Pollen Afternoon Tea

Pollen at Gardens By the Bay

 I love afternoon tea. It combines three of my favourite things – yummy desserts, a nice pot of tea, and catching up with good friends.  Recently a group of girlfriends and I went to Pollen and spent the afternoon indulging in savoury and sweet treats while enjoying spectacular views of Marina Bay.

The Upper Terrace is where Afternoon High Tea is served. Afternoon High Tea is available only on weekends.

We arrived at 3pm and basked in the afternoon sun while surrounded by gorgeous flowers around us.

View of Marina Bay Sands

 

There was a delightful assortment of savoury and sweet treats complemented by an exclusive selection of fine teas. The portions served is not large but the desserts tasted as good as it looked! 

Chicken liver parfait with sour dough, Parma ham, and Mozzarella bruschetta

Home-made fruit scones with jam and cream

Macadamia and chocolate cookies, Assorted tea cakes, and Pollen macarons

Lovely afternoon with the ladies

The Afternoon Tea is priced at S$38++ per person. Although very affordable, the variety and quantity were quite small. And tea and coffee were non-refillable too.

Available only on Saturdays & Sundays, from 3pm to 5pm. Reservation required in advance. By the way, all guests who dine at Pollen will also gain complimentary access to the Flower Dome! (Save $10 sweet!)

Pollen Restaurant
18 Marina Gardens Drive
#01-09 Flower Dome
Gardens by the Bay
Singapore 018953

Tel: +65 66049988
Email info@pollen.com.sg
Website: www.pollen.com.sg

 

Open Door Policy Weekend Brunch

 

We finally got around to checking out the much-hyped Open Door Policy (ODP) in the hip cafe neighbourhood of Tiong Bahru. By the time we arrived at noon the crowds had packed out the limited floor space and we could only get a table by the bar.With a menu curated by Tippling Club’s Ryan Clift, ODP offers modern bistro fare with a rustic twist.

Cool chic rustic entrance

 The coffee J had while waiting was excellent! Just wish the cup was a little bigger!

J had the potato rosti with jamon de bellota, roast tomatoes, fried egg & white anchovies from their weekend only brunch menu and I couldn’t resist the glazed iberico pork belly with sweet potato gnocchi, crushed cashews & butternut pumpkin sauce!

Potato rosti

 

Sweet potato gnocchi

The food was reaaaally incredible but portions weren’t too big. We spent $45 per person for two mains, a fresh juice and coffee which is a little more expensive than some other cafes. The place had a comfortable interior and relaxing ambience. Overall the experience was still worth the money and we’ll definitely be back next time with a reservation.

19 Yong Siak St
Yong Siak View
Singapore168650

Nearest MRT: Tiong Bahru

 

 

Tippling Club

Congratulations to Tippling Club, which made its debut on Asia’ top 50 list at no. 23 this week! This is testament to chef Ryan Clift’s brand of inventive and imaginative food.

After calling Dempsey Hill home for five years, Tippling Club has now moved to the hip CBD area of Tanjong Pagar. Decor is more urban and modern but still has the same chic open kitchen and imaginative food.

Revamped Tippling Club

This is probably one of the most experimental and imaginative restaurant I have been to in Singapore. It has the best food presentation, every dish is like a work of art and their cocktails takes creativity to new heights. The must try is the Juniper Sling. This cocktail is inspired by the luxury perfumier Penhalgion’s fragrance, Juniper Sling. It is made with Monkey 47 gin as the base mixed with their house-made cherry liqueur and other secret ingredients. It is served in a Penhaligon bottle placed in a Penhaligon gift box which looks too good to drink!

Tippling Club’s Juniper Sling

Their early dinner set menu (6pm – 8pm) is one of the most exciting and value for money menus to try. For $70++ you get 3 courses and a glass of wine. These phone pics speak for themselves.

Pre Theatre Menu

Amuse bouche – A modern twist on the local curry

Amuse bouche – Quail egg with balsamic vinegar went down like a treat

Amuse bouche – Styrafoam truffle rice crispies was a highlight

Gnocchi – Beef carpaccio, sarah bernhadt consomme

Mums Cauliflower Cheese – porcini, truffle

Iberico Pork Belly. Perfect dish.

Braised Lamb Shank – cauliflower cousous, madras curry. Yummy.

The humble grilled cheese sandwich with truffle and jamon was the best we ever had.

We wanted more of Chef Ryan’s Chocolate Orange. It wasn’t Terry’s but it was divine.

 

If you want a great evening with excellent service and amazing food then give this place a try.

Tippling Club

38 Tanjong Pagar Rod, Singapore 088461

Tel: + 65 6475 2217

 

Breakfast@Kitchenette

Kitchenette is my local bakery-café-wineshop in Novena. Nicely located outside Goldhill plaza, it’s our one stop shop for bread, coffee, and a big breakfast on lazy Saturday mornings.

Corned beef hash ($12)

Their breakfast menu is very affordable, ranging from $12 for Corned beef hash to $15 for the Big Breakfast  set.  Big Breakfast includes two eggs, bacon, beans, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, potatoes and a choice of fresh orange juice or coffee.

They also have a small bakery and wine store, so you can grab some fresh-baked pastries and bottles to go. Their bakery selection is small, but they have a good variety, like olive bread, walnut rye, sour dough and pastries, which makes it real handy in the mornings.

Here are a few of our breakfast favorites:

Big Breakfast ($15)

Classic: Eggs benedict ($14)

Steak sandwich with grilled onions and avacado ($14)

 Breakfast here is a steal and a great place to fuel up for the weekend!

51 Goldhill Plaza, #01-01

Goldhill Plaza

Open: 9am – 9pm Mon – Sun

U.d.d.e.r.s

U.d.d.e.r.s. on Thomson Rd

When you’re stressed, you eat ice cream…but why? Stressed spelled backwards is ‘desserts’. So whenever I’m stressed, a trip to Udders puts an instant smile on my face!

Lots of interesting liquer flavours

They specialize in alcoholic liquer ice cream as well as exotic asian flavours like macha green tea, durian, and lychee.

A must try is the Bailey’s & Bourbon with peanut butter crunch! This is the most euphoric  ice cream flavor, each spoon is a guaranteed taste explosion!

If you’re a big fan of Bailey’s then you must try Bailey’s and Bourbon sundae!

Conveniently located near Novena MRT and in front of United Square, it’s only a 5 min walk from my house. Lucky me!

U.d.d.e.r.s Ice Cream ( Novena)

155 Thomson Road

Goldhill Centre

Nearest MRT: Novena

http://www.udders.com.sg/

Afternoon Tea @ W SINGAPORE

There’s no better way to celebrate my birthday than to hit my sweetspot and indulge in some afternoon high tea! I was treated to a a glamorous high-tea experience at the W Singapore @ WooBar by J.

Got there 20 mins too early so had a birthday mojhito first..YUM!

The highlight was the food came in a silver bird cage on a stand!

The bird cage

First up we tried the savoury platter:

Savoury platter with foie gras, pastry and salmon & goats cheese

The chocolate tart was actually foie gras with pork wine sauce. Had a bite but wasn’t a big fan, too exotic for me.

The chicken pastry was ok, nothing special, but the salmon wrapped in goats cheese was a big hit. I could’ve had a few more easily!

Cute bite size scones

Next up were bite size scones with cream and passion fruit purée. They were heavenly; the puree complimented the scones perfectly.

Bottom tier with meringue tarts, marshmallows, chocolate fudge, and egg mayo sandwich

Egg mayo sandwich was quite nice and light. I was actually quite full by this point but of course there’s always room for sweets!

We had one bite of all the different flavoured marshmallows but couldn’t finish them. It was sickly sweet as it contained a jelly jam filling inside too.

Lastly, we tried the blueberry and strawberry macaroons.

The fruity macaroons were on the too sweet side, lucky there was a strong Dilmah tea to wash it down!

Priced at S$58 for two, it was great value for money as we also enjoyed magnificent views of the marina! Price included free flow of tea AND coffee. It was a truly satisfying sugar fix, and with free flow tea/coffee to give that extra caffeine boost, you will have enough energy to skip dinner.

The setting was contemporary and stylish and service was excellent.  Give this place a try!

View from our lounge!

Daily from 3pm – 5pm

W Singapore Sentosa Cove,

21 Ocean Way, Singapore 098374

Tel: 680 7258

Tonkotsu Kazan Ramen

Tonkotsu Kazan Ramen at Novena Square 2 is currently my favourite ramen restaurant in Singapore and lucky for me, it’s just convenietly across the road from home. This restaurant specializes in tonkotsu ramen with flavoured egg and tender simmered pork belly with a choice of a special blend soy, spicy or lightly salted pork broth. Priced between $12 -$15 it’s a great choice for a quick bite to eat.

The pork broth is thick, rich and flavoursome and the pork belly is tender and not too fatty at all. Each time I come here I look forward to slurping the tasty soup. YUM!!

The decor reminds me of a typical ramen shop near the Tokyo train stations. The staff are friendly, they always come to refill the water and service is fast. It’s a great place to get a ramen fix and once you try it, you will be back!

Tonkotsu Kazan Ramen

10 Sinaran Drive
#02-68/69 Square 2

Nearest MRT: Novena

Tel: +65 6397-6636

Website: http://www.tonkotsukazan.com/menu.html

Opening Hours: Mon – Sun: 11am – 10pm

Wine and Dine Adventure @ The Cliff

Wine and Dine Adventure at the Cliff is a great concept, you enjoy each course of your meal at a different location of the hotel. I first heard about this restaurant from reviews and thought it was such a refreshing and exciting way to dine. So for Valentines day this year, I decided to surprise my other half with the gastronomic dinner adventure!

Chilled out alfresco dining

The Cliff located in The Sentosa Spa and Resort is perched on a cliff overlooking the South China Sea, the open bar and alfresco restaurant is the perfect place for a date because the ambience is just gorgeous. You don’t even feel like you’re in Singapore at all, it’s the perfect romantic escape for a few hours.

Perfect ambience

The view at sunset is quite breathtaking too, so make you sure you arrive by 6:30pm for a pre-dinner drink at the open bar.

On our arrival at the Cliff, we enjoyed champagne and a canapé of braised beef cheek at The Pavilion.

Teaser: Beef cheek with glass of champagne

Arrival at The Pavillion

Next we were whizzed off on a buggy ride to The Garden for our appetizers and entrées. For appetizers, J had mini courgette of burrata cheese, green zucchini coulis, black olive yoghurt, and baby spinach while I had smoked eel with beetroot, raspberry, pink radish, rye bread, sour cream, majinko, and goat cheese.

Mini courgette

Smoked eel

For entrées, J had pan seared scallops with asparagus, truffle and mushroom vinaigrette and I had the mushroom soup.

Pan seared scallops with asparagus, truffle and mushroom vinaigrette

Wild mushroom soup

Both two courses were delicious with generous portions and flawless in our opinion.

For our mains and desserts, we were picked up by buggy back to The Cliff. It was so nice to have a change of scenery for each course. For mains, we both had the lamb loin. The lamb was cooked to perfection and left us wanting more.

For our indulgent desserts, I had the cliff lemon tart while J had the tiramisu. Lemon tart had textures of lemon, gin and tonic jelly and yuzu sorbet while tiramisu was an incredible mascarpone mousse. Presentations of the desserts were amazing and tasted heavenly too!

The Cliff lemon tart

Tiramisu

Wine and Dine Adventure is priced at $125++ per person not including the wine. There is an option for wine pairing with the four courses at $195++. Although not cheap, it was reasonably priced for the quality of the food, outstanding service, ambience, and the truly unique dining experience. Only downside, the restaurant is not accessible by public transport and the taxi waiting time took a little longer than usual so make sure you ask the concierge to book a taxi for you 15 mins before you leave.

We had a wonderful night celebrating Valentines day and our engagement at The Cliff and definitely hope to be back there again on another special occasion.

The Cliff at The Sentosa

2 Bukit Manis, Sentosa, Singapore 099891

Tel:  +65 6371 1425

Website: http://www.thecliff.sg/default-en.html

SuperTree by Indochine

SuperTrees at Gardens by the Bay is a nice, cosy place with a great view of the Marina Bay skyline. It has a warm ambience, and the perfect place to unwind after a walk in the Gardens.

The menu offered a wide selection of eastern and western food as well as an extensive cocktail menu. Cocktails were priced at $16 and definitely for those with a sweet tooth. J and I both had a Chocolate Martini with Bailey’s Irish cream, peppermint schnapps, and chocolate shavings. It wasn’t too sweet and a perfect fit with our starters platter.

The starters platter for two had bite sized selections of Kurobuta pork loin, vegetarian rice paper rolls, smoked duck and deep fried Vietnamese spring rolls. The platter priced at $40, was abit expensive but it’s the typical price you pay for this kind of place.

Starters Platter for two ($40)

Beef Carpaccio ($20)

The beef carpaccio had a tangy lemon dressing and was amazingly good! Beef was tender and melted in the mouth.

The desserts were great but extremely small for $18. We ordered the panna cotta and the crème brulee, both were delicious, the only thing that would make them better would be to add one giant scoop of ice cream and make it a decent size dessert!

Vietnamese Coffee Creme Brulee ($18)

Panna Cotta with caramel figs ($18)

The open-air rooftop bar, 50 metre high with panoramic views of Marina Bay is a great place to chill out with a beer or cocktail.

Overall it was a lovely venue, staff were attentive, and food arrived quickly. Highly recommend this place to take visitors for an intimate dinner for the ambience and the 360 degree views.

SuperTree by IndoChine
18 Marina Gardens Drive, Gardens by the Bay, #03-01
Singapore 018953

Tel : +65 6694 8489

Chye Seng Huat Hardware Coffee Bar

CSHH is a coffee bar on Tyrwhitt Road in the Lavender neighbourhood and within walking distance from my house. It’s great to have a cool place not far from home to get a coffee. So, I was very happy to get my daily exercise out of the way this morning and be rewarded with amazing coffee.

Housed in an old hardware shophouse, the place has retained alot of old charm and atmosphere. Their entrance is hidden on the side, you enter through a secret side gate with a “no parking” sign.

Secret Side Entrance

CSHH Entrance

Inside, the décor is minimalistic and retro. You can look on while the baristas work their magic behind the open U shaped bar brewing fresh coffee with their seriously sexy coffee equipment.

I gotta say this place definitely has the best coffee in Singapore, probably even better than most places in Sydney! ( Big call I know!)

Steel shelves selling varitey of coffee machine accesories

In the festive spirit, I ordered a Orange Cappuccino (on offer for the Christmas period only, and only to the first 60 customers each day), Hazelnut Ginger Tea Cake, and Chicken Patties.

Chicken patties with lime, chilli, and lemongrass ($12.50)

Ginger and Hazlenut Tea Cake

J ordered a Cappuccino and a ham omelet. The omelet was average but the chicken patties with lime, chilli, and lemongrass were tasty and full of flavor.

Cappuccino ($5)

Cappuccinos go for $5 and food menu averages $10. We probably wouldn’t go there for the food, as the menu is limited but the coffee is exceptional, and for $4-5 you can’t top that anywhere in Singapore!

Chye Seng Huat Hardware

150 Tyrwhitt Road
Singapore 207563

Tel: +65 6396 0609

Opening Hours:

Tue-Thu 9am-7pm; Fri-Sun 9am-10pm

http://www.cshhcoffee.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ChyeSengHuatHardware