Kith @ Park Mall

We missed lunch, and wanted a quick munch before our annual picnic under the stars at Fort Canning. The new Kith at Park Mall thus became the convenient choice.



Like its sister café at Robertson Quay, this new outfit had a quite compact interior with 6 tables at most. There of course is the spacious alfresco seating to the rescue when the weather is more forgiving. Helpful waitstaff put us at ease with warm and sincere service. Among all, I particularly appreciated the glass wall which allowed some window shopping opportunity on their furniture store neighbour.



Coffee here used a custom blend by a local roaster. Highlander be my guess.



Two perfectly done poached eggs on toast, making it a hearty combination with avocado and bacon.





As much as I enjoyed the regular cup of hot chocolate, this Spanish version had a viscous texture that similar to that of baby food, if I'm to put it. The chocolate taste however wasn't strong enough to match that thickness, imo.



All in all, this new outlet didn't at all let down the name of Kith.


Kith Bistro (Facebook)
#01-01E Park Mall
9 Penang Road
Daily, 8am – 10pm
6338 8611


While it still feels like I just blogged about last year's performance not long ago, there we saw yet another season of Ballet Under the Stars. Each year, I made it a point to attend this annual event. Not that I am a big fan of ballet, but it is a rare picnic opportunity which calls for some quality time with the loved ones.









No, All Good Things doesn't sell cherry tomatoes. They provide good containers nonetheless.


 

The Pancake War: Brunching at PS Café

With brunch places popping up all over the place, I would find it difficult to justify a visit to the overpriced PS. Cafe if not for their ginger pudding ($12.90++). Gently spiced with the rhizome, the steamy, spongy pudding floats in a sea of dreamily aromatic earl grey crème anglaise and is crowned with a towering scoop of cold vanilla bean ice cream. Awesome sauce!

 To fellow foodies who are fussy about pancakes as much as I am, I suggest that you give the blueberry pancakes ($19++) here a miss. They're decently soft and fluffy, but I'll rather have McDonald's Hotcakes for one-fifth the price. 

D opted for his protein-packed favorite, the PS. Brunch Burger ($29++): homemade grilled wagyu and US chuck patty topped with camembert cheese, wilted spinach, crispy bacon, tomtato, crispy onions, herby mayo & fried egg on a toasted sesame bun. (What a mouthful!) Of course, I couldn't help stealing some of those fat, fluffy steak fries and tasty aioli!

On the contrary, my other friend went vegetarian with her Green Garden Lasagne ($26++): garden vegetables tossed with mozzarella cheese, bechamel and portobello mushrrom duxelle, layered with herb ricotta, spinach pasta, served with shaved fennel and almond salad.

The laid-back ambience at PS. Cafe's Harding outlet certainly draws a crowd, so be sure to head out of the house early if you intend to brunch there- our food took almost half an hour to arrive if I remember correctly!

PS. Cafe at Harding

28B Harding Road

Tel: +65 6479 3343

Brunch hours: 9.30am-5pm (Sat & Sun), last food/tea orders at 4pm/5pm

The Dempsey Brasserie @ Dempsey Road

The Dempsey Brasserie isn't new, but this is our first visit there. It's located in the Dempsey district, and is housed in this charming colonial style apartment.


A check on the internet reveals that the chef here has previously worked @ PS Cafe and the now defunct The Nautilus Project. So you get an idea of the food they serve here.



The high ceiling makes this place has a very industrial feel to it.


Started off our Sunday brunch with Red + Green Apple Juice (S$8) and Blackforest Milkshake (S$12). Very welcoming on a hot afternoon.


Most bistros I know offer their ultimate version of a "Big Breakfast" during weekend brunch. And here, it's their The Big Brasserie Breakfast (S$24) - 2 Sunny side eggs, Back bacon, forest mushrooms, grilled cumberland sausage, roasted vine tomatoes, grilled brioche, butter and jam. The tomatoes were very sweet and juicy.


Free iced water is served here.



We also ordered their Signature Mussels and Fries (S$20 for starter pot) in Vin Blanc style (shallots, garlic, parsley, dry white wine). Mussels are air-flown from Boston Bay, Tasmania. Unfortunately, the mussles were not as good as we hoped for.



Golden fries with the mussels.


Also had the Smoked Pulled Pork Burger (S$25) served with skinny fries and homemade apple sauce. Pork was rather tender. They could have done a better job for the fries.


French Onion Soup (S$14) with thick crostini and gruyere cheese melt. Very filling, and sharing is recommended.


The Dempsey Brasserie
Blk 7
Dempsey Road,
#01-03

Tong Le Private Dining @ OUE Tower

Tong Le Private Dining has become one of our favourite place for Saturday brunch. Was here not too long ago and ordered 2 different sets of S$80++ and S$120++ Set Lunch. We have combined some of the S$80 items together with the S$120 items below.



As usual, each of the set lunch started off with the Trilogy of Dim Sum. They were carefully handmade unlike those that are mass produced elsewhere.



Ordered a Mocktail with melon, peach and cherries (S$12).



Superior Bird's Nest Soup with Winter Melon Puree. Very nourishing for the body.



Here is another mocktail with Korean pear, lemon, lavender and mint (S$12). Pear lovers will like this version of their pear mocktail.



One of our favourite dish here is the Steamed Wild Marble Goby with Garlic and Beancurd Skin. The fresh fish is boneless and has been sliced for the convenience of diners.



The Poached Seasonal Wild Sea Fish in Sze Chuan Consomme is another great version of the sliced fish dish.



Cleansing the palate with a beautiful mint and lychee sorbet.



Next up, Braised Japanese Pink Pork belly. Very nice texture and marbling. The Pink Pork is new ingredient, and the pigs are grained fed in Japan.



A "east-meet-west" dish - French Tai Bai duck breast fillet cooked in sous vide with Chilled Osmanthus Flavor Pear. The sous vide treatment of the duck meat allows it to remain tender and moist.



We are hooked to Tong Le's crystal prawns, and the chef specially created this Crystal Prawn with Noodles for us.



Another unique dish is the Yuan Yang Fried Rice with Minced Wagyu Beef. Puffed rice is added to the fried rice for added textures.



The desserts we had in our set lunch includes this Chilled Mango accompanied with Homemade Mango Sorbet, Blood Oranges, Pomelo and Sago



And the Traditional Red Bean and Dried Tangerine Peel with Homemade Red Date Ice-Cream.


Plus the exceptional Bird's Nest Tart.

Tong Le Private Dining
OUE Tower,
Level 4 and 5
60 Collyer Quay
TEL: 6634 3233

In-N-Out Burger in Singapore

"Will someone deliver a Protein-style burger and Animal fries to my workplace tomorrow please?!!" begged a friend who had attended an exchange program in California on Facebook. From just 11am-3pm today, the beloved West Coast fast food chain In-N-Out Burger set up a pop-up store at Golden Grill at Circular Quay.

Keen to check out how good fast food burgers could get, I parked myself in front of a line of twenty or so people at 10am. It pays to be kiasu sometimes- I hear that all 300 burgers were sold out by 11.05am, merely five minutes after opening time!

 

Only three burgers were on offer: the hamburger ($4), cheeseburger ($5) and the Double-Double ($6), with a side of chips and a drink for $2. Naturally, I chose the version with double patties and double cheese, animal style (with mustard-grilled beef patties with pickles, grilled onions and extra spread). There's also an option of having your burgers protein style- aka Atkins style, with lettuce replacing the bun.

What sets In-N-Out burgers apart from other fast food chains' would be the care put into the details, from grinding the beef to just the right coarseness to ensuring that cheese slices are well-melted. Orders are cooked à la minute, and are packed with fresh and crisp tomatoes and lettuce (not tasteless shreds of fiber). The chain insists on using 100 percent chilled beef and never frozen beef, and the freshness of the meat was evident: the patties emerged moist and gently charred from the grill, without any trace of gristle.

If I had one complaint, it would be that the burger was so juicy that its sauces seeped through the paper wrap. What a pity that they didn't bring their fries and shakes to Singapore!

 

A smart means of keeping queue-cutters at bay!

I do not profess to be particularly fond of cheeseburgers and wouldn't fly to the States just for In-N-Out. But there is no doubt that the chain serves the best bang-for-buck burger I've had so far, and will certainly give other fast food restaurants a run for their money if they set up store here.

Mimigar

How much do you know about Okinawan cuisine? Call myself a big Japanese food fan, my knowledge to this culinary branch of the southern Japan is very much limited to its bittergourds, and the influence of Chinese cuisine in its dishes.

Curious have I been to learn more, Mimigar, one of the fine Japanese restaurants at the Gallery Hotel, has been high on my list. After several failed walk-in attempts to get a seat, I finally gave in and made my reversation one month in advance. (As I later leanred that 'mimi gar', behinds being the name of the establishment, actually means pig's ear, which is a signature dish here.)



Just like Satsuma next door, Mimigar is very tastefully furnished and wooden interiors in a softly warm hue lend this place a cosy vibe. There are bar top seatings for patrons (mostly Japanese) to get up close and intimate with the chefs while watching their dishes being prepared.



スク　ワタがラス ($10)

The strong taste of pickled baby fish and fermented guts complimented the tofu very well. The fermented guts, as much as I can still remember, had an acquired taste akin to that of foie gras. The tofu cubes were not too soft to be picked up with my clumsy chopstick skill.



ゴーヤ・チャンプル ($7)

A simple dish served the least pretentious way possible, yet it was the one I enjoyed the most.

The bittergourd was not bitter at all. Stir-fried with minced pork and tofu, you got a dish that was amazingly hearty and flavoursome.



厚焼たまご ($14)

Omelette roll with cheese. The complimentary mentaiko dip lent some savouriness to the rich tasting melted cheese.



Along with the evergreen offerings like daikon and konnyaku, the menu also carries some interesting options such as tako-ashi (octopus), gyuusuji (beef tendon) and even ashitebichi (pig's foot!). The broth was distintively more intense than the regular ones, with a beefy flavour.



イカ墨焼そば ($17)

On the seasonal menu was this squid ink soba. The soba though was cooked al dente, tasted quite bland, as compared the other dishes on the table.






Overall, our dinner last week was a pleasant one. Although there were some misses on the menu, we are all too willing to overlook those faux pas and return to try some other dishes.


Mimigar
#01-08 Gallery Hotel
Dinner: 6pm - 12am
Closed on Saturdays
6235 1511

Paul Bakery @ Takashimaya

Paul bakery, one of the most famous bakeries in Paris, has been one of the most visited place whenever tourists go there for holiday.



A few months ago, they opened their first Singapore shop right in Takashimaya mall along the ever-busy Orchard Road.


It is always crowded throughout the day. So some patience is required to secure a seat during peak hours.


To try a wide variety of their bread, I would suggest ordering the Patissier Basket (S$8.90), which includes croissant, pain au chocolat, briochette and other varieties served with jam and butter



Had a Chablis (S$15 per glass) which went well together with the freshly baked bread.



Also ordered a Soup of the Day (S$9) to accompany the bread.



We enjoyed our Chamomile Tea (S$4.60) during our brunch at Paul Bakery.



I like the cute little containers they use to serve their jams and French butter.


Since it was not enough, we ordered another basker of their Patissier Basket (S$8.90).



On to the main course, the Provence Cod (S$23.90) served with rice was a unique item which I believe was not served in their Paris outlets. The cod fish was tender, but quite average.



Fairing better was the Salad Fermiere (S$16.90) which had roasted chicken, green apple, raisins, walnuts, carrots, mixed lettuce.



Millefeuille nature (S$6.30). It's described as "crispy, crème-filled Napoleon is a traditional French favorite and a PAUL classic. The crispy golden puff pastry is filled with vanilla-flavored pastry cream and topped with a light apricot glaze."

Service here is really slow, but food is quite OK for us.


Paul Bakery
391A Orchard Road,
#03-16/16A/17
Ngee Ann City Tower A