Takashimaya Basement Food Fair

I went for the food fair on both Wednesday and Friday - and got my self lots of purple sweet potato doriyaki. Doriyaki is a Japanese confectionery which consists of 2 pieces of pancake and (usually) filled with red bean. Till now, I've never tasted fresh doriyaki. These doriyakis are fresh off the movable conveyor belt hot pan, and even branded on the spot (look at the pancake on the top left hand corner - the woman's branding the pancake :)
The purple sweet potato filling is nice and sweet, smooth and I think it beats red bean anytime. Red bean isn't my most favourite filling. I also got myself a Vietnamese Baguette($3.90) from the Yummy Viet stall. I really like eating Vietnamese Baguettes (aka Bánh mì ) - the crusty bread, pate, ham, crunchy preserved vegetables (turnips, carrots, cucumbers, chillies and lots and lots of parsley) go really well together. I used to be crazy over the Saigon Baguette from Raffles City till they sadly closed down (they have another branch somewhere in the CBD). I got the mixed ham baguette - I don't quite like the taste of the ham and the pate - I think Saigon Baguette tastes much better, even though its much pricier at about $5+ for a baguette.
Actually I don't know why there aren't many Vietnamese Baguette stalls around Singapore. It's an Asian sandwich - should be quite popular here right?There's also a booth from Perla's Pastry Boutique, which is Valentino's (of Ristorante Da Valentino's sister. Her fruit tarts look awsome! Actually, I was too full (and feeling too stingy) to buy her tarts) even though I sampled the Chocolate Fig one. It's $10.80 for a pie which can feed 2 people (or 4 very small eaters). I shall hurry down to Perla's stall in Jalan Binka one day when I'm feeling indulgent.

There's also a Japanese fruits booth, which was selling the super delicious Kyoho Grapes from Japan ($16 for a bunch), as well as Japanese Peaches ($26 for 2) and Fuji apples ($9 for 3). I got my Fuji apples on Wednesday (which are already stored in my stomach) as a treat for myself before my EOPT. When I went back on Friday, they didn't have apples anymore.

There's also an Udders (alcoholic) Ice Cream booth - where I managed to sample the Chocolate Java Chip (or something like that I somehow can't remember the name) which is their most alcoholic ice cream. Haven't been to Udders in a very long while - I'm missing their super alcoholic ice creams.

Also, they have the funky egg tarts which I tried in the previous Taka food fare - they still have their charcoal egg tarts and various other flavours such as chocolate, kaya, apple, chicken mushroom etc.

Ah I might just go back tomorrow to get some more doriyakis (I've already eaten 3 to date) and maybe a tart from Perla's :)

It's ending on Sunday (which is actually today) so hurry down before the weekend ends:)

Tori Q

On Monday I had this incredible craving for Tori Q (sudden onset, no precipitating event) and I even contemplated driving all the way down to town, parking at Wheelock and walking over to Taka just to get my Tori Q. Which is a feat for me since I'm so lazy to go anywhere out of the way.
It sort of reminds me of the way Haruki Murakami described hunger in 'The Second Bakery Attack" (I'm quite tempted to put <<>> because we always have to do that for book titles in Chinese compositions last time!).

Btw, I really like Haruki Muraki he's probably my favourite author cos the writing style is very flow-y and it's very easy to read (unlike Neil Gaiman where the sentences don't flow smoothly, but of course, this is just my opinion).

I used to eat this pretty often (like minimum once a week in secondary school), from Taka basement foodcourt, and the yummy bacon and cheese takopachi. And the pancake fish.

Anyway, my sister so kindly bought me my Tori Q from J8.

So that's the end of my Tori Q craving.

Since this is a food blog, the tori Q set that I eat is Set B ($5.20) which has 2 sticks of normal chicken, 1 stick of chicken balls, and 1 stick of chicken and green peppers. They don't have that automated rice machine which gives exact amounts of rice anymore.

Coffee Club (Taka)

Resting my legs - plus dinner

Strawberry Smoothie - delicious yoghurty goodness, despite being strawberry syrup. I've recently found out that Kopitiam Kent Ridge does a pretty good version of it for $2.80, even if it's only strawberry puree. They do it with real yoghurt, not those fake syrupy ones (that some bubble tea places use). Looks like I'll be trudging over to get my yoghurt fix :)
The BIG Chicken Sandwich, which was pretty good for $10.80, really exceeded my expectations, with a thick tender chicken patty (deep fried so it's very tasty :P), tasty cheese, juicy red tomatoes on a toasted grain-ey bread.
This was some Mushroom and Ricotta Crepe - my advice - don't go anywhere near it. For $9.80++ it was a disaster :/ Very salty, not much taste and urgh I really regretted ordering this. Plus, it's miniscule.
Chocolate Mousse dessert - pretty good just that the Mousse was frozen in the middle (urgh!) but tasted really chocolatey (a bit too chocolatey for me but I suppose chocolate lovers will like it). Can't remember the price I think it's around $10 thereabouts. They've changed the menu since the last time I visited, and upped their prices, but the chicken sandwich was pretty impressive (maybe cos I was hungry?) - plus, it's a nice rest-my-legs place. I can't walk very far after exploring wheelock wisma taka all at one go (plus parking far far away) - my eating stamina way exceeds my shopping stamina.

Coffee Club Ngee Ann city

391 Orchard Road

#03-16A/17 Ngee Ann city (Takashimaya)

Singapore 238872

Phone: 6735 7368

The kino coffee club gives you 10% if you flash your kino card but they don't have the full menu there. Not sure if they still have it now though...

Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge

Oh no this is one of my super duper outdated posts hiding in the recesses of my food picture folder. But I believe that it's always better late than never! Avoid this place like plague if you hate hearing tai tais twittering everywhere!:P Its actually a favourite haunt for all those well coiffed women and actually, the few times I was there, the male population in the restaurant didn't exceed 3 even if it was crowded.. Mushroom Soup - not mine, but I just thought that it looks pretty good. Very creamy, to the point of being too heavy. This is the Royal Copenhagen Smoked Salmon Sandwich. The menu says that they smoke the salmon themselves. This sandwich costs a whopping $16, but in my opinion, it's worth every cent cos its really very delicious. The smoked salmon is smooth and chewy, not like the soggy, thready kind that's threatening to break into pieces along the fat lines. Best of all, it's not too salty and tastes delicious with the warm crispy toast.
I decided to go for the set dinner ($22 something) because it came with an appetiser, main and dessert, as well as coffee/tea. I was thinking that my dinner set would be much more worth it than ordering a measly sandwich for $16.90 +++. But I very sad to say that I was proven wrong.

The prawns were completely not fresh - the shells were sticky and it was a pain to finish this dish. The mango salsa was interesting and tangy, but no amount of can save the yucky sticky shell prawns. This was my seabass, which was pretty overcooked and very hard. I was seriously regretting ordering the set cos it was really very hard to finish eating it. Plus, it was over salted and generally the whole thing tasted very disgusting.
Cake of the day, which was sour cherry cake. I wanted to change it to the green tea cake (somehow even though most people think it's v dry, I really like it, plus I was really craving a green tea dessert that day) but I changed my mind when I was told that I would have to top up 2 bucks. Being stingy after a highly unsatisfacatory meal, I obviously declined.
I've eaten this on a previous occasion - the cake is the rough/grainy kind a bit like the semolina cakes that you find in the more traditional bakeries. I quite like it though, cos it's pretty buttery, not too sweet and has tangy bits of sour cherries inside. The ice cream went very well with the cake, as the cake is slightly dry.

I'm glad to see that they dressed the cake up a bit compared to the previous time I ordered the set meal- it now comes with cherry sauce on the side.

I think that Royal Copenhagen is a great place to to rest my tired legs especially after all that
But then again, I won't recommend everyone to come here - most people will say it's too expensive for mediocre food - something that I can't refute. But then again, when I'm feeling too tired to think of a nice place to go to in town (especially if it's already 9pm) I tend to gravitate here.

But the next time, I'll definitely stick with the opened faced sandwiches or the salmon toast - no more sucky seabass for me!

The water here is another thing worth mentioning, as it is flavoured with strawberries. They cut up quite a few strawberries and place them into a large jug, so that there is a subtle hint of strawberry in the water.

Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge
391A Orchard Road
Takashimaya Shoping Cenre level 2
Tel 67356833

Crystal Jade Korean

There's so many many many types of crystal jade restaurants but my fave one is the Korean one! It's prob cos Chinese food generally isn't on my fave food lists. Despite having so many branches, the service isn't compromised at all (unlike many other well known food chains...) One of the reasons I like Crystal Jade Korean is becuase they always serve you 6 dishes of appetisers whenever you order their main course. And it's FREE FLOW. Super yums! Of course, there is kimchi (which is a must have for every Korean dinner - a bit like green tea to the Japanese), and soyabean sprouts (not those green bean kind we usually get) which are lightly marinaded in sesame sauce. There's also lots of spinach, potato salad (prob not v traditional but its nice). There's also this tofu with some spicy sauce - the tofu is really smooth and silky and it's so soft it will break into pieces when you try to grab it with your chopsticks, so must use spoon). And there's this preserved turnip (i think) which I don't quite like.
It's such a healthy way to start off your meal with...

They have this high class bbq(completely unlike Seoul Garden) and you can even ask them to help you barbeque your food for you if you're too lazy to do it yourself :D This time, I tried the seafood noodle soup ($16) which was one of the only non spicy non beef dishes on the menu.

I was eyeing this Korean Ginseng Chicken (a must to eat whenever you go to Korea) for quite long but it's pretty ex - $25 but it's really yummy and the soup is thick and cloudy and tasty. The soup is really yummy but then refills for soup is $6. The chicken's quite big and can be shared with about 3 to 4 ppl.It's stuffed with glutinous rice and a chestnut - the soup isn't too bitter but there is a hint of ginseng.
I also tried the seafood omelette (which I saw another table eating the last time i came here and wanted to try it this time) which was pretty ex - it's like $15? for the omelette but it's crispy oustide and slightly doughy iside with nice crystal shrimps and other assorted seafood.

This is probably one of my more favourite restaurants in Takashimaya - there's a branch in Centrepoint too.

Crystal Jade Korean also has a 'Da Chang Jin' menu (the Korean cooking show with a Palace Maid) but it's $53 ++++++++ per person and must order a day in advance, and a min of 4 people.

Royal Copenhagen Tea House (3)

After the highly unsatisfactory visit to Toast, we decided to go to our tried and tested haunt because we didn't want to waste any more money and calories on bad food.

I tried the set of the day, with soup, 3 mini sandwiches and dessert as well as coffee/tea.

The choices for that day was boneless chicken leg with mango sauce, as well as linguine with prawn and mussles, with chillies, garlic and olive oil.

Soup of the day was Prawn Bisque
3 mini opened face sandwiches. It usually comes with shrimp, smoked salmon and roast beef, but since I don't take beef (for reasons unfathomable by most people), the restaurant is more than willing to allow you to choose from other options such as ham, tuna (i think?) and pate. The pate is made in house, and comes on a wholegrain bread.
Dessert of the day was pear cake with vanilla ice cream. If you want to change your cake, you'll have to top up $2.

Toast

I've just found out that my blog is a source of amusement for Mr Dedrick Chan. :(
And Fish says that i've "aged considerably and look sooooo much older" since I started uni.

:(
Anyway, here's today's post:

After being impressed by Marmalade Pantry, I found out that the Marmalade Group has started a new restaurant/cafe in Takashimaya. It's much more convenient to to taka than all the way to Palais Renaissance .

Furthermore, I like all these sandwich bars - I'm reminded of Pret a Manger, which is really popular in London. It has a branch in Singapore, but I've yet to try it cos it's really out of the way and in the office area (not shopping area) of CBD.

We went there at about 6.30pm, and being a small place, it was about 3/4 full. They close at 7pm, and all the salads (I was actually looking forward to trying the Pumpkin and Tofu salad) were sold out. Furthermore, the service sucked! When we wanted to place our orders, this was what happened:

me: can i please have a...

staff: We close at 7pm

me: But it's 6.30 now, can i place my order?

staff: We close in half an hours time

me: I'm ordering now aren't I ??

urgh! anyway, we tried a Sardine sandwich (comes with a more fanciful, appetising name). The sardine was quite tasty, and the bread was soft and fresh.

The price is steep - $6.30. Pretty pricey for sardine, since it somes out from a can. We also tried the Leek, Bacon and Goat's Cheese Tart ($6.80). It has a generous portion of leeks, though i thought the crust was a bit thick and tasteless.
Ok. So I have concluded that the original Marmalade Pantry is still much better than it's sandwich bar. Furthermore, Toast has these small tiles (not as small as mosiac) but then I hate small tiles (reminds me of those old old markets or hawker centre toilets where there's lots of black stuff and fungus and yucky things stuck between the gaps). The only redeeming factor is that they serve water, and a good sized glass with ice will be given to you on request. However, with less than the acceptable service standard, I guess that I won't be returning anytime soon.

Toast

Unit 02-11 Ngee Ann City (Near Marc by Marc Jacobs and Tyan)

Tel: 67338489

Royal Copenhagen Tea House (2)

Went to Takashimaya on Friday night to get a few things done, and by the time we finished it was about 830pm and I hadn't eaten dinner yet. We actually wanted to go and try Toast, but then it closes at 8pm (so early :( ) so we went to Royal Copenhagen Tea House. By the time we got there, it was past 9 already and the kitchen was closed - ie no more food! and warm desserts, but they still served cakes. So we tried the cakes and ice cream.

We got 3 cakes - from top to bottom - Sour Cherry, Blueberry Cheese Cake and Green Tea Cake.

The sour cherry and green tea cakes have more or less the same texture - quite grainy. I actually prefer the mixed fruit cake that I tried on my first visit here. The blueberry cheese cake is not as heavy as the coffee bean one, but then it's not the light kind either.
The green tea taste is quite strong and all the cakes only cost $4.50 per slice. (Quite cheap compared to Coffee Bean and Starbucks, and the ambience here is much better).

We ordered the ice cream, which comes in 3 scoops for $7 with nuts, almonds, chocolate sauce and fruit cocktail. Ice cream comes in three flavours - chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. My favourite one is the strawberry.

Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge

Royal Copenhagen is a brand of porcelain from Denmark has a new tea lounge in Takashimaya. It's tucked into a corner in Takashimaya Shopping Centre, on level 2, and is camouflaging amongst the bags and Burberry - i've actually missed this v nice eating/lounging place many many times. The interior is quite nice, not to cramped like majority of the restaurants now, and one end of the restaurant faces the large cross junction between Paragon and Ngee Ann City.It caters to more of the tai-tai crowd, when we went in at about 2pm, there were lots of perfectly coiffered women with gravity defying hair and manicured nails, along with outfits to match. There were only 2 men in the entire restaurant (excluding the staff) but more came in a while later.
Of course they cater to a crowd with deeper pockets - you won't really expect anything less from something named Royal.

Each table is nicely decorated with a flower arrangement and a sugarbowl, along with a container to put your bill in. Of course, everything is from Royal Copenhagen pocelain. Don't drop your plate!!Ah don't you like the little CURL of butter! :D
Each piece is marked with a NUMBER (it's a bit dirty though but that's the base and it's not the sugar bowl, just the other one that they put your bill in. Don't worry everything is impeccably clean, just the way I like it.

The Lunch Set menu (ends at 2.30pm, $20++- altogether about $23) has soup of the day, 2 choices for the main course (baked salmon with mashed potatoes and homemade sauce or mushroom linguine aglio olio) or 3 open faced sandwiches, dessert of the day and coffee or tea.

There is also a daily high tea set which ends later and has 2 open faced sandwiches, 2 cakes and coffee/tea.

Soup of the day was broccoli soup which had bits of meat inside and it was not too creamy.


Baked Salmon3 open faced sandwiches - Beef, shrimp and smoked salmon stufed with scrambled eggs. They are very generous on the meat portions. I think this was the best choice, only that it seemed a bit puny. But no compromise on the taste - it tastes really good, and i liked the shrimp one. Jane has struck lottery cos she choose the better dish.
Tea

Highlight of the meal - Fruit Cake with Nuts served with strawberry icecream, which the restaurant makes itself. The icecream is really creamy and has chunks of strawberry inside! Delicious.

The cake is really good too!
I would like to go back to try their other cakes, including Baked Cheesecake, Blueberry Cheesecake, Green Tea Cake, Cranberry and Almond Cake, Selmonila Cake, Coconut Cake etc etc! the display there is really tempting!

You can just get a cake and tea if you just want something light. They have an interesting range of tea, which also includes Assam tea which I would like to try the next time i go there. It's about $6 per pot.

Overall, I think it's a much nicer place to go to than my usual Coffee Club, where I take a rest from my shopping. If I'm taka, I usally go there to eat their cakes which are on offer during tea time, since it's so simple to think of and they have so many branches anyway.

Verdict: Worth spending your calories on! Share the food so you can try more cakes, and skip the salmon if you're not dying for something savoury.

Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge
391A Orchard Road
Takashimaya Shoping Cenre level 2
Tel 67356833