212. Woodbridge Rose

WoodBridge Rosé @$22+

This Christmas season....many opted for sparkling wine, red wine....hey people, how about Rosé? Rosé isn't of very high alcohol content, most probably in the range of 12-14%. I think the rose pink pastel colour brought great festive moods. The Woodbridge Rosé was from California. Made of grapes type such as the Zinfandel, muscat and etc. It was fruity and had a floral aroma. It was a little spicy though. I think Rosé makes a rather good table wine, especially on a hot summer. Lightly oaked chardonnay makes a rather good chilling wine too!

If you ask me, my vote goes to Rosé from Brown Brothers (BB). I personally felt BB's barbera wasn't really my glass of wine, their Rosé was very much to my liking. It wasn't spicy. It was sweet-smelling, delicate and a little fizzy. I think ladies will love BB's Rosé.

211. Dessert Couture (Add-on)

Jajang...I finally bought the macarons from Evan.

Take a closer look....so appealing...don't they?

I chose 3 premium flavours, Lavende Vanille, Litchi Rose and Chai Spice.

Lavende vanille

Lavender-infused macarons with honey vanilla bean cream & topped with dried lavender flowers.

Litchi Rose

Rose macarons with juicy lychee bits and scented rose petal cream. finished with a sprinkle of ground rose petals.

Chai Spice

Straits chai tea-infused macarons with cinnamon orange cream & candied orange center.

"Evan, I think your macarons are really good! "

The macaron shells were chewy. I have them chilled and it was more significant on the chewiness. I loved the Litchi Rose and Chai Spice. Very different from what we can get on the market. Compared to Amande's, I think Evan's macarons were very much better. I'm not exaggerating...but I felt the macarons were more well done. All were of the same size and so nicely presented. Needless to say, the taste was thumbs up.

____________________________________________Newly Added~

Sorry for the blurred image**

Kudos: I have actually eaten macarons from Laduree a year ago, brought all the way from Paris, Europe. Ya...I agreed with what you have said. Many places are not selling the authentic macarons. I have not tried Canele's before but Obolo's also didn't really strike close resemblance in taste/texture to Laduree's. Many chefs would have want to create something different/unique that was in a way representative of the their baking/innovative skills. I felt Evan's was much better, if you have tried hers.

Btw, luckily an outlet was opened in Tokyo in July! We need not travel a long way to Paris to get Laduree's macarons. Hooray for the foodies! :D

210. Pizza Hut

A-La_Carte Large size @$31.20

Every festive season, Pizza Hut delivers to us new flavours. For this Christmas, we have the X'Mas Surprise Pizza. It was quite nice. Pretty similar to the Ocean's catch pizza whereby instead of seafood, it had chicken strips. A layer of mayonnaise laid underneath. Mozzarella cheese at the crust. It was a little salty with that amount of cheese and not to mention....fattening.

Spicy Drumlets @$7.20 for 10 pcs

Add on side dish. The drumlets are always a favourite among diners. Very well-marinated but oily.

I felt Pizza Hut uses a great deal of MSG because I will always get very thirsty after having their pizza.

Citibank credit card gets 25% off. So, it was relatively quite a good deal. If I didn't remember wrongly, my bill came at about $30 for the pizza and the drumlets.

209. Fibre Konnyaku

These konnyakus were bought from Shop & Save. Each pack @$2.75. It was sold at their fair at the atrium of West Mall some time ago. I didn't have time to post it till now. 3 flavours - Peach, Mango and Grape. I bought the peach and mango. Both were nice. Have it chilled. It was very cooling and yummy especially when they were so strong flavoured. I personally preferred the peach konnyaku.

The salesgirl said it was made with fruit juice. And it was stated on their package, fibre konnyaku. I have no idea if it was really like what the salesgirl had said because I don't really care to know the truth. Even if there wasn't fibre in them, I would still buy them. And the truth came to light. In every konnyaku, there was a "nata de coco", the fibre. So, this was the 'fibre' printed on the package. I'm not sure if they are still available for sale at the Shop&Save stores.

208. Ji De Chi II

Everywhere was crowded. Big smiles on the bosses at the outlets at the newly expanded Jurong Point. Hidden at a corner of The Market Place at level 3 is Ji De Chi. The one who has been a hit and snatches a big crowd of Ah Chew's desserts' patrons over at Liang Seah Street. A queue formed at the cashier when I was there last night. Selling dessert is always a profitable business.

A big 'Ji' character was embedded on the wooden tables.

I think the reason many like Ji De Chi is because they serve freshly made desserts. Their steamed egg was delicious.

Almond paste @$2.30

Due to the long queue, many desserts were finished even before it was my turn to order. I had initially wanted to order almond paste with black glutinous ball but it was no longer available when I was still a few away from ordering. Desserts that were sold out were marked with a cross next to the dessert's code. I ordered the almond paste then. The almond paste was of the right thickness but it was not sweet enough. The almond flavour was not strong enough. I still preferred the almond paste from "Xiang Wei Yuan" at Temple street.

Herbal Jelly @$2.30

My sick friend decided to have the herbal jelly. It was a pretty small portion.

See previous entry

Ji De Chi

Jurong Point

The Market Place

#03-102/103/104

207. Fig & Olive

Fig & Olive made its appearance at the newly expanded Jurong Point(JP) along with Ding Tai Feng, Thai Express and many others. The newly expanded JP is so much bigger. Of course, the crowd is also bigger. Needless to say, at dinner time like 7-8pm, you will have to queue.

I was in the first place of the queue with my friend. Behind us in line was a couple. Then came a family of 5. The waitress let the family of 5 in first as a bigger table was cleared. The couple behind me started grumbling about them being earlier than the family and yet was not ushered in. I felt the couple was rather calculative. It would not have make sense for 2 persons to occupy a big table which could have seat 5. When every restaurant/eateries have a long queue, it is always best to be patient and wait for seats if you didn't want to end up eating nothing.

Fig & Olive serves food representing a blend of Mediterranean origins. The food items available are quite limited. Salads, Main, Pasta and Sandwiches. I felt there wasn't many to choose from.

Do you know??

"Fig & Olive is also positioned itself as a healthy alternative to the ubiquitous fast food, in February 2007 Fig & Olive was endorsed by the Singapore Health Promotion Board (HPB) as the ambassador for healthy food service provider."

Okay...I didn't know this.

Melted Cheese Fish @$13.30

Breaded dory topped with melted cheese & side mixed veggies. I didn't taste this; comments reserved.

Calamari Fristo @$7.20

The calamari was very good. Firstly, it wasn't oil-laden. I didn't get oil soaked breaded calamari. The calamari was tangy and soft. Together with the tartar sauce and a few drops of lemon, it was pretty much a hook-inducing appetizer.

Maghribi Chicken with Olive Rice @$15.50

Herbs grilled chicken with Mediterranean style sauce serve with Olive rice. It came with greens. It was presented quite a balanced meal. I felt there wasn't anything special about the chicken. The sauce was. It has a sweet and slightly spicy taste which represents Mediterranean style. It was very compatible with the chicken. Salad was rather tasteless because the greens was only flavoured with salt.

The olive rice was too dry. I believed it wasn't thoroughly cooked which explained for the hardness of the grains. Frankly speaking, I didn't like black olives. It has a taste like something that is kept for too long, which it was (preserved). The olive rice has a slight curry taste. I personally felt they have chosen the wrong type of grains. It would be much better if they have had used short grains or even cous cous.

Falling stars from above......it's going to be Christmas soon!!!

Overall bill totalled to about $43 for 2 pax. Food was decent. The staffs were rather disorganised. We were only given the menu and the beverage menu was left out. One of the captains or managers threw the bill at our table when we asked for the bill. I thought it was pretty rude of him to do so.

Fig & Olive

Jurong Point

B1-63/64

206. Shan Katong Laksa

Katong Laksa....not at Katong but Holland Village. It is called Shan Katong Laksa. Other than laksa, they also sell nasi lemak. Both attracts a number of patrons at lunch. Each bowl of laksa sold at $3.50. It was quite nice. The prawns was tangy. I think it could have been bicarbonate or something added to it for its tanginess. No clams for me. I don't like clams, clams has a weird taste. However, I loved bamboo clams. I felt the laksa base could have been heavier. Looking at the colour of the laksa base, you could have guess that it was quite mild. A medicore bowl of laksa. With chili added, the laksa was much better but the whole bowl of laksa would be pretty oily. I didn't dare to add scoops of chili like what my colleague did, I added half a scoop. I think the best katong laksa is still the one at Katong.

Katong Laksa

Holland Village

29B Lorong Mambong

205. Rich & Good Cake Shop

I was smitten with the kaya swiss roll from Rich & Good Cake Shop when my neighbour gave it to me some time ago. First, I thought the box looked so ordinary and likewise goes for the cake. But....I was wrong. Again, looks are deceiving.

Kaya swiss roll @$6.50

Their durian swiss roll is the best-seller, so is the kaya swiss roll. I tried the durian swiss roll but I didn't really like it. I felt the durian taste was rather mild. I preferred the kaya swiss roll. It was moist and yet spongy. The kaya was quite different. It had an eggy taste and it wasn't too sweet. The spread was quite thin, unlike our usual thick cream rolls, the kaya swiss roll was a better choice.

I think it is cheap for about an inch long of swiss roll at $6.50. Not sure if it is sold the same price at retail because I bought mine at an outdoor sale.

Rich & Good Cake Shop

24 Kandahar Street

Tel: (65) 6294-3324

204. Provence Bakery

I heard of it so many times but have yet to visit it. Each time I was in Holland Village, I somehow didn't manage to find it. Today, I finally know its exact location. It is directly opposite Yi Bao. In fact, if my colleague didn't point out to me, I still have yet to take notice that it was the Japanese bakery. From the appearance, it didn't really look like bakery, it was more of a cafe. And yes....it's a bakery cum cafe where we could sit down and have our bread.

Chocolate Wassant @$6/pack

Don't they look like caterpillars? This was what I thought when I looked at the packs in the basket. Custard or chocolate? I chose the later. A pack of 10 for $6. This was the bread that was so famous. 1 of my colleagues felt it was an expensive bread. I think otherwise. Though appearance could have meant another thing. I would ask you to taste it and you won't regret. I think it's divine! Soft and doesn't stick to teeth. I'm not sure if the bakery uses flour imported from Japan. If it did, then that explains for everything. The flour from Japan is of superior grade, if not, a better grade. The amount of chocolate used was just right. So yummy......

Brazilian cheese bun @$0.80 each

The bun was like the chewy donut except that the interior was lined with cheese. The cheese was not so significant.

I felt Provence is more towards Japanese style instead of the Jap+French style it has want to project to the public.

Provence

17A Lorong Liput

Holland Village

Opens:

Mon-Fri: 9.30am - 8.30pm

Sat & Sun: 8.30am - 8.30pm

203. Yee Cheong Yuen Noodle Restaurant

The former Yee Cheong Yuen Noodle Restaurant is now called Yi Bao. My colleague told me how it used to be. They have to queue up for their noodles and unlike now, it is air-condtioned and waitresses serve you your noodles. However, on their bill, it is still registered as Yee Cheong Yuen and the business is still as good as before.

No doubt, the prices hiked. Yi Bao offers quite a handful of snacks and local dishes.

Chestnut drink
Ipoh Hor Fun

I had a set which consisted of the Ipoh hor fun, a glass of chestnut drink and a bowl of 3 prawn dumplings for $7 (w/o GST). The hor fun was very smooth and soft. I thought the gravy was a tad too black. And Hey...there's no mushroom in my Ipoh hor fun! Lacked the mushroom fragrance. But, the chili sauce was good. It was a very fulfilling lunch.

Prawn dumpling soup @$4

The prawn dumpling was decent. Slightly hard and I felt could have been more flavoured. It was light and not oily.

Steamed chicken noodles @$5

The noodles was springy, not the instant noodles kind. It was the same sauce used for Ipoh hor fun so don't expect any surprises.

The bill totalled up to $19 for 2 pax, inclusive of GST. I would say it was slightly expensive for just noodles.

Many people may just make do with any food, even if it was very unpalatable. I'm most probably the one who would rather go an extra mile for better food. I'm those who would be happy and de-stressed if I have had nice food. And guess what I have finally got for myself.. ...check out my next entry!

Yi Bao
31 Lorong Liput
Holland Village
Daily 8:30am - 11pm

202. Frolicks

Cup B @$4.80

I felt the yogurt was very good. Velvety smooth and not so sour. I got the cup B with an additional topping. I chose honeycomb crisps. So, it's a mixture of sour and sweet. I personally preferred additions to my yogurt. Plain yogurt seems a tad dull, no matter it's taste or appearance. It melted pretty fast and it wasn't due to the heat in the noon. The yogurt was very fine.

However, I felt $4.80 a cup is rather expensive. The cup which looked big was in actual pretty shallow. Thus, the little swirl of yogurt.

Frolicks

Holland Village

241 Holland Avenue

#01-02

Next to Crystal Jade

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

200. Braise

* Picture with courtesy from Braise

The tall white pillared ceilings and glass window panes gave the interior a bright furnish.

A group of us were at Braise today for the lunch organised by Hinata Diaries. I felt it was pretty strange when the event was promoted on other food bloggers' blog, Gastronomic Ruminations and The Hungry Cow when the organiser herself has a blog. The organiser has been locked out of her food blog because she has forgotten her password. Oh gosh....I think it will take some time before she can login to her food blog. This happened to me sometimes.

Braise occupies the upper deck of the old monorail station above The Silk Road, overseeing the beautiful and idyllic Palawan Beach. Walked up the wooden stairs, I arrived at the door. Faced with a huge metallic door which had a sign 'PUSH' but nobody was there to usher. I did ponder for a second if I was at the right entrance.

Each of us were given a 20% discount voucher and a CD-Rom which is a press kit for media, containing the pictures of the interior and the food which Braise served. It was a nice gesture of them. The majority who turned up are food bloggers equipped with cameras.

The lunch menu which was $38++ per pax came as a great deal. It was different from the usual set lunch offered to the public. The header on the menu took me by surprise- The Singapore Food Bloggers Association Annual Lunch. Official or non-official?

Herb bun was served warm; freshly baked. I personally like the addition of the wolfberries sun-dried tomatoes which gave the bun the nice red colour and a hint of sweetness.

Entree - Capellini with Seared Hokkaido Scallops, Parmesan Veloute

I tasted a few strands of the capellini. It seemed like a generous lash of black pepper was added but it wasn't a presumptuous guest. The scallop wasn't thoroughly cooked. The uncooked tinge of pink in the middle gave the soft texture. I didn't taste the scallop; comments reserved.

Entree - Pressed Foie Gras with Sauternes and Camomile Jelly, Vegetable a la Greque

A thin slice of toasted sweetbread was served with this entree. Frankly speaking, I wasn't very much attracted to the foie gras when I did my registration to attend this event. I'm not a connoisseur when it comes to foie gras neither am I big on it. Not here nor there. I was more keen on the camomile jelly. I was expecting it to be light in taste but it wasn't. I felt it was a tad too sweet and the fragrance essence a tad too strong.

The foie gras by nature has a rich buttery taste. Prepared with sauternes, the foie gras was with a hint of sweetness. I felt the pressed foie gras would have taste better if it was slightly pan-fried. The molded slice of foie gras was slightly too much with the given thin slice of sweet bread.

Main - Pork Three Ways (Confit Cheek of Pig, Pan Roasted Pork Belly and Pig Tail Roulade with Spice Port Wine Sauce)

I thought this was going to be the lauded dish from the name of it but it wasn't. I find the pork a tad too dry and the pig stench was very strong. Even the pan roasted pork belly didn't look and taste appetizing.

Main - Roasted Fillet of Beef with Savoy Cabbage, Beef Cheeks and its own Braising Sauce

The roasted beef was pretty well-marinated at the edge. To lock the taste and juice of the beef, a chef has to first cook the edge. However, the taste of the middle part of the fillet wasn't as significant as the edge. If I'm not wrong, the mashed potato had cheese added to it. I didn't like the taste of it.

I was told by the waitress someone at our table opened a bottle of wine, Riesling. I thought it tasted more like pinot noir chardonnay.

Dessert - Green Tea Cream Brulee with Margarita Sorbet

My vote goes to this! I think the green tea cream brulee was quite a good one. The green tea wasn't too overpowering. The marscapone cream was of the right texture and vanilla-rich. A lot of the black vanilla pods resided at the bottom of the cup.

I felt the margarita sorbet was a pretty good palate cleanser after the cream brulee. A little bittersweet and sour. It's so refreshing!

Dessert - Chocolate Lava Cake with Coffee Ice-cream

Some of us had a collapsed chocolate lava cake. No surprise for them. Anyway, there wasn't any surprise. It wasn't so much of a chocolate lava cake, more of a chocolate fudge cake. The molten chocolate in the interior was too dense. The crust was quite thin though. Coffee ice-cream was average. The chocolate wasn't too sweet so it was overall a pretty decent piece of dessert.

Braise
60 Palawan Beach Walk
Level 2
Tel: 6271 1929

http://www.braise.com.sg/