259. Sydney - Michel's Patisserie

Cappuccino @AUD4.50

Spinach Pie @AUD3.20

It may not be a bad idea to grab a snack at Michel's Patisserie when you are hungry at times which is not near lunch or dinner. I personally preferred spinach pie over those beefy, meaty pies. The buttery crust alone contained so much kilocalories, it will be better to have some greens to complement. The spinach pie was very tasty. Cheesy, chewy and crispy on the exterior. Moist greens on the interior to balance the overall taste. It was not dry. Michel's Patisserie is quite common around Sydney. I grabbed mine at the outlet at the direct factory outlet (DFO) in Sydney.

201. BonBon Tea

It was the green walls with the word "patisseries" that attracted me. BonBon Tea....it seemed to be a new outlet to me. Or am I wrong? I have not been to Vivocity for quite some time. Anyway, I was at PageOne searching for a book but couldn't remember the name so I gave up searching for it. I saw our local artiste, Joi Tsai. Singapore is so paparazzi-free. My friend and I were tired and there was so many people at Vivocity. We decided to seek a 'hide-out' at Bon Bon Tea.

I felt the decorations was so "Banyan Tree". And guess what? The second level leads to a SPA. Didn't bother to check out what are the available packages because all I wanted was to treat my stomach. Bon Bon Tea offers homemade ice-cream, macarons, pastries, all of which I did not taste.

I was presented with a piece of menu with illustrations. It was a bit like a page torn out of a storybook. From the look of it, the variety of food available was quite limited.

Yummy Tummy Tea @$7.50

What a name! On enquiry, it is a type of tea imported from South Africa which tasted a bit like vanilla. The vanilla wasn't too strong. Instead, it was more like black tea. If you ask me, I think this tea wouldn't go well with pastries. It's that kind of "drink-alone" tea.

Spaghetti with cream sauce @$14

My friend and I wanted something filling so we opt for the pasta. Bon Bon Tea only offers 3 types of pasta. The pasta was a tad too oily. Excessive olive oil you've added, chef. A pool of olive oil remained at the bottom of the plate. It's a rather turn-off sight. Just like eating a plate of oily char kway teow. The pasta was not flavoured enough. The chicken strips (breast meat) were a tad too hard and tasteless. The only flavoured ingredient that I could taste of was the peppers.

Spaghetti Bolognaise @$14

This was much better than the cream sauce but it wasn't expectionally good. A decent plate of paste, I supposed.

I came across a complaint against BonBon Tea and I quote:

"
BonBon Tea
Posted: 2008-08-26 by Xiong

Not to patronize this cafe

Complaint Rating:
This is a later cafe, previous named Red, White & Pure. but stills operate by the same management. The cafe was distasteful painted green and orange. From the look outside it look like a french cafe 'cos it stated "Patisserie". It sure sells pastry but not up to the French standard. The moccorons color is too artificial, putting too much coloring & preservative looks nice but harmful to health. If you eat the pastry, it tasted artificial too.When you look at the menu, you can't tell whether they are selling French or Italian? Pasta, pizza, spaghetti? If so they doesn't taste like French. It is such a rojak stall! The decor hanging an middle east style of lamp doesn't suits it name too. It took so long to get the staff to have the order taken. Managers don't take a demand too when the cafe is almost not busy. You look in the kitchen, pastry and cooking food is done together at the same place! With flour flying around and onto food served. Is that the hygiene? And customers consume that cause food poisoning. It is not advise to patronize.

"

I do agree with Xiong that Bon Bon Tea is not a so 'French' place. But when I was there, the service was prompt and the waitresses were all very friendly. I think it's a matter of opinion. I felt for the amount of pasta for $14 was a bit overpriced. I have gone to a wrong place for pasta. I should have go to Modesto's at level one for a better plate of pasta. Afterall, Bon Bon Tea is a more of a place for pastries and tea. It will be wise to know where and what you should be having at the right place.

BonBon Tea

Vivocity

#02-141

Tel: 6827 0118

197. Genting Highlands - Bakery

If you are going to Genting Highlands, especially on the days that others would be flocking there like you, I strongly suggest you do some research on the restaurants you would want to patron. This is to avoid queuing and yet ended up eating yucky food. This is what I detest the most. Because everywhere up on the highlands is so crowded, our thoughts that crowded means good food becomes an inaccurate index to follow.

I did some homework before embarking on my journey. The theme park hotel I'm staying provided a rather detailed guide on the F&B at the Highlands, so it was a re-affirmation of the locations.

I didn't really put Bakery on my list but I thought it could be a place where I could grab a bread or something. After the dim sum at Hao You Ji, quite a lousy breakfast, I wasn't really full. I thought of getting something sweet because desserts were not served before 11am at Hao You Ji. I was attracted to the beautifully designed cupcakes that filled the transparent displays shelves, clearly seen along the common corridor. A glance at the sparkling signboard did I realise it was Bakery!

I was quite surprised when the pastry chef actually has to stand at the counter to serve customers. Besides the pastries available, there were also sandwiches, salads and etc. All that makes up a cafe and not just of a Bakery.

Strawberry Tart @RM10

A closer look at the cupcakes, I felt they didn't really look as appetizing. The strawberry tarts at the lowest rack in the chiller called out to me. Alright, you are the one! No price was stated but my instinct told me I should get it regardless of the price. And it wasn't expensive. Converting to Sing dollars, it was just about $4. It was very cheap.

Usually the fruit tarts we had was a slob of cream that filled the bottom of the crust and fruits that lined the top. I was quite surprised when I tasted something sweet. A layer of thin molten chocolate spread at the most bottom, followed by a thick layer of chocolate crust. The mini red strawberries weren't sweet. As expected, smaller strawberries are most of the times, sour in taste. Looks can be deceiving. Do away with the dainty bite, eat a big mouth of it. The strawberry, cream, chocolate layer.....and it tasted great. The only thing I didn't like was the crust was a tad too hard. If it wasn't for the freshness, I think the tart may well be a dart. (it's bull's eye to the bin.)

Bakery

Genting Highlands

144. Puteri Mas Durian Puffs

Divine! Simply Divine! Put aside the Emicake's and 717's durian puffs (So far, only tried these two). The durian puffs from Puteri Mas was finger licking good. One is not enough! I must comment about the durian filling. The smell was so aromatic. The penetrating power of our pungent durian is definitely something which make people fall their heads over. The durian filling was so rich and pulpous. Man, I tell you...that wasn't cream. It's the durian pulp! So shiok! The crust of the puff was a little disappointing though. It was a tad too soggy which I believe was due to being kept in the fridge.


Puteri Mas specialises in other cakes and nonya kuehs too. I saw that they have the cempedek swiss roll but my mind was set on their durian puffs.

I got a box, 20 durian puffs @$11. I think it's quite worthwhile. Highly recommended!

Puteri Mas, you see? They call themselves "The Durian Puff Specialist". I think they've got what it takes.

Puteri Mas Pte Ltd

475 Joo Chiat Road

Tel: 6344 8629

Operating Hours: Mon-Fri: 9.30am - 7pm

Sat & Sun: 12noon - 5pm

86. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Ice blended lychee drink @$6.60 (Regular size)

Latest creation from Coffee Bean. Was intending to get a cuppa mocha but saw and bought this instead. The lychee wasn't too sweet but I think vanilla powder was added which made the drink very frothy. Why vanilla powder? They are selling tubs of vanilla and chocolate powder at their small retail corners which you can make your own mocha or vanilla at home. Those are a bit like the instant chocolate powder we saw at the supermarkets. So quick and easy. But it wasn't cheap though. $14.50 per tub.

Mushroom and sausage quiche @$4.90

Quiche is a sinful food. The cheese and butter crust everything. If you ain't working out, please start tomorrow. I saw the food tag which said freshly baked mushroom and sausage quiche and I thought is it really so? It was 12pm then. Anyway, it was taken out from the fridge and I turned down the offer of heating it up. It would have turn cold too by the time I reached home. The quiche wasn't good. The cheese was sort of like concentrated at the bottom of the quiche and it was a bit bitter. I'm not sure if I was wrong about the taste. I think the quiches from Swiss Bake are better.

69. Liang Chen

The red bean pastry also known as tau sar piah. This was bought from Liang Chen. A few stalls away from Da Sheng Hong Kong Pastry located at sago street. The pastries sold at Liang Chen were 90cents each, Da Sheng sells at 80cents each. Well, both were selling basically the same things. But the taste was different. I felt the tau sar piah sold at Liang Chen were too sweet. The red bean filling was too much. The crust was buttery which I didn't like. I usually scrap off the crust to the minimum for such pastries. Haha.

65. Da Sheng Hong Kong Pastry

I would like to recommend the egg tarts from this pastry shop. Located at sago street, next to chinatown complex. The egg tart is a thumbs up. The custard was not too sweet, just nice. The crust was also very crispy. There are 2 types of egg tart crust sold in the market. One is the portugese egg tart, the crispy type, the other is those buttery type. I usually prefer the later. Main reason is some bakers tend to make the crust of those portugese egg tart type too oily and dry. If you have been to Macau, and have tried their famous portugese egg tarts, you will know how oily the tarts are. But from this pastry shop, I say the shifu (baker) is woohoo! Haha. Each egg tart is selling at 80cents. The other pastry I bought was the lao po bing, wife's biscuit. The malt filling is also not too sweet. Each is also selling at 80 cents.

34. Fancy Delight

These are egg tarts....Taiwanese egg tarts. Bought them from the Tanjong Pagar Plaza outlet. Not cheap. $1.20 each. Have been advertised by the Sunday Times and a couple of other newspaper. However, it is not as tasty as what I have expected. I think there are 2 selling points. Firstly, it uses a different crust, thinner than traditional ones. Secondly, there are many different flavours. I have bought their 3 orignals called "Taiwanese egg tarts" and the other 1, their new creation called the "Melting Orange Chocolate". The egg custard is not too sweet. The aftertaste is you won't feel bloated because the traditional's crust is thicker and uses more butter unlike Fancy delight's.

26. Perth - Corica Apple Strudel

Australia's air-flown corica's apple strudel. Tastes much better than ritz apple strudel. Apple fillings is not too sweet nor is it sour. Crispy on the outside.