Paul Bakery, Takashimaya

This is a long overdue post. LOL.

My friend who had been to Europe was so excited to try out this French patisserie place at Ngee Ann City when she learnt about its opening a few months ago. (Note: my friend had really good dining experience at Paul Bakery during her holiday in Europe last year).

A bread-loving person I am was definitely more than willing to try out this place with her. And, we visited the place right after work the following day! We were really anticipated then, tsk tsk.

My friend had a Tartine Poulet Citron, which is an open sandwich with chicken marinated in lemon and tarragon, tomatoes and chives served warm with a seasonal side salad. My friend loves it, and she finished it in a few minutes. She is a fast eater anyway, lol.

I had a Croque Salmon Poireaux which brings together the roast salmon and leeks, served warm with a seasonal side salad. It was made to my liking; the bread was slightly toasted and soft in the inside with filling of my choice. Yummmm~

How could we not have dessert at a pastry shop? We ordered a set of dessert to share which came with 2 macaroons, a crème brulee, a slice of chocolate cake and a cup of coffee/ tea. Well, it was nothing extraordinary, in my opinion.

I could not resist but to takeaway a slice of Millefeuille, a thin puff pastry with vanilla custard on my way out. It reminded me of the vanilla slice which I heart when I was studying in Melbourne. And it did not disappoint me! The vanilla custard was nice, not overly sweetened and the layers of thin puff pastry were crispy! <3

Honestly, I think the food was ok but the sandwiches were quite pricey. And, I personally feel the front liners need more training/ improvement in their customer service.

Yu Cuisine, Marina Bay Sands

Didn’t plan to visit this place initially. But the places that we wanted to try were fully booked/ packed on Friday night, so we settled for this Chinese restaurant which looked as good!

Little did I know it is run by the management of Bosses, which is a fairly decent Chinese restaurant at Vivocity, until I was presented with the menu. Knowing that, I was more confident with the food at Yu then as my dining experience at Bosses was superior! LOL.

Similar to Bosses, we were served with deep fried crispy fish skin once we were seated at Yu. I guess it’s a love-hate relationship when it comes to this appetizer. One of my friends loves the fish skin and said he could easily finish one whole big pack without knowing it but B didn’t like it at all when she got to try it at Bosses. So, what’s your say?

We pampered ourselves with loads of food this time; way too much for two! We ordered a BBQ combo; a combination of roast duck, BBQ pork (Char Siew) and crispy roast pork belly (Siew Yuk). All these were fairly decent prepared! Flavourful and crispy!! Nice~

We also ordered a soup; Sze Chuan soup with Grouper! The presentation was quite dull; not appealing. But the taste was similar to my mum’s home-cooked Sze Chuan soup! So, I like! Hehe.

Veggie is a must! It makes me feel healthier/ less guilty :P The “blanched” Kai Lan was surprisingly quite flavourful! I was totally fooled by its appearance when it was first served; thinking that it was just a simple blanched and perhaps tasteless kai lan that could be easily done at home/ on your own. But I knew I was absolutely wrong upon first bite! Thumbs up for this dish; blanched yet crunchy and flavourful kai lan matched with the wonderful crispy kai lan! *drools

For main, our last order would be another fingers-linking good dish; Steam rice with live prawns! The rice was really appetizing for someone who doesn’t like to eat plain rice like me! I think the rice was fried with salted egg yolk! And when it was steamed with prawns, all the juices and essences of the prawns were being absorbed by the rice! Thumbs and toes, all up for this dish!! Haha.

We were actually really really full after the main meals. But no meal is complete without some good desserts. And being indecisive; we ordered TWO to share!

We had my all-time-favourite Egg yolk and Custard Bun/ Liu Sar Pau. It was not bad, but not one of the best that I have ever tried before. I find the filling rather insufficient for me. Please give me more “liu sar” :P

We also had a Bird’s Nest in Fresh Coconut which was strongly recommended by the waitress. It was made to order, so we waited for a while.

The first mouthful was quite sweet. My friend said it was most likely the sweetness from the coconut juice itself. Anwyay, I got immune to the sweetness somehow and finish the whole bowl. Perhaps, it was not overly sweetened afterall, tsk tsk.

Ahhh, another over-feeding case!! LOL.

But its ok! New Year, new resolution – Dear God, if you can’t make me resist all the good foods and maintain my current body weight, PLEASE let all my friends experience weight gain with me! Thank you! Hahahaha. (Just kidding friends, please dont boycott me *ke lian look* :P)

Happy and better 2012 everyone! Cheers!!

Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh, Glenmarie

The franchise fever has been extended to the well-known Klang Bak Kut Teh!

Tried Bao Xiang at its original outlet at Klang a few years ago and could not find similar Bak Kut Teh else where since then! The soup served at Pao Xiang was thick (and perhaps too little; fairly inadequate for most diners) instead of watery with a mild herbal taste and there was a wide selection of external and internal meat parts you can possibly imagine/ get!

We gave a try at one of its branches recently. This Bak Kut Teh place at Glenmarie was clean, spacious and air-conditioned.

As mentioned, you get a abundant of choices in the parts of meat that you love from small bone (Sui Kut Tao), pork ribs (Pai Kut), soft bone (Luan Kut), pork belly (Sum Chan Bah), big bone (Tua Kut), trotter (Ka Chark), knuckle (Ka Wan), pork lean meat, intestines and etc. Some of the items were sold out when we wanted to order.

Hence, we settled with pork ribs. Big ones, well… at least they were bigger than those that I will usually get from Bak Kut Teh at other places.

As there was no more big bone (Tua Kut), we settled for small bone (Sui Kut Tao) where the meat was bounded by cotton string. This cooking method was claimed by Pao Xiang to be able to lock in the flavor better, able to maintain its shape and making the meat more solid yet tender and also to remove the excess fats. Although it was still fairly fatty! Haha.

We also ordered one of my mum’s favorite; knuckle (Ka Wan) to share. Mum likes the Ka Chark too, but they ran out of that as well, too bad.

Besides all the fats and protein, we had some greens (and some mushrooms; not in photo) to compensate! Fingers-crossed those fatty meat won’t clot our arteries as much :P

Ohh, not to forget their Chinese doughnuts/ You Tiao! Look, they were small and cute! Of coz, it tasted as good; fresh and crunchy (compared to those that I have had in the past) as if it was made to order. This you tiao was the best I have ever had thus far! Love You Tiao with Bak Kut Teh *yummm~

A sinful yet satisfied meal!! A place to be for meat/ Bak Kut Teh lovers!

Hanabi Japanese Restaurant, Odeon Towers

I love buffet! For its varieties!!!

Family and friends have always commented that it’s a waste of money for me to go for buffet! But little do they know, they are absolutely wrong when it comes to Japanese buffet. LOL

When I visited Hanabi with another 2 girl friends recently, we whacked at least 3-4 plates of sashimi as the sashimi here was really fresh and irresistible! *drools~

We love omega-3 for sure; it is good for our hearts! So, ask for more!! LOL

Besides the over-dosage of omega-3, we have other (not-so healthy) fatty acids from other food items too!

Including our all-time-favourite pumpkin croquette…

Prawn and veggies tempura and…

Agedashi tofu!

And, how could we give edamame which possess a high nutritional value a missed?

We were not craving for teppanyaki/ grilled items then so didnt order much besides the squid, which was average.

To ensure we meet our nutritional needs, we ordered a soba (i.e. carbohydrate) to share! *What a great excuse to over-eat, haha...

Another satisfied ala carte Japanese buffet. Yummylicious~

I will definitely go back for more omega-3. *slurps

Hokaido Sushi Restaurant, Anson Road

B bought a deal online and gave me a treat to this place which was voted as the 'Best Japanese Restaurant' when they were barely opened for six months back in 2009! Thank you *hugs*

So, what’s so special about this Japanese Restaurant at the M Hotel? They claim to serve fresh items directly air flown from Sapporo, Hokkaido!!! Sounds impressive, doesn’t it?

With the deal B bought, we had a set meal each which consists of…

Sashimi, which were really fresh!!! Preferred to have a bigger serving of sashimi, please? LOL.

Chawanmushi, one of those atas ones, coz it was served with shark fins!! The steamed egg was smooth and silky the way I like it! Yumm~

Teppan Salmon, which was juicy and tender! I prefer to have fresh or smoked salmon most of the time coz I don’t fancy over-cooked salmon that’s dry! But this was perfect!

Teriyaki Chicken Don, which was average.

Cold Tofu that has a special topping. I guessed it contained century egg! But combination of it was good and refreshing. I liked.

Besides the standard Miso Soup, Pickles and Fruits that would usually be served along with a set meal.

I think the set meal was a bit pricey at its original price. Heard from B it cost about SGD100 at its original price *jaw dropping*. But it’s absolutely worthwhile on its discounted price (SGD 30+)! Should have bought a few more!! That was definitely a great and valuable deal!!!

Went home with a satisfied stomach and wallet at the end of the day! LOL

Chalk Restaurant, Mt Sophia

Chalk, a casual bistro within Old School, Mt Sophia that serves hearty French and Italian fare, with a bit of an Aussie twist.

Initially, we planned to visit this place mainly for their desserts and for their free flow olive breads which was strongly recommended by my friend. We were indecisive of where to chill out after we had our dinner till we talked about this place. My friends were really into this place and they looked really in love with the bread when they were talking about it.

After hearing the rave about it, I’ve finally got to try it! Within that night! Haha. It was really quite nice! No, I am not bias though I am a bread-lover, yummm~

Although we went there mainly to chill out and some after meal desserts, my makan kaki could not resist themselves from ordering the artichoke soup …

And the ox tongue! Haha. Once again, I saw the craze in one of my friends when he saw ox tongue in the menu! He could not wait to order it, and insisted everyone to share with him. Verdict? Not bad. Preferred the ox tongue served in Korean BBQ though :P

FINALLY, it’s time for desserts!! And time for me to get excited when the Chocolate Fondant with Vanilla Ice-cream and Sesame Snap was served!!!

Look at the melted chocolate!! Ohhh…. My favourite!!! And no, I am not a chocoholic, but chocolate fondant is so irresistible!! And the chocolate fondant here is one of the best I have tried, yummylicious~

We also ordered a Passion Fruit Souffle, which was made to order. So, we waited approximately 20mins for it.

It was nice! But I still love my chocolate fondant more than the soufflé. Haha.

I love its location and the ambience of this place.

And also how the waiter/ waitress will literally bring the daily specials to you and explain/ describe each dish on the board to you. Customer service is really important when you are doing front line, isn’t it? :)

The Wine Company, Sentosa Broadway

One of the restaurants in Singapore that has perfect scenery for its diners, in my opinion. At least I was really pleased to dine there for the view given; enjoyed the sunset while waiting for the food to be served.

We ordered a few mains to share – food tasting we called *winks.

We had a duck leg confit with gratin potato and mixed greens in orange-demi reduction. The duck was a bit too dry for me. It would be better if it was more juicy! Otherwise the taste was OK!

A lamb shank with celeriac, potato and carrot cube. Not much comment for this dish, was a bit disappointed with its presentation and on top of that I don’t eat lamb. So I only had a tiny bite that my friend served to me, and I regretted. LOL.

The next dish served was teriyaki salmon with soba noodles. The teriyaki salmon was fairly decent prepared, minus its presentation which appeared to be a bit dull. The salmon itself was flavourful and juicy the way I like.

And lastly, pork chop with sautéed potato and grilled vegetable in some sauce which didn’t look appealing to me. Haha. The pork chop was a tad too dry without the sauce. Perhaps it was just me, I really love my protein to be soft, tender and juicy!!!

One thing I don’t understand is why didn’t they invest on bigger plates!? The plates they used were much smaller than usual that we thought we ordered entrées instead of mains!

Anyway, the food was slightly above average. I reckon we should not have high expectation on the food but the main focus should be placed on the wine that the restaurant is able to serve. As you might be able to tell from the name of the restaurant itself, this restaurant has a long wine list! Nonetheless, only one of us ordered a glass of red wine to go with the dinner, what a shame!

It might be a good place with superb scenery and wines for us to chill-out with friends.