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Friday, November 30, 2012

New Restaurant: Quarter to Three

The boy and I were driving along Tanjong Pagar Rd to get to our dinner place (more abt that in another post) and I happened to catch a sign that I've never seen before along that stretch of road so the boy and I decided to check it out before our dinner!

Its a 6 week old cafe selling some food, coffee, cakes etc. and what's special is that they do customized cakes as well!


Interior of the cafe decorated for xmas!

Here's their menu:




Bestseller ranking
1) Sweet little sixteen
2) Good day Sunshine
3) For you blue

This was what the owner told us!





Sweet Little Sixteen
$7.20
Strawberry cheese sponge 
Slice of light Japanese style cheese sponge with layers of fresh cream & decked w fresh strawberries

The owner said that this cake is the top seller in their cafe and its different in the sense that they use a cheese sponge instead of the usual vanilla sponge. It reminded me of a Jap strawberry shortcake but a slightly denser version of it. Would like it if the bottom layer isnt that thick though! Not too sweet, which is quite good. 3.6/5


Happiness is a Warm Gun
$7.20
Opera with Rum
Wonderfully rich and dreamy combination of delicate almond biscuit, chocolate ganache & coffee buttercream

I thought the bottom layer of this cake would be crispy or like a hard crunchy layer, but it wasnt, tastes more like a sponge cake at the bottom! Rum taste was quite evenly distributed but not overly strong. Chocolate was smooth and not overly rich, which made it quite nice. Coffee buttercream doesnt really have a strong coffee taste but goes well as a whole with the cake. 3.7/5

I'm supposed to be studying for exams now but I just had to share this new discovery with you guys :) I heard their carrot cake's really really good and am looking forward to trying it out aft my exams! If yall do give it a try, please tell me your feedback! :)

Quarter to Three
88 Tanjong Pagar Road (its near Kaixo!)
Mon-Sat 12pm-11pm (on Fb says its 11am-11pm but the sign in the shop says 12pm-11pm)

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

mezza9 Sunday Brunch

Hi everyone! Sorry the lull, and there will likely be another lull till after 10 Dec cos I have exams on that day!

I went for this Sunday Brunch with the boy and his family at the start of this month. Am really apologetic because at the ready-made salad counter, the chef told me that no photos allowed (but chefs at all the oth stations didnt say anything... Wonder what's up w this?) so I only have pics of most of the spread and not all! Had to keep a lookout for that chef.

The layout of the buffet is different from the rest of the buffets I've been to in the sense that its spread out over a HUGE area, like literally throughout the restaurant! Each "cuisine" (Western/Chinese/Japanese), appetiser + cold seafood and dessert stations are separated which can be good or bad.

1) You may think "aiya omg so full, dont wanna walk alr, lazy to go and get the _____ that I may still wanna eat"
2) You walk more and hopefully digest better/burn more or sth and then you get to eat more and make better value outta it! #singaporeanmentality

Another difference is that there are SIGNIFICANTLY more expats here for brunch than I've ever seen at any other brunch restaurants!! And I've been to quite a lot alr. Feels kinda like you're overseas. 

I shall start with the appetiser/cold seafood counter! This is right in front of the entrance of the restaurant, centrally located.


Juices are included in the price





These are freshly shucked and placed on the ice



And then I had to stop taking pics of the salad spreads cos the chef told me no photos. Anyway they have quite a few ready-made salads! Besides these Thai ones, they have Western ones as well


Cold Seafood

They have one of the FRESHEST cold seafood spread I've had so far!!! The lobsters are the BEST I've eaten so far at buffets! Super super fresh and SWEET (most oth buffets, probably fresh but not sweet, these were so good). Everything else got overshadowed by the lobster. Mussels and clams, nth much imo. Prawns were fleshy and juicy.


As you can see, I went for more of the lobsters!

Parma ham wasnt v good, rock melon was sweet. That's asparagus salad there and there was a mozarella x tomato salad as well

**

Round the corner from the salads side is a small display of some cheese and pre-made waffles, I'll talk about this later. No pics of this part of the spread cos of the chef.

**

Japanese counter
This is situated to the most right of the restaurant when you enter (ie the innermost section)


Grilled on the spot!


Tempura

The boy and his mom took this and said that it was cold already and I dont really think ppl like eating cold tempura? So I suggest the restaurant to think of a better way to keep this heated up! Otherwise ppl will just wait for the new batch to come.


Unagi

SO SO PSYCED that this buffet has unagi!!!!! The only other time I had it was at Greenhouse but after 1 round, they replaced it w sth else and the eel was SO rubbery and tasteless. This one was extremely good I kept going back for seconds, thirds, fourths, etc. I really liked it! Nice flavour and tastes and most imptly, it was hot or at least warm most of the time! 


Bacon-enoki mushroom roll
Think those to the right is chicken


Sushi!

I went at the wrong time and got it before it was refilled! But after going back again, it was fully refilled! Didnt try this so no comments!


Japanese Salads

They have quite a big selection relative to oth buffets! Seaweed salads and I dont rmb what else there was!


Sashimi galore!

Nice that they have ikura besides the usual tuna, salmon, swordfish, octopus. Sashimi is quite fresh and nice!

Oh yes there's miso soup as well at this counter!

**

Chinese Counter
This is before the Japanese counter.


Selection of dimsum
Hargow, Siewmai, Pau (not sure what), stuffed mushrooms

Siewmai & hargow were not bad


Roast meats!

Charsiew, roasted pork, roasted duck

This counter also has a station where they'll make you some chinese noodles on the spot! Also a selection of chinese dishes - veg, steamed fish, etc.

**

Western Counter
This is after the cold seafood/appetiser counter and features quite a wide variety of food!


Roast lamb, roast chicken, roast beef


Yorkshire pudding

This was q nice!


Chicken sausages
Chicken nuggets (relive your childhood memories or well, all of us love eating nuggets still right?)
Mini burger sliders (these are q good!)
Fries

They also have a selection of Western mains like sauteed mushrooms, grilled veg (sorry cant really rmb what else they had) and a mushroom risotto in a huge parmesan cheese wheel and pan-fried foie gras made a la minute.


Pan-fried foie gras

This is diff from what I've experienced at other buffets (besides Triple Three) cos theirs, they pan-fry it even before you order and put it at the counter then you come and take it.

Good points: LARGE serving! Look at that size! Biggest sized foie gras served at a buffet, I daresay. And its not just this one piece, all of them are abt this size

Bad points: barely lukewarm, which takes away some of the deliciousness of foie gras AND barely any taste, I'm sorry. This was really bland and doesnt really have the texture of crispy on the outside and soft/melty on the inside.

Quality really trumps quantity in this case!


The mushroom risotto was cold too and bland
Sauteed mushrooms (top left) was quite good, sauteed veg next to it was bland
Roast lamb (middle) was okay, could be more flavourful


Desserts Counter

This was well disappointing for me cos I'm a DESSERT FAN. And the spread was really too small for me. Another bad thing was that there were NO SIGNS so everyone started asking the chef there what each thing was.


Shown here is most of the dessert buffet spread alr (besides ice cream, choc fountain, alcohol meringue station)

Carrot cake - was ok
Sticky Date Pudding - needed to go w the vanilla sauce, else was q bad
Apple Crumble - doesnt really have apple taste
Lemon Meringue Tart - lemon curd wasnt thick enough for me
Macarons - passionfruit & some berry flavour, both were really good w chewy shells and not overly sweet
Choux Puff - too hard!!!

There was also bread & butter pudding, cheesecake, pannacotta shooter and strawberry shortcake (which was not bad)


Waffle from the cold seafood counter

This barely had any waffle taste that we usually associate waffles with, it has another taste which I cant quite describe but was not bad! Crispy definitely. I wonder how it remains crispy despite being left in the open


Cheese platter - The selection of cheeses were okay, nth spectacular abt the tastes I feel. That "Cracker" or wtv its called at the top, tasted so mouldy and icky. Thought it'd be crispy but it was soft.

As you can see, I took more macarons :)


Ice cream!

I love their variety of ice cream cos they have some unique flavours!

Left - CINNAMON ice cream!!!! And this really really tastes like cinnamon, super super good!
Middle - raspberry sorbet. Sorry was too preoccupied by cinnamon, I forgot how this tastes! Not sour enough for me though I rmb.
Right - Coconut. This didnt have a strong coconut taste :/ but still, unique flavour!

They also had this alcoholic meringue station (turn a corner aft the choc fondue) where they make the meringue on the spot in dry ice and you've to eat it on the spot in one mouthful!! Its FULL of gin or was it vodka? Some liquor and it explodes in your mouth and is really quite cool! Give it a shot! :)

Overall comments about the buffet:
  1. Service: plate clearing was quite fast, servers had a smile on their faces most of the time, rather polite, didnt get the "friendly, amiable" feel. Water was constantly refilled though
  2. Spread: Not bad a spread, I wouldnt exactly call it huge, but not bad. Quality wise, not that many hits? Although cold seafood's really good & the unagi haha.
  3. Value for money: I'm bordering btwn value for money and not value for money. Because cold seafood quality was good, as was some dishes in the mains. However, small dessert selection + food in spread generally not that up to par! But its a buffet! So cant be everything's well done :)
  4. Ambience: the chair we sat on was kinda hard, not really conducive for long periods of sitting. The decor of the restaurant is just black schemed and simplistic so nth much in terms of decor there. Privacy space between tables - okay.
Would I go back again? Probably not since there are other places at cheaper prices w better quality of food :) 

mezza9
Grand Hyatt Hotel Singapore Mezzanine Lvl 
Sunday Brunch 11.30am-2.30pm (available on PH as well)
$138++/$128++ for free flowing champagne (Depending on type of champagne! Refer to website)
$108++ with free flowing juices, soft drinks
$69++ per child (7-12 years old) with free flowing juices, soft drinks
Complimentary parking is provided
On other days & Sunday dinner, mezza9 serves ala carte/set options

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Revamped: Marriott Cafe Sunday Brunch

Since aft Marriot Cafe was revamped, reviews online seem to sing praises about their brunch, the boy and I decided to head down for Sunday Brunch! 


Its quite spacious!

And here's what they have to offer: 



If you can spot the oysters at the back.... Its rather hard to take them since they're all the way at the back and I dont know if this is some tactic to make ppl take less oysters or something but I certainly feel that they shld all be spread out!




Sashimi wasnt cold enough



Cheeses at the back arent for you to take!


Cheese section depleted q quickly and wasnt refilled till very long later


DIY salad!


Sauces and pre-mixed salad at the left


Selections of bread


Dessert!!! Thought they look really pretty, they're v average :( Actually Marriott has one of the worst dessert standards I've met! The trifles in the middle, not cold enough at all. Can you imagine eating cream, syrup and fruits that arent cold? The cream puff to the left was kinda hard and filling was not discernible. The blackforest at the back was passable. Tiramisu, barely any alcohol and biscuits. Didnt try the red velvet.


Didnt try these pralines as well


Cheesecake at the extreme left
Next is called Saint Marc and this was not bad
Didnt try the small shooters in the middle
The choc cake was not bad, though choc taste couldve been stronger
Fruit frangipane to the right and this was ok.


Didnt try these

**

They also have an ice cream selection, with a variety of flavours and lots of toppings to choose from. The coconut is good though, strawberry's not bad.




Lobsters! Quite fresh though not particularly sweet tasting


Fried veg


Korean glass noodles made on the spot!!






Hainanese Chicken Rice

The boy said this was GOOOOOOOD. Like super super good and he kept going back for more! 




These are side dishes and one thing diff about Marriott is that they have a SUPER big range of side dishes to go w your mains!! Mainly beg though









The skin of this is super crackly and meat was yummy too! 

In front, you have a variety of sides! The roasted sweet potato was THE BOMB. I ate so much of it :)


Lasagne and mac & cheese



This was a seafood soup like thing and this was quite good! Lots of mussels, prawns, fish, and the broth was quite nice!

Overall, I feel that the cold seafood here (oysters, lobsters) are definitely the main highlight though they arent particularly good either and the mains are quite good too! Desserts are lacking in quality I feel.

Marriott Cafe
Marriott Hotel
Website (you can find the pricelist there!) 
68314605

Sunday Brunch 12-2.30pm
Adult $55++ (Free flow coffee & tea, free flow of wines & beer available, free flow of champagne available as well with top-ups)
Child $30++
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