As French patisserie Antoinette bid farewell to its Mandarin Gallery outlet, its move to Millenia Walk is a warm welcome by the working crowd in the area, who gets to indulge on fresh bakes, sweet treats and savoury bites, all day everyday. 

Pick your spot, be it under the sun (i mean skylight) in the ‘al fresco’ area along the atrium, or tucked tucked away in a cosy corner in the store, and then be ready to watch the world go by for a bit. New to the Millenia Walk outlet are French-style savoury crêpes and weekday-specials, the Le Menu Petite Déjeuner (a simple breakfast menu) and Le Menu Sandwich (classic European sandwiches) that are exclusive to Millenia Walk.

For a quick grab and go, other than Antoinette’s signature Pure Butter Croissants ($3.5) and Pain Au Chocolat ($3.5), i highly recommend the Egg Muffin ($5) which is way better than MacD's FOR SURE. The housemade pork sausage patty is incredibly juicy and wholesome, with zero additives. Topped with cheddar cheese and a sunny side up, it's sandwiched between a housemade muffin which is amazingly fluffy and buttery inside and woah i love that crunchy crust it has. How is this only $5?? 

The Italian Focaccia ($8) is also an easy sandwich to eat on the go. You can't go wrong with pesto butter and cheese, plus some juicy sous vide chicken. I love the herby mix and it certainly provides a hearty start to the day. An extensive range of traditional European and Japanese-style breads are freshly stocked daily for a convenient snack at the desk too.

In need of some fresh air this smoggy September! Short of going on a getaway (somewhere without the haze), i'm thinking of a mini afternoon break at InterContinental Hotel Singapore, nibbling on Chef Ben Goh's Classic Afternoon Tea. And no, you don't have to wait for the weekends to enjoy this because it's available daily at the Lobby Lounge.

This particular Classic Afternoon Tea set celebrates Chef Ben's recent win as Pastry Chef of The Year 2019, awarded by World Gourmet Summit. The sweet treats tell the story of Chef Ben's culinary journey- inspirations from his childhood (such as the buttercream cake and his grandmother's kueh lapis), and his milestone creations and award winning sweets. These are accompanied by some specially created light savory bites to balance the desserts. 

Starting with the traditional stuff, the nostalgic old school buttercream cake. I NEVER liked this style of cake because the colors look radioactive and it always has this oily Planta mouthfeel to it. Well Chef Ben's version was totally NOT that. I loved the light saltiness of the buttercream and the light sponge layers. Chef also took a leaf out of his grandmother's book for the kueh lapis and created a springy and eggy cake that wasn't too sweet. The secret ingredient is DOM Benedictine. 

My heart melted at the Peach Melba Cheesecake with the loveliest shade of pink. I mistook the exterior for a tart shell and was surprised that it was a chiffon sponge instead. It's a perfect harmony of sugar and acid in this one. 

The best thing about Chef Ben's desserts is that they are always delicate and nuanced, even with the seemingly rich stuff like chocolate. The award winning Chocolate Lemongrass Pineapple cake may look intimidating but the filling is an airy mousse that is a chocolate cloud, further lifted by the notes of lemongrass. If that doesn't lift your mood, head over to the ice cream counter and help yourself to the free flow of a creamy smooth yogurt yuzu ice cream!  

Afternoon Tea, my long-lost love. How i've missed you. Is it me or has this idyllic event fallen out of favor? Whatever the case, InterContinental Singapore's new Afternoon Tea: Checkmate will make you fall in love again. From now to 31 January 2019, the Lobby Lounge at the hotel will showcase Pastry Chef Ben Goh's collaboration with world-renowned premium chocolate manufacturer Valrhona’s Master Pastry Chef Brice Konan- Ferrand's chess-inspired chocolate-based desserts, alongside some savory bites.

The set is priced at $88 for two persons, inclusive of a fine selection of loose-leaf teas and coffee. You can indulge with a half-bottle Taittinger Brut Champagne (375ml), along with everything else at $138/set.

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to tea and was surprised that we were served sweets first as Chef Ben wanted to focus on the sweets in the afternoon tea set. However, you can always request for a change in order of presentation, or to have both served at the same time (which i recommend). 

3 of the chess desserts are created by Chef Ben- The King, Pawn, and Bishop, while Chef Brice created the Queen, Rook, and Knight.

Dessert parlour Sugarhaus by day, speakeasy steakhouse Fat Belly by night. These two are reasons why you can camp out at Serene Centre for the whole day without having to go hungry. 

In the day, Sugarhaus offers diners of all ages homemade European-inspired ice cream. My favorite was the smooth-like-butter Dutch Chocolate which is made with a concoction of different types of chocolates. The Sea Salt Toffee is another one that you cannot miss. I love the saltiness in this, which has a butter caramel aftertaste. Have the ice cream on their own ($3.50/$4.30 per scoop) or with their fresh waffles ($6). 

Other exciting flavors include Sour Cherry, made with amarena cherries imported from Italy; or the Hibiscus Yogurt for an exotic and aromatic treat. 

Apart from ice cream, of course there are a mix of homemade desserts on display at the counter. Fat Belly is where i had my first galaxy cake and i must say that it changed my mind on artificial looking cakes (which is the main reason why i did not eat any earlier).

Sugarhaus’ Galaxy Tart ($8) is a dome of beautiful white chocolate mirror glaze that is filled with chocolate mousse, raspberry jelly and chocolate crumble. It's a lovely mix of tartness and rich smoothness. 

Next up is the Lemon Popsicle Tart ($8). As its name suggests, the mouth-watering tart comes in the shape of a popsicle filled with lemon sable, lemon parfait and coated with white chocolate. I love the sharpness in the lemon cream, with a crunchy sable that is reminiscent of the Chinese cashew cookie. 

 

Sugarhaus also offers a simple menu of savoury options available till 5pm. We started with the Melted Cheese Toastie ($12) which has gruyere, cheddar, and mozzarella sandwiched in a distinctly sour sourdough from Woodlands Sourdough next door. Not my preferred toastie sadly.

How about a modern okonomiyaki? The Corn & Zucchini Fritters ($15) was more on the wet floury spectrum, slightly salvaged by my love for kewpie mayo, bonito flakes and okonomiyaki sauce. AND THAT FRIED BACON! And sunny side up egg. 

For a more filling bite, the Crab Linguine ($22) satisfies with the heady and umami peppery prawn sauce. Shards of shredded blue swimmer crab claw added a sweetness to the savory pasta. The linguine was on the slightly softer end but i wouldn't mind ordering this again. 

Come nightfall, the bar section of Sugarhaus turns into Fat Belly, serving a lucky 10 customers alternative cuts of beef, particularly the Flat Iron (or Oyster Blade). The menu also features other cuts such as short rib, skirt, rib-eye. 

The Flat Iron ($22), was quite marbled and tender. It certainly has more meaty flavors than the usual steak though i still prefer a ribeye. All steaks come with a side of house salad and chimichurri sauce. Very Argentinean.

For an additional $5, guests can also enjoy side dishes such as Creamed Kale and Guanciale Mac & Cheese. There will also be one dessert exclusively available on Fat Belly’s menu: the Foie Gras ($13) is served with foie gras ice cream, brulee banana, speculoos and roasted nuts. If that's too funky for you, stick with their usual, they're good.

Sugarhause and Fat Belly

#01-03A, Serene Centre, 10 Jalan Serene, Singapore 258748 

Tel: +65 6314 2247 

Sun - Thu: 11am - 10pm, 6 - 10pm (Fat Belly)

Fri & Sat: 11am - 11pm (Last order 5pm for hot food; 15 minutes before closing for desserts), 6pm - 11pm (last order 10pm)

Egg tarts. One of my favorite snacks growing up. What's not to love about snappy crust and wobbly egg pudding?! Yes pudding, not custard like the real Portuguese pastéis de nata (i'll save the review of that for my Lisbon post).

Anyway, during my last trip to Hong Kong, i did an impromptu taste test of 2 famous egg tart brands Honolulu and Tai Cheong since they were both within walking distance from my hotel! Here's the low down. 

Color

Something you wouldn't notice unless you place both tarts together. Honolulu is on the left and Tai Cheong on the right. The radioactive yellow of Tai Cheong's egg tarts could be attributed to a higher egg yolk content (so i heard) and given that it's sweeter, i suspect there's some glaze to it. 

Tart Base & Egg Custard

Honolulu's base is dense and crunchy at the bottom but the edges are more of a layered airy puff pastry. The style is more similar to the Macao-Portuguese egg tarts. The egg filling was rather wet tasted very much like a mixture of soft boiled eggs.

Tai Cheong's crust is something i'm more familiar with. Don't you love snappy shortcrust pastry? Well i do. This is what i'd call a sugar crust. If you like butter cookies, you will love this type of crust. The egg custard was denser, more curdy and can be sliced clean. 

Fragrance
Scent-wise, Honolulu's tart is more savory (lardy) while Tai Cheong's tart smells like a dessert. After the first bite of Honolulu's tart, my throat felt rather uncomfortable and there's an oily aftertaste. It was less noticeable after a few more bites.

I definitely preferred the eggy fragrance of Tai Cheong's tart.

Verdict! I preferred Tai Cheong's egg tart obviously. It's perfect for breakfast, or that afternoon snack, or pre-bed supper. Then again, if i were to take part in an egg tart eating competition, i'd probably pick Honolulu's since it's more savory and i could possibly eat more of them. FYI, Jr prefers Honolulu's.

Did i get that egg tart craving going? Well well, thankfully both Tai Cheong and Honolulu's egg tarts are available in Singapore! Go grab yours now.

XOXO
Travelerintransit

#Waffles the insane trend that is on the Singapore cafe scene right now. Even though it feels like the trend is past its peak, cafes are still hopping on to this train. Well I guess in months to come, only the good ones will still be going strong and my bet is on Montana Brew bar to continue serving us some crispy deliciousness.

Waffles are the highlight here though Montana Brew Bar does burgers and sandwiches alongside specialty coffee (it's a brew bar after all).

Let's start with savory first. The Southern fried chicken wafflewich ($10.50) has gone through many versions and I think this may be v2.5 or something. Reviews said that the chicken was dry and it still wasn't improved after all these changes #meh It may have something to do with the bland spice rub on the chicken. Well we'll just give us a juicy buttermilk fillet and that'll do. 

The spicy southern mustard sauce, which tasted pretty much like tabasco sauce, was pretty good. At least it gave some acidity to the crispy sandwich. I thought that the waffle seemed to be missing some kinda ketchup sorta base or something to gel the dish. The waffles, on their own, were faultless. They remained crispy with every bite even after sitting there for a bit as we carried on with our conversation and got distracted by the other waffles. 

The Truffle Jalepeno Mac & Cheese ($12.50) invaded our immediate environs with its strong truffle scent. The mac & cheese was folded into the waffle batter and then toasted. We were surprised by the generally sweet batter though (isn't m&c supposed to be salty?). Also we didn't get any of that stringy cheese pull-apart effect that we were expecting. This waffle was softer than the rest of Montana's offerings but we enjoyed the moist and spongy texture. Spice lovers may get a kick from the jalapeño bits but the chutney sauce that came with it tastes more like a a sweet Indian curry (it had a distinct cumin flavor). Overall, this dish required something salty to cut through the sweetness. Like bacon... Definitely bacon.

For sweets, you get a choice of the crispy crunchy waffle or the fluffy, light and chiffon-like center with a gentle crispy crust for their sweet stacks. The limited time availability made us choose the Red Velvet Waffle Stack ($10.50) (which really ran out when we were halfway through our brunch at 12ish) over the Chocolate Banana Waffles ($10.50), a chocolate waffle with caramelised banana, vanilla ice cream, salted caramel sauce and nutella truffle powder. 

I kinda liked this one actually. It didn't taste anything like red velvet (with the taste of beet) but go for this because it's a really awesome crispy waffle with dulce de leche and dense creamy ice cream (could do with a stronger vanila flavor). 

We spotted a new flavor which is the Brioche French Toast Waffles ($10.50). I'd hand them my money already. 

You can also get your caffeine kick at Montana Brew Bar with black coffee going for $3.50 onwards and other espresso based drinks from $4. The Montana House blend is a mix of beans from Brazil San Antonio, Peru Apu and Ethiopia Ardi Sidama beans. It produces a full bodied coffee with a low acidity and was an easy to drink cuppa with dark chocolate notes. 

Pour-over and aeropress coffee are available as well ($5.20) and you can pick from the Ethiopia YirgaCheffe or the Peru Apu single origin beans. 

I'd head back to Montana Brew Bar for a decent coffee and perhaps a sweet waffle if i'm in the area. You can't beat great waffles at a great central location.

Montana Brew Bar
1 Selegie Road #01-04, Singapore 188306
Daily: 8am - 9.30pm
Food from 10am

Ask me where to get the best scones and Regent Singapore will be rattled off the top of my head. There may be a lot of other great scones but my goldfish memory only retains the most memorable ones, and I can never forget the light fluffy texture of their scone paired with buttery clotted cream and lemon curd. Thankfully the renovation at Tea Lounge at Regent Singapore did not take too long and you can now enjoy their lovely afternoon tea in a more contemporary colonial garden setting. 

Interactive and theatrical elements have also been added to Tea Lounge's repertoire of delightful bites for their Weekday Three-tier Afternoon Tea. A table-side trolley service provides hand-brewed coffee and special tea blends, brewed to perfection at their optimum timing and temperature; while award-winning Pastry Chef Alex Chong and his team conjure some sweet dreams for the dessert course you pick from the menu. 

First things first, the scones! I knew something was different when i bit into them and i confirmed that the recipe had been tweaked to produce a slightly denser scone that doesn't break apart so easily. I can't tell it i liked it better than the previous version, but i did enjoy it very much. The scone has a nice crunchy crust all around but still retained a moist center. Of course, it was perfect with the Devonshire clotted cream and smooth-like-butter and not-too-sweet lemon curd. There's also a house-made strawberry preserve that's served but i'm simply not a jam person. 

We were also huge fans of the seasonal quiches, which were the best savory items on the tiers. That amazing snappy buttery shortcrust held the moist egg custard with heirloom summer tomato and cherry wood-smoked ham. 

The rest of the petite savory bites sounded fancy with their extravagant ingredients but failed to deliver. The best of the lot was the sweet Alaskan king crab wrapped in watercress crepe, and the smoked Norwegian salmon with caviar on beetroot loaf. The open-faced Wagyu Beef and Lancashire cheese with Périgord black truffle sandwich was dry and bland; and the Duck Breast and Lavender infused Foie Gras Terrine on tart had a slight gamey flavor to it. Needless to say, i could not be bothered with an egg sandwich as it affords no satisfaction at all.

Trust me, we all need that well-deserved break from weekend retail therapy and there's no better place to rest your legs and pockets at Hilton Singapore! They have just launched their new Endless Saturday High Tea at D9 Cakery. 

High tea at a cakery? Sounds like sweet stuff. Well there are sufficient savory bites IMO. Though the selection is not wide, i must say they are quality stuff that will satisfy. 

I love the buns here. Definitely the Pulled Pork Sliders (love the good balance of sweetness and tartness of the meat, sandwiched between fluffy buns) and Pork Floss Curry Pork Bun (remember to add on more of chef's house-made curry and more floss).

Hilton does the best hotel satays in Singapore I SWEAR. They are even better than Pan Pacific Edge's. I say it's among the best i've tasted in Singapore too. 

Super chunky, juicy, tender and well flavored!

The Laksa is quite lemak too! The surprise was the Liu Sha Bao (the skin is so fluffy and the tasty salted egg lava flows). Something special from the savory section is the Swiss Raclette that goes on top of your potatoes or focaccia. Honestly i don't get the hype because the cheese coagulates quickly. I'd rather have a selection of cheeses. 

Fall into a sweet coma with the six-meter showcase brimming with a selection of desserts highlighting artisanal cake creations all made using premium imported ingredients. Here, you get the bite size portions of the typical slices sold at D9. I say it's definitely a great way to help you find your favorite bakes! The chocolate fudge was a hit, i enjoyed the banana walnut loaf, and the pralines are great too. Plus there are the famous Hilton cheesecakes in pop size! They also have pretty desserts in jars too. 

Whatever you do, make sure you pop a few more of their macarons. THESE ARE DAMN GOOD. Nice crust (breaks a tad too easily) with dense flavorful ganache fillimg. Absolutely love the salted caramel one, and coffee, and chocolate, and lemon... Sorry no photos because they are all in my tummy!

Afternoon tea is incomplete without freshly baked Vanilla and Raisin scones with clotted cream. I love these perfect bite sized scones that have a nice crust on the outside and sticky density on the inside. Plus that clotted cream is yums!! Definitely one of the better scones around town.

The afternoon tea experience is complete with over ten handpicked selections of TWG tea blends. This Saturdate experience can be enjoyed at $41/pax with free flow coffee and TWG tea. Top up an additional $35 for bottomless rounds of sparkling wine, selected beer, white and red wines.

Hilton Endless Saturday High Tea at D9 Cakery

Lobby Level, Hilton Singapore

581 Orchard Road Singapore 238883

Tel: +65 6730 3392

Sat: 12 - 2.30pm, 3 - 5pm 

HATTENDO’s signature cream buns have landed in Singapore! Originating from Hiroshima, these lovely buns of happiness are perfected to be produced in Singapore, and trust me, the chilled cream buns at HATTENDO Café will send you to tendo (heaven).

Five amazing flavours—Custard, Whipped Cream, Matcha, Azuki Beans, and Chocolate ($2.50/pc) —are available. I would nudge you to get a box of the five flavours ($12.50) if you have yet to try these heavenly buns. The soft buttery buns are so fluffy that you will find yourself trying not to leave an indent in the bun while taking the perfect picture for Instagram. Yes, it is that soft. The silky creams are not overtly sweet but delicate to the tastebuds. It sure feels like having a milky cloud of matcha/azuki/chocolate/custard/whipped cream in the mouth. 

My favourite cream buns are Whipped Cream and Matcha (I’m greedy). You will love the Whipped Cream cream bun if you adore Japanese Strawberry Shortcake—the Whipped Cream is so light yet rich and I do not regret having the entire bun. Fans of matcha will adore Matcha cream bun with its intense matcha flavours. ‘Coz how can you resist any matcha sweets originating from Japan?  

Psst. Don’t worry about the calories. Ranging between 225 kcal (for Custard) and 250.2 kcal (for Chocolate), these buns have surprisingly fewer calories than I imagined! I can definitely have a cream bun for breakfast with a lovely brew, which is an original blend created by Itsuki Coffee for HATTENDO Café. And perhaps for lunch and dinner too.

For the record, there are also protein options (salmon and chicken), soup, mason jar salads and croutons (made from the special recipe used for the cream buns) available if you need your savouries. 

I insist on having these cream buns of happiness.

Hattendo Café

7 Wallich Street Tanjong Pagar Centre #01-05 Singapore 078884

Weekdays: 10am-9pm 

Weekends: 11am-8pm