July 24th, 2010 §
After a busy day at work, I just want to stone amidst lush greenary and enjoy a simple dinner. I’ve been visiting this place quite often these days. Ever been to a garden in a cafe somewhere in China Square Central? Gotta thank 24seven for the tasting session which brought me to Eden Sanctuary. You can find blog entries about our exclusive Rainbow Cuisine tasting over at Diana, Amanda, Calvin, Justin and Veron’s blog. I gotta miss that entry because Chuck screwed up again. Oh Chuck. Why.
Forget Chuck. Since I’m fast becoming a regular here, it is more appropriate for me to share on some of the staple dishes here which you can find on the menu! Unlike other conventional cafes, stepping into Eden Sanctuary really really feels like home. Everyone is well taken of at Chef Clement’s cosy dining room.
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Dinner last night started with the Tomato Basil Tartlet ($7.90). Though it looked like a typical canapé, it actually tasted better than what I had at Restaurant Week. Love the crispy savoury crust filled with a tomato based sauce on the inside. Magic of this finger delight is the fresh basil leave hidden beneath the layer of cheese.
These savoury tartlets are such delicate sweethearts. Complementary flavours of tomato, cheese, fennel, herbs and especially the refreshing tones of a lucky basil leave perked me up for what’s coming up!
Creamless Homestyle Pumpkin Soup ($4.00)
I wish mom was here. She always complains about cooking pumpkins. Well, I’ve tried creamy pumpkin soups and it wasn’t spectacular. So I’m particularly pleased with Eden Sanctuary’s clear broth version with herbs. I enjoyed every spoonful of pumpkin bumps, shreds or chucks. The texture is so inconsistently attractive, I’m hating how I am polishing off the bowl in just 5 minutes. Argh. It’s hard to flirt with a bowl of soup. They don’t last very long.
Fan of Shakespeare? I am especially when it come to his timeless tales of love and human fallacy. Remember Sir Andrew in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night who tried desperate to flirt with a maiden by the name of Maria and failed terrible? It is he who said “I am a great eater of beef, and I believe that does harm to my wit”. Well, he’s a meathead if he has never tried Balsamic Strawberry Beef ($9.90). Look at that chuck of wonderment.
Oops Sir Andrew, pardon me. Nay you wouldn’t enjoy this if you don’t fancy an unconventional twist to your meat. I had mine at medium with a slight tarty. sourish pinch on the tongue. It was lovely. Accompanied with a drizzle of savoury sauce, the strawberries set off a fruity refinement to an otherwise typical piece of meat.
I’m sorry sweethearts. When I get started on literature, I can’t stop. So in Twelfth Night, Shakespeare takes a amusing approach to expose the ways humans fall prey to pride, vanity and self-deception. So we are all fools of our own deception. I felt like a simpleton fool just like Sir Andrew more often than not. Fools that are easily pleased, easily contented, easily amused. So tell me. Is that good or bad?
Nevertheless, perhaps there’s really nothing to hide especially after savouring the next dish at Eden Sanctuary. I could smell it as Chef Clement was on his way to my table. Ginger Leek Peanut Butter Fish ($6.90). Odd combination isn’t it? But trust me. You should really try this. There’s just something graceful and clever about this down-to-earth dish that screams simplicity.
Each mouthful is a blast of flavours from the distinct taste of ginger, leek and peanut butter. Yet surprisingly with such powerful elements, I could still taste the flaky fishy fish tucked under the brownish garb! No wonder Chef Clement said that a fish should taste like a fish no matter how it is prepared. You get that? Say bye bye to tasteless meat!
By the way, it’s a must to get a pot of floral tea to accompany these delicate creations. It goes perfectly well with the food here. All in all, Eden Sanctuary offers simple, natural and light on the tummy meals. A week ago I was here for lunch and the Creamless Carbonara Pasta was awesome! Yup CREAMLESS! I could successfully finish a slice of cheese cake after that! Ah ah ah, nothing to be guilty about because Chef Clement made sure that it’s a balanced, healthy meal. I’m just a simply fool at Eden Sanctuary waiting for the next serving of his witty creation.
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Eden Sanctuary Floral Cafe
18 Cross Street #01-16
China Square Central
Tel : 6224 2298
Remember to call for reservations!
November 8th, 2009 §
Ma always craves for stuff to go with coffee.
One really hot and humid afternoon, pa brought us to a new place for delicious, hand-made baked cakes/pastries. Apparently all of their baked goodies are prepared fresh daily.
They really have a huge variety of delicious cakes and pastries!
Oh NO! We are simply spoilt for choice!
Dad had to bug us to hurry up because he wants to go home to catch a golf game on TV. So we settled for the most attractive looking cake. The Cocoa Ivory! RM68 is pretty decent for a cake this pretty!
There’s this thing about chocolate cakes. They are so sinfully tasty. But I like cakes that are not so sweet and most cakes are laden with sugar! Thus I must say that Cocoa Ivory is a confectionery delight because it gives a lighter take on chocolate. Mm and the cocoa powder coating did made a huge difference to the yummy factor. Fantastic texture and taste. This is the kind of cake that makes me go “ummmmm”.
If you’re not a chocolate fan or you prefer something unique, no worries. There are other quirky cakes here such as Cendol Sago, Lemon Aloe Vera and Raspberry Yoghurt!
I find that the variety of cakes here beats those popular outlets such as Lavender or Seasons. They are more creative. But Taman Gaya is not very near JB city center. Here’s how to get there.
Beside cakes & pastries, Moonlight Cake House also serve local food and western food ie. Chicken Chop, Lamb Ribs and Nasi Lemak. I haven’t tried them though. Tell me about it if you’ve tried!
Mm. Who would like a slice of cake?
Moonlight Cake House
No.1, Jalan Gaya 25,
Taman Gaya
81800 Ulu Tiram,
Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Tel:07-8612171
October 17th, 2009 §
After our morning self-tour to the Hong Kong bird and flower market, we decided to have a typical Hong Kong breakfast at a Char Chan Teng. Ah dining at Char Chan Teng is an important part of Hong Kong’s culture as noted in many Hong Kong movies and TV dramas. Well Char Chan Teng is a traditional Hong Kong cafe that has this generic look. Even traditional cafes in Macau looks the same!
Since there are so many Char Chan Tengs around and we can’t decide which one to patron, what we did was we looked for a Char Chan Teng crowded with locals. Easy theory that work all the time! So we popped into a Char Chan Teng near Bird Market because there were many uncles with their birds (in cages of course) having breakfast! As expected, the food turned out to be really good. Here’s what we had at this Char Chan Teng.
That’s a Beef Chow fun, one of Hong Kong Char Chan Teng’s classics. Super nice! It has beef, hefen (wide rice noodles) and bean sprouts. Apparently all good chefs in Hong Kong should know how to whip up a good beef chow fun. The rice noodles is broad, elastic and a bit chewy.
Then we had a pork chop bun. The meat is quite tender but it was a little greasy. lol. The tomatoes were cold and freshly cut! Check out the sinful dollops of mayonnaise. This actually tasted better than the one we had in Macau.
When we’re in a Char Chan Teng, we cannot resists ordering the pineapple bun aka bo lo pau (???). Guess we watched too much Cantonese drama. This bun is so ‘familiar’ to us but we were pretty shocked when we found no pineapple in it.
Although bo lo pau is known as “pineapple bun”, it actually contains no pineapple! It’s “pineapple bun” because of its golden-brown sugary top crust which looks like a pineapple. Interesting.
The crusty top of the bo lo pau is made of sugar, eggs, flour, and lard. It’s kinda crunchy like sugar cookies. Sweet!
To yum cha (a term in Cantonese which means “drinking tea”), we had a quirky drink called Yuen yong (??), which is a mix of milk tea with coffee. It can be served hot or cold. I had the hot one while Mr.Ong had the cold one. We both prefer the cold version.
Well, most of the Char Chan Tengs offer the same fare. They normally have set meals and there are various sets throughout the day for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. Their price is extremely affordable. We spent only S$12!
Dining at a Char Chan Teng is an eat-and-go experience. Well don’t expect service to be like a big restaurant. Char Chan Tengs are usually small and very busy. Be prepared to share a table with strangers, waiters yelling orders over your head or get the occasional nudge as people try to move about!
August 17th, 2009 §
This is where we had baby’s birthday dinner! It’s a small cosy bistro with soft lighting and English country-style furnishing.
See that bunch of people at that corner? They were making alot of noise! OMG! Karen was apologetic and treat us a free dessert when we finished our meal! Lychee sorbet! Nice! We were actually wondering if we should get 2 desserts. But decided to get only one. Happy to get both in the end!
In all, we ordered Soup of the Day ($4.50), Escargot with White Wine Sauce ($8.90), Kurobuta Pork Neck Steak ($26.90), Lamb Shoulder Rack ($28.90) and Caramelised Pear with Vanilla Ice Cream ($8). I would say it was just nice for 2 hungry people.
We shared the soup as the serving was quite big! Comes with nicely done garlic bread.
The soup was darn good. Up next was our appetizer! Escargots with White Wine Sauce! MUST TRY. When it came, we were like “oh quite small ah”. But we were wrong! The serving is perfect for 2! Too much cream sauce will make our tastebuds lazy to taste everything else that comes after.
As you can see the escargots were all big and juicy! Goes well with the white wine sauce. We can actually taste the wine along with the herbs in the creamy white sauce. Perfect dip for the garlic bread.
Baby got himself the Kurobuta Pork Neck Steak! The meat was so tender and flavoursome! It was a boneless, well muscled and very flavorful cut of meat! I can’t get enough of the salad that comes with it. Love rocket leaves with light vinegar dressing!
My main course is the Lamb Shoulder Racks! MMM. TASTY! Surprisingly, there wasn’t much gelatin in the shoulder. It was a little chewy but deeply flavorful, seasoned with herbs. Comes with marsh potatoes and cucumbers+mushrooms salad. Also the mint sauce was specially made by the kitchen! No wonder it tasted quite unique.
As for dessert, the warm caramelized pears paired up brilliantly with the vanilla ice cream. This is a splendid dish to savor.
Lychee sorbet was on the house. We love restaurants that are generous! :)
Bistro One Zero Three serves good food at decent prices! Try
Bistro One Zero Three
103 Pasir Panjang Road
Singapore 118531
Tel: 6476 6373
Tues-Fri 11.30am-3pm/6-9.30pm,
Sat 6-9.30pm only