Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie @ Paragon290 Orchard RoadB1-25 Paragon Tel: 6733 8893Opening hours: 11am to 10pm dailyWebsite: http://www.canele.com.sg/ Apologies for the lack of updates recently. I've been swarmed with work and changes that are still ongoing. Plus, I haven't had many memorable dining experiences recently except for what I'm going to write about except that it's not going to be exactly "memorable" in the nicest way.When I first heard that Canelé had opened an outlet right smack in the heart of town, I have to be honest; I was a tad excited. In addition, I had read that there was a new a la carte menu and some of the desserts were commendable. Truth be told, I have tried their cakes before at the Robertson Walk outlet and I wasn't particularly impressed partly cos I am a huge fan of a rival patisserie. In comparison, I thought Canelé's desserts were too heavy and sweet for my liking. Then again, maybe I am not a chocolate fan so I can't really appreciate what Canelé's known for and so, I decided to give the new Paragon outlet a try last weekend.
Between Mum and I, we ordered the Chestnut Souffle which received favourable reviews and the Cafe Noix, a coffee cake. Apart from being a little on the sweet side, the Cafe Noix was actually pretty enjoyable. I might have liked it better if they cut a little of the sugar and added more coffee to give it more kick.
I was sorely disappointed with the Chestnut Souffle maybe cos this was the dessert I had gone specially to Canelé for. To start off, it was almost unbearingly sweet. There were still granules of sugar that were unmelted. It was also accompanied by a scoop of Fromage Blanc sorbet. Fromage Blanc is actually cream cheese made from skimmed cow's milk. I couldn't get used to having that in a sorbet. The flavour was just too odd for me so I had a bit of it and left the rest to melt. The only thing I liked were the little bits of chestnuts that were in there. That's about it.
With one non-fantastic and another below ordinary experience, I can't say for sure if I'd visit again. I'm sure Chef Pang's creations are fantastic else he would not be as famous in the industry as he is today. Maybe I wasn't spot on with my choices. Or maybe I'll return again when I'm ready to give Canelé another shot.
Tung Lok Signatures1 Harbourfront Walk#01-57 VivoCityTel: 6376 9555Since Lei Garden at Orchard Plaza closed a year ago, my family has been searching for a "replacement". Lei Garden at Chijmes somehow felt more like a business place rather than a family friendly restaurant so that didn't sit well with us. We've tried many of the good and famous places and still, we couldn't find that X-factor. It's hard to put a finger down to what it is but I can say that Lei Garden has been a family favourite as well as a place for business for my Dad for over 10 years. The staff that we were so familiar with packed their bags along with its closure so the familiarity that we had been so used to disappeared overnight.
Honestly, I've never been a fan of Tung Lok except for the now defunct Charming Garden that used to be at Copthorne Orchid. Through a staff at Lei Garden Chijmes, we found out that 2 ex-managers and chefs from Lei Garden Orchard Plaza were now working at Tung Lok Signatures. To cut the long story short, all I can say that the family has found "home" again.
Tung Lok Signatures basically runs on the concept of bringing all of Tung Lok's signature dishes in one place. Of course, with the ex-Lei Garden chef at the helm now, we also get food that's reminiscent of what was served there. Since Signatures is located in a shopping mall, the atmosphere's pretty casual and has a nice view of the Waterfront facing Sentosa except that prices aren't exactly the most "casual". Food was excellent so here's what we had that night.
This has to be a perennial favourite of the family. Better than the version we had at Lei Garden Chijmes actually. The skin was crispy and crackling. The meat was juicy and tender with the right amount of fat layered in between. Definitely a must-order when you're there.
The ex-manager from Lei Garden did the ordering for us this time and of course, brought out some of the chef's specialities. Needless to say, they were also our favourites from Lei Garden. Think he remembered that we liked this. Very tasty dish with fish slices, mushrooms and pork braised together in dark sauce. Bring on the rice!
I'm a big fan of tofu so I always love dishes with tofu. This was no exception. The homemade tofu was smooth and again, a perfect rice complement. The crispy conpoy on the top added a nice touch as well.
Nothing really much to shout about since it was just stir-fried vegetables. Again, the conpoy was used for garnishing. Bamboo piths were pretty tasteless without the sauce. This dish was good but like I said, nothing much to write about.
I'm always pretty boring when it comes to Cantonese desserts. It's always the Mango Pudding, Mango Pomelo Sago or Almond Cream. This was recommended by the manager and I thought was quite a refreshing change. The sauce on the outside was actually a soursop puree and a lemon mousse was in the middle of the papaya ring. With the 3 different kinds of fruit, we had sweetness and sourness in the same dessert. Rather delicious I must say but I'm not sure if this is in the regular menu.I also had a double boiled soup which was delicious. Can't remember which one was it but I recall the very yummy fresh fish maw. Their double boiled soups are excellent; you won't want to give it a miss.There are still so many stuff on the menu that I'm curious to try especially some of Tung Lok's specialities. Definitely a place I'd return to over and over with the family. *Two thumbs up*
The Cliff
The Sentosa Resort & Spa
2 Bukit Manis Road
Sentosa
Tel: 6275 0331
Website: http://www.beaufort.com.sg/res_cliff.html
I'm glad I finally got some rest I deserved last weekend. CNY celebrations have been hectic and work has been terrible. To get away from the hustle and bustle, D & I made a little trip to Sentosa and found a new gem at The Cliff.
Located at The Sentosa Resort & Spa, the al fresco restaurant's surroundings is serene, natural and beautiful. Perched literally on a cliff, diners can get a lovely view of the South China Sea if you're seated at the right table. D & I had specifically reserved a table with the sea view and thoroughly loved it although it would have been better if there were no tanker ships in the sea and if it wasn't raining just a while before we arrived. If it had not rained, we could have witnessed the sun setting. That would have been perfect.
Not only was the ambience right, The Cliff's service was spot on. The lady who served us for the evening was very warm and articulate. She spoke very clearly and was on hand to answer any questions we had. When we asked for recommendations, we would tell us what was popular and end by telling us what her personal favourites were. The rest of the service staff were also very quick and organised so I was very impressed since good service like this rarely comes by these days. So for that, they deserve 5 and a half stars.
Dinner was excellent. After we made our order and was served our bread, we were presented with an amuse bouche; Cream of Tomato with Saffron, compliments from the chef. I thought it was a delicious start although D thought it was nothing to shout about. I liked the tinge of sourness from the tomatoes although I would have preferred it better if it was served a tad warmer.
Our first course was the one that got D raving til today. We ordered 2 types of fresh oysters to try; the Prat-Ar-Coum from France and the Kumamoto from USA. The Prat-Ar-Coum was a bit saltier and had sort of a briny finish. The Kumamoto, on the other hand, was sweet and creamy. D preferred the French oyster because he felt that it tasted like the sea and he enjoyed the slight metallic taste at the end. However, I preferred the Kumamoto because it was sweeter. Whichever we preferred, both were excellent and fresh.
Our second course was an appetiser of Caramelized Hokkaido Scallops. This was accompanied by a morel mushroom custard which D couldn't get enough of. It was yummy but I couldn't get my attention off the scallops. Again, the scallops were fresh, slightly undercooked on the inside but nicely caramelized on the outside. Too bad I had to share it with D cos I would have cleaned the plate easily on my own.
This was my favourite course of the evening; Char-grilled Yellow Fin Tuna. The medium-rare tuna which I had requested for turned out excellent. I loved that it was just nicely grilled on the outside but fleshy red in the middle. 
D loved his choice of the "3" Clam Risotto as well. He's always been a big fan of shellfish, especially clams so this pretty much caught his attention when he opened the menu. The risotto was al-dente and had a lot of bite which I think was what D loved so much about it. Plus the delicious clams of course.
D and I would usually order different courses so that we can get to try different things but we both refused to budge on our choices and ended up having the same dessert; Sticky Date Pudding Soufle. I have a huge penchant for sticky date puddings from uni days in Perth so usually if I see sticky date puddings on the menus like at Marmalade Pantry, I wouldn't give it a miss. Before you get confused, a pudding soufle is merely a pudding within a soufle. It was a pretty nice ending but I think we were too ambitious in order 2 servings cos the dessert didn't just come on its own but accompanied with a scoop of sorbet to cleanse the palate, some dates soaked in liquor and a fried apple fritter which reminded D of hum chin peng.
The experience we had at The Cliff is something that D and I will remember for some time to come. We'd probably save our 2nd visit for a special occasion. All in all, the location's a little out of the way but if you're looking for some place nice and special, this is it.
Donut Factory
252 North Bridge Road
#B1-61 Raffles City Shopping Center
Tel: 6337 6268
Love is blind. Is that true or false?? Well, it's only because of love that I had the opportunity to finally sink my teeth into a donut from the infamous Donut Factory. Well, Em had quarrelled with her boyfriend and because she casually mentioned about trying the donuts, he spent 4 hours of his afternoon queuing for them to make it up to her. Yup... so I told you, love is blind isn't it?Truthfully, I feel that the "craze" is only Singapore's response to deprivation and curiousity. We had Dunkin' Donuts around before but I guess they had to close due to poor business. Singaporeans then had to turn to the short supply of Krispy Kremes from friends or family who travelled overseas. Now that Donut Factory's open, people make a beeline for it. Some spend their afternoon off from work to wait in line. I even see queues now at the donut store in Takashimaya which weren't there previously. So the question is, are they really in love with these donuts? Or is it true that Singaporean's favourite pasttime is to stand in line?!
Frankly, the donuts ain't that bad. I didn't heat mine up when I had it but I heard from my colleague that it's delicious eaten warm. The good part about it is unlike Krispy Kreme's, the donuts aren't overbearingly sweet. So if you ask me, I'll definitely want to eat it again. Ask me again if I'd queue hours just to eat it, I'd say I can do without it. Maybe next time, I can wait.
Boost Juice
#02-134, VivoCity
Tel: 6376 9300
Website: http://www.boostjuicebars.com.sg/
I was pretty excited when I saw Boost Juice at VivoCity cos it brought back memories of days in Perth. There was a time when my friends and I were all crazy about bubble teas and then there was a time when I was in love with smoothies that I had to have one each time I was in town. If my memory serves me right, Boost Juice was located at Garden City Shopping Center at that time. There were always long queues on Thurs late night shopping days for their delicious smoothies. You won't really see that much of a queue at VivoCity but you'd still get the delicious smoothies they serve. D's in love with them at the moment; especially the berry-flavoured ones.So... if smoothies are your thing, hop down there right now!
Astons Specialties
119 East Coast Road
Tel: 6247 7857
I'm avoiding Astons. Yup, you read it right. I've been saying 'NO' to D's relentless requests for Astons. It's not that I think Astons is no good. On the contrary, I'm a huge huge fan of the steaks there. The only reason I'm avoiding Astons FOR NOW is ST ran an article on mid-priced steak places on a Sunday about 2 weeks ago. They rated Astons as tops which of course, was a fantastic thing cos good food is meant to be shared. In doing that though, the crowd has come in, and even when I drove past on a weekday night past 9, there were still hoards of people trying to get their share of meat which wasn't the case before the article was published! So anyhow, either I visit at some odd hour or wait til the crowd has satisfied its curiousity. Unless of course D forces me into it.
Anyways, I'm not blaming ST. They were right on this one. Astons is great. It's reasonably priced, the meat quality far exceeds the price you pay for its steaks and it's also cooked perfectly. Getting a steak to be served doesn't mean just slapping it on the grill; a lot of skill is actually needed to get it evenly cooked on both sides but still retain the moisture within. 
The cheapest steak you'd get there is the sirloin for $9.90 and the priciest being the wagyu beef at $38.90 which I think is pretty reasonable for the quality of the beef you're getting. Plus, you get 2 sides with each steak order and so far, my favourites are the bbq baked beans and onion rings. I've tried the Rib Eye and the New York Strip and personally, I prefer the latter although both were delicious and cooked perfectly. For the price you pay, you'd never imagine getting steak with the thickness you get at Astons. Imagine this, you can actually specify whether you want your steak well done or medium rare for a fraction of the price you pay at other steak houses. Best part is, you get what you ask for. I was a happy camper when I saw the redness I wanted in my steak. Perfect. 
Hopefully I'd get to try the wagyu beef the next time I'm there. Frankly, Astons deserves all the attention it's getting especially with quality food at quality prices. It's definitely far better than some other supposed "steakhouses" I've visited. Those bad experiences I never want to have again. *shudder*
