A Japanese Provence

When we speak of bakeries in Singapore, it would be a cardinal sin to leave out Provence. Provence is a (check this out) Japanese bakery, despite its French name, located in Holland Village. It is hugely popular and offers a wide range of breads. It is so popular they have since set up Petit Provence, a small store selling their most famous items, in the basement of The Central.

Presenting, my favourite bakery in Singapore. It's not just a bakery, it's also a cafe, with indoor and alfresco seating, so you can sip on coffee while having a tea-time snack, all while watching the world go by, very French indeed.

This is Provence's new layout. They have such an extensive selection that they have to pigeonhole all their breads and make use of all the vertical space they have. Very Japanese indeed. ;)
And if you think that's all the bread they have, you are sadly mistaken. They have even more! The choice is simply staggering.


First, we had the this custard roll. Sharon is absolutely in love with this. The custard is so smooth so eggy so milky.. It's very, very good. The custard melts in your mouth and then the taste lingers and erupts into pure warm comfort. I found it peculiar that the custard was cold while the bread was not. The bread was soft and fluffy and warm. The warm-cold combination of the two added to the sensory pleasure. It is a must-have for those with a sweet-tooth. I don't really like sweet stuff and I quite like it, so this must really be good.

Actually, it is a bit too sweet for me, but as I said, I'm really weird, I don't like sweet stuff. But Sharon just adores this one. I expect that most people will too. :)

The milk pan is also very good. The custard is a milky white and, like the custard above, so very smooth. It's like silk draped across your tongue, but richer and thicker. It's like a more solidified version of milk foam.

It tastes somewhat like the custard pan but different. The milky taste is a lot more prominent in this one and there is a slight tinge of sourness in the milk custard. This balances out the sweetness so that it is not treacly. The bread is also a little salty compared to the other breads. Again, this emphasises the taste of the custard. This is one of their hot favourites and for a reason too.

This is their brown rice anpan. One of my favourites.

The anpan is not too sweet and the texture is very coarse because the anpan is not grinded very finely. This is good. This is very good. You can taste and see the anpan skin. The skin is excellent. The top-most part is a bit 'crisp' but the inside is moist and soft.

The anpan is possibly the best I have ever had. It's sweet, but the sweetness is muted and does not overpower the bread. Many red bean buns out there are so sweet you only taste sugar and nothing else. Those are nauseatingly saccharine. Disgusting. You don't get to savour the bread properly. This anpan tastes healthy not decadent and is nothing short of first-rate. No other an pan has even come close.

This is my favourite of favourites. The brazilian cheese bun. It looks so normal and boring. And it costs a whopping 80c for that tiny bun. I would never have thought of trying that. But Sharon wanted to try it because she thought it sounded interesting. When I first tried it, I was in awe. These babies are Exceptional, with a capital E.

It's crusty on the outside, but the inside is exceedingly moist and chewy. It's like a crusty mochi except much better. The bun is also salty and very addictive.

I don't know how to describe it. You have to try this for yourself. It's one of a kind.

This is also available in The Central but those are sweet because there's a sprinkling of icing over them. The ones sold at Holland Village are so much more palatable. I love them.

The only thing is that you have to eat them while they're fresh if not they get too chewy and hard. Unless you are looking for a jaw-workout, eat it freshly-baked!

Look at the chewy chewy chewy bun! You can tell its really just air inside. It looks plain but its so scrumptious!! There is no filling just straight-up brazillian cheese bun goodness. The crust on the outside combined with the moist chewy inside is the most curious combination ever. Who needs filling with buns so good.

Provence

17A Lorong Liput

Holland Village

Singapore 277731

Fosters, the Steak Cafe

We never planned on going to Fosters. We wanted to check out the all-day brunch menu (burger inspired) at Relish but it was closed for an event today. We wanted to go to Bistro Petit Salut but we were too late for lunch. It seemed that almost every place was closed for lunch. Sharon wanted to go to Monster Mash but I didn't want to. She suggested pizza but I didn't feel like Italian. Fosters was like our last choice.

Not that Fosters is not good. In fact Fosters is one of my favourite places. Why? Because this is the only place where they know how to get my steak a beautiful medium-rare. And I always insist that steak is wasted unless it is done medium-rare. There needs to be a bit of blood, a bit of that raw fibrous texture. You need to taste the beef. 'Nuff said. Sorry to those who like their beef well-done (like Sharon who has since seen the light), but that's not the way to eat your beef.

We started out with a bread basket. The bread's most probably from Delifrance but they did a really good job of toasting it because the bread was nice and hot and crusty when we had it. Nothing to boast about though.

Sharon ordered the Pan-Grilled Marinated Chicken dusted with seasoned flour served with black pepper sauce. I ordered the Pepper Steak, juicy tenderloin coated with crushed black pepper.


This is my steak, my glorious steak. It is not merely coated in black pepper, it is encrusted, to be exact. Do not order this if you do not like black pepper. Every mouthful is an explosion of biting, full-bodied succulence. The robust meat paired with caramelised onions, don't even get me started.

No place has ever given me steak like this before. It's a thick slab but look how evenly done the steak is. See how the steak is such a deep pink throughout? Marvellous job. It's actually a bit overcooked for a medium-rare and there isn't much blood at all. It's like in between medium-rare and medium, to me. But it's good enough, one can't be too picky.

Although Fosters doesn't always get it right, it is the only restaurant that has ever given me a proper medium-rare steak, that is medium-rare throughout. I don't know what they do, but they do it so well. Tell me, do you know anywhere else which serves up such thick steak, so evenly done?

The steak came with a jacket potato. Sharon had it, I don't like baked potatoes. She didn't seem to like it very much.

Her order of chicken. It was done quite nicely. The pepper sauce was delectable. It first tastes like barbeque sauce but the sweet-savoury sensation on your tongue quickly gives way to the peppery punch. It reminded me of the chicken chop at Jerry's. Other than that, nothing great. The fries were double-fried and the vegetables were limp. It's a reasonable dish.

Come here for the steak.

Fosters
277 Holland Ave
Holland Village
Singapore 278994

tanjong rhu pau - the best paus?

Tanjong Rhu Paus are good. They are very very good. This is despite Daphne's mother's appalled reaction to them because the men are always shirtless and wet with perspiration while making these nuggets of absolute ambrosia.

Sharon and I decided to stop by the Thomson branch today. We bought many paus. A total of 5 different types of paus to try. Da Bao, charsiew, lianrong (lotus paste), red bean, and yuanyang (lotus paste and red bean).

For some odd reason, Sharon likes this picture. She thinks the charsiew paus are queueing up to be eaten?!

This, my dear reader, is the average size of the paus here. It's tinyyy. A midget pau. I wonder if that's why the paus taste so good though; because it's so small, the proportion of filling to skin seems to be higher. Also, these are small enough to pop in your mouth, so they make for a good tapas-like snack. Not to mention that when you do pop the whole thing in your mouth, all the flavours and juices explode at once on your tongue.

The paus are expensive for the size but somehow, I keep going back for more.

First up, the red bean pau. The skin was a tad bit hard and dry, but the paste was commendable. It was extremely smooth and just a little bit granular. The texture was just right, I liked this, with the exception of the dehydrated skin. The paste was also a nice mellow sweet, which I enjoyed.

The lianrong pau suffered from the same dry skin as the red bean pau. We noticed that the non-meat paus are all like this. For some reason they also peel off in layers whereas the meat paus skin don't. Anyhow, this lianrong was also nice and smooth. I prefer the red bean one though. And while these two paus were good, I'm sure there are better ones out there.

This to me, is the star of Tanjong Rhu. Their charsiew paus. I know people like the Da Bao but I really really really really really (get the point?) like the charsiew paus.

The charsiew sauce is amazing to say the least. It's like a stunning red velvet gravy that envelops the meat and fat so lusciously. The marinate is just wonderful. I've never had such good charsiew paus before. I've tried handmade paus from other places but none compares to this one. The charsiew taste is a lot more intense than normal charsiew paus and more fragrant too. You cannot stop at one, you just can't.

The pau's skin is a bit tough at the top. For some reason, you can't readily break the pau apart from the top. We normally break it apart from the botton where the skin is thin and moist. Apart from that, the skin is sweet and the texture is great. It's not powdery nor oversteamed. It was purrrfect.

Can you see just how juicy it is? And the charsiew taste is extremely intense. The sauce is a wee bit gelatinous too so that it blankets and clings onto each and every piece of meat/fat relentlessly and entirely. There's not a lot of fat in it, but just enough to give it the fragrant, wholesome burst of flavour. Many handmade paus I've tried are made from overly fatty parts of the meat without any real lean meat at all. These normally turn out extremely oily, and the oil usually soaks through the box it is kept in. Tanjong Rhu's charsiew pau is not cloying at all. It's.. divine.

We forgot to take photos of the yuanyang pau. But we did play with the four paus and took pictures of their cross-section areas. Basically, the yuanyang pau (third from left) has both lianrong and red bean paste. They also add a salted egg into it. I've tried it before and I'm not a fan. But that's also probably because I don't like salted egg. Sharon likes this one though, she think's its unique.

I must also add that this is a big pau compared to the other paus. Compare the size! It is however, just a normal-sized pau, just big enough to fit into your palm.
Lastly, we have the famous Tanjong Rhu Da Bao. I don't really like Da Bao and neither does Sharon, but she likes the Da Bao here. It's definitely very pang and more tasty than other Da Baos I have tried. The meat is deliciously scrumptious. The savoury and the sweet of the pau is a winning partnership. Da Bao lovers will adore this one. I'm not so sure that I am a Da Bao convert because of this though.

Is Tanjong Rhu Pau the best there is in Singapore? Based on their charsiew pau, I'd say yes a hundred times.

Tanjong Rhu Pau
72 Thomson Rd
Singapore 307589

hock lam beef

Hock Lam Beef Kway Teow is arguably the most famous beef kway teow in Singapore. Every respectable beef kway teow lover will have at least heard of this old name. It has also made news multiple times because the owner, Tina, used to be a banker who gave up a five-figure monthly salary to continue her family business.

Hock Lam has been around for 4 generations and dates back to 1921. So this my friend, is as old-school as it gets.

There are many different Hock Lams around and sometimes I get really confused. There's the Purvis Street one, Empress Place one, someday I really need to sort out this whole beef kway teow history. But as far as I am concerned, Hock Lam is this one. The one with the crazy long queues at lunch hours.

I'm not a huge fan of beef kway teow but this is one bowl that I will crave from time to time. Look at how smooth and silky the noodles are! They are literally glistening, beckoning to be eaten.

I don't like how other places give you SO much gravy that your noodles are literally drowning in starch. It reminds me too much of lor-mee. This place is good because they don't give you a lot of gravy which I like. However, they gave TOO little gravy today and it was a tad bit dry, Sharon had to go back and ask for extra gravy.

They gave a bit too much gravy and the kway teow was just positively drowning, engulfed in the gravy.

They gave me vegetables today and they have never given me vegetables. I wonder if this was to make up for their drastic cut in the amount of beef they serve with the kway teow. My beef slices and beef ball kway teow came with 2 miserable beef balls and maybe 3,4 slices of beef max. The beef slices were very tender though.

The noodles were a bit soggy, probably because we let it sit in the gravy for a tad bit too long while we were taking pictures. They are not like this normally.

I like chilli A LOT so I was a little heavy-handed with the chilli. (Not telling you how much I added.) I really like Hock Lam's chilli. The taste is excellent; faultless balance of fiery and sweet. Mmm.

I did regret putting so much chilli though. Not because it was too spicy, but because I tried Sharon's unblemished version and it was so much better. The gravy's hearty sapor really shone through. The chilli was good but it shrouded the gravy's glory a little.

A minor grouse was that the gravy was not as thick as it used to be and lacked the beefy oomph it used to have.

Sharon likes the soup here. However, today's was a bit watered down and tasted too briney and not beefy enough. You can still see the beef sediments here but it used to be a lot more concentrated. Instead, it seemed that they tried to compensate for it by adding more soya sauce.

We still like this place. It's just a pity that rising costs have resulted in dips in both quality and quantity. A good bowl of beef kway teow, nonetheless.

Hock Lam Beef

Far East Square

22 China Street

#01-01

the wild rocket experience

I admit that I am biased towards the Wilin-Low empire. I was disappointed, very actually, to see that the reviews for Wild Rocket and Relish have not been so rosy for a while now. Truth be told, I find that very perplexing because I really do enjoy those places.

I was asked to choose a dinner place today, either Giraffe or Wild Rocket. I was tempted to go to Giraffe because

1. I’ve heard that it has improved since last year when I last went
2. Wild Rocket has been reviewed to death; it’s quite unexciting to review a restaurant everyone has tried right?
3. I was afraid the reviews were true.

However, my loyalties took over and I chose Wild Rocket. And I am glad I did because I thoroughly enjoyed dinner.

Let me start by saying what a gorgeous place Wild Rocket is. It’s nestled away from the hustle and bustle of Orchard Road all while still being in extremely close proximity to town. The restaurant’s capacity is very small and thus very cosy. The decor is immaculate; it’s simple and graceful. It’s the perfect place for a perfect date. Trust me.

The pretty pretty flower. :)

When we arrived at Wild Rocket, they promptly ushered us to a table that they had specially chosen for us “because it was more private”. (Although I’m not sure why we needed privacy for, are we very unpresentable?) Somehow Sam, the manager of the Wilin-Low empire, caught wind that we were going to be there. (He knows us because we go to Relish so often) He was not there but he made sure that we got a message that he said hi. I love how the people at Wild Rocket make the effort to ensure that their patrons are well taken care of. It was all so sweet and charming.

We started our night with the bread that is served at Wild Rocket. It comes with a dip of olive oil. We're both huge carb fans and especially fond of bread. I have to admit that I don't really fancy this one though.

We were presented with two glasses of wine on the house, apparently sent from Sam. It was a perfect surprise. I thought that he was very sweet, and I appreciated that he was so thoughtful towards us, even when he wasn't around. TWO thumbs up to him!

I ordered my spicy crabmeat linguine with tomato cream. I have to admit that it's not always ambrosial. There are times when I have had it and it was merely aight and I start to wonder whether I really like it. Some nights it is spicier, some nights it is more creamy.. I like this dish, I like Wild Rocket but I have to say that it's not very consistent. But when it is good, it just blows you away.

It was gorgeous tonight. Somehow it was creamier than I remembered it to be and it was slightly spicier. I suspected that they cut down on the crabmeat since the last time too. Nonetheless, it was still marvellously coated in that spectacular flavour I have grown to love. I still think this one beats Marmalade Pantry.

It is extremely lush, but not so rich that it becomes very jelat. That balance was splendid tonight. And I like that it's not drowning in cream like carbonara. The linguine is tenderly swathed in the orange-red cream without overpowering the other flavours. You can still taste the tang from the tomato paste, the sweetness of the crab and just a tinge of heat from the spice.

Look at that. No touch-ups, nothing! Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I'm hungry again.

The servings are a bit small, I'd have to say. Even Sharon felt that she was just having an appetiser. But then again, you're not in an All-American diners cafe.

Sharon had the seafood crustacean oil spaghetti, but she changed the spaghetti to linguine. This is Sharon's first oil-based pasta. She was particulary impressed by the fact that it was not cloying at all.

At first instance, her pasta tasted a bit like prawn noodles because it has a certain Asian twist to it that made it especially piquant. I quite liked this actually. I know Sharon was not wowed at first but she said that the taste grew on her and that she would order this again.

I thought that this was a very inviting dish. Truth be told, it wasn't something very unique but it had that satiating element and the seafood distillate was flawlessly infused through the dish. In Sharon's own words, "they weren't kidding when they called it crustacean oil man."

The scallops weren't great. They weren't very fresh. But the prawns were fwahlaueh-damn-shiok. So fresh, so firm, so Q. We adored the prawns.

We ordered coconut ice-cream. It came with a grated coconut wafer and coconut jelly nestled below the ice-cream. This is Sharon's favourite. It tastes like bubor chacha to me. It's super coconutty. It is really really really bubor chacha in ice-cream form. The coconut taste is extremely 'gao', I'm honestly quite amazed by how authentic it tastes. This is something you can bring your ah-ma to try and she will love it. SOMPA.

Ah now we come to this red date ice-cream with longan. This was given to us with compliments from Sam, Sam's assistant. The former is Sam Tan, the assistant to Sam Lim as we later learned. It was our first time meeting him but already he displayed such warmness towards us. Need I say more why Wild Rocket really rocks?

Well, I am honestly struggling with this dessert. I do like it and I think it is an extremely interesting dish. Tastewise, the coconut ice-cream is a lot easier to fall in love with. But there is something about this dish. I call it the elusive dessert.

Let me explain. When it first dissolved on my tongue, I tasted red bean. I know it's red date but I swear I tasted red bean. And it's the cheapo Potong brand red bean ice-cream that we used to eat as kids, that comes on an ice-cream stick. WAIT. If that was all I tasted, I wouldn't like this dessert so much. After the Potong ice-cream taste, I taste the dulcet longans. And then I taste this elusive aftertaste.

Sharon didn't taste it, but I did. I can't put my finger on exactly what that taste is. It reminded me a bit of coffee, maybe it's because it's aromatic? I'm really not sure. I spent a really long time grappling with this aftertaste. It's not a distinct taste that I can capture and remember. It was so fragile, like bubbles that burst when you try to touch them. I find that extremely intrigueing.

So while Sharon loved the coconut ice-cream she didn't really take to the red date ice-cream. I liked the red date ice-cream because it was (I'm going to say the word again) elusive. It's mind-boggling, seriously. The coconut ice-cream was delectable, no doubt, but it was just one flavour, one taste, sweet. If I were critical, I would say this ice-cream was one-dimensional. But the red date one, there were layers to it.

I think the coconut ice-cream is definitely more tasty, but the red date one is interesting. I'm not sure if I would try it again though.

All in all, a lovely evening. I still adore this place, even though they need to be more consistent with their quality of food. Other than that, what a place man, what a place.

Wild Rocket
Hangout Hotel
10a Upper Wilkie Road
Singapore 228119

trusty marmalade pantry

It's a long story how we ended up at Marmalade Pantry. We wanted to go to Superfamous but the reviews were so bad we decided against it. We then wanted to check out the Moomba but it was raining and we didn't feel like braving the torrential storms for a cold sandwich. Finally, we decided on VietCafe. It was closed. And since Sharon could only spare about half an hour or so, we went to the Marmalade Pantry since it was close to her office.

It's really quite a pretty place isn't it? All that crisp whiteness and understated elegance? Anyone noticed that all their servers are (rather) good-looking? Even their servers' all white attire spells casual-chic comfort. Although I must object to the quality of their tshirts. Even my secondary school PE tshirt is better quality than that. It looks like it will stretch in the washing machine after just one wash and it's so thin! Apparently, they are designed by Song+Kelly. If so, I'd say defunct for a reason.

If they used better quality tshirts, I promise the servers will look so much better; and confident.

Their signature white chrysanthemuns at each table, with white salt and pepper shakers on white tables with white chairs and white placemats. Everything's so pristine and bright, you feel shy to even laugh loudly. It's definitely a girl's place, for girls to feel like cherubic princesses.

My crab caesar salad. I normally order the crabmeat linguine with tomato chilli and pinenuts. I fell in love with this dish at Wild Rocket/Relish and despite Sharon's insistence that Marmalade Pantry offers a better version, I insist on Wilin Low's version. I'm fiercely loyal to the Wilin Low Empire like that. (But honestly, I really do prefer the Wild Rocket version)

So anyway, my salad was pleasurable. I was a bit disappointed at the obvious lack of food-porn quality, the food looked bland and unappetising. It was just romaine lettuce with crabmeat and toasted bread with their own caesar dressing. Boy they weren't kidding when they said crab caesar salad. It was expensive too, at $22!

To be fair though, they used real crab meat and the dressing was really good. It reminded me of how the Caesar dressing at The Line, Shangri-La used to be. Really thick, creamy with a distinct zing to it.

Sharon ordered her usual grilled pesto chicken wholemeal wrap with oven roasted butternut. This was even better than usual. The chicken was impossibly moist today and it was extremely well-seasoned. It was not fatty at all so some may find it not luscious enough for them. But I felt that the creamy pumpkin in the wrap compensated for whatever lack of fat perfectly. The smooth consistency complemented the meat's firm texture and the sugars in it accentuated the chicken's succulence.

The wrap was quite nicely done too. True, it wasn't exactly flavourful but the taste was definitely not flat. It wasn't too limp or too thick and gooey, and you could actually cut through the wrap without everything falling apart when you do. This is actually a neat wrap!

I particularly liked the sweet potato and tapioca chips that are served as a side. They are oh-so-crispy and oh-so-toothsome. And they are cut so fine, they are light to boot! I could eat 1kg of these and not be sick of them.

Marmalade Pantry, not exactly an exciting dining experience, but count on them to deliver consistent quality food.

The Marmalade Pantry
Hitachi Tower
16Collyer Quay
#01-04
Singapore 049318