Brownice Ice Cream!

Hi everyone!

After a meal at Broun Cafe, the boy and I (actually more of me) decided to walk to The Central and try out the new flavour from Brownice Ice Cream - Halloween Cup Pumpkin Pie flavour!

Halloween Cup

Consists of 2 scoops - pumpkin pie with fairy dust & chocolate. Add I think a bit more money for a third scoop of ice cream! (like a 30cents or more, sorry I forgot!)

Pumpkin pie: thick luscious flavour of pumpkin, with a few pumpkin seeds here and there! Fairy dust went well with the ice cream but it was rather messy to eat! Because it spilled over on the table when we tried to scoop the ice cream :/

Chocolate: veryyyyy yummy chocolate!!! Rich, deep and wholesome, really like eating a quality bar of chocolate but in ice cream form! Whole-heartedly recommend this flavour!!

3rd scoop - lemongrass sorbet: their sorbet's quite icy, but lemongrass was a welcomed twist for our tastebuds! We like a myriad of tastes so chose lemongrass as our 3rd scoop. Their peanut butter ice cream is reallyyy creamy and tastes just like peanut butter! One of the better ones we've tasted actually!

FYI:

Brownice is a vegan ice cream made from organic brown rice milk, fruit and nuts. They're dairy free and healthier + low fat! No eggs as well. But you COMPLETELY wouldnt be able to tell!! I'd say skip Marble Slab Creamery with all the thick and high sugar content ice cream + cream content and give Brownice a try! Because you'd really NOT be able to tell the difference, get the same/greater amount of satisfaction from eating it (cos you eat ice cream as good + lower the amt of calories)

This is the interior of Real Food Cafe where the Brownice ice cream is sold. The cafe has a really nice vibe and the books there are for you to browse. The cafe has some really nice food, the best friend and I tried their salads last time and it was really yummy!! I made a mental note to go back to try their Blueberries and banana french toast and Strawberries & banana pancakes (gluten + wheat free!)

Thats all day breakfast for you. They serve pastas + salads + rice/noodles + sandwiches + soups too. Health food at its best!

Real Food
The Central

Brunch at Broun Cafe

Hi everyone! 

Went with the boy today to try out the new brunch menu at Broun! We reached the cafe at around 12+ and were the only 2 there but after that the cafe got pretty crowded and they were kinda understaffed with 2 waiting staff only (but we thought the service was okay! V friendly!) and with the staff having to shuttle between the cafe and the kitchen (which is located outside) hence the wait time for customers. 

Love the interior! The boy and I ordered 4 mains to share and the waitress was like "4 dishes for the two of you only??!!" incredulously haha.

Protein-packed $15

House-made rosti served with braised beans, bacon & a poached egg

First up! Rosti! Do not expect this to be like the Marche-style rosti, because oily and crispy top this is not! Though it has a slight crunch, its not as charred or fried till as crispy as Marche's! The bacon was SUPERDUPER crispy though!!! As the boy bit into the bacon, a loud audible CRISP could be heard! Really really crispy bacon (: 

The beans were a really comforting and home-y dish, could tell its really home-made! I loved this style of braised beans (its actually just like baked beans) 'cos its not annoyingly sweet and they have some kidney beans added in too! The boy ate the egg so I'm not too sure about that! But the yolk was definitely runny (: 3.8/5

Herb grilled chicken $14

rosemary & thyme infused, with broun sauce

The chicken was sooooooooo tender!!! It was really soft but maintained its firm chewy texture as well, just the perfect blend! I dont really know how to describe it but yea, perfectly grilled I'd say! Job well done, chef! The skin crackled and broke apart easily and crisply upon cutting and each bite was accompanied with crunch crunch crunch! This dish was our favourite out of all that we've tried today!

The pumpkin mash at the bottom was flavourful as well! Yummy goodness from the pumpkin!! (: 4.3/5

Pak Din's Ricotta on Toast $12

homemade honeyed ricotta on organic baker's fig & honey bread with masala spiced figs, cinnamon dukkah

It was a mistake on my part because I mis-read the menu and thought this would be french toast! Sad to say, it wasnt :( The thick slices of toast were really quite dry and coming from someone who LOVES 100% wholemeal bread (ppl usually associate wholemeal w being dry but I beg to differ), this is saying quite a lot I guess? Couldnt really taste the masala in the figs, and the ricotta taste wasnt v strong either. The bread was studded with walnuts and the taste of cinnamon was quite strong (which I liked). We had to ask for more maple syrup and drenched the toast liberally with it before it became more palatable, else the thick dry toast was really quite unappetizing. 2/5

Just Pancakes $10

Buttermilk Pikelets served with smashed bananas, vanilla cream & maple syrup 

The pancakes however, were another matter totally!! This was really really soft and fluffy, thick but not too thick, just the right amount of fluffiness in each bite. Accompanied with the mashed bananas that arent overly sweet, you're in for a real treat! The bananas go really well with the pancakes as well as the maple syrup! The vanilla cream didnt really have a strong vanilla taste and I felt it didnt really go well with the pancakes! This was our 2nd fav dish though! (: 4/5

Overall, I'd say Broun is a good place to go for value-for-money and healthy food! There's no MSG added and its deep fried food free! The whole cafe just feels really homey and wholesome! (: Brunch menu is available on Mon, Tues and Sat only! They also feature local bands/singers frm Thurs-Sun if I'm not wrong! You can check their calendar on their website for the line-up!

Broun Cafe

36 North Canal Road

(really easy to get there from The Central! Just cross the overhead bridge outside I think Burger King or sth, nearby Starbucks and then turn right and walk all the way to the end and cross I think 2 streets and you're there!)

il Cielo Calvisius Caviar Degustation

Having read about il Cielo having this Caviar Degustation menu, my family decided to try it! 

Italian firm Agroittica Lombarda is a pioneer of sustainable caviar farming and its Calvisius brand of premium caviar will be available in Singapore for the first time.

View of the restaurant:

Outside the restaurant is this bar-like area where you can have drinks, enjoy the night breeze and have a good view of Orchard Road (though I think the view isnt really v nice haha cos its all uh buildings which arent really that pretty) The restaurant's pretty open concept so unless you're seated in the inner side of the restaurant, else you'll be only having like 1/4 air-con and 3/4 night breeze, so if the night is hot, good luck to you! Luckily for us it was rather windy tonight but my parents were sweating a little still. 

Warmmm fluffy bread! Love me some warm hot yummy bread (: There were 3 types, a bread stick with sesame seeds (reallyyy crispy and addictive!), a white bun that was really fluffy and a bun that I presume was made of rye flour because of the colour (slightly darker brown? Not sure though) 4.5/5

I believe the right's truffle butter (went v well with the bread!) and then olive oil + balsamic vinegar, and yes they served it like that, with a drop of balsamic vinegar haha

Plate and porcelain spoon given to eat the caviar with, because you cant use metal to eat else you'll "spoil" the caviar!

Calvisius Caviar Degustation with Accompaniment for 2 - $298

I'll talk about each part below!

Front row: Potato with sour cream (this was soooo soft and nice), Oscietra Royal Caviar, Siberian Caviar, White Sturgeon, Oscietra Classic Caviar (unopened)

Background: vodka scrambled eggs

Middle: fine raw Ombrina fish

Front left: White Sturgeon Caviar (caviar not pictured)- this was more salty than the Classic one and the aroma wasnt as intense

Front right: Classic Caviar Oscietra - this was slightly salty only, with a really strong intense aroma. My Mom and I really loved this!

Angel Hair Pasta with shaved truffle and fresh caviar

The chef came to our table with a truffle shaver like thing and asked if we would like to have fresh caviar shaved on our pasta, so naturally we said okay because we've never tasted caviar in this form! The taste isnt as intense as the small little round morsels but the taste of caviar was very much there in that thin sheet of caviar! 

The angel hair pasta was dry (in a good way) but the truffle aroma wasnt v strong! Thought this went well with the Siberian caviar because the Siberian caviar was quite salty hence went perfectly well with this angel hair pasta! 

Background - Risotto Oyster: this was v yummy on its own!! Really good quality creamy cheese, perfectlyyy al dente arborio rice (assuming they're using this) and a piece of super fresh oyster! This went really well with the Siberian also cos the saltiness cuts through the creaminess and brings the dish to a whole new level!

2nd row (L-R): Hard boiled egg yolks, egg whites, fresh blinis with sour cream - went well with any of the caviars I felt

Front - Crystal Bay prawns done crudo style (ie just drizzle olive oil, lemon, salt, garnishing): felt the prawns generally went well with any of the caviars

Vodka Scrambled eggs - This was ssooooooo good! Scrambled eggs were the BEST I've ever eaten! So perfectly fluffy and flavourful!!! 5/5

Royal Caviar Oscietra

This was the 2nd most salty after the Siberian!

Siberian 

Bosco Pizza - $46

Porcini, Italian Sausage, Truffle

Look at how THIN it is!! Mom commented it was like eating paper prata haha. Yes its really thin, and it doesnt really feel like you're eating pizza 'cos well, we've all associated it with at least a semblance of something sturdy and substantial below, unlike this which was really paper-prata-thin kind of thin! Like a slice of paper! It was REALLY crispy though!! Even after quite some time it was still crispy and biting into it (esp the ends of the the pizza) makes audible crisp sounds! The truffle was v aromatic when you bring the pizza near your mouth but the taste got covered when you put it in your mouth by all the stronger flavours eg cheese/mushroom so yea, cant really taste the truffle! 

The pizza's made from specialty flour from Vesuvlana and baked in a open fire brick oven! I'd recommend the pizza for anyone wanting a meal that seems like but is actually quite filling! 4.3/5

Italian Tuscany Tomato Soup with crab meat

The soup was quite sour cos of the tomatoes but really refreshing! Quite a lot of crab bits as well! 4.3/5

Raviolo

Egg, spinach, ricotta cheese

The taste of the cheese was really strong, cuts through the egg and spinach such that you cant taste the spinach at all! Really good way to make people eat their veg haha. The runnyy eggyolk made me really happy hehe (: A rather average dish only I feel. 3.5/5

Pre-dessert: lemon cream

This is like the filling of a lemon tart but slightly creamier and a little bit more fluid. Mom really disliked it because she thought it was like eating medicine haha but I thought it was okay, just that the texture was a little weird, in between a custard/paste texture? 3/5

Dessert Platter: Lemon Sorbet, Tiramisu

Lemon sorbet was okay only, not really a tangy lemon taste but a little sweet sigh

Tiramisu: Really bad rendition, no alcohol taste at all and the coffee was too bitter!

Dessert Platter: Strawberry Panna Cotta, Lemon Tart

The panna cotta wasnt too bad, quite smooth and nice

Lemon tart: seriously, this is not even a TART. It was just the lemon tart FILLING that was way TOO sweet, was really disappointed at this.

Dessert Platter costs $16 and consists of the things I've listed which is everything in the menu except the chocolate fondant which is not in the dessert platter. I wouldnt recommend ordering dessert from il Cielo because really, their desserts are SERIOUSLY BAD.

The total price of the meal was $500+ for 3 cos my Dad had a glass of champagne and a glass of red, but all of us felt that the food was average only and wasnt worth the money. I prefer Capri's pizzas to here really, a real pizza base (at least to me) with the same earthy wonderful aromas and taste (Even better I feel) and the same crispy ends!

*****

My parents decided to walk around the Hilton Shopping Gallery though the shops were closed already cos they were really full! Beautiful shop displays with nice clothes!

Not satisfied with lackluster desserts, I bought 2 macarons from Checkers Deli - $3.05 each or comes in a box of 6 or 9

Lemon Macaron

Felt this was quite yummy!! Wasnt sweet at all, soft but not too crumbly, great take on the lemon macaron I feel! On par with Basilico's! 4.5/5 

Carrot Macaron

Was really intrigued by how this would taste like so bought this too! There isnt a carrot taste at all sadly! Though I think its probably carrot cake stuffing in the middle? Sure looked like it to me! It was not too sweet either, but cant really tell what I'm eating because it lacked flavours! 3.5/4

Overall, I think Checkers Deli's macarons are worth buying! Not just their cheesecakes (: They have flavours like raspberry, pistachio, blueberry + chocolate, etc!

il Cielo

24th Floour

Checkers Deli

Lobby

Both at Hilton Hotel Singapore

White Truffle Restaurants 2011

Hi everyone!

I dont know about y'all, but I've been trying to search for restaurants serving White Truffles this year so I decided to compile a list of what I've found to make it easier for everyone! This list will be updated once restaurants publish their White Truffle 2011 menus!


Update (17/10/2011)
Gorden Grill
Goodwood Park Hotel


(1-30Nov 2011)

Appetisers: U.S wagyu beef carpaccio, celeriac remoulade, garlic chips and mustard dressing infused with truffle oil (S$36) and Marinated langoustines, cauliflower tabouleh and warm truffle vinaigrette (S$36). In addition, there is also the Soft-poached organic hen egg, poultry essence and white truffle foam(S$22); and Baked organic egg 'cocotte', duck foie gras and truffle jus (S$24).

Pasta: Cold angel hair pasta, seaweed, caviar and white truffle oil (S$32);White truffle risotto, autumn mushrooms and parmesan shavings (S$32); and Homemade tagliatelle, Iberico Jabugo and truffle cream (S$32)

Dessert: White truffle honey ice cream (S$8); andWhite truffle crème brûlée (S$16).


Update (14/10/2011)
Senso Ristorante
21 Club Street

Autumn Special White Truffle Classics

Fresh Burrata Cheese served with shaved White Truffle $75

King Fish Carpaccio with shaved White Truffle, Sauer’s Lemon Cream and Micro Herbs $72

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Creamy Cappuccino of ‘Chicken & White Truffle’ Soup $38

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Homemade Taglierini Pasta with White Truffle and Parmesan $72

Traditional Carnaroli Risotto with White Truffle $72

Homemade Potato Gnocchi with White Truffle $72

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Sole Fillet with young Vegetables, shaved White Truffle and White Truffle emulsion $98

Beef Tenderloin ‘White Rossini’ served with Italian Vegetables and White Truffle $98

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Fresh Berries Tartlet with homemade Senso ‘White Truffle Ice-cream’ $35

*Service charge and government taxes apply.

Otto Ristorante

Red Dot Traffic Building 

(Oct-Nov 2011) They do not have an official menu yet but from what the FB pics look like - white truffles on risotto, mushroom soup, tagliolini, cod (I think), creme brulee. Here's a link to their fb White Truffle album - Otto FB

Bonta Italian Restaurant & Bar

#01-61 UE Square River Wing

(Sept through Dec 2011) Their menu has been out for quite long already! Though the prices are quite steep, note that it's 5gm of white truffles! Casoncei is a traditional dumpling from Northern Italy where the chef hails from - Bergamo where Alba white truffles are from too! The chef created 3 diff menus - Alba White Truffle A la Carte Menu, Alba White Truffle + Beluga Caviar Luxury Menu and the Ultimate Indulgence Menu. 

Review by Soshiok.com with pictures

Promotions - Amex 15% discount on selected dishes (almost all listed below), DBS - 4 course white truffle degustation menu at $250

Read more »

Le Bistrot - Quality French food! (2 visits)

Looking for unpretentious, quality, yummy and affordable French food with a good ambience? Le Bistrot is exactly what you're looking for! 

I'd recommend dinner because the wonderful wind at night at the Stadium Waterfront is sooo relaxing and nice! Great change from the hot weather on normal days! The restaurant itself is also really pretty as you'd see from the photos below

Follow the signs and park at Carpark E if you're driving, else drop at Stadium MRT station! Heads up: their menu's a Prix Fixe menu ie you choose from the menu they give and they charge you depending on the no. of courses you eat. This is for both lunch and dinner. Dont worry, they have a "specials" menu which changes (not sure how frequently!) so its not just from the menu!

Entree + Main $50

Main + Dessert $50

Entree, Main, Dessert $60

Ala carte: Entree $18, Main $40, Dessert $18

Visit 1: 

Poor Man's Caviar 

verrine of eggplant, garlic puree, chicken liver mousse and Pernod creme fraiche, served with chargrilled bread

Looks dubious? But this is reallyyyy the star of the show!! MUST-TRY! The creme is so yummy, slightly sour-ish, and just goes so well with the other layers! You must try this dish to know what I'm talking about. The flavours blend together so nicely and its awesome with the bread they provide!! Am craving for a jar of that now, sighz 5/5

Bread with balsamic vinegar + olive oil

Complimentary bread is crusty and warm, but doesnt go as well with the Poor Man's Caviar as the bread that they serve along w the "caviar"

Saumon a l'Unilateral et sa Soupe a l'Encre de Seiche

Pan-seared salmon fillet (served rare in the centre) with squid ink veloute and spinach fondant

LOOK AT HOW PINK RARE AND INVITING that slab of salmon looks!!! Its done wonderfully, so soft, so melt-in-your-mouth and its a REALLY HUGE SLAB! The squid ink sauce goes very well with the salmon, slightly saltish and has a depth of flavour that I cant really describe. Its not too thick so, yup. They'll pour part of the sauce (that comes in a small conical flask) onto your fish when they serve the plate and its up to you whether you want to pour the rest or not! 

I loved the sauce so much I finished every drop of it! The spinach fondant is reallyyyy creative I'd say! Never tried anything like this before! Its dense, but not in a jialat way, very fluffy and quite light actually! Spinach taste isnt vvv strong, so great way to make people eat their greens! (: 4.8/5

 Confit de Cuisses de Canard

Duck leg confit with honey-mustard vinaigrette and creamy potato puree

Since when do you get 2 pieces of duck for duck confit? No right? But at Le Bistrot, you get 2 big slabs! Totally worth your money right! The skin, as you can see, is wonderfully crispy and crackly, the meat - soft and tender. YUM in a bite! 4.8/5 

Tarte au Citron

lemon tart with raspberry coulis, pineapple tuille and vanilla bean ice cream

The tart didnt really have a strong tangy lemon taste, would prefer it to be a little more sour. Pineapple tuille was like dried pineapple in a really thinnnn form which I liked. Vanilla bean ice cream - creamy goodness with specks of vanilla! Nonetheless, not a bad rendition of the lemon tart 4/5

Nougat Glace aux Noisettes

frozen parfait of hazelnut praline and honey with a feuilles de brick pastry "cigarello" of Gianduja and candied orange peel

The pastry and Gianduja part of the description is referring to the "cigar" like thing at the top - its basically pastry with chocolate inside! Quite yummy I'd say! The boy didnt really like the frozen parfait because it got really jialat towards the end! Too big and too monotonous :/ 3/5

Creme Brulee

Choose 3 flavours: bourbon vanilla bean, amaretto-griottine, Earl Grey tea, mocha, dark chocolate, pistachio-raspberry

We chose vanilla bean, Earl Grey and pistachio-raspberry and myyyy, the first 2 are SO fragrant and soooooo delicious!! Finished every last scoop of it despite a really heavy meal prior to this! (Yes us being gluttons ordered another ala carte dessert) 

I dont like pistachio so I didnt enjoy that at all sorry! Else I'd say 4.7/5

Visit 2:

Poor Man's Caviar

Yup its so yummy, I had to have it again! 

Oignon Farci aux Noix de Saint-Jacques Grillees et son Veloute de Mais +$8

chargrilled Hokkaido scallops served in a salt-baked onion, with a corn veloute and toasted pinenuts

The brown thing you see there amidst the corn veloute is the onion! Huge one really. And in + on top of the onion is the scallops! Generous portions of scallops, wonderful sauce to go with too! 4.6/5

 Coq au Vin, Carottes Persillees, Gratin de Risotto d'Orge Perle

red wine braised chicken leg served with herbed baby carrots, and a pearl barley risotto of fennel and mushrooms, lightly gratinated with cheese

I love the risotto! Fresh change from the usual creamy ones. The chicken leg was just alright though. Mom couldnt finish it cos it was such a huge portion! 4/5

This was a spcial of the day - a pork dish!

Parents commented that the pork was really tender, flavourful and yummy! Sorry I forgot the name of the dish! 4.6/5 

Salmon with squid ink veloute!

Look at that pink-ish insides peaking out at you! Dont you just want to sink your teeth in it? 5/5

L'Imperial +$12

fruit soup of macerated wild strawberries, mango-passionfruit sorbet and pink peppercorns, topped with champagne

The sorbet was a refreshing end to the meal the champagne was good but I'd recommend finishing the champagne quickly else room temp champagne isnt very appetising haha.

Grand Chocolat Chaud du Bistrot +$8

Le Bistrot's signature Hot Chocolate: molten 72% dark chocolate couverture, steamed milk and Virgin Islands dark rum, served with a chocolate ice cream profiterole and assorted macarons

Their macarons are rather yummy! Crispy shell, not too sweet. It was really messy when we ate the profiterole cos the ice cream was melting and it was quite hard to "cut" the profiterole up! Overall - okay-ish for the profiterole only. The hot chocolate was good cos basically you mix in what you want! Loved the quality dark chocolate they used and how rich it was! Mmm~ I'd recommend sharing this though! Quite heavy for 1 person. 4/5

Creme Brulee

We chose vanilla bean, mocha and dark chocolate this time

Mocha is REALLY BITTER, so yea didnt really like it. Vanilla bean was awesome as always. Dark chocolate was okay only!

The service is really goooood, waiters are super friendly and funny as well! They frequently top up your water, are v attentive as well! The restaurant is so pretty and the walk outside the restaurant after a meal with your loved one(s) is a wonderful change to the hot balmy weather on normal days! The food is definitely above average and value for money as seen from the huge portions! Really recommend a trip down now if you havent tried it yet!

Le Bistrot

2 Stadium Walk

(same place where Mushroom Pot/Brewerkz etc are, near the Singapore Stadium!)