[Hong Kong] The world has seen its FIRST Hello Kitty Chinese dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong. News has gone viral, cute photos have surfaced, and queues have formed… to EAT buns modelled after the world’s most famous cat.

Being ‘Dear Daniel’, I couldn’t possibly not join in the Hello Kitty fun. The Chinese restaurant is located near Austin MTR at Kowloon, also about a 10-15 minute walk from Jordan MTR station and the insanely popular Australian Dairy Company.

For an opening of 11am, there was already a short queue at 10:15am. If I came at 10:30am, I would have needed to queue round the corner of the block.

Tickets will be issued till 3:30pm and 9:30pm for lunch and dinner respectively.

Customers in the line: Girls in pretty pinkie attires, aunties with matching Hello Kitty accessories (usually handphone covers – the closet fans), guys (who looking unwillingly dragged by girlfriends, wives), extended families with children who go, “I WANT KITTY.”

So many selfies and welfies taken in front of the restaurant, unsuspecting people would think this is a tourist attraction. An elderly uncle walked past us, and said aloud in Cantonese, “Queuing for a cat!”

There were 6 Hello Kitty themed dim sum and 6 almost-Kitty inspired Chinese dishes available.

Customers didn’t seem to bother ordering the non-Kitty themed food – the typical Chinese restaurant fare like sweet and sour pork, fried beef slices and vegetables.

While we weren’t expecting much from the taste of the food (since some thing’s gotta give), the quality was lower than what we were looking for.

The Hello Kitty faced Liu Sha buns (HK$62, SGD$10.60, USD$8) were adorably cute, we could imagine some fans couldn’t bear to tear them apart.

We did, and were disappointed. The salted egg yolk fillings were little to begin with, not the usual fluidly molten, wrapped around by thick skin.

Out of the 4 Prawn Dumplings in the basket (HK$68, SGD$11.60, USD$8.80), only one had the Kitty face, the other 3 with pink bows. The bows were tough. Boo hoo.

This Kitty had thick skin. Enough said.

The rice dish, the yellow-faced feline on tomato sauce with chicken strips in apple (HK$108, SGD$18.40, USD$13.90) wasn’t a travesty in looks, but a minor tragedy in taste.

Sweet gooey sauce, and non-flavourful rice didn’t make Dear Daniel too pleased.

People here looked happy though. Baskets of dumplings were passed around for the ‘pose-with-food’ photo moments.

The irony, I think people in general don’t really come to this restaurant to eat-eat.

For Hello Kitty fans who don’t mind consuming their favourite idol, parents who would do anything for your excited kids, and boyfriends who need to please your girl.

Hello Kitty Chinese Cuisine
Shop A to C, Lee Loy Mansion, 332 – 338, Canton Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong
(Turn left at end of Bowring Street, 15 min walk from Jordan MTR Station Exit C2 or 5 min walk from Austin MTR station)
Tel: +852 8202 8203
Opening Hours: 11am – 11pm Daily (Queue tickets issued till 3:30pm and 9:30pm. 4pm cleaning hours. 10pm last order.)

Other Related Entries
10 Must Eat Food In Hong Kong
10 Best Dim Sum Restaurants In Hong Kong
5 Best Hong Kong Cafes

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[Hong Kong] As matcha fever in Hong Kong continues to rise, Via Tokyo at Causeway is easily one of the most, if not the most instagrammed dessert shop there.

Hong Kongers seem to have a penchant for matcha sweets and pastries of all kinds, as green-coloured desserts continues to surface on social media

Not very much exaggerating, I had to squeeze Via Tokyo into a very packed itinerary because I have heard (or more rightly seen) so much about it.

Via Tokyo, opened by serves Japanese desserts, pastries and soft serves made with Kyoto matcha powder and Hokkaido milk.

The Japanese café has been around for more than 2 years, but was only seen as ‘trendy’ and well-liked after months in operation, being one of the most searched dessert place on OpenRice Hong Kong.

I was surprised at the sheer size of the corner café though, a space that could sit about 20 at most. Incidentally, they are opened by Ramen Jo, found a corner away.

Owner Kosei Kamatani said he envisioned a cosy place where customers can relax, drink their matcha latte while typing away on the laptop, evident from electrical outlets available, but it took a different life from anticipated.

The Original and Uji Matcha Cone (HK$32) is one of the most popular item for takeaways, but I wanted to try all 3 flavours at one go. A 3-flavoured Waffle Cup (HK$55) which also includes Royal Milk Tea soft serve and a mix of shiratama was the most obvious choice.

I liked the Royal Milk Tea flavour best, also because it is the least common, smooth and light, balanced between the delicate bitterness of the tea and sweetness, boosting milky creamy texture. Pleasurable, to well, lick.

The matcha soft serve has a more distinct bitter aftertaste, even more so than Gion Tsujiri. My friend didn’t like it, I did.

You would have thought that the Matcha Mille Feuille (HK$40) and Matcha Éclair (HK$36) were just photogenic and after-thoughts, but both were tasty.

The former had crisp layers and dollops of dark green matcha cream sandwiched in between, and the latter glossy in green on the outside, filled with sweet-bitter pastry cream. Lovely afternoon treats.

Take note though, all Wednesdays are known as “Reverse Tokyo” – NO matcha desserts are served, only the rest of the flavours. They just wanted something different, unique, and away from green once in a while.

Via Tokyo
Shop nos. 1A-1B, G/F., Leishun Court, 106-126 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
(Causebay MTR Exit F1, walk down Jardine’s Bazaar towards Pennington St, then Leighton Road. About 10 min walk)
銅鑼灣禮頓道106-126號禮信大廈地下1A-1B號舖
Tel: +852 28951116
Opening Hours: 9:30am – 10:30pm (Sun-Thurs), 9:30am – 11:00pm (Fri-Sat)
https://www.facebook.com/viatokyocafe

Other Related Entries
10 Must Eat Food In Hong Kong
Bing Sutt G.O.D Starbucks (Hong Kong)

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Coffee Cup may sound like a place where avid coffee lovers will venture to, as its name implies. They kept our hopes high with their regular updates regarding coffee on their Facebook page since January.

Nestled beside ABC Brickwords Food Centre, we tunneled through the ground floor of the old Jalan Bukit Merah estate (written as 3rd floor) and descended 2 storeys before reaching our destination.

That was a pretty tedious climb, but we treated that as ‘calorie-burning’. Now you know.

The interior has a rather cozy and homely touch. Black and white checkered floor tiles, black and white theme furniture… the solo turquoise blue wall seems out of place though.

It is endearing to see cafes opening in housing estates, injecting some different vibes in the area.

We did see some Ah gong and Ah ma going coffee waffles with their grandchildren in other cafes. Would this happen here?

Font size was small on its menu (font size 8-9).

Some interesting items on the menu included Cocktail Burrito ($6) (Alcoholics alert!), Smoked Duck Pizza ($5.80) (you heard me right, in a café) and Salted Pancakes ($4.20) with salted egg yolk sauce.

Prices were reasonable and ranged between $3.80 and $7.80. Not surprising since their prices has to be as competitive when ABC market is just a stone throw away.

The Cocktail Burrito ($6) was packed with small shrimps, greens and cocktail sauce – slightly spicy and appetizing. Taste wise, nothing uncommon.

The old-school styled bakes were freshly made in house daily. Mango and Oreo Cheesecakes were sold at $4 each, Chocolate fudge cake and carrot cake at $5 each whereas assorted cupcakes were priced at $1.80 each.

The cakes had a denser texture, could be slightly dry, and would need some refining. The Mango Cheesecake didn’t have the distinct mango savour, whereas the cinnamon cupcake tilted to the sweet side.

Coffee Cup can be an alternative dining place for office workers who are sian (bored) of the hawker fare at ABC market. (We loooooove ABC market by the way.)

Note to some café-hoppers: There is no latte art. (Could imagine screaming.) Will Coffee Cup be your cup of coffee?

Coffee Cup
Block 11, Jalan Bukit Merah, #01-4444, Singapore 150011 (10-15 min walk from Redhill MRT)
Opening Hours: 11am – 8pm (Mon-Fri), 11am – 7pm (Sat), Closed Sun
https://www.facebook.com/coffeecup.sg

Other Related Entries
5 Cafes At Jalan Bt Ho Swee
Cream and Custard (Bt Ho Swee)
Rise and Grind (Bt Timah)
Crown Bakery & Cafe (Bt Timah)
Selfie Coffee (Haji Lane)

* Written by Daniel’s Food Diary Cafe Correspondent Nicholas Tan. Find him on instagram @stormscape

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The historical Capitol Theatre will be re-opening, and the new mall Capitol Piazza which is connected directly to City Hall MRT station will be home to many restaurants, cafes and eating spots.

What’s good: New to Singapore, and new-to-market brands. Famous overseas outlets of Angelina Paris, Four Seasons from Baywater London and Taiwan’s Dazzling Café, along with modern Italian restaurant Equilibrium, BreadTalk owned 1933 and Japanese bar Zaku look set to appeal to foodies.

The challenges. With other high end and new malls such as Scotts Square and Orchard Gateway having a less than lustre performance, the question is: Does Singapore need another high end mall?

Angelina Singapore
#01-82, Capitol Galleria, 15 Stamford Road, Singapore 178906
Opening Soon

Famous fashion icon Coco Chanel always dined there – the Parisian tearoom. Now that Angelia is finally coming to Singapore, look out for their two signature items: the Old-Fashioned Hot Chocolate “L’Africain”, and Mont Blanc.

The hot chocolate made with three different kinds of African cocoa from Niger, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoir could blow the minds off chocolate lovers. Warning, it is stupendously rich. The icon Mont Blanc has a different recipe from the usual, combining chest paste vermicelli, with light whipped cream and a layer of meringue at the bottom.

Dazzling Café Singapore
15 Stamford Road, #01-85 Capitol Piazza, Singapore 178906
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday, 12pm to 8pm

Despite the hype, Dazzling Café dazzled for their toasts, but razzled out for the savouries. The appeal of Dazzling had to be the décor, and hospitable plus cutesy Taiwanese-style service, where waitresses dressed as Japanese-style French chambermaids serve the signature thick toasts in prettiness.

We hear varied comments – the toasts were pretty, the waffles were okay, and the pastas flat-tasting. (Read: Dazzling Café Singapore)

Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant
Capitol Piazza #02-27/28/29, 13 Stamford Road Singapore 178905
Tel: +65 67021838
Opening Hours: 11am – 10:30pm

THAT Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant famous for their roast duck, with some reviews saying it is “the best roast duck in the world” has opened in Singapore – the 4th city after London, Shanghai and Bangkok. A Four Season Roasted Duck would cost a premium price of $68 for a whole ($36 for half and $22 for portion) in Singapore, hardly cheap at all.

The Roast Duck did have a delectable sauce, seemingly a mixture of soy sauce, sweetener, herbs and spices. Some parts of the duck meat were tougher than expected, and there wasn’t a crisp golden outer skin as claimed to be. Underwhelming. (Read Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant)

The Rösti Farm
Capitol Piazza 13 Stamford Road #02-31, Singapore 178905
Opening Hours: 12pm – 8pm (Soft launch phase)

Anyone remembers Once Upon A Rösti? They are now The Rosti Farm where rosti takes centre-stage here, appearing in main courses such as 100% Angus Beef & Maple Bacon Bombs with Single Rosti ($18, with Double Rosti $3 extra), The Happy Weekender ($20) where you get German bratwurst infused with real beer, sautéed mushroom, grilled pineapple and an overeasy egg, Mermaid’s Seafood Platter ($16) and Sir All Day Breakfast ($14). Food tended to be on the salty side, and needed some refinements.

A joint concept with Once Upon a Milkshake and Teuscher Chocolates (Read: The Rosti Farm)

Pho Tai
Capitol Piazza #B2-54, 13 Stamford Road Singapore 178906 (City Hall MRT)
Tel: +65 67021181
Opening Hours: 11.30am – 9.30pm

This family-owned Vietnamese restaurant had its origins from Paris. The Vietnam-born Chinese family moved to Paris during the 70s to find safety during times of war, and subsequently started Pho Tai in the city of romance. The signature items include Beef Steak Slices and Combination Pho ($9.90), Steamed Rice Pancake Rolls ‘Banh Cuon’ ($7.80), Fresh Spring Rolls ($4.80). Marinated Beef Vermicelli ‘Bo Bun’ ($12.80), Red beans with Coconut Milk ($6.00) and Banana and Coconut Milk ($4.30).

While Pho Tai may not be as polished, we liked it homely style offerings and I can safely say, they offer one my favourite pho in Singapore. (Read: Pho Tai)

Spizza Mercato
13 Stamford Road #B2-52 Capitol Piazza Singapore 178905
Tel: +65 6702 1835
Opening Hours: 10.30am – 10.30pm

The latest concept of Spizza is Spizza Mercato at Capitol Piazza, where ‘mercato’ stands for market to reflect its retail section. Therefore other than the casual dining area, there is an rea dedicated to takeaways and retail purchases.

For busy executives, you can grab their packaged takeaway items such as salads and pastas off the shelves, as well as purchase soups, sauces, fresh pasta and olive oil that are actually used in their kitchens. The pizza was the usual standard, though starters were a let-down. (Read: Spizza Mercato)

1933 Singapore
Capitol Piazza 15 Stamford Road, #01-83, Singapore 178906
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm

Opened by the BreadTalk group, 1933 serves local favourites in a Western setting, offering such as Hainanese Kampong Chicken Rice and Nanyang Curry Chicken in a bread bowl.

Other restaurants and cafes:
Bounce Smoothie Bar, Casa Italia, Equilibrium Modern Italian Bacaro and Ristornate, Hoshino Coffee, Jstory, Kaiserhaus, llao llao, Ma Maison, Tap Craft Beer Bar, Teuscher Chocolates, Zaku

Look out here for updates.

Other Related Entries
Dazzling Café Singapore (Capitol Piazza)
Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant (Capitol Piazza)
Spizza Mercato (Capitol Piazza)
Pho Tai (Capitol Piazza)
The Rosti Farm (Capitol Piazza)

The post New Restaurants and Food Places At Capitol Piazza appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Actress Felicia Chin just keeps going on. Hot on the heels after opening The Mama Shop with Sora Ma, she has ventured into Louisiana style seafood with a local twist. Bagging a Star Award for Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes in between.

Wholly Crab is found at Satay by the Bay, a mega food court of sorts selling grilled satay and local delights next to Gardens by the Bay. Looking at the crowd during late night, this looks like it is becoming a supper haunt for locals.

You probably need a car to get here. Do tell the cab driver NOT to stop at Gardens, but Satay by the Bay. Otherwise, it is some major walking and sweating involved.

The name “Wholly Crab” is thought of by Felicia herself, who wanted something fun and easy to remember.

The concept itself is a japalang mix of Louisiana seafood (think Crab In Da Bag), Chinese style zhi char, local inspired sauces, with some Western-Japanese sides.

Boss wanted to keep prices affordable, after experience dining “somewhere else” which cost the table a couple of hundreds.

A ‘Love Bucket’ meant for 2-3 people is priced at $60, while a Wholly Bucket for 5-6 is at $123. For the smaller bucket, we had 1 crab, 8 prawns, 250 grams of mussels, 250 grams of clams, corn, potatoes, sausages and 1 side dish, such as Sweet potato Fries and Thai Mango Salad. Can’t complain about the price really.

5 sauces were available, and we were recommended the Kung Pow and Laksa. The other 3 – Creamy Cheese, Marmite and Spicy Tomato.

We all preferred the Kung Pow sauce, more savory and sweet than spicy, which enveloped the mussels quite well. Unexpectedly, the popular Laksa sauce was bland, so nondescript that a friend who arrived late couldn’t tell it was laksa at all after eating halfway.

A quick recommendation: More sauce, more ‘zup’, some dipping sauce would help.

Our favourite was unexpected an additional order, a Nori Tempura Soft Shell Crab ($12.00) – crisp and succulent. Yah, the other seafood such as the prawns, could be, emm… fresher.

Felicia Chin’s next shoot will be in July, which means she is ‘taking a break’ now and spending some time on her food businesses. Who knows, she could be the one taking your orders?

Wholly Crab
Satay by the Bay, 18 Marina Gardens Drive, Singapore 018953 (A very long walk from Bayfront MRT)
Opening hours: 2pm – 10pm (Sun-Thurs), 2pm – 11pm (Fri, Sat, eve of PH, PH)

Other Related Entries
Crab In Da Bag (East Coast)
NUDE Seafood (MBFC)
The Naked Finn (Gillman Barracks)
Galley By The Straits (Admiralty Road)
Red House Seafood Restaurant (Prinsep Street)

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Tonkin a Vietnamese Noodle Bar has opened at Orchard Central, with another two outlets at Tanjong Pagar 100AM and Clifford Centre.

For fans of Viet food, you can venture down to the basement of the mall (next to Maccha House) for spring rolls, green mango salad, pho and banh mi.

I wished I had better words to describe the experience, but it was okay. The Beef Combination Noodle Soup ($9.90) had rather light soup base, with consideration addition of fresh herbs and vegetables. Good for those who prefer broth that is not so heavy or robust.

We also had a Banh Mi Pate Belly Pork with Vegetable ($6.90), and wished there was more slices of meat.

Tonkin would rank somewhere in the middle for taste. Safe choices, nothing exciting, like that lo. But if you would happen to be at OC and need a warm bowl of noodle soup, this would be it.

Tonkin Viet Noodle Bar
Orchard Central #B1-02, 181 Orchard Road Singapore 238896
Tel: +65 6444 4406
Opening Hours: 11am – 9:30pm

Other outlets:
100AM #03-13 100 Tras Street Singapore 079027
Clifford Centre #B1-01, 24 Raffles Place Clifford Centre Singapore 048621

Other Related Entries
Pho Tai (Capitol Piazza)
Nam Nam Noodle Bar (Raffles City)
Pho Hanh Delights (Joo Chiat)
Comnam (Raffles City)
Moc Quan (UE Square)

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1933 pays tribute to the original year the iconic and historical Capitol Theatre building was completed.

It is also a 2-storey restaurant right outside the reopened Capitol Theatre (currently staging Singapura the Musical). The food is said to be influenced by local cuisine in the 1930s, with the offering of the likes of Hainanese Kampong Chicken Rice ($16.80) and Nanyang Curry Chicken ($14.90).

The price is of course, not very 1933. A Kopi O here is $5. $5 could buy meals to feed families then.

I am not really complaining. After all, the revamped Capitol Piazza is pitched with a higher-end (aka atas) branding, and 1933 may be able to offer a ‘reasonably priced’ meal in comparison with other restaurants in the mall.

In case you are wondering, 1933 is opened by the BreadTalk Group, and it won’t be very wrong to say this is an upscale version of Toast Box. The group is also behind a multi-restaurant in a foodcourt concept Palette at the basement. Food Republic 2.0?

The BreadTalk Group has a track record of being brilliant in branding and interior design. This is also apparent in 1933. Relaxing music, elegant furniture, service staff in neat uniform, even the paper napkins are of the higher quality.

Its signature Nanyang Curry Chicken ($14.90) served in a crusty bread bowl looked promising though. But when served, it happened to be a situation of warm-gravy and cold-chicken. Let us not speculate what happened, but we had to return the dish to the kitchen.

The 2nd time it arrived, the bowl was of course much better.

The 1933 Breakfast Platter ($12.80) could satisfy those who would fancy a combination of local-meets-West, think scrambled eggs with sautéed mushroom and luncheon meat. (We think it was Ma-Ling but wasn’t completely certain.)

Overall a crowd pleaser, though the egg could do better with more creaminess and an additional tinge of salt.

We liked the Handmade Yam Cake ($7.20), with an old-school flavor after being pan-fried and topped with aromatic shallots and served with sambal chili. The cake was still soft and moist, and was pleasurable to bite into pieces of dried shrimps and mushrooms within.

There were some items on the menu we didn’t quite understand though, such as Signature Miso Cod ($28.90) and Fish and Chips ($24.60) – both not quite fitting to the 1930s theme and well, price.

No desserts were available, but milkshakes were.

1933 has played up to some of its strengths, offering breads and pastries such as Curry Chicken Croissant ($2.50) and Nonya Otah Bread ($2.50).

While the food is not out of this world, 1933 has had certain good elements put together.

1933 Singapore
15 Stamford Road #01-83 Singapore 178906 (City Hall MRT)
Tel: +65 6348 3660
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm

Other Related Entries
Restaurants at Capitol Piazza
Ponggol Nasi Lemak (Jalan Besar)
PappaSan (Dorsett Hotel)
The Sleeping Rhino (Klapsons Hotel)
Good Chance Popiah (Jalan Besar)

*Daniel’s Food Diary pays for food review unless otherwise stated.

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This is scary, a burger stall named after one of the most known serial killer ever. The burgers – Mary Ann, Annie, Elizabeth, Mary Jane and Catherine, are named after the actual canonical five Ripper victims.

Am I the only person around who doesn’t even find this vaguely funny?

This burger stall can be found in the rather popular Salut Coffeeshop, sometimes known on the grounds as the ‘ang moh’ coffeeshop, also housing stalls such as Stew Kuche, Two Wings, Immanuel French Kitchen, Seasalt and In The Brickyard.

Jack The Ripper has replaced The Travelling C.O.W. Out went the ramen burger.

The ‘hipster kopitiam’ (no kopi served here by the way) can get pretty crowded almost daily. Be prepared to queue a while during peak hours, and get called to “Sit here. Don’t sit there. Don’t stand around here.”

This is a collaboration between Absinthe’s Executive Chef Nicholas Reynard and Stew Kuche’s owner’s son (who also owns the kopitiam).

Jack’s standard Fairy Fay Burger ($16, note GST not included yet) includes 150 grams of beef patty, cheese, romaine, tomatoes and fries. A double-patty Emma and Martha goes for $25.70 after taxes.

Not kopitiam prices. And I cannot remember the last time I have to pay GST at a coffeeshop stall.

The best part of the burger was the oozing cheese. The beef patty rather moist and juicy.

(Photo credit: Nicholas Tan @stormscape)

Maybe we did not go down on Jack’s good day. A friend commented, “How could something with some many ingredients manage to taste so bland?”

I wondered if some sauce went MIA, plus the patty itself wasn’t very much flavoursome. Bun was drier than expected.

We read some positive reviews here and there though. Maybe I will be back.

Jack The Ripper
Salut Coffeeshop 119 Bukit Merah Lane 1 #01-40 Singapore 151119 (Next to Alexandra Food Village)
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 3pm, 5:30pm – 10pm (Tues-Sun), Closed Mon

Other Related Entries
DOJO (Circular Road)
Potato Head Folk (Keong Siak Street)
Omakase Burger (The Grandstand)
Omakase Burger (Wisma Atria)
Burgers Vs Wings + Bar (Orchard Central)

The post Jack The Ripper – Burgers In A Hipster Kopitiam appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

My favourite childhood story is the name of this restaurant, opened at the basement of Ngee Ann City, selling mainly pork of course.

Some pigs here had a worthy death, while some could have died in vain.

For a restaurant in Orchard Road, the price point is fairly reasonable. Appetisers range from $5.80 to $9.80, while mains are between $16.80 and $19.80.

Here is a story of the Three Little Pigs here.

First little pig. Three slices of Roasted Pork Belly ($16.80) with mushroom risotto and parmigiana shavings. This pig had beautiful slight pink colour, tender enough, though could have crispier crackling. Risotto was meh-meh.

Second little pig. The bowl of 3P Pork Goulash ($6.80) was more watery than stew, had that tone of sweetness which reminded us of minestrone soup. Not satisfying.

Third little pig. Best of the lot. The Pork Chop ($16.80 – $19.80) came with toppings of apricot marmalade, creamy forest mushroom, golden sultana puree, caramelised onion, button mushroom with red win demi glace, or granny smith apple.

Pick toppings with a sour touch, think it should go better with pork.

Am I right to say it is tougher to find a dish of good pork chop in Singapore compared to chicken chop? Pork chops if not prepared well could come with a leathery texture and strong ‘porky’ aftertaste.

Therefore, I am surprised to find a slab tender enough, well-cooked and marinated, tasty enough on its own without the need to dip into the brown sauce. The soft baked potatoes which came with cheddar and pork floss were also the winner.

Desserts such as the Yuzu Financier ($7.80) and Cheese and Berries Trifle were just passable, no regrets if you gave them a miss.

For non-pork lovers, Roasted Farmed Chicken ($16.80), Caramelised Miso Halibut ($19.80), and Braised Beef Cheek ($18.90) are also available.

Three Little Pigs
391 Orchard Road #B2-32 Takashimaya Ngee Ann City, Singapore 238872 (Orchard MRT)
Tel: +65 68364988
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 10pm (Mon-Thurs), 11am – 10pm (Fri-Sun)

Other Related Entries
Violet Herbs (Tras Street)
Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar (Tanglin Road)
Sacha & Sons (Mandarin Gallery)
The Rosti Farm (Capitol Piazza)
Outback Steakhouse (Orchard Gateway)

*Daniel’s Food Diary pays for food reviewed unless otherwise stated.

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Warning. This is a very green entry. Matcha, the finely ground green tea powder, has landed to be IT ingredient in so many desserts from cakes, ice cream to waffles.

Its elegant emerald green colour, subtle bitterness to sweet desserts, and perceived health qualities (anti-oxidants, anti-aging!) makes it irresistible yet somewhat mysterious.

20 Matcha Desserts In Singapore – Go Green With Envy

Matcha Shibuya Toast
Wa Café – Chinatown Point

Wa’s Matcha and Ogura Shibuya Toast ($17.80) is dazzling. Opps. The honey toast was thick yet fluffy, topped with smooth matcha and vanilla ice cream, mocha and ogura Japanese red bean. Absolutely satisfying, recommended 2 or more to share. One of my favourite (and hidden) Japanese café in Singapore.

Matcha Souffle
Miam Miam French Japanese Café Kitchen – Bugis Junction, Westgate, Tampines One

This Japanese-French style soufflé is oven-baked only when ordered. Do leave a 20 minute waiting time. Quite airy, fluffy, with tinge of bitter matcha aftertaste.

Matcha Waffles
Montana Brew Bar – POMO Selegie Road

Montana’s Strawberry Field Waffles ($9.50) is available in two types of bases: the big crunch which is crispy, and fluffy soufflé with a chiffon-like middle. The fluffy version which is indeed true to its name, is recommended. We liked that there were sweet sour elements of strawberry slices and mango passionfruit spheres balancing out the taste.

Matcha Froyo
Nookie Yogurt – POMO Selegie Road

The froyo trend continues. Nookie’s version 2.0 Matcha Black Sesame Crumble Yogurt ($6.90) with kiwi fruits. The yogurt had base which was sourer than the other famous brand, topped with crunch and bite-able ingredients, like eating dessert in a cup. The matcha sauce could have been more distinct in taste though.

Matcha Softserve
AmaSoy – Ion Orchard B4

AmaSoy’s newly introduced Matcha Softserve is great value for money at $2.50 per cone for its promotional price. $2.50!!! The texture is milky and smooth, as good as those you would get in Japanese restaurants, matched with a subtle delicate taste of green tea. Also try the new matcha and Hokkaido Milk twist with Churros! Imagine, cold and hot together.

Matcha Hokkaido Milk + Collagen Pudding
AmaSoy – Ion Orchard B4

Matcha Hokkaido milk drink with delicate silky texture, and Matcha Collagen Pudding where beauty and smoothness, can come in a dessert. You didn’t read wrongly. It is collagen.

Matcha Iced Blended
Tsujiri Tea House – 100AM Tanjong Pagar, 313 @ Somerset

If you need a thirst quencher, go for Uji Kintoki ($5.80) shaved ice with green tea syrup, or O-maccha Milk Ice Blended ($5.50). The latter one of the most ‘matcha’ of many drinks I had – you can really taste the ‘green-teaness’ and fine distinct quality of the powder in its subtlely.

Matcha Cake with Goma
Dolce Tokyo – 313 @ Somerset

Photogenic much. Matcha Cake with Goma ($11.50) which comes served in a Japanese-style bird cage. I hear Dolce Tokyo make them in small quantities daily. We may have seen many green tea azuki cakes versions around, but not quiite green tea black sesame. The best part? The crunchy green tea crumble on its top layer. Though considered quite expensive.

Matcha Anmitsu
Nana’s Green Tea Café The Atrium @ Orchard, Plaza Singapura

Nana’s Green Tea was once voted as the No. 1 Japanese cafe for matcha lovers (in Japan lah, not here), and had been known as Japanese’s version to Starbucks. Its desserts such as its Matcha Anmitsu ($8.80) and parfaits are definitely its strength. It may not blow you away but makes a decent afternoon tea-time treat, with its azuki red bean paste smooth and satisfying.

Matcha Pancake
Hoshino Coffee – Plaza Singapura, Suntec City, Capitol Piazza

Hoshino Coffee is already quite popular in Japan, specialising in hand-dripped coffee and fluffy soufflé pancakes. Its signature Pancake Souffle Style with Matcha and Ogura Bean Paste ($13.50) will take long to serve as they are freshly made on the spot, and accordingly their oven can only produce 6 at a single time.

Matcha Chococro
St Marc Café – Vivocity, Raffles City, Marina Square, Parkland Green East Coast Parkway

Many buy St Marc Café’s Chococro in boxes of 5. The Matcha Daifuku Chococro ($2.60) is crispy flaky matcha chocolate croissant with mochi and red bean within. Quite super when eaten warm.

Maccha Dorayaki
Maccha House – Orchard Central

This is what Doreamon would have loved. Maccha House serves a larger version of the Maccha Azuki Bean Dorayaki ($8.40). Not overly fantastic reviews for some other items. Go for the Maccha Parfaits which come with rice flour, chocolate or soy milk pudding. They even serve the Hot Maccha drink the traditional way – self-concocted out of a bowl.

Green Tea Bingsu
Nunsaram Korean Dessert Café – Orchard Central

Nunsaram’s bingsu is one of the most photogenic. Just look at this Green Tea Bingsu ($13.90) with ice cream, generous scoop of red bean and almond nut slices. The Korean cafe also uses one of those expensive bingsu machines, ensuring snowflake-like shavings, though we felt it was still not as smooth as some of the prominent ones.

Matcha Chiffon Cake
Dulcet & Studio – Liang Court River Valley Road

Opened by Tampopo Group, Dulcet & Studio is a self-service café which cooking studio at one end. So cakes are of a certain quality. The café has quite a range of matcha desserts from éclairs, puddings to this rather creamy chiffon cake ($7).

Matcha Tiramisu
L’Atelier Tiramisu – The Central at Clarke Quay

Truth-to-told, I am not that a fan of tiramisu. But one spoonful, one spoonful of that very moist cake sponge, creamy mascarpone and a slight explosion of Liberty’s expresso and liqueur with Marsala wine got me almost in cloud nine.

Matcha Lava Cake
Babette Restaurant & Bar – Tyrwhitt Road Parc Sovereign Hotel

Matcha Lava ($12) green tea infused cake is one of the few cakes I had that both tasted and smelled ‘matcha’, almost brilliant, but perhaps overpowered by the over-sweet white chocolate fondant.

Green Tea Mille Crepe Cake
Lady M – Orchard Central

Green Tea Mille Crepe ($9/slice) where the sweetness of the pastry cream wedded the subtlety of the fine green tea powder. You can choose either to peel layer by layer, or take a bite of its entirety. My method is the former.

Matcha Pound Cake
Nicher – Blk 71 Seng Poh Road Tiong Bahru

Nicher is such an understated stall. Its Matcha Azuki Pound Cake ($14) with whole Hokkaido azuki beans is quality stuff, robust in green tea flavour, best paired with a cup of hot tea. Note: Always sold out early (say late afternoon).

Matcha Cupcake
The Audacious Cakery – Everton Park

Matcha butter cupcake ($3.50) with matcha Italian meringue buttercream. Yummm… soft and moist. The other popular matcha cake is Faith ($7.80), with fragrant black sesame mouse on green tea sponge cake.

Matcha Frozen Custard
Density Frozen Custard – Short Street

Frozen custard, not exactly ice cream. Prices were $4 for single scoop, $7 for double, $9.50 for triple, and $9 for a two scoop sundae with 2 toppings and sauce. The texture was true to its name ‘denser’, smooth and creamy, won’t feel like there is air or ice crystals ‘trapped’ within. It reminded me of a velvety version of thickened gelato. The matcha flavour though, is not available all the time.

Other Related Entries
12 Soft Serves & Frozen Yogurt In Singapore
10 Best Korean Cafes In Singapore
10 Korean Bingsu In Singapore
11 Best Carrot Cake Dessert In Singapore – Moist, Delicious & Spiced
5 Best Singapore’s Old School Cake Shops from the 60s

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$10 nett set lunch? In a restaurant setting? At Holland Village? Some things sound too good to be true.

Bar Bar Black Sheep is already known to serve some of the most affordable fare, with a huge variety of food all under one roof.

For those unfamiliar with the brand, Bar Bar Black Sheep started out like a coffee-shop in a bistro bar setting, combining different stalls together in a single place.

Depending on the branch, you can find permutations of Western, North Indian, Japanese and Thai food, along with price-friendly cocktails and craft beers.

At the newest branch at Holland Village, you can order Japanese, North Indian and Western fare – more than 150 items for selection! I did take some time reading the menu to and fro, because there are too many items to choose from, and most sound good.

$10 Nett Set Lunch
The friendly service staff recommended the $10 set lunch menu. Nett. No GST. No service charge.

For a red note out of the wallet, you get a choice of Japanese Curry Chicken Don, Grilled Yakitori with rice and miso, Pork Katsu Soba, or Indian Vegetarian Rice set with paneer, aloo gibi with rice and pappadum,

Or Mexican style Enchiladas, Tuna Melt Sandwich with Fries, Mushroom Aglio Olio… The Western style dishes all come served with a portion of Caesar salad or ice cream.

I am partial to Japanese food, so my favourites were the curry don and soba. The former came with generous portion of chicken chunks in sweet-spicy curry gravy, and the latter a slab of crispy pork chop with dip and soba noodles. Well, the meat could be tenderer, but I am not really complaining.

57 items on the Japanese menu, 59 for North Indian, 45 for the Western. (I did my own counting, there would be more as you can do add-ons.) I thought I should highlight some of the ‘Star Dishes’ from each menu.

Japanese
Definitely the Yakitori. I see this Izakaya-style place quite suitable to hang out with friends for dinner with drinks, or after-work supper. Grilled skewers with sakes, shochus or Japanese single malt always make a good match.

Prices are still pretty reasonable – $4.90 for skewers of two. Even the premium items such as Mentai Salmon, Mentai Scallop, Mentai Tiger Prawns, Grilled Unagi and Ishiyaki Ribeye Beef that cost $6.90-$7.90 for two pieces.

My personal favourites? The Pork Belly with Leek and Shitake Mushrooms. Juicy and well marinated.

North Indian
The most popular item for Bar Bar Black Sheep, even across all branches, is the Butter Chicken ($12). I can understand why. It’s legit!

The boneless chicken was cooked in an addictive butter, tomato paste and masala sauce, rich and so flavourful that you may order some Garlic Naan ($3.60) to sweep across the gravy.

Western
Other than pasta dishes, mains such as Dory Fish N Chips ($16.90) and Crispy Duck Confit ($24.90), the Gourmet Burgers are recommended, usually popular with families and kids.

Try the Sauteed Mushroom and Bacon Cheeseburger ($16.90), Portobello Vegetarian Burger ($12.90) or Rendang Spicy Beef ($13.90), where the beef patty is covered with a homemade not overly spicy rendang sauce.

The Holland Village Bar Bar Black Sheep features both an alfresco and indoor air-conditioned dining area, with live acoustic band performing Tuesdays to Saturdays from 7:30pm.

All in all, I find Bar Bar Black Sheep great for an a-meh-zing casual date, dinner-drinks with colleagues or dine-out with the family, depending on the day and time.

Bar Bar Black Sheep (Holland Village)
17D Lorong Liput Singapore 277731 (Holland Village MRT)
Tel: +65 6463 2161
Opening Hours: 12pm – 2:30pm, 5:30pm – 11pm (Mon-Thurs); 12pm – 2:30pm, 5:30pm – 12am (Fri), 12pm – 12am (Sat), 12pm – 11pm (Sun)

Other locations: 86 Robertson Quay #01-04 (+ 65 6836 9255)
879 Cherry Avenue
362 Tanjong Katong Road (+65 6348 8275)
501 Bukit Timah Road Cluny Court (+65 6763 4757)
Reserve Online Now (Cluny Court)

*This entry is brought to you in partnership with Bar Bar Black Sheep.

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What the duck. More ducks in Singapore. Hot on the heels after Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant opened at Capitol Piazza, a rather similar competitor London Fat Duck waddled to the basement of Scotts Square.

London Fat Duck claims to serve a special breed of duck called the “wagyu of duck”. We would to think this is more for branding that anything else.

The brand is not from London too, actually established by Singapore-based Fei Siong and Akashi groups. The roast duck styles were inspired by Four Seasons and Gold Mine at Bayswater London.

With that said, Fei Siong has a good track record, especially with Legendary Hong Kong at Jurong Point.

London Duck’s Signature Roast Duck ($48.80 for whole, $26 for half, $12.80 for regular) was easily the more impressive of the two – tender with bite, wonderfully marinated, flavourful every mouthful.

Accordingly, the ducks are from Ireland – free roaming, grain-fed, natural diet, hand plucked feathers, music played before killing. Seems like all that makes a difference. Plus, the chef had some experience working in Hong Kong’s Yung Kee (but more famous for goose).

Four Seasons, has a tastier sauce though.

Their Char Siew ($14.80) were equally appetising, nicely charred on the outside, succulent and meaty.

Moving on to the dim sum. Tim Ho Wan may have gathered its Michelin Star due to the famed baked pork buns, but London Fat Duck’s Black Pepper London Duck Bun ($4.80 for 3) will give a run for its money.

Light crispy on the outside, fluffy on the layer, moist sauce-y duck fillings, with a distinct savour of black pepper. Oomph!

The other dim sum, such as Crispy London Ducky Snow Bun ($4.80), Steamed Chee Cheong Fun ($5.80) and Xiao Long Bao ($5.20) were of decent quality, but nothing to shout about.

While we wished for the wanton of the Shrimp Dumpling Noodle ($8.80) to be plumper, the springy noodles tossed with appetising sauces make me one of the better Hong Kong styled versions around.

We see that many would bring their families and parents to London Fat Duck for yum-cha and its appetizing roasts. Note that reservations are not allowed (yet) and the floor can be slippery.

The London Fat Duck brand may not have come originally from the city, but has proven its worth.

What a good duck!

London Fat Duck
6 Scotts Road #B1-16/17 Scotts Square Singapore 228209 (Orchard MRT)
Tel: +65 6443 7866
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Mon-Fri), 10am – 10pm (Sat, Sun, PH)

Other Related Entries
Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant (Capitol Piazza)
Xin Yue Modern Chinese Restaurant (River Valley)
Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint (Suntec City)
TungLok XiHe (Grandstand)
Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck (Paragon)

* Daniel’s Food Diary pays for food reviewed unless otherwise stated.

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The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2015 has announced its 51-100 places.

Restaurants in Singapore have taken 2 spots – Waku Ghin at No. 70 (down from No 50 in 2014), while Jaan is at No.74 (up from No 100).

Iggy’s at Hilton Hotel, which was No 84 the previous year, is believed to have fallen out from the list (We shall wait as the full list is only out in June).

Singapore’s usual best performing restaurant Restaurant Andre should appear in the top 50 list, likely to be the only restaurant from our country there.

The World’s 100 Best Restaurants 2015 – 51 to 100

51. Geranium, Copenhagen
52. Tim Rau, Berlin
53. Hertog Jan, Bruges
54. Hof Van Cleve, Kruishoutem, Belgium
55. The Clove Club, London
56. Saison, San Francisco
57. Septime, Paris

58. Quay, Sydney
59. DiverXO, Madrid
60. Hedone, London
61. Martin Berasategui, San Sebastian
62. 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Hong Kong
63. L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Paris
64. Maaemo, Oslo, Norway
65. Combal Zero, Rivoli, Italy
66. Amass, Copenhagen
67. Nomad, New York
68. Nerua, Bilbao
69. Momofuku Ko, New York

70. Waku Ghin, Singapore
71. De Librije, Zwolle, Netherlands
72. Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena
73. The Fat Duck, Bray, UK

74. Jaan, Singapore
75. Coi, San Francisco
76. Fu He Hui, Shanghai
77. Indiana Accent, New Delhi
78. La Maison Troisgros, Roanne, France
79. Ryunique, Seoul
80. Daniel, New York
81. Joe Beef, Montreal
82. Le Louis XV, Monte Carlo, Monaco
83. Tegui, Buenos Aires, Argentina
84. Sepia, Sydney
85. L’Effervescence, Tokyo
86. Hajime, Osaka, Japan
87. Brae, Birregurra, Australia
88. The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français, Franschhoek, South Africa
89. Zuma, Dubai
90. Estela, New York
91. Belcanto, Lisbon
92. St. John, London
93. Jungsik, Seoul
94. Masa, New York
95. FU1015, Shanghai

96. Mikla, Istanbul
97. Esperanto, Stockholm
98. Vila Joya, Albufeira

99. Lung King Heen, Hong Kong
100. Manresa, Los Gatos, CA

How The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is compiled

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is compiled from the votes of The Diners Club® World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of almost 1,000 international leaders in the restaurant community.

The Academy comprises 27 separate regions around the world, each of which has 36 members including a chairperson. Of the seven votes each member is allocated, at least three votes must recognize restaurants outside of the academy member’s own region.

Each region’s panel is made up of food writers and critics, chefs, restaurateurs and highly regarded ‘gastronomes’. Members list their choices in order of preference based on their best restaurant experiences in the previous 18 months, with no pre-determined check-list of criteria.

Other Related Entries
Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2015)
World’s 100 Best Restaurants 2014

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Those who are in the know would be familiar with Lucky Plaza’s very popular My Favourite Café Yong Tau Foo stall, attracting long queues during lunch time.

Well, it has opened another branch at Bugis Cube! (My food radar is all over the place yah?) Bugis Cube is this mall of sorts opposite Bugis Junction (from Baker & Cook, Honeymoon Dessert side), filled with manicure salons and random shops.

Fans of this Yong Tau Foo stall would know they are known for TWO signature items – the handmade meatballs and Korean mushrooms.

All their items are at 60 cents each. The rest are the standard beancurd, chili, bitter gourd, seaweed wrapped chicken, mushroom ball, kang kong… nothing very special in that aspect.

True story. I went and saw probably two dozen deep fried meatballs in the tray, there was no queue, so I went to the washroom first. Came back in minutes, ALL the meatballs were sold out. Uncle told me to wait at least an hour for the next batch. Boohoo.

The next time I went back, the lady in front of me ordered 10 meatballs to go with noodles. TEN. Nothing else. Then, I figured out why. She was not the only one doing so.

The meatballs are slightly smaller than a ping pong ball, deep fried till crispy while the inner is filled with minced meat. Rather substantial and meaty. Get the freshly fried batch, and you would be in cloud nine. Some if left in the open for too long, would taste ‘over-rated’.

Unlike the Lucky Plaza branch, sauces are kept separate from the noodles. My mee kia was surprisingly tasty, tossed in fragrant oil, flavoursome enough that you do not need to add too much of the sweet sauce.

Avoid the peak hours at both branches as it will get crowded. Go too late also meatballs get sold out.

My Favourite Café
Bugis Cube, 470 North Bride Road #02-10 Singapore 18874 (Opposite Bugis MRT)
Lucky Plaza, 304 Orchard Road #06-46/47 Singapore 238863 (Orchard Road MRT)
Opening Hours: 9am – 6pm (Closed Sun)

Other Related Entries
Grub Noodle Bar (Rangoon Road)
Original Hock Lam Beef Noodles (Ion Orchard)
Segar Restaurant (Chinatown Point)
Hong Kong Jin Tian Eating House (Zion Road)
Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint (Suntec City)

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The luxurious Angelina will set finally foot in Singapore end of this week at Capitol Piazza.

In Hong Kong, the Parisian tearoom has already a following, the type of place where the upper middle class and expatriates (or modern day tai-tais) would hang-out to enjoy a lazy afternoon. After all, it is located within Lane Crawford of IFC Mall, popular for its mid-high end shopping.

Its European interior is classy Baroque style, but what is more than impressive is its outdoor seating area, which provides a breath-taking view of Hong Kong’s skyline and harbour. Loved the scenery, but it could get cloudy grey at times.

Angelina is named after the daughter-in-law of Austrian confectioner Antoine Rumpelmayer, established in 1903, a period where tearooms emerged in Paris as gathering spots.

Their pièce de résistance ae the Le Mont Blanc (HK$90, SGD$15.70) and Hot Chocolate L’ Africain (HK$88, SGD$15.10). (Wait, now that I have done the conversions back home, the bill was actually quite expensive.)

The Mont Blanc is covered by chestnut cream vermicelli, but as you dig further in, would discover smooth whipped cream and a light-crunchy sweet (or should I say very sweet) meringue base.

Would I say I like it? Yes and no.

The play and balance of textures was certainly what I appreciated, though I am partial to the Japanese style of Mont Blanc which is less sweet.

I am a fan of hot chocolate, and the first sip of the signature “L’Africain” was to the point of astounding that my eyes went wide open.

Rich, very rich, velvety and complex. In our dialect, we would call this ‘gao gao’. Could send chills down your spine if you are a chocolate lover. (The Chinese has a concept of ‘heaty’. On a scale of 1-10, this is probably a 9 on ‘heatiness’.)

Though after a couple of minutes, the ‘hot’ chocolate would turn colder, and would lose those initial thrills. Good to know Hong Kong offers the iced version as well.

The other recommendation pastries are the Eclair Chocolat, Choc Africain, Saint Honoré, Eclair Mont-Blanc, Tarte Au Citron, ranging between HK$72 to HK$90. Place is classy, price is classy as well.

Angelina Hong Kong
Podium 3, IFC mall (within Lane Crawford) Shop 3025-3026, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 3188 0842
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm

Other Related Entries
Lab Made (Hong Kong)
Hello Kitty Chinese Cuisine (Hong Kong)
Via Tokyo (Hong Kong)
Amber (Hong Kong)
Little Bao (Hong Kong)

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Once a friend commented that there are no Korean Cafes at Orchard Road. There is not just one now, but two!

O’ma Spoon Korean Dessert Café at 313 @ Somerset, and Nunsaram just next door at Orchard Central. The heat is on – both figuratively, plus the real heat from the sun.

This newer outlet of O’ma Spoon looks swankier and more popular than the originated branch at Marina Square – larger seating capacity, open spaces, and more comfortable seats.

When I was there during a weekend, I wanted to make an order but… “It will be a long wait.”

“Em, how long approximately?” The cashier shrugged his shoulder and pointed at the 9 receipts, and then at the waiting patrons. Okay, I get the point. Came back during the weekdays, much easier crowd.

A few things have changed from my last visit to Marina Square.

They have lowered the prices – Mango Berry Cheesecake was $22.80, now it is $18.90. A difference of almost $4. Also, the bingsu is less sweet, and they did away with the diluted condensed milk all together. (Instagrammers lose opportunity for a pouring milk shot.)

My café correspondent Nicholas Tan @stormscape ranked his Top 5 as
1. Nunsongyee (Serangoon Gardens)
2. O’ma Spoon (Marina Square)
3. Nunsaram (Orchard Central)
4. Twins Chicken (Tanjong Pagar)
5. Snowman Desserts (NEX)
(I will give my ranking after I re-try some of them.)

It is a close fight between O’ma Spoon and Nunsaram. While I preferred the smoothness of the milk shavings at O’ma, Nunsaram’s ingredients were more varied, and tasted of slightly better quality.

With that said, O’ma Spoon’s Mango Berry Cheesecake Bingsu ($18.80) was pretty spot-on. Loved that there were both light cheese cake and ice cream (oh, the calories), with scattering of cranberries for that touch of sourness.

The Oven-Baked Honey Bread – we had the Chocolate and Strawberry Honey Butter, was passable.

Still, I think O’ma Spoon is one of the top 5 in Singapore in terms of bingsu. My next wish-list for Korean cafes is to diversify (either variety or flavours) and offer more than just the usual Korean bingsu and toast. There are just too many of them going around suddenly.

O’ma Spoon Korean Dessert Café
313 @ Somerset, 313 Orchard Road #04-20/32 Singapore 238895 (Somerset MRT)
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 10pm (Mon-Thurs, Sun), 11:30am – 12am (Fri-Sat)

Other Related Entries
10 Best Korean Cafes In Singapore
10 Korean Bingsu In Singapore
Nunsaram (Orchard Central)
Banana Tree (Keong Siak)
Snowy Village (Prinsep Street)

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Bonjour. Parisian tearoom Angelina has arrived in Singapore, finding its home at luxury lifestyle mall Capitol Piazza City Hall.

Angelina has a history from 1903, where Proust and Coco Chanel have been customers at the tearoom room at Rue Du Rivoli in Paris.

This is the type of café to sit down with one friend to chit-chat the whole afternoon away after being tired of carrying huge shopping bags. You know, that type.

If there are only two items you need to have, it would be their defining signatures – the Old-Fashioned Hot Chocolate “L’Africain” ($12), and Mont Blanc ($13.50).

The hot chocolate is made with three different kinds of African cocoa from Niger, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoir, served in an elegant pitcher alongside a little cup of whipped cream.

For those who have yet to try their hot chocolate, do brace yourself for the cup Take sips, not gulps, and just relish that rich, velvety dark chocolate in small delightful nips.

Add some cream, share with a friend. Drinking that alone could result in some ‘over-heatiness’. (I did have a slight headache after a full cup.)

The round Mont-Blanc ($13.50) is covered by sweet chestnut purée vermicelli, smooth light whipped cream beneath the layer, and meringue as its base.

I am the biggest fan of Mont Blanc, and it is tough to find one in Singapore which has both the chestnut ‘punch’ and delicate taste. Angelina ‘white mountain’, amidst being rather steep in price and sweet, is one of the best you can pick up here.

The Tarte Au Citron ($10) has a balanced lemon cream filling, but let down by its part-clammy base.

Breakfast is till 11:30am. Brunch items are available after that, such as Croque Madame ($21), Parisian Club Sandwiches ($21) and Truffle Omelette ($25) are available.

For a fuller meal, you can have their mains of Wild Mushroom Risotto ($23) and Truffle Ravioli ($29).

Ambience wise, we found some of the seats too near the Galleria’s main entrance, thus the opening and closing of the auto-door could be of some hindrance. And the rather undersized round table, could overflow with plates and cups with just 2-3 items ordered.

While prices are up north, we enjoyed our time and meal, service standard and taste of a certain good quality. For those who need to feel some elegance and class in your lives.

Angelina
Capitol Galleria #01-82, 15 Stamford Road Singapore 178906 (City Hall MRT)
Tel: +65 63840481
Opening Hours: 10am – 8pm
https://www.facebook.com/AngelinaSingapore

Other Related Entries
Artisan Boulangerie Co. (Katong I12)
Jaan (Swissotel the Stamford)
Masons (Gillman Village)
Brasserie Les Saveurs (St Regis)
Paul (Ngee Ann City)

* Daniel’s Food Diary pays for food reviewed unless otherwise stated.

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Almost half the year has went by us, and a whooping number of more than 100 cafes has opened in Singapore for 2015.

By contrast, almost 100 cafes which opened last year in 2014 have also closed, according to figures from Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. There are some which ended their operations in a month of operations. So what happened?

Let us show more love to cafes which deserve our support, and may the new cafes continue to deliver quality food and service to keep people coming back.

10 New Cafes In Singapore June 2015

Angelina Singapore
Capitol Galleria #01-82, 15 Stamford Road Singapore 178906 (City Hall MRT)
Tel: +65 63840481
Opening Hours: 10am – 8pm

Parisian tearoom Angelina arrives in Singapore. Look out for their two signature items: the Old-Fashioned Hot Chocolate “L’Africain” ($12), and Mont Blanc ($13.50). The hot chocolate made with three different kinds of African cocoa from Niger, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoir could blow the minds off chocolate lovers. Warning, it is stupendously rich. Brunch items such as Croque Madame ($21), Parisian Club Sandwiches ($21) and Truffle Omelette ($25) are available. This is tai-tai kind of place.

1933 Singapore
Capitol Piazza 15 Stamford Road #01-83 Singapore 178906 (City Hall MRT)
Tel: +65 6348 3660
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm

1933 pays tribute to the original year the iconic and historical Capitol Theatre building was completed. The food is said to be influenced by local cuisine in the 1930s, with the offering of the likes of Hainanese Kampong Chicken Rice ($16.80) and Nanyang Curry Chicken ($14.90). In case you are wondering, 1933 is opened by the BreadTalk Group, and it won’t be very wrong to say this is an upscale version of Toast Box.

O’ma Spoon Korean Dessert Café
313 @ Somerset, 313 Orchard Road #04-20/32 Singapore 238895 (Somerset MRT)
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 10pm (Mon-Thurs, Sun), 11:30am – 12am (Fri-Sat)

O’ma Spoon opened two cafes in quick succession – one in Marina Square, the other 313 Somerset. We liked the Mango Berry Cheesecake Bingsu ($18.80) which was pretty spot-on, with both light cheese cake and ice cream (oh, the calories), with scattering of cranberries for that touch of sourness. Honey Toast is also available, though we found them quite average.

Nunsaram Korean Dessert Cafe
181 Orchard Road #05-51/52 Orchard Central, Singapore 238896 (Somerset MRT)
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Mon-Sun)
https://www.facebook.com/NUNSARAMSG

Owner of Nunsaram stressed that this is a “real Korean dessert café”. Bingsu are priced between $12.90 and $15.90, an additional $1.50 for a scoop of ice cream and $2.50 for red beans. The side menu consists of Tteogkkochi (Korean rice cakes on skewers) that comes in 3 variations: Honey ($4.50), Spicy ($4.90) and Cheese ($5.90) and Injeolmi Toast ($5.90). Their bingsu were photogenic, and shaved milk soft and refined.

Snowy Village
120A Prinsep Street Singapore 187937 (near Lasalle, Sim Lim Square)
Tel: +65 88221702
Opening Hours: 10am – 9pm Daily
https://www.facebook.com/snowyvillagesingapore>

Is this Singapore’s first container café? Items offered: Korean Snowy Bingsoo ($12,90 – $14.50), Injelomi Toast ($5.40), Drug Corn ($5.00), Waffle ($6.00), Salad ($6.00) and beverages. Coffee ($5.00) is from the Nespresso Dulce Gusto capsule. $5. Don’t say you were not warned. For the sake of novelty and boosting rights, this container café should attract some customers.

Cream & Custard
46 Jalan Bukit Ho Swee #01-894, Singapore 160046 (5 min walk from Tiong Bahru MRT)
Opening Hours: 11am – 9pm (Tue-Sun), Closed Mon
https://www.facebook.com/creamandcustardsg

A bakery café at Jalan Bt Ho Swee. Opened by sister and brother team Melissa and Wesley Hoe, Cream & Custard could cater to the residents and office workers nearby, providing an alternative dessert selection for the sweet-tooth. The bakes included Passionfruit Meringue, Praline Chocolate Crunch, Strawberry Shortcake, Triple Chocolate Devil, Tropical Delight and Tiramisu. Prices between $5-$7.

Dessert Project
22 Havelock Road #01-673 Singapore 160022
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Mon-Thurs), 11am – 11pm (Fri-Sat), 12am – 10pm (Sun)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dessert-Project/817279425023299

Another café at Jalan Bt Ho Swee, this serving ice cream, waffles and toast. Dessert Project offers ice cream ($3.80 for single scoop, $4.20 for premium flavours) with some rather varied flavours – think White Truffle (seriously, it almost reminded me of truffle fries), Parma Ham with Melon, and White Rabbit Candy. Loved the textures, though slightly sweet.

Krave Cafe
28 Bali Lane Singapore 189864
Tel: +65 86434557
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 10pm (Tues-Thurs, Sun), 11:30am – 11pm (Fri-Sat), Closed Mon
https://www.facebook.com/Krave.sg

The chef in charge of Krave is Chef Sufiyan Safee, with a resume of being Suria’s cookshow host (Is he a celebrity chef then?) and helming Jimmy Monkey’s kitchen. Offerings include Truffle Fries ($10), Calamari ($8), Drumlets ($8), Chicken Caesar ($8), Vanilla French Toast ($8), Pizza ($12-$16), Pasta ($8-$16) and Chocolate Lava Cake ($9). While the décor of Krave was straight forward and simple, it was the homely food which combined Malay-Western influences that makes this café worth a visit if you are at the vicinity.

Selfie Coffee Singapore
11 Haji Lane Singapore 189204
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm
https://www.facebook.com/selfiecoffeesg

The Selfie Coffee Café at hipster stretch Haji Lane is from the Malaysian chain, which retains its bizarre concept, jungle theme and doodle tables. Light bites such as pies and cake slices are available. Basically, you take a picture of your face there, and that would be printed on foam similar to cake frostings. Drink your face? Rather gimmicky lah.

Coffee Cup
Block 11, Jalan Bukit Merah, #01-4444, Singapore 150011 (10-15 min walk from Redhill MRT)
Opening Hours: 11am – 8pm (Mon-Fri), 11am – 7pm (Sat), Closed Sun
https://www.facebook.com/coffeecup.sg

Nestled beside ABC Brickworks Food Centre, Coffee Cup finds itself in the most unlikely of places. Its coffee, ironically, is quite ordinary. The old-school styled bakes are freshly made in house daily. Mango and Oreo Cheesecakes are sold at $4 each, Chocolate fudge cake and carrot cake at $5 each whereas assorted cupcakes are priced at $1.80 each.

Other Related Entries
20 New Cafes In Singapore Jan 2015
20 New Cafes In Singapore Feb 2015
20 New Cafes In Singapore March 2015
10 New Cafes In Singapore April 2014
10 New Cafes In Singapore May 2015

* Compiled by Daniel Ang @DanielFoodDiary & Nicholas Tan @stormscape. There were many other new openings, and we have visited more than 10 new cafes, but will need re-visit some due to operational hiccups. Really hope those can be minimised. To new cafes: open when you are really ready.

The post 10 New Cafes In Singapore June 2015 – Is The Cafe Hopping Trend Slowing Down? appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

[Bangkok, Thailand] There is almost an instant liking to Roast, one of Bangkok’s most popular hipster café nestled in an equally hipster Thonglor district.

The American style restaurant café has the ticks in the boxes – industrial brick-and-glass décor, spacious with tall ceilings like a large dining hall of a house, great vibes buzzing with lively people, extensive range of brunch items, mains and desserts, and very good coffee.

Except the queue, maybe too packed for very prompt service.

So come slightly late during the weekends and you would have to wait in line for some time.

Even though I have yet to drink coffee from all the main cities yet, personal preference, I thoroughly enjoy coffee at these two places – Melbourne and Bangkok.

Roast’s coffee is every part a winner, roasted in-house, using single origins (fresh brew coffee 120 baht, French Press 140 baht). After a sip, I found it balanced, aromatic and has that lingering ‘roasted’ (sorry I cannot find a better word) aftertaste that can be quite evocative

The popular item is the Iced Espresso Latte (120 baht) where espresso comes in forms of ice cubes, poured over with milk.

Perhaps we did not order the right brunch dishes – the Eggs Benedict (280 baht), Crab Cake Benedict (360 baht) and Huevos Rancheros Baked (350 baht) were good enough, but not remarkable.

I think there are several other Bangkok places that can conjure all better tasting brunch items. But I appreciated twists that could be found in the dishes, such as the Crab Cake Benedict which came with a bed of potato rosti, grilled vegetables on side, and some onion jam. The dish could do with a fuller and moister crab cake though.

The desserts were to live for. Both the Strawberry Waffle (260 baht) and Cranberry Brioche French Toast (280 baht) hit the sweet spot with their house made vanilla ice cream, light fresh cream.

Why I would come to Roast: 1 for the coffee, 2 for the ambience, 3 for the desserts, and 4 maybe for the savouries.

Roast
2nd Floor Seenspace, Thonglor Soi 13, Bangkok Thailand (quite a walk from BTS Thonglor Station)
Google Maps
Tel: +66 (0) 2 1852865
Opening Hours: 10am – 11pm (Mon-Thurs), 9am – 11pm (Fri-Sat), 9am – 10pm
https://www.facebook.com/roastbkk

Roast has opened its 2nd at EmQuartier near Phrom Phong Station. You won’t want to miss its cold-brew.

1st Floor, The Helix Quartier, EmQuartier (BTS Phrom Phong Station)
Google Maps
Tel: +66 (0) 9 41763870
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm Daily

Other Related Entries
Metro On Wireless (Bangkok)
Maxim’s Bistro (Central World, Bangkok)
ZENSE (Central World, Bangkok)
The Girl & The Pig (Central Embassy, Bangkok)
Petite Audrey (Siam Center, Bangkok)

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Japan produces some of the most amazing snacks, all wonderfully packaged and mouthwateringly tasty. Some of my favourites include the Ishiya Shiroi Koibito White Chocolate Biscuits, and Potato Farm Calbee Jaga Pokkuru.

Now you get the chance to buy them at some of the most discounted prices, provided exclusively via Hokkaido Omiyage Tankentai on Rakuten.

The $30 Hokkaido Sweets All Stars Assortment A pack comes highly recommended, a great starter kit for anyone who is exploring what they may like.

The Best of Hokkaido Snack pack includes
– Ishiya Shiroi Koibito (White, Box of 12 pieces)
– Calbee Jaga Pokkuru (Box of 10 packets)
– Hori Pure Jelly (Pack of 12)
– Rokkatei Marusei Biscuit (Box of 16)
– Hokkaido Vegetables Chip (1 bag)
And all these at a promotional price of SGD$30! Shipping price included. (Original price SGD$65.06)

Wait, wait, wait… that’s not all. The 1st 100 readers who order via DanielFoodDiary.com would get a further $5 off, and purchase at an exclusive price of SGD$25 ONLY!

Use Code “DANIEL5OFF” when checking-out online. Order the $30 Hokkaido Sweets All Stars Assortment A NOW!

Shiroi Koibito
These white chocolate European style cookies are better known as “White Lover” or 白い恋人, one of Hokkaido’s best known and hottest selling snacks since 1976.

If you have yet to try them, it is light Hokkaido butter biscuits with premium white chocolate sandwiched in between, tasting elegantly delicious.

Even though they are really popular, they are only sold in Hokkaido and selected places in Japan.

Information about Shiroi Koibito and Individual Order at $11.20

Calbee Jaga Pokkuru
These Potato Farm fries are easily my favourite snacks from Hokkaido, and I would always lug back boxes whenever I come back from Japan (Am snacking on them as I am typing this).

The Calbee Jaga Pokkuru fries-like chips are made using choice Hokkaido potatoes which are cut without peeling to retain the flavour of the skin, then added with roasted salt produced at Lake Saroma. VERY addictive, crispy and light. You can almost taste those real potato flavours. Comes in convenient packs of 10.

Hori Pure Jelly
You could fall in love with this immediately. After popping one, then I realised … Sweet Melons!

The Hori Pure Jelly is made with Yubari melon, known as the most expensive melon the world, and surprisingly retains the distinct flavour of the premium melon. Eat it after refrigeration and it almost feels like you are having the actual fruit. Exclusively selling on Rakuten.

Information about Hori Pure Jelly and Individual Order at $11.20

Rokkatei Marusei Biscuit
Hokkaido has been known for its dairy products, and these butter biscuits are testament to the quality.

This is the most popular product by Rokkatei, where the name ‘Marusei’ comes from the producer of the rich butter used. Exclusively selling on Rakuten.

Information about Rokkatei Marusei Biscuit and Individual Order at $16

Hokkaido Vegetables Chips
Hokkaido vegetable chips of potato, pumpkin and carrots, fried using low-temperature method and vacuum packed.

You can still taste some of the flavours and sweetness of the vegetables. Makes a light snack without the guilt. Exclusively sold on Rakuten.

Information about Hokkaido Vegetables Chip and Individual Order at $6.98

1st 100 readers who order via DanielFoodDiary.com would get a further $5 off, and purchase at an exclusive price of SGD$25 ONLY. Use Code “DANIEL5OFF” when checking-out online.

Order the $30 Hokkaido Sweets All Stars Assortment A NOW.

* This post is brought to you in partnership with Rakuten.

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