My Secret Mate @ Sinchon (Seoul)

After lunch at AtoZ, we looked for a cafe because X had to study for his midterms. Aww poor boy. Haha we came across a cafe in pastel colours earlier on and we decided on that. X has a thing for pastel haha







Small but cozy










Sleeping rabbit


Its the cafe's policy that we have to order a drink each so I had an iced caramel macchiato


And X had an iced mocha

The drinks were good!

Banana chocolate caramel pancake

The flavoured cream was nice and even though it seemed like alot, we cleaned it all up! It was yummy! The pancake was thick but too tough. Overall, we enjoyed it (:


Cute cutlery



The rabbit woke up! Hahaha

My Secret Mate is a cute cafe where you can people-watch or just spend a lazy day reading magazines or surfing the net. The owners were really friendly and made us feel really welcomed. We can't exactly remember how much we spent here. X is guessing that its around 18,000 won. We spent a couple of hours here and we really liked the place (:

57 Yonsei-ro 4-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Daily : 11am - 9pm


Love, K

AtoZ Cafe @ Sinchon (Korea)

I met X near his school (Yonsei) and we were walking around Sinchon. We couldn't really find a place that we wanted to eat at and after a long time, we decided on AtoZ Cafe. Most of the cafes and restaurants in Korea provide free wifi so do ask them!






















Beef sandwich
The sandwich was soft and the beef was tender. Even though its nothing out of the ordinary, it was satisfying and yummy


Chicken rose pasta
I was really intrigued by the "rose" in this dish's name and ordered it. But while I was eating it, I realised that maybe rose meant tomato? Haha there isn't a hint of rose in this dish. The sauce was sweet and the portion was generous despite the lack of chicken. The spaghetti was well-cooked too

Most of the restaurants here do not charge any service charge or government taxes, which is awesome of course haha. We paid about 20,000 won for this meal.

Service in every eatery we've been to so far has been superb! And almost all of them are elaborately designed and carefully decorated. Can't help but fall in love with Korea (:

Yonsei-ro 4-gil, Sinchon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea


Love, K

MayJune Cupcake Cafe @ Hongdae (Seoul)

After a hearty Korean barbecue, I wanted dessert and there sits a cute cupcake cafe right across the street. It was calling out to us so it was only right for us to pay her a visit!




It's downstairs!










Simple yet, pretty.

We've been playing with some filters on the camera and you'll be seeing some of such shots from now on!





Earl Grey Cupcake - 3500 won
This was essentially plain cupcake with earl grey cream. It was really good! The earl grey cream was delicious!


Real chocolate cupcake - 3500 won
This was chocolatey but not too chocolatey. The cream was sweet and nice and doesn't taste artificial like many cupcakes. I'm not exactly a fan of cupcakes but I must say that these were surprisingly pleasant

This is quite a nice place to spend a lazy afternoon!

Love, K

Korean Barbecue (Hongdae)

Hi everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates but I've been busy eating since I got here 4 days ago haha. How's Singapore? It's Seoul-awesome here! Haha. Do follow us on twitter @strictlyours for instant updates! (:

We're staying in Hongdae and we're really lucky to be staying here! Its like a doraemon. Clubs, food streets, shopping streets, theatres and cafes are in abundance! There's everything here. The nearest cafe is literally 10 steps away. What a great location (:

X brought me for my first meal in Seoul at a Korean bbq place near the apartment. We went to see a pet shop and just ended up eating at an eatery nearby. First meal of course must eat Korean Barbecue right! Haha

I don't know how to speak or read Korean at all so I can't tell you what's the name of the restaurant! All I can do is provide pictures. So here they are!










Yum yum, look at the meat!


Veggie with meat, salt, kimchi, garlic, radish and chilli. I was a good girl and ate one that X made for me. The veggie tasted really horrible but after all the flavours kicked in, I must say that this was pretty good!



Bean paste soup! This was really tasty, but a little too spicy for me.

It was raining that afternoon and it was very chilly. The piping hot soup and barbecue meat kept us warm and happy. It was a good meal! I also ate vegetables for the first time in years haha.

This meal cost us 22,000 won which is about $25! Not exactly cheap but pretty worth it

We've been to several quaint and extremely lovely cafes in the past 4 days and we'll be updating about them! Do stay tuned! (:

Love, K

Pierre Herme

Exactly a month ago, on 13th June, 

X told me that he had a craving for Lao Ban tauhuey and that we should go to Old Airport Road for dinner. I kept suggesting that we should go to Maxwell instead since it's alot nearer when he finally broke the news that he had a surprise for me! I was really excited. So my surprise was at Old Airport Road, I thought he was going to bring me to watch some netball game again hahaha. However, he drove me to a block of flats and I was told to wait in the car. A few minutes later, he returned with a paper bag and handed it to me. I opened it excitedly and to my utmost surprise,


PIERRE HERME MACARONS!!!

I was so super happy and we said we should take a picture of every individual macaron!
However, we were gone too long for dinner and the macarons kind of melted and were destroyed ):


So we hurriedly put them in the freezer after dinner!


Took them out a good 20 minutes later


They weren't in great shape to be photographed individually ):

Pierre Herme macarons are known to be packed with surprises, unconventional and daring.

Here are the 12 flavours :

Fresh Mint
Chocolate and caramel
Olive oil with mandarin orange
Peach, Apricot and saffron
Milk chocolate and passion fruit
Rose and rose petal
Pure origin Venezuela Porcelana Dark chocolate
Salted-butter caramel
Creme Brulee
Pistachio, Ceylon cinnaom and Morello cherries
Vanillas from Tahiti, Mexico and Madagascar
Orange and carrot with Ceylon Cinnamon

The dark chocolate was my favourite, followed by chocolate and caramel and salted butter caramel. Guess I'm quite traditional... Hahaha. The more unique flavours were interesting and a few didn't quite suit my tastebuds. Others were really strong and left a lingering aftertaste. They were a delightful twist to the usual macarons found in Singapore. All in all, I enjoyed my macarons!


X surprised me with the macarons as it was the 13th, and it marked the 13th month that we've been together. Today, it's the 13th again. And X has been in Korea for 2.5 weeks now. Happy 14th month favourite boy. See you soon [:

I'll be flying to Korea tomorrow night to find him and we'll be back on 11th August! We'll be updating pretty regularly about the cute and popular cafes and attractions in Korea!

Also, I'll like to take this chance to thank all our readers. We've come a long way now. It's been a year since Strictly Ours had been set up. It started out as a diary for X and I but it evolved into a food blog that has brought us many opportunities and fueled our passion for food. Thanks for all the support [:

Love, K

(CLOSED) Hediard

Hediard has been around for a long time. I always looked at it and wondered when I'll be able to dine there as it looks really posh and expensive. Little did I know that it is actually extremely affordable to dine there! X and I arranged for brunch at Hediard one Sunday morning with 4 other friends. This was kinda a farewell gathering for X before he left for Korea for summer school.

 

 



 



 




Hot Chocolate - $7
This was served with a little jug of milk with froth, a chocolate coated biscuit and a piece of candy that they're selling.

You can decide how much milk you want in your hot chocolate since the milk comes in the cute little jug. The hot chocolate was extremely thick and dense. It was however, too sweet. The chocolate coated biscuit was a delight but I can't say the same for the rose-flavoured candy that most of us abandoned after a bite. It was really sticky and sweet.


Cute jug

 
Iced mocha - $10
This was really good! Everyone liked it! A little pricey though


Bro Z ordered the
Hediard Breakfast Set - $19
- Madeleine blend coffee, chocolate or Hédiard blend tea
- Orange juice freshly squeezed 16.5cl
- Choice of one viennoiserie (croissant, brioche or pain au chocolat)
- Soft boiled egg or hard boiled egg or fried egg
- Hédiard country style toasted bread and butter
- One 30gr jar of home made jam and one 30gr jar of honey

Country Style Toasted Bread & Brioche
Bro Z said that the bread were really good and that he could eat it alone without any jam or butter haha


Butter inside


Homemade Jam & Honey
Bro Z brought home the remaining jam and honey!
I think it's a really great idea to serve jam and honey in this manner. You can be sure that the jam and honey is fresh and also, you can bring them home! How thoughtful!



Soft Boiled Egg
This is damn cute hahaha. Bro Z had a hard time eating it before we came up with a bright idea of pouring the egg into the cup


Salt & Pepper


Madeleine Blend Tea


Orange Juice


Pure Butter Pain Au Chocolat (top up to the breakfast set) - $3.50
Sweet, crispy and definitely the best I've had!

 
Eggs Norwegian - $19
2 poached eggs on toast with Norwegian smoked salmon, parmesan and hollandaise sauce

XM and N ordered this. The eggs were slightly overcooked but overall, they enjoyed the dish. The portion was pretty small though


One of XM's poached eggs was really overcooked and he told the waitress about it. It was, then, replaced. This poached egg was runny and nicely done.


Eggs Benedicte - $16
2 poached eggs on toast with Parma ham, shaved parmesan and hollandaise sauce
Instead of the usual cooked ham, this Eggs Benedicte comes with parma ham. The toast was crispy and really yummy. I could hardly taste the parma ham as it was overshadowed by the hollandaise sauce. The portion was too small for me

 
Croq Germaine - $18
Grilled bread with Parma Ham, gruyere cheese, mornay sauce topped with a fried egg
X and CP both ordered this. They both liked it. The cheese was thick and they said that this was pretty delicious!


Moelleux chocolate cake with vanilla crème Anglaise - $8
The chocolate cake was really good! The chocolate was oozing out as we dug our forks into it! It wasn't too sweet and your eyes will sparkle with joy when it melts in your mouth haha


Large Macaron - $8
Flavour of the month : White Coffee
We'd wanted to try more flavours but there was only one flavour available. Everyone was excited about this. I mean, who doesn't like macarons! XM was excited because the macaron looked like a burger hahaha. This was fragrant, not too sweet and had a great texture! We all loved it!

 
Unique products by Hediard

 











Everything in Hediard is elaborately designed and branded. Service was pretty good. The waitresses were attentive and generally quite friendly. The portions were a little small but all in all, we had a pleasant afternoon at Hediard

I'll be back for their macarons haha

123-125 Tanglin road, Tudor Court
Everyday: 9.00am-8.00pm

---
Love, K

K's rating of Hediard : 7.5/10