Tom's Palette

Tom's Palette

Local ice-cream parlours have been making their appearance to introduce the next wave of ice-cream flavours and Tom's Palette makes no exception, delighting almost everybody who has dropped by their humble ice-cream outlet.

Opened since October 2005, Tom's Palette introduces ice-cream with a different approach, using basic ingredients such as cream, milk, sugar and eggs without stabilisers and artificial flavouring. The overall effect is smooth (despite having less than 10% sugar content) and overpowering with various flavours.

Don't underestimate what is offered at Tom's Palette. Through suggestions, experimentation and surveys, Chronos and Eunice are proud to present 65 flavours (available for sale) and many more of which, some are beyond imagination such as chilli chocolate, wasabi lime and seaweed. In a way, some of these inspirations come from opinions and feedbacks from various walks of life. Check out the amount of post-it messages on their walls.

In short, don't give Tom's Palette a miss when you have a craving for ice-cream. Moreover, they are at such an affordable price.

Many thanks to Eunice and Chronos for sharing their joy, frustrations and inspirations with us. It was indeed an eye-opener for us when they introduce the various flavours they have tried making it, their expectation of how the flavour should turn out, the difficulties faced for each ingredient used and many more. In addition, Chronos told us about his long term wish about incorporating ice-cream with TCM and we wish him all the best in his R&D. Apart from the flavours, they are innovative when it comes to ice-cream cakes design.

Oh did I miss out of their cheese waffles?

Yea, these whole-meal waffles are going to ditch the misconception of whole-meal = rough texture.
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Fen's comments

With a wide selection of ice-cream with varying degree of sweetness, alcohol content and flavours, there is no excuse one will not find the flavour he/she wants. The niche Tom's Palette has is the constant introduction of new flavours and the its customization.

Got to try a few flavours and here are some that leaves a deep impression:-
Chocolate - definitely a must-try, rich and velvetly smooth; sounds boring? Check with Chronos and Eunice what are the surprisingly combination they can customize for you.

"Nameless? alcoholic" (they have not decided a name for this new flavour) is a combination of pear, dates and brandy. Brandy in ice-cream gives a very fragrant after-taste unlike the bitter-aftertaste of rum (rum and raisins) and stout (chocolate stout). Moreover, the use of pear makes it extremely refreshing.

Rosemary & apple - my favourite for its rich apple taste but people who are not used to rosemary will find the spice taste disturbing. The tolerably smooth and naturally sweet ice-cream has appealed to my family pretty well.

Summer berries - a combination of blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries, amazingly refreshing without being overly sour. However, daddy felt that the use of 4 berries fail to bring out the goodness of individual fruit so he prefers a pure strawberry ice-cream. On the other hand, this was so well-liked by my mother and sister.

Definitely going back for more and my family are keen to try more of their flavours.
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Yuan's comments

This is really the place for the adventurous. Fancy eating chocolate ice cream with chili or adding rosemary into ice cream? Further their usage of cinnamon and vanilla beans are quite extreme till it becomes a little spicy. Apart from spice, another ingredient which is commonly used in Tom palette’s ice cream is alcohol. Brandy, Stout and Rum. Even my usual favorite, the rum and raisin tasted too strong for my liking.

Anyway, I strongly recommend this place if you like spice, alcohol or have a gut for extreme tastes. However if you are those conventional sort, do give their chocolate ice cream a shot. It has this rich and creamy bitter sweet taste which will curb your chocolate craving.
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Tom's Palette
100 Beach Road
#01-25
Shaw Tower
Singapore 189702
Tel: 6296 5239

Operating Hours:
12pm - 9.30pm (Mon to Thurs)
12pm - 10.00pm (Fri and Sat)
(Closed on Sun)
http://www.tomspalette.com.sg/

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International buffet at Traders Hotel, Singapore

International buffet at Traders Hotel, Singapore

Recommended by my colleague, we have decided to drop by Cafe Biz @ Traders Hotel to enjoy a spread of international good food. Located behind Tanglin Mall, I was indeed surprised by the buffet this hotel offers.

Cafe Biz is just located near the main lobby of the hotel so one won't missed it. The open concept and high ceiling adopted by the restaurant provides the space and ambience for people to dine, be it couple, family or friends.

The spread at the buffet bar was indeed impressive and our stomachs were rumbling while taking the pictures. The oysters offered by the hotel is no doubt huge but not as sweet as the ones I had at Oscars @ Conrad Hotel. In fact, the latter served 3 types of oysters with them shuckled on the spot.

For seafood lovers, one would not want to miss out this part of the buffet and we can tell that the baby lobsters were pretty popular among the Saturday crowd. Don't worry, the staff replenished the food fast.

The selection of sushi is pretty decent but sashimi lovers will be disappointed as Cafe Biz only have salmon sashimi. As for the sushi, the rice is not dry while the sashimi is soft and springy.

The appetitizers offered at Cafe Biz is pretty decent with selection ranging from fresh assorted vegetables, salads, assorted cheese, gado gado, etc.

Freshly baked bread with garlic butter dressing and the option to toast the bread is available at the buffet too

The selection of savoury is worth mentioning as it has a good mix of western, chinese and italian dishes. Apart from the ones shown on the picture, the following were also available at the buffet,
- Whole baked salmon and pizzas
- Grilled king prawns and beef satays, freshly bbq-ed to diners' delight
- Wanton soup with thin, silky skin and spicy beef noodles, prepared upon customers' request
- Naans with fish and chicken tikka to add alittle spice
- Friendly knife-welding passadors moving around the tables, carving the succulent lamb, beef, grilled pineapple, midjoints and sausages from large skewers onto your plates.

As shown in the photo, starting from the left: Seafood fried rice, Hong Kong Kai Lan, Braised Pork Belly, Work fried seafood with sweet peas and carrot, Chilli crabs

A closer look at their dishes...
Left: Seared striploin on potato with shallot brasing jus
Right: Baked Oyster with thai sweet chilli mayo
Bottom: Lamb shanks

Apart from that, dim sum lovers would not want to miss out their Crystal Prawn Dumpling ("Har Kow")...

As usual, the focus of the blog is always the desserts and desserts lovers will be happy to know that the array of desserts are served cold as they are sitting on top of a chilled platform.

Some desserts that are worth mentioning were the matcha pudding, the durian pengat and the refreshing white fungus with red dates. Surprisingly, Yuan like the Carrot Orange with Yoghurt Cake which comes with a layer of hazelnut praline and a strong scent of cinnamon.

Tiramisu disappointed alittle as it was non-alcoholic but nevertheless, the soft finger sponge and the light mascarpone cheese is worth a try.

The Passion cheese cake was something different as the sourish tint came from the middle slice of passionfruit jelly. The overall combination was slightly sweet with a hint of sourishness. Just right for everybody's liking and did I mention that the raspberry macaron shells were good. Yea, it is a pity that Traders Hotel do not have a bakery shop but according to the F&B manager, they are looking for one.

Finally, in all buffets, the chocolate fondue is one that everybody won't miss. To our delight, the chocolate was rich enough and not overly sweet and it was no surprise I was slurping their chocolate till I was so bloated for the evening.

All in all, the selection of food available at this buffet impressed us for the evening and no doubt, it is worth to mention to buffet lovers, particularly people who likes prawns and savoury food. All the dishes were served warm under hot plates and the service provided by Cafe Biz was good.

Last but not least, my heartfelt thanks to the F&B manager of Traders Hotel, Ms Tan and the assistant Cafe Biz manager, Mr. Yap for them to accommodate us with our phototaking request.

For those who are curious about their existing promotions, here are the information:-
50% discount on buffet lunch (Mon to Fri only)
30% discount on buffet dinner (Mon to Fri only)
Valid till 28 Feb 09

UOB 2 for 1 promotion & “Value Buffet campaign” for April to June 09
1 adult dines free for every 2 paying adults
Buffet Dinner (Mon to Thurs)
Buffet Lunch & Brunch (Mon to Sun)
Valid for Feb to June 09.

Buffet dinner on Saturday costs $50++ with only one discount per bill, per reservation.

Traders Hotel, Singapore
1A Cuscaden Road
Singapore 249716
Tel: 6831 4374
Website of Cafe Biz

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Chocolate Banana from Awfully Chocolate

Chocolate Banana from Awfully Chocolate

When chocolate fudge cakes are concerned, most will not missed out the existence of Awfully Chocolate. When Awfully Chocolate made its first appearance in Singapore, people are pretty skeptical about a cake shop with no display of cakes and it selling only 4 products (3 types of fudge cakes and chocolate ice-cream). Truly indeed, it has become so successful that with the amount of branches round Singapore, it has made chocolate fudge cakes pretty accessible to us without having to travel to each corner of Singapore.

I have always been curious about the Chocolate Banana from Awfully Chocolate as it seems to be more popular than their All Chocolate. Whenever I make a phone reservation at around 3pm for a cake to pick up after work, Chocolate Banana has never fail to run out. Finally say my hands on this and I just make my comments short and sweet.

The main difference between All Chocolate and Chocolate Banana is the texture. As the latter has more cake and fudge content, making it soft and springy, Chocolate Banana is chewy and adopts a kueh-like texture. It is also less sweet when compared to All Chocolate and the general feedback I received is that this is definitely the choice if you like the combination of chocolate-banana. For me, All Chocolate with 5% reduction in sugar is the way to go.

To Yuan, this was a highly anticipated cake given the high number of recommendations. In fact the scent which came from the cake made him crave for it along the MRT ride. The first bite was disappointing and he is trying hard to convince himself that this is one of the best chocolate banana cakes during subsequent bites. In his opinion, this tasted like the Banana Ball fritter (Jumput Jumput) except that it was not fried. It was more kueh-like rather than cake like. The banana totally outshines the chocolate. Yuan probably won’t recommend this cake unless you love Jumput Jumput.

Anyway, a 6-inch cake will cost $28.20 while a 8-inch will be $56.40.

Awfully Chocolate (Republic Plaza)
9 Raffles Place
#01-16
Singapore 048619
Tel: 6535 6593

Operating hours - 10:30am to 7pm (Closed on Weekends and public holidays)
http://www.awfullychocolate.com/

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No. 12 Lychee Martini Cake from Pine Garden's Cake

No. 12 Lychee Martini Cake from Pine Garden's Cake

For people who frequent Ang Mo Kio, Pine Garden's will be one place where people will recommend their Blackforest. Well, it is ranked together with major names, such as Mezza9, Checkers Deli, Secret Recipe, Sweet Secrets and Balmoral Bakery, in the Sunday Times on September 5, 2004.

Despite trying several cakes from Pine Garden's, I have never been to the shop since the cakes were bought back by daddy.

Apart from the Blackforest, Lychee Martini Cake was also mentioned in the Sunday Times, 50 Yummiest Cakes. The cakes available at Pine Garden's would stir childhood memories for its cake sponge and buttercream. Having ate so many mousse cakes, one will appreciate the simplicity of this combination and to be inspire by the cocktail, this is definitely something very unique.

Among the layers of vanilla sponge, the interlocking cream is flavoured with lychee and a slight tint of alchohol. Apart from that, bits of lychee provides the extra crunch and a refreshing after-taste. The best part is that a good slice of this only costs $2.40.

The combination of chocolate with orange zest is a safe one and in this case, the chocolate portion of this cake is surprisingly strong to complement the intense orange fragrance. The overall taste, though alittle sweet but is neutral enough to create a liking to the majority.

The only setback for the cakes at Pine Garden's is the powdery texture of its sponge but its winning factor is that buttercream used is not overly rich nor cloying.

Pine Garden's Cake
Blk 529
Ang Mo Kio Ave 10
#01-2369
Singapore 580529
Tel: 6457 6159

Operating hours - 8:30am to 9:30pm (daily)
http://www.pgcake.com/

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When mad dessertarians celebrate V-day III

When mad dessertarians celebrate V-day III

Yuan actually has a stronger liking for cookies over cakes and macarons so when he passed by Famous Amos on V-day, he felt that he couldn't resist his urge anymore. Since it was Valentine Day, I have decided to reward him for his tender, loving care with his favourite snacks.

Since the small heart tin comes with only 90gm of cookies, a medium heart tin with 190gm of cookies would be a better bet and frankly speaking, these chocolate chip and pecan cookies were so fragrant that Yuan was popping the cookies while taking photos of this.

Guess he likes this the most when the 3 "hearts" are concerned... After munching all the isaphans and cookies in a go, we were pretty sure to give the Isaphans a miss for next year Valentine. Just too sweet and expensive, macarons on its own are way better and cheaper...

By the way, the heart-shaped tin costs $6.50 and UOB cardholders have 15% off for any heart-shaped items purchased on that day. In total, I paid about $12+ for this.

Famous Amos (Cineleisure)
8 Grange Road
#01-08A Cathay Cineleisure Orchard
Tel: 6737 8066
http://famous-amos.com.sg/

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When mad dessertarians celebrate V-day II

When mad dessertarians celebrate V-day II

Since Isaphan is available at Carousel (all the time), I wasn't keen to purchase one for Valentine. When I saw CentrePs' Sweetheart on the UOB bronchure, my curiousity was stirred to find out how our favourite macaron pâtisserie will fare when it comes to isaphan.

Anyway, the pastry chef of CentrePs did not call this an isaphan since this name was originally given by Pierre Herme. Though it was not trademarked, she felt that it would be ordinary if CentrePs follow suit to sell them. Also, her training in France makes her realize some of the popular creations Pierre Herme has were actually old recipes and the combination of lychee and rose makes no exception. Bottom line, most of his desserts are old recipes but he changes alittle to incorporate a comtemporary feel and since these recipes have been well-accepted over the years, it is not surprisingly that taste so good to be true.

According to Kim Boon, there is a story behind this isaphan. This was designed and made by CentrePs pastry chef Steven Ong to woo his ex-girlfriend aka his wife so Kim Boon was confident that this unique heart-shaped macaron is able to melt the hearts of many females. Though Yuan has praised Center Ps macarons on various occasions, he didn’t enjoy this one as much as Macaron L'amour for 2 reasons. namely, the sugary bits that were sprinkled over the shell and the layer of extremely sour raspberry jam in its filling. Although the texture of their macaron shells remain good, the above 2 points made Yuan decide that Canele’s V-day creation was better.

For me, I felt that CentrePs was pretty adventurous with the ingredients used in this creation. Unlike a typical Isaphan with lychee bits and rose macaron shells, this has a layer of sponge with a custardy texture and a thin piece of white chocolate, making it less cloying when compared to Canele's version. So for bakers out there, based on our experience with the Valentine Isaphans, apart from the conventional lychee cream and raspberries, one can consider introducing jam innards, raspberry jelly, sponge cake, custard and white chocolate into Isaphan.

Sweetheart costs $33 nett and it comes with a stalk of red rose.

Centre Ps Pte Ltd
78 Guan Chuan Street
#01-43
Singapore 160078
Tel: 6220 1285
http://www.centre-ps.com/

Operating hours:
10am to 8pm (Mondays to Thursdays)
10am to 9pm (Fridays and Saturdays)
Closed on Sundays

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When mad dessertarians celebrate V-day I

When mad dessertarians celebrate V-day I

Most people will be wondering where will we go on Valentine and we are those who are unwilling to pay the extra for an express meal with limited dinner menu. So far, we have not attempt to look for a place that is special when it comes to food, location and ambience. In fact, the celebration for each year is determined by what we are obsessed with during that point of time.

Since we have been faithfully trying to build our desserts database, most would have guessed what will be published in the next 3 days and yes... Today's entry is none other but Macaron L'amour from Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie.

I have always been curious about trying isaphan from various places but my attempt to find them failed. However, during the Valentine period, pâtisseries and hotels attempt to create their version of the coeur ispahan.

Decided to order this for Yuan but eventually he paid for it ($30+).

Glad he liked it. To him, this rose-flavoured shell with cream and raspberry jam is a simple combination. But yet is one of the best isaphan he have eaten so far. The shell has a strong almond taste and rose scent. Texture wise, slightly chewy but moist due to the filling. The only fault which he found in this isaphan is probably that there was too much cream.

To me, I thought it was too creamy and sweet; and that I didn't like the raspberry jelly which was almost 50% of its innard.

Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie (Shaw Centre)
1 Scotts Road
#01-01A, Shaw Centre
Singapore 228208
Tel: 6738 9020

Operating hours - 11am to 10pm daily
http://www.canele.com.sg/

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Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie ~ Our afterthoughts

Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie ~ Our afterthoughts

If one is a dessert lover, Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie will be definitely on his/her list. Ever since the opening of their 4th branch at Shaw Centre in July 2008, I was tempted to take photos of the "bouquet" of macaron lollipops in their display but have never been able to do so as this branch is always so crowded all the time. This is how successful Canelé is in Singapore.

Named after a famous French pastry, this pâtisserie made its first appearance on September 2004 at Robertson Walk under the arms of the popular Les Amis group of restaurants. The ambience of all four branches are pretty good for couples to have a dessert or 2 but their branches at Shaw Centre and Paragon are very cramp.

Although we have not tried the macarons from big names such as Laduree and Pierre Herme, the macarons available at Canelé has been always one of our favourites.

Unlike hotels and other pâtisseries in Singapore, Canelé aims to provide a designer boutique experience in Singapore. In a way or another, this seems to be Louis Vuitton when it comes to desserts.

If one takes the time to look through their online catalog or their display of cakes, one will be surprised by a wide selection offered by them. Apart from the popular strawberry shortcake, tiramisu and cheesecakes, Canelé do have a fair share of creations with unique combination such as matcha with chestnut, chocolate with salted caramel, raspberries and jam.

Apart from that, it has one of the widest and richest chocolate creations which will leave dessert lovers to come back for more. Truly indeed, the chocolate content of each creation is so rich and the use of salted caramel, alcohol and hazelnut pralines are so memorable that these are often mentioned in press and blogs.

To cater to people with varying taste buds, Canelé also offers a good selection of pastries, chocolate bonbons, ice-cream and crepes. Thus, going to Canelé is never the same as the previous since there are so many things to choose from.

Frankly speaking, my first two visits to Canelé did not impress me and at that time, I thought it was over-hyped and expensive. However, subsequent encounters with Canelé and a privileged encounter with Les Amis's group communications manager, Mr. Raymond Lim changes my impression.

Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie (Shaw Centre)
1 Scotts Road
#01-01A, Shaw Centre
Singapore 228208
Tel: 6738 9020

Operating hours - 11am to 10pm daily
http://www.canele.com.sg/

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Lunching at Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie

Lunching at Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie

Ever since our encounter with expensive poached eggs, I have been curious to find cheaper alternatives to this dish.

Canelé's version of Egg Benedict is the Eggs Florentine ($13.50++) which is basically poached eggs with hollandaise, sautéed spinach, Paris ham on toasted brioche. I really love the presentation of this dish. Unlike the emptiness offered at Choupinette, Canelé has it nicely spread out with a generous serving of salad. Both poached eggs were nicely cooked with runny egg yolks and the introduction of spinach improves the overall taste. However, the amount of vinegar is too much in the hollandaise sauce, making it slightly sour to both our likings and that the texture of the egg white has changed alittle, probably due to excessive use of vinegar.

We had Canelé's carbonara ($13.50++) before and the impression of this was positive to get us to order again. As described, this is served with onion and bacon cream sauce sprinkled with aged Parmesan cheese. The addition of a poached egg makes it very different from a conventional carbonara which gets very cloying after several bites. Moreover, the spaghetti was perfectly cooked with just the right texture softness and that the fragrance of the bacon is so strong and overwhelming.

This is the 3rd time which we have eaten Le Royale and we felt that we needed to update our previous review. The mixture of taste when you bite would be: Chocolate mousse, Caramel, Hazelnut. Just based on the taste of the hazelnut praline, it lacks the crunch. Caramel as readers know, Yuan is not a fan of it and that I am neutral with it. This leaves the winning factor of Le Royale to be the chocolate mousse itself and chocolate mousse of high cocoa content. Overall, it is worth another try but Yuan would preferred to have a greater proportion of their chocolate mousse while me, a creamier and smoother chocolate mousse.

There is definitely an improvement from the last time we had this cake and now I love it so much that I have gladly finished the entire slice on my own. The texture is so much softer than the last time I had. Although the cream is not as light as Rive Gauche and BakerZin, the overall combination is worth mentioning and I would recommend it to Strawberry Shortcake lovers.

However, Yuan felt that apart from the softer texture. it still retains the grainy after-taste. Overall nice but does not really stand out from its rivals.

Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie (Shaw Centre)
1 Scotts Road
#01-01A, Shaw Centre
Singapore 228208
Tel: 6738 9020

Operating hours - 11am to 10pm daily
http://www.canele.com.sg/

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CentrePs ~ an introduction

CentrePs ~ an introduction

Centre Ps, a pâtisserie which started their operations since 2007 is indeed a hidden find. Founded by Chef Steven Ong and Mr. Tan Kim Boon, this pink shop holds lots of desserts which have various combination of flavours beyond one's imagination.

I have visited CentrePs a couple of times and often, I will engage in interesting conversations with Kim Boon about the various creations CentrePs has made and the satisfaction gained when customers give their compliments. This pâtisserie specializes in cupcakes, customized cakes and even supply desserts for hotels and events, thus adopts a very different approach when compared to Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie (somehow or rather, reviewers like to compare the 2).

We have the privilege to talk to the pastry chef who was an apprentice of Chef Steven Ong and got to understand more on what CentrePs gets to offer. If one has browsed through their online menu, you will find it hard to make a choice due to the unique combinations of ingredients used in each petits gateaux. With so many established pâtisseries in Singapore, CentrePs chose the adventurous route to produce something which is not readily available, thus common cakes such as blackforest, tiramisu and strawberry shortcake are not seen in here.

Also, not all the items published on their website is available everyday as CentrePs prides iteself for freshness and that the cakes are not left in the fridge for long to prevent the loss of moisture.

Two bestsellers of CentrePs is none other their macarons and the Grand Cru Royale. What makes CentrePs' macarons good is the chewy shells with a thin layer of sugary crispness. On top of that, the smooth and strongly flavoured buttercream provides a contrasting texture. However, they do not sell the macarons individually but in box of fives ($10) and tens ($18).

For my review on Grand Cru Royale, click here.
However, something interesting which I have learnt from Kim Boon, the highest price a person has ever paid for a 1kg Grand Cru Royale was $1750 for a charity event!!!

Centre Ps Pte Ltd
78 Guan Chuan Street
#01-43
Singapore 160078
Tel: 6220 1285
http://www.centre-ps.com/

Operating hours:
10am to 8pm (Mondays to Thursdays)
10am to 9pm (Fridays and Saturdays)
Closed on Sundays

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