Tuesdays at Modesto's

J was ranting about how Modesto's had 30% off on Tuesdays for OCBC card members. So naturally we decided to go, on a Tuesday of course.Modesto's Pizzeria is now located on the roof level of Vivo City, tucked beside Marche's.

I met J at Daiso and we walked out onto the roof to get to the restaurant. We were immediately hit with the haze. Choke choke, it was bad. We quickly covered our mouths and walked as quick as we could.

The restaurant's interior is dark and perhaps modern elegant would be the word to describe it. Mostly, dark timber, with warm droplights and cool grey tiles. At the entrance, there is an open kitchen with a wood fired pizza oven. Pretty cool to look at. We were then asked if we wanted an outdoor or indoor seat. Given the haze situation, we had to sit indoors but facing outdoors. Oh well, we still had a view.

Our indoor seat with an outdoor view

The Italian restaurants menu's is varied but divided into simple categories. There's starters, salads, pizza, pasta, risotto and desserts. Too many choices honestly. We took sometime deciding but finally settled on calamari rings, eggplant parmigiana and Buffla Pizza which was tomato based  with mozzarella and basil. We added pork ham to that. J of course had to have her Sangria. (Her homemade version was better)

The food arrived pretty quickly and the service staff  were friendly and attentive too. Perhaps it was because the restaurant was  not crowded at all. The calamari rings were  plentiful, nicely fried but still chewy. Some people enjoy that chewy texture, but I prefer the calamari rings that let your teeth glide into it like butter. Ahhh.

Calamari Rings and Pizza

The pizzas here are all thin crust. Really good flavour. Happy with the choice of adding pork ham as without it, I think the pizza would have been a bit too plain.

The parmigiana was really good too. Layers of crumbed and deep fried eggplant, a tomato based sauce, topped with mozzarella and grilled. Yum ! It was piping hot and oh so good. I took a massive spoonful before J reminded me to take a picture. Oops.

Eggplant Parmigiana

After our meal, it was time for dessert ! J had had their profiteroles and did not recommend it. And because I had just survived from Tiramisu (my mom made me do a big batch and we were having it over the week) So we had the Molten Chocolate Cake. We were told it would take 15 mins to prepare which was a bonus as we wanted to chat for a bit before having dessert.

Warm Molten Chocolate Cake

It was exactly what I thought it would be. Warm cake on the outside, molten chocolate lava on the inside. Good chocolate flavour. Not too sweet, not too dark. The vanilla ice cream was mediocre. Nothing special about it. It was the perfect dessert to share.

Oozing Chocolatey Goodness

Unless you're one greedy toot that wants the dessert all to herself. Which .... ahem ... I wasn't ... that evening anyway.

Our meal cost us $80++ after the 30% discount.

Modesto's Pizzeria
1 Harbour Front Walk
#03-11 Vivo City
Singapore 098585

Din Tai Fung

Table Setting at Din Tai Fung

After a movie night, me and J were in Carl's Jr. She was just having a thickshake and I was munching on a taco salad. Which was really good by the way.

J sorta got hungry and so we decided to try out Din Tai Fung. Mostly because I had not tried it before. However, we anticipated a long long line and prepared other dining options in our heads, just in case.

We walked to the restaurant and there was a line. J approached the service staff who noted we needed a table for two, told us it would take 15 mins (not too bad) and gave us a number. Then she was quickly interrupted by another customer and walked away. J kept telling me that the staff gave her the wrong number. As it was the current number on the screen and that ours should be a later number. We stood there for the next five minutes or so looking at the menu and waiting for the staff to return. When she finally did, J tried to explain the number mix up, but the staff was too preoccupied with something, she looked at our number, looked at the screen above (which was showing that number from the moment we arrived) and to our utter surprise she goes "Step right in, Table for two". Hah ! What were the odds of this happening ?!? Hahaha. Both of us quickly wiped off the surprised look on our face and quickly followed her to our seats ! SCORE !

I've always heard so much about this place. For their famous Xiao Long Bao. J did all the ordering  as I was completely clueless. She ordered a cold appetizer of some sort. It had vermicelli, thin strips of tofu,  vegetables and it was coated in a savoury sauce that had a hint of sesame oil. Really yummy !

Amazing Appetizer

Next we had the famous Xiao Long Bao. Look at those dumplings ! Sooo pretty ! J gave me a demonstration of how to enjoy it. First take a small bite to let the juices out whilst the dumpling is still in the spoon of course ! Drink the juices. Add the ginger strips (condiment) and black vinegar or soya sauce and pop the whole thing into your mouth. Mmmm delicious !

Xiao Long Bao

Next we had prawn dumplings. This time, I bit the top of the dumpling and they became perfect parcels for my soya sauce and vinegar. Soooo good ! The skin of the dumplings were firm, slightly chew and oh so good !

Prawn and Pork Dumpling

Parcels for my sauces

J was still hungry so she had noodles with pork cutlet. The broth was really light and the noodles oh so springy. The pork was thick and had a wonderful crispy crumbing.

Noodles with Pork Cutlet

The one thing I noted about the meal was the textures involved. The silky vermicelli appetizer, the hot dumplings with a pool of flavour nestling within it, the crispy port cutlet and the springy chewy noodles. Whoa, we were really lucky to get a quick table and a great meal.

The meal came up to S$30++

Din Tai Fung 
23 Serangoon Central
Nex  #B1-10
Singapore 556083

T : +65 66347787

2am:dessertbar

I had to meet up with T to plan a hen's night for our cousin M and I had been having the urge to try out desserts at 2amdessertbar in Holland Village. So we made the reservation and waited with bated breath as the day approached.

We decided to go on a Tuesday as I would be in the Commonwealth area on Tuesdays which was near Holland Village. Made the reservation for 9.30pm and I parked in the carpark beside the Cold Storage. I have heard that parking in Holland Village could be a nightmare but the carpark was pretty empty. I guess the nightmares only take form on Fridays and the weekends. Hmph.

The initial feel of the space is very bar like. Nothing really informs you that this is a dessert bar other than its name. The interior is modern with high ceilings, custom table tops and couches (for a more relaxed 'loungy' feel). Its not a very big space so I think reservations will be a must.

The dessert bar / workstation

I had looked through the menu online and knew exactly what I wanted. I was going to have Shades of Green and Chocolate H20 and T chose the Cheesecake. The service staff advised  us to have the H20 later as the sorbet may melt if we're going at three desserts at one time. I appreciated that thought and took his advise.

So we started with two desserts first 

The Shades of Green : pistachio sponge, coco mousse, pandan gula malaka custard. What arrived was a masterpiece ! Art in a plate ! I have had deconstructed desserts at other high end restaurants. Most of the time, its a miss. Separate components on the plate would be amazing but there would be no harmony amongst them. 

Let me tell you - desserts here are not only well executed but they are bloody well singing amazing grace in my ears ! Every component is well thought of. Tastes amazing individually and together even in different pairings. 

The service staff explains the dessert when they serve so that you are aware of what you're going to be eating. This dessert came with the pandan gula malaka custard, served as a quenelle in centre of the dish, with coconut cream mousse on a bed of pistachio crumble (super duper amazing) shards of coconut foam, light pistachio sponge and some sort of tuile dics. Everything was so so good. This dish was the highlight of the evening. And because the custard was so smooth and soft, you would think that it would melt. But it doesn't. So this dessert can be enjoyed at any pace. 

Shades of Green

All shades singing in harmony

 T had the Cheesecake : smoked tofu soup, milk sauce, malt. This cheesecake is not like any other cheesecake we've had. Three squares of cheesecake were set in a pool of cream sauce that had baileys in it (oh my god jump for joy) followed but a column of malt ice cream topped with a layer of passion fruit gelee.

The texture of the cheesecake itself was really different. It felt more like compressed ricotta. As you put it in your mouth, its not smooth but the individual nuggets of cheese just disintegrate ever so softly imbuing the palate with a tart cheesy taste. The bailey's soup was like heaven. I will swim in that soup if I could. I didn't like the passion fruit gelee but T said she liked it. It lend acidity to the dish which cleansed the palate before each bite.

Cheesecake

Us deconstructing the cheesecake

 Midway through our meal - the Chocolate H20 :72% dark chocolate, salted caramel, Evian, yuzu sorbet was served. It's a chocolate mousse made with Evian water to enhance the chocolate flavour. A yuzu sorbet to cleanse the palate and salted caramel. There was chocolate soil for texture and bursts of citrusy gels. The recommended pairing for this dessert was a glass of Finca Constancia Petit Verdot and Syrah 2010. I had a glass of that and happily sipped away the rest of the evening.

It's a very 'chocolatey' dessert. Chocolate is the highlight of this dish. I was sooo intrigued by a mousse made of water. This is going to sound weird but I could taste the water. Or perhaps the lightness of it. Something about this dessert tripped me. But needless to say very well executed again.

H20

 Just when I thought we were going to retire from our meal, T takes the menu and goes -"so what shall we have next". Honestly, I could not have picked a better person for this dinner. I suggested the Purple : purple potato puree, blackberry parfait, leather lavender marshmallows, fruits of the forest sorbet.

This was another art work on display. According to the service staff, it was inspired by a painting, which is the image you see below the dish. T was shocked by how small it was and I was amazed by the colours. This was the perfect end to the meal. The dessert was tart and sweet and fruity. T didn't like the sorbet - she thought it was too tart. I thought it was perfect.

Purple

Purple and I

T and I

 The evening was filled with laughter and bitching and some planning. All in all we had a wonderful wonderful time at 2am:dessertbar. I'm definitely coming again !

Our meal came to S$97 +

2am:dessertbar

21a Lorong Liput

Singapore 277733

T : 62919729

Monday - Saturday : 6pm-2am

Closed on Sundays

Bistro du Vin

U wanted to give mom a treat and was collecting suggestions from me as to where would be a good place to bring her. She suggested dim sum and I was like 'no way', mom would run a mile away in the other direction. Prior to this a friend of mine had raved about his dining experience at Bistro du Vin and since I hadn't been there before, we thought it would be perfect.

Bistro du Vin is a French Casual Dining establishment under the Les Amis Group. It's located at Zion Road which is beside Shaw Centre. We reservations for dinner and were excited about finally bring mom to dine out after what seems like an eternity.

We parked at Shaw Centre and walked to the restaurant. Once inside, the decor has very Parisian feel. The paraphernalia on the walls include menus and prints in french, posters with chef cartoons and so on.

Interior of Bistro du Vin

 We had a look at the dinner menu and it was quite extensive. There was coq-au-vin, pork chops, rabbit, beef, lamb and sea bass. Very traditional french recipes. The specials for the day included burrata. U and R had had that before at an Italian restaurant and recommended it. So after a few minutes of browsing and discussing we finally ordered the burrata and a nicoise salad for starters, coq-au-vin and braised lamb shanks for mains and walnut tart, creme brulee and a marron dessert to end our meal.

Freshly made bread with butter

The bread basket came swiftly and I love that the butter was room temperature. Me and U were commenting on how it is impossible to spread cold butter on soft bread unless the bread came steaming hot from the oven. The bread was soft and had a good crust on it, so thumbs up.

Burrata with tomatoes, basil and olives

 When the Burrata came, it reminded me of mozzarella and I later found out that it is in fact mozzarella but differs slightly as  it encases a mixture of mozzarella curd and cream. It was divine. When we cut into it, the cream oozed out together with the curds but the cheese still maintained most of its structure. The taste was clean, fresh, milky and paired well with the tomatoes and basil. Double thumbs up.

Coq-au-vin , nicoise salad and braised lamb shanks

 The Nicoise arrived with the mains and we got a side of truffle fries as well. When the dishes were served and their lids removed, they looked and smelled amazing ! Very rustic looking and inviting. I tried the Coq-au-vin first and it was delish ! There was a good background of wine flavour in the dish that was not too strong. The poultry was literally falling of the bone and moist. There were mushrooms, carrots and I'm pretty sure there was lardon in it but I kept that information from my mom. The dish was accompanied by mashed potatoes and they were velvety smooth. So good !

The braised lamb shanks were equally good but had a strong lamb flavour. I personally welcome that flavour but I know a few who could be put off by that. The meat was also falling of the bone and the braise had a good hearty tomato flavour as well. This was accompanied with broken potatoes and these were swimming in butter. I've heard the saying the three most important ingredients in French cooking is butter, butter and yeap BUTTER ! And there were lots of it in these potatoes. The serving size was perfect as if there had been any more potatoes swimming in butter, I think I would have got sick of it.

The Nicoise salad was ok. I was expected seared tuna in the salad but it was served with the canned variety. So it was a decent salad and that's all. The truffle fries had a good truffle flavour to them but personally I prefer the shoestring type of fries. These spuds reminded me of British chips.

All in all we were pretty satisfied with our dishes. Mom was enjoying herself and the conversation was rolling and rolling. At this point we had to end the evening with dessert.

Walnut Tart

 U and R shared a Walnut Tart which was the special for the day. The base was too thick and the filling was too hard. The ice cream was ok. The only plus to this dessert was the caramel sauce that managed to hit that bitter note that is still inviting and bring out the sweetness of the caramel.

Creme Brulee

 Mom had the creme brulee. She likes to test a kitchen's ability to produce a good brulee and sadly this did not make the mark. The brulee was overcooked and so instead of producing a velvety smooth custard, it was a little curdled. Sad. Tasted fine but the texture let it down.

Marron Dessert

My dessert was a complete shocker. When I ordered a Marron Dessert, I was expected more of a traditional chestnut tart with the spaghetti like cream around it. Instead, I was presented with this and I was taken aback. It looked more like a sundae and was constructed like one too. There was a mound of whipped cream, vanillia ice cream, whole marrons, some kind of meringue and as I took my final scoops there was a shot of whiskey at the bottom. Whoo ! Totally confusing dessert. I didn't like it and would probably not have it again.

I've heard that Bistro du Vin does a good brunch as well and I would love to try that. The food is truthfully well executed and delicious. But their desserts fail to live up to that standard.

The dinner for four without wine cost us S$170 ++

Bistro du Vin
56 Zion Road
T : 68366313

Desserts at Broth

After dinner us three decided to head over to Broth, as recommended by Z, for desserts. He had worked there prior and I was curious to see the place that he is still fond off. So we walked from Club Street to Duxton Hill. The restaurant is located at the top of the hill and so suggests that their name BROTH is a play on the words B ar  R estaurant  O n  T he  H ill. Hah ! Cute !

It is nestled within a row of restored shophouses and the interior is chic and modern. Predominantly white interior with mirrored walls to widen the dining area. The restaurant manages to make the space wide yet cosy.

They have quite a few desserts on the menu. We settled for the Sticky Date Pudding, Pavlova and Chocolate Beetroot Cake. They didn't have the Key Lime Tart =( Oh well, another time perhaps.

Sticky Date Pudding with Ice Cream 

 The sticky date pudding was divine. I've had a few renditions of this dessert back in Australia and they can easily turn too sweet and cloying. However, this dessert was exceptional. The pudding was moist and light at the same time. The caramel sauce was carefully brought to the point where there is a hint of bitterness in the sauce. Together with the vanilla ice-cream, it was divine.

Pavlova 

 I'm not personally a fan of Pavlova as I don't enjoy the springy texture of wet meringue. I prefer the drier varieties that get smashed into Eton's Mess. Mmmmm. When I put my spoon into the dessert, I felt some resistance from the meringue - ooh maybe its crispy all the way through - and as the meringue breaks and yields to the mound of perfectly whipped cream, a multitude of cut fruits and passion fruit pulp, I find myself repeatedly going for a second and third spoonful and so on. Soon, it becomes my favourite dessert of the night. Sorry sticky date pudding.

Chocolate Beetroot Cake

 This Beetroot cake is intensely chocolaty.  Its super moist and I think the beetroot gives the cake a very dense and coarse wet crumbed texture. It comes gleaming with a blanket of dark chocolate sauce that I believe has coffee in it as well and a crown of Cadbury Flakes. J enjoyed this dessert but I was more pre-occupied with the pavlova.

Z wasn't really digging into the desserts more so because I believe he must have had them a multitude of times before. So he was gentlemanly enough to let us girls gorge on the desserts... giggles....thanks Z.

Me and J

We had champagne with our desserts as J had really good news to share. Totally happy for you babe and hope all your other dreams come true !

Broth
21 Duxton Hill
Singapore 089604
T : 63233353

Addictions

Met up with J for a movie. I was still getting used to driving in Singapore and so I was still not certain of the roads and routes. Had my GPS to help me and the bloody thing literally kept me going circles around the war memorial in town ! Thank goodness I had a rough idea of where Marina Square is and so managed to find the carpark and parked. Phew !

We were early and so decided to have dinner first. But we had no idea where. So we just wandered around Marina Square hoping we'd see something we like.

Addictions was pretty empty and so we were reluctant. We continued to wander around but nothing else really grabbed us. So we decided to dine at Addictions.

The menu is mostly western with a  little asian twist here and there. I ordered the truffle fries ! I love love love it ! And it was wonderful !!! Shoestring fries - tick, hot from the fryer - tick, heady aroma of truffle oil - tick, parmesan topping - tick, sauces - tick , tick tick tick !!! Amazing.

Truffle Fries with Dips

I had the Eggs Royale - which is english muffins, smoked salmon, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.  It was ok - nothing much to swoon about. But I loved that their water is pink. I thought they were serving us a soft drink and I asked for water. The staff went on to explain that they steep cherries in the water thus the pink hue. Ooh ! how creative !

Eggs Royale with mushrooms

J had a tortilla wrapped chicken sausage which she said was really good. She couldn't finish it all and the staff gladly helped her put it in a takeaway container.

Tortilla Wrap, Truffle Fries and Eggs Royale

We didn't have dessert as during the time we wandered around, I had seen a Lady M and was hell-bent on getting a crepe cake. I remember Oprah raving about it in one of her shows.

All the other cakes looked so good but we were pretty stuffed by then. So just a slice of the crepe cake. It was heaven in a slice. A gazillion layers of thin french crepes held together with creme pattisiere. The final layer caramelized with a blowtorch. It was absolutely decadent. Light, delicious, what I'd imagine heaven to be like. Sigh.

Mille Crepe Cake

Addictions Cafe and Remedy Bar
6 Raffles Boulevard (Inside Marina Square)
Singapore 039594
T : 63389969

http://addictionscafe.com.sg/

Department of Caffeine (D.O.C)

D.O.C

U and R invited me for brunch one Sunday morning and they suggested Department of Caffeine. It's located at Duxton Hill which is near where they live.

It's a small cafe, possibly able to hold about 20 to 30 people.Once we walked in, the space is rather narrow and we were showed to our table after a few squeezes her and there and 'excuse mes'. The cafe has a very modern industrial design and feel to it. Big entrance door, timber and black steel interiors, polished concrete floor. Strong coffee smell. There is an open coffee station where the barista seemed to be intensely engaged in his craft. The place definitely has character.

The Coffee Station

A quick look through the menu and we decided on the following: U was having salmon quiche, R was having D.O.C Breakfast Platter and I was having Sundried Tomato and Herb Waffles. U ordered coffee and I went for the Elderflower lemonade. You see I don't drink coffee (yeap I'm one of those wierdos that never developed a liking for that bean) and U was worried about the place as it is called the 'Department of CAFFEINE'. Haha, I told her to fret not as I was confident there would be other options for me.

U got her coffee first and it was so pretty. It's such a talent to master coffee art. The leaf on her coffee was perfect.

Coffee Art

Soon after, the food arrived quickly and looked amazing. R got his first and so we told him to start as we wouldn't want the food to turn cold. He had thick toast, with roasted whole tomatoes. meat loaf and scrambled eggs. We received ours a bit later. I managed a bit of U's quiche and it was ok. The salmon taste was a bit too strong for  me and the quiche was actually an item on display. So I felt that it wasn't warm enough.

D.O.C Breakfast Board

My waffle was super light and crispy. Eggs perfectly scrambled and glistening. There was bacon on top and it came with a serving of maple syrup. Once again I love that play between sweet and salty.

Waffles with Scrambled Egg and Bacon

Department of Caffeine is a great place to chill and catch up with family or friends. I haven't had the opportunity to have dinner there. Definitely going on my list.

A messy but yummy brunch 

Department of Caffeine (D.O.C)
15 Duxton Road
Singapore 089481
T : 62233426

Paris Baguette Cafe

Paris Baguette Cafe in Wisma Atria

P wanted a meet up will all of us but only managed to get I and A together. She suggested we go to Paris Baguette, a Korean Bakery chain serving European food and since I had never been there before, it sounded enticing.

The cafe is located inside Wisma Atria and its hard to miss their neon sign. The cafe was packed - a good sign that the food must be good. We stood around for a little while because there was no place to sit. I took this time to take a peak at what they had. There was savoury breads and pastas, viennoiserie, cakes and puddings.

I let P pick the cakes she wanted to try. She picked a chocolate cake, strawberry shortcake, custard pudding. They looked delectable and the strawberry on the cake even had a face on it ! How cute ! (But slightly spooky also)

Chocolate Cake, Pudding and Strawberry Shortcake

The strawberry face !

Mango Pudding and Marron Cake

The cakes were light and fuffy. Good flavour. Thumbs up. For round two, P took a marron cake and mango pudding. The puddings are pre-made in miniature glass milk bottles with a lid. Very cute too. The marron cake was good too, great chestnut flavour and the pudding really yummy. Not too eggy, wobbly like jelly and a hint of the milk and vanilla still present. They layer their puddings. So there a there is a thin layer of caramelised syrup at the bottom, then the pudding and then a layer of the flavoured pudding.

P and A

Us trying to take a selfie

We spent the evening taking small bites and bitching about our ex-colleagues. Priceless evening. =)

Cakes average S$7.50 a slice
Puddings average S$4.50 a bottle

Paris Baguette Cafe
435 Orchard Road
Wisma Atria Shopping Centre, 2nd Floor
T: 68362010