane sugar and flowers.Fruli Strawberry Beer ($11) is a unique blend of white beer and strawberry juice. The strong zest of the beer was well balanced by the sweet and refreshing taste of strawberrySwedish Rekordelig Cider ($12) is an ever popular cider made from Swedish spring water by a family-owned brewery. Available in 2 lovely flavours Pear as well as Strawberry and Lime.Japanese Craft Beer Hitachino Nest White Ale ($12) also known as Japanese "Owl" Beer is a multi-award winning beer with hint of coriander, nutmeg and orange peel.For starters, we had the popular Sun Salad ($8) which consist of Baby romain lettuce, tossed with caesar dressing (mayonnaise, anchovy, garlic, lemon juice) and tomato XL, crispy bacon (pork) served with soft boiled egg crusted with cornflakes. The presentation was deliberately to reflect that of a rising sun over the horizon. Crisp lettuce together with its refreshing dressing made this an excellence appetizer. What impressed me most was that the soft boiled egg within the deep fried cornflake crust still contained a runny egg yolk - not an easy feat to master.Asparagus & Bacon ($11) was up next. These U.S. asparagus were poached in salted water before being wrapped in pork bacon to be served with poached eggs and orange hollandaise sauce (clarified butter with egg yolk, orange zest & orange juice). The pork bacon was a sinful delicacy. It went perfect with the runny eggs and orange hollandaise sauce.True to its name, Minute Steak & Eggs ($18) tender beef loin was only grilled for a minute before it was served with crashed baby potato, baked cherry tomato, rosemary herb, garlic and olive oil.Poached Salmon Fillet ($22) consist of a thick & succulent salmon fillet with its skin off. Poached for 4 minutes in soya milk, it was served with U.S. Asparagus, with lemon juice, butter and cream.Cumin Crusted Lamb Rack ($26) was crusted with dijon mustard and cumin baked for 15 minutes to achieve medium rare texture. Served with Ratatouille created out from courgette, red, yellow, green capsicum, garlic, onion, bay leaves, tomato paste, tomato whole, red wine, rosemary and lamb juice. This is a must order for lamb lovers.Our final main was Yorkshire Pork Racks ($22). The pork rack was grilled for 10 minutes, finished in oven for 4-5 minutes before its served with sweet potato, mushroom and apple cider sauce. Yorkshire Pork is a famous breed of white swine that boost of just the right amount of lean meat & fats for an unforgettable bite.We ended off the meal with delicious Double Chocolate and Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream. We strongly recommend the Matcha Green Tea flavour. It commands a strong taste of Premium Japanese Green Tea which is quite difficult to find even at well known Japanese restaurants.Jessie's darling dog did not go hungry while we were sampling the chef's cuisine. We ordered a portion of Lamb Meat Ball ($6) for her.While we were sipping our post meal coffee, Chef Derrar Hassane (Head Chef at Sun Ray Cafe) came in to check on his guest. Besides sharing with us the preparation work behind the entrées, the bubbly chef also share with us his adventurous past of perfecting his European style culinary skills at different countries. Notably, and as recent as 5 years ago, he has served as the Head Chef for 10 Downing Street (UK ‘Istana’). Leading a team of 8 chefs, he prepared dishes for the UK Cabinet as well as for state banquets up to 800 covers. That’s indeed food fit for kings and queens! Two years ago, he served as the Executive Chef in L’Opera in Piccolo Hotel at Bukit Bintang, KL Malaysia where he led a kitchen brigade of 27 chefs, with up to 800 daily covers.Patrons were thrilled with coffee on the house a week before we came. It was a special treat for all to celebrate the completion of Specialty Coffee Association of Europe* (SCAE) Barista Course by 4 of Sun Ray Café staffs.You should come visit Sun Ray Café from now till 31 December 2012 and enjoy 10% discount by simply being their Facebook Fan. Do remember to check out their Fan Page time to time to get updates on their latest offerings and promotions!…查看更多

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/antoinette-a-great-taste-of-french-hospitality/singapore or follow me on twitter for food reviews: https://twitter.com/AspirantSG The health-conscious can dine in delight with Salade Antoinette ($16.50). Loved the refreshing combination of crab meat, boiled egg, tomato, pine nuts, toasted brioche and mixed greens sprinkled with yuzu dressing. Easy on the eye, it was a really good appetizer for a small group of 4.Nordic Savory Crepe ($18.50) was crispy on the edge, we enjoyed the strong taste of smoked salmon that was accompanied by red onions, capers and dill cream cheese.Their Morel Mushroom ($26.00) was a sight for sore eyes! This is a MUST order for all Carbonara lovers. It's good that the serving portion was appropriate, the intense creamy texture can get pretty overwhelming after a while.If you are into burgers, check out Burger Antoinette ($20.00) which consist of Pan-fried apple, chicken leg patty, pommery mustard mayonnaise, butter lettuce, onion chutney, plump tomato, chips and petit salad with house dressing.End the meal with their signature dessert - Antoinette (S$9 each). My fork just glided through this divine concoction of chocolate, earl grey and hazelnut with minimal resistance. Although the menu was a little steep on the price tag, I feel that its worth it for the wonderful food and ambience. You may also like to check out my posts on other delicious food places here…查看更多

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/is-there-a-sequel-to-the-little-part-1-cafe/singapore or follow me on twitter for food reviews: https://twitter.com/AspirantSG My boss eyes laterally sparkles each time we suggest a new place for lunch. But having worked at Caldecott Hill for a while, we are fast running out of interesting options. That's when one of my colleague suggested checking out this well hidden Little Part 1 Cafe located near Thomson Plaza.To be honest, I still can't really give clear instructions on how to get to the cafe. We drove pass the usual eateries stretch along Upper Thomson Road, then Thomson Plaza and the next thing we knew, our car stopped right outside this quaint little cafe!Ooo... now we know Wednesday nights are a great time to visit!While looking at the cafe's logo on one of its white walls, I wondered the rationale behind 'Little Part 1', is there a Part 2 or Part 3 cafe hiding in some secluded corner in Singapore?We quickly settled down in a cozy corner right in front of a shelf with old toys, collectibles and happily started blabbing away.The clean white wall just next to our table displayed framed travelogues of presumingly the cafe owners.They are reputed to serve great crepes but if you need something more substantial for lunch or dinner - there's always the mains.Hmm.. Cheeky Rascal sounds like a fun beverage!When in Rome do as the Romans do. Make sure you obey Regulations #33!Interesting way of delivering our cutlery.Their Buffalo Wings were not mind-blowing amazing but still pretty good when they are served piping hot.Chicken Schnitzel is one of their signature dishes. For me, it's just typical chicken cutlet. The only thing unique about it was the accompanying white wine sauce that went with the parmesan breaded chicken. Try it for the experience.Next to arrive was our Bratwurst Brat - Smoked german sausages with Dijon sauce. It wasn't spectacular.My colleague had the Belgian Fish & Mussel Stew. They are pretty generous with their serving of mussels and fish slices. I didn't get to try it but the colours looked really good and she sang praises of it till date.Our Salmon Crepe wrapped with marinated salmon, sautéed onions and mushrooms with mozzarella cheese for sharing. No matter how hard I try, eating crepes is always a messy affair. Let's try not to imagine the aftermath.Our sweet ending - Warm Apple Crumble With Ice CreamBesides the interior dining area, the cafe offers Al fresco dining too!Doesn't look that great in board daylight but might be a nice corner to chill out with friends over drinks on a weekday evening.My verdict? It's a nice cozy cafe that serves decent food at a reasonable price but you will not want to travel cross the island just to visit it.You may also like to check out my posts on other delicious food places here: http://www.aspirantsg.com/restaurants-cafe-eateries-food-list-singapore…查看更多

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/flavours-of-thailand-at-parkroyal-on-beach-road/singapore or follow me on twitter for food reviews: https://twitter.com/AspirantSG Just a short 2 months since Karen invited me for a special themed Crab Feast @ Plaza Brasserie, PARKROYAL on Beach Road buffet, the good people there lead by Executive Chef Jackson Goh recently launched a brand new themed buffet spread!Besides the usual fresh oysters, dim sum and delectable roast selection...You get to experience the myriad of Thai cuisine at Plaza Brasserie from 5 September to 31 October, as Executive Chef Jackson Goh presents a range of Thai culinary favourites! Relish appetizers that include zesty Thai Papaya Salad, Thai Glass Noodle Salad, Thai Beef Salad, Thai Fish Cakes, Prawns on Toasts and the whole assortment of Tom Yam Fruit Salad, Thai Duck Salad, Thai Seafood Salad, Thai Spring Rolls, Thais Chicken Wings, Deep-fried Minced Shrimps with Thai Herbs!We started the sampling of the main dishes with the signature Thai Fish Maw Soup. Chef Goh was really generous with the ingredients. The fish maw was nice and tender. Taste of this starchy concoction resembled our familiar Shark Fin Soup and goes really well with a little vinegar and pepper.Next to be served was the Thai Beef Noodle Soup. The beef slices were not tough and gamey, they went well with the broth laced with herbal goodness. The Thai Red Curry With Roasted Duck looks appealing but it wasn't exactly up my alley. The red curry and roast duck would have been delicious on their own merit. The combination was just odd for me.The vegetables in Stir Fried Kai Lan in Thai Style were fresh, crunchy and pretty addictive. I cannot figure where the Thai Style comes in, the cooking seems really Chinese to me...Stir Fried Minced Pork with Basil Leaves was a little too salty and watery. The minced pork is usually served on top of rice which probably absorbed some of the liquid away.Back by popular demand is their selection of freshest catch of the day available from Mondays to Thursdays: Promfret, Sea Bass, Kee Fish, and Tilapia Fishes. Chef Jackson Goh will prepare your favourite fishes in one of various styles, which includesSpicy Thai Lime and Chilli, Thai Green Curry, Thai Red Curry or Basil in Coconut Cream.You can also select your favourite seafood over the counter and have them prepared the way you liked it.We had our seafood prepared in spicy sambal style.Of course, there's also the Fried Kway Teow “Phad Thai”, Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken Floss, Stir-fried Crab Thai Style, Thai Red Beef Curry, Thai Duck Kway Teow Soup, Spicy Chicken Soup, Thai Green Chicken Curry, Deep Fried Minced Shrimp with Thai Herbs and the popular Tom Yam Goong.If you have a sweet-tooth, savour their range of delicious desserts from Glutinous Rice with Durian Paste, Banana Fritters, Thai Red Ruby with Coconut Cream, Tapioca with Coconut Cream, Assorted Royal Thai Kuehs, Fresh Fruit Platter and Assorted French Pastries.Crispy on the outside while firm & sweet on the inside, it was tough resisting another one of these Banana Fritters.It seems like our dear Mango has been replaced. I personally feel that Durian Paste taste fantastic on its own and it may be a little too strong in flavour to act as the accompanying fruit for the Glutinous Rice. Bravo for the Durian Paste, I had many, many rounds of helpings before calling it a day. If these traditional Thai desserts aren't sufficient to satisfy your sweet tooth, you can always finish off the scrumptious buffet spread with a MYO (Make Your Own) Ice Kacang!Plaza Brasserie has outdone itself once again with its brand new Flavours of Thai theme. This themed buffet spread is available for limited time only, make sure you make your way down fast! Here are the full buffet details:Flavours of Thai @ PARKROYAL on Beach RoadDate: 5 September to 31 October 2012Venue: Plaza BrasserieAddress: 7500 Beach Road Singapore 199591Prices: Dinner (Mon to Thurs): Adult $52 Child $31 (Fri to Sun): Adult $55 Child $33Prices are subject to 10% service charge and 7% GSTFor enquiries or reservations, please call Plaza Brasserie at 6505 5710.You may also like to check out my posts on other delicious food places here: http://www.aspirantsg.com/restaurants-cafe-eateries-food-list-singapore …查看更多

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/all-day-breakfast-now-thats-food-for-thought/singapore or follow me on twitter for food reviews: https://twitter.com/AspirantSG My friends and I decided to start our Sunday with brunch at Food For Thought before heading out for a relaxing afternoon stroll at the Singapore Botanical Gardens. Sounds like a really idyllic plan if the weather works out.To manage everyone's expectations, we were all duly notified by our 'organiser' that the place looked more like a canteen than a cafe.It took us a while to get seats in the air-conditioned interior and to be honest, it was not the most conducive environment for conversations.If only parents can keep their kids entertained throughout their stay at the playground. Not the place to be for breakfast if you cannot tolerate kids running about and making a din.But one major plus point is that they are one of those rare places in Singapore that serves All Day Breakfast (8am - 5pm). Plus early raisers (8am to 10am) get to enjoy a cup of hot local black coffee or tea at $1 with any of their Local Breakfast!Do not expect to be serviced at your table.You have to order your food, pay directly at the counter and wait patiently for it to be served. Good news is the menu prices at Singapore Botanical Gardens are slightly cheaper as compared to their other outlet at Queen Street and in addition to that, there was no service charge.Food assembling of our orders were really systematic.That's my Brunch Set ($8) with choice of 3 sides - Garlic Mushrooms, Pomme Noisette (Hash Brown) and Scrambled Eggs With Cream! Presentation can't get any simpler.Nothing amazing about the scrambled eggs and hash browns but the mushrooms saved the day!Slightly healthier version of Brunch Set with Roasted Tomato Salad, 2 Eggs Sunny Side Up and Chunky Chicken Sausage.If brunch set was not enough to fill you up completely, you can consider ordering their nicely browned thick Toast ($3) served with the following choice of spreads: Butter / Dragon Fruit Jam / Marmalade / Kaya / Peanut Butter.Duo of Pancakes ($12) accompanied by fresh cream, gula melaka syrup and served with additional toppings of dark chocolate and raspberry tasted so much better than MacDonald's hotcakes. But you got to be prepared to wait around 10 to 15 minutes for them.If you are not that into breakfast, you can opt for their Grilled Burgers ($8 - $12). Accompanying fries & drinks are served with a minimal additional charge of $4. Or their numerous pasta options.Happy faces before we head out to walk our guilt away.The scenery at Botanical Garden was gorgeous but the stroll did not prove to be such a great idea. The hot afternoon sun in Singapore can really drive one bonkers.You may also like to check out my posts on other delicious food places here: http://www.aspirantsg.com/restaurants-cafe-eateries-food-list-singapore …查看更多

For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/nakhon-kitchen-authentic-thai-in-hougang-heartlands/singapore or follow me on twitter for food reviews: https://twitter.com/AspirantSG One of the perks of staying at Hougang is that good hawkers and eateries are just a stone throw away at Kovan area. We have always drove past this Thai eatery right round the corner between Hougang Street 21 and Ave 1 which is always packed during dinner hours. We finally got down to park and give it a try at around 9.30pm after our property viewing.Although the kitchen was already closed, the staff were really nice to extend it and take in our orders. As it was pretty late into the evening, we just ordered simple Phad Thai and Tom Yam Soup to share.They were pretty fast with the Phad Thai Noodles ($5.00). Following how Phad Thai is usually served in Thailand, condiments such as chili pepper and lime are made readily available on the side. It is usually the simplest dish that requires the highest level of skills to really impress and wow its patrons. The Phad Thai was done really well. I love the noodles texture and it offered 2 strong flavours - spicy & sweet in harmonious balance.Tom Yam Soup With Chicken - Thick Base ($6.00) did not disappoint. Stern warning to people who do not take spicy food, this is not the sweet sour manageable kind. The Tom Yam Soup served at Nakhon was intense even for me - might be punishment for ordering so late. But I respect the strong flavour and it would go perfectly well with rice. Sadly no rice was ordered as I am practising low carb intake for dinners. There were lots of spices in the soup but you can't really eat them. It would be better if more portions of 'edible' ingredients such as chicken & mushrooms can be made available.Based on the 2 dishes I have tried, this is probably the best Thai food in Singapore's North Eastern Region. I seriously regretted not getting the mango sticky rice dessert. Will definitely be back again with more folks to sample their other dishes.You may also like to check out my posts on other delicious food postings at http://www.aspirantsg.com/restaurants-cafe-eateries-food-list-singapore…查看更多