Canele Patisserie 3

Its been a while since we made a trip down to their main outlet at Quayside. The verdict still does it, Canele remain as one of the sweetest soft spots in town.


Strawberry Shortcake ($7)

The shortcake came large with a bit of the over-cloying factor towards the end. No, it wasn't the fault of that fragrant cream or airy cake- just the size which needs a wider tolerance to handle.


Macha ($7.50)

One of the better picks include the Macha, an ingenious creation revolving about the tea we enjoy. Green tea mascarporne mousse, sponge, chestnut cream and a solid almond crumble as base.


Rosy Pink Tea ($5.50)

Lastly, they showed full generousity over those alluring scented buds.

Canele Patisserie- Chocolaterie
11 Unity Street
#01-09 Robertson Walk

Barracks

If you are looking for somewhere out of the bustling city, somewhere trendy yet intimate- this is the place. It took me so long before i actually stepped foot into the happening Dempsey Hill for an eye-opening exposure to the many new food haunts!

Amongst them was Barracks, which Dad and I have heard plenty about. We were greeted right at the entrance, ushered into a spacious two-seater and presented with an unusually cute menu. Brunchtime is available from 11am to 4 pm on weekends, offering pages of morning-fuels made with free range eggs.



The interior featured a complicated concept, with kitcshy mismatched chairs for an exclusive confusion. A wide use of tin crockery would sure remind the guys of NS days and for me, the outdoor cooking in guides.

Desserts were inventive and took a style of its own.


Barracks Big Strawberry Shortcake ($9.50)

One which especially took to my fancy was the strawberry shortcake. It wasn't too large to verify that hefty pricetag but quality says it all.

Light and a tinge fluffy, it came pleasant to the palate yet without any hint of heavy cream. Instead, nicely stewed strawberry pieces are used to filled the middle layers and i salute that cloy-free intention.

If i had to do some serious nit-picking, it would have to be that vanilla bean cream. This condiment matched to every shortcake order was disappointingly bland in the absence of vanilla pods. Trust me, you wouldn't want it to dampen the goodness of their shortcake.


Carrot Cake ($8)

If you were thinking of something less taxing on the tummy, steer clear from the carrot cake. This fella here has got all the power to fill you up to the very last bit. Densely-dominated by a chockful of carrots, coconuts, raisins, pineapples and walnuts, the level of substantiality was self-explanatory.


Vanilla Sky Black Tea ($6)

Tea is also another focus here. The wide variety of exotic tea mixes were pampering, and it took us awhile before we could decide on our choices. The Buddha Blend featured a cultural exchange of organic chinese garden green tea and indian darjeeling, while my Vanilla Sky combined vanilla, jasmine petals and jasmine green pearls for a rich robust flavour.

"Add some milk and it'll taste like a muffin", added to the waitress.

Barracks is a great addition to Dempsey Hill, which is arguably the new IN place to dine. I loved the whole chilled mellow vibe, retro cum ecclectic decor, lush greenery surroundings, engaging service (the waitress even walked us out to the car with umbrellas)... all the little touches here and there.

House, Barracks and Camp
8D Dempsey Road
#01-01/06 Tanglin Village
http://www.dempseyhouse.com/

Menotti

Time for tea, and today we went italian.

Menotti sits in a barely noticeable corner of Raffles City, only accessible through outside. A fashionable cafe & bar designed to project a stylish contemporary envrionment with warm red and brown colours and an array of desserts as their main drawn.


Cappuccino ($5.80)


Tiramisu ($6.80)

The shape was a weird, hilarious lump but it contained enough substance to get me swallowing (a dessert i don't exactly fancy). The mousse was commendable while the layers of sponge tore unresistingly with the fork's directions.


Crostata ($5.90)

My exotic fruit tart featured an uncommonly seen chocolate tart shell, bright yellowy custard deeply plonked and lucious raspberries laid atop. They make premium toppings indeed.


Jasmine Green Tea ($4.80)

Menotti The Original Italian Cafe
252 North Bridge Road
#01-17 Raffles City Shopping Centre

O ChaCha

O ChaCha, the matcha latte people.

It is amusing how these words contradicted in nature; that hilarious-sounding name seriously needed some professional subtitle to back up. Yes one of a brand new face emerging admidst the Raffles City extension, to my delight, is a bold venture into japanese green tea and its relative associates.



Somehow i got enlightened; O-Cha means green tea in Japanese and Cha is tea in Chinese. So the coming together of the two cultures marries tradition and creativity into a matcha latte story to win the heart of tea lovers. Like me & dad.

One weekend we sat in for doses of matcha goodness, beverage concoctions and a couple of tea-based desserts. The service staff were friendly in recommending the various drinks, doing much help for my fickle character.


Matcha Latte ($4.80)

The hot version i had (i feel better than Dad's iced one) was something out of the ordinary. Taste premium with this soothing green hue infused with creamy milk froth. Not hard to lap up at all.


Matcha Sesame Cake ($4)

The next wonder found beared much ooh-ing factor. A delicious assemble of fluffy sponge, rich cream and a hint of candied red beans were well-alternated were and matched cohesively in the mouth. Not oversweet too.


Matcha Financier ($1.80)

Dad picked a less enticing dessert which he personally enjoyed. It looked like a slab of dense flat cake but was served warm with a touch of whipped cream and almond flakes by the side.

We were won over. This specialisation is worth a try and probably a revisit.

OChaCha
252 North Bridge Road
#B1-44F Raffles City

Say Cheezecake

Having a slice of cheesecake is one ultimate enjoyment for me, be it for tea, supper or an after-meal indulge. Let's talk about variety- you would probably have seen enough of oreo, blueberry and new york cheese, but how does durian, pulut hitam or black sesame sounds? Absolutely absurd but alluring!



The range at Say Cheezecake does not just end here, creations like rum & raisin, cookie monster, mango and over 15 other choices is enough to pamper you with. Simply take your pick at the counter, tuck into refreshingly-coloured sofas and wait to be served.


Strawberry Fields ($6.50)

My encounter with lusciously glazed strawberries proved to be a delight. Bearing a pinkish hint brought a mild strawberry flavour, accompanied with fine silken cheese with every bite.


Apple Tumble ($6.50)

Dad's green apple version with a handful of crumble crust was yet another innovative addtion to the cheesy wellness. yum.

Until the rising of another competent establishment, this cheesecake specialisation would currently hold a safe position after The Cheesecake Cafe. Many more flavours are smiling wide at me! (:

Say Cheezecake
1 Kim Seng Promenade
#01-22 Great World City

Bakerzin Tea-Time 2

Mango Mousse Cake

Dad and i returned for more tea-time treats. This time i picked a simple slice featuring light mango mousse and mango jelly between layers of cake sponge. The center is wet and leaves a sweetish tang in the mouth.


Mille-fetuille

Something new on the shelve didn't escape his eyes. This alternate layering of puff pastry and custard cream actually required a knife to slice apart.

Rose Buds Tea for me again.

Teatime @ Pasta Cafe

Valerie was so tired after shopping, she chose to have a short break here. Hi-tea set includes a drink and slice of Rive Gauche cake at $5.90.


Iced Lemon Tea


Strawberry Shortcake

Butter-rich sponge slathered with cream and little strawberry slices. Edible, but i've definitely tasted better.



Oreo Cheesecake

She felt this tempting slice calling out to her.

Pasta Cafe
391 Orchard Road
#B2-37 Ngee Ann City

Crepes N Cream

Crepe with Green Tea Icecream & Almond Flakes ($3)

While awaiting for a movie at Cineleisure, Xinya and i came across this express creperie at the basement. We conveniently grabbed a dessert crepe to share, topped off with a scoop of Bud's Green Tea Ice Cream and sprinkle of almond flakes-stingy one.

Nothing gimmicky about it, just very difficult to slice up (due to the thinness). The crepe was eggy in taste and well paired with an icecream thats rich yet not too sweet. I remember Sakae serves this brand too.

Crepes N Cream
8 Grange Road
#B1-03 Cathay Cineleisure Orchard

Bakerzin Tea-Time

Now one of our favourite spots in Millenia Walk is where we could indulge in an $8.90 tea-time special on wekends. Their dainty cake slices are most appropriate for an afternoon oasis.


Scarlet

Fluffy Genoise sponge laced with strawberry puree, fresh cream, strawberry basil jelly and glazed strawberry fruits. Crumbly average cake with a nice mousse interior thats light, roughy and vanillary.



Christmas Fruit Cake

Dad's limited edition festive choice crammed with nuts and dried fruits.

Bakerzin
9 Raffles Boulevard
#01-23/24/25 Millenia Walk

Gelare Waffle Day

Tuesday is the time for waffles! A gathering with Outstanders og clique at Citylink mall's Gelare Cafe. Only spent $5.90 each.

My mates all agreed to the whipped cream toppings, which they soon regretted having. Those tasteless additions were found to be completely redundant and worse, soggs up the waffle. So much for looking fanciful.


Waffle with Wild Strawberry Gelato


Waffle with Cookie Dough Gelato


Waffle with Cuppuccino Gelato

Mine?


Waffle with Strawberry Cheesecake Yogurt Gelato

I personally like my waffle large and kept simple with a rich scoop of satisfying gelato. This yogurt-infusion is especially smooth and sticky but not as rich as anticipated. The cheese barely came through, lacking the intensity i was hoping for.

I've always been skeptical of Gelare's inconsistent standard among the various outlets... This time the waffle was no doubt airy (in the way it shoud be) but the batter tasted monotonous. Just no match for Haato.


Only worth patronising on tuesdays.

Gelare Cafe
1 Raffles Link
#B1-26B Citylink Mall

New Canele!

Remember MIX? To my surprise its health-conscious approach failed to last and had unfortunately closed down. Its shop space at Raffles City Marketplace had been vacant for some time until Canele took over.

Now Dad and i have a new spot to rest our feet.


Strawberry Shortcake ($6.50) & Rosy Pink Tea ($5.50)

We shared a fluffy light cake with a sweet cream chantily. Nothing too 'gerlat' that will make you feel sick of.



Iced Cappuccino