Weekend Brunch @ GRUB, Bishan Park

Weekend Brunch @ GRUB, Bishan Park

After reading a few recommending cafes to visit from food blogs and Instagram photos, GRUB has being on our visiting list for quite sometime.  So last Saturday since we do not have any plan  except getting our usual weekly grocery. We decide to settle our brunch at GRUB which is located at one end of Bishan Park (510 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1) along Sin Ming Ave which is opposite Block 408.

For your information, GRUB don't not accept reservation on weekend so be early before noon to avoid long waiting time.

Weekend Dinner @ Southwest Tavern, Tradehub 21

[Southwest Tavern] Weekend Dinner

When it comes to weekend, "food hunting" is always something that we look forward to whenever we roam around different parts of Singapore. And last weekend while we were in IMM Jurong area, we decided to visit Southwest Tavern which served American style cuisines from one of the participated restaurants in my trustworthy Entertainer Mobile App list.

[The Entertainer app] One-For-One Deal Main Course @ The Disgruntled Chef

Located at 26B Dempsey Road, The Disgruntled Chef is a bar and restaurant which offers European dishes in a cosy environment that is away from the heart of the city. And while browsing through my Entertainer “1-for-1 main course” deals we decided to try their main courses where I called up to make reservation for their weekend brunch.

Before sharing our views at Disgruntled Chef, here is a quick run through of what I had mentioned in my previous post at Bedrock Bar And Grill on “How to use the Entertainer App”. This app is FREE to download from your mobile phone (available on iPhone, Android and Blackberry) and there is no charges to utilise their monthly deals too. But if you wants to enjoy the full version of the Entertainer App with more than 990 “buy one get one free” offers on food, travel and etc, you can purchase the Full App @ SG$57 (usual price SG$95) for a limited time of 40% offer price.

[The Entertainer app] One-For-One Deal Main Course @ Bedrock Bar & Grill

[Bedrock Bar And Grill] ONE-FOR-ONE DEAL with Entertainer App

While searching for a good weekend dining deal from Hungry Go Where (HGW), I managed to find a great saving offer from the new Entertainer App (shown below) recommended through them. And with this paperless interface application that provides great saving deals, we had an enjoyable dinner at Bedrock Bar and Grill last Saturday.

The Entertain App

Here is a quick preview on how the Entertain App works:-
Login ~ Select the Deal ~ Call to make reservation ~ Enjoy ~ Redeem ~ Saving

With the above if you are interested to find out more about this app you can refer to a detail walk though regarding this app after the Bedrock Bar And Grill review at the end of the post.

Beanstro by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf‏ @ Takashimaya

About two weeks back during the March school holiday break we went for a tasting at Beanstro which is a casual American-sytle dining restaurant by The Coffee Bean And Tea Leaf. Beanstro is at a convenience location at Basement 1 of Takashimaya Shopping and with it's halal-certified menu, Muslim friends are also able to enjoy their range of food too.

Other than the main course, you can also get to enjoy delicious and freshly prepared breakfast all day at Beanstro too. And they have a interesting menu like Muesli and Oatmeal, Buttermilk Waffles, Bagel with Smoked Salmon and etc.

Menu of the Main Courses and Sides from Beanstro

Beanstro's menu comprises a selection of American cuisine and hand=crafted beverages which you will definitely find something that suits your preference.

The usual drinks that are served at The Coffee Bean And Tea Leaf are also available at Beanstro but with additional items like Frozen Swirl Yogurt with Affogato, Parfait and etc.  And due to the hot afternoon we decided to have Ice Cappuccino Frappes, Ice Double Chocolate (SG$6.50) and Double Chocolate Smoothie (SG$7.30).

Seafood Velet @ SG$9.50

For soup range, other than the usual Soup of The Day (SG$8.00) Beanstro also offers Seafood Velet (SG$9.50) and French Onion (SG$8.50) which give you more choices to match your main course.  Since we love seafood base soup, we ordered the Seafood Velvet which has a light creamy texture that resemble chowder.  The soup also comes with a slice of cheese toast plus some peach compote to enhance its flavour.

Tuna Nicoise @ SG$19.00

For greens, we ordered Tuna Nicoise (SG$19.00) because I am craving for Tuna and I think it would be great to start of with something light and refreshing before the main. The salad comes with generous serving of Yellow-fin tuna loin coated with sesame and lightly sealed.  As accompany there are also some baby potatoes, hard-boiled egg, raw onion and etc that toss in tangy vinaigrette sauce that awake your palate.

Seafood Wrapped in Cartoccio @ SG$26.00

Mum loves seafood pasta so without hesitate we ordered the Seafood Wrapped in Cartoccio (SG$26.00) which served with fettuccine and seafood like spiny lobster, scallop and blue mussel toss together in spicy tomato sauce (you can request for less spicy sauce too) and wrapped in parchment paper. Overall the sauce and taste was quite decent but we felt that the noodle was a bit hard rather than al dente texture.

Sirloin Steak (200g) @ SG$24.00

I always love to have either Sirloin or Rib Eye Steak that is cooked till medium rare. Upon recommending by the serving staff, I ordered the Australian grass fed Sirloin Steak (200g, SG$24.00) that served with baby potato, sauteed greens in garlic rosemary sauce. Overall the meat was tender and juicy to our liking but somehow or rather we find there sauteed greens a bit salty perhaps due to uneven seasonings.

Tiramisu @ SG$10.00

Warm Molten Chocolate Cake @ SG$10.00

For those who love to have something sweet after meal or for afternoon tea, Beanstro offers quite a range of all time favourite desserts like as Bread and Butter Pudding, Creme Brulee, Cherry Clafouti, Warm Molten Chocolate Cake, Tiramisu and Warm Apple Crumble.

Chocolate lovers like us, ordered their Tiramisu (SG$10.00) and Warm Molten Chocolate Cake (SG$10.00) which we prefer Tiramisu over the other. Although the Molten Chocolate Cake taste good which is not too sweet but it seems to be a bit too dry (over cooked) which I would prefer it to be a little softer and perhaps with a pudding-like center would be great.

Currently Beanstro has two outlets which located at Marina Bay Sands (Canal Level, B2-20) and Takashimaya (new outlet). And with their local and global expansion, they company has also plans to open another 2 more outlets in Singapore which brings to a total of 4 under the Beanstro brand soon.

BeanSTRO Takashimaya
Ngee Ann City
391 Orchard Road
#B1-37
Singapore 238872
Telephone: (65) 6235 1610

Operating Hours:
8am - 11pm (daily)


Lastly I would like to thank Beanstro and Ms Agnes from AT Marketing Consultancy for the invited tasting. *All opinions expressed in this post are my own and there is no monetary compensation received.

Hearty Meal With The Family @ Swensen's

Swensen's, a household name in Singapore has bought many memories to me and my family over the years. I remember during my school days, I used to visit Swensen's with my classmates to enjoy their ice-creams and food during weekends gathering where we often share the "Huge" Earthquake ice-cream together.

Recently, Swensen's has just revamped their menu with new and exciting treats such as Spiced King Prawns and Chips, Laksa Aglio Olio with King Prawns, Crabmeat Fried Rice and etc. Here we have ordered the "Laksa Aglio Olio with King Prawns" shown above as I am curious with this East And West fusion taste. The al dente pasta is infused with Laksa flavored pesto, chilli padi and served with succulent king prawns which gives us a Wow!

{S$5.00 Top Up} With additional $5.00 top-up to any Main Course, we can enjoy additional soup of day which I always look forward to, a complimentary hot/cold beverage plus a scoop of ice-cream of our choice to end the meal.

For starter we order Ocean Crunch Salad with served with fresh greens topped with fish bites, calamari, breaded shrimps and refreshing pineapple BBQ dressing.

This Black Pepper Seafood Pasta is one of my mum's favourite pasta from Swensen's. She loves the taste and fragrant of their black pepper sauce which is not too spicy, salty or neither overpowering the overall taste of the dish. I would recommend this if you are a fan of black pepper sauce.

Although Chicken Baked Rice is always on my ordering list, but that day I have a craving of trying their Beef Stroganoff Baked Rice which served in chunky beef slices that saute in onion and brown sauce. Although the sauce is a bit too rich and salty towards my liking but overall it still quiet a good try. 

My boy's Fish Nuggets with Star Munchy And Sweetcorn kid's meal set which he often order serve with either cold Milo or Apple juice. A plus point for kid's meal is although it is deep-fried but for the few occasions that we ordered it is always nicely done without drip/trace of oil on the nuggets or munchy.

*Note:
All photos in this post is taken with my iphone as this is a leisure family meal.

Celebrate Life This Christmas With nydc's Christmas Menu‏

Christmas isn't a time just to receive but also giving out our best to those who is in need. Here at nydc, for every Hearty Christmas roast platter or Captain’s catch seafood platter you order means a donation of S$1.00 will goes to the children of M.I.L.K(Mainly I Love Kids) and that applied to a donation of 50¢ for every Christmas Log sold too.

And with their new range of hearty selection of Christmas platters, Christmas a la carte dishes, Christmas log cakes, Christmas drinks, the nydc 2011 Christmas Menu promises to satiate the festive appetite of fun, cool and hip party of for your friends, colleagues and family.

HEARTY CHRISTMAS ROAST PLATTER

(Serves 4 @ S$98++)

The signature of the Christmas Menu must be the Hearty Christmas Roast Platter For Four: with chunky strips of succulent Australian marbled sirloin steak that are seasoned and grilled to mouth‐watering perfection; juicy spring chicken marinated over‐night with an in-house recipe and slow-­roasted with herbs; luscious pork cheese cracker and spicy bratwursts (German sausage which is usually made with veal, beef or pork) resting on traditional sauerkraut (German, "sour cabbage"); crispy beer battered onion rings with a bold BBQ sauce; creamy cheese baked Idaho potato gratin and a bed of fresh salad.

Out of all the items on the platter, we love the herbal spring chicken which is so flavorsome, tender and juicy. Their baked Idaho potato gratin was incredibly tasty with soft, creamy and cheesy texture that we kept digging for more. For your information this Hearty Christmas Roast also have serving for two person at S$56++.

Price: Hearty Christmas Roast For Four @ S$98++

All Christmas Platters come with this Passionately Fizzy Drink which is an invigorating mix of cranberry juice, soda and orange crushed ice.This is a very refreshing drinks which you could either stir-up the mixture or leave it as it is where you could taste two different flavour in a drink. Love the orange crashed ice on top which give it a zesty flavour.

A la carte price: Passionately Fizzy Drink @ S$4.80++ per mug

To end the meal, this Christmas Platter Set also comes with 4 slices of log cakes which you could choose from either "Yule love it" or "divine white chocolate-cheese".

TEA-TIME SPECIAL

(Monday - Friday, 2.00pm - 6.00pm)

If you are looking for something light with Christmas feel, perhaps this "Cinnamon Mocha Elephanccino" serve with a slice of Christmas Log cake will be a great choice to refresh your soul before continue with more festive shopping. Each slip of the drink is tinged with cinnamon and raspberries taste lingering in your mouth and for a glance you might mistaken this drink as those Hong Kong style milk tea that served with vanilla ice cream in it.

Price: Cinnamon Mocha Elephanccino(iced/hot) plus a slice of cake @ S$8.80++
A la carte price: Cinnamon Mocha Elephanccino(iced/hot) @ S$7.80++ per mug

CHRISTMAS LOGCAKE

Remember to get your log cakes early so that you won't have to worry when Christmas parties or gatherings are on the list. Here at nydc, they have two delicious Christmas Log Cake which are available on either 500g or 1kg size.

If you are a chocoholic, I would recommend you to order their "Yule love it" Chocolate Christmas Log Cake which is a decadents chocolate truffle log cake covered with Belgian couverture dark chocolate and twirled with velvety chocolate mousse.

Price:  500g @ S$32++; 1kg @ S$51++

If you don't fancy dark chocolate, maybe you can try their "divine white chocolate-cheese" log cake which is covered with a layer of smooth layer of white chocolate cheese plus a Philadelphia cream cheese center. Eat mouthful is filled with smooth and luxury chocolate cheese plus hint of savory taste.

Price:  500g @ S$37++; 1kg @ S$56++

For more detail on ordering the log cake, you could refer to their website or print out the order form HERE. Enjoy 5% early bird discount for orders placed by 12 December 2011.

nydc FACEBOOK EVENT

In order to join the Santa's Missing Stockings (a weekly draw by matching the serial number given during purchased of the Christmas Log cake) or redeem the "1-for-1" voucher (for Christmas Platters or Christmas a la carte items), please visit and "LIKE" nydc facebook fanpage before clicking the "Santa's Secret" link on the left panel shown above to "JOIN" or "REDEEM". Have fun and good luck.

nydc, New York Dessert Cafe

Bugis Junction
200 Victoria Street
#02-­‐47/48
Singapore 188021
Telephone: +65 6333 3161
Website: http://www.nydc.com.sg/

Operating Hours:
Sunday – Thursday and PH: 11.30am – 10.00pm
Friday - Saturday and Eve of PH: 11.30am – 11.00pm

GIVEAWAY - SINGAPORE READERS ONLY

(nydc's S$20 gift voucher)

For this coming Christmas I would love to Giveaway my 2 complimentary gift vouches (worth S$40.00) plus another 2 more (S$20.00 each) from the goodwill of nydc to 3 Lucky Winners so that each of you could bring your loved ones or friends to have a hearty Christmas feast or purchase the Christmas Log Cake at any of their 6 outlets at your convenience. (vouchers expired on 30 June 2012)

To participate:-
1. Leave a comment stating ONE of the Christmas items available in nydc's a la carte menu (answer can be found HERE) together with your name and a valid email address.

2. To double up your chance, you could also pop over to my facebook page HERE and "Like" this photo together with a comment stating "a main item that is found in the Hearty Christmas Roast Platters".

Closing date for this giveaway will be on Sunday, 11 December 2011(Noon).


Lastly I would like to say thank to Terence and Jackson from Calean And Sage together with nydc New York Dessert Cafe for the invited tasting.

~~~~~~~~~~~
(updated on 11 December 2011)

GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Once again thanks everyone for your participation and congratulation to the 3 Lucky winners. I would contact you shortly for your mailing address. Thanks.

Christmas At IKEA

We are already stepping into December 2011 which bring us less than 23 days to Christmas. So if you are looking for some ideas to decorate your home perhaps you could stop by any of the IKEA outlets(Alexandra or Tampines) just like what we did. I am sure you could definitely grab something which you might need for this coming festive seasons ranging from home furniture, decorations, food and etc.

IKEA RESTAURANT AND CAFE

I saw their Christmas Platter Combo during my last visit to IKEA, Tampines a few week back on their behind-scene tour event. So early this week I bought my boy to IKEA in order to try out their Christmas Platter but sad to say they have run out of the "Pancakes and Swedish sparkling drink". On top of it they replaced the two items with spice muffins and apple juice.

The Christmas Platter consists of Turkey Breast, Turkey Ham and Chicken Cheese Sausage together with some fries and balanced broccoli. Their turkey ham was good and I love the cheese sausage too, but if it comes with some serving sauce the taste will be even better. This whole combo platter set cost S$13.90 or you could just get the Christmas Platter at S$9.00

Although this is my boy 1st time trying IKEA's Kid's Meal, Chicken Nuggets, he actually comments that it taste better than those served in his usual fastfood outlet. And also for the month of November till 24 December 2011, IKEA will also donates €1.00(S$1.75) whenever we purchased any kid's chicken nuggets meal to the UNICEF in order to help more children to have quality education.

To end the meal, we tried their Christmas Log Cake and Almond Cake with chocolate and butterscotch. The Christmas Log Cake comes with either Cappuccino or Latte at S$3.50 per set whereas the Almond Cake is price at S$3.50 per slice. I love the luxury and caramel taste of the almond cake with hint of nuts in it and it goes well with my cup of Cappuccino. 

TABLEWARE AND COOKSHOP

The Tableware and Cookshop area located at Level 3 of IKEA, Tampine has a wide varieties of Christmas design items ranging from plates to cups and bakewares too.

HOME DECORATION

You could also find some REAL Christmas Tree and plants at the Home Decoration area together with some wall ornaments and etc. I am sure there is something that suits your home for this year Christmas.

CHECK OUT

Near the check out area, you could see a lot of new designed soft toys that caters for this coming Christmas Season. Perhaps you could grab one or two of these lovely soft toys as Christmas Present for your love ones or kids and at the same time the IKEA foundation will actually donates €1.00(S$1.75) to help educate kids from UNICEF (The United Nations Children's Fund) too.

IKEA SOFT ICE CREAM

Before going back, we stop by the Swedish Food Market to exchange our token from the Kid's Meal(all kid's meal comes with a free ice cream cone). To get the ice-cream you have to place the cone on the slot in the ice-cream machine before inserting the token. Next press the start button on the machine and within less than a minute you would get your yummy soft serve ice-cream.

For more photos on this photo, you could click on the album via Cuisine Paradise Facebook HERE.

Asia's Dining Destination At Marina Bay Sands - db Bistro Moderne

db Bistro Moderne is a contemporary French-American restaurant where traditional French cuisine meets the flavours of the American market. Just a few days back, I had a chance to dine-in this celebrity chef restaurant (opened by Chef Daniel Boulud) which is one of the 6 selected restaurants for the Asia's Dining Destination Package (ADD) organized by Marina Bay Sands.(I would share with you more about this ADD package in the next few posts.)

db Bistro Moderne also includes a stylish 15 seats counter bar, as well as an informal lounge area for causal dinning, 2 private rooms sitting 8 guest each or 20 when used in combination are also available for personal or business entertaining.

Before our dinner, we had an exclusive kitchen tour and interview with the Executive Chef, Mr Stephane Istel of db Bistro Moderne where he shared with us his experience and team in the kitchen as well as how he co-ordinate with Mr Daniel to oversee db Bistro in Singapore. Mr Stephane mentioned that he always believe good food comes from heart and the one who cook must put in "heart and love" while preparing he/her dishes in order to perfect the dish.

As you could see from the above photos, the kitchen area is quite spacious and surprisingly "clean" and neat which is rather different from what we usually see from the TV shows. The kitchen is divided into  a few area such as Burger station, Fish and Pasta, Soup, Salad, Dessert and etc.

Upon seated, we are served with some fresh daily homemade bread from Marina Bay Sands in-house bakery which is located inside their central kitchen. These bread are made and distributed to most of the restaurants and cafes in the hotel. Example:- db Bistro Moderne, Santi, Rise and etc

For Appetizers, Chef Stephane has specially prepared this Mushroom Tarte Flambee with White Truffles which is an Alsatian Flat Bread served with Fromage Blanc, Onion, Mushroom and shaved white Truffles. It has a crispy base similar to thin crust pizza and the combination of the toppings makes it a great starter to go with some wine or sparking drinks.

Next appetizer we had Gillardeau Oyster which is serve with Lemongrass Coulis and Caviar. Interesting combination of using Asian lemongrass to combine with western cheese, cream and caviar to create this appetizer. I love the lemongrass coulis which is not too overpower on it's lemongrass fragrant or taste and it really brings up the taste of the fresh oyster with that extra caviar on top.

Japanese Kagoshima Beef Carpaccio is something quite refreshing which is thin slice of Wagyu top with capers, mizuna(a Japanese water greens), Aged Parmesan and a good drizzle of Extra Virgin Tuscan Olive Oil. 

For Main Course, we get to try 3 different types of dishes such as Ravioli(a pasta dish), Roasted Dory and Ribeye. First to be served is Braised Beef Cheek Ravioli which is sort of similar to our Asian minced pork dumplings(wanton). Here the Ravioli is wrapped with some flavorsome ground beef and cooked together with cheesy sauce and veggies.

Personally I prefer dishes with Fish compared to Meat and before I tried this Roasted John Dory, I actually have in mind that the fish might have a fishy taste. But to my surprised, the Chef who prepared this dish definitely has done a great job with it. The fish taste great with a crisp outer layer and yet soft and juice when bite and it goes well with the aged truffle risotto and extra shaved white truffle. 

This is my first time trying Kagoshima Ribeye and it texture is definitely a great different from those ribeye steak that we had in normal restaurants. Each cuts and bites release a different sensation and taste while chewing in the mouth. Most of us love that char-grilled taste and almost "Fatless" feel whenever it goes into our mouth. The accompany Agria mashed potato is so smooth and creamy but yet it does not have that greasy taste and it goes well with the spinach and lettuce too.

Array of French dessert to satisfy our sweet taste buds ranging from Araguani Dark Chocolate & Peanut Butter Souffle, White Truffle Clementine, lie Flottante, Raspberry Souffle, Malt, Pomme, Profiteroles.

Out of all the desserts served above, my favourite choice is this Profiteroles Au Cafe. Love the whole combination and it makes you crave for more after each mouthful. The profiterole is filled with praline ice-cream and top with smooth and luxury melted chocolate.

For more related photos of the food tasting and kitchen tour on db Bistro Moderne, please refer to Cuisine Paradise Page album, HERE.

THANKSGIVING SPECIAL

(until Sunday, 27 November 2011)

Usher into the Thanksgiving holidays, db Bistro Moderne will be serving up some "Thanksgiving Specials" just for this festive season. This menu is available only till Sunday, 27 November 2011. The Thanksgiving menu will feature delicacies such as Alaskan King Crab Cakes and Duo of Organic Turkey. The three-course menu is priced at S$85++ and each item is also available separately on the ala carte menu too.

db Bistro Moderne 

2 Bayfront Avenue B1-48, Galleria Level
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
Singapore 018956

Reservation: +65 6688 8525
Website: HERE