Afternoon Three Sum at Tiong Bahru Bakery

Here’s another great hangout place for afternoon tea! Tiong Bahru Bakery’s Afternoon Three Sum ($25) brings together some of their best pastries and sandwiches in a three-tier dim sum container set.

The bite-sized collection features some of their signature items (Note the green tea almond croissant and tiramisu pictured are not included!):

Top tier includes savouries like Pulled Pork Finger Sandwich, Croque Monsieur and Mini Squid Ink Bun with Salmon. Amongst the savoury sandwiches, the croquet monsieur left the greatest impression on me- it’s amazing how much ham and cheese flavour is bursting out of this small piece.

Mid tier includes fresh desserts like Varlhona Dark Choc Tart, Lemon curd tart and Financier with raspberry. I’m torn between the rich bittersweet chocolate tart and the tangy lemon tart, but why choose when you can have both in this set?

Final tier includes local inspired flavoured desserts like Pandan Tart, Coconut Cheesecake and Blue Pea Panacotta. The Coconut Cheesecake was such a delight not only in terms of flavour but also texture. The gritty desiccated coconut hits you first, before the smooth and slightly tart cheesecake flavour comes in.

This is definitely a great option to savour the wonderful (bite-sized) creations of the bakery and catch up with friends over afternoon tea. 

Tiong Bahru Bakery

56 Eng Hoon Street

Tsui Wah Singapore

The opening of Tsui Wah Singapore injected a much needed hype into the cha chaan teng scene, with everyone wanting a piece of HK cafe cuisine. We visited during weekday dinner time, only to find a snaking queue forming outside the eatery at Clarke Quay.

Tip: The eatery is located at Block A of Clarke Quay, NOT Block E as Google Maps wrongly pointed out. Hope this will save you the hassle of walking around, especially if you're not familiar with the place. 

So how long did we queue? We took about an hour, during peak dinner period. It didn't help that the weather was super hot and humid and I was sweating buckets from getting lost in Clarke Quay. Some jars of iced water were available outside the restaurant though. This long waiting time may be a deal breaker for some, and yes, perhaps it's advisable to visit once the hype dies down.

Here are some of the signature dishes we ordered: 

Hot Milk Tea ($3.50) did not disappoint. The rich flavour of freshly brewed black tea is perfectly combined with evaporated milk to achieve a good balance of milkiness and tea. You may add sugar to sweeten it, but I prefer it without. 

King Prawns in XO sauce with tossed noodles ($11). It looks really simple, but the delicious dry egg noodle dish is served with really plump and succulent prawns. Do remember to mix in the XO sauce that is served separately.

Our dinner situation on the table =)

Grilled Chicken & Scallops on sizzling plate ($18) is a really value for money set which comes with a thick slab of grilled chicken thigh and scallops served with the soup of the day, hot drink and thick toast. 

Crispy Condensed Milk Bun ($4) does deserve its much hyped up status. This item somehow manages to bring together both the sweetness of condensed milk and savouriness of butter on perfectly crisp lightly toasted bun that is truly heavenly. A must order item.

Some hits and misses from this cafe and they are probably working hard to iron out all the kinks. I did not experience any bad service here (despite reading about it) and overall, it was a great meal to reminisce our time in HK. But it is not worth queuing so long for this, and I will probably wait for the hype to cool off a little before paying another visit. 

Tea Time at Keong Saik Bakery

Keong Saik Bakery marries the best of local and western influences in their pastries, and their cake offerings do not disappoint:

Purple Milk ($6.50) is essentially a plain sponge cake with black glutinous rice, milk and sour cream mousse. A really smooth and balanced cake with great flavour and texture! Pulut hitam fans will definitely want additional helpings of this.

Mama's Kueh Salat ($6.80) comprises pandan coconut custard sitting atop of butterfly pea flower glutinous rice. A truly sticky and sweet treat!

Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar 2018

Wanting to soak in the atmosphere of this year's Geylang Serai Bazaar, notwithstanding the various controversies (high rentals, traditional vs hipster food fads), we took a leisurely stroll from Paya Lebar MRT to the nearby bazaar tents that were just coming alive in the late afternoon. 

Alley's Thai Milk Tea ($4) in huge 1L cups. The milk is mixed in last so you can see the white milk swirls in the black cha yen tea.  

Sofnade's Satay Chicken Meatballs in a Bucket ($9). Needless to say, this year's food fad award goes to "bucket" food. But this deconstructed satay dish was really flavourful and fun to eat with chewy chicken meatballs served with ketupat pieces, covered in rich satay peanut sauce. The sauce was however, a tad too sweet for my liking.

Raclette Rosti ($13) from The Raclette Factory, one of the few stalls that were open for business early. We sampled the savoury semi-melted raclette cheese over some lightly toasted potato rosti and sausages. 

Cake Love's Ondeh Ondeh Dutch Baby Pancakes ($6) with its generous shavings of grated coconut and gula melaka is the perfect dessert to satisfy any sweet tooth.

Artbox 2018: Food and Drinks Galore

It is the last weekend for Artbox Singapore 2018. Get ready for a little taste of Bangkok style flea markets, if you are willing to brave the hipster crowds (esp the snaking queues for food!), heat and humidity. Here are some of our eats in a recent visit: 

555 Thai Milk Tea- $4 for a whopping 1L ice cold cup. 

Hyde & Co's Handcrafted Swedish Meatballs served atop a bed of mash, Swedish cream sauce and berry jam. 

Saiko Butter Brew ($5) brings butter beer to a new level with it's richly flavour butterscotch cream topping. 

Been wanting to try out Gryphon Tea's Cold brews and at $10 you can get their drinks served in a reusable LED lighted cold cup & entrance to their container rooftop for a bird's eye view of the Artbox event. 

Golden Moment's premium Mao Shan Wang softserve with gold flakes ($9.90).  Each cone is packed with luscious durian.

Tuck Kee Ipoh Sah Hor Fun (Hong Lim Food Centre)

Absolutely delicious crayfish prawn hor fun ($9) from Tuck Kee Ipoh San Hor Fun. Generous portions of succulent crayfish and prawn meat lying on top of smooth ipoh hor fun that is drenched in aromatic glistening noodle gravy. Truly value for money comfort food. Don't forget to pair the dish with their sweet sour chili sauce. But do be prepared to brave the long lunch crowd queues too at this stall!

Tuck Kee Ipoh Sah Hor Fun (德记怡保沙河粉)

Hong Lim Food Centre, #02-40

Marugame Udon & Tempura @ Ion Orchard

Marugame’s Udon with Seasoned Cod Roe & Half Boiled Egg ($11.90). Toss all the ingredients together with the perfectly chewy udon for a little taste of the sea with the umami cod roe and seaweed, the richness of egg yolk and the slight saltiness from the soy broth. .
📍Marugame Udon and Tempura
📍Ion Orchard B4
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Matchaya Popup @ Takashimaya B2

Head over to Matchaya's pop up stall at Takashimaya B2 Food Hall for a taste of their mystery soft serve flavour- Shirogama (white sesame). I had their Shirogoma + Matcha twin soft serve topped with kurogoma sauce ($7). It did deliver a stronger, more fragrant and intense sesame nutty flavour, which was really satisfying.