Bedrock @ Pan Pacific Serviced Suites

This review is long overdue… :p

It was a simple dinner appointment that turned out pretty enjoyable for both CG and myself. CG suggested checking out the new Pan Pacific Serviced Suites, which means Oriole Café or Bedrock. Oriole was so packed and Bedrock is just so tempting since I’m too lazy to walk elsewhere in search for dinner. We looked at the menu and decide to just walk in.

The interior is dark (not helpful for food-tography), but definitely a good place to date or have your girls night out. As this is our first visit to the restaurant, the waiter guides us through the menu and their specialties. After a good 10mins, we decided on the following:

Smoked Tomato Soup – $12.00

300g Ribeye with Mustard Seed Sauce – $42.00

Twice Cooked Duck – $36

2 glasses of Montes Red – $12.00 per glass

Complimentary bread was served with butter and a cloves of ROASTED garlic drizzled with what seems like olive oil (?) The flat bread was served warm and taste good with the butter. What stole the limelight was the roasted garlic! The garlic was nicely roasted till perfection and indeed literally garlic spread when you just poke a piece and spread it on the flat bread. A must try for those non-garlic eaters; this clove here will change your opinion on garlic.

Up next was the smoked tomato soup, made from roma tomato and smoked with apple wood; this soup is subtly bursting with the right amount of sweetness and tanginess. The soup goes well with the bread and taste good even if they serve the chilled version (IMO).

GC had a Ribeye done medium rare with mustard seed sauce. Which was done the way she ordered. Mustard seed sauce was a little potent (IMO)

I ordered the twice-cooked duck aka duck confit. Serve with fine mashed potatoes. Having taste the jackpot hitting duck confit at Sage. The one here is far from my liking. Not that it taste bad, but there’s something about it irking me off. Every bite is holding me back from enjoying this dish. The small tiny bits of broken chipped bone are the killer! I have to pick the bits of bone along with every piece of meat I put inside my mouth. It’s very frustrating. The skin of the duck is not crisp enough resulting in no explosion of fats and the meat is just tad dry. The only thing I like is this duck confit is not too salty. The very fine mash at the side is forgettable, too fine in texture for enjoyment. (IMO)

There are always hits and misses when it comes to food, however; overall it was a pretty ok experience for me. The tomato soup and bread is something that I might crave for. In terms of mains, I would suggest just go for the steak. Service was good and prompt. There’s a Citibank of 10% for cardholders.

PS: As the lighting is way too dim for food-tography, no pictures for this review.

Go India @ Vivo City

Disclaimer: This was an invited food tasting session. Review is based on my personal preference but I will still be fair and harsh when I have to.

Great thanks to the dudes from HGW for the invitation and now I shall waste no time and let’s…Go India.

Go India a restaurant serving north Indian cuisine, this restaurant is conveniently located inside one of our mega shopping mall – Vivo City. If you’re looking for something different from your usual fare this might be the place for you. I like the simple ivory colour décor as it creates a soothing environment for a nice meal, to top up your dining experience, I suggest to go alfresco.(no breeze? It’s okay, they’ve overhead fan.)

Papadum

We started the dinner with a plate of rolled papadum and 2 dips,a mint one and another one that taste like spicy tomato chutney. The mint dip works quite well for me, it was a refreshing and a little bit spicy however, the spicy tomato chutney(?) was just ordinary.

The following dishes were served one after another, so it was quite overwhelming for me at the moment. So here it goes…

Lamb Kakori Malai Kebab (Minced Lamb Seekhs)
- I find the taste of lamb a little too strong for my liking. The lamb texture is too minced, like too mashed up IMO.

Prawn with Garlic Butter
- One can’t go too wrong with garlic butter; the prawns were of good size and well infused with the garlic butter. I like this, perhaps can tone down a little on the salt used.

Three Pepper Fish
- The fish is well seasoned and moist but a little too salty for my liking.

Masala Crab Cake – $24 (Crab meat patty tossed in masalas dipped in tangy coconut cream sauce)
- I’ve tried masala chicken, masala mutton and even masala tea, but masala crab cake? This is my first and I simply love it. The creamy coconuty sauce compliments the juicy crab cake so well I think I can have one all to myself. I would say this is a must try dish and don’t forget your naan to go with the sauce.

Onion Chilli Cheese Kulcha – $7
- Kulcha is another kind of Indian bread that taste like naan and this one here has bits of onion, chilli and what seems like cottage cheese(?) in it. Quite good on texture and not that oily too. I hope they can put more cheese and chilli.

Aloo Papri Delhi Chat – $10 (Crisp Papris topped w chopped potatoes, onions, chillies, fresh coriander, chat masala & chutneys)
- The street food of India; this dish don’t look appetizing to me, but never judge the food by its appearance. The potatoes goes well with the chutneys, its quite a tasty snack, worth a try!

Raj Kachori Chat

Raj Kachori Chat – $10 (Semolina baked cups filled w Indian spices topped with curd, mint & tamarind sauce)
- This is similar to the one above but without the potatoes. I personally prefer this one than the one with potatoes as this has a slight sour-ish taste from the curd/yoghurt dressing (I think) but it does compliment the crispy baked cups very well.

Lalla Mussa Dal – $18 (Black Lentil)
- This “plain jane” is a star on its own. Cooked for more than 10hrs, it’s so simple yet bursting with flavors. Eat it with your naan or paratha, simply delish.

Lagan Kelamb (Spicy smoked minced lamb w hot buttered Indian bun)
- The spicy smoked minced lamb is not as spicy as I thought it will be, I like this lamb, very tasty and has a nicer texture. Didn’t try the bun as I was really full by then.

Dum Briyani Lamb $18
- This is the dum one and there’s a not so dum one (heh…pte joke aside), being a briyani lover, I find the briyani here mediocre and the lamb was a little too tough.

Dum Methi Prawn – $24 (Prawn tossed with methi, cashew nut onion paste)
- This prawn is super YUM! The rich creamy gravy is super addictive, armed with more naan…ATTACK!

Roomali Roti

 

Roomali Roti – $7
- The manager insisted that we all should try this and the next thing we know, he’s back with the roti. Rooma means handkerchief and this roti resemble a huge handkerchief when it’s open. As for taste-wise, it’s pretty plain, not oily and quite chewy in texture.

After stuffing ourselves with all the food, we moved on to the dessert department. We ordered the following to share.

Pistachio Kulfi
- A few months ago, I had my first attempt with kulfi at Little India, it was a pretty good experience. However this kulfi here was totally different from the one I tried. The one here is much creamier and it doesn’t sit well with me.

Garam Gulab Jamun

Garam Gulab Jamun (Deep Fried Cheese/Milk Ball)
- This is your ticket to sugar heaven, only for sweet sweet tooth only. The texture is somewhat like muah chee but not that sticky. I like this, it’s happy food!

Tutti Frutti (Ice cream sundae topped with mixed fruits and shortbread)
- Vanilla ice cream with hot fudge and mixed fruits, what you see is what you get.

It was an enjoyable evening and I was so stuffed after that. Food were generally not bad however desserts don’t score that well here. For those who want to check out and get a taste of Go India, do check out their lunch buffet.

Address: 1 Harbour Front Walk, #01-152/155 Vivo City

Tel: 6378 9644

Website: www.ivorykitchen.com/singapore/goindia/go-india

21st April…

What’s in the pink box???

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Happy Birthday Daddy...

The three princesses were cracking our heads, trying hard to decide where to buy daddy’s birthday cake. It was a tough fight between Canele and Centre Ps and we I decided on Centre Ps, and why? Personally I feel that Canele’s creations are sweeter and dad prefer something less sweet plus he’s fussy about the selections of cakes which explain why we have the same damn cake every year for his birthday. Haha, but that’s beside the point! This year he wanted Tiramisu cake but I decided to order him something similar, no alcohol and stronger coffee taste. Gateau Opera – $60 from Centre Ps is just what I’m looking for. Layer of coffee cream, coffee soaked almond biscuit and glazed with chocolate ganache. Simply divine!

The only bit of hiccup is they wrote 3 princess instead of princesses. The counter staff offered to redo it but I was rushing for time so I just forget it. Nevertheless, the whole family enjoyed the cake and next up in 2 months will be my sister’s 21st birthday.  Shall crack my head again on what cake to get for her and last but not least…

Here wishing daddy a Happy 55th Birthday! =)

Address: 78 Guan Chuan Street

Tel: 6220 1285

Website: www.centre-ps.com

Having fun in the Kitchen – Part 1

Having a weak spot for the famous “pick me up” I will always tend to order it whenever I see it on the dessert menu, but hey, isn’t it good to be able to make one for yourself in the comfort of a familiar kitchen and indulge it while you’re watching your favorite TV series? Well, I did, or sort of, but in someone else’s kitchen.

I managed to persuade D (a friend of mine) to share the making process and recipe with me. After 1 week on consideration, D finally agreed. So let’s go and have some fun in D’s Kitchen.

Things you need

4 egg yolks

3/4 cup of sugar

2 teaspoon of vanilla essence

250g of marscapone cheese

200ml of whipping cream

1 cup of strong coffee with your desired amount of kahlua

1 packet of sponge fingers

Cocoa powder

5 plastic containers

Mascarpone Cheese, Cocoa Powder, Coffee Powder, Vanilla Essence...

Sponge Fingers...

 Step 1

Blend egg yolks with sugar until smooth, add vanilla essences and blend till pale yellow.  Add mascarpone cheese in batches and blend till smooth. Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate for about an hour.

 

 

Step 2

Whip cream till stiff, then fold it into the refrigerated cheese mixture. Place in fridge again for another 1 hour, or till the mixture is firm enough to use without being too messy.

Step 3

Brew a cup of strong coffee and place it in a big bowl to cool.  Add your desired amount of Kahlua into the coffee when it’s cool. (In the mean time, D and me watch Shrek 3 to kill the time in between.)

An hour plus later…the mixture is firm enough to use.

Step 4

(i) Dip the sponge fingers into the cool coffee and layered it into the container.

(ii) Pour the chilled cheese mixture over the soaked sponge fingers, making sure its a thin layer just covering the sponge fingers.

(iii) Dust cocoa powder over and repeat step (i) and (ii) and lastly dust another layer of cocoa powder over.

Refrigerate for up to 8 hours and tadah….Bon Appetit!!! =)

PS: Please ignore the “bump” caused I didn’t layered the sponge properly and check out the mess after everything…

Pucca By Meiji

Pucca Pucca!!!

My all time favorite snack.

However, only recently I found out of that they have these yummylicious flavors – Salted Creamy Caramel and Vanilla Cream. I’ve yet to try the Vanilla Cream (it’s still sitting in a corner of my kitchen), but I’m totally in L.O.V.E with the Salted Caramel one. Imagine popping one into your mouth to experience a mini rush of simple contentment. The “fish shape” pretzel filled with supposedly creamy caramel, was not so creamy but that doesn’t stop me from from enjoying this tasty snack. I love the feeling of the oh so sweet and buttery caramel. 

Beware of addiction, once you pop, you can’t stop! =)

This yummy snack can be found ->  Orchard OG level, priced at $2.30 

The "deadly" Salted Caramel Pucca!

Creamy Vanilla Pucca

Centre PS

Raining heavily on a Sat afternoon…(3 weeks ago)

It did not stop me from satisfying my craving, I find myself sweet-talking dad to drive me down to Guan Chuan Street after our yummy lunch at Tian Tian Hainanese Curry Rice. The promotion for buy 3 get 1 free deal is still on, so it was a pretty good deal for me. The cakes were quite limited that day when I was there, so I decided to pick these 4 pretty babies and bring them back home.

1. Chocolate Tart
2. Grand Cru Royal
3. Gateau Opera
4. Douce Fraise

The Chocolate tart is the 1^st to go into the stomach of my sister and me. The tart has a nice thin crust with thick chocolate ganache. The ganache was smooth upon the touch of my tongue. The velvety texture embraced my tongue in an amazing way, bringing out the great taste of the bittersweet chocolate. I like this tart and the next thing I realized, my sister has no more tart to eat.

Next “victim” was the Grand Cru Royal, a piece of art on its own for tastebud and visual enjoyment. It has 2 different layers, a smooth chocolate mousse and crunchy hazelnut praline base. Being a hazelnut lover, I really enjoyed every bit of it. A must try for anyone visiting Centre PS.

Gateau Opera was dessert the next day. I brought this for dad as it contains coffee cream. The coffee taste was not too overpowering and chocolate blend well together. Taste resembles a little like tiramisu (IMO).

I had the last slice of cake all to myself. I pick the Douce Fraise caused there’re no other cakes available and I wanted something different. This last slice did not disappoint. The whole texture and taste was just heavenly. The ivory chocolate with a hint of earl grey is delightful, strawberry jam and hazelnut genoise creates another dimension when eaten as whole. There was a little surprise hidden at the bottom of the cake – a thin layer of chocolate as the base (if my tastebud didn’t fail me)…this will be another lover to bring home on my next visit.

Cakes are priced at $7 per slice. Parking available in front of the shop.

For those who have not been here before…I guess it’s time

Address: 78, Guan Chuan Street #01-43

Tel: 6220 1285

Website: www.centre-ps.com

Dim Sum @ Dim Joy

As I was saying about my silly cravings recently, dim sum is also on that list. Since my dining partner suggested dim sum, I decided to give Dim Joy a try.

Watch out for this sign...

It was a brunch on a Sat morning (like finally a Sat that I can escape from work…hehe), so I head down Neil Road on that quiet morning, in search for Dim Joy with much anticipation. The restaurant was nestled among the shop houses along Neil Road; look out for the Dim Joy signboard that can be easily missed.

The menu to the joy of Dim Sum...

We were the 1^st customers, though there were no customers around, I saw a table with the reserved sign…hmm…yes, that’s our table with a pretty good view of the open kitchen to see the chef at work. Now…Let’s waste no time and down to the food

We had the following…

1. Pan-Fried Radish Cake – $3.00
2. Herbal Phoenix Talons – $3.00
3. Honey-Syrup Char Siew Bao – $3.00 (3 pcs)
4. Siew Mai – $3.50 (4pcs)
5. King Shrimp Har Gou – $4.00 (3pcs)
6. Custard Bun – $3.00 3 pcs
7. Shrimp and Chive Rice Roll – $5.00
8. Century Egg w Lean Pork Congee – $9.00

The Umm…YUMMY! 

1 piece went into the stomach before I took this photo...

Pan-Fried Radish Cake – This is done very well. Crisp exterior break apart and you will find the soft and steamy interior saying “hi” to you. Taste and texture were light (surprisingly) than most carrot cakes. No oily aftertaste.

King Shrimp Har Gou

King Shrimp Har Gou – Oh…this staple with crystal-clear skin hit the spot for me. I like it caused the skin is of the right texture, not too thick and not too rubbery. The shrimps are fresh and juicy, not the best but still good and comforting.

Before I took a bite...

molten custard...yum!

Custard Bun – Not a big fan of custard but I do like the one served here. The golden custard oozed out the moment I took a bite. It looks perfect; however the lack of salted egg taste is detected. The coarse texture of what seems like…(un-dissolved sugar) might be a no-no for most people, but I’m quite okay with that. Imagine a soft, fluffy bao flowing with molten custard that has an interesting bite of (sugar?). It’s actually quite nice (IMO).        

THE SO SO LAH

See...not that red typical kind..

 Herbal Phoenix Talons (Chicken Feet) – Nothing herbal about this dish (IMO), nevertheless it was still not that bad. Not the typical with red coloring, not spicy too.

Shrimp & Chive Cheong Fun...

Shrimp and Chive Rice Roll (Cheong Fun) – Quite a nice combination, taste was ordinary, ingredients were fresh. You get what you see from the menu. The skin of the cheong fun so delicate, make sure you use your spoon to hold it, if not bye-bye to all the shrimps and chive in it.

Honey Syrup CSB

Honey-Syrup Char Siew Bao – My dining partner said no to char siew bao, but somehow the order still arrived at our table so we just let it be. The dough was not bad, soft and fluffy but the filling was kinda miserable (IMO). Indeed it was sweet but… not enough to complete the whole shiok CSB feeling. (you know what I mean?)

 THE OH,NO!

Siew Mai...

Siew Mai – I know many of the reviewers find it pretty decent, perhaps it wasn’t that decent for me today. The siew mai was chewy; actually too chewy for my liking and the meat were mostly fats. Guess the siew mai doesn’t work for me here.

Century Egg w Lean Pork Congee – This is the most expensive item we ordered and it’s also the worst among the ones we ordered. Dilute consistency, tad salty and the meat were just… strange. Was trying to finish it as we didn’t want to waste food, but we gave up eventually.

*** Overall it was a pleasant brunch on a sat morning; I like the interior lighting from the natural light in the day, creating a very warm and refreshing feeling.

Do Note:

1. Parking are available at the 2 public carpark along the right side of Neil Road. Dim Joy is between the 2 carpark.

2. Appetizer charge at $1.00 per plate

3. Tea charge at $1.50 per pax.

4. Service Charge and GST applicable.

Address: 80 Neil Road

Tel: 62206986

Website: www.dimjoy.com

Pâtisserie Glacé

Patisserie Glace is in my craving lists recently and I finally decided to give in to my craving and head down Chinatown in search for this new place. It’s not hard to find Chinatown Plaza; it’s just at the “entrance” of Craig Road when you head down from Neil Road. Look out for the colourful EBay/Pay Pal building, Chinatown Plaza is just beside it. Judging from the ulu looking CP, no one will know that there is this hidden gem inside.

Check out all the yummy creations!

 

More yummy cakes!

As my friend and I walked closer to the shop, a little girl greeted us in Japanese, so cute! I believe she’s the daughter of the shop owner. The colourful display cabinet showcasing all the beautiful creations, making me hard to decide which to get caused everything is just sooooo tempting! I selected the following:

1. Strawberry Shortcake – $4.80
2. Strawberry Soufflé – $5.00
3. Chocolate de Noeh – $5.10 
4. Cupcake Pack – 6 for $6.00 (my friend)

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake was indeed light and fluffy like how other reviewers mentioned. The cream was very smooth and light and the sponge, just of the right texture. The strawberries on top are such a delight. I like this cake, it so yummy, especially the cream, so light that I polished every bit of the cream from my plate.

OH....I HEART THIS!

Strawberry Soufflé was dessert for that night, my sister who came home after her date keep hinting about the cake in the fridge, I have no choice but to share with her. (wanted to keep all for myself ma, haha…damn greedy I know). Just ONE bite from this cake got me hooked! I like cheesecake, but this cheesecake is different. It was very light and fluffy, the best part was it doesn’t make you feel sinful, so one can devour as many as you want. The strawberries on top were fat and sweet. The cream in-between was light and has the right amount of sweetness. This will be my top pick from now on!

A slice "packed" with nuts!

Chocolate de Noeh was breakfast the following morning; it was quite a “packed” slice of cake. With all the crushed nuts, walnuts, almond etc. Cacao mass was more than 70%, the texture is quite similar to the flourless chocolate cake from Canelé, just that this one is with nuts and cookie base.

Among the three cakes above, my favourite will be the soufflé, followed by the shortcake and chocolate de neoh. I’ll be back soon to take on the Mont Blanc, Choco Renga, Strawberry Hill and more!!! My friend brought the cupcakes pack $6.00 for 6 cupcakes and he really like it. For those who’re afraid of cakes that are too sweet, rest assure, the cakes here are of the right amount of sweetness.

After 5 Special – 20% off all fresh short cakes till stocks fun out on display. (Not valid for whole cakes, organic cakes and promo packs.)

Now I’m hooked, so 5pm special here I come!!! Oh…YOU, YES…YOU, YOU & YOU…Come and indulge together lah!

Address:  34, Craig Road #01-10 Chinatown Plaza

Tel: 6400 0247

Website: www.cakeglace.com