Moved.

As I've gotten myself a great hosting site. I've decided to move my food blog there too. Here's the website:

http://poundcakezarah.com/food/

Do enjoy the new template. Comment when you can. :)

Privé Bakery Cafe @ Keppel Bay

On an island, not far away from mainland Singapore, there stood an awesome place. It's a dreamland indeed. All it takes is just a bridge across.

Never been to a place like this before where you can view parked yachts and a breathtaking scenery? Just head down to Keppel Bay, near Vivocity but it will probably take a long time for you to reach there, top it all up with the stinging heat. Think you will definitely not want to walk. Hazel and I took a cab. Entering that place, we saw the bridge. Pretty yet un-Singapore-ish. How I wish this place could be somewhere in Europe man!

Just walk a little further down and you will see Keppel Bay Vista, a place where there are many restaurants such as TCC and this one that I'm gonna introduce to you. Welcome Privé Bakery Cafe with their all-day breakfast and nice cakes and pastries. It totally makes you drool when you are inside with them. As the weather was pretty warm, Hazel and I decided to take a seat inside rather than having the breathtaking view outside while sweating like nuts.

First up, we were surprised that this place sells a usual/ normal range of TWG teas for just a mere $4.80+, as compared to the shop itself at Ion Orchard that sells for $10.45++ per pot. As usual, I got myself English Breakfast blend while Hazel got her favourite Vanilla Bourbon tea. Being the tea lover us, we just ordered one each to satiate ourselves while brunching.

Served in small classy white pots, we slowly sipped our tea while waiting for our awesome food to be ready.

This Fluffy pancakes (13.50++) may just make you salivate like nobody's business because the toppings are really , albeit a little dry s0mehow. Pancakes coupled with strawberries and bananas in three layers and some sweet maple syrup and sweet whipped cream just sweeten up your day! What a great way to start your day!

The Ultimate Breakfast (17++) is totally a plateful of energy that you need to start up your day. It's the grandest that they could ever offer for some great nutrition. Toast, tomatoes, bacon, mushrooms, sausages, greens and some eggs of your choice. What is there not to like about this? 

However, Hazel mentioned that she liked the English breakfast set at Jones the Grocer more because it simply just have the wildest and juiciest of all mushrooms and tomatoes. Freshest spread ever. This is just a personal opinion but  just trying to make a little balance of our critics so that no one will be disappointed when you go there to try the food.

I wanted to try the Eggs Benedict (Bacon) and Eggs Royale (Salmon) there as I read from some food blogs that there are also something that you must try. :) But I'm just afraid that the portion may not be enough. 

Total bill was SGD 44.20 after taxes. In my opinion, the food was not that awesome but the place is definitely wonderful if you feel like enjoying some pretty scenery on a weekend. What's more it's relatively more afforable compared to other places which offers breakfast. Maybe, I would come back again to try their main course. After which, Hazel and I slowly walked out of the place whilst taking photos in the scenic place. :)

Privé bakery café
2 Keppel Bay Vista
GF Marina @ Keppel Bay
Tel: 6776 0777

Hatched @ Evans Lodge

I usually have a soft spot for a lazy day out when I'm really lazy. That means I love to go to a place which is quiet and doesnt usually have that much people. This is good for people who dislikes crowds and that's me at times, depending on my mood! :) One place that I would recommend is this cozy little eatery at Evans Lodge in Bukit Timah (near Botanic Gardens area) called Hatched. It's really a very lazy people. The moment you go in, the yellow lighting makes you feel like just lazing yourself out.

With eggy-stuff as their main designing concept, this little place is really filled with warmth and suitable for kids. Oh and it's also great if you bring your partner here on a weekday evening like the Wednesday where we went as they serve many types of beers and wines too. I like their "chalkboard-inspired wall" with all the cute drawings as the cuteness simply would attract kids, like me.

Another thing that captured my attention to a great extent is this cute little cartoonish menu. So who is gonna say this place aint for kids? For adults who also have a little tinge of kiddy spirit, this is really your type of place.

We waited for a short while before our food got served and we have got great service for this waitress who is pretty humourous. Do catch her if you are there.

I ordered this Papillote (SGD12) as I would love to have some lovely smoked salmon to go along with my eggs. As my friend and I went at the time of dinner, some little non-breakfast course would be great to go along with our eggy meal. The salmon were fresh as I could taste the freshness with a little bite and the potatoes were the better quality ones that could stand on its on. The idea of the two toast below those salmon-wrapped eggs were interesting as I can eat them together as one, like how you eat a burger. Yet again, the tomatoes were fresh. Totally juicy and I liked the way they grilled it. :)

My friend, a scrambled egg person, ordered this El Chorizo (SGD 14) as she's not a fishy person. She prefers a much more meatier option as compared to me. I think the portion for this is quite huge because she couldnt finish the sausages and so I had to help her with it. The dish is named this way mainly cos of the Chorizo sausage which is the Spanish term that is made from pork and paprika. My friend mentioned that she liked the scrambled eggs. The mashed potatoes were good too as the potatoes were fresh.

We sinned our stomach even more for this thick and fluffy pancakes (Happy trio for SGD10) (which we couldnt finish but I ate one of them). It's really really thick and nicely done and this is the type of pancakes which I would go back for more next time.

This meal has been a great All-day breakfast dinner. With a sweet service, sweet food and sweet (romantic) ambience, I believe it's a place which I would come back for more great food. Total bill was SGD 40 with no GST and service charge as they do not charge it. I asked the waitress why and she told me they wanted to give their lovely service for free.

However, the only problem is the difficulty in accessing this little place. It's always not easy to travel in Bukit Timah because the roads are one-way and there's always heavy traffic especially in the evening. So it's great if you have your own vehicle. Some of my friends asked me why I took all the difficulty to travel to such difficult places to have food. I told them, it's all because of the passion for having good food. I would often refer to the many famous food bloggers that I follow such as ladyironchef and camemberu to seek inspiration about nice food places. AS they have more experience than I do, I trust and believe in what they say. They are not only great critics, at least I get a range of ideas about the place before I go and try. In life, we learn from people everyday. So, isn't this the wonder of technology? :)


Hatched
26 Evans Road
#01-06 Evans Lodge
Tel: +65 6735 0012
* All Day Brunch: 8am – 10pm (Closed on Mon)

Werner's Oven @ Upper East Coast Road

One Sunday evening after a day out with friends at ECP chilling out and suntanning, we decided to dine at someone in Upper East Coast Road where it's know to have many food places for people to dine in. Located at a little bungalow by itself, it was a difficult place for us to find as we were taking public transport. In SG, most of the nice dining places are often difficult to find and it usually helps if you have a vehicle of your own. But because the foodie spirit in me is often burning and the passion is alive, I wouldnt mind walking a few steps to shed those fats away before and after the meal.

Werner's Oven - a locally-owned German restaurant - has the simple German feel that I often like. The decoration are mostly simple Germanic style of Bavarian feel. Bavaria is situated at the  is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of the country and has Munich as the capital. Bavaria's emphasis on culture can be seen by their extensive traditions, food and drinks and ethnology. For more information about Bavaria, Germany, please do visit this website. Before I digress further, let's look at the various food that we ordered. Three of us shared a hearty and wholesome German fare with a little beer to satisfy the porky, salty and sourish taste of the food. Having been to Germany before and being exposed to their culture, I know this is what they love to do!

Frikadellen 19.50
German beef & pork patties served with cauliflower & mashed potatoes

The first dish, ordered by my friend could be quite disappointing at first but it's already enough to fill our little stomachs. And the one thing that really saved the whole dish was the Mashed Potatoes. I really love German mashed potatoes. It kinda reminds Candice and I about the times when we were in Germany together on a school trip. You can never imagine the amount of potatoes/mashed potatoes and the like we had there. It was so much up to a point where we really missed those food back in Singapore. But now that we are always here, we would often miss the fluffy taste that it brings. At least, I'm glad I can reminisce the feeling here in SG! 

Grünkohl mit Rauchwurst und Kassler 23.50+ 

smoked sausage & smoked pork loin served with green kale & sauteed potatoes

This dish is great. The sausage and pork loin was well smoked. This dish is a mixture if you are not just a sausage person. You need something else to complete your meal. Probably this is the dish you would like to try. Germans love sausages and this Bratwurst is the most common one that you might try for a starter!

Knusperiege Schweinhaxe 21.50+

crispy pork knuckle served with mashed potatoes & sauerkraut

For German food, the one thing we cannot miss out is not only the sausages but also the Pork Knuckles.This is the height of all German cuisines all over the world. If the restaurant doesnt serve this dish, it wouldnt be equivalent to a German restaurant! Because the identity of this crispy pork knuckles came from the Germans, no one else in the world could make such a great dish out of this part of the boar. As mentioned in the menu, this is really crispy. This dish was eaten mainly by me and I kinda of struggled while eating it. This portion is better for big eaters but I still managed to finish with the help of my friends. Ask me about the best Pork knuckles and I would still say Magma's was good. My answer is this because I'm more in awe of the taste in Magma cos it really taste great there. Another reason could be because the chef there is German. Hmmm and for a local chef to cook something of similar standard is already rare.

Hefe-Weissbier (2 300ML for 16+ Happy Hour pricing)

a golden, naturally cloudy wheat beer with a delicate aroma

The best part is to wash all the pork that you have eaten with some Paulaner fresh imported beer from Germany and that should really do the wonders! After which, expect a little burp from all your friends and also, yourself!

Rote Grütze 6.80+

Raspberries & sour-sweet cherry infused with sago topped with vanilla sauce

Dessert time! When we saw this on the menu, we were like sooo exhilarated cos we could reminisce the times when we were in Germany having this berries-filled dessert again. I love the smooth vanilla sauce - rich, thick and creamy. Definitely a must-try if you can spare the stomach-space.


Overall, we had a great dining experience there. They didnt charge us for their service despite them giving good service. Maybe the time we went was their changing of shifts timing so we got all the attention we wanted. I may sound a little biased because I'm a Saxonic person (someone who really loves Germany a great deal). But speaking of vast culture and history, German is one of those countries with many states of histories. I really enjoyed my stay when I was there with my awesome tripmates and teachers. That was one of the best moments I had. Having known the few German restaurants in SG, I'm blessed that this place has almost everything from Asian food to non-Asian food. Don't you think we are really blessed to be able to live to eat in this little island?


Total bill for three is 99.60 without any service charge but GST only. So no worries about your pocket bursting a huge hole because German food is not easily accessible in Singapore and when you get to enjoy it. Do try whatever you can mange.


WERNER'S OVEN
6 Upper East Coast Road
#01-01/02/03
Tel: 6442-3897
Open Tuesday to Sunday (closed Mondays)
8.30am - 10.00pm