Privé Bakery & Cafe

Daphne brought me here for dessert and I have to say it was a very good choice. It wasn't very crowded on a Wednesday night, and we had part of the cafe all to ourselves. I've read all about Privé on Ladyironchef, which I have to say is the best food blog in Singapore (beautiful pictures and nicely written food reviews) and which I read quite regularly myself. So I was delighted to hear that this was where Daphne was bringing me (she point, I drive) and it was a nice place to wrap up a simply lovely birthday.


Privé is divided into three parts - the restaurant, the bar, and the cafe. It offers al-fresco dining with a good view of the yacht bay and bridge, with soft music playing in the background to calm your nerves as you enjoy your food and drinks. The seating outside did look really comfy (see "Waterfront Bar" in Prive's website here), but so was the interior with its cushion seats on the sides.


If you're looking for a new chill-out place that's away from the bustle of the city and would give you a quieter atmosphere just perfect for conversations, Privé may just be the next best place for that.

Espresso Macchiato


I wanted something to freshen me up, so there you go!

Frangelico Ice-Cream Profiteroles: 8.8/10


The last time I had profiteroles was at Au Petit Salut Bistro at Holland Village, and those weren't exactly impressive. These profiteroles from Privé however were simply delightful, simply because they had all the things I like - well-baked pastry, ice-cream, caramelised nuts and (special Vairhona) chocolate sauce. I'd say it again: this dessert is simply delightful!

Rich Chocolate Cake: 8/10


Daphne: "I think the chocolate cake is really rich, but it goes very well with the crispy chocolate ball bits.. Definitely satisfying with every forkful!"

Service
Excellent, friendly and attentive.

Price
$4.20 for the espresso macchiato
$10.00 for the frangelico profiteroles
$6.80 for a slice of the rich chocolate cake

*Prices subject to the usual 7% GST and 10% service chrage.

Place
2 Keppel Bay Vista; Marina at Keppel Bay
Near Keppel Bay Tower. Entrance before and beside The Casuarina Condo at Keppel Bay.

Additional Comments
Operating Hours: 9am to midnight (last order 11pm)

Al Dente Trattoria

Happy Birthday.......... to ME! *Smiles*

Daphne was very attracted to the idea of rooftop dining and brought me here for my birthday. The view's really pretty good, so as long as you keep your head towards the skyscrapers and a bit of the waterfront, and not the up-and-coming integrated resorts. It's especially good for couply pictures like this one:


Truth be told, we did not spend more than ten minutes on the rooftop because it was a tad too humid, so we went downstairs (air-conditioning!) to have our dinner instead. The staffs were very polite and attentive indeed, and it's quite surprising really, considering how this place has taken quite a beating from harsh critics on the Hungrygowhere forum. If we had to rate service, it would be a nine or even full marks for us.

Complimentary Bread Basket




Linguini con frutti di mare: 7.5/10


"Linguini in white wine ragout with tiger prawn, baby clam, mussel and fresh basil". This was good, I liked the generous serving of clams all around the pasta and the white win ragout was really nice. The one thing that I was pointing out from the time the food was served till now is... the size of the "tiger prawn"! Perhaps they ran out of tiger prawns, but three small sized prawns is just too little. I didn't want to kick up a fuss, so I ate it anyway. I've read that some people have complained about the pasta texture but I think it's fine, to be honest I think they may have little idea what "al dente" is when they stepped into this restaurant! Add chilli flakes for that extra taste!

Tortellini di formaggi e di pomodoro essicato al sole: 7.7/10


"Tortellini of farm ewe cheese and sun dried tomato, chipolata sausage in chicken jus reduction". Daphne liked this a lot, I didn't exactly though. I have to say this dish is quite an "acquired taste", and you've really got to like your cheese and cream to like this one. The rating above is hers, I would put it way below five, but as you can see taste really is just subjective. Daphne says, "Don't underestimate the six pieces of house-made cheesy pasta. It looks little, but it's very filling!"

Service
As I've mentioned above, the service was really very good. Perhaps the forumers on Hungrygowhere did have a less than pleasant experience previously, but it's possible that Al Dente Trattoria is slowly, but surely, taking steps to do something about it.

Price
$26.00 for the seafood linguini
$28.00 for the tortellini

*Prices subject to the usual 7% GST and 10% service charge.

Place
The Esplanade, #01-13.

Tiffany Cafe and Restaurant @ Furama City Centre II

I was here again with my family and Daphne, and even before we arrived I was already talking about how I was hoping that there wouldn't be any greedy people trying to snatch the chilli crabs away from me. So you can imagine how I felt when I realised that there weren't any crabs around, not even on the cold dishes!

Tiffany Cafe isn't known for its variety, but it does try to make up for this with its quality. I gave them a very favourable rating in my previous visit here, but I must admit that yesterday's dinner didn't meet my expectations. If I really had to give a score, it would be a 7, and this is considering that I'm already being generous and giving them a bit of a room for having an off-night. In fact, there aren't that many favourable reviews on this place, and it actually averages a mere 5.8 on the Hungrygowhere forums. It is one out of three Halal hotel buffets in Singapore (very very limited I know), but if you're really looking for quality and variety, I would suggest you go to Carousel instead. I heard that the dinner there is even better than it's already impressive high tea.

Here are some of the pictures of the plates on our table:


Roast beef slices, turkey breast and grilled teriyaki chicken


Grilled teriyaki chicken, roast beef slices, "daging masak merah", black pepper prawns and honey glazed chicken


Fried kway teow, butter dory (with added chilli), stir-fried vegetables, black pepper prawns and mussels


DIY spaghetti, with different choices of pasta and ingredients


Cantonese-style rice with mock meat and sausages



Pastries


Ice-Cream

Here's a list of some of the food on offer:

* Salads
* Mushroom soup
* Sashimi
* Cold dishes - prawns, squids and mussels
* Spaghetti
* Fried Kway Teow
* Daging masak merah
* Butter cream dory
* Roast beef slices
* Black pepper prawns
* Honey glazed chicken
* Grilled teriyaki chicken
* Turkey breast
* Cantonese-style rice with mock meat
* Stir-fried vegetables
* Durian custard or pengat
* Creme brulee
* Assorted pastries
* Chocolate fondue
* Ice-cream

Honestly, the dishes here need revising and the range needs to be extended. Tiffany should realise that it has a potentially sizeable market by being one of the very, very few high-end places that cater to Muslim diners, and it has to do more to attract them rather than see them head to Carousel or Sakura International Buffet. I'd be glad to do another review for them if they're really committed to improve, especially since this blog actually comes up top for a google search on "Tiffany Cafe at Furama"!

Service
You know what I don't like? I don't like walking into a hotel restaurant and be asked, "Ni yao bing shui mah? (Would you like iced water?)" I know I know, it's been on the papers these days about "Speak More Mandarin, Less Dialect". Here's a better suggestion: stop confusing people about taking up Mandarin and being proficient in English as well, focus on the latter. And if you want to take Chinese nationals as your service crew, make sure they speak good English as well.

On a Saturday night, Tiffany Cafe seems understaffed as well, with just about two-three waitresses for the whole restaurant. At Carousel, you've got a staff, sometimes two, to every five tables or so. And it's odd because the Tiffany waiters were also very polite and attentive when I was here previously. Something needs to be done.

Price
$38.80++

15% for Safra card members
20% for Citibank Visa cards

Place
60 Eu Tong Sen Street
2/F Furama City Centre

Additional Comment
Certified Halal.

Barcelos: Flame Grilled Chicken

It really seems like typical Western fare to me, but yes it does have its origins in South Africa. I have to admit I was thinking it's probably Spanish or Mexican at first. Some people tend to compare Barcelos to Kenny Rogers, as did some of my friends who came here with me.


The space in Barcelos is quite small, but the booth seats are very comfortable if you ask me. You've got a good view of the children's playground, so be warned that you may be seeing stark naked kids running across the window while you're enjoying your chicken.

Garlic Bread



Double Beef Burger: 7.3/10


I liked the beef burger, even if it's quite simple and may not exactly have any special x-factor to it. One thing: it could really do with more fries, which were really potatoey good!


The patties aren't very thick on their own though, so part of the "beefy" feel to the burger is missing. I guess that's why you would need double patties to make up for it. I chose the "Veri Peri" pepper sauce, which fitted nicely and wasn't too spicy. And oh, you would have to pay an additional $0.75 for the cheese though, which I really think shouldn't be separated from the burger in the first place!

Twin Chicken Skewers: 7/10


Daphne liked the fries a lot too, and added that the garden salad was very fresh. The skewers were alright, but I think she "spoilt" parts of it near the end because she was pouring out the "Supa Peri" sauce on them, only to find that it's far too salty for her liking. Our advice? Stick to "Veri Peri".

Half Chicken Meal: 7.5/10


It's not easy satisfying Justin's hunger, but I think this half of a chicken did the job. The waiter was a tad amused too, because he had asked Justin if he was planning to share it with someone but realised that this wasn't so.


I think the chicken was grilled pretty well, and the marinate deserves top marks. It might have been better though if the breast meat was a little less dry and had more of the marinate. I have to admit that the price of the chicken is quite on the high side however, and not everyone would be willing to pay $22.95 for this.

Quarter Chicken Meal


Kimberly had this, a bit charred on some ends as you can tell. I really think a bit more sauce/marinate cooked with the chicken would be good, rather than just pouring it out from the bottles placed on the tables.

Kim: I expected the meat to be dry. Was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be moisty, flavourful and tasty (although perhaps a tad too salty). The "veri peri" sauce did not have much of a kick to it, and I would recommend trying the super spicy one instead. Portion was just right (or maybe I was hungry), seems to be slightly pricy but otherwise muy contento (very satisfied).

*Thanks Kimberly, I think it's really nice of you to prepare your own review. More next time ya, appreciate it much! =)

Service
Good.

Price


$13.45 for the double beef burger
$0.75 for a slice of cheese to go with the burger
$12.95 for the twin chicken skewers
$22.95 for the half chicken meal
$12.95 for the quarter chicken meal
$2.95 for refillable soft drinks

For more of the menu, click here.

Place
Vivo City, #2-91/93.

Botak Jones II

It's funny how my friends and family have gotten so used to me stopping them from plunging their forks or chopsticks (or bare hands) into their food before I could take pictures of them (the food, not the people). This time, I was having dinner with some of the friends I made when I was in Hong Kong, and we chose Botak Jones simply because it's located close to school.

Fish and Chips: 6.7/10


I would give more than an 8 for the spicy fries, but the fish meanwhile failed to impress. I felt that the fillet was too thin and the batter made its surface a tad too rough for my liking. Next time, I'll just stick to the burgers heh.


This is Liyana's fish and chips, though instead of a double serving of fries like mine she opted for a single serving and a huge glob of potato salad.

Mini-Me Fish and Chips


Almost half the size, almost half the price.

The Botak Burger


The Botak Burger with pasta salad and cheese potato. The girls were busy picking at Shereen's cheese potato, and from their expressions I could tell that they liked it much more than the potato salad which didn't look nor taste appetising.

Cajun Chicken


Hungry Ce Zheng had a large-sized cajun chicken. Doesn't come with the Heineken beer in the background, just in case you're wondering.

Sirloin Steak


Pretty good picture taken by Zaveed of his dinner. He went for a double serving of fries, just like I did.

Service
Good.

Price
$7.00 for the fish and chips
$4.00 for the mini fish and chips
$8.50 for the botak burger and two sides
$14.00 for a large cajun chicken
$12.80 for a sirloin steak

For more of the menu, click here.

Place
Block 325 Clementi Ave 5 (Kopitiam) #01-129

For other locations, click here.

Cold Rock Ice-Creamery II

Me and Daphne wanted to try out the desserts at the 2am Dessert Bar but it was closed on a Sunday night! Don't be fooled though, the bar's opening hours on other days is from 3pm to 2am, which means the "2am" is really it's closing time. I'm sure we'll check it out someday, some-how. Meanwhile, the next best alternative had to be one of our top favourite ice-cream places: Cold Rock!

Butter Pecan + Ferrero Ice-Cream + Violet Crumble + Maltesers: 8.5/10


Where's my honeycomb ice-cream?! This mix was good, but not just as good as the dark chocolate and honeycomb combination we had last year.


I like the way the ice-cream blended together with each other, and then with the toppings as well. I'm glad I don't live in the vicinity though, because I might find myself going to Cold Rock everyday haha.

Service
I think the girls were probably tired or something, they didn't smile much and gave me the impression that they were getting quite impatient with the less decisive customers. Ben & Jerry's girls are probably much livelier in their service.

Price
$8.50 for a large cup (two flavours only)
$1.00 for each topping
$1.00 for a bottle of cold mineral water

Place
24A Lorong Mambong
Holland Village.

Dome Restaurant @ Dempsey

Since both me and Daphne didn't want to burn our pockets at Dempsey, we ended up deciding between Harry's and Dome, and as you can probably tell we settled for the latter. In retrospect however, I think we would have had a more satisfying dinner at Harry's!

Beef Lasagna: 7/10


Eating this makes me miss my Emiliana Lasagna from Modesto's! Sorry for the camera flash on the food, I think it's an unwritten rule of food photography that you should refrain from using the (internal) flash, but then it was just too dark to take anything at all. I did away with the salad and coleslaw and asked for fries instead (how healthy, I know), which the waiter readily agreed to change at a tune of $1.50. On taste, I think it was not too bad, it was sufficiently beefy/meaty with lots of cheese, while the fries came hot and crispy, just the way I like them. Yet there's something missing from it too, it lacks the oomph-factor, should be less soft and could do better with more gravy as well.

Teriyaki Chicken Pasta: 2/10


This kind of ruined Daphne's dinner, because the pasta came terribly lukewarm and hard, and there were barely five slices of chicken. There wasn't much taste to it, and all she could do was add lots of grated cheese and chilli flakes. Even that couldn't save the dish.

Service
At least, service was very very good. Polite, friendly and attentive.

Price
$12.90 for the beef lasagna
$11.50 for the teriyaki chicken pasta
$1.50 for the fries side

*Prices subject to the usual 7% GST and 10% service charge.

Place
Blk 11 Dempsey Road #01-18.

Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie II

After a frustrating weekend last week, I badly needed my chocolate therapy to cool myself down and lift my spirits. We couldn't eat ice-cream because Daphne was nursing a sore throat, but she felt that cakes wouldn't be as bad and so we settled on the cosy little Canele along Scotts Road.


Many of the food bloggers who I know have covered this place already, and I'm sure those of you curious passers-by must have peeped in as well. This Canele cafe is tiny, I doubt you can even seat more than twenty-five people in the small indoor area. There's al-fresco seating too, but it's something most of us would rather miss on the typically humid evenings. Luckily for us, there was an empty table for two, and that was where we got our desserts.

Chocolat Classique: 8/10


"Traditional baked french chocolate cake with cream chantilly". On the whole, this was quite good, the cake was thick and rich without being too overwhelming, and the cream chantilly somehow managed to strike a good balance between the two. I have to admit that forkful after forkful of just the cake set me back a bit, but when I had it with the cream it was much easier to eat and enjoy it.

Strawberry Shortcake: 7.3/10


"Fresh strawberries layered with crème chantilly and Japanese shortcake laced with kirsch". I myself didn't exactly like this much, but Daphne thought it was fine. The good thing about the strawberry shortcake was that it wasn't too thick nor was it too soft, but it sure didn't excite us much. The strawberries were a tad too sour for Daphne's liking too.

Service
Excellent. The waiter was very polite and regularly filled our glasses with warm/iced water.

Price
$7.00 for a slice of chocolate classique
$6.50 for a slice of strawberry shortcake

If you're dining in, you have to pay for 10% service charge as well. That probably explains the good service.

Place
Shaw Centre #01-01A/B, Scotts Road.

Resto Surabaya

So where or what is Surabaya? It's Indonesia's second-largest city, and the capital of the province of East Java. However if you're wondering about this humble little eatery instead, it's located at a quiet corner of Lucky Plaza on downtown Orchard Road, and is admittedly often overshadowed by Ayam Penyet Ria, which has two branches within the same building.

Ayam Penyet Surabaya: 7.7/10


The chicken came with a piece of fried beancurd as well as fried "tempeh" (Indonesian fermented soybeans) and all-in-all I would say that it isn't too bad, in fact the chilli here is better than Ria's because Ria's just too numbingly hot and spicy. The one here is definitely more manageable haha. White rice is not served with this dish though, and you have to pay $0.60 for a plate of it. And oh, come to think of it, the chicken wasn't flattened at all, which is odd because it's meant to be "penyet" (smashed/flattened) right!

Ayam Bakar: 7.3/10


Daphne was nursing a sore throat and decided to order the grilled chicken instead, but we were quite surprised to see that they left the fried beancurd and tempeh out. The chicken thigh was more or less the same size as the one I had, and the dish costs the same too! The sauce on the chicken was quite sweet, but at least the chicken was tender. I still think the chicken was a little too small though.

Tahu Telur: 7.3/10


Daphne liked this a lot because she felt that there was a generous serving of eggs that went into it, but I think it's really more flour than eggs to be honest. It's served with satay gravy (made from peanuts and spices) but we didn't really try that.

Service
Good.


Price
$6.00 for the ayam penyet surabaya
$6.00 for the ayam bakar
$6.00 for the tahu telur
$0.60 for a plate of rice
$2.50 for a cup of lime juice
$1.80 for a "teh botol" (Indonesian iced tea, left)


There wasn't really much of a discernible taste to the tea, but I ordered it because I thought it would be a good idea to complete the meal with a supposedly distinctive Indonesian drink.

Place
Lucky Plaza #02-63/64, Orchard Road
Also: Far East Plaza #05-26/26A, Scotts Road
Website: www.restosurabaya.com

Additional Comment
Although run by Indonesian Chinese, it's certified Halal.