Kith Cafe

Kith Cafe is little cafe tucked away in a secluded corner of Robertson Quay. Sandwiched between a beauty salon and a laundromat, it is likely to be classified as a “hidden find” on popular Singaporean online food guide Hungrygowhere. With only two (albeit long) tables in the indoor seating area, it is indeed a tiny but cozy place to stumble upon while taking a walk in the vicinity. There is also an outdoors seating area where people can stretch their legs and bask in Singapore’s tropical air while indulging in the simple pleasures of life — good food and good company. Did we also mention the view? Kith Cafe is right by the river.

Being Singaporeans (and PR), we are drawn to air conditioning like a bee is drawn to honey. Inside it’s cool, but we feel right at home on the wooden benches and stools. Plates of pastries entice and delicious smells wafted in the air.

Brioche with Vanilla Yoghurt and Strawberries

The two thick slices of brioche came studded with candied fruit and raisins. It was also delightfully soft. It went excellently with cold butter and dipped in yogurt! Though it may have been a tad sweet, the vanilla yogurt complemented the tartness of the (generous) chunks of strawberries hidden beneath the murky cover. Healthy AND delicious!

Big Breakfast

For the national softballer player / wushu master / big eater is the big breakfast. With 2 slices of toast accompanied by a slab of butter and a dish of homemade strawberry jam on top of 2 rashes of bacon and a giant juicy sausage, flanked by a serving of scrambled eggs and grilled tomatoes, this dish is not for the diet conscious. The strawberry jam deserves a special mention: although not exactly jam-ish in texture, everything about it screams “HOMEMADE” and that’s what we like about it.

Bacon, Cheddar and Scrambled Eggs Toasties

For those with a smaller appetite, the toasties are the perfect choice. It is  hard to resist lightly scrambled eggs, bacons and gooey cheddar pocketed within warm, fragrant wholemeal bread. The bread may seem like your typical wholemeal slice but it definitely had a non mass-baked fragrance to it. And those crusty corners, mmm….

Croque Monsieur

On first look, we were slightly disappointed as we were expecting the typical cheese-topped croque monsieur that looks somewhat like a cheese volcano just erupted. Nonetheless, this could make a pretty decent comfort breakfast with ham and cheddar between lightly toasted bread. Both the croque monsieur and toasties came with chopped green apples drizzled with honey. Such a simple yet ingenious breakfast side dish. C had a not-so-secret moment of  sipping out all the honey ‘juices’ after gobbling up those fresh apples.

Watermelon Lychee Blend / Strawberry and Vanilla Yoghurt Milkshake

Both drinks were delightful. The watermelon lychee was refreshing; the strawberry and vanilla yogurt smooth and creamy without being overwhelming.

Drop by for brunch at Kith, it’s a wonderful place to catch up with old friends or simply watch the world pass by.

Kith Cafe

7 Rodyk Street
238215
6341 940

Chocolate Souffle Cupcakes with Mint Cream

Where did time go?! Seems like just a few days ago we were busying ourselves in D’s kitchen and all of a sudden I realize 4 weeks have gone by..

I can’t believe it has been this long since I last sank my teeth into these gorgeous little cupcakes!

Warning: this recipe requires the washing of many dishes

and they taste heavenly too!

Chocolate and mint is always a sure win combination. What makes this so special is the lightness of it. Watching my trusty mixers whipping up the yolks and whites to more than double the size — oh what fun! Doubling the size means halving the calories. Right? Right?

The thing about souffles is that you can’t just dump it all in a bowl and watch TV while the mixer does all the work (yes, I do that). There is always the sincerity of the human touch in the folding.

After sitting in the oven, these precious cups of chocolate rise to form crisp domes. If you’re starting to panic, thinking “HOW IS MY BLOB OF CREAM SUPPOSED TO NESTLE DEMURELY ON TOP OF MY CUPCAKE NOW”, just take them out of the oven and two seconds later..

Bam! Like magic!

A word about the White Chocolate Mint Cream: Amazing.

Sweetened by the white chocolate, beaten until light; you can’t help but lick it — just to find the subtle yet refreshing mint rounding off the whole transfusion of flavors. Beware though, the cream has to be VERY VERY cold before it’s whipped! And it takes FOREVER to whip!

taadaa!!

Now all that’s left to do is enjoy! And trust me you will!

Chocolate Soufflé Cupcakes with White Chocolate Mint Cream
Smitten Kitchen

Makes 9 cupcakes, or about 20 mini ones.

Chocolate Soufflé Cupcakes
6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) (86 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) espresso or instant coffee powder
3 large eggs, separated
6 tablespoons (97 grams) sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

White Chocolate Mint Cream
2 ounces (56 grams) white chocolate, finely chopped
3 ounces heavy whipping cream
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract

Get the white chocolate mint cream ready for later: Place the white chocolate in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer, pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for a minute to melt the chocolate. Whisk well. Add the peppermint extract and whisk again. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the cream. Chill until very cold, about two hours.

Make cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9 standard-size (3-ounce) muffin cups with paper liners. Stir chocolate, butter and espresso powder together in heavy medium saucepan over low heat mostly melted, then remove from the heat and whisk until it is fully melted and smooth. Cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.

Using an electric mixer beat egg yolks and 3 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until mixture is very thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Briefly beat lukewarm chocolate mixture, then vanilla extract, into yolk mixture. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and all of the salt, beating until medium-firm peaks form. Fold whites into chocolate mixture in 3 additions. Divide batter among prepared cups, filling each three-fourths of the way.

Bake cakes until tops are puffed and dry to the touch and a tester inserted into the centers comes out with some moist crumbs attached, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in pan on a cooling rack.

Finish your masterpiece: Beat mint white chocolate cream with electric beaters until soft peaks form. Remove cupcakes from pan, and fill each sunken top with a healthy dollop of white chocolate mint cream. Top with shaved dark chocolate, if you’re feeling fancy.

Lotus Chips

Inspired by one of  Luxirare‘s (an incredibly amazing blog) old post, Guestbakers DT and CY were dying to churn out some homemade lotus chips. So, after picking up some lotus roots from Cold Storage we headed home for some serious business.

This recipe is largely impromptu but the chips turned out surprisingly good. Except they weren’t baked too evenly, but that’s not something we can’t fix if we are going to make them again.

Ingredients:

Lotus Root

Olive Oil

Salt

Instructions:

1. Line baking tray with foil and proceed to brush olive oil onto surface of foil. At the same time, preheat oven at 190 C

2. Thinly slice lotus root to preferably 1/8 inch each. Too thin and it will become burnt easily, and too thick? It doesn’t achieve the optimum crunch.

3. Carefully lay sliced lotus roots next too each other. As the lotus tends to shrink when baked, slices can be laid closely.

4. Brush Olive Oil over evenly and sprinkle salt as desired.

5. Throw them into the oven, turning them over in approximately 10 mins or when golden brown.

These healthy, baked (not fried) goodness make a good snack anytime of the day! Best served right out of the oven we say!

Blueberry Muffins (Again!)

So, we were all looking forward to a merry, long awaited reunion but alas, Y was struck by the flu bug making its rounds and so she left us ( D, C and UK guestbaker T) to hold the fort in the kitchen. Well, thankfully we didn’t disappoint.

When it comes to blueberry muffins, D & C practically has a hate – hate relationship with it. First time round, we were still our ignorant selves and we used canned blueberries, a BIG no no. Needless to say, our muffins were crappy. Fast forward, we were desperate to undo our mistakes. Turns out, we failed again, even with fresh blueberries!! Unbelievably so, because we usually end up with at least something edible. Yup, and that batch was thrashed as well.

Months later, we revisit our nightmares and were more than determined to make it werk. As C was approaching the end of her internship, she decided to give her lovely colleagues a treat. So of course, this batch of muffins HAD TO BE GOOD.

Behold…

Glorious to die for muffins, with the perfect streusel to top it off. As per TGF’s tradition, we overdosed the blueberries and the muffins turned out perfectly moist and fruity. To be exact, exploding with blueberry goodness!

Really, these muffins embody everything I would look for in tbe perfect muffin, so this recipe is definitely a keeper, to be passed down for generations! The recipe is named To Die For Blueberry Muffins. To whoever who created it, you were damn right!!

And phew, finally some blueberry muffin success for us!!

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup buttermilk (original recipe asks for milk, which would work perfectly as well, but buttermilk will give it an amazing texture)
• 1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries (original recipe asks for 1 cup, but 1.5 cups is perfect for blubry explosion)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top  3/4 full, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture. (at 3/4 full, our muffins rose beyond the cups)
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Dream-like Milkshake

I love the Japanese!!! I love their canned stuff!!!! and I think I have just stumbled upon the ultimate Japanese canned drink!!!!

Milkshake lovers, pancake lovers:  please buckle up or risk falling off your chairs from hyperventilation!

so,

HOW ABOUT THIS??

 MORINAGA PANCAKE FLAVORED MILKSHAKE!!!

I can’t find the right words for it so I should just shut up. Staring at the image itself is killing me.

It will only be available in Japan in September. I wonder when it will ever reach our sunny shores.

edit: S and D thinks this idea is gross. I am extremely disappointed that they do not share my sentiments for this brilliant drink.

 Source

 

Kitchen Decadence

Here at TGF, we really are at our most unglamorous when working in the kitchen. But of course, we still lust for some really kitschy and ingenious tools..

These Matryoshka Russian Nesting Doll Measuring Cups really hit the note for blending style with function, don’t they? Now these domesticated russian dolls can venture beyond their typical ‘on the piano/ display cupboard’ territories to prove their worth in the kitchen!

Not sure about you but we always get frustrated trying to clean the last bit of the batter out of the bowl because the typical spoon just cannot do the job well! Well, it sure seems we  will now be rid of this problem with the Batter Finger. It’d probably also make licking the final bits off look attractive!

Gosh, this brings tea-time cupcake to a whole new level! These reusable Tea Cupcakes molds really trump anything else we’ve seen. Even the most ordinary cupcake would look luxurious in them!\

Argh, we’d be jumping in joy if we actually owned these stuff but we are, afterall, starving students who have to buy the cheapest ingredients in the store so these quirky tools can wait.

A typical cold storage/ phoon huat ingredient run goes like this:

D: “Eggs! We need eggs!”

C: “Okay, which one?”

D: “Ah the cheapest one… wait this one is 5 cents more expensive but the crate looks sturdier.. this!” ( because we really aren’t too confident about bringing the eggs home safe and sound, right D? )

Yup, that’s how we function here, but you know what, despite cheap ingredients, we still love every moment of it.

All items from the Neatorama Store, which IMO is the most awesome internet store for everything beyond imagination and quirky.

Cajun Chicken Sandwich

C was suffering from baking withdrawals and implored D and S to gather and bake despite slaving away all day in the corporate world. So one unbearably hot Thursday, 3 of us trudged down to D’s house with 2 recipes and 5 bags of ingredients.

S was hungry after waiting an extra 30 minutes for us to reach the bus stop. Long story. To cut it short, it was C’s fault. Heehee.

So as you can imagine, once we got to the kitchen we started slicing and mixing and frying away. C had graduated from citrus molester to chicken breast molester and managed to rip out all the fat and slice the pieces into 1/2 inch pieces while D was still rummaging for the scissors.

***

“I found it!!!!”

“I finish already.”

“Oh..”

***

It happens a lot.

Meanwhile, S hacked away at the german multigrain bread we picked up.. in Chinatown! D proceeded to boil the eggs and gather herbs and spices as C continued to massage the chicken into tenderness.

S and D whipped together a special cajun dressing while C rubbed in our hastily thrown together marinade. Chicken sits in marinade for 5 minutes before S, C & D decide to ignore the recipe’s advice to “marinate at least 2 hours” and pan fried the slices in olive oil.

After much deliberation, C also decided to thickly slice her avocado instead of mushing it, because “a true avocado eater will love it either way”. At this point, S has become too hungry to cook and proceeds to the living room to watch a Hong Kong drama serial.

As D toasted the bread slices, C assembled them. Bread – Chicken – Dressing – Egg – Avocado – Bread. Doesn’t get any better than that. We originally wanted to put in lettuce and tomato, but alas — all D’s fridge had was broccoli and cabbage. But the avocado worked out perfectly.

A sandwich bursting with tasty and juicy chicken, not-too-rich dressing, slightly runny egg and creamy avocados, this was a most satisfying (albeit messy) meal that we think would make a easy lunch to pack to work or school. Try it for yourself!

Recipe (Allrecipes adapted)

Ingredients

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• >1 teaspoon garlic salt
• >1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• >1/2 teaspoon paprika
• >1 teaspoon pepper
• 6 slices bread
• 1 avocado
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup mayonaise
• 1/8 cup light sour cream

Directions

1. Cut fat off chicken and slice into 1/2 inch thickness. Brush both sides with oil. Combine the seasonings; rub over both sides of chicken. Let sit for at least 5 minutes.
2. Meawhile, boil eggs and slice avocado. Combine the mayonaise and sour cream along with same seasonings, to taste.
3. Pan fry chicken about 30 seconds on each side or until done. Remember to ventilate; the spicy fumes can be overwhelming.
4. Toast bread and slice eggs. Stack ‘em up and enjoy!

Arbite

I know we have been MIA for too long. Previously, we used to complain about how school is consuming us, but truth is being a corporate hag is about 40 times worse. There is absolutely no time left for anything leisurely.

Nonetheless, internships will end in a month’s time, Y will be back from her century long exchange to the US of A in two weeks and trust us, things will get back into full swing in no time at all. So hopefully, what’s left of TGF ‘fans’ still comes back and hang out for a bit here and share this good news with us alright!

To start things of, C and guest-baker S attended a cosy birthday dinner at Arbite today! Here are some snapshots. Enjoy!

Pappardelle with Mushroom and Parma Ham

Arbite handmake their pastas daily. The texture was refreshingly agreeable. Slightly chewier and denser than the typical pasta, yet not flour-y in taste, C gives it a definite thumbs up. In addition, the saltiness of the parma ham complemented the aromatic truffle flavored cream base extremely well. A real pleasure to the senses! Extra brownie points for rose shaped parma

Seafood Tagliatelle

I love how you can tell from the uneven texture that the pasta has been lovingly handmade. Slightly tangy, the tomato base had adequate consistency, clinging just slightly to the pasta and seafood. Appreciation for generosity goes a long way here on TGF so the abundant seafood in this dish gets a nod of agreement. A classic dish done well.

Seafood Pie

Trust S when it comes to mashed potato. With her vast experience, she knows a good mash even by sight. Slightly garlicky, this mash with the right density and creaminess scores in S’s book of mash. Unearth the glorious top layer and be blown away by a generous amount of seafood in a flavorful light, almost soup-ish broth.

Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Salad

C loves it when her salad is well tossed. Well coated on each leaf, this balsamic vinaigrette dressed salad had the right tanginess and aroma. The smoked salmon provided the right dash of saltiness to this otherwise sweet-based starter even though we had some trouble forking the salmon into smaller pieces as it comes in a strip.

Nothing like a wonderful, joyous and cosy dinner on a cold and rainy Sunday night!

Arbite

66A Serangoon Garden Way

Tangy, Tarty Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is the time of the year when Chinese people get together to exchange blessings with family and friends. The actual date however, is not always the same! This is because we go according to the Chinese lunar calender. CNY is always the first day of the lunar calender, just that festivities go on for 15 days! Now that’s a reason to celebrate.

Just in case you’re wondering, the mythology behind CNY goes like this: A Chinese village is plagued by a monster called Nian (year) and he comes out at the end of every year to eat villagers. Naturally, the villagers were in terror at the end of every year until one year, a boy came up with a brilliant idea to scare Nian away with firecrackers and it worked! Voila! A new year of thanksgiving is celebrated, and streets are alive with boisterous sounds of the popping of firecrackers (or at least, that’s what i imagine, since it’s banned in this country).

For all you people out there whose favorite part of Chinese New Year is eating oranges non stop, then this post is for you! (Although we all know there are many other perks of CNY, free money for instance). I also understand that many people do not like CNY at all. After all, who likes being pestered by various relatives you barely know? This year, there’s another reason to be stressed by CNY:

Valentines Day! That’s right, this year the lion dances when cupid takes aim. CNY 2010 is on the 14th of Feb. What to make? Pineapple tarts? Sweets for your lover / friends / family? TGF(with the help of guest bakers RS and Samurai, and guest eater JZ)  has a solution for you:

Mandarin Orange Tart!

Leave some at home for guests who come harking at your door for ang pows (red packets full of $$$) and give some away as a little token of appreciation to loved ones for v-day.

We are proud to say that this is one of the few recipes that are adapted. Meaning, we threw it together ourselves (well, we found the recipes from various places! The results are pleasing to the palate. Sweet without being to cloying, refreshing with a slight tang, this tart is also perfect for the yearly heatwave that hits us just as we’re trudging around in our new clothes that are not meant to be drenched in perspiration. Layered with 2 different creams, it might be a little time consuming, but the results are worth it!

Mandarin Orange Tart (makes two medium pies)

Shortbread Crust (allrecipes)

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In separate bowl, mix flour and baking powder together, then blend into butter mixture.
3. Pat into pie base. Bake for 15 minutes, until edges are brown.

Pastry Cream (joyofbaking)

• 1 1/4 cup (300ml) milk
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/8 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Mix sugar and yolks together in together with a wooden spoon. Sift in flour and cornstarch, and mix until you get a smooth paste.
2. Combine milk and vanilla in a saucepan. Heat up until boiling on medium heat (when it foams up, it’s ready!).
3. Remove milk mixture from heat and pour slowly into egg paste, whisking as you pour.
4. Put combined mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes very thick.
5. Pour into clean bowl and cover to prevent cream from drying out. Let cool completely.
6. Meanwhile, whip whipping cream to soft peaks. Fold into cooled cream until desired lightness.

Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting (allrecipes):

• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

1. Beat whipping cream to soft peaks and set aside.
2. Beat cream cheese until smooth, then add sugar until desired sweetness. Beat until smooth again.
3. Fold in whipped cream.

Assembly

• 4 cans mandarin oranges (try not to use the ones with skin, they will be difficult to when serving), well drained

1. On cooled crust, spread a layer of pastry cream.
2. Arrange oranges on top on pastry cream.
3. Spread layer of cream cheese frosting on top.
4. Arrange another layer on top.
5. Chill for 1 hour, serve!

Mini Chocolate Pies

D’s friends are leaving for Brisbane and had a farewell potluck dinner. As usual, TGF offered to bring dessert! D loves chocolate mousse but hates the thought of eating raw eggs (salmonella!!!) and was delighted to come across this easy recipe which could be done the night before and brought to the dinner the next day. No stress!

Oreo Cookie Crust

1. 2 large rolls of Oreos
2. 1/2 cup melted butter

• Finely crush Oreos and stir in melted butter.
• Press mixture evenly into pan.

We couldn’t find D’s pie pan, so we made tiny pies using the muffin pan, lined with aluminum foil.

• Freeze crust for 30 minutes to make it easy to remove.

Chocolate “Mousse”

1. 2.5 cups heavy cream
2. 12 oz semi sweet chocolate
3. 1 tsp vanilla
4. pinch of salt
5. 1/4 cup white sugar

• Heat 1 cup heavy cream in a saucepan and remove from heat. Pour in chocolate and let sit 30 seconds before stirring until smooth. Stir in vanilla and salt. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, whip remaining 1.5 cups of heavy cream, adding in sugar a little bit at a time. Stop when stiff peaks are reached. Remember not to overbeat!
• Fold the whipped cream into cooled chocolate mixture. Fill pie crust, and refrigerate for 6 hours.

Breathtaking

aren’t these fabulous! it’s been so long since we made cupcakes!!! kinda miss them even though they can be really troublesome.

click image for link

RS’s Oreo Truffles

Oreo truffles. Also known as college candy.

Why? Because they’re just soooo easy to make, and don’t even require any special equipment.

Guest baker RS only agreed to bake with us after we consented to making this oreo balls, and she was true to her word, turning up late enough to miss everything, but just in time for making these truffles.

Quick survey revealed that no one was convinced our digestive biscuit crumbs were 24k gold shavings.

Easy and rich, just one of these balls will be more than enough for anyone.
Just in case you’re doubting it, here’s Guest taster N reaction when he sampled it.

• 1st bite: Mmm very good!
• 2nd bite: Mmmm good what!
• 3rd bite: Ohh very jelak.

Chirpy directions from the Kraft website.

What you need!

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) Oreo Cookies, finely crushed, divided (we put the cookies at a mixing bowl and bashed it with the end of a rolling pin)

1 pkg.  (8 oz.) Philedelphia Cream Cheese, softened

2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted (we used Phoon Huat chocolate, ha ha)

Make It!

MIX 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls. Feel free to taste as you go along. (S and RS indulged in what they dubbed “the chocolate finger”, essentially cream on a finger dipped in chocolate)

DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

and taadaa!!!!!

Whoops, missed a spot there.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

mm, yum.

Food For Thought

For close to two years we’ve been frequenting Food For Thought, a little hidden find opposite the National Library. This cafe that is a great inspiration to us, it is pushing forward the TGF dream of owning a quaint little eatery of our own as well! Not to mention the delicious,delicious food..

The only drawback about Food for Thought is (in our opinion) how inaccessible it is. So imagine our delight when Waterloo correspondent reported sightings of a new Food For Thought, right by the Singapore Art Museum! That’s a whoooole lot nearer.

This new Food For Thought has a slightly different concept. It’s a lot bigger than the other one for one thing, and it’s more of a standalone building with huge windows that let in plenty of light, allowing you to bask in glorious sunshine while savoring wholesome dishes lovingly prepared by chefs with a heart for the poor kids without clean water. Yes my friends, this is food with heart. Good food, good cause.

Anyway, instead of going up to  the counter to order your food, you just sit at the table and wait for the lovely servers to bring you the menu and get your order. These servers are pleasant, and try their very best to help you with what you need. Our server even allowed guest eater S to get the basic breakfast set and change one of the items, rather than paying for each individual item in a customized breakfast set.

While waiting for your food, admire the display of cakes and pastries or explore the shelf full  of quirky merchandise. S particularly loves (and covets) the “good morning” towel tissue box cover while C was drawn to preloved book with spanking new covers!

Basic Works (Change of Bacon to Sausage) $7.00

The set comes with creamed scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, and brioche. Jam comes as a choice of homemade marmalade or dragonfruit jam!

Mmm.. the scrambled eggs were delightfully light and melts in the mouth. It is seasoned well so that it is tasty without being overbearing. The chicken sausage was tasty and juicy as well, and the brioche was rich and yeasty, well complemented by the not-too-sweet dragonfruit jam.

Almond and Basil Pesto Chicken Linguine $13.00

Perfectly cooked linguine with grilled vegetables and sliced chicken breast, drenched in basil tinged olive oil. Very good, very healthy!

Mushroom Potato Gratin $6.00

This was a good sized side dish with plenty of potato slices to go around. The potatoes were drenched in flavorful cream. As C aptly described, “the cream even tastes like mushrooms!”. Potato slices are soft without losing it’s shape.

Broccoli & Bacon Risotto $15.00

Extremely soft broccoli (without being too mushy) and squares of bacon all mixed together with this Italian rice made this dish look somewhat like baby food (as most risottos do, actually) but this was a truly hearty dish that arrived piping hot, delicious indeed! Guest eater S loved the stalks of broccoli stashed in the rice.

Trio Pancakes with Chocolate and Stewed Cherries $11.00

We had this as dessert. A stack of 3 fluffy pancakes, each lavishly adorned with chunks of dark chocolate and whole cherries, topped with a huge blob of cream with gula meleka syrup on the side. Just like Black Forest cake, but not quite as cloying!

We will be looking forward to our next visit, all the new things we have yet to try

Food for your thought??

Add: 8 Queen St

Wholesome Baked Pasta

We initially decided on this recipe which sounded really delish just by itself. However, when you let three growing girls (fact) loose in Carrefour, a vegetarian pasta stays vegetarian no more. Thus, we modified the recipe with additions of mushroom and minced beef which makes it a wholesome fiber, protein, and vitamins (?) packed dinner item!

Here’s the modified recipe.

• 1 (12 ounce) package medium seashell pasta
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 (26 ounce) jars tomato basil pasta sauce
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese
• I pack of White/Swiss fresh button mushrooms (additional)
• 200gms of lean minced beef (additional)
• 1 onion to be sauteed with mince and beef (additional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain. Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a saucepan, and cook the spinach 4 to 6 minutes, until tender.
3. Sautee onions with minced beef. Add sliced mushrooms when beef is less pink (modified)
4. Place the cooked pasta in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and oil. Toss the pasta with the cooked spinach, egg mixture, and bread crumbs.
5. Cover the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish with 1/3 of the pasta sauce. Pour half of the pasta mixture into the baking dish, and cover with another 1/3 of the pasta sauce. Sprinkle with half of the Cheddar cheese and half of the mozzarella. Layer with remaining pasta mixture, and top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the rest of the Cheddar and mozzarella cheeses.
6. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Additional baker’s note: We did not stick to no. 5 as we just went wild and free, doing up the layers according to our own freewill! Our version started off with the tomato sauce, pasta, thin layer of tomato sauce, cheddar, minced beef & mushroom, pasta, tomato sauce, and finally loads of mozarella. Essentially, this is a DAYL (do as you like) step!

Might not be too visually pleasing but trust us, this is a pretty damn good baked pasta that can hardly go wrong! A must try! Even Y whom we virtually fed over skype agrees that it looks, ‘smells’ and ‘tastes’ amazing even though it was for breakfast. haha!

Billboard Painting on Red Velvet

On my love for Red Velvet cupcakes, came across this super cute Billboard painters on lovely red velvet cupcakes. Ah, especially I’m finally in a country with a million billboards. Does Singapore even have any? Does she even have space for any? Cuteness overload, I like!Credits to Cupcakequeen

CHINESE TAKE OUT – A DRAGON

Chinese Take Out! Nuff said! A touch of home. Maybe even a bit better than home The steamed rice was better than what we had been cooking (Not hard, not wet, just right) and fu rong dan(EGG), gong bao ji ding(CHICKEN), and some mixed veggie dish(VEG). Yum! Hurried hands, hungry mouths and it was all gone in a jiffy!! Yay can’t wait till the next time we order again.

Union Square – Thai Food Anyone?

Omg, I sure am on a roll. Hopefully D and C reward me with more virtual feeding! They have been on their regular baking sessions (I’m mightily shocked at their routine) and I have been on regular skype sessions with them. The third place I am recommending is this thai restaurant at Union Square – Spice.

Our appetizers: Fried calamari, fried dumpling, and a blackberry. It was very yum! Mains: I had the phad thai, and she had the red curry chicken. Authentic thai food, with mood lighting. Great atmosphere and service was very good. >Medium portions, but do share if you are having the appetizers. I miss Aroy Thai at Shaw Towers and Thai Gold at Sunshine Plaza. I miss home. I miss food.

Ludlow Street – Katz Delicatessen

In case anyone googled Katz, which is a very popular place in Manhattan, I heard it has been featured on When Harry Met Sally, and some Discovery Channel show (according to a friend). Hardly surprising, it was found in 1888, and one of the catch phrases during the WWII period was to “send a salami to your boy in the army”. Yum, US army always seems more fun. They get to do more real stuff like invade countries which they think they are protecting amongst other things.

I love the atmosphere at this place! It is kind of overwhelming because there are so many people standing around, some sitting down, and the guy at the door just hands you a ticket, and you are so clueless to what to do, where to go. You have to queue up at each cutter’s line to order, so naturally, just choose the shortest cutter line and order the ‘Pastrami on Rye’. Highly recommended by a friend, and my trusty guide book, its a definite must-eat!

Heaven-sent:

O crap, I realized I focused on P (my travel buddy) than my AWESOME SANDWICH. Now I’m depressed!! Photographer C will be so disappointed in me. Anyway, I used my canon s90 for all my pictures. Its the most awesome camera I’ve ever owned/touched/seen. Even for a photography nooob like me, it gives the false impression that I can take awesome pictures. I mean, that’s what I would like to think.

I wanted to go to the Magnolia Bakery which was highly recommended as well but it was much too far for this winter night and we settled for this bakery just a few streets down. We had the red velvet cupcake (cos I miss baking my own and I miss red velvet) and some blueberry crumble.

This photo exactly reveals how I feel about the 2 food items. D: Ok off to do some cooking. I’ve never before in my life done so much cooking. I cook like at least once a day. But I’m usually too tired from cooking to take decent pictures so there are hardly any pictures of my cooking. (C screamed at me when she heard that :O)

Times Square – Dallas BBQ

On free will(ha!) to blog a new, eggciting and tantalizing post from New York since I have been dealt some complaints – that  I have not been fulfilling my job of Y as part of DCY Corporations. So here I am, showcasing the eats and eateries of a exchange student on Budget in the City which is not much, really. I wish I could provide more tasteful, exotic, lovely food but if you want a high standard of food, I don’t think New York has much to offer at the price a poor student can only afford.

The first restaurant to be showcased is a chain bbq and grill restaurant called Dallas BBQ. It can be found in Times Square (which is where we and all other tourists will be at) and we finally settled on Dallas. Definitely not a wrong choice if you are looking for something that suits your budget. (Below 15USD) Totally Americanized, they have huge portions, HUGE drinks, for a huge belly I say 15 USD, but it can cost much lesser if you share which you totally should unless you have the tummy of Peter Griffin or you wish to have (Ah, the Fox channels here are awesome) The food is not WOW AMAZING, but its definitely worth a try if you don’t know where to settle for dinner and get a bang for your buck. I tried the chicken rotiserrie, baby back ribs, fries and corn bread. Not bad at all! Get some reviews here! I want to go back and try the carolina pulled pork and chicken wings!

It’s Friday, People!

Image credit: here

So, do you eat it?!