Yang's Hummingbird Cupcakes

Hello my pretty!

Reason #138 Why I Love Home Parties

A gathering of friends



That started out as a popiah party





That got a little spicy with laksa



A little fleshy with pork knuckle ...



... and sausages



Before sweetening the deal with Marmalde Pantry’s sticky date pudding, chocolate tart ...



... and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.



Turn on the water works with Clowie’s favourite Zion Road cheng teng

[Stubby fingers were too preoccupied to take photos]

And get hands-on with Yang’s hummingbird cupcakes.

Absinthe, Bukit Pasoh Road

Not even vaguely athletic, I triple-jumped at the opportunity to try Absinthe when Kelvin organized dinner there. I’ve read pretty good stuff about it (for once, traditional and social media agree) so it surprised me when I didn’t enjoy the food as much as the rest of Singapore did.



Was the bread warm? Yes.

Did you like it? I liked it enough to have one serving.

Rarely does a Menu Degustation intrigue me but the promise of lobster, foie gras and scallops made my mouth water.


Ravioli de langouste Rafraichi, Sabayon au Citron Vert, Julienne de Goyave & Shiso
Chilled Ravioli of Lobster with Lime Sabayon, Pink Guava Julienne and Shiso

While the chunks of plump lobster cajoled and pleased, the rest of the dish didn’t quite do it for me. The “ravioli” skin was an unpleasant hybrid between a hargow skin and boiled cabbage. I don’t think the guava worked nor could I taste the sabayon and shiso. All I could taste was mayonnaise mayonnaise mayonnaise.


Saint Jacques d’Hokkaido Emulsion d’Oursin et Salade de Fines Herbes
Hokkaido Scallop With Sea Urchin Emulsion and Small Herb Salad

Things looked a little sunnier with the pan-seared scallops, which was beautifully sear-glazed on the outside and rawish in the middle. The sea urchin emulsion was definitely working it for me though a couple others couldn’t detect anything. How odd.


Foie Gras Poêlé, Blinis tiède et Compote d’Hibiscus Sauvage
Pan-Fried Foie Gras with Warm Blinis and Wild Hibiscus Flower Compote

Tucking into the pan-fried foie gras, I felt as if the Green Fairy had paid a visit. Like the scallop, the time my beloved foie spent on the pan was precisely timed, such that it was firm yet creamy.

Mains:

Saint Pierre Poêlé, Pommes Écrasées, Asperges Vertes, Beurre Blanc à la Vanille
Seared John Dory Filet, Crushed Potatoes Green Asparagus & Vanilla “Beurre Blanc”

Or

Noisette d’Agneau d’Australie, Piperade de Poivrons Rattes, Jus au Thym
Slow Cooked Australian Lamb Loin, Capsicum Piperade & Ratte Potatoes, Thyme Jus

The mains didn’t soound or look rave-worthy. I didn’t taste them but the despondent neighboring facial expressions said it all. A picture says thousand words and in the blogging world, a facial expression could be worth at least a blog post.

For an additional surcharge, I changed my mains to the roasted black cod and saffron risotto, hoping to relive the lovely memories of French Kitchen’s cod. Unfortunately, you could never fall back into a wonderful dream after waking up from it.


Cabillaud Noir Rôtis, Risotto au Safran, Jus citronné à l’Aneth
Roasted black cod Saffron risotto and dill scented citrus jus

The cod was overdone so you wouldn’t be able to tell that it was one of those a fatty but cardiovascular-friendly fish. The saffron risotto had a light citrus broth, which was nice (not going to bother with the thesaurus) but very unrisotto-like.

The risotto wasn’t cooked to the point where the grains had released its starches, resulting in a creamy but al dente mob that I was hankering for. Think Teochew fish porridge versus Cantonese porridge: both are delicious but differently so. And Absinthe’s risotto was “Teochew fish porridge” and I was looking for “Cantonese porridge”.


Parfait Glacé au Pralin de Noisettes, Salsa de Pommes Vertes et Raisins Secs
Praline Hazelnut Iced Parfait, Salsa of Green Apple and Sultanas

The praline hazelnut parfait was a velvety creamy treat, speckled with plump raisins. It wasn’t my dessert but I finished it. How very unsurprisingly unbecoming.


Clafoutis Tiède de Prunes, Glace aux Amandes
Warm Plum Clafoutis, Almond Ice Cream

Having heard much about it, I wanted to try the plum clafoutis. I know it’s supposed to taste like a soufflé-cake but somehow it reminded me of a bread-pancake. It almost saddens me to say I didn’t fancy it because I love bread and pancakes - separately. People love Absinthe’s clafoutis so I guess I’m not a clafoutis person … although I do like saying it, Kla-Fo-Tea.

Situated on the edge of Bukit Pasoh Road, the restaurant cuts a vintage, old Parisian feel though it felt contrived, compared to say, Le Bistrot. There’s a fine thin line between smart and smart alec-ky service and Absinthe’s service tiptoes the latter category. With such scarily different reviews all over the internet, you should really try out Absinthe for yourself - but only if you are dying to do so.

Absinthe
48 Bukit Pasoh Road
Singapore
Tel: 6222 9068

Nagomi, Cuppage Plaza

Last last last weekend, I caught the Japanese film, Nobody to Watch Over Me. An 18 year old high school student is arrested as a suspect in a murder where two grade school girls are brutally stabbed to death. The film focuses on the chronicles of Detective Takumi Katsuura, who was sent to protect 15 year old sister of the accused, Saori Funamura from the media onslaught and outraged public outcry on the suspect’s family.

I thought it was a remarkable film and the opening music, You Were There by Libera was particularly haunting.


Potato salad and vegetables with sesame and nuts

Before the movie, I had dinner at Nagomi, somewhere I’m somewhat reluctant to blog about. Not that I’m egoistic enough to think about the diner onslaught that will swamp the place after I blog about it… but rather, I had quite an awesome experience so I would feel bad if others had a different experience.

In this intimate 25-seater restaurant, where diners sit knee-cap-to-kneecap, I felt like I had been invited into someone’s home. I had to remove my heels before entering the restaurant. And immediately I though of Carrie and her Sedaraby D'orsays. Though mine were no Manolos, I was wearing them for the first time – and sad to leave them behind. I wonder if anyone caught that last look of despair I threw at them before heading into the seating area.


The almost too-perfect momotaro tomato, served with a teaspoon of salt and mayonnaise

Though I kind of forgot about them as soon as our meal began.

There isn’t an English or fixed menu available as the Japanese owner / chef Nada Satoru uses seasonal ingredients. The drill is omakase, which I was more than happy to go with since I knew Somebody (boyish and cute) was Watching Over Me.


Fresh sashimi- amaebi, lightly grilled scallop, striped jack, hamachi and haliburt.


Cuttlefish and daikon


Rock fish cooked in sweet soya sauce


Grilled Berkshire pig (black pig) with cabbage wrapping and looks-fiery-but-not dip.


Some sake to go with our meal.

Nagomi
5 Koek Road
#02-22 Cuppage Plaza
Tel: 6732 4300

Bella Pizza, Robertson Quay

Bella ... ella ... ella ... eh ... eh ...

I can't stand that Rihanna broken-record tune but it sure sticks in your head when you least expect it.

Anyway one weekend afternoon, we circled Robertson Quay once, narrowed down our options by cutting out Japanese restaurants (shock! horor!) and Tiny-Tots-looking Brussel Sprouts ... before settling down at this casual Italian bistro. Spontaneous and unplanned, it was a good choice though; nothing to stiff for a relaxed Saturday munch.



The portobello mushrooms looks as if someone stepped over it. Twice. With Dr. Martens. But it’s a lot tastier than it looks, thanks to the porcini sauce.



I haven't had calamari in the longest time. I didn't really use up the abbrabiata sauce since I'm not a fan of dunking fried stuff in sauces ... and it baffles me when my dad dunks his tempura into the dipping sauce pool - doesn't that just nullify the crunch and the very purpose of ordering deep-fried something?

It was fine. The calamari was almost batter-less so it doesn’t feel like you are munching on those nasty KFC I-hope-it’s-chicken popcorn chicken.



The chef / owner Antonio was from Da Paolo, which is one of my favourite pizza parlours. Bella Pizza has an assortment of open-faced pizzas, clammed-up calzones and the traditional Barca Siciliana (boat pizza), which is what we went for since we are such suckers for traditional novelties.

It was the way I like it - thin with puffy rims, layered with chewy buffalo mozzarella and covered with fine sheets of parma ham. I loved how the parma ham draped itself all over the pizza - was this how the Byzantines felt when they first laid eyes on silk?



We didn’t have dessert there; not that it wasn’t any good – I wouldn’t know since I didn’t try. But unless it’s a set meal, I usually don’t prefer dessert where I have my meals. Because to me, dessert is a brand new meal ... which deserves its own time, setting and place ... so we went over to Laurent's.

The restaurant inside is indeed uncluttered and spacious; there is outdoor seating as well, but with the disgustingly hot weather we have these days, I’ll pass on the potentially interesting people watching.

Bella Pizza
30 Robertson Quay
#01-14 Riverside View
Singapore 238251
Tel: 6734 0139

Once Spruced, Twice Shy

Depending on which side you are on, Spruce is somewhere unanonymous food critics love and rave about while humble plebians are a little less enamoured.

The digestible menu tried to capture the restaurant- bar-and-bakery feel without overdoing it but that also means it is a hit-or-miss nosh experience.

Sidetrack: I love how WAY says, “The place is totally charming and I like that it is not overdone to designer perfection.”

But on his blog, the owner/ chef dedicates a blog post to the interior décor, “Our interior design references mid-century modern masters, such as Charles and Ray Eames who are quite possibly the most famous chair designers in history as well renowned lighting designers Achille and Pier Castiglioni.”

I. Love. It.



Roughly-grounded lamb chunks on a bed of lettuce, the lamb kofta salad with yogurt mint sauce was alright. It wasn’t the must-try item of the evening but there are very few must-try things on the menu.



I really liked the sweet onion crepes with truffle cheese fonduta. You could put anything with sweet onions, truffle and cheese in front of me and challenge me not to like it. You win; I will not even put up a fight.

We didn’t have the macaroni and cheese because the boys didn’t weren’t particularly fond of it. It’s ok, I shall return to try it with a bunch of pitch-forking-welding, mac-and-cheese-lovin' folks.

Two burgers made it to our tables, the signature Spruce burger and Fathers Office Burger.

I took a bite out of the FOB, feeling the love from the caramelized onion and bacon compote, blue cheese and garlic mayonnaise. Onion, bacon, blue cheese and garlic - this should be renamed Bad Breath Burger. Delicious nonetheless.

One of us had the steak frites, which was a little overdone for its own medium-rare good.



I had the roasted whole snapper – fish head and tail; very Asian style – which is what I like. When it comes to fish, I do prefer to see something more than a fillet and not drenched in fancy sauces.



The sticky date pudding hadn’t improved since my last visit but at least the vanilla ice cream wasn’t MIA.



The cheesecake of the day was Snickers Cheesecake. Well, they didn’t stuff a Snickers bar within; drizzled with crunchy chocolate balls, nougat, peanuts and caramel, it was the best dessert of the night.



The carrot cake was dense as a brick and mono-dimensionally sweet (I could almost floss my teeth with the sugar). To get over the schwwwetness, we dunked in the chocolate sauce that accompanied the pudding. I know it sounds odd to neutralize sweetness with chocolate but it worked!

Prompt and knowledgeable, the service is decidedly more polished this time round. I know this might sound like an ok-to-negative review but I had a good time at Spruce. See how good company screws your judgment?

Spruce - restaurant bar bakery
320 Tanglin Road, Phoenix Park
Tel: 6836 5528
Email: reservations@spruce.com.sg

This is fun.

Would You Rather Be Able to Eat Anything OR Have Any Guy Fall For You?

I rather be able to eat anything.

Would You Rather Have Gisele's Body or A Million Dollars?

Million dollars and spend a tenth of it getting Giselle's body.

Would You Rather Be Hilariously Funny or Drop-Dead Gorgeous?

Hilariously Funny. And makes loads of moolah ... then get Natalia's face and Giselle's body.

Would You Rather Date a Much Younger or Much Older Guy?

No brainer. Much Older Guy.

On Vacation, Would You Rather Stay in a Hotel or Rent an Apartment?

I NEED HOUSEKEEPING.

Would You Rather Have a Small Wedding or a Giant Wedding?

The smallest possible. Celebrated by just the two of us.

Would You Rather Have the Power of Flight or Invisibility?

Flyyyyyyyyy... Just so that I can skip the meddlesome security checks at airports and bad airplane food.

From Glamour.com