TWG @ Takashimaya

As a tai tai's afternoon tea hotspot, TWG not just nailed it but way surpassed that!

Fantabulous brunch, mains, desserts and French Earl Grey Tea blablabla~ the list could go on for a good 10 minutes.

Be prepared to splurge as we are paying not just for the food, but the brand and all those intangible "feel-goods" that comes along with the experience.

It's the feeling of wanting to have more that makes us treasure every bite we take (hence explaining the petite-sized servings)

I like that the chefs make an effort to improvise and infuse various teas into their mains, makes this a heaven for tea lovers and those who just want to try a variation from the norm.

Here's my review on some of the must tries @ TWG salon & boutiques.

Vendome Salad

$19

Greens! always a favourite of mine. This salad combines asparagus, broccoli, french beans, lettuce and 1 cherry tomato dressed with vinaigrette. 

To be honest, I can't really taste the "vendome" in their vinaigrette. But taste wise, this is good =)

Vegetable Lasagna 

$19

I dare say this is the best vegetarian lasagna i've ever eaten ( as you know lasagna's a beef thing..hee)

This is supposed to be infused with Moroccan mint tea. Supposedly. But I guess it's just not strong enough. That said, I enjoyed this dish, and despite being a small portion, it's pretty filling. =)

Gourmet Brunch Set

$40

This is TWG's basic brunch set with omelette as the main. I has a simple freshly squeezed orange juice with the following....

2 French brioche toast - bread with a crispy golden brown skin and soft, light buttery center.

Scrambled Eggs (ala carte price $19)

I choose the green tea flavoured scrambled egg. nomm nomm nomm

scrambled egg is nua nua not dry at all and goes well with the smoked salmon and salad =)

What surprised me is the de-shelled prawns! So enjoyed our privileges to be a tai tai once in a while and not dirty our hands peeling prawn =)

Raspberry Cheesecake

Absolutely delicious, not too sweet yet soft and the cheese goes especially well with the sour raspberry compote and biscuit crust. recommended for those who likes berry and sour stuff =)

Another of their highlights

Beef Bolognaise Lasagna 

($20)

this lasagna, just like the vegetarian version above, is infused with Moroccan mint tea.

the only thing you would complain would be why aren't they serving you a bigger portion

Creme Brulee Custard Berry Tart 

($9.50)

This is an art, an absolute MUST! I Love this =) Love it!

*If you see this in their trolley of patisseries, dont hesitate! cox it's not always available*

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Due to their exaggerated range of tea, I will have a post specially dedicated to just TWG Tea Selection. Lend me your patience =)

Add: Marina Bay Sands / ION Orchard / Takashimaya/ Republic Plaza

Website: TWG Tea Boutiques

Udders Ice Cream

The new place to be seen salivating over ice cream! This is my slogan for them since I discover it at Goldhill plaza a few years back

albeit not so new anymore, their ice creams still makes me drool =)

Preview.... 2 photos from 2010, a random visit to their outlet at Goldhill plaza

Recently, I made a visit to another of their so-called "milking-station" @ bukit timah area. Here's my take on some of their sensational ice creams. (Average $3.80 ~ $5 /scoop)

The ice creams are charged based on their grade.

1. Classic

2. Premium

3. Connoisseur 

Hazel's Nut & Cookies and Cream

Both are top notch! rich hazel nut flavour and overflowing oreo biscuits! DROOL!

Snickers Mars Honeycomb Vanilla & Strawberry Fields

snickers mars is not really my favourite but strawberry field tastes fresh, every mouth has strawberry bits =)

Rum Rum Raisin & Awesomely Chocolate

This is probably my favourite liqueur ice cream! (fyi: I am not a fan of alcohol...) BUT this rum & raisin's choc is actually pretty good! As all their alcoholic flavours are very very STRONG, I suggest mixing them with this thick choc ice cream if you are not that accustomed to liqueur

On another note.. their lychee martini flavour isn't really my thing, perhaps you would like to taste it before ordering a whole scoop

Side note: their waffles are made on the spot so be rest assured it come to you hot and YUMMY! Just to humour us, every plate of waffle comes with choc fudge sauce tracing the udders (4 cow tits) hehex

Ohh!! almost slipped my mind.. remember to try their Earl Grey ice cream! I LOVE IT! =D

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Totally worth every penny =) This local ice cream parlour is a wonder! All the way!

Website: Udders 
(5 outlets on our sunny island - the place for ice cream)

Coffee Club @ Ngee Ann City

Coffee club for a proper meal? The thought of it never came across my mind till their GSS 1-1 promotion =)

*alright i confess to my soft spot for discounts and sales....*

Long story short, I tried a total of 5 different mains on 2 separate occasions, and here goes my verdict:

all dishes reviewed are approx. $15.

1. Luscious Club 

French fries! hahaha ok i am easily distracted but hey, it's golden brown, how could you resist?

Back to the sandwich. Just LOOK at that, chicken bits, lettuce, egg, bacon sandwiched between foccacia bread spread with avocado cream! oh YUM! a good start to my morning =)

the salad at the side was so - so ..not much dressings but healthy nevertheless 

2. Garlic Prawn Linguini

Generous portion of pasta, 3 bite size tomato, 5~6 pieces of small prawn. 

I actually had the chance to try this dish twice and I must say...whether this dish makes or breaks your day is purely by luck! Why?

Cox different chef ... cooks differently. The 1st plate that I tried was Sssspicy, with less oil compared to the 2nd. and that is naise! 

However, the 2nd dish was just oily and wet with little spice. So gd luck! I hope ur dish will be cooked by my preferred chef =)

3. Skippers delight penne

Decent fish fillet, but disappointing sauce. Penne wasn't tasty as the supposedly lobster sauce has no lobster flavour but filled with the "fishy" taste if you know what i mean..

At times like this, I could only console myself that it's 1-1 after all, 50% off, so maybe gotta discount the standard as well?! 

The other 2 dishes I tried was Fisherman's Toss and Lobster Linguini (Shell Fish). Both were ok, but nothing outstanding to rave about.

Overall rating: 6 if you are having mains, alot higher if you are just looking for afternoon tea =)

Website: Coffee Club

Michelangelo's @ Holland Village

Been awhile since I last went to Michelangelo's (approx 2 yrs ago), so this time round I went with the mind of discovering treasures! bcox i have absolutely no recollection of wad I've eaten previously =)

Let's just call it MA for short. 

It's situated at chip bee gardens, hidden amongst the stretch of alluring restaurants / shops / cafes. each and every one of them seems distinctively unique, i want to "kpo" all if not for already making reservation @ MA =)

entered MA at around 6.45pm, quite empty! and the restaurant didn't reach it's max capacity throughout my stay for the night, weekday perhaps?

Dim lights with pure white table setting..

this is a perfect place to bring your loved ones, a perfect place to unwind after a long day of work

Complimentary Bread

"Insalata di Spinaci"

($18)

Baby spinach salad with walnut, greek feta cheese, small pieces of bacon and vinaigrette dressing

delicious! it's warm, crunchy (walnut), well tossed so every leaf has dressing and every bite is satisfying!

I like the huge silver cutlery as well, adds on to MA's uniqueness

"Quarantaotto"

($40)

Beef stew with mash potato

This is their signature dish, preparation takes 2 days (wow)

I must say though, that the portion is a bit small. Beef is really soft, but a bit bland, I need to dip the beef in a generous amount of soupy gravy to appreciate it 

"Tiramisu"

($13)

Need less to say, this dessert is the Bomb! Simple yet straight to the point, nothing fancy, just hitting the right spot =)

Overall rating:7.0/10

Highlight: I enjoyed 30% discount off total bill hence find it really worthy! however my overall rating are judged based on prices as well, hence it didn't score as high as I would have like to give.

Add: Blk 44, Jalan Merah Saga, #01-60 Chip Bee Gardens, Holland Village

Tel: 6475 9069

Website: http://www.michelangelos.com.sg/

Forture Seafood Steamboat @ Bukit Timah

Zi Char is not really my thing, but when I heard about their signature salted egg crab dish... did you catch the key word? CRAB! Nv say no to crab!

so off we go to try out this new place along bukit timah road

it's nearly 7pm, though the indoor air-con seats are fully booked, the outdoor area is pretty much empty. My first thought was that this place probably lost its media hype....

The picture above shows the outdoor dining area with fans.

Cappuccino Pork Rib

Salted Egg Crab

Hotplate Tofu

Overall I like their sambal kangkong and hotplate tofu!Both taste hot and delicious! and I find them worth that price tags as well.

For the Cappuccino pork ribs, there's really this strong coffee scent as well as the bubble foam dressings. But there's too much fats and a bit too oily for my liking.

As for the special Salted Egg Crab...the sauce is dry but very tasty that you would continue to lick the crab shells. So if you like dry textures such as pepper crab, this dish would be for you! 

Sadly for me, for of the crabs we ordered weren't fresh and the crab meat stubbornly sticks to its shell, so it was quite disappointing. This dish would be worth the trip down if the crabs were fresh and juicy.

On another note, dont expect high standard of services as they seem to be a bit short handed. Only certain employees are able to take orders, some are just serving and cleaning tables. So this is the tricky part. Be prepared to wait a good 20minutes during peak hours as they have queue for take aways.. so be patient! =)

Overall rating: 5.8/10

Highlight: Affordable especially when you couple it with credit card discounts. (We had 10% off using SCB credit card)

Add: 887 Bukit Timah Road

Tel: 6469 5957

Magma, The German Restaurant

My best friend recommended this little German restaurant situated in an old shop house. I thought it's a refreshing change from the typical Jap, Chinese, Western food offered in singapore

We made reservation and was seated at a long table resembling those in Harry Potter dining hall.

I like the ambience, but deco wont make us full..so let's get to the FOOD!

"Flammkuchen"

This is the German thin crust pizza. (small $16~21 , regular $24~29)

The pic below shows the regular spinach w cheese pizza ($26), We also ordered 2 other pizzas, namely, 1. Onion w cheese & 2. Chicken w apple.

Out of the 3, I have to say I would prefer the Spinach with cheese.  * Spinach is not only tasty but high in iron too*

Their pizza is near paper thin, so it's crispy and chewy at the same time ( due to the cheese). However it cools really quickly as well, so eat it when it's hot!

Sausage Platter ($36)

This is a normal sausage platter, 3 different types of sausages, sauerkraut, potato salad and mustard sauce. They didn't have the cheese sausage, so that was a bit disappointing.

Dish of the Month

For the month of June 2011, special dish was the white asparagus. (500g = 8 sticks of white fat chubby asparagus , $42)

This has to be the highlight for me so far. The white asparagus was so succulent, soft with a slight crunch...so juicy you just want to have more =)

And for my favourite time of the night...dessert time!

I tried 3 desserts.

1. apple schrudel with berry compote

2. pancake with plum sauce

3. warm choc lava cake

my favourite would be the lava choc cake as well as the plum sauce. One special highlight would be their pancake, it is served in flaky small pieces ( as seen below) as opposed to the normal huge round or squarish belgium pancakes. The bite size is really convenient for sharing =)

Last but not least, let's not forget the authentic German Beer. Especially recommended for females would be their cherry beer =)

Overall: 7.8

* Saw that they had a 30% discount via Hungry Go Where Deals, our pockets will be much happier with it, so keep a look out for good deals! *

Add: 2 Bukit Pasoh Road Singapore

Tel: 6221 0634

Fruit Paradise

 Thanks to the GSS promotions..since May 2011 this shopping mall kicked off a series of promotions to attract customers.

*Bang bang*

I am one of those who fell into this trap =p

Anyways, I received a free voucher to visit this fruit tart shop, so off we go!

There's about 14 different tarts available for selection, price ranging from $6 to $8.

The taller tarts are typically filled with CREAM. so I went for the shorter tarts instead.

Mixed Berry Chocolate Tart ($7.80)

A pretty decent tart. But I wouldn't be back if it continues to have the same price tag.

Also to note there's a promotion for a pot of tea + a tart at $9.80++.  Due to the lack of customers, this place would be recommended for those who wants to avoid crowd and don't really mind the value of the dessert. 

Overall rating:5/10

Add: 181 Orchard Road, #05-51/52 Orchard Central
Tel: +65 6509 9920