Mooncake Galore 2011

Mooncake Galore 2011

This is the last entry for mooncakes 2011 and is a very nice summary for it is a gathering with our foodie friends. Like last year, each pair of us decided to bring a box of mooncakes and under the warm lighting with tea, we savour them all.


White Lotus Paste with Double Yolk and Melon Seeds from Regent Hotel (Courtesy of Phoebe and Chloe from The Food Chapter)
Huge egg yolks with smooth lotus paste and I must say that I liked the contrast between the melon seeds and lotus paste.


Regent mooncake order form 2011



Mandarin Orchard's Mixed Nuts and Jamón ibérico (五仁) mooncake was contributed by Yuan and myself. The reason for selecting this mooncake was because it is our favourite among the mooncakes which we reviewed for 2011. According to a source who is working in the F&B industry, Mandarin Orchard is one of the five hotels in Singapore which still hand-crafts and bakes their mooncake in house.


Mandarin Orchard mooncake order form 2011

Eater Palace (食珍)'s Teochew moon cake (Yam with Salted Egg Yolk and Yam with Pumpkin, Courtesy of Daniel and Lay Sian from Memoirs of Food).
I kind of liked the combination of yam and pumpkin though it is a little oily for my liking.


Jewels Artisan Chocolate Mini Assorted Snowskin Mooncake (Courtesy of Charlene and Zhi Hao from missuschewy).
As usual, the Champagne Truffle is a crowd pleaser and Zhi Hao just gets hook onto the Salted Caramel Snowskin.


Jewels Artisan Chocolate mooncake order form 2011
At the end of the day, the taste of the mooncakes is secondary, what's important is the friendship and to share it with family and friends during Mid Autumn Festival. Looking forward to Mooncake Galore 2012.


The foodies as usual with their big smiles. You may view their reviews here:
The Food Chapter
Memoirs of Food
Missuschewy

[ ... ]

Mooncake Galore 2010

Mooncake Galore 2010

10 boxes of mooncakes, 4 hours of laughter, clicking & chats with great tea and homemade wantons. Our very own mooncake buffet @ Daniel's house...

It may sound like an impossible task to stomach so much variety of mooncakes but we did it at ease in an extremely happy mood. Reason being, the great company and warm hospitality.

Courtesy of Charlene from Foodoshoot


White Lotus Seed Paste with Double Yolk
This is not the first time we have eaten Shangri-la mooncakes and no doubt, it is considered one of the better ones available in the market. Earlier on, we have blogged about their Plain White Lotus Seed Paste and naturally the presence of the egg yolks make it more moist.


Shangri-la Mooncake 2010 Order Form


Baked Mooncake with Single Yolk and White Lotus Paste
Flatten egg yolk to ensure that it can be felt in every part of the mooncake and the main difference between this and Shangri-la's lies in the degree of sweetness. Overall, the skin is slightly more baked with a not so sweet and less sticky lotus paste.


Baked Mooncake with Macadamia Nuts and Low Sugar White Lotus Paste
The favourite among the baked mooncakes. Not only it is generously filled with macadamia nuts, the low sugar white lotus paste is relatively light on the palate.


Mandarin Orchard (former Meritus Mandarin) Mooncake 2010 Order Form
Courtesy of Phoebe from The Food Chapter


Mini Special Egg Custard Mooncake with Egg Yolk
A signature of Xin's Cuisine from Holiday Inn Artium. Chef Cheung Kin Nam's creation returns for the 22nd year. Fans of Hong Kong style's Egg Custard will be curious about this for its creamy moist custard filling wrapped around a salted yolk and baked to golden perfection. The key difference lies in its less buttery crust when compared to The Peninsula's counterparts. In addition, the sprinkle of edible gold flakes gives an elegant touch to the traditional mooncake.


Xin's Cuisine (Holiday Inn Atrium) Mooncake 2010 Order Form
Courtesy of Daniel from Memoirs of Food


留园饭店 (Liu Yuan Restaurant, Hong Kong)
鲜肉月饼 (Fresh Pork Mooncake, if literally translated)
Technically speaking, this is not a mooncake but closer to a 生煎包. Have to admit after eating 1 round of baked mooncakes, this savoury mooncake was so much appreciated till the entire group finished all 4 of them. Doubt this will be available in Singapore as it contains pork so do ask your Hong Kong friends to purchase this for you.

Courtesy of Daniel from Memoirs of Food
This is the reason for organizing the mooncake potluck. We were all curious about the taste of this bum (from Goods of Desire) and hence has gotten Daniel's father to purchase one for us.


If you have eaten Kee Wah, 奇华's mooncake, this bum mooncake tastes exactly the same as their traditional baked mooncake. The mooncake's main selling point lies in the excitement of not knowing which bum one ends up with and to make it even more sought after, pre-ordering is definitely a must if you want to lay your hands on.


The most memorable part of the mooncake? Try reading the label in English and get your friends to guess the type of bum.

Courtesy of Chloe from The Food Chapter


Green Tea Paste with Almond Flakes (yellow), Pumpkin Paste with Chocolate Pearls (green), Red Bean Paste with Melon Seeds (pink) and Black Sesame Paste with White Sesame Seeds (white) from Hotel Intercontinental, Singapore.
In general, the snowskin of all 4 flavours are overwhelmed by the strong infused filling. Of the 4 flavours, Yuan's preference inclined towards the pumpkin paste while the black sesame paste caught my attention. Kudos to the filling but the snowskin falls short in expectation as it was quite tough.


Man Fu Yuan Mooncake 2010 Order Form


Mini Bing Pi Green Tea Paste
Taste is pretty much similar to last year. Consistent with an even prettier packaging. To answer to the comments posted in our previous post, the green tea is infused with lotus paste.


Ritz Carlton Millenia Mooncake Order 2010
Courtesy of Elaine from Divine Essentials


Mini Snow-Skin Mooncake with Dark Chocolate Crunchy Pearl (green)
Mini Snow-Skin Mooncake with Salted Caramel Truffle (pink)
Mini Snow-Skin Mooncake with Champagne Ganache Truffle (white)
Our comments are pretty much similar to our previous post but this time round, we realized that the Salted Caramel Truffle receives more attention from the other 2.


Jewels Artisan Chocolates Mooncake 2010 Order Form
Courtesy of Glenn from Hungry Epicurean


Snowskin Mooncake with Champagne Truffle & Ganache
This has been consistently good and also a perennial favourite year upon year. Comparing with Jewels Artisan Chocolate, Raffles Hotel triumphs in terms of the creamy white lotus paste and perfect snow-skin while the former outwins in terms of the Champagne Truffle.


Raffles Hotel Mooncake 2010 Order form
Courtesy of Zhi Hao from Foodoshoot


(From Front to Back)
Low Sugar Red Beans with Champagne Truffle
Mocha with Bailey's Truffle
Of the 2, our preference inclined more towards the red bean for a lighter taste.


Tung Lok Mooncake 2010 Order Form
Courtesy of Lay Sian from Memoirs of Food



Teochew Crispy Mooncakes with Yam Double Yolk From Zhen Wei
Frankly, we are not a fan of this type of mooncake but judging from the excitement of the group and the smile across everybody's faces when presented with these mooncakes from Zhen Wei. We know that it was the preferred one over Peony Jade's for its crispy filo sheets.


Zhen Wei Mooncake 2010 Order Form
Courtesy of Daniel from Memoirs of Food


The Original Ex-Crown Prince Flaky Teochew "Oor Nee" Mooncake with Single Egg Yolk and Golden Japanese Pumpkin
I guess this needs no more elaboration on how good it is for it is the most talk-about and famous Ex-Crown Prince Teochew "Oor Nee" mooncake.


Peony Jade Mooncake 2010 (Partial) Order Form
Definitely looking forward to the next meet-up. Mooncakes are indeed the nicest when paired with tea and shared with great company.


Guess we need a break from the tonnes of calories loaded for today. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to everybody... 中秋节快乐...

To view fellow bloggers' posts, here they are...
Charlene: Mid Autumn Festival 2010: Mooncake Party!
Phoebe: Of Jade Rabbits and Shooting Suns: Mid Autumn is all about friendship
Daniel: Mid Autumn Festival 2010: Feast with Friends!

[ ... ]

"Live-firing" @ Chef Daniel's Kitchen

"Live-firing" @ Chef Daniel's Kitchen

Cake hunting has slowed down, backlogs start to accumulate and tonnes of photos to be post-processed. July has been a busy month but in a positive manner.

What makes is busy and pleasant is to meet up with good-old friends and one of the group is the bubbly bunch of foodies.

Organized by Harris and Glenn within a week, this is not only to catch up with the other foodies but also a farewell lunch for Loraine. If you have followed her blog, you will know that she has migrated to Netherlands.

Ok, back to the food topic... Hmm... $10.50 nett for a set lunch sounds good for gatherings and defnitely minimizes hassle when the bill comes. Rooftop dining gives the extra value-add.


High ceiling with earth tones, the first thing that strikes you as you enter the restaurant is its generous space. The spaciousness comes through the clever use of glass panels, allowing the restaurant to be well-illuminated with nautral lighting.

Nature is another feature since the rooftop is decorated with flora and fauna, exuding a mix of contemporary and resort atmosphere.

The set lunch comes with a bowl of soup, free-flow bread, a main course of your choice and desserts.


Yuan settled with the Grilled Beef Burger which he felt was very moist with resemblance of a bolognese. Being a carnivore, Yuan felt that the patty has more fillers than meat.


As for Fish & Chips, I thought it was average. On the positive note, it was not so oily.


Dessert of the day is a combination of raspberry mousse and vanilla sponge, providing a sweet and slight tangy note.

Pardon for the lack of description but in such outings, it is always the laughter, the conversations and the clicking of cameras that leave a deeper impression. Ultimately, a meal does not need to taste fantastically good when it is coupled with a lovely bunch of diners to make it memorable.


The Hungry-Trotting Couple (Loraine) - Chef Daniel's Kitchen: a fun, fun food bloggers' outing
HungryEpicurean (Glenn)
For the love of ...calories and weighing scales (Phoebe & Chloe) - Bounce by Chef Daniel at Illuma, Bugis
Dot in a box (Dorothy)
Foodoshoot (Charlene) - Chef Daniel’s Kitchen: Food Bloggers’ Lunch
Memoirs of Food (Daniel & Lay Sian)
The simplest aphrodisiac (Harris)

Chef Daniel's Kitchen
201 Victoria Street
#07-02/03 Illuma @ Bugis
Singapore 188067
Tel: 6509 9888

Operating hours: 11am - 11pm
Website

[ ... ]

Blogger meet-up @ The Lobby Lounge

Blogger meet-up @ The Lobby Lounge

Met up with my regular foodies friends, Daniel, Harris, Kaelyn and Phoebe; and let me have a disclaimer before I blabber my way through. I don't usually elaborate the cakes we have during blogger outings as
- first, it is not accurate since we only have several mouthfuls. Tasting and eating the entire thing is a different affair;
- second, with great company, food will naturally taste good so to a certain extent I do have my reluctance to blog about outings. Do take my comments with a pinch of salt.

Personally, I haven't been a huge fan of Marriott as my first encounter with their chocolate orange cake 3 years ago was disappointing, the cake loaf was dense and dry. Subsequently, I visited Marriott cafe for a buffet dinner with my colleagues and it didn't impress either, be it the spread nor the desserts. To be honest, if not for this blogger outing, I am not sure when my next visit to Marriott will be.


Among the 7 pastries we had that afternoon, Yuan and I have a favourite in mind and I shall focus my entry on these 2 pastries. My favourite is the same as Kaelyn and Phoebe, the Strawberry Tart ($6.90++). Although Kki's has stayed at the top of my list, what makes Marriott's good in my opinion is the shortcrust base that is meaty core and crisp, crunchy exterior. Kki's strengths lies in the buttery taste which both Yuan and I adore but falls short on its crunchiness when compared to Marriott's version. I find both good so depending on where I am, I am happy with both tarts. For picky tarts eaters like Yuan, his choice is clear between the two.


Lychee Mousse (described to have Lychee Mousse, Kirch, Sponge Finger, contains alcohol, $6.90++) is another favourite among the females and I did point out to Yuan that the thick proportion of sponge and a curd-like lychee mousse is very similar to the cakes we had in KL. Nice refreshing treat but the excessive gelatin makes it ponder to try it a second round.


Opera ($7.90++) turns out to be Yuan's favourite among the entire lot. Often, the opera we had so far were dry with chocolate overshadowing the coffee buttercream but this is moist and evenly layered with the basic requirements of an opera. Each of the layer (i.e. almond sponge cake soaked in coffee syrup, ganache, coffee buttercream and chocolate glaze) are distinctive in taste and the entire combination is moist with a good balance of coffee and chocolate.


The remaining cakes for the afternoon, Rich Chocolate ($5.90++), milk and dark chocolate mousse with a hint of alcohol, a combination that won't go wrong except the missing hazelnut feuilletine


Strawberry Cheese ($5.90++), New York cheese with strawberry glaze


Cherry Michelle ($5.90++), a banana cake taste-alike that is actually chocolate almond cake crumbs with dark cherries


Easter bun ($3++) with either a chocolate egg or hard boiled egg on a danish pastry


One thing to note, the turnover of the cakes was very fast on a Sunday afternoon and this is one of the factors that (I would say) determine how good and popular the pastries are. With fast turnover, the cakes are ensured fresh at all times. Should your favourite cake be missing in the shelf, just check with the staff, considering how fast they replenish their cakes.

28 April 10: Called up the hotel to ask about their evening promotion. They have a 25% discount daily from 7pm to 9pm.


The Pastry Shop
Marriott Hotel
320 Orchard Road
Singapore 238865
Tel: 6831 4551

Operating hours for The Lobby Lounge,
7am to 1am (Last order at 12.45am, daily)

The Pastry Shop opens daily from 7.00am – 9.00pm
Website

[ ... ]

BLIC Blogger Outing

BLIC Blogger Outing

Ice-cream parlours are making appearance at every part of Singapore. Thus, in order to outshine the rest, it must be something very outstanding. For instance, Häagen-Dazs has been known for its rich and creamy texture while Ben and Jerry for its chunky filling. For homemade ice-cream, there are a few well-known ones such as Island Creamery, U.d.d.e.r.s, Tom's Palette, Ice-cream gallery, etc; each with distinctive flavours and texture.


Making its debut appearance in the heart of Tampines, Ben and Larry decide to share their creations to all the foodies out there. Since the name resembles a particular ice-cream company, they called themselves BLIC aka Ben and Larry Ice Cream. According to Ben (co owner of the store), they chose the location due to rental as well as the lack of good ice cream palours in the east.


Invited by Ben, Harris brought the whole gang down to check out this newly opened ice cream parlour in Tampines.


Here we see the bloggers totally indulged and totally focused on the ice cream. So what did we eventually settled on?


Fen has always been a fan of lychee-flavoured desserts and she made no exception with her choice. So far, her favourite has been the Lychee Martini from Seventh Heaven while the version U.d.d.e.r.s offers was too icy to her liking. Rose and Lychee from Tom's Palette didn't leave much impression as their other flavours are awesome. For Blic's version, Fen actually likes it since the lychee is strong enough and the texture is acceptable. However, I am one that hates mint, thus associate it with the mint sauce that is served in Indian stalls.


I have a liking for rum and raisin and unlike other rum and raisin ice-cream, this one has additional rum-soaked raisins mixed in before serving to provide the additional punch. Overall, the ice cream is slightly on the sweet side with slight tint of rum taste.


The bloggers weren't contented until they tried all the flavours, despite the amount of bowls, we went on.


Larry prepared tiramisu which is presently still at the R&D stage. This isn't really a tiramisu as it replaces the mascarpone layer with their in-house Tiramisu ice-cream. The liquor and ice-cream made it similar to the taste of their rum and raisin except with the addition of cocoa powder. To Fen, since these tiramisu weren't kept overnight, the sponge fingers were pretty dry and rough. Moreover, the goodness of a tiramisu weren't felt due to the absence of the mascarpone layer, closer to a mudpie (IOHO).

Overall, the texture of the ice-cream varies depending on the flavour and special mention to the Baileys, Double Chocolate and Green Tea since the texture were not compromised and its flavour is strong enough to appeal. However, there are some flavours such as the Vanilla Bean and Bird Nest with Almond are icy and coarse. Well, Blic is trying to improve their ice-cream and are experimenting different waffle recipes. Give them some time, enthusiasm and passion often bring a cafe to a different level.


Before signing off, we would like to thank Ben and Larry for their invite to this ice cream tasting season as well as our organiser, Harris.

Blic Ice-Cream Cafe
Blk 802 Tampines Ave 4
#01-23
Singapore 520802
Tel: 6786 0860
http://blic-sg.blogspot.com/

[ ... ]