Ginza Sushi Ichi

Having heard months ago about this 1 Michelin Star restaurant from Tokyo opening its doors in Singapore, I've been waiting to go there! And luckily, they open at 5.30pm (yes tell me, which restaurant opens at 5.30pm for dinner??? I have yet to find one on our sunny shores) for dinner! So I was able to try it with my family today (:

The menu for dinner is purely set based, meaning you choose the price of the set you want and they'll give you the dishes accordingly. 4 prices, 210, 250, 350 and 450. All comes with appetizer, assorted sashimi (types of sashimi given varies with price), assorted nigri sushi (no. of pieces vary according to the prices think its 6, 8, 10, 12 if I'm not wrong!), miso soup and dessert. My family chose the 350 set. Of course, these are ++ prices!

The restaurant itself is small, much smaller than Shinji. The counter that we were seated at has I think about 10 seats or so? And they have an extra private room which doesnt seat many people as well, so yup, capacity's quite small!

Tonight, when we arrived at 5.45pm for dinner, we were the only ones until about 7pm? Another 3 ladies walked in! So before that we were chatting away happily with the waitress, whom I'll talk more about later!

See that thing they use to put the chopstick on? There are mini flowers in it and guess what, THEY ARE REAL. I didnt know till the waitress told us! And they put water into that thingy as well! Each chopstick holder (I guess they're called that) has different flowers placed in it! Everything's imported from Japan, even the chopsticks! (on a side note, I LOVE how windy the weather is at night nowadays!)

What's in front of my eyes

Appetizer

(L-R) Potato from Kyoto, Fish from the river, Vegetable ball, Flounder wrapped in Sea Kelp

The potato is something like a mochi-ish thing, it was slightly sticky and soft and that bean thing on top of it went really well together with it! I love the clean tasting feel of this potato!

Fish - its something like a mini shishamo (yknow the one at sakae or wherever that is grilled and has roe in its belly? The thing that we call pregnant fish haha). It was fresh, and filled w roe! Nicely grilled

Loved the vegetable ball the most, its made from the same potato as the first one on the left but this one has a different taste idk why, you must try it to know the taste, v unique!

Flounder in sea kelp didnt have much going on tastewise

Overall - 3.8/5

Sashimi - Flounder

The flounder isnt one of the fish that I like as sashimi I must say. The flesh isnt very sweet, not much taste as well? The sushi chef put the wasabi on the sashimi and rolled it up then asked us to dip it into the soy sauce when we asked how we are supposed to eat it! So I guess that's the proper way to eat sashimi? Instead of our usual put wasabi in soy sauce way haha. 2.5/5

Sashimi - Chutoro

I enlarged this pic because I must show you how beautiful this piece of chutoro is!! Look at the beautiful colours, the marbling, the gleam (I didnt edit the pic, there was seriously a gleam when it was served!) the freshness of this piece!! And boy were we not disappointed! No difficult to bite fibers (unlike certain places which I shall not mention), so soft, almost without needing to bite at all! Few light chews and it disappears. You can taste the fattiness of the fish, the freshness and the sweetness of the meat. Chutoro's not the best grade of toro, think its the 2nd or 3rd but it certainly does not disappoint!! 5/5 

Sashimi - Abalone

Soy sauce, sea salt, plum sauce

My Mom was gushing about this non-stop! It is very crunchy and crisp, you can certainly taste the saltiness of the sea and it really tastes like this has been freshly caught and served to us! The sushi chef told us to put a bit of wasabi on the abalone and then dab it on the sea salt! Plum sauce was for the flounder! I really love how crunchy and fresh this abalone is! Never tried abalone like this before! 5/5

Hairy Crab from Hokkaido, White sesame sauce, Vinegar jelly

The white stuff right at the top is the white sesame sauce but sadly didnt taste of sesame at all. This dish was possibly the worst of the night because 1) couldnt taste ANY crab, no sweetness/freshness of the crab at all because it was quite a small piece, hidden beneath the sauce (which tasted bland) and in the middle of a pile of radish? (Not sure if it was radish but some white veg cut into shreds) and 2) there was too much of everything else - sauce, radish or wtv that totally covered the crab! Vinegar jelly was really yummy though, scooped up every last bit I could of it! 2/5

Grilled sea bream with bamboo shoot

Now this fish wasnt nicely done, it was slightly hard and dry, 2 words I dont normally use when eating fish prepared by the Jap, but sadly my parents and I all agreed on this for this dish :/ We gave feedback to the waitress and she told the chefs in the kitchen! Bamboo shoot was v crunchy though, nice. I like the way the japs handle bamboo shoots! 2.5/5

Deep fried sea perch

Now this fared MUCH better though its deep-fried! Mom was commenting about how much skill they have to execute such a dish so excellently! The exterior is crispy and beautifully fried, has the aroma that comes with deep frying but the inside, oh wow, moist, soft, and melt in the mouth. Wonderful textures and aroma! The bell peppers were crunchy, the veg behind the fish (not sure if you can see it!) was cold, not sure if its intended that way? The sauce (the a little bit sticky-ish thing at the bottom) is vinegar sauce I think! Liked the sour twang it added to this dish! 4.5/5

Finger towel, hand towel

That smaller one is to clean your fingers because you'd need to use your hands for some of the sushi coming up next!

Scroll up and look at the sashimi plates, on it, besides the sashimi, is radish and onion shreds! In order not to waste, the sushi chef wrapped them in nori (seaweed) and sprinkled sesame seeds on it and served it to us. It also serves as a palette cleanser to prepare us for the sushi! This was to be eaten with our hands.

Red Snapper

This fish didnt have much of an aroma, soft flesh, nothing spectacular. 3.5/5

Squid (Ikura)

This was really crunchy and so fresh, you can really tell the diff between fresh ones and not so fresh ones! I usually dont like squid, but this was good 4.3/5

Ark Shell (Akagai)

This was super fresh and crunchy, but not sweet. Before molding it w sushi rice, the sushi chef slapped each piece on the board, he says its to give it more texture! 4/5

Mackerel

I loved this! Slightly fatty, sweet tasting and fresh with a little bit of ginger on top. 4.6/5

Flounder

Again, no taste, not to my liking but as a sushi, fresh so 3/5

Prawn

Pity it wasnt v sweet! Not much sweet prawn taste though! Definitely crunchy. 3.2/5

Baby Scallops

Now we had to eat this with our hands because its v delicate and crumbles easily if chopsticks were used! First time eating baby scallops sushi, very soft and slightly sweet! But taste of the vinegar in the rice was a little strong for this one 3.2/5

Marinated toro

Sorry I forgot to take a pic of this! It is a shade of intense dark pink, its been marinated in soy sauce and the texture's diff! Its slightly sticky and VERY soft, the fatty taste of the toro is slightly killed off though but I quite welcome it because the fattiness can get a bit too much for me! But Mom likes the normal toro though! 4.5/5

Chutoro

Once again, beautifully marbled, so pretty, so fresh. Mom commented the colours were really pretty and that it resembled the lobster shell! Haha. No surprise that this was as good as the sashimi we had previously, melt in your mouth, no fibers, fatty piece of goodness!!! 5/5

Anago 2 ways - sweet sauce and salt with a sprinkle of yuzu

Now this was A STAR. I loved both versions, Mom and Dad loved salt more. We were recommended to eat the salt one first and boy oh boy were we in for a treat! The eel was SO sweet, the taste of the eel was so strong (in a very good way) and the salt just brought out the sweetness even more! The natural taste of the eel totally shone through. Mind you, this is not unagi. Anago is sea eel while unagi is river eel! The sweet sauce one, my parents felt covered the sweetness of the anago a little but to me, it was as nice and a different sort of nice because for this you taste the yuzu as well, so interplay of a few diff flavours in your mouth! Parents and I all gushed about this dish! 5/5

Miso Soup

Whats different is that they put spring onion shreds and chilli pepper flakes in the soup! The flakes are mega small but you can taste a slight spicy taste when you drink the soup! Nice change to the usual miso. Its a small cute bowl and that's good because by now, Mom and I were uh quite full haha. 4/5

You have a choice of 1 scoop of ice cream/sorbet for dessert, pay additional $12 and you get another scoop! We tried all their flavours except for the orange sorbet.

Mango Ice Cream

This didnt taste like mango at all sadly, doesnt have the creamy taste/texture one normally associates with ice cream! I suspect their ice cream/sorbets are homemade! 2.6/5 

Watermelon sorbet and Green tea ice cream

Watermelon sorbet tasted like watermelon haha, not too icy, definitely not too sweet like there was an overdose of sugar. Green tea was great!!!! Not v milky, strong green tea taste. Loved it! Watermelon sorbet - 4.3/5 green tea - 4.6/5

Orange ice cream and Mint sorbet

This was what Dad had, sorry didnt take a picture but its not some normal orange but its a type of orange from Japan (forgot the name sorry!) but it didnt taste like orange!! Maybe thats what the fruit tastes like, I'm not sure, interesting though! Mint sorbet was super refreshing! Our waitresses' fav! Orange - 3.6/5 mint - 4.3/5 

Sushi chef for tonight, our waitress

There are actually 2 sushi chefs, this guy's from Tokyo and has been making sushi for 27 years! The other guy's his disciple, from Hokkaido, making sushi for 23 years! Tokyo chef's been here for 2 months whilst Hokkaido chef only 2 weeks! So yup. And strangely, this Tokyo chef likes chilli crab and so does the chef we became friends w at Shinji! Maybe its a trend haha. And STRANGELY they like Singapore's weather zomg (I mean these 2 ppl pictured here) haha wow I'd trade places for Japan manz. Well, grass is greener on the oth side I guess? 

We had a real nice time talking to the sushi chefs and the waitress! They're super nice and FUNNY and friendly!!! My dad asked him how come their hands are still in such good condition though they keep dealing w water and stuff, like if they use hand creams or anything then the chef replied, no I'm very oily! *proceeds to pretend to wipe his forehead and put on his hands* hahahahha MEGA funny guy~ then he says Singapore's so hot, so I sweat so even better! Hahahha. They're such a friendly and nice bunch! So since you're sitting in front of them for dinner, please feel free to talk to them! The waitress has a pretty good grasp of English and she's v willing to translate for you! (:

Oh and service was v good and polite, your green tea gets changed regularly, they change your cup, not top up!

Strangely enough, I just realised I've never blogged about Shinji! Well truth to be told, Shinji still holds the top spot in me and my parents' hearts even after today's meal at Sushi Ichi! At Shinji, all the dishes are hits, high quality and v wide variety + more worth the price vs Sushi Ichi which has hits and misses and not as wide a variety! But at Sushi Ichi, the people can speak more English (ok maybe only that waitress) so yup! Depends on you! Oh Shinji now has 2 locations, one at Raffles Hotel, one at Tong Le Private Dining at OUE Tower. That's where our fav sushi chef is located at now permanently! We'd been to Shinji twice or thrice now and we'll still be frequenting them (: But be prepared to pay though! Prices are sth like Sushi Ichi's!

Ginza Sushi Ichi

Level 2 Scotts Square

Lunch - noon to 3pm (4 course degustation menus from $60)

Dinner - 5.30pm to 10.30pm

Daily!

62990014

Zaffiro

UPDATE: CLOSED

When I read that L'Angolo's chef set up another restaurant called Zaffiro, I knew I had to go there with the boy to try out their pastas because I'd dined there twice already (though I'd only blogged about it once here), and both times I was v satisfied by their service + food so I knew I'd to give them a try!

The boy and I went there 30 Dec 2011, when the restaurant was still relatively new and I'd say in its infancy? We went for dinner and were the only couple there though the manager said there was a table of Italians coming for dinner at 9+ later on. From what he said, we managed to gather that business has not been well for Zaffiro, and we found it a real shame because it serves good quality pastas and mains at v. reasonable prices!

They have specials of the day which the staff will tell you about (like at L'Angolo) when you're given the menu! And I highly suggest ordering something off the specials list! Or ask them for recommendations and they'd be glad to help you! (:

Set-up of the restaurant. Zaffiro means Sapphire in Italian hence the blue theme. The restaurant's rather small, seats 60 but dont worry, tables are v comfortably spaced out so no worries about your privacy!

Amuse Boche

Alaskan King Crab $26

with Asparagus, Zucchini and Sweet Chilli

This was recommended by the staff (he was so friendly and sweet, but more abt him later) and he happily suggested that he split the portion for us into 2 since we were sharing! Crab was sweet and fresh, and the lightness and freshness of this dish was accentuated by the clean-tasting zucchini! No wonder restaurants always pair 'em tgt. Dont worry abt the chilli, not hot at all! 4/5 

Chest Nut Cream $18

with Mild Rosemary Aroma and Amarone Wine Reduction

This was something he recommended as well and gladly portioned it for us too! Look at the truffle pieces! But it was quite a pity because the soup had too strong a taste that covered the subtle fragrances of the black truffle, so yea, truffle aroma wasnt particularly strong I'd say. Though the boy and I were quite amazed by the soup!

Eggs Tagliatelle with Chantarelles Mushroom and Foie Gras

This is something like what L'Angolo has and I suspect is a signature dish of the chef who owns both restaurant and this dish truly deserves the honor of being the signature dish! The one at L'Angolo comes with black truffles while this comes with foie gras. The foie gras is cut into small slices and interlaced in the pasta. Like L'Angolo, the sauce that comes with the pasta is so rich in the earthy taste of the chantarelle mushroom, so fragrant if you're a mushroom lover. Being shroom fans, the boy and I instantly took a liking to this dish! Foie gras added a richness of a different dimension to this dish and I'd say it goes well with either foie gras or truffles, but of course foie gras has a stronger taste and compliments the shroom well. Pasta was done perfectly, sauce slurp-worthy and this dish made a v deep impression on the boy, more so than L'Angolo's! 5/5

Special of the day - Tagliolini with Fresh Seafood in Tomato Sauce

Mmmmmm, the sauce, is no ordinary tomato sauce as you can tell from the colour! It was simmering with the richness of the seafood, the sweetness and had so much flavour that I fervently packed each spoonful of pasta with lots of sauce and slurped it all the way up. Think my sauce:pasta ratio was like 3:1. Seafood was definitely abundant and fresh, mussels, clams, prawns, fish, and I cant rmb what else by my oh my was it good. The sauce I daresay, rivals Valentino's sauces in all its richness, sweetness and slurpy-ness (: I was so wrapped up in slurping and enjoying the yummy sauce alongside the perfectly done pasta and the fresh seafood that after eating one spoonful of the boy's, I happily whopped up my plate in all its slurpiness haha. 5/5

Apricot Tarte with Almond Gelato ($16)

The boy and I had never had an apricot tart before. Almonds and apricots are somewhat related! I liked that the almond gelato didnt taste like the chinese almond jelly and that I actually did enjoy eating it! I love dehydrated fruits (ever since I tried 'em at Tippling Club) so I was happy to have some in this dessert! Although I think Tippling Club still does the best for this. 

Anyway back to the main show - the tart! It has a layer of tart apricot jelly which was set above the apricot curd in a sable crust. The mixture of textures, jelly-like to soft curd to shortcrust-like pastry and the mixture of tastes, sour from the jelly, slightly sweet from the curd and buttery from the pastry makes this tart a wonderful one. I'd like to applaud the chef for coming up with something other than the usual desserts one finds in Italian restaurants 4.5/5

As the manager knew we were celebrating our anniversary, he gave us each a complimentary glass of Moscato wine to go with our dessert! I love how the wine's sweet but not cloyingly so! I've heard many are fans of Moscato wine as well! The service throughout the meal was very polite, attentive and friendly! Although we were the only couple in the restaurant, it didnt feel weird nor did it feel like we were being watched. We felt perfectly at ease and totally enjoyed our night. The staff there opened the door for us when we went in/out of the restaurant, sign of good service as well. 

I really want to applaud the chef for being so successful in maintaining high quality at both his restaurants, L'Angolo and Zaffiro. I'd say more people should give Zaffiro a try and since its near the CBD area, shouldnt be a problem for office workers! They have a lunch ala carte menu that is v. cheap (imo for such quality pastas), Starters all $16, Pastas all at $20 and Mains at $24. Go to their website to check out their lunch ala carte and decide for yourselves! 

We later took a walk to the One Fullerton area and the boy was still raving about how yummy the pastas were at Zaffiro (honestly, he's never been like that before, not even aft Gunther, Valentino, L'Angolo, Otto, La Strada, etc Italian restaurants) and he even said he v much wanted to go back for a 3rd plate of pasta!! Haha. This goes to show how yummy the pastas were. I believe the sauce of the pasta is what differentiates a good pasta (if the pasta is supposed to come w sauce la not like aglio olio) and Zaffiro certainly does this v. well! 

I'd say between L'Angolo and Zaffiro, its a tough fight. L'Angolo's setting is more comfy and homey and warm, but Zaffiro's is more like a restaurant. The type of pastas + mains that they serve are different too, so I suggest you choose base on the menu! But I'm quite sure you'll enjoy any of 'em (: Oh and L'Angolo has petit fours aft the meal but not Zaffiro!

Zaffiro

#01-01 Asia Square Tower 1

Closed on Sunday

(its opp Lau Pa Sat and there's parking lots at Asia Square so yup! Look out for the signs while driving!)

The Moomba Restaurant

After reading many good reviews about Moomba Restaurant, the boy and I decided to drop by for their set lunch! Situated in the CBD area, the restaurant was brimming with office workers and was quite busy for a weekday lunch!

We both opted for the 3 course set lunch at $45 per person which comes with choice of any soup/salad/appetizer with choice of any main AND choice of any dessert. The 2 course, $39 per person, comes with either salad/soup/appetizer + main or main + dessert! Set lunches also come w complimentary coffee/tea!

Please note that they dont serve complimentary breads unlike most restaurants! The bread needs to be ordered from their menu and from what I saw that day, many tables ordered their breads! Especially the charcoal-walnut loaf at $5 which has approx 6 pieces I think?

Foie Gras

Seared foie gras on stew of lentil + english bangles with arugula

Foie gras was not bad, rather generous portion as you can see, especially since this is a set lunch! Felt that a crispier outer layer would have been better. I personally still prefer foie gras served with crispy bread or crackers or sth of that sort to balance the richness of the foie gras. 4/5

Freshly Shucked Oysters

Natural or with thai chili jam

Felt that this was quite normal, didnt taste particularly fresh or anything. Unless you're really craving oysters that day, I suggest you order something else? 3.4/5  

Seabass

With bok choy and mushrooms I think? I remember the fish was a little too overcooked, veggies were light and good though. V average dish I felt. 3/5 

Confit of duck

Whole duck leg cooked in its own oil, on garlic mash potato, corn kernal, caramelized fig and smoked duck breast

The boy's main! I remember him saying that the duck confit's skin wasn't v crispy, meat was tender though and the smoked duck breast was good!

Lemon Tart

Served with fig and manuka honey ice-cream and creme anglaise

Loved the ice cream, creamy and studded with figs. The lemon tart, well the lemon cream was quite tart, slightly sweet for me though! Crust was crispy, easily broken with the fork. Average dish though. 3.6/5

Sticky Date Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream

I'm quite sure this is sticky date pudding but I'm not too sure what ice cream it was served with because the current lunch menu on Moomba's website is for 30th Jan to 3rd Feb whilst the boy and I ate there on 30th Dec! Though most of the items on the menu are the same. Sticky pudding was not moist enough, ice cream was good though. 3.2/5

Quite sad that they dont have kangaroo loin anymore for the set lunch though they do have it for dinner! Service was not bad though a little understaffed for a weekday lunch because there were some lapses in their service. Its located at Boat Quay so after your meal, take a leisurely stroll down Boat Quay and enjoy the breeze + good view!

The Moomba Restaurant

52 Circular Road

Min Jiang Kueh Hunt Round 1

Hi! I'm looking for the best MJK in Singapore! This is just part 1 of my MJK diaries! Okay let me give you my criteria:

• Generous fillings
• Filling must not be too sweet, must have the nice roasted peanut aroma
• Kueh must not be rubbery, must be soft and pillowy
• Good kueh to peanut filling ratio
• Ideally, it shld be hot! (because to me, that's when you can truly enjoy MJK!)

Contender #1: Weng's Pancake

Have been reading quite a few reviews on Weng's Min Jiang Kueh so I decided to try it out! I guess the kueh's green cos pandan is infused into it? But I couldnt taste any pandan. The peanut filling was quite little, towards the end there was no peanut filling alr. Kueh was soft no doubt. Peanut wasnt v aromatic, didnt have the attack-nose peanut smell? But this was cheap, 50cents for one! 3/5

Contender #2: Pastry King

Min Jiang Kueh


The first time I ate this, I thought I was in MJK heaven haha. Because the kueh was pillowy and soft, piping hot, and the nuts smelled so darn good and it wasnt too sweet! Just nice! And there was a lot of filling. So add that up all together and I was in MJK heaven (: And best part was, there were bits of crispy stuff at the sides! Like the thinner parts of the kueh dough/where they cut it so it was crispy too at some parts! I reallyyyy loved this one and was glad to have found this! 5/5

However, I must warn you, there are days when quality of this isnt good at all! That day, the aunty just made it and I bought 2 pieces immediately thinking they'd be awesome since its freshly made but to my disappointment, this time the peanut filling wasn't enough! Measly in fact though the fact that it was piping hot made up for it a little! And there was another day when the kueh felt like it wasn't like the first time I tried, so yup. Guess its down to luck man haha. This is $1 per piece

Butter cake

Mom commented that the butter cake was not bad, quite loose though butter taste could be stronger!

Egg Tart

Please DO NOT try the egg tart. I saw quite a few people buying so well, I jumped on the bandwagon as well and to my horror (I now know I shld trust the rational side of myself who learned not to go w the masses so easily) I was sorely disappointed!! The tart was quite hard and the custard was just ew. Not fragrant and tasted super duper eggy. Fails in every category. Maybe it was just an off day, but argh no more egg tarts from here for me!

Contender #3: Some coffeeshop in Compassvale

My Mom heard from her friends that this store sells awesome MJK so she brought me there and we tried, but sadly, peanuts were a little too sweet and kueh too chewy at some parts maybe cos its been left out for too long? Peanuts weren't v crispy and a little lao hong or tastes a bit old? 3/5

I've heard great reviews abt the one at Pek Kio FC and of course, I've yet to try the famous Tanglin Halt! If yall have any recommendations, please comment!! OR anywhere yall want me to try out! (: Am v bummed that the one at Kovan FC isnt selling MJK anymore :( The boy used to be a fan of theirs but now they arent selling it anymore!! Have been reading rave reviews abt them online as well (thought quite dated ones) But argh, so wasted :(

Contender 1: Weng's Pancake

Maxwell FC

Contender 2: Pastry King

AMK Central, the coffeeshop next to Courts!

camille patisserie

This is considered a relatively new patisserie? Although it has already been featured on 8days (saw the mag spread while eating the cakes there haha) and they're featured rather extensively as well! I think the pics of the feature are on their fb page!

Anw so the boy and I decided to hunt it down and explore a side of Chinatown that we have yet to explore (we have, since I became a little crazy over food/desserts, been really good at navigating through the streets of Chinatown). And it was like an eye-opener really! Far East Square is such an interesting place!

Entrance to the small little patisserie

Cakes & Macarons on display

According to the lady behind the counter, there will always be a few signature cakes on the shelf such as the Mademoiselle, and the cafe (as in coffee) then tarts, if I'm not wrong lemon tart is always there as well? The stuff on the top row are macarons! When we went, there was a promotion of getting 2 cakes and get 3 macarons free! This was on 27th Dec 2011, so I'm not sure if the promotion is still available!

Mademoiselle $7.50

Almond joconde biscuit, light bavarian cream, strawberry mouse, fresh strawberries

Well its like a thin layer of soft cotton cake wrapped around the strawberry mousse and cream? I thought it was quite interesting because I've never eaten a cake like that before. The mousse is rather smooth, but not as smooth as kki's mmm, strawberry taste was quite strong. A light yummy cake for an afternoon. 4/5

Lemon Tart $7.30

Sweet pastry tart case, special lemon cream, livening glaze, fresh orange slice

The orange slice went really well with the lemon tart I felt!! The lady told us that the tart shell is really crispy so she offered to cut it for us since we were sharing! And boy were we glad we did that! Else it'll be reallyyyyyy hard to eat it w a fork! Because its really super crispy! Crispiest tart shell I've ever eaten! If you like this kinda crust, then this is for you. Personally, I like it a little bit less crispy because to me, it doesnt feel that much like a tart anymore! But that said, the lemon cream was reallyyyy good. Tart and tangy, and like I said, went really well w orange slice! 4.3/5

The 3 macarons we got w the promotion

(L-R) Earl Grey, Lavender, Black Sesame

$1.80 per piece

$8.50 for 5

(and the price list goes on for more, they have up to 25 pieces, please check here for prices)

Lavender

This had a reallyyyy strong lavender taste! Shell is the chewy kind that I like and its filled w ganache instead of cream, so yup ticks the first few boxes I have for macarons! I liked this for its strong floral taste. 4.6/5

Black Sesame

This didnt have a strong black sesame taste :/ 3.5/5

Earl Grey

Strong earl grey taste that really made me wish this macaron was a bigger piece!!! The ganache inside was perfumed with earl grey as well, yummyyyy. Earl Grey is one of my fav things in the world! 4.5/5

In short, I wished the macarons were bigger and the cakes are certainly rather expensive because well they're quite small. Most are either $7.30 or $7.50 so yup. But the pastry chef is a Le Cordon Bleu trained chef so I guess thats what you're paying for? Head on down to this relatively new patisserie to see how it compares to your fav patisserie! 

Far East Square #01-05 (look at the map in far east square to navigate your way around!!!)

Closed on Sat

Mon-Fri 11.30am-7pm

Sun 1-6pm

(info copied from HGW)

Vanilla Bar & Cafe

Here's a view of some parts of their menu! Since I cant seem to find them online. 

Think prices are really v reasonable and portions arent small either!

Pork Katsu Sandwich

At first we were a little scared that the pork cutlet inside will be dry, making the sandwich dry overall. But luckily, we were pleasantly surprised when we took a bite of the sandwich! It was juicy but still retained its crispyness from the layer of breadcrumbs. The tomatoes and I think they used some sort of relish/jam or sth, because it was really juicy and moist! The boy was v happy cos he was craving for good katsu sandwich and this certainly did satisfy his craving! The pork isnt fatty nor does it taste oily! Certainly makes it feel as if its a guiltless treat! (: 4.5/5

Mini Pancakes with Vanilla Ice Cream

We were trying to guess how mini the pancakes were gonna be but we certainly didnt think they'd be this mini! They remind me of the Hong Kong egg waffles! Well they're flatter than the HK ones obviously and they're really fluffy!! Addictive to eat them w the vanilla ice cream that was made with real vanilla beans! Maple syrup was also drizzled rather generously on it which made it even more yummy! Am a maple syrup girl (: So yup, if you're looking for fluffy pancakes that arent too filling, this is your choice! 4.6/5

They have the typical Jap dons, pastas and more and its quite crowded on weekday afternoons cos of the working crowd! Oh its a good place to have a cheap and good lunch as well if you're part of the working crowd! (: V near many office buildings too! Be warned though, cafe's rather small so yup. Service is quite good though a little slow sometimes! But nonetheless, its a great place to sit and just catch up with friends or read a book or something! Great relaxing atmosphere!

Vanilla Bar & Cafe

3 Boon Tat Street 

Psssst Muffinry's just behind it! So pop by and grab some yummy muffins/pastries etc! (:

Jewels Artisan Chocolate & Orchard Central Food Recommendations

After hearing good things about their macarons, I finally get the chance to try them! FYI, I like chewy macarons with ganache type of filling and not the cream kind. Okay I'm more picky about chewy shells instead of fillings so gimme chewy shells anytime!

Set of 5 macarons

Raspberry

Filled with raspberry conserve & rose almond cream

This was sour-ish, raspberry taste was definitely there and we immediately loved the chewy shells (: Plus the fact that it wasnt just cream but the middle had a raspberry filling! We were also v glad that the macaron stayed almost true to the raspberry flavour and wasnt v sweet! 4/5

Passion Fruit

Filled with passion fruit conserve and almond cream

This was sour! Great for passion fruit/sour lovers! Wonderful after a meal I say. We love passion fruit so we loved this! 4.5/5

Butterfly Pea Bloom

Filled with kaya and pandan almond cream

Now I must really salute Jewels for coming up with something so local in taste but works out beautifully! I must say, its a perfect match! Love how we can really taste the pandan flavour and in cream and then later you taste kaya! Wonderful little macaron (: But well, only thing is you kinda know that they used food colouring or sth to make the shells such a pretty blue colour. But wtv, its pretty and it tastes wonderful, so who's complaining? :D 4.6/5

Black Palm Island Sea Salt

Filled with salted egg & almond cream topped with black palm island salt

THIS IS A MUST-TRY!!!!! Just like what most reviews have said/recommended, this is truly their signature macaron and something that you must-try! It is very unique and here, I applaud Jewel once again for creating something so unique, with local taste buds in mind and producing something so pretty and tasty! Lemme tell you the different layers of flavours you get in this small tiny macaron (idk if you can tell but its smaller than the rest and I was kinda grumpy at first abt that because I was thinking, no quality control? Why is this smaller than the rest??)

First, you get the slightly sweet chewy macaron shell, then you get a rather strong salted egg yolk taste (mmmm love it. Its like Tom's Palette's salted egg yolk ice cream!) then finally during the last few moments you feel the salt disintegrating on your tongue leaving a saltish taste. And then your eyes sparkle and you go "wow I cant believe that was a macaron" because really, salty and macaron? They dont really go together. Macaron + sweet, most will agree. But this is real good manz. I recommend yall to try it! 5/5

Oh yea, after trying it, I totally forgot abt being "annoyed' that it was smaller than the rest haha and proceeded to stay in macaron bliss and only remembered abt it when typing this post. Sorry if I sound easily satisfied, food does that to me.

Green Tea

Filled with green tea & dark chocolate crunchy pearl

A little bit sad for this macaron because we ate it after the amazing sea salt haha but if I didnt rmb wrongly the green tea taste wasnt very strong. Think this was my least fav macaron! 3.8/5

We went there on a Monday night around 8.30pm? There wasnt anyone in the shop, the waitresses were friendly and we were sitting opp Lush 99.5 FM's studio! Dont think there was anyone inside though haha. But anyway, its a great place to chill/have afternoon tea/have desserts at in bustling Orchard Road! And Orchard Central's looking really pretty with Vday decorations! Do head down to take pics and check Jewels out! (:

Other places in Orchard Central you might consider going to for food (its quite a foodie heaven!)

• Parlour by Ashley Isham - its on the same floor as Jewels and it sells mille crepe cakes! In many diff flavours! They import it from this Malaysian bakery which is pretty famous in msia I think! But there are only abt 5 flavours at a time on display
• cacao7 - low calorie chocolate desserts that sounds yummy! Its at B1 I think!
• Kuriya Penthouse - v good quality jap if you have $$ to spend! (tried this before - one of my fav places in Spore for jap!)
• Covelli - good Italian as reviewed here

Jewels Artisan Chocolate

Level 2 Orchard Central