Cafe: Smitten Coffee & Tea Bar

Finally checked out Smitten after walking past it a gazillion times that i've been to Robertson Quay. The small food selection has kinda deterred me from dining in for brunch but somehow it seemed quite perfect for a light dinner post yoga class. I'm obviously happy to have breakfast food for any meal of the day. :)

Don't go there expect large cooked meals for there are none. However, a selection of cakes, little baked goods and some sandwiches are available. It's only decent that any coffee place provides some sort of little bites to go along with the drinks.

Sadly, the coffee is not as good as i expected it to be. S said he could taste the bitterness from the over roasted beans but it was kinda masked with the milk when it was hot. The bitterness was even more so apparent when the drink was cool and that's when the sourness came out as well. Meh.

The homemade granola fared so much better. S didn't wanna eat anything at first but he kept stealing from my bowl! Nothing makes us happier than yogurt with granola and fresh fruits. It also came with milk on the side for those who wants a lil more moisture in their bowl but my personal preference is that yogurt alone would suffice.

There were bananas, strawberries, blueberries and nuts in this one. I thought there were some crunchy dehydrated bananas as well. Very satisfying.

We were rather surprised of the huge crowd that showed up sometime after. The place was packed at 9pm! Didn't know that the coffee culture is going so strong in Singapore these days. Don't suppose people need to sleep anymore. Or maybe it was a pre clubbing shot of adrenalin. Who knows.

Smitten
#01-11, 60 Robertson Quay
Tel: +65 9876 2347
Mon, Wed, Thu: 10am - 10pm
Sat - Sun: 9am - 11pm

Brasserie Les Saveurs

I do love the St. Regis Singapore for its array of delectable dining options. There's Yan Ting for fine dining Chinese cuisine, La Brezza for casual Italian and Brasserie Les Saveurs for everything else. Out of the lot, i could see myself dining at BLS most often. Champagne Brunch, Afternoon Tea, French dinner.. there's hardly anything BLS can't execute with panache.

In fact, this was my third time dining at Brasserie Les Saveurs. This time i sampled the a la carte dishes.

As we waited for our food to be served, we were serenaded by the lovely music.

Our amuse bouche was the Steak Tartare. Light seasoning was used in this version of the tartare. Despite the thicker slices of the meat, the dish was silky and smooth, as was the flavor of the meat. 

Second course was the Salade Nicoise. I can't never get enough of salads and this was refreshing with a touch of sweetness. Black pepper seared yellow fin tuna, mesclun leaves, quail eggs with marinated anchovies, green beans and Kalamata olives.

Next we had the Bouillabaisse Facon Les Saveurs which is a Fisherman's seafood stew slow simmered with fennel and saffron. While the seafood were fresh, i found the dish lacking in the rich seafood flavors that i'm accustomed to in a traditional bouillabaisse. I much enjoyed the lovely Rouille sauce with crusty bread as that added more robustness to the dish. 

I could die many times over as long as i get my pan seared Foie Gras Poéle. BLS version is that with apple and rhubard compote, "sauternes" reduction raisins and brioche toast. Remember to separate the brioche from the compote asap so that it doesn't get soggy.

My favorite dish of the night was the Le Homard Thermidor. Huge Boston lobster flamed with cognac, mushroom bechamel sauce and gratinee gruyere. This is exactly how i love my baked seafood, with lotsa cream and cheese but still maintaining the sweetness of the crustacean. Oh and it's HUGE. Did i mentioned that already?

Then came the Filet Mignon Sauce Au Poivre, a grilled beef tenderloin served with a dense truffled mashed potatoes and peppercorn sauce. Our fillet was served a little done for my liking. We should only eat medium rare steaks. The dense and starchy truffled mash cannot be missed. Despite my exploding tummy, i couldn't stop myself from eating it. 

Dessert was the Le Gateâu À La Banane- Banana mousse cake and apricot compote, mango salsa, banana and ginger ice cream. I'm not a fan of mousse cake or bananas so i'd be biased. The ginger was kinda lacking in the ice cream and hence the overall combination fell a little flat with all the banana flavor.

Other than a la carte dishes, Brasserie Les Saveurs also has executive set lunches on weekdays, weekend afternoon tea (with a full scone bar!) and Sunday Champagne brunch. For dinner, they also offer a set meal with a semi buffet for $88/pax. Found BLS quite perfect for all dining occasions. From business lunches to vibrant afternoon tea (they have a scone bar!!) and tea dances, to evenings of gastronomic dining, BLS does everything well. Oh and there's also that giggly Champagne Brunch on Sundays. 

Brasserie Les Saveurs
The St. Regis Singapore, 29 Tanglin Road

Tel: + 65 6506 6866
Daily: 6,30am – 11pm 

Sunday Brunch: 12 - 2.30pm

Dim Sum: East Ocean Teochew Restaurant

When the going gets tough, the tough goes eating. A couple of us at office decided that we needed to reward ourselves for the hard work that we did in the week and we made a last minute reservation at East Ocean Teochew Restaurant for lunch. We were in fact spoiled by the dim sum offerings in Orchard e.g. Imperial Treasures Teochew Restaurant, Kam Boat etc. Now you know where to go for decent dim sum in town. :)

I was surprised that we could get a last minute table for 10pax because it is always hard at IT! My colleague is a regular there so they made special arrangements for us despite us adding on the numbers. The place was packed when we got to the restaurant at noon so do remember to make your reservations.

This is what happens when you leave the order form with me. The table was cleared and filled 4 times throughout our meal! Heh. Well, you know you'll never starve when i'm around.


You MUST order the mini egg tarts ($5.80 for 4). One is not enough for anyone i swear. The light and flaky puff pastry carefully held the wobbly golden custard which was like an egg cream. I'm drooling at the thought of it now..

I swear by anything that has shrimps in them. Every prawn dish that we tasted were fabulous owing to the fresh and succulent seafood. Just look at those Har Gows ($6 per basket).

I love the thin and springy steamed rice rolls and the shrimp ($5.80) and scallop ($6) ones were stellar. Definitely value for money given the size of the prawns! 3 rolls with 3 prawns in each of them.

Another variation of prawn dim sum. The Deep Fried Beancurd Skin Prawn Roll ($5.80). If you want the healthier option, there is also the steamed version of this for the same price and we ordered that as well! Heh. 

Ordered some Century Egg Porridge for sharing. Don't you love congee? Each bowl had chunks of century egg in them.

I went a little overboard with the Steamed Glutinous Rice Rolls ($3.90 for 3). I didn't know that there were 3 mini ones in each basket and so i ordered 2 baskets. At this point i think murderous glares were thrown at me... BUT they were nice because the glutinous rice was sufficiently steamed and hence soft and lightly sticky. We didn't fare too badly, having only to pack 2 rolls back to office.

The pork dishes weren't that great as compared to the prawn ones. It's not that they weren't good, they were just not that great in comparison. Here are the Siew Mais ($5 for 4).

I was really looking forward to the Baked BBQ Pork Bun ($6 for 3) but was sorely disappointed. Imperial Treasures Bakery sells better buns that you can take away for cheaper. The pork was weirdly savory with onions in them that weren't caramelized enough. The milky bo lo bao crust was alright but at some parts the bun to meat ratio was too much. I also found some parts of the bun a little hard and crusty in the stale way.

The highlight of the meal was supposed to be the steamed Custard Bun ($5 for 4). I expected to end lunch on a high and sweet note but....

I didn't like the salted egg yolk custard because it was WAAAAAAAAAY too sweet!

While there was a good bun to filling ratio in this one and i liked the dense texture of the steamed bun, the sweetness was an overkill. Will not order this again. :(

There were more dishes that we ordered but i think this is kinda sufficient to make up your mind on dining at East Ocean Restaurant. I sure wouldn't mind going back considering the good price point and high quality of the dishes. The final bill came up to $24 per pax inclusive of GST and service charge. Not bad hur! Something to keep in mind when you're in town!

Photos taken on my iPhone because it was an impromptu food session. :)

East Ocean Teochew Restaurant

391 Orchard Road #05-08/09 Ngee Ann City, Singapore 238872 Tel: +65 6235 9088 Weekdays: 11.30am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm Weekends and PH:10am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King

Call me slow but i've only recently tried Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King. Yes i've heard raving reviews but i'm really not one who would wait in line for ramen (in SIN city that is). The boy loves ramen and so Keisuke popped into my head. Thankfully, we made it minutes before they opened and managed to get in immediately.

This outlet of Keisuke specializes in Tonkotsu Ramen, which is made from a rich milky pork broth. Keeping things simple, they have 3 flavors to pick from- Original, Black Spicy and Red Spicy.

Black Spicy is a pepper based spice while Red Spicy is a fresh chili paste.

The first thing i heard about Keisuke was their free flow boiled eggs and seasoned bean sprouts. That kinda contributed to the long queue i guess. Not that much of a cheapo to go for such stuff, especially since bean sprouts are the bane of my life.

I started playing with the sesame seeds even before i placed my order. Other than enhancing the taste of the broth, it is also a good distraction from the wait.

The ramen could be easily customized using the order form. Kinda idiot-proof. I went for the original with seaweed and flavored egg. And a little bit of spring onions. Don't quite get who would go for the 'no char siew' option.

Here's mine.

Despite the less oil option, there were a lot of pieces of fats in my noodles. I dutifully scooped out most of them.

S's spicy red ramen with normal oil level. I didn't quite like the red spicy flavor as it was more of a dull piquantness than a savory one. The original broth was very rich and flavorful but it was also rather salty.

Our verdict on the ramen. It's not bad. We concluded that the broth was on the same level as Santouka's or better. Santouka happens to be his favorite ramen in Singapore. I wasn't too pleased with the char siew though as it was drier and tougher than the high quality pork cheeks that we are used to at Santouka. But the egg? Simply awesome. I could inhale 5 of these realistically speaking. Nice gooey texture in the middle and the soy infusion right to the center of the egg. Lovely.

I wouldn't mind coming back for ramen IF the queue isn't insane. Certainly one of the better ramens around. What is your favorite ramen in SIN city?

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King

1 Tras Link #01-19 Orchid Hotel
Tel: +65 6636 0855
Daily: 11.30am - 10.30pm (they do take a break in the afternoon i think)

Fandango Tapas and Wine Bar

For anyone who loves to have a variety of dishes for any meal, the small plates format is your best option. Needless to say i'm a huge fan of Spanish tapas. I recently checked out Fandango Tapas and Wine Bar and enjoyed dining privileges using the Palate card. Located in the heart of Chijmes, Fandango provides a chic yet comfortable place to relax and unwind in the al fresco seating area facing the lawn and the beautiful church. Thankfully, the weather was on our side for some outdoors dining.

Fandango offers a good selection of traditional Spanish tapas as well as some Asian inspired dishes such as Roast Pork Belly. An extensive wine list that accompanied all those authentic dishes kept us very happy that night. Other than Spanish wines and beers, there are Australian, New Zealand and South American wines as well. I like that they offer many wines by the glasses so that allowed us to try various drinks without committing to a bottle.

What's Spanish tapas without some Sangria right? 

I was a little disappointed as our Sangrias were a little diluted. The red wine based ones were stronger though.

Serrano and Manchego ($18) is a good snack to have with some wine. Another option is the Deep Fried Camembert ($17) served with raspberry and Cabernet coulis. I liked the texture of the oozy cheese but the coulis was lacking in texture and too watery for my liking.

The Albondigas ($14), a traditional beef meatballs in a spicy tomato and rosemary sauce was probably my favorite dish of the night. They were juicy, flavorful and simply divine.

The Tortilla a la Espanola ($11) is a classic Spanish potato and onion omelette. It's so hard to find a good one in Singapore and it's really not that easy to make one. Fandango's tortilla kept me going on and on the whole night with its soft potatoes and light onion fragrance. It's good alone but the tangy tomato picante was good with it too.

It's hard to go wrong with Scallops and Serrano ham skewers ($18). 

To the uninitiated, the traditional Spanish Chorizo ($18) may be thought of as too hard, dry and salty but that is what chorizo is. This spicy and salty meat is pan fried with onions and dusted with a touch of paprika. It would be great if it came with a serving of baguette though.

Don't miss out on the Garlic prawns ($15). Fresh prawns served with artichoke hearts, sauteed with garlic, onion and white wine. I wished there were more in the pan. You should also order the Calamari if you need something fried. :)

The Paella de Marisco ($35) wasn't the most traditional that i've tasted. For one, the short grained rice was a little too fluffy for a paella. I was told by Emma, the friendly boss, that it's a spanish grain, though not bomba. Texture aside, i liked the rich seafood broth taste in this one and the seafood were fresh.

Desserts were kinda disappointing for us. Our Chocolate lava cake was overdone the first time round. Despite the molten centre in the second, the chocolate taste was lacking. Ice cream was so so as well.

The signature tiramisu was sorely lacking in espresso and alcohol. It was all cream and frozen chocolate swirls all around. I say skip desserts and stick to the wine and tapas.

We enjoyed a 25% off our total bill (there were 4 of us) and that saved us quite a bit from all that feasting. Whee. So glad that i have the Palate Card (read more here) for that.

GIVEAWAY (closed)
So here is the final Palate Card giveaway! This is what you need to do to win a Basic membership card worth $428.

1. Visit my Facebook page (click here) and find the Fandango Post.
2. Share the post with your friends (Remember to set the privacy setting to Public)
3. Tell me which restaurant you would like to try under the Palate Card dining privileges.

Giveaway ends midnight 25 Aug! Remember to like my FB page if you haven't done so. :) Good luck!

Fandango Tapas and Wine Bar

30 Victoria Street, CHIJMES #01-17
Tel: +65 6333 3450

Weekdays: 12pm - 12am
Sat: 5pm - 2am
Sun: 5pm - 12am

Cuba: Life In Motion

Through Her Eyes

Life in motion. From the backseat of a beaten up car. Watching the sun set. Watching the blur. Wondering how we got to where we are. Wondering how anyone got to where they are. Wondering about life.. In motion.