Thai Milk Tea is all the rage recently though it has been around like eh.. forever? Well that's the strange thing about fads and now that the late majority has come on board, everybardee is on the hunt for the insanely sweet and caffeine rich, heart attack inducing Cha Yen. Prior to attending another event, i was introduced to the newly opened Tuk Tuk Cha at Suntec City Mall.

Ethereal light Japanese-French desserts, you have my heart and tummy already. Flor Patisserie has been my go to for these delicious sweets since the days when Chef Yamashita was still heading Flor at Duxton. Well, the brand has grown over the years and the tiny shop at Duxton has now expanded into a full blown cafe with a more relaxing and softer vibe. 

The sweets menu has been revamped with many more new creations, using the only the freshest and highest quality ingredients sourced from Japan, Belgium, France, Malaysia, Thailand and locally. Let me start with my favorites! The Bara ($9.10) is a pretty rose cremeux piped on longan bavarois and sponge cake. This is the perfect sweet for your sweet. It's delicate, lightly sweetened, just like a rose.

The Mango Soufle ($7.50) is a light-baked cheesecake. Egg yolk is kneaded into the cream cheese for that smooth texture. I would love for more cheesecake flavor in this one though as it felt a bit more like a mango cream cake (there's a lot of cream) but still very tasty!

Finally Pince & Pints because i have been deterred by the insane queues (so i heard) BUT... Say goodbye to looooooong queues (just long ones) as Pince & Pints look to expand by mid Oct 2015, with another 30 seats added on the second level to their initial 46-seater space at their Duxton outpost. YAY. 

Some news on P&P in a bit but first, here's introducing their latest addition to their menu (currently only 3 lobster dishes), the Truffle Lobster Roll! They have just launched it on 14 Sep 2015 and i must say it is the best lobster roll that i've had in Singapore. 

The Truffle Lobster Roll ($68)  is a new variation of the signature Lobster Roll at Pince & Pints Restaurant and Bar. This roll is done hot, which elevates the aromatic and earthy truffles, as opposed to the regular cold mayonnaise tossed Traditional Lobster Roll ($58). 

So i'm going to let the cat out of the bag. Flagship. Whisky Dive Bar. Bukit Pasoh Singapore. Full stop. 

I kid. Ok not really. I'm going to let you in on some key details but the rest you're just gonna have to find out for yourself ok. So the Flagship is opened by F&B golden couple Indra and Guoyi, who also owns Sugarhall, Jigger and Pony, The Humpback (next door) and Gibson (upstairs). The whisky dive bar is meant to be an un-chi chi spot to enjoy whisky without any stress (especially for beginners). Prices of the shots are presented clearly on the tag of each bottle and indicates prices for 30ml and 45ml shots.

From 2 to 12 Sep 2015, the Fullerton Singapore presents the second instalment of the Flavours of The Fullerton Heritage, a unique dining experience that aims to provide epicurean delicacies at affordable prices. Expect gourmet menus from the five properties that are part of The Fullerton Heritage, namely, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore, The Clifford Pier and tenants from One Fullerton and The Fullerton Pavilion.

You can expect special dining dining offers for lunches at $35/pax and dinners at $58/pax at the participating outlets, which covers a variety of cuisine and dining style including American Seafood, Chinese, French, Indian, Italian, and Spanish. I would highly recommend you check out the offering by Catalunya, Pelican Seafood, The Clifford Pier and The Landing Point.

My latest favorite hangout has got to be Humpback for dinner and the Flagship for drinks and wings after. Humpback is the latest Seattle-style small plates seafood restaurant with its own craft cocktail bar by the Jigger & Pony/ Sugarhall folks, Indra and Guoyi.

The night starts young with Oysters Happy Hour at Humpback and the shells go for $2-3 from 5-7pm, Mon to Sat. Yes finally!!! Humpback is like the combination of 2 of my NYC favorites- The Mermaid Bar and Traif.

Santi was the best Spanish restaurant in Singapore that i ever dined in, and then they closed. Imagine my devastation. Thankfully Chef Jose Alonso went over to Binomio, which is now officially my favorite tapas spot. For $69 for 6 plates or $86 for 8 plates, you can eat to your heart's/tummy's content with Binomio's tapas tasting menu. Well, S didn't quite know how to make reservations and we ended up in the 'fine dining' restaurant instead of the raucous bar. 

The romantic and gorgeous Maldives has been touted as a honeymoon spot since... well i'm of age to know what romance is. Yes it's the perfect setting for romance, but also a great destination for city folks like us to de-stress and recharge on the pearl string of island atolls in the Indian Ocean. And i thought it would be even more so perfect as a wellness destination, with plenty of yoga involved, and healthy delicious cuisine as well (you just can't take the yogi out of me). 

It was fate that brought me and Ayurva Traveller, together, just when i was planning my Maldivian holiday. Ayurva Traveller specializes in wellness holidays in exotic destinations such as Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan (all on my travel list) and founder Nilusha shares the same travel philosophy as i do. It also helps that there is a variety of resorts (all on my list as well), with different packages and experiences that are exclusive to them. 

We took a three day wellness package with Detox Spa Treatment at Jumeirah Vittaveli, a sophisticated and lux resort in the Southern Atoll. What i liked about the resort is that they also offer a host of fitness activities like yoga, Muay Tai, circuit training, meditation etc. which complements the spa-focused wellness package that Ayurva Traveller offers.

A little more on our 3d wellness package, it includes 3 x 1h spa treatments at the Talise Spa i.e. body scrub, lymphatic drainage massage, and cellulite massage.

The Over Water treatment suite at the Talise Spa is an oasis of tranquility and luxury. We were also treated to fresh juices as part of our treatments. 

A private wellness activity (choice of Yoga/Pilates/Tai chi or personal training) was also included in our package. The session could be conducted anywhere to your liking. We would have chosen the beach but unfortunately it was pouring when we scheduled for our class.

The open yoga pavilion is a good spot for yoga as well and we could hear and smell the crashing waves as we engaged our core muscles during Pilates class. Raina gave us a challenging core workout, catering to both S and my needs (she had a good balance of tough stuff). 

Call me spoilt but i've also come to expect yoga mats in my hotels and JV provides that in our villa! Yay to sunrise and sunset yoga any time of day!

Of course, living well is like 70% diet and 30% exercise (though we can always exercise more) and we made sure we put in some goodness into our tummies. 

Jumeirah is starting to go big on the wellness aspect and that shows in their f&b and private dining options. We had a private breakfast which revolves around the special Talise Nutrition recipes planned by the Jumeirah team of nutritionists in Dubai. 

The same goodness can be experienced at the breakfast buffet at Samsara in fact but it's always nice to have a bit of privacy. 

Make sure you get some of the delicious oatmeal porridge with honeycomb and the homemade muesli (love it). I can not resist the Mango smoothie (more like lassi) and the Ayurvedic water tasted like chai latte without any of that caffeine or milk! 

Fresh juices with tropical fruits can be prepared on demand as well. 

It's the first time i felt so relaxed in a while. It must be the Maldivian air. I'm so coming back again. Maybe a different package at another luxury resort? ;)

For more information on Ayurva Traveller and Jumeirah Vittaveli, check out their respective websites. 

Will be updating on the accommodation options at Jumeirah Vittaveli, as well as a full food review of their f&b offerings! Stay tuned!

Finally A.E.I.O.U. Because Avocado Coffee. We have been getting avocado gula melaka milkshake at our hawker centers since eons ago so it kinda puzzles me how people didn't think of this avo + coffee pairing sooner. (Like why didn't i think of this!) Anyhoo, love love love this healthy morning shot of caffeine at this sprawling vintage cafe in the industrious Jalan Besar. 

I didn't expect to finish the huge cup of blended and sweetened avocado shake in the Absolut Vodka bottle but i did. In fact, I would have gladly finished another bottle of this but i may just OD on caffeine (each bottle comes with 2 shots of espresso). The bitterness and acidity of the espresso was nicely balanced with the creamy, nutty avocado blend though i found it a little sweet for my liking. Tell them to cut the sugar and sweeten on your own if that's preferred.

W decided to be adventurous and went for the Lemongrass coffee. Again, another drink that came  sweetened. This is essentially a long black with a light hint of lemongrass. Our verdict is to skip this and stick with the regular flat white or latte. 

The Beef Cheek Pasta ($24.90) was recommended by my sources but us girls were not up for an assault of our palates so early in the morning. Do give it a shot if you need something heavy.  

So instead, we had the Sunny side up ($13.90) which is kind of like baked eggs (4 of them), or more like a half-baked shakshuka, drizzled minimally with pesto sauce. The iron cast pan dish came with a choice of duck confit, smoked salmon or roast chicken. Perhaps a change from fried eggs to slightly more runny ones to fully utilize that lovely crusty garlic bread. 2 slices weren't enough and we added  more of that pungent garlic herb butter toast ($2.90 for 4 slices). 

We also had the bite size quiches ($8.90 for 3) and they were more tart-like than quiche. Loved the buttery and crumbly tart though. We asked for a mix of shredded beef and vegetable quiches, which were baked with caramelised onions and served with sweet onion marmalade. The beef had a sourish balsamic flavor, with a hint of olive tapenade. It's not a spectacular dish and i wouldn't recommend ordering this.

I wanted to like A.E.I.O.U. a lot more. It's a great space actually. Maybe it's more suited for having a proper meal. 

AEIOU Cafe

111 King George’s Avenue Singapore 208559

Tel : +65 6291 2698

Tue- Thu: 11am - 10pm (Fri till 11pm)

Sat: 10am - 11pm

Sun: 10am - 9pm

Gentle(wo)manly pursuits at the revamped Bar & Billiard Room at Raffles Singapore. B&B is the oldest existing bar in its original location in Singapore, and it will bring you back to the old school with their crazy storage of 400 curated whiskies alongside an entirely new cocktail list and bar menu. Sophisticated yet relaxed, just like what you would expect a gentlemen bar to be (cigars included, not that i approve of smoking).  

Even if you can't appreciate whisky (like me), you can get schooled here by Christoph B. Nyfeler Raffles Singapore’s Resident Whisky Expert (dude has 16 years of whisky experience). For serious drinkers, the whisky list here boasts a strong Scottish presence with a good selection of American bourbons and Japanese whiskies, many of which hand selected, limited ed and directly imported.