PS Cafe (Palais Renaissance)

This place opened around August - I heard about it then coz some friends were walking around Palais Renaissance before my birthday dinner at Marmalade Pantry. I’ve since been there three times :) so this is a culmination of all those visits.

My first trip there was for brunch, I had the Welsh Rarebit Trio $12++ -


Such a weird name right? Don’t worry there’s not rabbit in any shape or form. I thought the portion seemed small when I was first served it, but it was actually pretty filling. The toppings on the three slices of French loaf was crabmeat, spinach and bacon and tomato. The poached egg gave it a breakfast twist.

The other thing that I had a bite of was the Crab Tart –


Slightly unimpressive especially when compared with the Crab Caesar that I tried at Marmalade Pantry just downstairs. I can’t remember exactly how much it was but I think it was about S$27++ - I reckon it’s overpriced and not that great value.

The next trip here was for brunch again. I had the Breakfast Stack -


A very decent portion and all the little bits of the dish (grilled asparagus, poached egg, portobello mushrooms, roasted tomatoes) came together to make a perfect breakfast, erm or brunch :D

Also tried the Egg White Omelette (egg whites with feta, mushrooms and spinach) –


It wasn't bad but the fact that it was just egg whites kinda put me off... too healthy :P

The desserts here are a definite must-try, if you can get past the fact that they're so expensive :s

The Stick Lemon and Chewy Florentine Cake was our attempt at trying something non-chocolate.


It was lighter than expected, but I kinda prefer very lemony cake so it could stand to be a tad more sour.

Ordering the Chocolate Crunch Doorstop was a given the moment I saw it but it was pretty expensive at $15.90++ -


It's layer after layer of decadent chocolate - bottom layer of brownie, nuts, followed by mousse and topped off with Maltesers. To die for... but do keep a glass of water handy, it is extremely rich and thirst-inducing.

The Double Chocolate Blackout is another one of PS Cafe's signature desserts -


Multiple layers of chocolate fudge cake - so many layers that it can't even stand :)

I've sat at both the indoor and outdoor seating areas and the outdoor definitely wins hands down. The colonial feel of the decor and furniture is enhanced by the revolving ceiling fans. You also have to check out the bathroom - it's really pretty!

The service here is surprisingly better than most places I've been to recently - attentive, with constant top ups of ice water, and always there when you need service.

A really nice place to have a meal - food is pretty good and not over-priced, but always remember to share the desserts! The fact that they have slightly different dishes from the other branches, together with the fact that the ambience is great, and the better than average service, I would totally come back here again.


PS Cafe
390 Orchard Road
Level 2 Palais Rennaissance
Tel : 6887 2207
http://www.pscafe.sg/

Cedele (Wheelock Place)

Haven't been here for a while so decided to come here for dinner with mum and sisters. The menu has been revamped since my last visit so I was excited to try some of the new items.

I’ve tried the Chilli Crab Linguine from Marmalade Pantry and while it’s not that bad, I’m not particularly impressed and can never figure out why everyone orders it. Cedele has a similar dish at a much lower price – Red Chilli Crab Pasta (crabmeat cooked with red chilli tomato sauce, finished with spiced soft shell crab) S$16.90++ -


Loved it! The chilli crab sauce was not bad but my favourite part was the deep-fried soft shell crab. Ok, admittedly it might be because I haven’t had soft shell crab in quite a long time so this tasted super yums! But the soft shell crab definitely added a interesting touch to what would be an otherwise now pretty common pasta dish.

Sis had the White Mushroom Bacon Pasta (bacon and mushroom in a white cream sauce) S$14.90++ - better known as Carbonara… and I picked at it a bit -


I always like cream sauce pastas but they’re so heavy and near impossible to finish! So it worked out perfectly that I got to pick at my sister’s one :)

Of course I would pick a Pavlova for dessert!


Pretty small one which worked out fine as I was already quite full from my pasta. Not bad… funny how expensive ones (i.e. the one at Marmalade) are not necessarily better than cheap ones :)

Still one of my old favourites when it comes to good and reasonably priced food… and now with the menu, I can try new stuff! Or at least try hard to convince myself to try new stuff – everyone knows I keep eating the same old things :)


Cedele (Wheelock Place)
501 Orchard Road #03-14
Wheelock Place
Tel: 6732 8520

Marmalade Pantry (Palais Renaissance)

Yet another extremely late post on one of my (numerous) birthday dinners :D

I’ve eaten here and at the Marmalade Pantry at Hitachi Tower, and have never been all that keen on their food, but this place was picked out of pure convenience.

But we were all pleasantly surprised by the portion of the Crab Caesar $22++ :


Huge portion with lots of chunks of crabmeat!! We ordered this to share but this can comfortably be a main course, well for a female at least.

We also ordered Homemade Dips with Pita Wedges $9++ to share -


The brinjal dip had an interesting Asian twist to it – it was spicy and familiar tasting but I could pinpoint what was familiar about it. Other than that, this was just ok.

For my main course I had the Foie Gras Burger with Sundried Tomato Relish $26++ :


Never understood why burgers are called foie gras burgers when there isn’t much foie gras in it. It was a pretty ordinary burger, not much complaints from me. Hmm, didn’t I have a burger at my other birthday dinner at Cicada?...

For desserts, we ordered a few to try. Of course, I HAD to order the Toasted Almond Pavlova with Summer Berries $12++ :


Loved all the summer berries but wasn’t all that thrilled with the pavlova. Seemed like it was harder than it should be… or maybe I’m just being overly critical.

We also ordered the Sticky Date Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream $12++:


It was pretty good but the best one I’ve had so far is still the one at Brown Sugar Bistro Café - and having had it pretty recently, I can verify that it still holds true :).

Service was so-so. We had to change our orders a few times coz they ran out of a few items on the menu – pretty unforgivable, seeing how it was only 8pm on a Friday night. It got to the stage where you could tell the waitress was visibly embarrassed to come back to our table to tell us that something was unavailable.

Other than the Crab Caesar, the food was as unimpressive as before. Mostly the default option for a nicer dining place in the Orchard area, but with the opening of PS Café just upstairs, there is now a viable alternative. Look out for an up-coming review of PS Café :)


The Marmalade Pantry
390 Orchard Road
Palais Renaissance
B1-08 to 11
Tel : 6734 2700
www.themarmaladepantry.com