Spruce

Came here for brunch during my birthday celebrations. C made a reservation so we got a private room that was long and narrow with nice photograph Pros of the private room - erm, the privacy. Cons - stuck with just one server, and he just so happens to be a really lousy one... more on this later.

Of course boring, old me will order The Spruce Big Brekkie $16 (Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Roasted Tomatoes, Grilled Vegetables, Roasted Mushrooms with Toast and Butter) -


Oh, it was just normal. I was probably just craving breakfast that day, but I should so order other things than my usual... luckily, we ordered a few more things to share...

I read somewhere that the Ahi Tuna Tartar with Toasted Ciabatta and Avocado $21 was good so I made it a point to order it as one of the sharing dishes -


And it really was very very good! The tuna was very fresh and went really well with the avocado on the ciabatta toast. A bit on the expensive side, but a definite must order if you come here.

Also tried the Waffle $5 -


And Banana Hotcakes, Honeycomb Butter and Blueberry Syrup $13 -


Both were not too bad, but not spectacular.

Also tried the Creamy Macaroni and Cheese $7 -


which was quite yummy. Not too rich, and at a good price too.

I tried the Arnold Palmer -


when we asked the waiter, he told us that it was half lemonade and half ice tea. Apparently, and obviously enough, invested by Arnold Palmer the golf player. A nice refreshing drink! And perfect for me as I love ice tea and anything sour :D

So back to the service that I talked about in the beginning of the post... the server we had was completely hopeless. He took forever to get our orders, then half an hour later, comes back to let us know that one of the orders were not available. We were damn hungry and horrified to find out that half an hour later, the kitchen had not even started preparing our food! We asked him for some bread as we were seriously starving by this point, but by the time he brought the bread, the food already came. Not that the food came that quickly, but that the waiter took that long to bring us some bread!

We all liked the food - well-prepared, tasty and decently priced and hope to come back again to try more dishes... and hope that we get a better waiter the next time?


Spruce
320 Tanglin Road
Phoenix Park
Tel : 6836 5528

Caffe Beviamo

This was a combination of two different visits, actually three but I only took pictures for two. I ended up eating at both branches (Tanglin Mall and Paragon) three times in a few months, and decided I quite like this place.

One trip here was for a girls' tea - which meant desserts galore :) I tried one of my fav Aussie desserts - Lamingtons!


A quick google describes Lamingtons as a sponge cake dipped in chocolate icing and then rolled in desiccated coconut - a totally traditional Australian dessert. I'm not a fan of coconut flesh or coconut juice but love desserts with desiccated coconut, like onde onde and lamingtons :) This one is pretty decent, but the one at Gloria Jean's is quite good too.

Another very Aussie dessert is Sticky Date Pudding -


I've blogged quite a few times about Sticky Date Pudding, and since my favourite one so far is now no more (Brown Sugar Bistro Cafe has closed down!), this will be my next choice when I want Sticky Date Pudding. It has a scoop of vanilla ice-cream sandwiched by two slices of the sticky date pudding and sitting in a pool of super sweet butterscotch sauce. Definitely for those with a sweet tooth, and don't even try to finish one by yourself :)

Selena ordered a Hummingbird Cake -


First time I've heard of it! It's mostly a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, but it's different in that it has nuts (pecans?) and bananas in it too. I'm not a fan of carrot cake so didn't really like it... but it was interesting to see a new cake that I've never heard of before.

I also tried the food here. On one occasion, I tried the Pear and Walnut Salad and it was yums. And if I remember correctly, it was about $8. On the other trip I tried the Ravioli (half portion)-


and a Pizza -


The ravioli was a small portion but ravioli being ravioli, it was pretty filling nonetheless. Loved the fresh brocollini that came with it. The pizza had a super thin crust and not all that filling and slightly on the oily side.

The food here has a somewhat healthy streak and is mostly very reasonably priced. I've heard that their lattes are really good too. The desserts are to die for and not even half as expensive as PS Cafe. Both branches have the perfect ambience for a girls' tea or a simple meal. Actually, you can almost imagine that you're in Melbourne or Sydney when you're here...


Caffe Beviamo (Tanglin Mall)
163 Tanglin Road
#02-K1 Tanglin Mall
Tel: 6738 7906

Caffe Beviamo (Paragon)
290 Orchard Road
#05-K3/K4 The Paragon
Tel: 6836 2535

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/

Graze (revisted)

It was Karen M's birthday and at her request, we celebrated it here.

The last time I was in Rochester Park on a Friday night, the parking situation was horrendous, so I was expecting the worse when I was approaching the car park that evening. To my surprise, the car park was half empty! It might have been the incessant rain that was foiling everyone's plans, but I have the feeling that the hype about Rochester might also be dying down.

We were quite impressed by the service when the staff swooped in to keep away our umbrellas when we arrived at the restaurant... but the service the rest of the night left much to be desired...

As it expected with such ambient lighting the photos are quite bad - sorry for the strain on your eyes :(

We ordered a few starters to share -

King Prawn Done Three Ways - Tempura, Chilled, Pan-tossed with Coconut Coriander Sorbet $18+++. So the photo is not very clear, but I'm sure you're thinking "are there really three KING prawns on that plate??". There were definitely three prawns served, but whether they were king prawns were debatable...




We also shared the Crab Salad $16+++ but I can't really remember how it tasted...



For the main course I had one of the specials, Butterfish wrapped in Prosciutto $38+++ -


Seeng how the starters were in pretty small portions, I was expecting the same for my main course... and was quite surprised when it turned out to have two relatively big servings of fish. This is the first time I've had butterfish - it's white and flaky like cod, but a bit meatier in texture. Each prosciutto wrapped roll was totally stuffed with the butterfish. The combination of fish with prosciutoo was amazing! But there was so much fish in each serving that I could just barely finish one piece and had to give away the other one.




The birthday girl had another one of the specials, Lamb Loin $38+++,







her husband had the Roasted Barramundi with Pumpkin and Parmesan Cheese Ravioli $30+++,






the resident vegetarian, had the Pumpkin, Nutmeg, Pine nut and Parmesan cheese Ravioli $24+++,







And the beef lover's wife had the Soy-lacquered Wagyu Ox Cheek, Coconut Rice, Green Papaya and Pomelo Salad $32+++ :)



Since I've never had Rhubarb, I was quite eager to try the Green Apple and Rhubarb Crumble with Bourbon Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream $12+++ -


The rhubarb was quite indistinguishable from the apple in the gooey mess under the crumble, but I'm sure it's what made the dessert even more sour than it already was. It was good, but impossible for one person to finish on their own... I felt quite sick after eating most of it.



Other desserts that were ordered included the Cheese Plate $25+++,









and Black and White Pudding Cake $18+++.



The service was pretty scrappy. One example was how the waiter who took our order for the desserts had a pretty poor memory, and while he was (barely remembering and) repeating our orders, he got another waiter to take over and we had to go through our orders all over again. No idea what was up with that...

Another thing that annoyed me about this place - when I called to make a reservation for 10 persons, I was told that for 10 pax and above, we have to order from a set menu (appetizer, main course, dessert - all items available on the normal menu, coffee/tea) at $80+++ per head. I thought it was a really silly rule and was quite glad when our headcount fell to 9. When I asked for the reason for the rule, the staff gave a reason which I can't remember right now but remember it as being really silly.

Didn't enjoy dinner as much as I enjoyed brunch, so if I do come back it will likely only be for brunch. Nice ambience and reasonably good food, but the service could be improved...


Graze Restaurant
4 Rochester Park
S139215
Tel : 6775 9000
www.graze.sg

The Pump Room

This is one of the many new restaurants that have opened up at Clark Quay. The only reason why it was one of the first places that we checked out was because my favourite guitarist Addy plays here with the band Jive Talking. First time we were here, we found out that they had a pretty interesting menu... which is how we ended up eating here on another particularly indecisive day.

For starters, we tried the Chargrilled Mediterranean Vegetables and Goat's Cheese Stack $14.00+++ -

Crabcakes $16.00+++ -


and the Octopus Salad $12.00+++


Nothing was particularly great, but I'll probably order the Chargrilled Vegetables if I came here again as I love chargrilled vegetables and they went quite well with the goat's cheese.

For the main, I had the Ribs $28+++ -


It was a really huge serving and it was impossible to finish it by myself. As for the meat itself, it fell right off the bone as it's supposed to.

Also tried a bit of the Rack of Lamb $32+++ -


Should have had this - the portion size was perfect for me :)

Despite being really full, we just had to have dessert as I really wanted to have the Pavlova $8.00+++ -


and V really wanted to have his Sticky-date Pudding $8.00+++ -


As long as there is pavlova, I'm sure to order it - I love how the combination of sugar and egg-white becomes something so sweet, crispy and just totally melts in your mouth :) The sticky-date pudding was ok - the Aussies at the table started a conversation about where the best sticky-date pudding was back in Sydney, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't quite up to their expectations.

This trip here was when the place was opened for just a few weeks and they had quite a few operational problems. Besides getting orders mixed up, not bringing things when requested, they also didn't seem to have stocked up enough inventory... What do I mean? When we got our menus, the waiter told us that there were only a limited number of steaks left! It's been a while since they've been open, so hopefully they have ironed the kinks out.


The Pump Room
3B River Valley Road
#01-09 The Foundry
Tel : 6334 2628
www.pumproomasia.com

Graze

Finally made it to Graze! Read on Chubby Hubby's blog that Graze had a Breakfast/Brunch menu, and that did it for me - nothing I like more than having breakfast food for lunch...

Of course I had to order The Cast Iron Pan $18+++. Is your mouth watering already? :) With sausages, bacon, egg, tomato, mushrooms, potatoes and baked beans, it had everything I liked! It was yummy, but then it's kinda hard to go wrong with this kind of food... Don't be fooled by the picture, the iron pan is really not that big, but it is enough food for one person.


Also ordered the Waffles with Nutella Ice-cream $13+++... how do you say 'no' to Nutella ice-cream??? A perfect waffle, lots of strawberries and a scoop of delicious Nutella ice-cream... Was kinda bizzare eating savoury food and dessert at the same time but I just could not bear to see the ice-cream melt! Maybe I should have told the waiter to serve it later...


Thinking it wasn't enough food, we also ordered the Omelette $16+++. As if we didn't already have enough meat, we had as toppings sausages, bacon, mushrooms and tomatos. The omelette was baked rather than fried and was much lighter than I expected... and as you can see, it's spilling with toppings, just the way I like my omelettes!

Pretty nice place to chill out and while away a Sunday afternoon... and I'm definitely coming back to try their adorable cupcakes.

Graze Restaurant
4 Rochester Park
S139215
Tel : 6775 9000
www.graze.sg

The Cellar Door

Had a lovely birthday dinner here last year - the food was good, the desserts yummy, and the wines were apparently not bad too (so I was told - I have NO IDEA how to appreciate good wine).

While I had a reasonably enjoyable time this time round, it was definitely not as good as the last time.

First thing I noticed was that they had renovated the place. For some reason they added a huge bar counter that kinda overwhelms the place. But the place is still very cosy and gives you the feeling that you're in a quaint restaurant in the middle of Napa Valley... or something like that :)

Service was great! After the horribly rude waitress at Morton's, I was so happy to get some good service. The waiter who served us was young, enthusiastic and very friendly. Had similarly good service at Corduroy & Finch nearby - am beginning to wonder what these suburban restaurants did to poach these great waiters!

What was slightly disappointing was the food. For a starter, we had 'Delicious Dips Plate with Crispy Bread' $9++. There was a choice of dips and I chose sundried tomato pesto and hummus. The dips tasted ok, but they were not of a spreadable consistency and you had to use a knife to spread it on the bread.

For the main course, I had the Morrocan Lamb Pie $18++ (which was the pie of the day). It was a generous serving of very tender chunks of lamb under a flaky pie crust, accompanied by some steamed asparagus and french beans.

For dessert, we had the Strawberry Kiwi Pavlova $8++. I think not everyone has heard of a Pavlova?... Yes, it's named after the famous ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. It's actually an Australian invention - a meringue topped with fruits. A meringue is made by beating egg whites and salt to a stiff consistency before folding in sugar, vanilla and vinegar. After baking, it becomes crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. I love the way it just melts in your mouth... and as you can imagine, it's extremely sweet. Topped with strawberries, kiwis and passionfruit, it was exactly what my sweet tooth was craving :)

All in all it was a pretty good dining experience, so I wouldn't mind coming back here again. And, yes, I still cannot remember to take photos of the food before I eat!

The Cellar Door
619 Bukit Timah Road
Tel : 64635296
www.thecellardoor.com.sg