Cocoa Farm - Alkie Chocolate

I was always tempted every time I stepped into the Cold Storage near my work place. Wine Chocolate ~ it looked so decadent. I resisted the temptation for a good 1 month before I finally succumbed to it.

My downfall was the special offer Cold Storage was having. 2 for the price of 1. How could you say no to such a good deal? So I bought the Merlot and Pinot Noir wine chocolate.

Good things must be shared, so they were left in the office pantry for everyone to try.

Verdict?

The merlot wine chocolate had a much stronger alcohol taste with a heady aroma wafting from the chocolate bar when you opened the package.

The Pinot Noir wine chocolate was slightly sweeter with a softer and subtler taste of alcohol.

Both were equally nice. No regrets for buying the wine chocolate at all.

Brown Brothers ~ Moscato and Cienna

I am not a big drinker as I dislike the bitter dry taste of most alcohol. So I am very selective in what I drink. I like sweet wine, particularly the white wine from Germany (I learnt that most white wines from Germany are sweet). But I cannot take cloyingly sweet wine much. Dessert wine and ice wine are usually much too sweet for my liking too.

During Christmas, I was introduced to Brown Brothers from Australia. Moscato and Cienna. I like them, so when I saw the twin pack on promotional offer at the liquor section of Isetan Scotts, I grabbed a pack.

There are more types of wine from Brown Brothers which I don't mind trying. Most supermarkets do stock their wine. I have seen them at 360 as well as most Cold Storage.

The Cienna is similar to Ribena. It is red and has a bit of bubbly to it. It is sweet but not as sweet as the moscato which is a white. I can barely finish 2 glasses of moscato while I had no problem drinking 2 glasses of the cienna.

I am so glad to finally know of some other brands of wine which I can drink. So far the other whites I do buy are from Oyster Bay and Cloudy Bay, besides the German wine. For cheaper version, the Yellowtail is not too bad.

I am not a big fan of Jacob's Creek or Penfolds.

JAMS, ION Orchard

You would have noticed JAMS Precious Treats if you ever popped into Prologue inside ION Orchard on Level 4. It seemed like all bookstores must have a coffee or cafe joint inside its premises and it was no different with Prologue.

Tucked in a corner inside Prologue, JAMS is quite a gem. At the moment, JAMS is not overly crowded with people and is quite a nice place to chill with friends or with a book. You could also look out of the glass floor to ceiling windows and people watch.

JAMS is set up by the good people of Cedele, so the bread would definitely be good since it is made by the Cedele group.

We had the special which was chicken ham with apple chutney wrap. This was a bit too sweet. At first bite, it reminded me of Cedele's turkey cheese cranberry sandwich (my fave sandwich at Cedele, especially when served with walnut bread), unfortunately the combination did not taste right. Or maybe the wrap was a wrong choice to go with it.
It came with a small side of potato salad which was pretty good.
The beef stew was a surprise. I guessed I was expecting a thick hearty stew. This was more soupy even though it still had a beefy taste to it.
The "home-made" (from Cedele, I think) buns with nigella seeds (black onion seeds). The nigella seeds were a nice touch in giving a bit of flavor to the bread.
I was pretty much enthralled by the desserts. Cupcakes and other cakes were so tempting.
I did not try the cakes but they sure did look good.
The meringues in the glass jars also sent tempting signals to entice the diners.
The wide selection of cookies which were available in 2 sizes. I loved how there were samples available. It sure helped to narrow down which would be to the taste.

Ruby Cranberry Orange (orange butter cookies spiked with cranberries) - not too bad as the tartness of the cranberries made a good foil.

Chocolate Chip Crunchies (classic chocolate chip cookies) - this is really typical classic chocolate chip cookies

Gula Melaka Shortbread Gems (butter shortbread baked with smooth gula melaka palm sugar) - the gula melaka is very subtle that it is quite impossible to taste it

Nigella Cheddar Sea Salt (crunchy savory cheddar and sea salt cookie with peppery Nigella seeds black onion seeds) - this is perfect for those who like salted caramel as it is both sweet and savory at the same time

Topaz Almond Cinnamon Bars (digestive bar with cinnamon sugar and almond flakes) - this is pretty average.

Mexican Opals (cookie balls with hazelnut and walnuts coated with icing sugar) - this reminds me of the Mexican wedding cookie. The icing sugar is very sweet but after the initial sweetness, the nuts are a perfect crunch to the cookie.

Earl Grey Orange Shortbread (shortbread biscuits with hint of Earl Grey and orange) - this is not too bad either and it can make me like earl grey tea

Oatmeal Raisins Studds (oatmeal raisin cookies with rolled oats, sunflower seeds and raisins) - this is another typical cookie.

Oynx Dark Chocolate (dark couverture chocolate cookie) - the dark chocolate gives a bittersweet taste to the cookie, good for those who do not like too sweet cookies.

Coffee Diamonds (coffee melting moments) - the coffee taste is pretty strong and is good for those who love coffee.

Vom Fass, ION Orchard

I have been intrigued by Vom Fass ever since I saw the boarding in ION Orchard before it even opened. Then I read about it in the papers and finally I made my way to the store on Level 4. It sells all kind of flavored cognacs, liquers, oils and vinegars. It is so interesting. Truffle oil is also available there. What a wonderful treasure trove, especially if you like to cook. The different oils and vinegars for your dishes.

J bought a 100ml bottle of latte macchiato so that we can add that to coffee. You could choose the amount you want to buy which is great for trying out the different flavors.
A teaspoon or two of the latte macchiato to the cup of cappuccino was more than enough to give a bit of kick to the beverage. It reminded me of bailey's. You could also serve it over ice and sip it like bailey's or pour it over a scoop of ice cream. Nice.

Nasi Padang ~ Food Opera (Jan 9, 2010)

This is the most expensive nasi padang I ever had so far. I know it is at Food Opera, and is one of the most pricey food court for a meal but this takes the cake.

The usual meat + 2 vegs with rice is around $6.50. I normally would have the assam fish (preferably sting ray) with sambal goreng/tempeh and a veg (typically ladies fingers if available). What can I say? I am pretty much a creature of habit.

Then I saw the ikan bilis and wanted to try that. So I added that. I would have thought the ikan bilis would be considered a side dish like a veg or something. Little did I know it would be considered a "fish" dish. Maybe it was the petai which were cooked with the ikan bilis. In any case, I was charged an extra $3.30 for the fish (either the ikan bilis or the assam fish), making the meal close to $10.

This is definitely a lesson learnt. Just stick to the usual 1 meat/fish + 2 vegs in future.

Pre NYE Dinner

N and S hosted another dinner for NYE though it was held the day before. As there were more people invited (about 20 people), it was a buffet affair at their place. Again, home cooked food and home baked bread with Swedish influences (S is Swedish). Ikea, anyone? ;p

The spread of food on the groaning table. We had so much food, including appetizers of breadsticks with 4 kinds of dips, chips and dessert of chocolate fondue and Swedish chocolates and fruits, plus an open bar including port and dessert wine and other stuff.

The Swedish Cake which was very nice, especially if you love mayo. It was basically slices of bread (cut lengthwise) and layered with sausages and prawns and coated with mayo (or at least I think it is mayo) and then topped with caviar, shrimps and olives and covered with chopped dill. I helped with the dill which explained why some parts had more and others had less.

The home baked herb bread which was so tasty with the cheese and smoked salmon. Loved it.
The home roasted chicken which I carved. I usually did the carving as I was more familiar with it with my experience of carving turkey. I must say it was so much easier to carve the turkey than the chicken. Too tiny! The vegetarian quiche in the background for a vegetarian guest.
Hardboiled eggs and carrots which I hardly touched. I was not that into veggies that night.
Mashed potatoes with Swedish spices and asparagus drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
The two pot roasts which S sliced to make it easier for guests to take and the sausages which were also sliced for easier handling. The beef was so nice, tender and not too rare.
The smoked salmon ( to keep the nordic influence in the food) which was really good with the bread and cheese.
The crispy fresh colorful salad with the feta cheese topping, making it so much more delicious. Swedish meatballs (now, this I think was bought from IKEA though they could have made it themselves. I never asked) and my favorite veggies of the night - brussel sprouts with bacons. This was so good. I need to ask N for the recipe. It was so hard to find nice brussel sprouts which were not bitter.

I love the food and the place, but I love the company more. It is always nice to be with good friends.

Festive Food at The Line, Shangri-La

We decided to head to The Line at Shangri-La for lunch during the festive period and it was the first time in so many years I saw how crowded it was. The last few times I went to The Line (or any other places serving buffets), it was pretty much a quiet affair. I guess with the holiday period, everyone was just out and about drinking and eating and be merry.

I decided on the Lobster Bisque and it was a good choice. The soup was very rich and went very well with the bread stick. I guessed this also reminded me of the numerous pots of crab bisques I had been cooking in Cafe World (Zynga game in Facebook). Hahahahahaha.

It was such a long line at the cold seafood section that I decided to give it a miss and head to the Japanese section for sashimi and sushi. Fresh and nice.
I saw the roast beef and wanted some as it was good the last time I had it. Unfortunately it was too rare for my liking so I did not touch it after a bite. The yorkshire pudding was also too burnt for me to eat it. The small bit of turkey was very average. Not as good as the one made my cousin-in-law for Christmas.
The Chinese section had been enticing me with all the alcohol-infused dishes. Finally I had the seafood noodles (very good) and kung pao prawns. The caesar salad was very limp. The beef cheek was heavenly. The eggplant parmigiana was not to my liking. The satays were great though.
With 2 plates of mains mostly misses rather than hits, I was not very satisfied :p I headed for another round and saw only 1 person at the seafood counter, so I decided to go for that. Freshly shucked oysters (the person would open the oysters based on the amount you want) and sweet prawns and crab claws. Finally, something nice.

Dessert to share. The opera cake was very nice as was the creme brulee. The cheesecake was good too though it was still too rich and cheesy for me. The mango passionfruit cake was nice to cut down the sweetness.
My ultimate favorite dessert - chocolate mousse in a cup. This was bliss.....rich dark chocolate melting in the mouth.

What was different for this buffet spread compared to the usual was the addition of turkey, log cake and more alcohol infused dishes which I did not take. That would explain the higher price for that week.

Chatterbox Dinner on Boxing Day

I finally got to use my Eat@Meritus card after carrying it for so long. It was a Saturday night (Boxing Day) and there was a long line everywhere for food. We got to Chatterbox at Meritus Mandarin around 815pm and waited close to half an hour before we got a table for 3.

The servers were all busy and the head server (or whatever you call them) did not do the usual thing of asking everyone in line the number of people in the party. Instead she only focused on the 1st in line, so obviously when the first few in lines had big groups, those behind with just 2-3 diners in the party had a longer time to wait, even when there were smaller tables available. Bad system.

I ordered the Hokkien Prawn Noodles which took a very long time to arrive (when compared to the rest of the dishes being served). Fortunately it was very tasty with a fragrant prawn stock absorbed into the noodles. The prawns were plump and succulent and the squids were not rubbery. Very nice!
The "famous" chicken rice ($25 or $26 now). Somehow I felt this was quite average. I had better chicken rice at $3 or so in coffee shops, especially in the Purvis/Liang Seah/Bugis area. The chili was good though.
The beef hor fun was equally good. Thick starchy sauce over fried kway teow and filled with tender beef slices. I liked it!

Seriously, would you really pay an average of $25++ for a local hawker dish? I can't even say you are paying for the service as it is pretty much nondescript. So it is for the good food and ambience (if noisy setting is to your taste). All I have to say, lucky I have the Eat@Meritus card to reduce the price by a fair bit and make it more palatable to the wallet.

Even the local hawker dishes at Kopi Tiam and Empire Cafe (in Raffles Hotel and Swissotel The Stamford) cost less than $20. With the Feed@Raffles card, it can make it almost the same as paying for such dishes in the food court like Food Opera.

2009 Christmas Day Meal

It has been a busy and tiring start to 2010, but better late than never on my Christmas posts :p 2009 Christmas Day lunch where I was late, so no food pics of the spread. Just what I had for the day.

Nothing beat a home cooked meal, especially the roast turkey and veggies. Somehow roasted veggies were always very sweet. Maybe the heat drew out the natural sweetness of the veggies. I always loved the rataouille and stuffing. Yum! Plus the roast beef too. I think I had too much roast beef in the 1 week of celebration.

2009 Christmas Eve Dinner

A real Christmas tree which was so beautifully decorated. I loved its simplicity and the fairy lights just twinkled in the warm dim lighting. This was a tree common in Europe, not the typical tree found in North America, hence the wider space between branches.

It was a quiet Christmas Eve dinner at a very dear friend's place. It had been a few years since I last saw her and another friend and so it was really nice to spend the night chatting away till the wee hours of Christmas Day. It sure was hard to stop 3 girls from chattering non-stop.

Beef goulash - soup to start off the meal. All the food was made by my friend. I would love to stay there just for the fridge. Hahahaha. There were lots of home-cooked goodies in there.

The simple Christmas Eve meal for 3 persons. Way too much food - roast beef, long beans casserole (southern style), asparagus, carrots and the sauces (bernaise and red wine), with olives and stuffed peppers with cheese and mashed potatoes.

My one and only plate for that night. Simply loved the stuffed peppers with cheese. That was store bought. The long beans were yummy too as was the roast beef.

The Christmas chocolate cake from a store. It was not too bad.

Rose champagne which was bubbly yummy. The dinner also kicked off the 10 days of non-stop feasting.

Brunch at Spruce 0201, 2010

I cannot live without coffee (actually I can, but I definitely cannot live without chocolate ;p). While waiting for the girls to arrive for our post Christmas, New Year and birthday celebration, I ordered a cappuccino. It was fragrant and strong, a bit too strong and acidic for my liking though. Good thing I asked for another stick of sugar.
Lipstick mark on the cup. While I know the trick to prevent lipstick stain on glasses/cups, I find it icky to really do it for all glassware.

The signature cinnamon pecan roll which was huge. I shared it with the girls and yet we could not finish it at all. It was very nice, with the crunchy pecan bits and chewy bread sweetened with the icing sugar.
The signature prawn pasta with zucchini and parmigiano. This was pretty good too.
Spruce signature burger (it seemed like many items were considered their signature dishes) with the hand cut chips.
Travis eggs benny with an everything bagel, cajun prawns and dill hollandaise sauce and hot sauce.
The signature salad with corn, avocado, dates and toasted almond. Very crisp and fresh greens.
Eggs benny on fresh corn waffle with leg bacon and hollandaise sauce.
The European burger with blue cheese, bacon and onion compote and chips.
See the blue cheese. Very tiny pieces but packed a punch.
A bite of the European burger. Thick and juicy beef patty (done to your liking) with buttered toasted bun and fresh greens.
My plate - half a European burger and egg benny with fries. Plus some of the cinnamon pecan roll with cappuccino. What a wonderful way to start the day. Good food, splendid company and lovely place.

Location:
Spruce

320 Tanglin Road, Phoenix Park.

Tel: 6836 5528