Christmas Is On With Starbucks' Red Cups

You can't help but feel Christmas in the air when you see Starbucks' red cups replacing their traditional white and green.

Christmas is probably the only season where I start drinking more coffee than usual. That's because this is the only time when Starbucks' offers their super delicious Peppermint Mocha. I <3 their Peppermint Mocha, hot or cold it doesn't matter. I now always associate Christmas with it.

Mushroom Risotto @ The Marmalade Pantry

Truffled Field Mushroom Risotto

And once again, a risotto dish to review.

My main reason for heading to The Marmalade Pantry was for their red velvet cupcakes. Unfortunately, I went there too late (dinnertime) that they ran out of most of their cupcake selection. So that would have to be for another time.

Since we were already there, we decided to just have our dinner at the same place. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they served mushroom risotto (pictured above) or what they call the Truffled Field Mushroom Risotto (S$22).

Overall, the dish was good. Risotto cooked perfectly as well as a generous serving and variety of mushrooms. There was truffle but I could not distinguish the taste from the other flavors. Not sure if that's how it's supposed to be.

Since I've tried a somewhat similar dish from Jones the Grocer, I could not help but compare. I prefer the version from Jones the Grocer. I think it could be because the mushrooms were chopped up in Jones the Grocer's version unlike the one from The Marmalade Pantry.

Having the mushrooms whole seemed to give me a different flavor with every bite. This is because for me, each kind of mushroom tastes different from another. Sometimes one spoonful of the dish was just a piece of mushroom. Yes, maybe I could have sliced or chopped them all up but somehow that defeats the authenticity of a risotto dish. For Jones the Grocer's version, the mushrooms were chopped up and mixed in with the risotto. It made each different mushroom taste less powerful and blended well together overall. It gave the dish a consistency with its flavor.

My friend had their Oriental Grilled King Salmon (S$24) with soba and scallions (pictured below). The verdict was good so maybe I'll try this the next time I drop by. Hopefully with a red velvet cupcake for dessert.

Oriental Grilled King Salmon with soba and scallions

P.S. Serving size of the salmon dish was kind of small considering its price. They could have plated a bigger slice of salmon or served two pieces of the same size.

The Marmalade Pantry
Unit 03-22
Orchard Ion
2 Orchard Turn
Singapore 238801


telephone 6734 2700
facsimile 6734 2279
tmp@marmaladegroup.com
www.themarmaladepantry.com

Mango Desserts @ Honeymoon Dessert

Mango Glutinous Dumpling

Mango Glutinous Dumpling (inside)

I've posted about Honeymoon Dessert before here. This time I brought my friend to try it out and we ended up ordering everything mango. 

Just like before, I ordered the Mango Sago and Mango Pomelo & Sago Sweet Soup. Along with that, we had their Mango Glutinous Dumpling and Mango Fresh Milk Iced. 

The Mango Glutinous Dumpling (pictured above) was the best. It had a generous slice of mango inside the coconut-covered glutinous ball. The fresh and cold mango was just perfect. We wanted to eat the dumplings one after the other. This is definitely something I will order again the next time I go back.

As for the Mango Fresh Milk Iced (pictured below), it was good. Simply fresh milk with mango slices, mango juice and crushed iced. Very like a traditional mango shake but more ice-y and less creamy.

Mango Fresh Milk Iced

Honeymoon Dessert

1 Harbourfront Walk

Unit #01-93, Vivo City

Singapore 098585

www.honeymoon-dessert.com

Old Southern Red Velvet Cake @ Food For Thought

And this is the reason why I ventured out of my usual "lunch zone" -- Food For Thought's Old Southern Red Velvet Cake.

Ever since I tried Stefanie's Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory, I've been trying to find all things red velvet in Singapore -- cupcakes, cakes, cheesecakes, it doesn't matter. I want to find the best one so when my red velvet craving hits, I know where to get me some.

According to their menu:

3-layered cherry cocoa vanilla pound cake slathered all over with a lemon cream cheese icing

So here's my short review: the cake was good but not great. It might have been the pound cake that lacked a little flavor, I don't know. It just didn't get me to finish one slice and buy another. Believe me, I had planned to buy a slice to take home. I ended up having more than half of the slice packed up in a to-go bag.

Maybe it wasn't freshly baked? Sat in their display cooler for more than a day? I was disappointed, I didn't find the cake I was looking/hoping for.

But fear not! I have a couple more options to try out: Room For Dessert and Marmalade Pantry (cupcakes!). I hope I find something better there.

Do you know of any other place that serves red velvet desserts? Do let me know.

Food For Thought - North Bridge
420 North Bridge Road
North Bridge Centre #01-06
T: +65 6338 8724
E: eat@foodforthought.com.sg (reservations and inquiries)
W: www.foodforthought.com.sg

Opening Hours: Mon - Sat 10a.m. - 10p.m.
Kitchen Opening Hours: 11.30a.m. - 2.30 p.m. (lunch) and 5.30p.m. - 9p.m. (dinner)

Garlic Prawn Pasta @ Food For Thought

I found this quaint little cafe from an online search of red velvet cakes in Singapore (that's a separate post). One of their branches was near my office -- a little further away from our lunch area but thought it was worth a try.

I was there expressly for their supposedly great red velvet cakes so I didn't really know what their lunch menu was. They had a lot of choices with several semi-vegetarian options like their Grilled Vegetable Medley sandwich, Shiitake Mushrooms pasta, Garlic, Thyme and Roasted Tomato pasta, and more. I, predictably, chose their Garlic Prawn pasta.

The dish was served in a wooden plate (side comment: slightly unstable serving dish that it wobbled especially when I was trying to slice or spear something) with a side salad of greens and cubed tomatoes. The side salad could have been better with more vinaigrette dressing but fresh enough ingredients to save itself. The pasta was slightly overdone for me but the taste was wonderful. Just enough garlic and spices to not be overwhelming and with a good amount of prawns served along the pasta. Though for a price of S$16.90, the serving size could have been more.

Take note, while the cafe is open until 10pm, their kitchen closes at 2:30pm for lunch and 9pm for dinner (FYI, their other branch's kitchen is open all day, see hours below). The rest of the time, you can only have drinks and desserts.

Overall, I would definitely drop by Food For Thought again. I will definitely visit their Queen Street branch because it has a wider menu selection. They have risotto! 'Nuff said.

Food For Thought @ North Bridge

Food For Thought - North Bridge
420 North Bridge Road
North Bridge Centre #01-06
T: +65 6338 8724
E: eat@foodforthought.com.sg (reservations and inquiries)
W: www.foodforthought.com.sg

Opening Hours: Mon - Sat 10a.m. - 10p.m.
Kitchen Opening Hours: 11.30a.m. - 2.30 p.m. (lunch) and 5.30p.m. - 9p.m. (dinner)

Food For Thought - Queen Street
8 Queen Street
T: +65 6338 9887
F: +65 6338 1080
E: omnomnom@foodforthought.com.sg (reservations and inquiries)
W: www.foodforthought.com.sg

Opening Hours: Mon - Sat 9a.m. - 10p.m. (Last orders from kitchen 8.50p.m.)
Sun 9a.m. - 9p.m. (Last orders from kitchen 7.30p.m.)

Salmon Steak Sukiyaki/Shabu Shabu @ Sho Teppan

Friday night dinner was a good but exhausting kind. My friend and I ended up at ION Orchard after work and on a Friday night most restaurants had queues a mile long -- okay, I exaggerate but most of them had at least a 15 minute wait. We chose the one with the shortest queue and that's how we wound up at Sho Teppan.

According to their business card, their tag line is "D.I.Y. Teppanyaki". The menu consisted of two parts - teppanyaki (grill or dry) and sukiyaki / shabu shabu (soup based). Both sets have similar food items from wagyu beef to mixed seafood to sliced pork.

I had their salmon steak (of course!) in shabu shabu style. For the shabu shabu style, you can choose to have it with either rice or udon. Along with the rice or udon, each set comes with a vegetables (assorted greens, carrots, mushrooms and tofu), salad and raw egg. The raw egg is supposed to be your dipping sauce. Their menu said that it helps tone down the heat from your cooked meat. That didn't seem to appetizing for me so I asked their staff what else I can do with the egg. They told me that you can choose to mix it in your soup. Now that seemed like the better option.

Overall, the food was okay. The best thing about it was the soup - tasty and bottomless (they add more as it evaporates due to the cooking). The salmon was cooked in the boiling soup but it wasn't as tasty. Not pre-marinated with anything. The salad was just more lettuce, a cherry tomato and weird looking dressing. The worst thing? The heat and steam coming from cooking your own meal. Not very comfortable I tell you. But then, that's the attraction isn't it? You don't really come for the food but for the novelty of it.

The salad, the udon and the raw egg. Bow.

My salmon (I must say it was a generous serving) and my friend's assorted seafood.

Sho Teppan

2 Orchard Turn

#B3-19 ION Orchard

Singapore 238801

T: 6509 9969

www.creativeeateries.com.sg

Assorted Mushrooms @ Beerthai House Restaurant

It's a Meatless Monday for me! And I find myself at Beerthai House Restaurant once again.

Over the weekend I read an article from PETA called Top 10 Reasons Not to Eat Shrimp. That title really grabbed my attention because if you've read my previous entries you would know I love shrimp and prawns. They are actually one of the reasons why I decided to go pescetarian instead of vegetarian. The #8 reason listed on the article was the worst for me. They called it "cholesterol bombs" -- with a whopping 152 milligrams of cholesterol per 100-gram serving of shrimp (four or five shrimp), just two servings would put you over the daily recommended allowance of 300 milligrams of cholesterol!

And right there is my other reason for giving up meat. Cholesterol is so my enemy. So for now, it will be strict moderation for me. And to start that off, I went for a Meatless Monday lunch at Beerthai House Restaurant.

I ordered their Assorted Mushrooms (S$10-12) dish which was simply different kinds of mushrooms sauteed with garlic and enoki or golden mushrooms deep fried in batter (the one in the flour cup). There were button mushrooms, shiitake, crimini and more I did not recognize. Along with the mushrooms were slices of carrots and placed over a bed of Chinese broccoli. Overall it was a light and simple dish and definitely something I'd order again.

Beerthai House Restaurant
Golden Mile Complex #01-96
5001 Beach Road, (S)199588
Tel: 63922491

Kakiage Soba @ Sushi Tei

After a day a hot day on the beach and cold hour in a movie theatre, nothing beats a good bowl of Japanese soba.

My friend and I decided to have Japanese for dinner at Sushi Tei in VivoCity. I had tried this restaurant ages ago but never went back. Not because of the food but because of the long queue it always seems to have -- which is supposedly a good sign when dining in Singapore. I say supposedly because some restaurants with long queues I don't like. Oh well, to each his own.

I ordered their Kakiage Soba (S$10) which is basically soba noodles in soya sauce soup with a side of fried vegetables and prawn patty. The soba noodles in soya sauce was good but the kakiage was too dry and floury for me. When you order this dish, you can actually choose between soba, ramen or udon. Each noodle gives you a different soup: miso or pork-based. Since I don't like miso and well, pork you know I can't have -- left me with the choice of soba.

And of course when in a Japanese restaurant, who can resist a plate of salmon sashimi. Sushi Tei's was very fresh and generously sized.

Sushi Tei
VivoCity
1 Harbour Front Walk
#02-152/153 VivoCity
Singapore 098585
www.sushitei.com

Telephone +65 6376 9591
Facsimile +65 6376 9592


Opening Hours
11.30am to 10.00pm daily
(last order 9.30pm)

Cafe del Mar

Cafe del Mar
Sentosa Island
40 Siloso Beach Walk
Singapore 098996
T: 6235 1296
www.cafedelmar.com.sg


Open Mon-Thu, Sun 11am-11pm; Fri-Sat 11am-2am

Mushroom Risotto @ Jones the Grocer

I've heard about Jones the Grocer before but never had the chance to try it. With a friend visiting from out of town, it was the perfect time to drop by their Mandarin Gallery branch.

I perused their menu but the minute I saw the words risotto, you know I had to get it. I had their Mushroom Risotto while my friend had their Jones Wagyu Beef Burger (S$26.50). We also had their Carrot Cake and Strawberry Shortcake to finish off the meal (pictures below).

Their Mushroom Risotto (S$25.50) was delicious. The risotto was perfectly cooked and topped with freshly sliced parmesan cheese. Side note: they are supposedly famous for their fromagerie and tapas. Anyway, my only minus point for the mushroom risotto dish was I thought it had too much onion mixed in. But maybe that's just me since I am not a big fan of onions.

Now for the desserts, it was both lovely and perfect. The carrot cake was moist and the frosting was sweet and delicious. The strawberry shortcake was very light but tasty. I am not a fan of the strawberry fruit but the cake and frosting were excellent.

Overall, Jones the Grocer has nice ambience for small gatherings among girlfriends while you gossip over artisan cheese and yummy main courses. It also has a bakery beside the cafe which I may go back and try.

Jones Wagyu Beef Burger

Carrot Cake

Strawberry Shortcake

Jones the Grocer
333A Orchard Road
Level 4 #21-23 Mandarin Gallery
Singapore, 238897 Tel: +65 6836 6372
e-mail: mandaringallery@jonesthegrocer.com
www.jonesthegrocer.com


Trading Hours:
Monday - Sunday
9:00am – 11:00pm

Louisiana Prawns @ White Dog Cafe

This dish is called Louisiana Prawns (S$12.90). Not entirely sure why the "Louisiana" in the name.

It was basically 6 good-sized prawns in butter and herb sauce with a side of greens, cubed carrots and one roasted potato. The prawns were good, juicy and flavored well. The butter and herb sauce was a good complement to the prawns.

The downside to the entire dish? The roasted potato. It was dry and looked like it was cooked or "roasted" hours before I ordered the dish. When I sliced it open, you can immediately see that it wasn't freshly cooked. If they didn't want to waste time roasting potatoes, they would have been better off accompanying this dish with mashed potatoes instead. At least that would keep well.

Overall though it was a good enough dish. The place also had a good selection of other dishes like steaks and pasta.

White Dog Cafe
1 Harbourfront Walk
Unit #02-131/132 VivoCity
Singapore 098585

Mango Sago @ Honeymoon Dessert

One Saturday at VivoCity, a friend from Beijing decided I needed to try some authentic Chinese desserts. We find a small but bustling place in the mall called Honeymoon Dessert.

They offered a lot of options some of which I felt shouldn't be considered as "desserts". For me desserts should be sweet, cold, fruity or creamy. I avoided anything that was hot or anything that had bean, potato, tofu or ginger in it.

I ended up ordering the very safe Mango Sago (right) while my friend ordered the Mango Pomelo & Sago Sweet Soup (left). Right off, let me just say that both were delicious.

The Mango Sago was just like the Pinoy version of it except for the fact that one serving had half a mango instead of cubes or balls. I really appreciated the generous serving plus thankful that this mango was sweet and ripe. The Mango Pomelo & Sago Sweet Soup was just like the Mango Sago but with additional ingredients of  pomelo and coconut milk.

I would definitely go back to Honeymoon Dessert for another serving of their Mango Sago but it'll be a long time before I try my hand on the other "desserts". Desserts are priced from S$3.50 to S$8.50.

Honeymoon Dessert
1 Harbourfront Walk
Unit #01-93, Vivo City
Singapore 098585
www.honeymoon-dessert.com

Swiss Rosti @ Marché

According to Wiki:

Rösti (often spelled Röschti in Swiss German) is a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes. It was originally a common breakfast eaten by farmers in the canton of Bern, but today is eaten all over Switzerland and also in many restaurants in the Western World.

One such restaurant is the Swiss restaurant Marché. One of my favorite places to eat due to its variety particularly in yummy seafood choices and desserts.

Everytime I visit this place, I always end up getting the same dish. The Swiss Rosti. It's just a simple dish - grated potatoes fried on a skillet. Nothing really special about it but I find it really hearty. A plain rosti is served with sour cream but you can choose any of the "set meals" they offer with a selection of sausages.

For this trip, other than the rosti I ordered their calamari and had chocolate mousse for dessert. Take note that the calamari is best shared since the serving size is big. As for the chocolate mousse, it was delicious.

Marché
1 Harbourfront Walk
Unit 03/14 VivoCity
Singapore 098585
T: 6376 8226
F: 6376 8227
www.marche-restaurants.com

Gindara Terriyaki @ Sangokai Japanese Restaurant

After weeks of Beerthai, Astons and Subway, my lunch buddy and I ventured out away from our regular haunts. We walked a few more blocks from the office as usual and discover this quaint Japanese restaurant called Sangokai.

I ordered their Gindara Terriyaki and a side dish of salmon sashimi. The gindara, although small in serving size, was very tasty and fresh. I had to portion the fish well or else I'd be eating only rice for the second half of my meal.

The salmon sashimi (pictured below) was also very good. Really, unless you serve bad fish, you can't go wrong with sashimi. One serving, for $3.80, had three thick slices of fresh salmon. Good enough serving size for a side dish.

Sangokai Japanese Restaurant
327 Beach Road
Singapore 199560
Tel: 6396 7009
Fax: 6396 7010
www.sangokai.com.sg

Seafood Green Curry Rice @ Beerthai House Restaurant

Another lunch post brought to you by Beerthai House. :-)

This time I ordered their Green Curry Rice, seafood of course. You can also get this with chicken. The seafood were prawns, fish balls and squid. It also had some greens and red chilies. The rice was mixed in green curry sauce perfectly - not too soupy. Pretty spicy but very good. Can I just say how much I like how they serve their rice dishes? Pretty rice pyramids.

For this trip to Beerthai, we also ordered their Seafood Tom Yum soup. For some reason, this time around it was really, really, REALLY spicy.

Beerthai House Restaurant
Golden Mile Complex #01-96
5001 Beach Road, (S)199588
Tel: 63922491

Cucumber and Tomato Salad - Home Cooked

Whenever I didn't like anything served on the table, this dish has always been a life saver for me (and the cook, and my mom... I think I may be a tad spoiled).

It's very simple. Traditionally -- at least in our home, it's just cucumber sliced with vinegar. But for this time, I had some fresh tomatoes too good to pass up. So, you slice up the cucumber into thin slices or thick, it depends on you. I personally love them paper thin. Put them in a bowl. Slice or in this case, I cubed the tomatoes and put them together with the sliced cucumbers in a bowl. Put the mixed ingredients into the refrigerator to cool. Just before you serve the dish, pour vinegar over it and sprinkle a dash of salt to taste or not, up to you. And that's it. Like I said, simple.

This is what I served with the salad. A nice cup of steaming white rice and sweet corn on the cob. The corn was also fresh so I couldn't resist adding it to the meal. Is it a weird combination? :-)