LeGrenier A Pain

Now I guess you guys know that I'm not much of a patissier to comment on bread & cakes but coming from a family that owned a bakery while I was growing up does make me somewhat qualified to comment on this particular shop that I went to. Located at Sembawang Shopping Centre, I decided to buy some bread home. Seeing that the shop came from 'Paris' to 'Singapour' (that's how they spelt it on the plastic bag!), I was full of expectation. When I went to pay for my purchases, the shop had a policy of charging purely by 100gm for s$3.30. Now you can mix & match between bread & cakes & whatever but it was measured by their weight. While I think it's ridiculous, I bought what looked like decently yummy ham & cheese mini buns (which also happened to be their so called famous signature bun) & went home. To keep things short, let's just say, it didn't taste like it was from Paris (but the price was!) at all & I will not buy from them again.

100gm for $3.30 and mine ended up was $5.90

*Disclaimer: This post is purely from my own personal stand point of view & experience.

Mayo meets Mr Jones with Ben & Jerry's

Was a beautiful Saturday morning when a team of totally creative, stylish & beautiful (friends are you reading this?? You know who you are! Haha..) headed down to a interesting restaurant cum grocer place called 'Jones The Grocer'. Located at Dempsey Hill, the open concept of the restaurant space mixed with people shopping for fresh groceries & produce makes for an interesting breakfast experience. The high ceiling amplifies the noisy chatter of it's occupants & clattering of cutlery becomes a norm upon minutes of entering. I'll let the pictures do the talking for the food.

Ambience: 4/5 (a little warm)
Food: 3/5
Service: 3/5

Simple & clean color scheme of white, black & grey hues adorn the place.

Talk. Eat. Laugh. Talk. Eat. Laugh...

Cheese room

The menu

This was what I ordered. A large healthy serving to start off the day!

It's called 'Breakfast BLT' (bacon, tomato, avocado & spinach) on the menu.


My friend's 'English Breakfast' (toast, eggs, mushrooms, sausages, tomatoes and crispy bacon...), S$20.


Banana cake with Pecan & Banana dip.


Coconut Pancake with ice cream & fruits.


Perfectly done poached egg over hot crispy toast.

Thick Salmon fillet with toast.

Other food items available are pastries, cakes, biscuits etc.

Fun little treats like candies, biscuits, honey also caught my eye. :p

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After stuffing our faces with our breakfast, our sweet tooth got the better of us & we subsequently went a few shops down & settled down in ice cream/dessert heaven 'Ben & Jerry's'. We found ourselves a nice little corner where red brick pillars & lush sofas align the white washed walls. With a lush chandelier hanging from the middle of the room and randomly placed furniture everywhere, the atmosphere was comfortable & welcoming. Strangely for a place famous for their ice creams, the menu had beer on it too! We ordered our liquid poison & took the opportunity to take lots of photos while we just lazed the afternoon away...

Er.. how much for that chandelier please? :p

Random images that made no sense. Whatever.

View of the bar.

Yaki Yaki Bo

I have been wanting to visit this so called 'Little Osaka' food street located at Jurong Point Shopping Mall for quite some time after reading the reviews on magazines & newspapers. The entrance to the food street was quite interesting with a scaled down version of the famous Dotonburi 'Crab' robot (but our version couldn't move it's legs!). We were then greeted by small stalls peddling their Osaka foodstuffs like wasabi powder, chopped bbq octopus tentacles etc but the feeling was marred by the excessive crowd & heartlanders shoving for taste samples. Not Japanese like at all. Fail. :p

Now on to food. After surveying the entire street, I decided upon this eatery named Yaki Yaki Bo. It's speciality seems to be Teppanyaki & Okonomiyaki which I wanted to see if it was up to mark with the Japanese. I ordered the Scallop Okonomiyaki which came served in a medium sized hot pan with a ladle for digging it up. The scallops were savoury but the batter for the Okonomiyaki was a tad bland. Unlike the Japanese version which consists of generous portions of vegetables, this was thin & uninspiring. Still palatable but could be much better.

I also ordered a side dish of grilled asparagus fried with chopped garlic. Now as you all know by now, I'm a huge fan of asparagus & I'm so glad this didn't disappoint me! When the dish was served, it was piping hot & the scent of grilled asparagus seduced me instantly. Crunchy on the outside but juicy & sweet on the inside. The fried garlic bits combined well to add an added crunch to the dish which made this simple dish the highlight of my dinner.

Next came another main course. The Teppanyaki Chicken & Seafood set. Now I was impressed by the amount of effort & portion of this course. A bowl of fresh salad, a cute cup of chawanmushi, a dish of steamed salmon immersed in yummy syrupy teriyaki sauce, a large plate of stir fried bean sprouts with mixed vegetables served with a garlic butter toast with peppery grilled scallops, prawns & chicken cubes & a dish of cut fruits. I would recommend this dish to my readers as it was simply delicious & value for money.

Ended my dinner with a sweet dessert of fried bananas with vanilla ice cream. It was ok but not mind blowing enough to blog more about it. :)

Yaki Yaki Bo @ Jurong Point

Ambience: 2.5/5
Food: 3/5

Asparagus with garlic

Chawanmushi




Grilled Prawns, scallops & chicken on a garlic toast

Chicken & Seafood set only $22!


Scallop Okonomiyaki, $13.80

Fried bananas with ice-cream

Mr K Bday @ Tampopo Restaurant Liang Court

Happy birthday Mr K! Thanks for suggesting to have your celebration at a Japanese restaurant after knowing that I am still suffering from post Japan trip syndrome. Hehe! Decided on trying out the Tampopo Japanese restaurant after reading much about their special air flown 'black pork' cutlets & char siew ramen. These pigs are apparently stress free while being nurtured purely for better meat quality & taste.

Char Siew Ramen Deluxe. An extra large serving of ramen with equally generous servings of ingredients. The soup base was decent with a strong miso flavor. The char siew slices were soft and easy to bite into. Overall a satisfying dish but still taste different from those in Japan. Can't explain why. Hmm...

Pork (Kurobuta) cutlet spicy ramen. A recommended dish from the restaurant. The black pork cutlet was nicely deep fried without retaining the oil which the outer layer of bread crumbs kept it's crispiness throughout my meal. Meat was tender, juicy & flavorful. The broth was spicy but somehow lacked any other flavor other than that.


Our side dish of pan fried Gyoza. A little disappointing with the presentation, wet soggy skin and bland filling. :(

Japanese style soft boiled eggs with our ramen dishes.

Eatery @ Far East Plaza

After some frantic shopping spree, I was left tired & hungry. Took the escalator up to the 5th level of Far East Plaza and chanced upon this unassuming eatery. From first impression, it looks a little run down but the fragrance flowing from their kitchen told a different story. This is a out and out Hong Kong cafe with menus written on the walls and a super friendly smiling Cantonese speaking owner that always asks if you want chilli with your meal (canto: Oi Mm Oi Lat Jiu ah?)

Wait-A-Coffee Snack Bar, #05-112
verdict: 4.5/5

'Hua Dan Hor Fun', this is very very yummy!

Pork chop fried rice.

RENN Thai @ Clarke Quay Singapore

I love spicy food and if you are just like me, I would recommend this Thai restaurant located at Clarke Quay. After many visits to different Thai restaurants, I still find that RENN Thai serves authentic dishes that suits my taste buds.

Food: 4/5
Ambience: 3/5

Fried prawn crackers & Papaya salad (highly recommended).

Spicy shrimp paste stir fried long beans with salted egg & shredded chicken (must try!). Thai style chicken wrapped with pandan leaves.

Thai fish cake.



Clarke Quay

Overview.

Limousine for rent. These lucky ladies was it's 'owner' for the night.