Antoinette - an Italian Patisserie charm

Antoinette
Location: The Scarlet Hotel
Address: 33, Erskine Road
#01-02/03
Tel: 6557 0417
www.antoinette.com.sg




I Love the Italian Patisserie furnishing of this quaint little cafe.
It gives me an escape from the usual hustle and bustle cafes in Singapore.
Fulfilling my little fantasy of being out of the country even if it lasts for only a few hours..


Having found my perfect cozy spot, I can't wait to have my first brew of the day and immerse into a complete holiday relaxtion over Brunch.

My selection- The Vert d Osmanthus $8.00/pot
A beautifully crafted sencha that has the enchanting scent of summer-fresh flowers and the taste of ripe nectarines. Maofeng green tea is used as a base for this osmanthus flower blend. Expect slightly grassy notes, a well balances astringency & the subtle yet unmistakable profile of fresh summer nectarines.

I love this tea. It's natural sweetness is brought out with a well balance. Calming and smooth on the palates. I did not have to put in any sugar cubes to sweeten it. This tea will definitely drift to my mind whenever I have future cravings for tea.




All Day Breakfast
I ordered: Poached eggs with Scottish Smoked Salmon $11.50


This dish turned out rather disappointing for me..
$11.50 was the price tag with additional of $3 for poached egg.
What came with this price tag was a portion of simple greens, a slice of plain toast which is halved, 2 poached eggs. There was a generous amount of Smoked Salmon, however, they had marinated it is Capers and olive which does not go well for me to eat with toast. I prefer it to be the regular classic smoked salmon which will be able to round up the poached egg and toast better.
The taste is a hidden mismatch to me and I found it hard to swallow. The greens were browning as well and plain without any dressing.
I will skip this dish for my next visits. I hope that the lackluster standard is only isolated to this dish.
If the same substandard goes for the sandwiches or crepes, I will surely be crestfallen as Antoniette is a brainchild of an much acclaimed chef whom have gotten good reviews for his works.





A beacon of light was shined onto my taste experience with the help of Antoniette's signature cake which is named after it.
Antoniette: $9.00
Milk chocolate mousse infused with earl grey tea. Chocolate biscuit. Raspberry coulis. Dark chocolate earl grey tea cremeux . Earl grey tea crumble




Luxuriously smooth, the infusion of Earl Grey Tea and Chocolate brings you a combined feeling of both joy and relaxation.

I built my likings on the rich yet not over-poweringly thick chocolate such as Awfully Chocloate and Max Brenner.

The superior chocolate grade is worth your penny. I presume this is why some people are willing to extend their budget on artisan cakes and patisseries.. Its about indulging in the finer grade ingredients.
A few notches above Canele and Bakerzinn, may be the reason why this cake is priced at $9.00 and deemed worthy.

Other sweets such as cookies, chocolates, Macaroons and other delicate cakes are also available.


During times when you have the spare cash, or perhaps the release of your paycheck, do consider checking out Antoniette.
Antoniette could not be a better spot for you to indulge on a romantic private get-away escaping from the Singapore crowd. A place where you can let time slip while you glaze into each other's eyes tenderly with a pot of tea, feeding on desserts with soft giggles while the Italian Jazz plays in the background.

Singles, don't fret. Having said that this is a romantic spot, it is also a nice place to catch up with a close friend and enjoy the day together over brunch or high-tea.

Forty Hands Cafe. A Hidden spot. Book readers will love

Blk 78, Yong Siak Street
#01-12
tel: 6225 8545
website: http://www.40handscoffee.com/

Chocolate tarts, carrot cakes and muffins are glamorously placed in a dome shaped glass cover and proudly displayed on the cabinet of sinful indulgences.

I lost my focus, undecided at what to order as they are all calling out for my attention!
The thought of a chocolatey good tart which is hard to get is pretty tempting..

and so is my all time favorite carrot cake..

that's not all.. The gigantic cookies are giving me glistering smiles and tempting me...

I glanced up and down, left and right.. undecided.
This is all before the wider selection of Salads and Sandwiches!
I wanted to try out their Sandwiches too, but I was pretty filled up from my breakfast.

After struggling for a couple of minutes, I made my choice...
It's swirls brought me on a holiday in Malibu, and topped it with a crown of glorious white cream with orange zest that served me a cocktail on the beach.
Looking at it and the thought of it just brought me to a fantasy holiday!

the choice.. Jamaican Swirl
Conclusion:
exactly like my dream above. It is tasty yet not heavy. Has a strong character yet appetizing.
I couldn't bear to put down the fork and kept going at it until it vanished within a short interval.

I ordered a Latte to complete the fantasy.

ahhhh~ yes~ boy was it good! Full-bodied. Intense. Aromatic. Heavy but yet brings me up to heaven.
At this instance, how I wish I am better versed in Barista notes to give you a better description of the height of enjoyment at the coffee.
I brought me love together with the foam drawing.

Forty hands has a courtyard area as well, but it can get rather hot from the lack of wind flow.

My preferred seating is indoors with the slightly whimsical contradicting graffiti.


1 of the other reasons why is it fully packed and an idea weekend lazy cafe brunch/high-tea spot despite it being located in a pretty hidden place is because Books actually is just directly opposite it .

I hopped in, browsed around at the vintage stuffs they have on display and for sale, as well as purchased 2 books for my reading pleasure.





I checked back in to forty hands after getting my books and ordered Pear Cider to accompany me through to evening.
The pear cider is not to my liking. I've had better ciders. This did not make it to my re-try list.

ReStore Cafe

There's a new list of new Cafes that have invaded the Cafe scene in S'pore bringing us closer to the Auzzie relaxing Coffee Culture.
I drew out my list and picked ReStore as my 1st stop.

ReStore
124 Tanjong Pagar Road
Tue - Sun, 12pm - 7pm
Closed on Mondays
6222 3510

Restore is a new Vintage Furniture Cafe which infuses a relaxing sit back with jazz playing on while you have tasty breakfast and shop at the same time.
Perfect place for getting away from the crowd and just having an alone time with a book or chat with intimate ones


My fave drink is Cafe Latte and It is always my top choice for a lazy afternoon coffee


I read that their bagels are freshly baked and was hoping to try out the Cinnamon Raisin bagel which comes with cream cheese spread at $5.50.

It was a tug between the Bagel and the Waffles.
The waffles gave a hard pull at the last second which drew victory over bagel.
So here's my choice.
I selected the Canadian Waffles served with cream and Maple syrup and topped it with a scoop of homemade Vanilla ice-cream $8.80

While waiting for the waffles to take its form in the waffle mold, the sweet fragrant smell escaped out and filled the whole place with the aroma of fresh breakfast bliss.

Yumz, it was really good! The waffles was done just nice and it was Delicious!
While my mouth and nose were enjoying the Latte and Waffles, my eyes took pleasure and kept themselves entertained with the display of retro looking restored chairs.

The chairs are up for sale, most of it averaging at $200++

The place sits about 20-25 pax

The tables are for sale too!

ahhh, won't it be nice a similar reading corner like this at home?

the menu is very simple and basic with 2 food items- Bagel and Waffles, but its good enough for me ^^

Bel Mondo - South Italian Cuisine

address: 9,Raffles Boulevard
#01-09, Millenia Walk
tel: 6336 3348

We were Strolling along the stretch of restaurants from Millenia Walk leading to Paulaner.
Our meeting with Bel Mondo was not planned nor expected. It was a casual bump in.
I ordered number 17 listed on the Menu that reads "Linguine with Crabmeat Flambe with Brandy in tomato cream sauce"
Every single word reads Irresistible to me and I just HAD to order it!
The dish came out exactly like I had pictured it to be.
The was generous mass of crabmeat, the sauce was nice with mix of herbs, tomato and cream all mixed in one.
I'm truly satisfied with this order :)
Linguine Al Granchino - $19.00


Mushroom Pizza was ordered to be placed on the table.
It gets a average/fair grading from me.
I like thin crust pizza but the base of this pizza poses a slight difficulty in slicing through.
The portion of Mushroom was inadequate.
Taste wise is ok in a edible term but I would not recommend you to order the pizza here as you can get better ones elsewhere.
Fungi Pizza - $16.00

Tagliatelle Gamberi - $20.00

Calamari Fritti - $12.00


Bel Mondo do not spot the best ambience nor setting, but if you happen to be at Millenia walk for a casual dining with your friends and wanting to opt out of having Japanese Cuisine, you can hop in for a feel good pasta to warm your heart and tummy. But other dishes may be a risk that yoiu are willing to bear

Everything about Everything With Fries

Everything with Fries

Address: 40 Lorong Mambong, Holland Village

Tel: 6463 3741

Lamb Burger
- along with Garlic and herbs fries
+ Coleslaw

The Lamb turned out pretty good as compared to my previous experience at their Joo Chiat Branch (refer to below posting). The fries here are also very well and generously flavored.

Pork Cutlet
- along with Curry Flavored Fries
+ Coleslaw

The pork cutlet although thin, packs in a pretty well flavored package. From the look of the very crispy batter and thin dimension, I was worried that the meat would be dry but surprisingly, the pork cutlet was not dry.
Fries is dosed with gracious amounts of curry powder and curry leaves making it very fragrant and authentic.

One Egg Soup
Their one egg soup here is a Major disappointment unlike the one at their Joo Chiat branch. We wanted to reminisce on the delectable taste of the one egg soup from EWF as we recalled from Joo Chiat branch. So, we ordered one bowl each. Guess what? Really sad. The egg is over fried that u can't even break it apart with a spoon. I had to use a knife. Furthermore, it is too creamy and lacks the layers of taste that the other branch has.

Nutella Tart

It's good. But I would say that there is definitely room for this dish to be twigged and brought to greater heights.
Nutella sauce is drizzled and coating over the chocolate body.
Personally, I was thinking that the taste would be even better if they emulsified nutella into the chocolate body rather than just drizzling it over.
This dish on an overall is ok, but there is lots of room for improvement and creativity to give the taste more depth.
note of caution. Please make sure u order this as a item to be shared by 3-4 people. if you were to eat this yourself, its hard to finish it as it gets Gelad.

overall of this branch:
The setting is pretty pleasant, gives you a casual and relax mood.
The mains here meet up to cafe expectation and can be ordered as lunch or dinner. Love the fries here because it packs a punch and makes sense of its brand name "everything with fries" as indeed, fries becomes a Must Order item here.
Desserts are ok for ordering a portion for an experience sharing but not for traveling all the way down just for it.

Everything with Fries

Address: 458 Joo Chiat Road

Tel: 6345 5034

Hi, we are open daily, take a seat...

I love the white washed walls, black imprints and the crew in faded pink tops which blends well with the interior colors.
I love the simplistic and neat decor.
The ideal setting I would enjoy hanging out with my friends over a light dinner.

My friend strongly recommended the 1 egg soup.
So here it is...

The name of it is simple and direct.
But the complexity and perplexity of it bewildered us.
All of us took time and sip after sip of the soup to try and figure out the ingredients. However, none of us, including myself, managed to decipher the recipe behind it.
We decided to leave it a mystery so that it would continue to excite us if we were to return some other day and order it again.

The egg batter was nicely mixed and fried.
Gives the soup a different texture and adding some fun to the tasting experience.
Oh man, my taste buds and tongue were pretty pleased and had fun with this dish.
My stomach is calling to join in the fun with the growls and pangs.

Our main dishes were served..
Creamy Salmon in a cup
- along with Salt& Vinegar flavored fries

I didn't try out this dish because my friends that tried it commented that It was salty and really creamy. In a negative tint. I decided to give it a pass as neither of the comments were inviting and nor was the look of it.
The portion was small and was really like soup with a few chunks of salmon in it. Full stop.
I felt bad for my friend knowing that this would not fill the stomach. It was also a heartache thinking of the price tagged to the taste and portion of it.

I was keeping my fingers crossed for my dish...
Lamb Burger
- along with sour cream and onion flavored fries

was served before me.
Even though the colors of this dish look pretty decent,
the burger patty was a tad dry. The lamb's smell was evident.
The sauce was tomato and cheese. Not mastery/thought put in it. Even a kid can piece this dish together.
Ok.. I was dissapointed. Although the food can be swallowed down, but I did not savor it.
There is no depth and no effort placed in the dishes.

Ham and cheese Sandwich.
This dish came out Safe.
Decent tasting.
But again, how wrong can ham and cheese go?

I wanted to try out the Nutella tart which many had raved about, but missed it out in the end.

overall of this branch:
I love the decor, I would love to have a cuppa coffee on a weekend afternoon and relaxing here chatting with my friends.
The food was below expectation. Even though they had the concept of flavored fries, they did not master it or bring out the essence of it.
The fries were ordinary. If I was to chose, I would actually chose MacDonald's fries over this.
In all due fairness, the reviews I had read about everything with fries is mainly on their cakes and tarts.
I MAY come back again to try out their tarts and Definitely the 1 Egg soup. But not the mains.

disclaimer: food is very subjective to individual preferences. My reviews are my thoughts on my personal experience. Not meant to deliberately credit or discredit any entity.

================================
Yyn's overall conclusion on both the EWF:
- Holland Village Branch
Mains is good and worth ordering.
Soup is very different and way below the standard.
Fries is tasty

- Joo Chiat branch
Mains are not worth the price, would rather east at a nearby eatery and skip ordering the main here
Soup is FABULOUS!
Fries is not flavored enough and thus tastes very plain Jane.

The difference in food tastes and standards between both branches are not maintained to be same. No Quality Check. Over-rated. Patrons of EWF should not have high expectations but maintain it as being a Cafe and serving Cafe standard food.