Last Christmas, I gave you my heart.. Ok let me stop right here 😛 Last Christmas, which was not too long ago, Chewy Charles and I spent our first Christmas together! It was definitely a happy occasion 😀

As most of the places that we had intended to go to were not open on Christmas, we finally settled for Cafe Hacienda at Dempsey as our last minute resort. I like the simple interior and everything else about the place.

If you are really hungry or would simply like to have a bit of everything on your plate, you are strongly recommended to go for Cafe Hacienda’s Ultimate Breakfast ($17). How would you go about eating this? We started off with the two triangular halves of a toasted bread with some butter. For the two eggs, you have a choice of sunny side up, poached or scrambled. We liked how the sunny side up was done; yolk was liquid while the egg white was still a bit runny and smooth as well. Sausage was stuffed with herbs but to be honest, it tasted a little weird. We thought that the bacon was not too salty and mushrooms were quite juicy. Apart from that, there were roasted tomato, baked beans and a heap of wild rocket leaves.

I kinda like MacDonalds’ Sausage McMuffin and here is Cafe Hacienda’s version of something a little similar, Eggs Benedict ($13.50). With two poached eggs and black forest ham on top of fluffy english muffins that were crisp and crusty around the sides, it tasted so wonderful with creamy hollandaise sauce.

After all that savory stuff, we wanted something sweet! Tiramisu In A Cup ($7) was our best bet. We were amazed at the amount of cocoa powder loaded on top! It reminded me of eating milo powder straight out of the tin during my childhood days 😛 We also liked this pudding tiramisu more than the cake version, commonly served on a plate.

Alrighty, that’s Cafe Hacienda for you and me! Now would you tell me where’s your favorite place to go to for breakfast or brunch in Singapore? 🙂

Cafe Hacienda
Blk 13 Dempsey Road
#01-07
Tel: 6476 2922

Opening Hours:
Mon to Thu
11am – 11pm
Fri to Sun & Public Holiday
9am – 11pm

Photo taken by Chewy Charles

I’m not sure if what I’m gonna say next is accurate so please don’t shoot me if you disagree 😛 Somehow, I think that there is a very clear line that distinguishes people who know about Keppel Bay from those who don’t. And for those who don’t, they probably wouldn’t know about Privé Bakery Cafe either. The trend which I have noticed here is that this so-called secret is no secret to most food bloggers and people who read food blogs (on a regular basis). When I tell some of my friends about Keppel Bay, they are absolutely clueless. But then again, this is based on a rather small sample. Hahaha 😀

Besides the awesome Privé Bakery Cafe, Keppel Bay offers a stunning view during nightfall. I once brought my kite along and the security guard came running towards me when my kite was barely hanging for 3 seconds in the air. Don’t laugh ok! On a lazy Saturday afternoon, Chewy Charles and I had high tea. Uh no, he’s not encouraging me to live it up like a tai tai ok.. Haha. We just felt like chilling out and decided to have cakes!

Chocolate cake lovers, you must have this. It was love at first bite with the Hazelnut Praline Royale ($6.80). Rich and moist, crunchy and velvety at the same time. The cake was delish, yet not too overwhelming. I repeat: Chocolate cake lovers, you must have this.

I don’t crave for this very often but I gotta say that I love the wonderful solid and crumbly texture of the Carrot Cake ($6.80) and as for the walnuts, they are so deliciously crunchy that I can even have it on its own. This is one cake that I think I could have for high tea everyday. Oops 😀

Looking back, I wonder what exactly were we thinking when we chose the Baileys Milkshake ($15) over let’s say.. a glass of water or a cup of tea. This insanely rich and thick milkshake was the ultimate. We certainly aren’t complaining but after two slices of cakes, it was quite an impossible feat for the both of us to down the entire glass. Still, I reckon that this is is one hell of a milkshake with the taste of Baileys rather distinct. You won’t regret this.

If you have not been to Privé Bakery Cafe, please do something about it now 🙂

Privé Bakery Cafe
2 Keppel Bay Vista
GF Marina at Keppel Bay
Tel: +65 6776 0777

Opening Hours:
Mon to Sun
9am – 12 midnight

Through reading food blogs, factors mentioned such as the nostalgic old-school feel, wonderful ambience and commendable service were enough to convince me that it was time to visit The Ship Restaurant. More importantly, the food sounded pretty decent. I must add that Amasou, Umasou’s post was very timely and after reading it, I proceeded with making the reservations. I was actually racking my brain as to where to take Chewy Charles to dinner on his birthday. The boy kept asking where was I taking him to and it was fun dropping hints such as, “Aiya my parents go before one but we confirm never go before”. The Ship was packed to the gills on that weekday evening. We were promptly shown to a table at the far end of the restaurant, in a rather obscure corner, much to our delight and excitement.

The menu was pretty extensive but I kinda knew what to order even before looking through the menu. You see, this is the power of reading food blogs 😛 Ok but of course, it’s nice to be adventurous once in a while. Although the very thought of eating snails scares some, Chewy Charles and I love escargots. The Escargots ($13.90 for half dozen) were firm and meaty. The taste of garlic was intense and there was a slightly bitter aftertaste. Both of us enjoyed our starter and we looked at the plate of empty shells longingly.

Initially, I had intended to order the Chicken Maryland but was having second thoughts because it was basically fried food. I was told by the wait staff that the Chicken Ala Ship ($15.90) would be a better choice but at the same time, was warned that it is quite “cheesy”. I couldn’t help but grin. And by cheesy, he didn’t mean corny of course. The grilled chicken was very tender and I certainly did not have any trouble cutting through it with my knife. On the issue of cheesiness, the tip-off was given for a reason and I found it to be a little too salty on the whole. Nevertheless, the ambience and the cheerful staff more than made up for it 🙂

I took two bites (second bite was just to make sure) out of Chewy Charles’ Fish and Chips ($14.90) and could not help but notice that the fish was smooth and it was also very finely and evenly breaded. This is definitely my kind of fish and chips 😀

We certainly had a fabulous dining experience at The Ship 😀 Please let me know if there are similar places like this around Singapore!

The Ship Restaurant
1 Scotts Road
#04-34 Shaw Centre
Tel: +65 6235 2235

Opening Hours:
Mon to Sun
11am – 10pm

I turned 24 recently and the dear boy offered to take responsibility for planning the entire day’s itinerary for me 😛 The both of us love Japanese food and knowing that I love noodles, he did some homework and decided to take me to dinner at Keisuke Tokyo which is located at Parco Marina Bay 🙂

Prior this visit, I have not heard of Keisuke Tokyo and Chewy Charles told me that there was something unique about the ramen broth over here. We were both excited even before stepping foot into the restaurant!

Chewy Charles roamed about in Toyko for more than 2 months so he’s slightly more knowledgeable about the Japanese food scene now. And I’m secretly happy about it. Hiak! Hiak! Hiak! *evil laughter*

Took a quick glance at the menu and settled for the Ebi Ramen Special ($19). The Special comes with that extra plate of goodies – chunks of Chasyu chicken, Ajitsuke Tamago (soy sauce boiled egg) and Yamakurage (preserved lettuce stems).

If you are looking for something that is a little different from your usual bowl of ramen, this is it. Instead of the usual chicken or tonkotsu ramen, we had prawn stock ramen! Rest assured, it certainly didn’t taste like our local prawn noodle soup! It was flavorful, yet not too overwhelming at the same time. The soup was really addictive! The noodles are firm but I would have preferred them to be slightly thicker.

The both of us loved the soy sauce boiled eggs. The eggs were fully cooked but the yolks were not dry and mushy. It had a very pleasant soft texture. Chicken pieces were very tender and the preserved lettuce stems were crunchy.

Yup if your taste buds are itching for something different, go for the prawn based ramen at Keisuke Toyko! It is really worth a shot. Thanks for the birthday dinner! 😀

Do you have any ramen place that you would like to recommend? 🙂

Keisuke Tokyo Ramen
9 Raffles Boulevard
#P03-02 Parco Marina Bay
Millenia Walk
Tel: 6337 7919

Opening Hours:
Daily
10.30am – 9.30pm