LIC's Food Outing - Ochacha

LadyIron Chef (who isn't a lady) organized a food-sampling-friend-meeting session at Ochacha, and since I've always wanted to try Ochacha (but the 2 previous times I walked past and went in to sample the drinks I was too full). So I thought it was a great opportunity to sample most of their menu for $17.50, and also, to meet other bloggers.
Price quoted is for normal size portions, this is just a sampler.
Shitake Mushroom Soup and Tomato Soup. I liked the tomato soup because it was very tangy, and full of chewy bits of vegatables, but I found it slightly too salty. The mushroom soup was thick and creamy, with lots and lots of shitake mushroom bits. However, there was a slight bitter after taste (prob due to the mushroom).
From Front to Back: Matcha Rocks, Ochacha Rocks, Azuki Freezie.
These are just small shots, but the actual size is much bigger, about the size of Starbucks/Coffeebean drinks.
Matcha Rocks ($4.95) is slightly sweetened cold green tea, and there is really alot of green tea powder inside - there was a thick layer of sediment on the bottom of mine.
My favourite was the Ochacha Rocks ($4.95), which green tea with milk in good proportions such that neither the milk or green tea overpowers the other. People who like milk will enjoy this.
The Azuki Freezie ($6.50) is green tea, milk and azuki beans. I think of the azuki beans as a healthier alternative to the pearls in bubble tea, cos it gives you something to bite on while drinking.
What I liked about the drinks was that they are not too sweet and thus taste very refreshing. I suppose that the more health conscious people who love their green tea and antioxidents will like it too.
The drinks come in 2 sizes, "Thirsty" and "Parched". The lady boss said that she was contemplating calling it "Dehydrated" but thought this wouldn't sit too well with her customers. I suppose if she called the normal sized one "Dehydrated", she could call the big cup "Hypovolemic shock". This is the complimentary salad which was so kindly provided by the boss as she noted that our tasting menu didn't have a vegetable dish:) The lettuce isn't the cheapskate iceberg lettuce you get for $1.50 a head at supermarkets (thought I'm not botanist and can't identify what type of lettuce it is but it's not Romaine either). It's dressed in a light citrus dressing (is it yuzu? tastes a bit orang-ish to me).These are the sandwiches we had: Sakura Egg ($4.80), Wasabi Tuna ($5.90) and Salmon Furikake ($5.90).
I enjoyed the salmon furikake the most, perhaps because there was a interesting Jap twist to the usual boring smoked salmon sandwich in the form of the furikake powder (seaweed, sesame seeds, fish flakes etc). I wasn't very impressed by the sakura egg since I don't really like eating egg sandwiches, and there was just a sprinkling of sakura powder, which I couldn't really taste very well. I found the wasabi in the wasabi tuna sandwich too strong, and it kept going up my nose. As you can tell, I don't like wasabi (unless it's the freshly grated kind). If you are a wasabi fan, you'll probably like this since the wasabi is reall very strong.
The bread was nicely toasted and it was very fresh and soft on the inside. I think that the salmon furikake is much more worth it than Delifrance's sandwiches for the same cafe style dining and pricing.
Matcha Financier ($2.90) is this quite thin, half cake half biscuit dessert which I think is very small (volume wise) for the price. It's based on a French recipe, and modified by adding the green tea powder. The good point about this is that it's very well made, with the crispiness on the bottom and sides, and the green tea taste is very strong. I'll eat this very willingly and happily if it were free, but not if I had to buy it for $2.90.Green Tea Panna Cotta ($4.90) was served last, and a good thing too because it's really creamy and heavy. The consistency is more like mousse, and if I weren't so stuffed, I would have liked it better. Diminishing returns indeed.This is the Matcha Azuki ($4.90), which isgenerously sprinkled with lots of green tea powder. Green tea and azuki beans make a great combination for desserts! I really like the intense colour that the green tea gives the sponge layers.
This is my favourite dessert of the day! It's the Matcha Cotton ($2.90) which is a Japanese style cotton cake but with green tea. It reminds me of the cotton cake at Tampopo, just that it has green tea and copious amounts of decadent fresh cream. The cake itself is very light and fluffy. I think it's quite worth the $2.90 pricing (even if it's mostly air, it appears big and impressions make a big difference ;)
I will definitely come back to eat this:DThe dinner ended on a pleasant note with the Ochacha Latte. It's the warm version of the Ochacha Rocks. By this time, I couldn't taste if it was sweet or unsweetened cos we just ate all the desserts, and there were many diminishing returns.

There's a variation of the Ochacha Latte called the Ochacha Silk, which comes with soyamilk instead of milk. I think that it's a very good idea since most Asians, especially Chinese are lactose intolerant.

Overall, I will recommend Ochacha for desserts, as well as a great place to sit and chill with a healthier, less sugary drink. AND you have to enjoy green tea - which is the whole idea of going to this place :)

Thanks to LIC for organizing the event:D

And now, for my new michellelim star rating:

Ochacha, rating for DESSERT only:

OChaCha
252 North Bridge Road
#B1-44F Raffles City
Tel: 6333 5886