Tiong Bahru Bakery by Gontran Cherrier @ Raffles City Shopping Centre, Singapore

I absolutely love sinking my teeth into golden, buttery, crisp brown pastries and to indulge in beautifully hand crafted cakes. All of this accompanied with a caffeine/sugar fix. Life certainly doesn't get any better than this.

Now, you ask, where can I get some bliss? Well, none other than at the famous Tiong Bahru Bakery!

Check out their wonderful array of pastries available. I mean, REALLY take a moment and stare at those buttery, well defined layers of goodness and imagine those sugary pieces of goodies straight out of heaven and into your mouth and stomach. I'm absolutely in love. Seriously, can't help but DROOL!

Fret not, for all you health freaks (or more politically correctly, health enthusiasts HAHA) Tiong Bahru Bakery does have healthier choices available as well..

Now, look at my loot for the day. Made me feel like Richie Rich, with all those valuables with me.

First up, Chocolate Almond Croissant (SGD 4.00) .. I loved this. I mean, anything with chocolate works right?

Chocolate Almond Croissant (SGD 4.00)

Something simpler. Less sweet but equally as buttery and fulfilling.

Almond Croissant (SGD 3.80)

Kouign Aman (SGD 4.00). This was a pleasant surprise. It looked simple, but the flavours were just impeccable. The thousand layers of the pastry complimented with a fine dose of sweetness just kept me going for more and more.

Kouign Aman (SGD 4.00)

Broiche Apple (SGD 4.20). I didn't fancy this at all. Compared to the rest, this was just like bread with apple and custard. Nothing extraordinary.

Broiche Apple (SGD 4.20)

Finished with a glass of Ice mocha. A cool drink to end a high calorific meal.

Ice Mocha (SGD 8.00)

Despite a slight guilty pang after the high fat consumption, I thought to myself, "Sometimes, it's just better to enjoy the wonderful delicacies available, and work hard after". We only get to live once right? So cherish every second of it and EAT UP!

Verdict: This isn't a restaurant, so you don't get a waiter serving you etc. So, don't just sit around and wait, go get your own cutleries. Overall, it was a fine lunch/tea break of whatever you feel like calling it. Not much of an ambiance though since it's located in the food court area. Perfect for a short break after a busy day out shopping at Raffles City!

Address: 252 North Bridge Road #B1-11/12 Singapore 179103

Tim Ho Wan @ Plaza Singapura, Orchard Road

Finally, I am HERE!

And I owe it to my friends. I have always wanted to try this place, but EACH and EVERY time I walk past, the queue spans 100 m long. Ok, I exaggerate but you get the picture! I'm hungry all the time (ok I exaggerate again) so queuing up an hour for food is not ideal! However, my guy friends so kindly offered to queue while I shopped! hehe. =). I took pictures of them lining up! heh. Note: this is during dinner time, we avoided the lunch and afternoon tea peak hour queue!

Honestly the menu wasn't very vast. I am the type of person that prefers tons of selections.

However, one thing good about having less variety is the fact that their SPECIAL dishes are indeed delicious. Check out their Baked BBQ pork bun! Between 5 of us, we had 3 plates of it and trust me, it wasn't enough! When it was placed on the table, we were filled with awe. The aroma was just so captivating, I wanted to instantly dig into it. And believe me, I would have, but... ASIAN MODE ON, so pictures first!

Baked BBQ Pork Bun

The inside. The sweet, buttery outer crust wonderfully complimented the inner savoury, juicy porky goodness. Wow, I am in love. Eat when HOT!

A dim sum must have, siu mai! Nothing to fault here. Filled with big juicy pieces of shrimp topped with a nice touch, chinese Goji berries (great for eyes)! Just your typical siu mai!

Siu Mai

Moving on to Har Gou aka prawn dumplings. Pleasant to taste as well. The translucence and texture of the pastry was great.

Prawn Dumplings

Next up, pork spare ribs with black bean sauce. Certainly lacking in colour and taste. Having stayed in Melbourne for a good part of my life and being spoiled with some excellent pork spare ribs, this certainly fell short of the 'required' standard.  However, still Ok!

Black Bean Pork Spare Ribs

These dumplings were just odd to me. The filling had some sort of herbs that didn't sit well with my taste buds. The bad thing was we had three serves of it, and NO ONE WANTED SECONDS. I volunteered to finish it. A big waste of stomach space if you ask me.

We had glutinous rice as well! Quite liked it actually, perfectly cooked, well seasoned rice, nothing gooey about it.

Pan Fried turnip cake - a dim sum must have too! Would have loved it if it had more dried prawns and lap cheong! heh. =)

Pan Fried Turnip Cake

This dumplings with spicy sauce dish is definitely a pleasant surprise. Different to the usual dim sum dishes which actually comes with a broth. However, the broth could do with a bit more sour pang to it just to give it some OOMPH. But wow, be warned, see those small chilli pieces in this dish, they are extremely SPICY!! Keep your eyes peeled open for those little killers if you don't fancy spiciness!

Dumplings with Spicy Sauce

However, you can cool down with their barley drink. Not too sweet. A great accompaniment to a rather meaty and oily dinner.

Barley Drink

Finally, end the night with a refreshingly cold and soft dessert - Osmanthus jelly. Healthy too (I think)!

Osmanthus Jelly

To sum it up,

Ratings: 

Ambience: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Food: 7.5/10

Overall ratings: 7.5/10

Verdict: Loved the BBQ pork bun, would definitely head back for more. However, the long queue might be a deterrent. The seating are honestly pretty tight but with Singapore congested as it is, you can't really expect that much space to yourself! The price is affordable, leaning towards the high side though (approx 25 bucks per person). However, just splurge and enjoy! 

Address: Plaza Singapura - 68 Orchard Road #01-29A Plaza Singapura Singapore 238839

Opening hours: 

10 am to 10 pm (Mon -Fri)

9 am to 10 pm (Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday)

Slappy Cakes @ Turf Club Road, Singapore

My friends and I were walking around, undecided on a place to eat. Our group of friends always face this problem- WHAT to eat? In Singapore where we basically can have any cuisine we want, surprisingly, the variety of choices makes it harder to come to a decision. Do you face this type of problem too?

Anyway, while walking, two friends spotted Slappy Cakes and they couldn't contain themselves. I guess I have friends who are pancake fanatics. Immediately they wanted to go in despite others saying its weird to have pancakes for lunch. Since savoury is the way to go. Anyway, I was proven wrong. Who says we can't have sweets for lunch?

Look at that crowd! So many fans out there. Anyway, while reading the menu, I realised that one can have other things besides pancakes like their big breakfast or something. But well, since the place is called slappy cakes, I guess we should stick to what they do best!

This is how you do it. First select the type of batter you want.

Then, choose from a variety of fixings (as they put it), from savoury to sweet.

And pick your topping..

After a lot of deliberation, we finally settled for blueberries, hazelnuts, mango jam, white chocolate chips and mushrooms with three different batters - wholegrain, buttermilk and chocolate!

Now, let the cooking begin, unleash your inner most creative spirit and make any type/kind of pancake you wish!

Ready set GO!

All the  pictures below were the extent of our creativity. Below I give you, the sneak peak into the mind of a mid twenty year old.

It got better..

On the top left hand corner, its a double chocolate pancake. Chocolate batter with chocolate chips. Tasted like soft chocolate chip cookies .. mm. =)

Below is a mixture of batters (buttermilk and wholemeal) topped with blueberries.. This was yummy too and please the eye.

By the way, for the savoury pancakes, after adding the mushrooms, remember to add in tiny bit of salt and pepper! Brings out the flavour better.

Overall, the batter was great, fluffy and not 'cakey' at all. The only critique I had was that the hazelnuts were not properly toasted, it was a bit 'lao hong' (for those that understand chinese).

It was a FUN FUN experience. Even those bad at cooking can make great pancakes at slappy cakes! Its a great place to bring your kids out and let them be mini chefs for the day!

Check out their facebook page. Just google slappy cakes and the link will pop out!

It costs around 8 bucks per person between a group of 5. A side note - definitely won't be craving pancakes anytime soon. Had an overdose of it in a day! Around 10? Now I understand why I'm round, round like a pancake. =)

Ratings: 

Ambience: 7/10

Service: 6/10

Food: 8/10

Overall ratings: 7.5/10

Verdict: Great place to hang out. Batter was great. However, the service could do with a major improvement. Had to ask for water 4 times before it finally came! Anyway, those who enjoy pancakes, what are you waiting for?! Go and have a cakey time! =))

Address: 200 Turf Club Road, #01-20/21 Singapore 287994

Contact No: 6465 1814

Krispy Kreme in Singapore

Wow. I knew Krispy Kreme was famous but I didn't think it would fetch such a crowd since I figured the health food craze wins it all. But, I guess not.

Having lived in Melbourne for quite awhile, I had Krispy Kreme whenever I want it (slightly exaggerating here). However, in Singapore, it's a total different story. For those who love doughnuts and are unaware of this, well, be excited as the first Krispy Kreme chain store just opened on the 12th of October 2013 right here in Orchard road, Singapore.

On the opening day, there's a sign right outside Tangs as shown below which says - LINE STARTS HERE.

And on the inside, it says.

Unbelievable! The queue was so long that it had to be continued outside. Honestly, I have never seen such a long queue before unless those queuing up for a concert or something, but not for fast food.

Seriously impressed having come from a small Kuching city where Baskin Robbins just opened and even then, the queue wasn't as long as this.

Guess what time the queue started forming?

Answer: On Friday morning at approximately 11.42 am. Please bear in mind that the store was only due to open the next day at 9 am.

The queue inside..

Behold, the various selection of doughnuts. I personally prefer the original ones. I couldn't get close up shots as that means I will have to queue up! And boy, I was not prepared to do so since I have had them before =P.

Anyway, look at those boxes! Hopefully, for those that queued that day, they left satisfied.

What's my opinion on Krispy Kreme? Well, as I am indeed getting older in age, I find it quite overwhelmingly sweet some times. But they are good doughnuts, denser than the rest but tasty at the same time with LOADS of different flavours to choose from.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Next on the list, pancakes time!

Manchester Press @ Rankins Lane, Melbourne

This place is quite hidden... but once u spot the man, you can find the place. Find the hidden man below along Rankins lane.