Luxemburgerli

You're probably going - luxem what?? :)

I discovered these lovelies on my trip to Switzerland last December. I first saw them in Zurich, and despite being a big fan of anything vaguely meringue-ish, I was unwilling to buy them - they were not cheap! But I finally caved while I was in Lucerne and ate them while walking to the Dying Lion of Lucerne monument.

I went from one extreme to another - from not wanting to buy any to getting two of each flavour they had in the shop :D And they were as heavenly as I imagined...


Didn't take very long to finish them all despite me taking every effort to make the experience last as long as possible :) Unfortunately they don't travel well so I couldn't get hold of any - till now. Thanks so much, Stefan!

What exactly are luxemburgerli? Wikipedia describes it as something "similar to a small French macaron", meringue-like cookies. But the Luxemburgerli is very cutely bite-sized and is much lighter than a macaroon. You can only get them from Confiserie Sprüngli in Switzerland.

If you ever go to Switzerland, this is a definite must try (the other must try is Teuscher Champagne Truffles).

Confiserie Sprüngli
http://www.spruengli.ch/index.php

Franky's Kaffe Kitchen

Looking for a new place to try, as usual, and I suggested this place tucked away in a quiet corner of Millenia Walk. It was as quiet as I guessed it would be - nearly totally empty during Sunday lunch!

I'm quite a sucker for cheese fries so was quite happy to order this to share.


Cheese Fries for $7.50+ - I never understand why cheese fries cost so much more than normal fries... is melted cheese so expensive?!? Just ok but not worth the price I think.

Gerry tried the Vegetarian Avocado Sandwich $9.90+ -


I didn't get to try it so can't say how it is. I'm a newly converted avocado fan though - recently tried some in a sandwich with portobello and it's brilliant! I've always been kinda adverse to avocado just because the very first face wash that I used was Eversoft - avocado base - and the smell of avocado just reminds me of face wash :D But like I said, I'm a newly converted fan now :)

I had the Philly Steak Sandwich $11.60+ :


Yeah, sandwiches don't photograph very well. But this one was decent, a wee bit on the salty side though. I used to love the Phlly's Cheesesteak at the other side of Millenia Walk that's closed down some time back - this is a pretty good substitute.

We decided to order just one dessert to share and tried the Brownie $4.20+ :


I asked for a scoop of vanilla ice-cream to go with it and was totally surprised that they didn't charge me for it! Pretty amazing considering most other places would charge you at least $2.50 for a scoop of ice-cream. The brownie itself was not too bad, and the ice-cream wasn't cheap ice-cream or anything like that.

This place is perfect when you want to have a quiet place to catch up with friends. Service is friendly and food is decent (a few korean options that we didn't try). A good option when you're in the Millenia area...


Franky's Kaffe Kitchen
9 Raffles Blvd
#01-55/56 Millenia Walk Mall
Tel: 6336 7641

Thai Express (VivoCity)

Ok, so Thai Express is nothing new, but I haven't been here in a while and on a recent revisit, decided to try something new and it's now my current fav here. Love the Phat Woon Sen Poo Nim Phrik Thai Dam (Claypot Black Pepper Soft-shell Crab Glass Noodles) $13.90++!


It's got glass noodles (tang hoon) stir-fried with lots of garlic, heaps of whole black peppercorns, mushrooms and spring onions, and topped with a very decent-sized serving of deep fried soft-shell crab. I'm not a huge garlic fan so that's the first thing that gets picked out *bleagh* But I love the very peppery tang hoon! And I haven't eaten much soft-shell crab in the last few years (for no particular reason) so it's a real treat to have it again now :)

Another thing which I absolutely adore here is the Khao Niao Mamuang (Sweet Glutinous Rice with Fresh Mango and Coconut Milk) $5.90++ :


Whenever I'm in Thailand, I have mango glutinous rice at least once every day... but I still prefer the one here :D The authentic one you find in Thailand tends to have tough individual grains of rice with a thin coconut milk sauce. The one here, on the other hand, has a mound of sticky, chewy glutinous rice, with sweetened cocunut milk. YUMS! Beats the real thing hands down, if you ask me.

I'm a renewed Thai Express fan - the service is still spotty, but there's some pretty good dishes here and prices are reasonable.


Thai Express (VivoCity)
1 Harbourfront Walk
#B2-30 VivoCity
Tel: 6272 1912
www.thaiexpress.com.sg