Praelum Wine Bistro @ Duxton Hill

Visited this place for the November baby's birthday. The factors that were taken into consideration; nearby parking, wine, decent food and cosy ambience. Plus, this place is new to all of us in the group (don't we all like to find new places to dine?).

Reservation was easy via Hungrygowhere. Was pleasantly surprised to receive a text from Gerald (Praelum) on the mobile and he asked whether we had any dietary restrictions, and also if we would like to arrange anything for the birthday girl. Thought that was rather nice of him.

cosy

our table

The place was fairly relaxed at about 7+ in the evening. The food menu has limited choices, and later on, we discovered that the food portion of the mains were just about the same as the tapas. Gerald was very friendly and was on-hand to recommend food and drinks.

food menu

Complimentary bread basket was served while we waited. This was really useful, as on that night, the food that we ordered, were arriving very slowly. The bread had a nice crust and soft on its inside.

complimentary bread

Tarte flambé was highly recommended to us. A dish that originated from Alsace, France. Thin crust, light, savoury and crisp. Indeed it was rather nice and tasty and we did two orders of this.

The other appetiser that we had, was the five-spiced calamari. Nothing remarkable and a tad too salty, unfortunately.

Tarte flambé with portobello, onions and gruyère @$18++

Five-Spice Calamari with sesame mayo dip @$16++

Ordered some meats as our stomach was still grumbling. Was informed that one of their must-try is the Pork Parcels. This has been around in their menu for the longest time. Also tried a new dish, the Grilled Chipotle Chicken.

Pork Parcels @$22++

Grilled Chipotle Chicken with mango relish @$20++

The meats were all good. The pork parcels consist of herbs, cream cheese and mushroom. We were sharing this amongst the four of us, so cutting it open was indeed a messy affair. Tasty and flavourful. The chipotle chicken was slightly spicy and the mango relish was a good pairing for that sweetness against the smokey spicy flavour.

For drinks, we had a bottle of De Stefani Prosecco Zero. Nice hue of light straw colour, bubbly, fruity and dry. Paired well with our foods.

De Stefani Prosecco Zero @$80++

Still hungry, hence more food was required. Ordered two mains and was really surprised by its small portions. Nevertheless, the food was enjoyable. Loved the tender, meaty chunks of the beef. The mashed potato was nicely smooth too.

Salmon-En-Croute (main) @$28++

Braised Beef Cheeks (main) @$30++

Ended the night with lava cake, courtesy of Praelum. Thank you for the lovely desserts treat, complete with a lighted candle.

happy birthday, dear friend

Expect to spend about $50 to $90 per pax. Do note that there are price discrepancies on its menu found on its website as compared to the menu in the bistro (information is correct as of 9 January 2016).

Bakes n Bites @ 51 Old Airport Road

This stall is located at the Old Airport Road Hawker Centre. Nearest MRT would be either Dakota or Mountbatten. From Dakota MRT, take Exit B, turn left and walk straight and you will be able to see the Old Airport Road hawker centre across the road. Stop at the traffic light and cross over and you will be standing near to the alfresco seats shaded by big umbrellas. Head on straight into the hawker centre, turn right and look for stall #01-164.

Bakes n Bites has a variety of sweet bakes including cakes, muffins, puffs, swiss rolls, cheesecakes while its savoury selection is currently limited to shepherd's pies.

cakes and shepherd's pies

The stall owners; Christopher and Christina are both jovial and friendly. They started the business not too long ago, and it was actually borned through sheer determination and hardwork. Christopher had learnt baking after he was retrenched from work when he was in his fifties. His wife, Christina, supports him in his endeavour as she helps him tirelessly in ingredients prepping, attending to orders and various other activities.

Had the chance to converse with them and it was evident that they take pride in the things that they do. Christina had shared that they tend to use natural ingredients and no preservatives. They are open to requests from customers and not adverse to having to tweak their bakes in order to cater to most customers.

For instance, their "asian shepherd's pie" doesn't use any cheese nor tomato paste. This was so that customers whom are not tolerant to cheese could still enjoy the pie. However, should there be customers whom prefers cheese in their shepherd's pie, just let Christina know in advance and she might just be able to cater to your request.

guess the meat-fillings of this pie~

(front) beef  @$3.70 and (back) chicken @$3.00

The shepherd's pie uses on russet potatoes and are handmade daily. Most of their goods are baked on-site at the stall. The potatoes tasted fluffy, light and moist.

There are quite a bit more variety for the muffins. The usuals include blueberry, blueberry chocolate chips, orange, double chocolate and banana muffins. The unusual would be the chinese herb flavoured muffin. The price ranges from $2.10 to $2.30 for muffins.

(top clockwise) banana chocolate chip, orange, double chocolate muffin and vanilla

(front clockwise) herbal (litsea cubeba), blueberry chocolate, blueberry muffins

The muffins could be eaten either chilled or warm. For blueberry and herbal muffins, these are recommended to be eaten warmed as its fragrance and flavour would have been enhanced.

The warm muffins were indeed soft and bouncy.

segments of double chocolate muffin

Christina had shared that the litsea cubeba was boiled for 12 hours before it was chilled and consumed as a drink. On its own, it tasted bitter with licorice-like finish (苦甘味). This herb is said to be good in dispelling flu and cold, plus able to relieve fatigue. However, not many would be acceptable to this bitter taste, so Christopher made use of it in a muffin form so that the benefits of this herb could be enjoyed by most.

Next, we sampled quite a bit of its no frills cakes. First, we had the mixed fruit cake, butter cake and the banana cake.

(top clockwise) fruit cake, butter cake and banana cake

The butter cake was made with Golden Churn butter and it was indeed very rich, creamy and buttery. The banana cake was slightly drier and it contained about 80% banana. Am not a fruit cake person, so no comments for that.

butter cake

banana cake

Was more interested in the swiss rolls. Tried three flavours that night; latte coffee, vanilla and pandan. All were good. The swiss rolls here were purposedly made to be slightly more dense and compact. Its texture was more chewy-bouncy kueh-like rather than fluffy cake type. Interestingly, meringue is used instead of the usual cream for the swiss rolls. Meringue is lighter yet tasted similar to cream. The coffee and pandan fragrances were really strong and enticing. Lovely.

(front anti-clockwise) pandan, vanilla and latte coffee

The chewy brownie here was quite good as well. Preferred it over the choc fudge cake.

(bottom) chewy brownie and (top) choc fudge

And for the finale, we had the Five Layer Cake. This was created in-lieue of rainbow cake. Each layer has its own flavour; chocolate, coffee, orange, vanilla and one more that I cannot remember. Very likeable especially if you like kek-lapis.

Bakes n Bites also do baby full-month packages and custom-made birthday cakes, so do email/call Christina, to find out more.

Five Layer Cake

This was an invited tasting. Thank you Christopher and Christina for hosting us and the HWG team for the invite.

Bakes n Bites

Location: #01-164, 51 Old Airport Road, Singapore 390051
Contact:  +65 90083463
Website: http://www.bakesnbites.sg/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bakesnbites/
Business Hours:

Tue - Sat: 11:00 - 21:00
Sun: 09:30 - 21:00

Food For Thought @ National Museum of Singapore

Was there to visit the museum so had brunch at the restaurant in there. Actually, should have done the reverse order. Ought to have bought the tickets first to the museum then have lunch because the paid tickets entitled one to 10% discount off ala-carte items.

Got seated pretty quickly as the place was fairly relaxed during that weekend of visit.

alfresco seats

ice water

Was in the mood for some scrambled eggs and coffee so got myself the "House Works" while my friend ordered the baby back ribs. Both food portions were generous.

House Works (scrambled eggs, butter brioche, bacon, salad and hash browns) @$15+

Honeyed Hoisin Sauce Braised Baby Back Ribs @$25+

Requested for some jam to go along with the brioche. Liked the sweet and savoury combination for brioche with scrambled eggs and bacon. Yums.

strawberry jam

The hash browns were lovely oblongs of golden brown. Salad leaves were limp but the dressing was good. It was a very filling breakfast.

Friend loved his ribs as well. Suitably tender though not fall-off-the-bone kind.

Food For Thought

Address: 93 Stamford Road #01-04/05, National Museum of Singapore, Singapore 178897
Website: http://www.foodforthought.com.sg/
Reservation: https://www.chope.co/singapore-restaurants/categories/restaurant/food-for-thought-national-museum 
Business Hours:
Mon-Sat & PH Eve: 10am-10pm
Sun & PH: 10am-9pm

Montana Singapore @ POMO Selegie

The walk from Plaza Singapura to POMO took about 8 minutes. At POMO, take the escalator up till you see The Clan restaurant. Montana is nearby The Clan and a dance studio. I think I had been here before but that space was occupied by another restaurant previously. The trip to Montana was for an invited tasting session with fellow bloggers.

interior

Liked the decor of the place. Dark colours with nice lightings. However, the space could get quite warm since the air from outside flows freely into the cafe and vice-versa. At such a times, a cold drink was very much needed. Montana's cold brew is served in a beaker, pretty much like those found in chemical lab.

On that night, we were privileged to be one of the first few to try their new yuzu infused coconut cold brew. This brew was created for those whom dislike the strong taste of coffee and prefers something that's lighter and more fruity.

Yuzu infused Coconut Cold Brew @$6.50+

let's have a shot at this

Would say that the taste was interesting. There was a strong presence of yuzu flavour, a sourish aftertaste and a light undertone of coffee. Three components that one could taste quite distinctly.

Flat White 7oz @$5+

On a hot night, my choice drink was the Cold Shaken Mocha. Satisfying.

Cold Shaken Mocha @$5+

For food, they do a variation of savoury waffles as well as sweet desserts waffles. You might have already seen/tasted/heard about their black velvet waffles. Was getting hungry, so savoury waffles were very much welcomed!

Jalapeno Mac & Cheese Waffle @$12+

The Jalapeno Mac & Cheese Waffle is the Montana original signature waffle. The jalapeno mac & cheese were embedded inside the waffle or what they termed as 'waffle-ised'. Soft waffle, slight pickled tang from the jalapeno and lovely tomato relish to dip. Yums.

the insides

Next, the one and only, Assam Crab Waffle. Sounded exotic, right? Definitely must be eaten with the thick sauce. Tasting the sauce alone, I thought it was quite close to the thousand island variant. Piled some of those crab meat, diced cucumber and pineapple onto the waffle, add a dollop of that sauce and indeed, the assam laksa flavour became more apparent. Thought it was Penang assam laksa, but this was revealed to be incorrect as the dish was inspired by the Kedah laksa. Aiya, same same but different.

Assam Crab Waffle @$18+

The Korean wave has been inflicted onto waffle as well. Ever tried Bulgogi Beef Waffle? It was pretty interesting as inside the waffle, there was gochujang rice as well. Carb on carb?! Beef was tender as it was done sous vide style. The menu stated bonito flakes, but I don't think there was any on the version that we had.

Bulgogi Beef Waffle @$16+

Then came the pastas. The Vodka Crab Penne and the Truffle Oil Spaghetti. The shredded crab meat in the penne was enjoyable but the penne was a tad too al-dente for me.

Vodka Crab Penne @$16+

Truffle Oil Spaghetti with mushrooms, sunny side up Egg @$16+

Personally, am more inclined towards the truffle oil spaghetti. The noodle strands were well coated with creaminess and perfumed with truffle oil. The mushroom flavour was just lovely.

After which, a sampling from South Bronx was brought up.

it's South Bronx, yo

Surprised? Well, Montana connects two other spaces; Fabulous + Dough (inner section of Montana, opening this weekend) and South Bronx Burgers located at Level 1. Fancy having doughnuts or burgers with your coffee? Well, soon you can.

South Bronx Burgers: Southern Chicken Wings with BBQ sauce @$8+, Mac Deli Burger @$16+ and Original Rump Shaker @$16+

The wings were fried to a deep brown and crispy skins. However, perhaps it had enjoyed a tad too long of its oil bath in the fryer, resulting in slightly tougher meat.

The burger patties were homemade with its own house ratio of meat and fats. The soft potato buns were baked in-house as well. The burgers were served with triple fries consisting of shoestring, crinkle and spiral.

homemade beef patty

How about drinks and you don't mean the coffee nor tea kind? Oh why, I thought you'd never ask! Actually, Montana has Australian beer in its menu.

Yenda IPA and Yenda Pale

Or, explore the variety of craft beers downstairs at South Bronx. Beer price ranges from $11+ to $13+.

Belgian, Spanish and Japanese

Opened two bottles to try. The Kinshachi Nagoya Red Miso Lager and the Pater Lieven Bruin Belgian Ale. Miso beer tasted similar to Kilkenny. Smooth and with that metallic tang, slightly bitter finish. The Belgian Ale looked dark like a stout but tasted light and malty. Personal preference to the Belgian beer.

Red Miso Lager

Belgian Ale

Ended with some doughnuts. Presented hot from the ovens of Fabulous + Dough. Fairly large sized doughnuts that are roughly the size of a man's fist. Tried the Dark Chocolate with Apple Cider Salted Caramel, Green Tea Yuzu and Apple Berry with Cream Cheese. The Green Tea doughnut was the sweetest of the lot. Preferred the Dark Chocolate doughnut for its just-nice sweetness.

Dark Chocolate Caramel @$5.50+

Apple Berry with Cream Cheese @$5.50+

sweets

Thank you Montana for having us, the friendly crew for taking care of us and Jen for the invite.

Montana Singapore

Location: #01-04, POMO, 1 Selegie Rd, 188306

Contact: +65 98331790

Badoque Cafe @ 298 Bedok Road

We had a mission to accomplish. That particular mission was a quest to sample the Tomahawk at Badoque that's located near Simpang Bedok. Heard many good things about this cafe from Ivan and it sure piqued our interest! Getting to Badoque is not difficult, just that it was really far for a westie. Took the train to Tanah Merah and then head towards the bus stop across the station and take bus #9. Stop at opposite of Bedok Marketplace and walk for about 5 minutes to reach the cafe.

inside the cafe

Badoque has both indoor and outdoor seats. It was kinda windy and hot on our day of visit, so we opted for the cooler but darker (in terms of lighting) indoor dining. Unfortunately for us, the Tomahawk remained elusive as it is only available after 3pm.

For lunch, there are still quite a number of selections to choose from, so we ordered two ribs, a fish & chips and some fiery chicken wings to try. Was warned that the wings are so spicy that the Chef, himself had difficulty in handling. Ok, bring it on!

But, in any case, we still ordered plenty of ice blended drinks in preparation to douse the 'fire' on our tongues when necessary.

(from left to right) ice lemon tea ($5.50+), frangipani ($8.50+), mojito ($8.50+) and salted caramel ($8.50+)

Liked the Frangipani the most. Made of soda, blood orange and lemonade. Such a pretty shade of reddish pink. Sweet and refreshing. The Salted Caramel tasted like milk, mostly.

One could already smell the 'kepak bing bing' before it actually reached the table! The aromatically pungent and enticing smell of belachan, plus look at the amount of chili seeds... No joke.

Kepak Bing Bing @$12.50+

do you dare?

The spices hit fast and lingered for quite a bit. Taking sips of the ice blended frangipani was actually, not a good idea because it felt even spicier after that. Keke! But pretty shioks though.

When the beef ribs arrived, it most certainly elicited some "oohs" and "aahs". A humongous and thick slab of ribs. It was really my first time in seeing such a big portion of any ribs.

Badoque Ribs @$36++

The Badoque Ribs were indeed tender and fall-off-the-bones type and served with BBQ sauce. Tangy and appetising. Liked the green beans and potatoes.

We also tried the Iga Bakar, which was the Indonesian styled beef ribs. More ribs? Yeah! It was as if we were on a meatatarian rampage. Similarly, the serving was huge and meant to be shared amongst two pax. Loved the savoury sweet sauce and the rice was so good. And that achar too. All tasted good. Yummy!

Iga Bakar @$36++

really lovely achar, so it deserved a shot on its own

If you're not into beef, no worries. The Flounder Fish and Chippies is worth ordering. Two large slabs of thinly battered and expertly fried till crisp and golden. The fish flesh was soft and tasty. It was good.

Flounder Fish & Chippies @$24++

Two guys and three ladies shared the above meal and drinks. I think the food could feed another person easily and all of us would still ended up feeling quite full.

Paid about $29 per pax each. Thank you fellow foodies for sharing the calories and Ivan for organizing!

Service staff were friendly, price was reasonable and food portion was generous. Recommended and value for money.