PODI, Paragon Orchard

We ventured to the newly opened restaurant, Podi, at Paragon for high tea on a Saturday afternoon when we had some time to kill before dinner.  

 

Open concept restaurant

Cakes counter

The cakes selection was not extensive but decent with some interesting selections such as their whoopie pies and some of the cakes like the Rose Dragon lifht cheesecake.



Cinnamon Spiced Cake with Honey & Toasted Hazelnut Frosting

$12/slice or $15 with ice cream

We opted for Cinnamon Spiced Cake with Honey & Toasted Hazelnut Frosting and almond cappuccino ice cream because I wanted something more sponge-cake based than cream-based. The dessert was very rich with its strong flavours of spices and generous serving of nuts. The cake was topped with buttery biscuit crumbs instead of your usual cream frosting. The chef pulled it off well because the cake could have been very dry if the sponge cake was not moist enough. It was interesting but I found it a little too overwhelming as the flavors were very strong. Perhaps a lighter flavoured ice cream, like Vanilla bean, would have complemented the cake better.

Other items on the food menu include dishes such as Seared chilled grass-fed NZ rib eye steak ($32), Lean chicken fillets ($24), Tamarind chilli prawns with brown rice ($26), and Grilled sea bass with brown rice ($26). Breakfast dishes, available from 8am to 12pm, features a smaller selection with items such as Herb omelette wrap with grilled chicken ($20), Poached eggs with spinach on toast ($22), and Black forest pancakes ($17).


Podi, The Food Orchard

290 Orchard Road

#01-20A Paragon

Tel: 68875303

K Ki, Ann Siang Hill

K Ki has been on my to-go list since about two years ago when I've read about their desserts online. We finally made our way there on a Saturday afternoon after a hearty brunch session.

 





 

The store was featuring adorable paintings of rabbits on the wall, an exhibition by Yusuke Shimura.

 



The Little Drom Store

I love the assortment of items displayed at The Little Drom Store, painting a psychedelic array of colours that livens the place up.

 

 

The store is shared between K ki and The Little Drom Store, and I was a little suprised at how small the store was. There was only a counter with about 11 types of sliced cakes and a drinks menu. Being our first time there, the staff was very helpful and explained the components in each cake so that we could decide on what we wanted.

 

The Little Red Riding Hood
$9

Our first pick was The Little Red Riding Hood, which comprises of 70% dark Valrhona chocolate mousse cake with a raspberry centre. I thought it was rich yet light and smooth at the same time. This would sit well with chocolate fans. 

Emily
$9

Our second pick was Emily, a champagne mousse cake with a strawberry centre. I was intrigued by its description but disappointed with the actual taste. I felt that the flavours did not really blend well together, leaving a slightly odd after taste on the palates. The mousse was overly soft, which was something I did not really enjoy as well as it felt like I was only having flavored whipped cream.

 



 

A nice place to chill out, but perhaps only once just for the experience. The items failed to impress, perhaps due to the high expectations that were pegged to the place.  

 

 

K Ki

7 Ann Siang Hill
#01-00
Tel: 62256650

 

 

The Patissier, Muhamed Sultan

Having heard of the wonderful cakes at The Patissier, we were delight to chance upon its takeaway store along Muhamed Sultan. Dining in is not available at the outlet at Muhamed Sultan, unless you manage to grab the only bench in the takeaway store, which we did.



Entrance



Cakes counter

 We zoomed in on the highly raved Passion Fruit Meringue immediately as I've heard so much about it.

Passion Fruit Meringue
$8/slice

Available at $85.60 per cake or $8 a slice, the Passion Fruit Meringue may look like an ugly dollop of mess, but was simply divine. The slightly crisp and soft meringue sponge cake is filled with passion fruit mousse, fresh mangoes and strawberries. The cake is beautifully light with it's meringue body and its fillings reveal a wonderful burst of fruity flavors that complemented the meringue well. We loved it and this cake easily makes it to the top of my list of favourite cakes.


The Patissier
4 Mohamed Sultan Road, #01-01 Singapore

Tel: +65 6737 3369

Dulcet & Studio, Liang Court

Opened because its owner wanted to have a suitable place where people could enjoy the much coveted desserts from Tampopo, Dulcet & Studio stands as a casual eatery that boasts of mostly Western dishes, but retains its Japanese flavour through some of its fusion main courses and Japanese style desserts.


Dulcet & Studio's Entrance


 The counter was stacked with rows of gorgeous cakes and they all look equally good!


Cakes counter



Wonderful array of desserts



Food counter

We opted for the daily set lunch that costs $15 nett for a soup, main course, dessert and coffee/tea.



Soup of the day

 The soup of the day was clear vegetable soup, hardly impressive.


Jellyfish Salad
$4.50


Jellyfish Salad was not part of the set lunch, but an ala carte order. We loved the salad, it was wonderfully refreshing with shreds of crabmeat, jellyfish and vegetables. It's sweet and sour combination made it a superb appetiser!



Salmon Soupa in Mentaiko Crean sauce

There were two options for the set lunch so we got one of each. The Salmon Soupa in Mentaiko Crean sauce was interesting as it presented itself like a soup dish. The Salmon was nicely pan-fried and juicey and the mentaiko cream sauce was delightful.



 Slipper Lobster in Sambal with Fettucine

The Slipper Lobster in Sambal with Fettucine on the other hand felt a little fishy, probably due to the shellfish. The Slipper Lobster was not particularly fresh and I would have liked the pasta to be more al dente. I'd say, give this a miss.



Milk tea pudding & Custard pudding
$3.30 for ala carte

 We selected Milk tea pudding and Custard pudding for our dessert, upon recommendation from the staff. Unfortunately, both fell short of our expectations. The pudding was too sweet and it resembled some kind of low quality pudding that you would not expect to see at a cafe or restaurant. It was rather disappointing, I must say. 



Coffee




Matcha short cake
$6

We weren't about to leave the place without trying their desserts! The Matcha shortcake caught my attention and I knew it was something that I had to get. Alas, the cake was wonderfully soft with its lovely matcha flavours and light cream.



Signature Scoop cake
$6



One of their Signature desserts, the Scoop cake was recommended to us but I thought it was rather average. I would prefer the matcha cake to this. It's basically the same thing but the scoop cake is without the Matcha.

 

Cream Puff
1 for $2.60/2 for $5

The Famous best seller Cream puff is not to be missed. It's no wonder why these brown pastries are so popular. Crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside, the cream puffs were wonderful. I love the biscuit-cake crisp texture of the puff and the fragrant thick cream on the inside.

Lovely place to hang out for dessert. We'd be back for more!

Dulcet & Studio
177 River Valley Road, #01-41/42 Liang Court, Singapore

Food For Thought, Singapore Botanic Gardens

Sporting a different menu at its second outlet, Food for Thought at Botanic Gardens is spacious and child friendly with its outdoor playground, cafe layout and menu. 

 

Food for Thought Interior

Cakes counter

Slow Roasted Pull Pork
$8

One of my all time favourites, the Slow Roasted Pull Pork with homemade BBQ sauce never failed to delight with its generous chunks of well marinated shredded pork, sandiwched between two homemade potato buns and served with chips. Their burgers are served with caramelised onions, fresh tomatotoes and lettuce.
 
 

Grilled Ribeye with honey shallot chutney
$23

The Grilled Ribeye with honey shallot chutney wasserved with crispy fries and mushroom salad with caramelised chinese celery sauce. The meat was nicely grilled and went well with its sweet and savory honey shallot chutney sauce.



Grilled Barramundi Fillet
$20

The Grilled Barramundi Fillet in basil almond pesto sauce was served with a bed of creamy mashed potato and ratatouille. The fish was fresh but I was not a huge fan of the basil almond pesto sauce. The creamy mashed potato was addictive and I liked the way it was mashed until creamy and smooth.



Ratatouille

The dish came with a handsome pot of ratatouille and I thought it complemented the grilled fish better than its basil sauce.



Bacon and Sage wrapped Chicken Leg
$20 

The Bacon and Sage wrapped Chicken Leg in creamy chicken jus was served with rosemary mashed potato and mesclun salad. The chicken was nicely moist and tender and went well with the bacon.



Durian Mousse Cake
$7

There was not second of hesitation when we spotted the Durian Mousse Cake at the counter, and it was an excellent decision. The cake disappeared from the table before we knew it and everyone loved it. I wouldn't say it is as good as the Goodwood Park's durian mousse cake, but this cake stood pretty well on its own with its alternating layers of rich durian mousse and soft sponge cake.



Old Southern Red Velvet Cake
$6

I was looking forward to having the Red Velvet cake and was slightly disappointed to see that the rendition of this cake is much smaller than the Red Velvet at Queen Street. Nonetheless, it was good, although I would have preferred it without the orange-coloured chocolate swirls.



Black Forest Cake
$7

The Black Forest Cake appeared average in comparison to its alluring counterparts, I would give this a miss and go for the other dessert items.



Brownie and Marshmellow Cup served with a shot of Expresso
$7

Brownie and Marshmellow Cup served with a shot of Expresso presents four dense brownie squares neatly placed in a cup with a dollop of melted marshmellow in the centre and served with a shot of Expresso. The strong dose of coffee married the rich chocolate brownies well with a bitter sweet after taste and a tinge of candy vanilla scent from the melted marshmellow.

Good food, great ambience and friendly prices, Food for Thought remains as one of my favourite dining places!

Food for Thought
1 Cluny Road, Singapore Botanic Gardens,
Tanglin Gate, #B1-00, S259569
T: +65 6338 4848  F: +65 6479 1080

Paris Baguette Cafe, Wisma

The newly opened European style cafe, Paris Baguette, is no newcomer to many as it spans more than 3,000 outlets in Korea, China, and the United States. Its entry to the bakery scene was a welcoming move as bread lovers cheered with glee at the birth of another bakery located in town.  

 



Royal Mango Pudding
$4.50

We were greeted with adorable bottles of pudding upon entering the store. The bottles are prized at $4.50 per bottle and is also available in prepacked boxes of 6.



Sandwich counter

The sandwich counter was packed with various ready-to-go sandwiches such as the Ultra Club Sandiwch ($8.50), Double Ham & Egg Sandiwich ($8.00), Italian Ciabatta Sandwich ($7.00), and salads like Oriental Chicken Salad ($8.50) and Tuna Nicoise Salad ($8.50). 

 



Bread selection

As we were there at around 11am, most of the items were not out yet. The bread selection spans a range of bread selection like Milky Almond Cubic ($2.40), Choco half ring ($2.40), Flying UFO ($2.60), Pain Au Raisin ($2.90) and Springing Roll Cheese ($4.70).



Pastry selection

We couldn't resist the items on display and grabbed ourselves a salad and a sandwich.



Phat Thai Noodle Salad
$8.50

 The Phat Thai Noodle Salad is rice noodles with shrimps, grilled chicken and vegetables with chilli lime dressing. The chilli lime dressing was geared towards the sweet palette, but the salad was excellent. The dressing went well with the rice noodles and the prawns were wonderfully fresh with wild rocket leaves thrown in for enhanced flavour.



Drizzled with chilli lime dressing

Mini Croissant Family Sandwich
$7

The Mini croissant sandwich pack comprises of two ham and cheese croissants and an egg and bacon croissant. The croissant is more sweet than savory, and we thought it complimented the fillings well. The fact that they were bite-sized made them excellent for sharing.


The trio

Ham and cheese croissant

The ham and cheese croissant was simple and satisfying. The fillings were not overpowering and the vegetables were wonderfully fresh.


Egg and bacon croissant

The egg and bacon croissant had a good sweet and savory combination with varying textures and was a spot on.

The coffee was quite diluted so we would give it a miss. There are other items on the menu such as breakfast/brunch dishes like Scrambled egg brioche ($18), Ratatouille steak ($21) and Cheese Omelette with a Difference ($18). We also spotted a pretty selection of cakes at the counter. We loved what we had and we'd be back for more!


Paris Baguette Cafe
Wisma Atria, #02-02/03, Singapore