Laurent Bernard Chocolatier(Portsdown)

This is our third visit to Laurent Bernard at Portsdown!
This time round, we were there for an invited food tasting!
We had the privilege and opportunity to learn more about chocolates and taste Laurent Bernard's awesome Easter menu [:


Alfresco area that we adore




Appetizers

Informative session on chocolates!
We learnt so much!

Chef Laurent explaining to us how good chocolates should look and taste like.
He told us that the coating of chocolates should be thin and the ganache should be creamy, smooth and soft.


He also explained to us the composition of sugar, cocoa beans, and cocoa butter that should be present in good chocolate


Chocolate hens, for Easter! They have chocolate eggs, and chocolate shells too.
All ready for Easter!


Looks really good right!
The chocolate at Laurent Bernard are all freshly made on their premises!


The food bloggers that were invited!




Seared scallops with cocoa nips, and fennel foam
We loved this! The scallops were fresh and they tasted really good with the chocolate sauce! The cocoa nips provided a crunchy edge to the soft scallops. Chocolate-infused sweetness.
The bacon piece on the scallop gave a savory tinge to this dish.
Oh so good, oh so good.



Grilled rib-eye steak with cocoa orange sauce
The rib-eye was quite huge!
The cocoa orange sauce was unique. The sweet orange flavour was a twist to the slightly bitter chocolate. Really interesting.
I like the mashed potato haha


Peruvian Chicken
The chicken was extremely tender and the slightly spicy chocolate sauce was gooooood.



Chocolate Banana cake
Although the entree and the main course were impressive, my favourite has gotta be the chocolate banana cake.  It is made up of meringue sponge, cripsy hazelnut, caramelized bananas with passionfruit juice, a little bit of ginger and creamy ganache.
There are so many different layers of different textures. The smooth layers that melt in your mouth were a delightful contrast to the crunchy layers.
So much effort and so many ingredients packed into this awesome cake
I loved every bit of it (:






Chocolate shooter that Chef Laurent bought from overseas!
It's super cool.
First, you put the cocoa powder on the plastic thingy







Next, when he says "go", breathe in deeply
He'll press down the shooter simultaneously so that you'll breathe in the powder!
You'll be able to "taste" the powder through your nose! Haha super cool right!
X tried it but I didn't dare to haha

It was a really pleasant evening at Laurent Bernard as everyone was so friendly and warm. Morgane is super entertaining, she's really cute and funny haha. We'll like to thank everyone at Laurent Bernard for such a wonderful evening, for the splendid food and the hospitality they extended to us. They really made us feel comfortable and at home (:

You have to try their Easter menu! Especially the chocolate banana cake!! You'll love it too! (:

5B Portsdown Road
Tuesday-Thursday : 10am -10pm
Friday: 10 am - midnight
Saturday : 9am - mightnight
Sunday: 9am-10pm

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Love, K

The Line Buffet

We went to The Line at Shangri-La for X's birthday lunch. He was supposed to blog about The Line but well.. 3 months on and here I am, typing this long overdue post.

It was a Saturday and I'd made reservations online 2 weeks before. I decided to bring him to The Line because he loves oysters and having heard much about their oysters, I had to bring him here haha. There's a 15% discount if you reserve seats online! And apparently they have a 40% promotion too. Didn't manage to get that one though. But 15% is good enough! So it was $55++ for each of us [:





The orange lights were a little too dark


SASHIMI.
I LOVE SWORDFISH AND SALMON SASHIMI.
Can't remember how many pieces we ate.. But we sure ate alot haha. The sashimi was fresh, and nicely cut. The swordfish was so juicy.. Swordfish sashimi is the best!


FRESHEST OYSTERS EVER.
The oysters are opened right on the spot and if this is not fresh, I don't know what is. the oysters were really good and very very fresh. They aren't like the ones that are left on the ice waiting for someone to pick them up. They serve a few sauces to go with the oysters and they were delicious! We mixed 2 sauces together and the oysters went extremely well with the sweet and sour mix! If you're a fan of oysters, you have to visit The Line. We ate like at least 20 oysters..? Haha I only ate 4 I think.

The cold prawns were juicy and we ate quite a few of them.


Iced Teh tarik!
Their teh tarik is made on the spot and it is light and smooth. The tea taste is not too overwhelming. Pretty perfect cup of tehtarik that we each had 2 cups of. Haha


Pizza, which was quite good! Yum yum I love pizzas
Roasted pork belly with caramelised onions. Tender pork belly with a hint of sweetness hmm
Salmon quiche which I abandoned after 2 mouthfuls because it was pretty tasteless.


The mushroom ravioli with truffle sauce was tasty and I loved its texture
The breadstix was crispy and fragrant.
The ham was just alright. A little too tough
I think the one on the right is roasted potatoes with rosemary. Didn't really leave an impression on us


Indian corner. Naan with fish curry.
I'm not really a fan of Indian food so I didn't take much of the available selection.


THE DUCK WAS SOOO GOOD.
It is soft, and extremely tasty. It was really good.
Can't remember whats that in the middle, sorry!


Satay! The satays were awesome. They were soft and flavourful and ain't quite like those normal satays you get at the coffeeshops. Well cooked and lovely


Yorkshire pudding
The yorkshire pudding drizzled in apple sauce didn't quite suit my tastebuds.


More sashimi and prawns


And more sashimi


And more oysters


And more sashimi HAHAHA

Finally, desserts!

I have to say that I was disappointed in their desserts. They LOOKED really impressive and appetizing. But they really weren't as great as they looked. I think the creme brulee was probably the best one on this plate


Banana and caramel crepe.
This was alright. They have really few toppings for their crepes


The cheesecake was too sour and the tiramisu was too dry


They have an icecream corner with quite a number of flavours. Here's my chocolate icecream with oreo. Nothing impressive. And again, very few toppings.

Overall, The Line is a good place to visit if you're a fan of sashimi, oysters and duck. But not so good if you're targeting the desserts. They have a Chinese corner that serves noodles and a salad station too. We didn't take any of the chinese food like prawn paste chicken and all. I don't know why too. Haha but all in all, the variety's quite wide! And service was good! The waitress at our section was super attentive, friendly and efficient. Her name's Maria I think! Wanted to write a feedback form for her, but The Line doesn't have feedback forms apparently? Haha. Let us know what you think of The Line!

22 Orange Grove Road
Shangri-La Hotel
Breakfast: 6am – 10.30am (Weekends to 11 am)
Lunch: 12noon – 2.30pm (Weekends and Public Holidays to 3 pm)
Dinner: 6.30pm – 10.30pm (Weekends and Public Holidays start at 6pm)
Supper: 10.30 pm – 6 am

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Love, K

K's rating of The Line : 7/10

Bronte

Greenwood has gained much popularity over the years as they're house to some really popular restaurants such at Greenwood Fish Market and Peperoni. Hence, parking can be a little bit of a problem as the lots right by Greenwood are always taken. If that's the case, you can park just round the corner near the park.

We decided to head to Greenwood for Brunch one Sunday afternoon and was choosing between Baker and Cook and Bronte. We decided on Bronte and we were certainly glad we did!




Cement floor and white walls.




We sat outdoors as we brought the little furball with us


The happy furball!They provided a water bowl for Waffles!

Bronte has quite an extensive brunch menu, offering a wide range of really tempting items. I took a really long time to choose.. Haha I couldn't decide if I want the pancakes, or the prime beef burger, or the dish similar to Eggs Benedict. Took me at least 10 minutes hahaha.

Hot chocolate - $4.50
My hot chocolate was pretty average. No marshmallows? ):



Iced Mocha
X said that it was quite good!


Poached eggs and hollandaise on rye toast (with smoked salmon) -$17
The poached eggs were so perfectly cooked. When I pressed the knife right into the yolk, it burst and the yolk starting flowing out so smoothly. Oh perfect poached eggs are to die for. The rye toast was a little hard though. The hollandaise was buttery and tasty but I felt that there was too little hollandaise sauce. But overall, I thought this dish was pretty good!


Bronte Brekkie Plate: Eggs (poached), bacon, pork sausage, garlic portobello, potato hash, home-baked beans and rye toast - $22
The portion was huge! The home made baked beans in tomato puree was delicious! X liked the bacon particularly haha. the poached eggs came without hollandaise sauce and hence, were plain and X said that he should have ordered scrambled eggs instead. Perhaps they could add some hollandaise on the poached eggs!



Waffles' new friend. A Spitz!




Marbled chocolate tart with bananas and mascarpone $12
This was soooo good. The staff replaced the mascarpone with cream as they were out of it. The chocolate was smooth and it melted in our mouths! Together with the cookie base, this dessert really won our hearts. We found it a little too sweet as we were halfway through the tart but thats when the cream worked its magic. The cold cream managed to even the sweetness out and provided a tint of freshness. You've to order this if you're at Bronte! X was a little skeptical about ordering this at first but he couldn't stop praising it after he cleaned the plate up. Hahaha

Anyway, we really liked the atmosphere at Bronte. Firstly, the staff are really friendly. Secondly, it's super super chill. It started to rain quite heavily and we were unable to leave. So we spent a really long time at Bronte but we felt so comfortable and relaxed. It was a perfect afternoon spent just chatting, watching the rain, having the cutest pup with us and just relaxing. We loved it.

8 Greenwood Avenue
Daily : 9am for coffee and pastries.
Lunch: 11:30am to 2:30pm Weekdays
Dinner: 6pm to 10:30pm Daily
Brunch 9:30am to 2:30pm Weekends and Public Holidays

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Love. K

K's rating of Bronte : 7.5/10

Marutama Ra-men

This is a long over due post on Marutama. We have been there twice now and their ramen comes in among the top few on our list. According to the staff, the owner of marutama is very fond of basketball and thats where their basketball-esque logo came about.

Marutama has 3 outlets, 1 at The Central (Clarke quay) , 1 at Liang court and the newest one at Suntec City. Pictures shown here are taken at The Central outlet. The concept of the store is very simple - traditional japanese decor that is. The restaurant is not huge, roughly about 35-seater which feels rather cosy. During meal time, do expect the place to be packed.


Rather than having an extensive menu, Marutama chooses to excel in the selected few on the menu. This is ideal for K, as she always has trouble deciding on her food. Order the original chicken soup ramen SGD$12 , add an Ajitsuke tamago (egg) SGD$1 and Kakuni (stewed pork belly) SGD$5, you're in for a treat!


Marutama Ramen with tamagos- $14


Marutama Ramen with tamagos and Kakuni - $19

The texture of the noodles is very smooth. There is this tenderness about it,  which is different from the tougher ramen you find outside. The chicken broth is also very tasty and best still, it doesn't make you thirsty after you polish off the entire bowl. I highly recommend, anyone who goes to try it, to get 2 eggs. I love their runny eggs and 1 is just not enough for me. Another must try add-ons is the pork bellies which have been stewed until the meat literally melts in your mouth. Combine them together, and you have yourself a very satisfying meal. The price of around SGD$20 might be a tad on the high side for a bowl of ramen, but for the pleasure it provides, I say its definitely worth it.

Marutama ( The Central)
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#03-90/91
The Central @ Clarke Quay

Daily: 11am - 10 pm




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Love,
X

X's rating of Marutama : 7.5/10