LE CAFE CONFECTIONERY & PASTRY
264 Middle Road
Tel: 6337-2417
Website: http://www.lecafe.com.sg/

Ratings: 8.5/10 Must-Try!

I love the bean curd tarts, pineapple tarts, coffee cookies, moonpies & of cos, my favourite, rum balls!!!!!!! 

BUT they will stop selling the rum balls after December 2008. So sad! No more rum balls once again!?!?!? *sigh*

Anyway, I am kind of lazy to blog more about the pastry cos I feel so tempting to eat up my bean curd tarts now. So you can refer to the following sites for more information. After all, I concur with what they had written minus the comments given by the readers about the auntie. She is very friendly, not air and confirm not attitude. I was even offered free samples. Yum Yum!

Time Facade 

Hungry Go Where

Asia One - They were featured in asiaone.com too.

Food Paradise 

16 Raffles Quay #B1-16 Hong Leong Building Singapore 048581
Singapore 048581

Telephone: 62217781,62217782

My boss, TYP & I were at Nanten for dinner just now. In fact, the RC members were planning to have a farewell dinner for our Texas boy there in the next few weeks. But who knows, the email I sent out to my boss, tempted her. Instead of our dinner appointment this coming Friday, it was changed to tonight instead.

It was my first time there, in fact, though I had walked past the restaurant since last year when I was still with this particular insurance company upstairs. Never had a chance to dine there cos it was way too expensive for my colleagues to handle.  

Anyway, talking about the food. Sashima is not too bad. What I like about them is the portion of food is huge. They are not stingy at all. 

Overall, worth checking it out especially when I am super duper full now and brain isn't working at all. 

FINALLY, I made my way to Disney Naturally.

Kind of disappointed. The size of the restaurant - small. In fact, it took up the ex A&W space.

Buddy Sim & I took up Table 1 (Snow White table). Sadly, the menu has limited varieties of food. Pasta of the day were Spag with beef sauce or Marcaroni with cheese. We chose the latter cos Buddy Sim does not take beef. Soup of the day was Cream of Mushroom which we did not order. There was some weird lamb stew, which we decided to give it a miss. We then ordered a Pizza (Minnie's xxxxxxx - name, unable to recall) which tasted like Hawaiian Pizza. 

Dessert of ours. Jason had an ice cream cake. 3 different flavours with Minnie's picture "printed" on the cake. Actually, to be frank, the cake seemed like Swenson-lookalike cake. Mine was an ice-cream named Ryan's xxxxxx (I don't really like the name, Ryan though). Duh……….. It's actually 2 scopes of ice-cream of your choice with 2 cookies & chocolate sauce. If I am not wrong, the ice-cream is either from Magnolia or Kings.

Our drinks were fruit punch. Please take note that they do not serve Iced Lemon Tea. Drinks are also pretty limited.

There is also a merchandise corner. I got myself a pack of expensive Winnie the Pooh gummy candy which cost me S$3.20 & a Mickey Mouse tee.

The attraction of the place will be the decorations. Cute and colourful. As for the food wise, we find it rather steep especially the food is seriously catered for kids. Quality? Hmmmmm.. Please don't expect that much. Just normal food which a slightly more steeper price tag, as compared to fast food restaurant.

Oh well, enjoy the slide show.

Taste Paradise again! YEAH!

Taste Paradise opened in January 2006 in the centre of Chinatown did so to much anticipation. Radically different from its sister restaurant, Taste Paradise is a contemporary Chinese restaurant with exquisite Cantonese fare served with individual style. Dubbed ‘Chinese Cuisine with a Difference’, Taste Paradise has gained a whole different set of fans with their own signature dishes.

The appetizer, (Credit goes to http://www.timelessfacade.com).

First dish, Crispy Egg Plant with Pork Floss.

The most expensive item, S$48 for a shark fin soup. I can only offer 1 - my mum since it's her birthday tomorrow. Peh Hoon and I shared a cheaper Soup of the Day. The shark fin soup was great. You seriously get to see the whole slice of shark fins!!!!  

A vegetable with fresh scallop. Nice.  

Cod fish (per serving), nicely done with a sprinkle of fish roe on top. A must try. Mum doesn't like it as it has a "cheesy" taste. Ended up, I had 2 cod fish. Geez……….. 

The noodles, braised vermicelli and crabmeat ($16). Vermicelli is braised in a superior seafood broth, and topped with egg white, crabmeat and pearl mushroom. Amazingly, although the dish is braised, the chef had incorporated a subtle hint of wok-fried aroma - that "char" taste of the best hawker char hor fun. Its homely, yet posh; deceptively simple, yet oh so good. Comfort food from heaven.

Mum's dessert. Mashed Taro with Almond Cream Served in Fresh Coconut. First time I have seen "Orh Nee" served up in a coconut . The coconut smell was very strong but there wasn't a hint of coconut taste in the almond cream and mashed taro. I hate almond cream totally but this one wasn't too strong on the almond taste which I found it still alright. The mashed taro was smooth and not too sweet but more interestingly, it contained bits of chestnut, which added a nice crunchy texture and is used predominantly used in Teochew cooking. Peh Hoon had a Mango Puree with Coconut Ice Cream,  (Credit goes to http://www.timelessfacade.com) I still prefer my Avocado with Walnut Ice Cream. I feel like having double portion!!!!!

End of the time, the 3 happy us. Bill? S$188. Oops…. Kind of ex but again, it's great food! Why not?

Taste Paradise is helmed by 29-year-old Eldwin Chua, who cut his teeth in the F&B industry with a zi char outlet in Hougang - and his chef, Fung Chi Keung, formerly from Meritus Mandarin's Pine Court restaurant, who is only 10 years his senior. Despite the youthfulness of the owner and chef, Taste Paradise's standard of service and quality of food are already on par with other fine dining restaurants. In the heart of Chinatown where restaurants serving fine Chinese cuisine are scarce, it is a paradise - simply because you will be in a happy state after dining there.

Next, to OG. I bought a Jurlique Rose hand cream. S$44 poorer. But the hand cream is one of the best, besides Elizabeth Arden. So no choice, I have very dry cuticles which require me to go for Manicure almost like twice a month? Guess, too much of air-con and my skin is too dry.

Toiletries time since Peh Hoon drove. I got myself a conditioner & a pack of cotton pad. Mum got much more things to be store in store room for future use since the items are so damn cheap. A pack of pad cost $3.95 (min) in Watsons but you can easily get it at S$2.50 from People's Park. It's much more worth to buy from Chinatown.

We happened to pass by this shop. Got this dress,   Guess the price? It's $139! Tailored made. The cloth is from Japan, very comfortable. Even mum agreed that the cloth is very nice to touch plus the skill is very good! So decided to buy. This will be one of my dry clean items. The tailor, Alice even has a blog created by her daughter. Impressive! Oh well, seriously speaking, I am very impressed with her skill. & I had decided to get her to tailor-made my make up pouch since I still cannot find a suitable one (either not nice or too expensive or even material sucks). Visit Alice at here. Bought the dress, I am the happy me again.

One of my online spree dress arrived today in my mail box. A bit too short for me. Duh…… Whatever, I will wear it with tights. I am still wait for 3 more items to arrive, especially the baby doll dress. Where is the dress?????

  Mine. Cos they are cute. 1 is for my cigar & the pig pouch is for ………………. I-have-yet-thought-of. I already have a LV coin pouch. But, the piggy is so cute. I even got 2 HP chain thingy for the soon-to-be-30-years-old buddy of mine, Jason, his favourite, Sponge Bob Square Pan - the ugly looking creature. Oops…………………….

TGIF! I need a good rest.

Saturday, rebonding. I have to wake up super duper early. *yawnz* 

3 Temasek Boulevard
Suntec City Convention Centre Mall Level 3
Singapore
Telephone: 63329733

Credit goes to http://timelessfacade.blogspot.com.

Pearl River is a Cantonese based restaurant and they served Chinese food buffet in Ala-carte manner.. You have to order from the buffet menu and they served you by the number of people in your table.

Beijing Duck which is only limited to one serving each person. Same goes to the Buddha jump over the wall. One serving each person.  Also the fresh smart prawn, 100 grams per person. We even ordered Cereal Prawns. TYP and I shared. Boss had enough of prawns as she started to feel itchy. There came her rashes.  Credit goes to http://summer-95degrees.blogspot.com

We had sweet and sour pork, 2 vegetables (season vegetables with assorted eggs & I-forgot-what-is-it-already). A steamed fish as well. Roast pork, 2 plates. Yummy! Desserts of cos. But the desserts were no longer as good as before, as told by boss.

Oh well, we left with a full stomach! Great food. Worth considering! 

The entrance, I guess so. It's so kiddish. I simply just love it. A glimpse of the interior of Disney Naturally. The feeling is so much like "I-am-in-Disney-Land". Don't you agree with me?

Look at the Mickey Mouse seats! Though it seems a bit too small for my big butt. But don't you think it's just so cute? 

  The menu. Can't resist myself for not stealing. So cute right? Simply looks like a Mickey Mouse colouring book I had when I was young.

  Finally the food. Mickey Mouse head pizza and it seems to be that everyone likes to order this when they have their meals there. I am wondering if it is really that nice? But still, can't bear to eat it right? According to Veron, there are like 6 different types of pizza,

mickey’s classic
- daisy’s garden
- donald’s legend
- minnie’s secret
- pete’s pan
- pino’s fancy

Even the names of the pizza sound so cool! Innovative, no doubt! Not only that, while you are enjoying your disney-themed meal, you can also watch movies. The shows are actually screened during a certain timing of the day. No only this, kids can enjoy themselves at the games corner after their meals.  Still the Mickey Mouse theme. This can for sure entertain the kids well enough without much disturbance. 

  Don't forget to wash your hands before and after meal at the special looking washing bay.

Now, I so wanna go! Who want to accompany me to go? Anyway, who say it's for kids only?

Now I wonder, when will there be a Kitty fast food restaurant? Anywhere soon?

Or even better, a Jay Chou restaurant, similar to Mr J Italian & French Restaurant. I will welcome with my arms.  

Pictures Credits goes to Natsu and Milkfrost.

I am heading down to this place for lunch later.

Taste Paradise

here I come.

P/S: Refer to this posting for more details about Taste Paradise.  

Red Star Restaurant
Blk 54 Chin Swee Road
#07-23
Singapore 160054
Tel: 6532 5266 / 6532 5103

Ratings: 8.5/10 Must-Try!

I had been waiting to visit Red Star since September 30th and I fulfilled the cravings. Boss, Jac, TYP and I had them for lunch yesterday! Yum Yum….

Red Star Restaurant is located in an office building (I think) in the old HDB estate of Chinatown, with a HDB branch office downstairs. There is only one cranky lift that can break down anytime in the building. Another alternative to get to the restaurant will be the stairs.

Dim sum, a Cantonese term, is literally translated to mean “dotted heart”, meaning to order to one’s heart’s content. A variety of small food items made up a meal of dim sum. Dim sum is called dian xin (点心）in Mandarin. “Dian” in mandarin means “little” or “dotted”. “Xin” in mandarin means “heart”. Lots of hard work is devoted into the preparation of each of these dishes. It seems as if the chef has put his heart into preparing these savoury dishes for your tasting. Thus, the dainty works of art served in bamboo skewers that are finally presented to you on your table are actually “little hearts” presented to you by the chef.

The dim sums at Red Star are served in the traditional way where the waitresses will push mobile carts piled sky high with bamboo skewers filled with different dim sums around the restaurant. When one of these mobile carts are pushed to your table, you can then order the dim sum directly from the waitress who will never hesitate to visually whet your appetite by showing you the different items she has on her cart while giving her recommendations at the same time. The cluttering of trays and noisy chatter create a friendly and heart-warming dining ambience that is a characteristic of traditional Cantonese dining.

The dishes they serve - exquisite and scrumptious, never fails to surprise me! I had black sesame paste. It is not sweet and has a silky texture. It was simply delicious.

Hmmmm… Anyway, I will be back soon for more! Oh yes, did I mention it was cheap?

IMG_4807
Originally uploaded by shimmertje

I was at Golden Landmark Hotel for appointment when I asked my boss about the shop that sells great durian swiss rolls. Then I came to realise that it is known as Rich & Good Cake Shop. 

The durian swiss rolls were made from irresistable,  authentic D24 durians. You can actually see and taste the chunks of durian flesh within the rolls! YUM YUM….

I bought the kaya rolls too. The creamy kaya filling tastes rich and fragrant, without being too sweet at the same time. Ahhh…. That is pure joy!

Photo credit goes to Buttshaker.

See how the swiss rolls are made and place. The swiss rolls are sold in uncut form; the whole roll instead of piece by piece. It comes in the price of $10 to $12 (2 swiss rolls), which is considered so freaking cheap! 2 rolls of swiss rolls will be placed in a pink box.

These are some of the flavours they have:

- blueberry
- chocolate
- coffee
- durian
- kaya
- mango
- strawberry

Oh yes, they sells durian puffs too. Delicious as well! They have chocolate eclairs but I gave it a miss that day as I had bought too much food.  

I plan of ordering from them again but you will need about $70 purchase which is about 14 swiss rolls! OMG!

Where: Taste Paradise, 48-49 Mosque Street
Operating hours: Noon to 2.30pm, 5.30 to 10.30pm
Tel: 6226 2958

My section lunch!

The Taste Paradise is voted the top 50 restaurants in Singapore. The chinese restaurant is located in the heart of Chinatown with a posh 100 seats. It is fully designed with dark wood and glass set off by soothing indirect lighting. The look is contempory, creating a comfortable ambience that is aided by jazzy chinese music. 

Hong Kong–born chef, Fun Chi Keung, who was previously from Pine Court in Meritus Mandarin, has a rich experience of 26 years in the culinary landscape. Together with his dedicated team, they whip up sumptuous spreads of Cantonese-inspired cuisines to pamper the taste buds of all its customers.

The interior is all modern black and browns with soft flattering lighting. The service staff were obliging and flexible. The table setting is great.   The condiments. All the dishes were well executed and well varied in styles, modern chinese fusion would be the way to describe most of them.

First dish, double-boiled fish soup with apples, which initially, find it odd due to the apples. The soup was very light, yet full of flavour from both the apples and the fish. I loved it!

We had a Crisp-fried mango scallop rolls which boss ordered specially for me and Jac. Crystal Jade has such dish too but instead of scallop rolls, they put prawns in. GREAT!

This was the well-known XO fried carrot cake. The carrot cake was soft with bits Chinese sausage in it. The XO sauce was really the one that gave me the kick because it made this dish so fragrant and tasty. Thumbs up for me!

We had a fried tofu with scallops on it. Taste normal but the scallops were very fresh. Plus, the tofu was fried till very crispy.  

We had the vermicelli with crab meat and egg white. The egg white tastes good. Overall, thumbs up cos I had 2 servings.

My dessert was mango puree with sago, mango cubes and a scoop of really delicious and smooth coconut ice cream. White wispy tendrils of smoke creeped from the blu-ish bowl below, creating a lagoon-like effect. I was highly impressed with the presentation.

My boss had this Homemade Almond Cream with stewed Papaya.

  Jac had this. Avacado with walnut ice cream. Mine had the same setting as hers. 

Here, we ended our section lunch. The damage was $101 for 3 person. 

If you are looking for a cheaper version, try Seafood Paradise. 

Anyway, FYI, the bosses were pretty young. 30 years old only.  

Address: 91 Defu Lane 10, Swee Hin Building
Tel: 6487 2429
Open daily from 5 to 11.30pm