Antoinette at Palais Renaissance

I am sure the brand name "Antoinette" sound familiar to those who love cakes, pastries or French food. Following the success of Antoinette’s first three outlets (Penhas Road, Mandarin Galley and Scarlet Hotel), Owner-Chef Pang Kok Keong unveils Le Jardin d’Antoinette which is also one of their largest outlet at Palais Renaissance.

Last Saturday I was invited to a lunch tasting at their new outlet, located at Palais Renaissance together with Celes (Celestial Delish), Derrick (SG Food on Foot) and ShiTing (Lobsterpaints).

After some self introductions between Chef Pang and us, we started to look around at their cake and pastry counters while taking some photos. Below are some of the pastries and cakes which are available at Antoinette.

Array of Cakes available

Array of Assorted Macarons on display

Pastry Section: with Danish Puffs, Brownies, Muffins and etc

The Main Dining Area designed after Versaille’s expansive outdoor garden which is a unique round shaped dining space decorated with vintage furniture featuring floral accents such as flower print upholstered seats. The outskirt of the dining area is also surrounded with hanging vines as well as floral arrangements. Furthermore there is also a special elevated gazebo sits at the centre of the dining area too.

{Soup} We started with their new Classic French Onion Soup (S$16.50) which is prepared using caramelised onions in a rich chicken and veal broth accompanied by cheese toasts made from Antoinette’s signature 24-hour baguette. To perfect it, the soup is topped with a cheesy crust which resemble "cover" and it is made using parmesan and gruyère cheese.

On the 1st try, the soup taste a bit sour but when you dig in more, it actually release a hit of sweetness from the caramelised onions and it goes well with that crispy cheese crust.

{Entrées} Next we had the Tartine de Nicoise (S$26.00) which is an open face levain sandwich hide beneath some butter lettuce, French beans, tomatoes, olives, anchovy, a three-minute egg and some seared tuna.

According to Chef Pang, these Levain Bread (sourdough) are made from their own kitchen in Antonietta and the process for making this bread is quite tedious and it takes up to 16 days to cultivate the yeast from scratch plus another 2 more days to proof the bread before baking. So when having this dish, we must really appreciate each and every bits of its ingredients especially the Levain Bread which has a unique flavour and texture.

{Main Course} During the tasting, we tried 3 main courses and first to serve was Confit de Poitrine de Porc (S$36.00) is a traditional French confit of pork belly that is first cured in a mixture of sea salt, brown sugar and aromatics before it is cooked and covered in duck fat at 90 degrees Celsius for 12 hours.

The dish was plated with 5 pieces (about 2 cm each) of thick, tender and fragrant pork belly together with decent amount of garlic mash (which you might thought is mashed potato), seasonal vegetables and mustard sauce. Although I am a "pork belly" lover but I find this dish a bit on the salty side unless you are having it with some water or wine to balance the taste.

{Main Course} Next we had Bouchées aux fruits de mer (S$30.00) which is a luxurious seafood medley that consists of scallops, prawns, squid and mussels sautéed with white wine and cream. It is then served in a puff pastry case which resemble "vol au vents" but it is made with a unique reverse folding method which results in a flakier and crispier crust.

I love their fresh and seafood and taste of the sauce is is not overpowering to the whole dish but on the down side, me and ShiTing find that our scallop is kind of overcooked which makes it chewy and difficult to bite.

{Main Course} For the last main course Chef Pang brought in Prawn crumble pasta (S$26.00) which is an aglio olio-style pasta dish featuring spaghettini tossed with parsley pesto instead of basil and sprinkled with their homemade anchovy crumble.

During the introduction, Chef Pang mentioned to us that those crumble was made using Antoinette’s pain de mie loaf as well as a kalamata olives and Spanish anchovies tapenade. No wonder when all mixed together it has such a unique taste which you might mistook the breadcrumb with grated cheese.

{Dessert} For the dessert, Chef Pang shared with us 4 of his new 2012 collection which you could read more on the post below. Above we shows  Chloe (S$9.00 per slice) which is a combination of refreshing and fragrant yuzu cremeux with white chocolate vanilla mousse on a light sponge cake and almond sable.

This is one of the lighter taste cake which we concluded out of the 4 that we had tired so if you prefer something light and refreshing perhaps this would be great hit for you.

{Dessert} Forbidden Fruit (S$9.00 per slice) has a delicate layered creation that features granny smith apples in various incarnations including green apple mousse, vanilla caramel apple and green apple jelly, complemented with maple cremeux on a financier cake.

On 1st bite you will feel hint of sourish taste perhaps from the apple jelly but when you slowly savory it with a cup of tea, you will fell in love with it because of it sweet, fragrant and sour combination. I guess this is similar to feeling of "falling in love" taste.

{Dessert} Kyoto (S$9.00 per slice) is a Japanese matcha crowd-pleaser with green tea mascarpone mousse, chestnut cremeux, almond crumble and a green tea finger sponge. It has a very fragrant matcha aroma and after taste which we all loved. A "must try" for matcha lover.

{Dessert} I personally love this Tarte Exotique (S$8.50 per slice) which I think I can conquered two at one time. It has an almond base with a luscious gula melaka cremeux, finger sponge and light coconut mousse crowned with a delicate fruit coulis sphere. Because I love almond base tarts and as well as the unique aroma from the Gula Melaka, I highly recommend this dessert which I am sure you will love it as much as we do.  

Just to share there is a private dining room which is perfect for groups of 8 - 10 pax to hold function such as Formal Dining, Gathering, Birthday or etc.

Antoinette at Palais Renaissance

390 Orchard Road, Palais Renaissance,
B1-08/09/10C,
Reservations No.: +65 6735 6392

Operating Hours:
11.00am to 10.00pm daily (last order 9.30pm)


Lastly I would like to thank Hsian Ming (from Sixth Sense Communications and PR Consultancy Pte Ltd) and Chef Pang (Antoinette at Palais Renaissance) for this tasting invitation. For more photos of this tasting, you can click on Cuisine Paradise Facebook page HERE.

PrimaDéli's Celebrates Their 20th Anniversary With Monthly Promotions

Photo credited to "Word Of Mouth Communications Pte Ltd"

From now till 20th October 2012, PrimaDéli has lined up a series of monthly mouth‐watering promotions, such as “Scratch And Win” lucky draws, $20 Cakes, 1‐for‐1 deals and 20¢ Waffles to show appreciation and reward for their loyal customers.

So if you have missed out their July's 20 cents Waffle deal and S$20 Cakes, here is another upcoming promotion tomorrow Friday, 20 July 2012 on their 1-For-1 Egg Tarts @ S$1.30. And for your information on the 20th of every month (till October 2012), PrimaDéli’s 1‐For‐1 deal will enable you to enjoy their signature classics to the fuller.

Photo credited to "Word Of Mouth Communications Pte Ltd"

PrimaDeli Waffle Day: If you are a Waffle lover, don't forget on every 2nd Friday of each month (13 July, 10 August, 14 September, and 12 October), PrimaDeli's waffle will be selling at 20 cents each (usual price: S$1.30)! And it is limited to 100 plain waffles per outlet. (one plain waffle purchase per customer and the promotion starts at 2.00pm).

Photo credited to "Word Of Mouth Communications Pte Ltd"

On top of the cake and pastry promotions, their Hunt for the Golden Bun will be held from 15 Jun till 30 September 2012, to encourage customers to try out their new and improved recipe. And for every two golden buns purchased during this period, customers will receive one Scratch And Win card, which gives them one chance to win and redeem delectable PrimaDéli products instantly!

Moreover, customers who received the special “Golden Bun” ticket will receive a S$20.00 PrimaDéli voucher AND be eligible for the Golden Bun Grand Draw on 20 October 2012 at Causeway Point to win the following prizes:

~ 1st Prize: Osim uDivine (worth $5,488) + $100 PrimaDéli voucher

~ 2nd Prize: An iPad (worth $658) + $50 PrimaDéli voucher

~ 3rd Prize: Digital camera (worth $350) + $50 PrimaDéli voucher

~ 4th ‐ 20th Prizes: $100 PrimaDéli voucher

Ayam Buah Keluak And Deep-fried Buah Keluak Toast

Ayam Buah Keluak (黑果焖鸡) is a distinctive Peranakan dish combining chicken with Buah Keluak to produce a rich sauce which is sweet, spicy and sour. This key ingredient of this unique dish is "buah keluak (黑果)" which is not a common ingredients in Singapore. And to prepare this dish, you need extra effort on preparing the buah keluak (wash, soaked and remove the flesh), meat stuffing and rempah (spice paste) before you get to cook and enjoy this hearty dish.

Although my granny is a Peranakan, I did not really get to learn her secret recipes because she passed away during my teenage time. And moreover she only has a few signature dishes due to her busy timing. But despite of that, Ayam Buah Keluak is definitely one of her best shot which we all loved.

AYAM BUAH KELUAK

Finally with the help of my brother who visited Malacca recently, he managed to find and brought back some "processed (washed and cleaned)"  buah keluak from one of the eatery there. So using  those 20 pieces of "treasure" that he gave me, I decided to cook this popular Peranakan Dish.

Recipe adapted and modify from Famous Cuisine, May And June 2010 issue.

(Serves: 4 | Preparation: 30 minutes | Cooking: 30 minutes)

Ingredients A:
10 Buah Keluak (黑壳果)
1/2 Portion Chicken (600g), cut into pieces
2 Pieces Tamanrind Slices (亚参皮)
500ml Hot Water

Ingredients B:
200g Chicken Fillet
3 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms, soaked until soften
100g Shelled Prawns
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
5 Buah Keluak Flesh (黑果肉)

Ingredients C - Rempah:
20 Dried Chillies, soaked in hot water until soften
5 Buah Keluak Flesh (黑果肉)
2 Stalks Lemon Grass (香茅)
2cm Fresh Galangal (南姜)
2cm Fresh Ginger
2 Candlenuts
5 Garlic Cloves
5 Shallots

Method:-

1.Wash and clean the unprocessed "Buah Keluak", soak them in water for 3 days (change water daily).

2. Cut off a small opening on top of the shell, remove the flesh in it and set aside.

3. After which, rinse the empty shell and place it in a pot with water to cover it and bring to boil for 10 minutes. Next dish up, rinse and drain well before stuffing in the buah keluak paste mixture.

4. To make the fillings:- Blend all Ingredients (B) in the blender until it form a smooth paste, remove.

5. Stuff filling back into the cavity of the Buah Keluak shell till full. Set aside.

6. Heat up about 3 tablespoons of oil in frying pan, suate the blended Ingredients (C) until fragrant.

7. Add in chicken pieces and continue to fry until aromatic before putting in the stuffed "Buah Keluak", water and tamarind slices. Bring mixture to boil, add in 1/2 cube of chicken stock and simmer over low heat until chicken is cooked thorough and flavour has been absorbed (about 20 - 30 minutes).

8. Lastly, season with salt and sugar to taste. Remove from heat and serve hot with steamed white rice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Note:-

- You can get Buah Keluak in Singapore from Chinatown Market, Teka Market or Bukit Panjang Wholesale Centre.

~ If you or anyone going to Malacca, you can also easily get the "process" Buah Keluak from there.

DEEP-FRIED BUAH KELUAK TOAST

My inspiration for this "Deep-fried Buah Keluak Toast" comes from a similar snack which is available from My Peranakan Spice Box Restaurant, located at Toa Payoh Hub. Their Buah Keluak Toast is mainly made with soft buah keluak meat served on crunchy baguette which taste like Asian caviar on toast. Whereas for mine, I used the left over Buah Kelauk Chicken Paste from the dish above, spread it on some halved sandwich bread and deep-fried to achieve that crunchy texture similar to "prawn toast".

(Serves: 2   |        Preparation: 5 minutes     |       Cooking: 5 minutes)

Ingredients:
2 - 3 Slices of Sandwich Bread, halved
Some Buah Keluak Chicken Paste (80g), recipe above
1 Tablespoon Each of White And Black Sesame Seeds
Oil for deep frying

Method:-

1. Spread about 3/4 - 1 Tablespoon of the Buah Keluak Chicken Paste over the top of each slices of bread.

2. Hold the bread upside down (paste facing downward), coat it evenly with the sesame seeds mixture and set aside.

3. Preheat a pan with oil and deep-fried the bread over medium low heat until golden in colour and chicken paste is cooked through (about 2 minutes).

4. Drained well and serve warm plain or with chilli sauce.

There are a few ways to prepare this "Ayam Buah Keluak" dish depending on individual preference and taste. While preparing the stuffing you can use either pork, chicken or just the buah keluak flesh itself. And as for the gravy, you can simmer the mixture until it resemble "rendang" or quiet watery like normal chicken curry. But no matter which is your choice, I am sure you would love this appetizing dish which makes you crave for more.