[Tasting] Ms DURIAN - For the Love of Durians

I must have been living under a rock, as it was only recently that I had discovered that durian coffee is a thing. Was definitely intrigued and thanks to Ms Durian (a homegrown brand established since 2019), I had the opportunity to try not just durian coffee, but also some of their signatures; cakes and desserts.

While I don't have any strong cravings for durians through out the years, Mao Shan Wang happens to be my favourite durian variety for its bitter-sweet ratio, aroma and flesh texture. Am not a desserts person but I do enjoy eating cakes, especially those soft fluffy ones. 

delivery pack

what's in my bag

Boxes were clearly marked with stickers to indicate the goodies inside. 

Cakes

Whisky MSW Durian Cake (front) and The Original MSW Durian Cake (back)

The Original MSW Durian Cake (Slice)

The Original MSW Durian Cake (slice) @$14

 thin coating of Madagascar vanilla chantilly cream

close-up view of the two layers of pure Mao Shan Wang in between vanilla sponge cake

Whisky MSW Durian Cake (Slice)

Whisky MSW Durian Cake @$16

close up view of the meringue top and durian layers in between chiffon sponge

Both slices were lovely with soft fluffy texture and pleasant aroma of the real Mao Shan Wang flesh. The Whisky version had a slightly more pronounced bitter-sweet profile in comparison to original. I thought the meringue top made the cake a tad prettier and added a fun texture to the cake. 

Appreciated that the chiffon cake was made with less sugar and in turn, made the cake enjoyable without being overly sweet.

MSW Durian Craquelin

MSW Durian Craquelin (box of 5) @$20

MSW Durian Craquelin

Okay, I did a Google search to find out what are craquelins. In summary, a cream puff with crunchy cookie disc on top. Does this means "I eat to learn and learn to eat."

inside, is what matters

When it was fully defrosted, it felt almost like having the actual durian flesh (albeit a more moist and creamier version) sandwiched in a small puff. But I was in a bit of a hurry the other day, and tried it before it managed to defrost properly. Hence, it became somewhat of a durian ice-cream sandwiched in a small puff. 

Durian Coffee

Durian Coffee @$15

Cheers to the first durian coffee in my life! Was in a mix of apprehension plus a whole lot of intrigue when deciding on this durian coffee. Curiosity won, and happy that I tried. I liked it. 

At first sip, I thought the durian flavour was rather soft. Then I realized that probably need to shake the bottle first? Did that and took a big sip after and that's when one could taste the bitter sweet of the durian flavour. Quite yummy with all the creaminess. And yes, still can taste the coffee. 

Durian Coconut Milk Pudding

Durian Coconut Milk Pudding @$7.10

top view

have a bite

It was cute and mild and shared the same durian intensity as the egg tart. Didn't detect any hint of coconut though. 

MSW Durian Egg Tart

MSW Durian Egg Tart @$8.50 (per piece)

looks pretty~

egg and durian layers

The egg tart and the pudding shared the milder durian intensity of only 2-stars. In comparison, if you prefer stronger durian taste, go for the MSW Durian Craquelin.

There's the convenience of island-wide delivery, or one could drop by the cafe to explore more. The online order menu and dine-in menu are available at Ms Durian website. 

Here's wishing Ms Durian, a Happy 7 Years Anniversary! 

Ms Durian | Speciality Bakery & Cafe

Address: 11 Kelantan Rd, Singapore 208604

Website: https://www.msdurian.com/

Contact: 69620057

Business Hours:

Daily 9 am–10 pm

[Tasting] Guriru グリル @ 2 College Road

Guriru (or 'grill') is neatly tucked inside 2 College Road. It offers diners an alfresco dining ambiance complete with swimming pool view, perfect for us to unwind after a hard day's work. Some may even say that this place has the vacation vibes!

follow the sign

dining by the pool

view from our table

Guriru is a charcoal-grilled seafood concept by Chef Teppei Yamashita . Its menu is inspired by the Japanese Hamayaki (浜焼き). In the traditional sense, Hamayaki usually have freshly caught seafood broiled at a beach. While it isn't an exact match, the relaxed and happy vibes of Hamayaki are carried over to Guriru, and the restaurant do receive fresh locally caught seafood as well as importing some other premium seafood from Japan, such as the oysters and beef.

To order, simply scan the QR code that from the slip of paper placed on your table.

How about we start off the meal with some oysters from Hyogo? Raw oysters served with homemade ponzu sauce. Our friendly service staff, Berna brought out the tabasco sauce for us even without us asking for it.

Hyogo Oysters @ $19 (half dozen)

White wine works well with seafood, but of course, feel free to select your tipple of choice. While there is no Happy Hour implemented at Guriru, the current prices of the drinks are reasonable.

White Wine (Gold Trees Sauvignon Blanc) @$12, or Sake (Nambujin Tokubetsu Junmai) @$15 per glass

Yuzu Highball @$15

Aki-Momiji (lychee, lime, soda) @$8

One can never get enough of oysters, so we got the grilled oysters as well. One could opt for butter garlic, or simply shoyu sauce for the grilled oysters.

grilled Hyogo oysters

grilled Hyogo oysters (garlic butter, shoyu)

If you prefer something more substantial, meaning with carbs, and you still love Hyogo oysters, I'd say... go for the Guriru Oyster Rice. Portion is enough to be comfortably shared amongst 4 pax to savor its flavours. Slow-cooked japanese rice with special sauce and topped with Hyogo oysters. Good wholesome savoury flavours. Very likeable but do leave some stomach space for other items!

Guriru Oyster Rice @$18

For typical Japanese izakaya snacks, we tried the recommendations from Berna.

Crispy Salmon Skin @$9

Eihire (dried stingray fin) @$12

Fugu Mirin Boshi (marinated puffer fish slices) @$14

Kawa Ebi (tossed in seasoning) @$10

Salmon skin was served warm and it was indeed crispy as its name implied. Quite shioks to hear the crunch when you munch on it. The fried small prawns (kawa ebi) was addictive as well. One can't help but to continuously pop one after another into the mouth.

The eihire and fugu mirin boshi at Guriru, is not those super crisp types. It felt 'meatier', with strong flavours and goes well with the drinks.

favourite snack of the night

Let's get more food from the Hamayaki Live Charcoal Grill! How about some good sized black tiger prawns, shishamo, whole squid and kurobuta pork belly? Yes please.

Black Tiger Prawns @$6.50 (1 piece) / $25 (5 pieces)

Shishamo @$9 (5 pieces)

Whole Squid @$16

Kurobuta Pork Belly @$12

All the grill items were done beautifully. My favourites are the Whole Squid and Kurobuta Pork Belly. The squid flavours was subtle and mild, with tender texture. None of those rubbery nonsense. 

The pork belly did not disappoint. We learnt that the meat was slow-cooked for 4 hours before getting its time on the grill. The meat was wonderfully tender was yet still holds firm when picked-up with the chopsticks. Must try.

closer view of deliciousness

There's pizza on the menu too!

Prosciutto Pizza @$21

thin crust pizza

We also sampled some special items prepared by Chef Teppei; Grilled Hitachi Beef and Foie Gras ice-cream.

Hitachi Beef

The beef texture was so soft, and tender. Such delicate texture. The sauce is strongly flavoured so a tiny dab of it will do. Seems like the sauce has some spicy element to it.

To complete the meal, we enjoyed the hot and cold, savoury and sweet combination of foie gras vanilla cinnamon ice-cream. Do eat it right after it is served as it melts pretty quickly. Unusual and interesting. Could be something that you either will like or will hate it.

Foie Gras Ice-Cream

Overall, the food was enjoyable and service was excellent with staff always moving about to top-up the water, to clear off empty plates or simply to enquire if diners need to add any other orders.

Alfresco dining has its plus points as well as downside. For me, if the day gets too hot, I do prefer air-conditioned dining. I suppose an ice-cold beer would be of some help? Hahaa! But on cooler days, it is pretty nice to dine with the pool view. Feels like a staycation, well...almost.

Thank you Hence for the invite and Eunice for hosting the tasting. Special thanks to Chef Teppei for feeding us with delicious food and not forgetting the lovely staff of Guriru.

Guriru グリル 

Address: 2 College Rd, Level 1, Singapore 169850

Website: https://www.guriru.sg/

Reservation: https://www.chope.co/singapore-restaurants/restaurant/guriru

Contact: 9010 7020

Business Hours:

Closed on Sundays.

Mon - Thur: 12–10:30pm

Fri - Sat: 12-11:30pm

[Mother's Day Promo] 母親節外買套餐 Celebration Take Home Mother's Day Set

母親節外買套餐 Celebration Take Home Mother's Day Set (Good for 4 to 5 pax)

Celebration Take Home Mother's Day Set (4 to 5 pax) @$238

For friends whom prefers to celebrate Mother's Day in the comfort of their own home but is currently fretting on what order, this article is just for you! Goldleaf Restaurant offers a takeaway set that has dishes that mom would approve and of a good value too.

Let's take a look at the dishes in this set, shall we?

Cold Dish Trio 冷盤三拼

Cold Dish Trio 冷盤三拼

Braised Duck Thigh 家鄉鹵鴨腿

Braised Duck Thigh 家鄉鹵鴨腿

The braised duck thigh was aromatic, well braised and fork tender. That braised sauce is gold!

Steamed Seabass in Superior Soy Sauce 清蒸金目鱸

Steamed Seabass in Superior Soy Sauce 清蒸金目鱸

Kam Heong Flower Clams 甘香花啦啦

Kam Heong sauce is typically made of dried shrimps, curry powder, shallots and garlic. The kam heong flower clams here is of strong flavours and goes well with beer!

Kam Heong Flower Clams 甘香花啦啦

Braised Mushrooms with Seasonal Vegetables 三菇扒時蔬

Braised Mushrooms with Seasonal Vegetables 三菇扒時蔬

After eating at Goldleaf a few times, I must say that even their vegetables dish is done well. Crunchy greens, tender mushrooms with lovely sauce.

Golden Porridge 黃金海鮮粥

Golden Porridge 黃金海鮮粥

The golden porridge is cooked with sweet pumpkin (hence, its colour) with plenty of seafood such as whole prawns, scallops and mussels. Oh boy, those mussels were huge!

huge mussels

The above set although meant for 5 pax, I would say it can even feed 6 pax comfortably.

Thank you Kris for the invite and Goldleaf Restaurant for hosting the tasting.

Goldleaf Restaurant 金葉餐廳

Address: 88 E Coast Rd, #01-05/06/07 Katong Square, Singapore 423371

Website: https://goldleaf.com.sg/

Contact: 6346 1088

Business Hours: 

Daily: 1:30am–3pm, 6–10pm