Roadhouse is a cafe-ish American diner in Dempsey and one can expect hearty and quintessential American food at this upmarket offering by The Privé Group. 

We were the first customers of the day so i had the opportunity to roam around and take pictures without having random people in them. :P I like the simple decor which is kinda comfortable as well. Definitely more cafe-ish than the typical greasy retro American diner feel. Exactly that kinda place i wanna hang out over breakfast on weekends. And you know what? You can do just that because they have ALL DAY BREAKFAST from 9am - 4pm on weekends. YAY!

Roadhouse does a great lunch deal on weekdays from 11.30am - 2.30pm. You can go for a 2 course at $22 or a 3 course meal for $25. Take your pick from 4 Starters, 7 Mains and 4 Desserts which includes some of their chef recommendations. It's quite a good deal and their portions are quite big as well.

Starter: Bacon wrapped Corn Dog with mesclun salad. Typical American carnival snack! Love the lightness of the batter which is not too too floury. It's almost like tempura batter with a little more starch. Good batter to dog ratio. The sausage was juicy and savory and i love the smokiness of the bacon which gives it the additional saltiness.

Main: Forest Mushroom Burger- Josper-grilled wagyu patty with forest mushrooms, caramelized onions and shallot cream sauce (+$2). The famed Josper grill seals in the juices of the Wagyu Rump patties and gives it a nice char-grilled appearance and smoky aroma. The meat is just so flavorful and juicy and the blend of sauce and onions together with the natural flavors of the meat is just perfect. The light sweetness of the soft bun complements the savory centre. I must say it's one of the best burgers i've had in Singapore. 

I had their signature Eggs Benedict in replacement of the Eggs Royale for the lunch set. They were more than happy to accommodate my request. Was struggling to decide between this and the Chicken & Sweet Corn Quesadilla (another Chef's recommendation) but this was a great choice. Nicely buttered and toasted English Muffin with chunky slices of ham and smoky bacon. The meats aren't that salty though i have a feeling i've maxing out my daily sodium intake with all the cured meats. The gratinated hollandaise sauce isn't too sourish and had a slight cheesy taste to it. It's a little bland for me but it kinda goes ok with the saltiness of the meat. Would be nice if it has a little more tang to it.

Heard that the prawns wrapped in bacon with Maple syrup dressing is a great starter item. Americans do the sweet & savory thing so well e.g. Chicken with waffles, gravy and biscuits. Shall try it the next time. 

For desserts we had the Cheery Cherry Pie- red wine cherry compote with a dollop of fresh cream. The tart isn't fantastic. It wasn't crisp enough for me and the cherries were kinda bland. The highlight of this dish is the cream, which i happily ate on its own. Just look at the stiffness and the height of the peaks. Fresh cream is my nemesis. 

The S'mores ice cream cake was very blah. It's just an ice cream cake with some little marshmallows (not even toasted IMO). Kinda icy as well. :/

Roadhouse is also known for its Terminator Challenge ($58), which consists of 6 Wagyu patties, 6 slices of cheese, streaky bacon, jalapenos chillis and a home made bun. Finish the monster burger in 20mins, along with its sides, and you get a free meal plus have your face on their Hall of Fame! There's no sharing with your friends even if you don't finish it though. It's quite a good deal considering that a single patty costs about $24. :)) Eat at your own risk or maybe have a friend who can administer CPR in case your heart goes into overdrive. Sadly, despite our initial encouragement and subsequent taunting, we failed to get Ben to do the Terminator. Damn! So fun to watch people stuff themselves. Haha. 

Roadhouse

#01-07, Block 13, Dempsey Road
(Opp PS Cafe)
Tel: +65 6476 2922
Mon–Fri: 10.30am–2.30pm, 6.30pm–10pm
Sat–Sun: 9am–4pm, 6.30pm–10pm
Sat–Sun & PH: 9am–4pm [Brunch]

As you guys know, i hang around Town very often since i go for yoga all the time. The lack of good food in town is one of my main complains after class. It's so hard to find a nice healthy option (which is not cold ie sandwiches and salads) and there is only that many times i can do Simon & Garfunkel. Anyway, i recently discovered Mushroom Pot at OG Orchard Point and it's quite the perfect meal after yoga or for any meal. 

Mushroom Pot does a mushroom steamboat but no worries, it's not ONLY mushrooms here (else i wouldn't be there). They do however feature mushrooms quite prominently, there are plenty of mushroom based dishes (along with meat :)) and i have never even heard of some of the mushrooms they use e.g. Monkey Head Mushrooms. They use Wild Mushrooms as a basic soup base but they also do have a Ma La (Spicy) soup for the hot pot. I was quite apprehensive about eating here because i don't particularly dig those dried Chinese Mushrooms (they have a very strong taste) and i thought the restaurant would be serving a lot of that in my broth. Surprisingly it wasn't the case. 

Other than just steamboat, the Orchard Point outlet also has a set meal menu which is perfect for those who are uninterested in overeating. The prices are really reasonable. The individual set menu ranges from $10-17 while the Deluxe Sets are in the $18-24 range. A fairly extensive selection of ramen and paper pots (kaminabe style) are available. That was exactly what S and i had after my yoga class.

S ordered the Beef Paper Pot set ($13.80) which came with a spicy mushroom salad, rice and fruits. The soup is very light, no weird or strong mushroom taste (thank god) and there is a slight sweetness to it. The tender meat was lightly marinated and as you can see it's not very fatty. There are plenty of mushrooms in this pot as well. Quite fun fishing all the little heads out of the soup. 

I had the Prawn Ramen Set ($15.80) because i was greedy and wanted to try more of the mushroom side dishes. Mine came with Prawn ramen (with more mushrooms), Beef and golden mushroom rolls, fried mushroom rolls and fruits. Variety ftw! 

The ramen was quite soft. It's more the chinese ramen than the Japanese sort. I'm not usually into soft noodles but this worked pretty well for me. Can you identify the different mushrooms? I counted 5 prawns in my noodles and they were pretty fresh and sweet though a little more the powdery sort. Even though the soup base is the same, mine has a stronger seafood taste while the beef pot soup was slightly more bland. 

The beef rolls were nicely cooked though i felt that the meat was very slightly over grilled. The combination with the enoki mushrooms was perfect. I had a hard time putting the whole piece into my mouth because it's quite huge and we all know how long it takes to chew enoki. You could request for the rolls to be cut into halves for easy eating. 

The mushroom roll is packed with all sorts of minced mushrooms wrapped in a seaweed then battered and fried. Goes well with the thai chili sauce that is provided.

If you are the bigger eater, go for the buffet lunch or dinner or high tea(3-5pm). Prices range from $20-30. My colleagues absolutely love Mushroom Pot though they were complaining about the prices. I think it's quite reasonable though.

Verdict- Recommended!
Food: 4/5 Guilt free eating because it gives you the impression that it's healthy food.
Service: 4/5 Quite attentive and friendly but that may be because
Ambience: 3.5/5 Clean and comfortable.

The Mushroom Pot 长寿锅 (Orchard Point)
#04-00 Orchard Point
Tel: +65 6733 9910
Daily 11am – 9.30pm

2 Stadium Walk
#01-02 Singapore Indoor Stadium
Tel: +65 6342 3320
Daily: 12pm–2.30pm, 6pm–10.30pm

Happy Vesak day my friends! I was under the impression that everyone will get a day off on Monday but i realized it's not the case! How can?!! It's ok. It is still possible to have some fun on regular weekends and i'm gonna share with you what i did a couple of weeks back. 

S and i were trying to decide on a place for lunch on a Sunday. We decided to be spontaneous and drove to JB in hope of finding some good food and adventure. Predictability is obviously neither of our strong suit and his random chicken rice craving resulted in us driving up to Malacca (at 1pm!!) just to have some chicken rice balls! Like Seriously?? Sometimes i swear he's like a pregnant lady. Anyway, i didn't complain since i'm not the one doing the driving. As long as the boy is happy, i'm good. :)

The drive to Malacca takes about 3-3.5h. It's easy cruising on the highway but the troublesome part is obviously getting to the town centre (Jonker Street to be specific) where the food is. I reckon it took us at least 30mins to get from the border of Malacca to the Heritage centre. 

I've been to Malacca a couple of times in recent years. There is absolutely nothing to do except to eat. The mission was simple- have as much food as we possibly can and then head back to JB for supper before hitting the sack and getting ready for work the next day. Obviously at 4.30pm in the afternoon, Chung Wah has already closed for the day (they close at 3pm). I was so thankful that Hoe Kee was still opened at that time. If you wanna have chicken rice balls, only eat from these 2 stalls. 

The crowd at Hoe Kee. Love the shophouses in Malacca.

I've always been fascinated with chicken rice balls. I have no idea why. I guess it's just cuter presentation and greater convenience when it comes to eating? Definitely less messy too since the grains wouldn't fall all over the place. Child proofed. These balls are the size of regular fishballs. I like my rice a little starchy and sticky so these are perfect. The fragrant and fluffy rice grains have expanded and split nicely to give it the chewy and bouncy texture. I swear you can play ping pong with these.

The chicken is nicely steamed and extremely tender. I absolutely love the soy and sesame sauce that the chicken was sitting in. There's a tinge of sweetness from the sesame oil and light saltiness of the soy sauce which goes so well with the chicken rice. I drenched the rice with this sauce rather than the dark sauce provided along with the chili. Each rice ball is RM0.20. You can simply order the sets which includes chicken and some rice balls. They serve plates of chicken rice along with the balls on weekends to meet the demand. We paid RM13 for 2 person. 1 whole chicken merely costs RM32. I believe i can devour half a chicken easily. They also serve Assam Fish Head which is popular with the patrons! 

Our strategy was to eat a bit of everything so that we can taste as many dishes as we can possibly stomach. Took a walk down Jonker Street to our next eating destination to Jonker Dessert 88 aka Jonker88.com. Everyone  Next up is the famous Chendol of Malacca because it has the amazing sticky smoky caramelish Gula Melaka. I so love that thick sugary coconut syrup that they drench all over the shaved ice with more coconut milk, green jelly and red bean. Love this! And it only costs RM3. The durian chendol is famous as well so try that if you like durian. 

S decided to give the Nyonya Laksa (RM5) a try. The texture of the translucent noodles is amazing. It looks like mee tai mak but it has a chewier texture. Very smooth. It's quite unlike any kinda Chinese noodles that i've had. The gravy would scare any faint hearted non spicy eaters but the heat is not as strong as it appears to be. I would say it's a little similar to Tom Yum but it has the distinct Assam taste. There aren't a lot of ingredient in this dish- it's accompanied with a few pieces of fried yong tau foo (fish paste wrapped in beancurd skin). Very appetizing dish. After having a few mouthfuls of this, i felt like i was ready to eat everything Malacca has to offer.

Further down the street from Jonker88, we chanced upon a Chinese bakery that serves fresh and piping hot pastries. Traditional bakeries hold a dear place in my heart even though i am not a huge fan of the Chinese pastries (not all of them). They had my favorite Ma3 Ti2 Su1 aka Pong Pia aka Bei Tei Sor aka the pastry that has malt candy in it. :) It's simply amazing when it's warm. Trays and trays of pias greeted us as we stepped inside for a closer look. I simply had to buy a Lao Gong Bing (Husband biscuit) for S and a Lao Po Bing (Wife biscuit) for myself. :P  

The aunty kept encouraging me to taste everything so i happily helped myself to the samples. As a result, i left with a bag of baked goodies for the family. Each biscuit only costs RM1.20 or less. 

There is a little store in the main store that sells durian desserts. The durian puffs are sold at 3 for RM5 or 6 for RM8. The puff has a custard taste and slight airy texture to it. Once you bite into it, the rich golden liquid would flow and envelop your taste buds. The filling is a little wet and not as creamy as i would like it but taste wise it is pretty good. I like my durian bittersweet and this is just the right taste. 

More eats- Ondeh Ondeh. The ondeh ondeh are on the small side so there isn't enough of the gula melaka. Guess we are too spoilt by the Sg ones which are filled with coconut goodness. 

We spent 7-8h on the roads and only 2h was spent eating and exploring Malacca. It doesn't seem like a very smart choice mathematically but our stomachs disagree. It's always worth it to travel for good food. Our appetite for adventure was also satisfied when we made several wrong turns along the way. Googlemaps is simply not very reliable especially on Malaysian roads. 

If you have a little more time to spare, you could possibly explore the area better. There are old temples and Peranakan houses to check out. You could even stay in a Baba house for the night. 

Or take a ride on one of these floral trishaws. They are so adorable and cheerful. Would be awesome to ride one around town. :)

All food featured are along Jonker Street. Start walking from the bridge connecting the Main Square to Jonker and head straight down. Just keep your eyes wide open and eat whatever you feel like having. Come 630pm the Jonker Walk would be closed to vehicles and that's when the night market starts. :) To a great weekend, every weekend!

Hoe Kee Hainam Chicken Rice Ball
4, 6, 8 Jalan Hang Jebat
75200, Melaka

Jonker 88 Desserts

Jonker Street

Malaysia on Dwellable

Finally visited Wimbly Lu, a quaint little cafe in the hearts of Serangoon. I have heard about their desserts for some time but i've been lazy to explore the area myself (especially on foot), so i waited for S to drive me there. :P It is situated in the housing estate a stone's throw away from Serangoon Gardens (by car). Do not try walking from Gardens. It is much nearer to cut in from Upper Serangoon Road.

The area kinda reminds me of Greenwood. I love these sorta neighborhood restaurants. Great places for neighbors to hang out after work. The vibe is super chill. There are 2 other food places next door- Jules Cafe Bar and The Fat Cat Bistro. S said that the reviews for the other 2 aren't that great. Let me know if your views on them.

The first thing that greeted us was the cute red and white VW Beetle. I go crazy when i see Beetles. Not sure if you guys have played this game before but you are entitled to smacking someone damn hard on the head when u see one. My friends (especially S) have been subjected to this childish game of mine. It's fun. Try it! :)) 

The interior reminded me of the castle of Edinburgh with the exposed brick walls and natural light from the ceiling. Very vintage and yet homey. There are little nooks and crannies to be explored such as the kids section under the stairs. I think it's the perfect corner to take off your inhibitions along with your shoes and sit cross legged on the mat. You can do that while enjoying a yummylicious dessert.

I like the fake lawn at the back. I simply took off my pumps and walked around on that patch of green. I practically treated the place like my own. Haha. #Thingspeopledowhenhighoncaffeine.

There's quite a selection of sweets but Wimbly Lu place quite a large emphasis on their chocolates. Didn't get those as i was still recovering from my cough. Caught sight of the Root Beer Float Cake, which has a slice of moist chocolate fudge cake soaked in root beer and ice cream and good ol' choc fudge. It's a dessert in a dessert! I don't know why this didn't appear on my table but then again it's really lousy judgement on my part for letting S do the ordering. :P Heard that this is pretty awesome. I think it's only $6.50.

Instead, this was what we had. Why didn't i order more?!! Grrr. No. Why did i drink so much coffee in the morning to spoil my lunch appetite?!! :(

For desserts, S ordered the Rocky Road ($5). This is essentially a sizable piece of chocolate rather than a dessert. Rich dark chocolate with crunchy hazelnuts and macadamia, peppered with marshmallow cushions to give it that nice contrasting texture. It's not bad, but it's just not my idea of desserts. I was actually eyeing some cake in the display. :(

There is a limited selection of hot food, most of them being finger food. I suppose they didn't want to be in direct competition with their neighbours which is a right choice since their food is just average. We had the Lasagne ($12) and were quite amazed at the portion when it arrived. It's bigger than the size of the Swensen's baked rice! Really huge! The taste is very homey and Wimbly Lu is extremely generous with the amount of cheese in the Lasagne. Every mouthful is an explosion of cheesiness. The pasta sheets are quite soft and moist. All this dish needs is a little more meat sauce to overcome that heavy cream. We struggled to finish it but S saved the day with his bottomless pit! Not a bad dish, but not very fantastic.

I only saw the scones when we were paying the bill. BOO. They look so cute on the tray with their powdered tops. They are a little on the small side though. Anyway, verdict for Wimbly Lu? Skip the mains, have the desserts and chocs. 

Food: 3.5/5 Maybe i just didn't try the right stuff.

Service: 4/5 Chirpy and friendly staff!

Ambience: 4/5

Btw, there's no GST or service charge! Yay!

Wimbly Lu

15-2 Jalan Riang

Tel: +65 6289 1489

Tue–Fri: 12pm – 10.30pm
Sat–Sun: 9am – 11pm
(Closed on Mon)

I have been hopping on over to our neighboring country for quite a bit for the main purpose of eating and reviewing their food. Seriously you can't beat JB for the cheap and tasty seafood. Malaysian chefs are awesome. If you don't believe me, check out the chefs at the good zi char stalls in Sg, bet the chefs are Malaysians. Price wise, you only pay less than half of what you normally would in Sg and on top of that you'll get 30-40% more food! What's there more to ask for? 

The braders and i finally drove in to JB for seafood supper 1 night, that's after years of saying that we should. Think massive jam and empty stomachs and ravenous appetite upon arrival. Jaz, our supper food guru, recommended Restoran Mun at Taman Sri Tebrau (it's where all the Singaporeans go to for supper) and we happily invited Jaz to order. :))

So began a night of nonstop eating. 1st up, Ginger sliced wild boar (RM12). Nice tender meat that is well marinated. I like how the spring onion lifts the taste of the dish and takes away some of the porkiness. I always think that it's very simple to cook Chinese food. Just use some minced garlic, sliced onions and some ginger and walaa, authentic Chinese meal. :P
Deep fried baby squid (RM12) was next. This was an appetizer for us. Crunchy and caramelized baby squid that is lightly spiced. Perfect beer food but we had it with sugar cane juice. :)
Sambal Kang Kong (RM10) is a dish that we'd never fail to order. Nice pungent sambal shrimp paste against the slightly crunchy kang kong. I think they add a little of the fermented brown beans to give it the additional salty taste. Goes best with rice.
Then came our seafood orders. Butter Crayfish (RM56) with a total of 4 crayfish (perfect for 4). Crispy flour batter which is mixed with butter and sugar. There are still little sugar granules that gives the slight sweetness to the dish.
Thought the batter was a little too much. It has a little more flour than butter and i'd choose to have more butter anytime. The meat was fresh and chunky. I love crustaceans (only when the meat is easily removed)! The dish is a little dry on the whole but it was fine because we had some superb gravy from the next dish..

Salted Egg Yolk Crab (RM108). This was the highlight of the meal. 2 medium sized crabs cooked in a buttery and savory salted egg yolk gravy which is slightly sweet and spicy. Absolutely finger licking good! Granted the crabs are not the huge Sri Lankan ones that we are used to in Singapore, but they were substantial enough.

By the time our Salt Baked Herbal Chicken (RM26) was served, we were fully stuffed (did you see how much the 4 of us ate?!!) And this is not even a spring chicken. It's like a full sized adult chicken that has been stewing in its own juice for hours. The result is meat that simply falls off the bone. We easily chopped up the chicken with a spoon! The herbs taste isn't very overpowering but i thought the broth tasted a little sourish. I guess my tongue was just a little confused by then due to all that contrasting flavors.

All that food only costs us a total of $100sgd! Seriously that can only buy you 1 crab dish in Singapore. Super love JB for the cheap food. Yes i'm such a cheapo Singaporean. Haha. 

Was told i was overdressed for JB hawker supper in my maxi dress. :P

So yes. If you are tired of Singapore food or you are simply bored out of your minds on this island, take a little trip out to JB and eat like a king or queen! I sure did! More on my Malaysia eats soon and ideas for the long weekend coming up. Watch this space!

Restoran Mun (closed)

Jalan Keris, Taman Sri Tebrau, 80050 Johor Bahru
Tel: +607 332 3113/ +6012 780 3113

I suppose everyone knows about the colored Xiao Long Baos from Paradise Dynasty ($13.80) for 8. I've had it before some long long time ago. Flavors include Sze Chuan (too spicy), Garlic, Cheese, Foie Gras (can hardly taste it), Truffle (just the oil), Ginseng, Crab Roe and Original. To ensure the optimum tasting of the distinct flavours, you have to start eating with the white original flavour, moving along to more adventurous Black Truffle and Cheesy, ending with the reddish Szechuan dumpling. Some flavors are there more for the sake of providing novelty and variety. I'd say stick to the normal flavors e.g. Original or Crab Roe. You will not go wrong with that.

The skin is thin with a nice chewy dough. I like the sweet savory broth which i lightly seasoned with the mild vinegar.

There is a powdery texture to the finely minced meat probably due to the flour used to hold the pork together. Nevertheless, it was nicely seasoned and the dish perfectly executed.

While waiting for our food to be served, we were entertained by the chef preparing the la mian (noodles) behind the open concept kitchen panels. They were pretty amused by us, as we were by them. Caught them spying on us a couple of times.

I ordered the Beef La Mian ($10.80) which is perfect sick people food. The noodles were quite soft and smooth. I felt the texture was more like mian xian (or overcooked angel hair pasta). The pork bone broth has been cooked for hours to achieve that milky appearance and it is surprisingly oil free and not too rich in flavors. The generous slices of meat were tender but not braised sufficiently to give it its individual taste. It was a little on the bland side (or was it my spoilt taste buds..).

The voice got progressively worse over the course of the night. Was dying for some cold desserts to soothe the broken throat. I was so happy when i saw the Chilled Aloe Vera and Osmanthus Jelly ($3.50). Aloe vera is the best medicine for sore throats. I like that it is very refreshing. Could taste a splash of lime juice. The light fragrance of the Osmanthus could be tasted but i was wondering about the jelly (didn't eat any!).

Other than that, we also ordered the Souffle Balls with banana and red bean paste. The texture is very interesting. I was expecting it to be puff like but it really tastes like egg white (which it is anyway) but with that slightly chewy and bouncy texture. The let down however is the lack of filling! There was hardly any red bean paste in it and i only spotted 1 pathetic slice of banana. BOO!

Food: 4/5 Not too bad. It's more of home cooked food than gourmet.
Service: 3/5 Not very attentive but it could be due to the massive number of diners.
Atmosphere: 3/5 A little on the cold side. Glad to be sitting next to the kitchen. Some blasts of warm air to keep us cosy.

Paradise Dynasty
#04-12A ION Orchard
Tel: +65 6509 9118
Mon–Fri: 11am – 10pm
Sat–Sun & PH: 10am – 10pm

Another weekend, another 2 days of scouring the island for delectable brunch food,  dainty tea canapes and sinful supper haunts. Absolutely no proper meals allowed. This is why i live for the weekends. Anyway S complained that i didn't credit him for some of the awesome finds that are highlighted on this blog. He is the one who does the searching (most of the time) and i simply eat and review. So here you go piggy. Another one for S. :P

We took a drive around Siglap and Frankel estate to arrive at De La Crème, a french- styled patisserie specializing in the macarons (no wonder S brought me there) and other desserts. The silly me happily brought the camera out without my SD card AGAIN. This happens to me ALL THE TIME! Urgh. Back to the bakery- it is opened by a cute 22yo pastry Chef Rayner Tan who has trained under Le Cordon Bleu and then gone on to intern at 2am and Canele before setting up his own place.  

The cafe is small and cosy, kinda like someone's living room, except there's a delightful display of desserts in the middle. Dear friends, you know what you should do with your living room next time :))) It was quite empty during Sat brunch hours but that's kinda a good thing for us since we hate the crowd.

Couldn't help but be drawn to the desserts chiller. The Ispahan, which was raved about by some reviewers, was nowhere in sight. All that's left were the Mango Shortcake, St. Honore, Lemon Meringue Tart, Mogador and macarons. Desserts are priced around $7-8, which is the market price to pay for something decent. Since desserts were the first to catch my eye, i shall review them before the savories.

On my first inspection, the macarons look amazing. There is a nice height to the macarons and they look airy enough. Is it any wonder that DLC uses quality ingredients to achieve this texture? Ground almond meal, sugar and egg whites. Instead of using jams and pastes, the fillings are chocolate-based, caramel-based, or buttercream-based. I really abhor the wet creamy ones. Can you see the lovely feet as well? Looks wise, it is comparable to Pierre Herme.

There is quite a selection of flavors, with some infusion of local flavors such as Pandan and Gula Melaka. Other flavors include Chocolate Amer, Basil, Yuzu Sel, Pistachio, Rose, Violet, Passion fruit, Earl Grey Chocolate (i chose that of course) and others. Price- $2.40/pc, $12.90 for 6, $24.90 for a dozen

Sadly in terms of taste, it is a far cry from PH. I would have to say the macarons looked much better than they taste. They do have a crunchy exterior but once you bite into them, you will realize that the base has quite a spongy texture in the middle, which is typical of an uncooked beaten egg white. That was disappointing. Even though the filling was dense in many of the flavors i have tried, they were too sweet for my liking. Again, i'm comparing it to the Holy Macaron Grail by PH. I didn't like DLC's at all but it's probably better than Bakerzin. Obolo definitely has better stuff than DLC and i'll introduce another place which has perfect texture. Watch this space!

The other highly recommended item is the Mogador ($7.50), which is made of made of Guanaja (70%) dark chocolate mousse. Again, i didn't like it. Someone must really have a sweet tooth because i have no idea how this is dark chocolate.  The chocolate ganache wasn't crispy or nutty enough for my liking and the jaconde sponge was flat in texture and taste. The sourish raspberry compote attempted to liven things up by breaking the monotony of the intense sweetness but it simply couldn't be redeemed. Use this as a mirror, not for eating.

It's funny how DLC places so much focus on their desserts but they were all sub standard (at least the ones we had). I do however think that their savory items are stellar. Despite the limited food selection- 3 pasta, 3 tartines, 2 appetizers, all the diners finished every bit of their hot dishes. Now what does that tell you? Hmm. And say hello to All Day Breakfast (probably on weekends only). My little eye spotted some truffle fries. The next table ordered it and it smelled deli! Why did we make such a terrible choice to save space for desserts :((( 

What really wowed me was the Duck Tartine.

8 bucks for 4 huge slices of toast generously slabbed with a buttery & savory duck meat paste. Think spongy and cottony white bread that barely holds up the weight of the toppings and a heavenly emulsion that preserves the duck rillettes (in order words duck fat) seeping through the fluffy goodness and into your mouth.

I'm gonna make this my regular afternoon snack from now on. Serious. Love that golden brown crust on the exterior and the soft and moist savory center. They also have a chili crab tartines that is based on Chef Rayner's mum's recipe. I bet that is awesome as well. Tried to find out where DLC gets their bread from but the server wasn't sure. Oh wells.

Standard selection of drinks but it's the first time i see a Roasted Almond Latte ($4.90) being served. Naturally i had that. I'm quite sure it's just syrup but there is a light nutty sweetness to it. Not gourmet but it's still a decent cuppa.

Would i be back? Surely. For the savories instead of the desserts. Maybe i'll give the Lemon Meringue Tart a shot but i'll definitely skip the rest.

Verdict- Recommended
Food- 4/5 (SKIP THE DESSERTS)
Service- 3/5 Adequate, friendly.
Atmosphere- 4/5 Cosy and quiet. Good place for friends to hang out on a lazy afternoon.

De La Creme
42 Siglap Drive
Tel: +65 6246 2476
Tue - Thu: 2pm - 11pm
Fri & Sat: 12pm - 11pm
Sun: 10am - 10pm

(Closed Mon)