Artichoke Café + Bar

Craving for something a bit more unusual, we decided to have a girls' night out at Artichoke Café + Bar for a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean experience. Hidden at the back of the Sculpture Square on Middle Road, this restaurant is not quite noticeable unless for those who know its existence. For those who have managed to find it, they will find themselves surrounded by walls decorated with chalk drawings and unpolished wooden furniture and rustic metal lamp shields. With both indoor and alfresco dining areas and upbeat jazz music, the ambience was cosy and homey. 

Another first impression of the place was the rather limited choice of food. In fact its drinks menu was at least twice the length of the food menu. They offered about 6-7 different dips, a few appetizers and main courses and a handful of desserts. They were two specials of the night.

The hummus was a flavourful blend of chickpeas, zesty lemon juice and fragrant tahini. The red paprika and the garlic added a contrasting sweetness and a mild kick.

The baba ganoush is a slightly chunky dip made from roasted and mashed eggplant, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. Comparing to the hummus, it was rather bland and had way too much lemon, whose flavour had overpowered the smokiness of the eggplant. The hero of the dish was the pomegranate seeds, which shone like red jewels in the dull-looking spread and released its fruitiness in your mouth.
There was nothing Turkish about the Turkish bread that we ordered. It was slices of white French loaf drizzled with olive oil. Nevertheless we smeared the spread generously on the bread.

Grilled hamoumi cheese turned out to be a winner. Made from a mixture of cow, goat and sheep's milk, the block of cheese stayed firm and springy after cooking. The lightly browned crust was a bit crispy and the interior was gooey and soft. The cherry tomatoes, gem lettuce with sunflower sprouts made up a simple but refreshing salad. 

So far the lamb I have eaten in Singapore has yet to impress me but this slow roast leg of lamb was not bad. The flavours from the herbs were infused into the meat, which was so succulent and tender that it fell of the bone as the fork touched it. 
It was served with some pickled cucumber, carrots and radish and a garlicky sauce. The pickles were very tangy and strangely addictive. The creamy sauce was spicy and failed to complement the rest of the dish.  It was left pretty much untouched.

Recommended by a waiting staff, the pan-fried kingfish was one of the specials. The skin was golden brown and crispy and the fish underneath was tender and delicious and literally melted in my mouth. We only wished the fillet was bigger. 

Attached to the side of the restaurant is a small bakery called Overdough. Sweet treats such as baklava, brownies and tarts can be ordered to be served at Artichoke. This passion fruit meringue had a crunchy and buttery pastry, which was the best part of the dessert. The meringue was not light or fluffy enough and did not have any height. The filling was a bit too thick and sticky and lacked the tangy flavours of the passion fruit.  

Oreo cookie cheesecake block was another mediocre dessert. Kids would have loved it though. 

While most of the food was enjoyable, the portion was quite small. The main courses did not come with any carbohydrate (eg potato) so they were not that filling either. As some bloggers have rightly pointed out, the waiting staff here can improve on their customer service (although there were one or two waitresses who were very friendly and cheerful, including the one who helped us with the group photograph). Although it is claimed to be a Middle-Eastern restaurant, many of the dishes are simply western food with a Middle-Eastern twist such as steak with hibiscus salt and roast lamb with condiments. 
Artichoke is a nice place for an after-work drink or a coffee in a lazy afternoon, less so for a sit-down dinner. 

Artichoke Café + Bar
161 Middle Road

Paul

Since the opening of Paul's Singaporean outlet at Takashimaya, the only item I have tried from them was take-away croissant, which was not nearly enough to satisfy my craving for decent French pastry. 

I wanted to treat myself to a nice breakfast and it was a no-brainer-decision to go to Paul. They have closed off the main dining area so I got a table by the inside the mall. Otherwise it would have been nice to sit by the window with a view of Orchard Road. 

Several breakfast sets were available on the menu, most consisting of French bread or a croissant and a hot drink of your choice, with an option of an additional juice. (And I have to say that having both a cold and a hot drink in the same morning meal is a very French thing.) Waffles, pancakes and full breakfast sets with eggs were also on the menu. Not wishing for anything too heavy, I ordered a Petit Déjeuner Parisien.

My café au lait was smooth and milky. The mellow coffee is nice when you do not feel like something too strong for breakfast. 

Included in the breakfast set was half a loaf of flûte. Although it did not look much to start with, it was actually quite filling! The freshly toasted bread had a golden brown thin crust and a soft and fluffy interior. Topped with the creamy butter and apricot jam, it made a delicious breakfast.

I also brought home a loaf of pain complet. The wholemeal, sourdough bread was aromatic, dense and flavourful. Air bubbles randomly scattered throughout the loaf, giving it a spongy and coarse texture. I made sandwiches with it for lunch and it had kept well for the next few days.

After enjoying the delicious bread from Paul, it will be impossible to go back to having supermarket bread!

PAUL
#03-16/17, Takashimaya Shopping Centre
391 Orchard Road

Salt Grill & Sky Bar by Luke Mangan

When I was still living in Australian I have heard of Luke Mangan and have seen his face on TV numerous times. But Salt Grill in Singapore was the first of his restaurants which I visited. 

Getting to the restaurant itself was quite an experience. We were greeted by the receptionist on 4th floor of ION Orchard, from where a lift exclusively reserved for the restaurant guests took us all the way to 56th floor in less than a minute. After arriving the attentive waiting staff showed us to a table by the window with an unobstructed view of the city.

To start off the dinner, we were offered some complementary bread served with olive oil and some Dukkah, both produced by Luke Mangan and available for purchase. Being the first thing that you taste a restaurant's bread is an indicator of the standard of their food and I was not disappointed. It had a crispy crust and aroma of wheat. Adding both texture and flavour, the coarsely crushed Dukkah spice was a perfect dipping.

Our starter, pan seared scallops, cauliflower purée with dried Serrano ham was delicately presented. The scallops were sweet and succulent and the ham was crispy and salty. This was my favourite dish of the night!

A small cup of cold tomato soup was served as the next course. The vegetable-based soup was a bit thick, sour and bitter. It certainly was not delicious but worked to cleanse the palate. 
My main dish was barramuni with capers, tomato and green beans. The skin of the fish was nicely crisped up and the buttery sauce gave the dish some much-needed acidity. The fish was nice but did not impress me as much as the appetiser. 

At first glance, the ribeye with truffled butter and green beans might not seem much. But the steak was cooked perfectly to medium rare and cameralised on both sides. It was juicy, tender and flavourful even without the butter. It was possibly the best steak I have tried in Singapore. 

The name of our dessert was almost poetic: crème brûlée, a taste of apple. The crème brûlée, filled with vanilla seeds, was surrounded by tiny jewels of green apples and topped with apple sorbet and a thin slice of dried apple. The crème brûlée was soft and creamy and the sorbet was contrastingly sour and icy. It was a refreshing and delicious combination. 

Salt Grill & Sky Bar definitely scores full mark in terms on ambience and service. For me, modern Australian cuisine is all about fresh, good quality (Austrlalian) produce. Here at Salt the traditional cooking technique and simple seasoning have allowed the fresh ingredients to speak for themselves. It is a perfect place for a special occasion or a romantic dinner. 

Salt Grill & Sky Bar
#55-01 & #56-01, ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn

Chezcake Bistro

I cannot decide whether I like or hate night shifts. I like them for the days off in between shifts which feel like mini breaks but the long and unnatural working hours can really drain you out. Since they come with the job I try to make the most of it.
In a post-night shift afternoon I was at Chezcake Bistro with a friend. The place was minimally decorated and had seating for no more than 20. We were the only dine-in patrons and the two waiting staff were very attentive.

There were about 10 different flavours of cheesecakes on display at the counter but a much wide variety can be pre-ordered in advance as whole cakes. They are all baked, as supposed to the ones set with gelatin, according to the waiter.

I ordered the green tea cheesecake with red bean. This Japanese-inspired cake was unbelievably smooth and the green tea flavour really stood out. Red bean is, of course, always a perfect match for green tea. The base was, however, too soft and quite tasteless and would have benefited from more butter.

This is chocolate cheesecake with bailey, one of their alcoholic variety. After a tongue-numbing experience with the alcoholic ice-creams at Udders, I usually steer away from desserts with alcohol (I'd much prefer them on their own!). But the bailey in this cake was not too overwhelming and left a subtle warm after taste in my mouth. I would have liked it more if it was richer with chocolate flavour. 

I got a mango tango for take-away. Same with the other cakes, the texture was incredibly smooth and tangy mango sauce on the top was quite refreshing. 

I was in the mood for tea and pomegranate and raspberry seemed like a good choice for a hot summer afternoon. With a hint of sweetness it was soothing and fruity. The waiter needed no prompt to refill the pot, which was commendable customer service. 

The strawberry milkshake was very much enjoyed by my friend. It was a bit thinner and less creamy than the usual shakes, which meant they probably did not mix in much ice-cream. Depending on whether you are on a diet, it might be a good or a bad thing.  

It took them a while to prepare appetiser, which was served only after we have finished half of our cakes. The Chezcake Special stuffed yam ball with shredded roast duck was deep fried to a golden crust and steaming hot. It was filled with yam purée, finely diced carrot, mushroom and shredded roast duck and topped with mayonnaise and parsley. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the texture was really nice but I failed to taste even the slightest hint of duck.

Personally I prefer rich, dense and flavourful cheesecakes and the ones at Chezcake Bistro were not quite up to the mark for me. The texture was perfectly smooth but they needed more flavour. Some of their savoury dishes are a fushion of western and southeast Asian, such as laksa or tom yam pasta. They also offer an extensive list of hot and cold drinks, tea and wine. Although the cakes were not the best, it was a nice quiet café to spend a relaxing afternoon.

Chezcake Bistro
328 Joo Chiat Road

Pasar Bella

Pasar Bella was recently opened only a few months ago in Bukit Timah and is meant to be the first farmers' market in Singapore. With its distinctive red brick walls and prominent logo, it was very easy to find once we reached the Grandstand shopping mall.

We made our first stop at Huber's Deli for a currey wurst sausage. Wilson said it was different from what he had in Germany, which came without a bun but more sauce. The sausage was flavourful and not too spicy and the bun was warm and crispy. A bit more curry sauce would have made it less dry but it was still very satisfying.

The Cheese Ark was a deli specialising in rare cheese. Giant wheels of cheese were stored in a temperature-controlled cupboard and small cubes of cheese were cut up on the sturdy wooden bench for sampling. Not being an expert in gourmet cheese I felt a bit lost in the shop. There was no descriptions on the variety available and we were rushed to make our selection after a quick tasting without any advise from the shop owner.
Regardless of the poor customer service, our mini cheese platter was delicious. The Après-Soleil cheese was creamy and sweet with a hint of acidity. The Emmental swiss cheese was more savoury, nutty and harder in texture. Wine, nuts, dried fruits and crackings could be added to the cheese platter too. 

Oceans of Seafood had a huge display of lobsters, mussels and oysters which were prepared and served on the spot. Sashima and sushi were also on the menu. We were not in the mood to splurge on seafood so we ordered half a kilo of clams to try. The buttery sauce was nice and fragrant but the clams were nothing out of ordinary. 

French crêpe with lemon, butter and sugar was from Le Patio got us reminiscing about our time in Paris. I liked the pancake, which was tender and soft but it needed more filling. One bite would be too sour and the next would be too bland. More butter, more lemon juice and more sugar would have made it perfect. 

To end our gourmet trail we got a slice of Russian Napoleon from a lady selling home-made cakes and Baklava. Icing sugar and crispy toppings were sprinkled over layers of creamy pastry, topped with a juicy strawberry. Yum!

There were plenty of other food choices including a few café, deli, a salad bar and a few speciality stores selling beer, wine, tea and organic groceries. Plenty of seats were available and we were entertained by a singer performing live with his guitar. 
Although a bit crowded on a Sunday, it was quite comfortable walking around the air-conditioned indoor market space. I would not consider it as a farmers' market since most of the produce were imported from as far as Europe but it was enjoyable way to spend a few hours.

Pasar Bella

#02/06 The Grandstand

200 Turf Club Road

Antoinette Revisit

There are a few things that make a restaurant perfect for a girl's night out: yummy food, cosy chairs, relaxing ambience. My first visit to Antoinette for brunch was enjoyable so it came to my mind again when I arranged a dinner date with a girl friend. Most of their outlets do not accept reservations so we went to the one on Penhas Road to avoid the annoyingly long queue. 

Bouchées aux Fruits de Mer (Seafood in puff pastry case) ordered by my companion

I almost thought that they made a mistake when my order arrived. Instead of the burger buns that I imagined, Burger Antoinette looked more like a sandwich to me. Never the less the chicken patty was tasty and the pan-fried apple slice was juicy and refreshing. The pommery mustard mayonnaise added a mild heat. But I was not very satisfied by the potato crisps that were served alongside the salad as I had expected the "chips" on the menu to be French fries. Some fluffy chunky chips would have gone much better with the sandwich than the thin, greasy crisps.

 Iced chocolate

Display of chocolates, macaroons and cakes at the counter

Le Royale was a lovely combination of chocolate and hazelnuts. The smooth and rich dark chocolate mousse and the sponge cake at the bottom sandwiched a layer of airy almond meringue. The hazelnut feuilletine in the middle gave it a crispy and nutty contrast in texture. 

Kyoto was a much lighter dessert. The mascarpone mousses outside was infused with green tea. Hidden in the centre was the creamy chestnut crémeux which was a delightful complement to the mousse. 

The Charlotte macaroon had vanilla cream and strawberry coulis as its filling. It was too sweet for me and I could not taste any element of strawberry. But I have never been a big fan of macaroons so I am probably not the best judge.

I could not help but be reminded of Angelina in Paris by the range of desserts and the shop design of Antoinette. Dining at the classically French tearoom was such a decadent culinary experience which I believe would be difficult to exceed. Unfortunately the magical feeling that Antoinette first gave me has much diminished. I also was not impressed by their service, especially when the restaurant was not that full. My water glass only got refilled after many requests and it took them a good five minutes to get us forks for the desserts. While the desserts were delectable, their main courses were quite overpriced. I know I will not be in a hurry to return for the third time.

Antoinette

30 Penhas Road