Au Croissant - Time to be HDB Tai Tai

 It is now possible to enjoy some French pastries without going down to city area. Enter "Au Croissant" for us ladies to enjoy some high tea time as and when we like in a nearby vicinity.

The takeaway box is of French quaint style that really makes it a lovely gift.

Lots of variety of viennoiseries for choosing. And I decide to get ...

the Unique Lemon Cheese Croissant! It's not like one can see this flavour of croissant anywhere else, so I know I got to try it. I also like Lemon and Cheese anyway. This combination works. The buttery croissant actually tastes refreshing due to the lemon. I like this a lot. Freshly baked croissants are really different from those mass-produced types made with margarine.

What attracted me to go in to get a croissant to try is because 

1. I'm curious about croissants sold in heartlands

2. I'm attracted by the cute European style lamps dotted around the perimeter of the place.

These lamps really complete the tai tai's experience of having high tea.

This is quite a nice place to check out if one has cravings for croissants or to buy some pastries to give as gifts.

Thoughts: Croissants anytime now!

Link for locations

Geláre - Nice, small place to chill out

Spotted this place when I was just looking for a comfortable place to pass time before my appointment 2 hours later, and this little stall caught my eye.

I like the presentation of the food here. Lemon tea, which is of the right sweetness, not overly so, is served in jar-like mug. And the ice-cream scoops are moulded into cute half cone shape before being presented on the glass boat. Strawberry ice-cream here is very good: awesomely creamy and full of real strawberries.

It is pretty small space in AMK Hub, but good for chill-out with a good friend or two since the the turquoise sofa chairs are super cozy. And the service staff is very friendly to make one feel at ease.

Thoughts: Great place to chill out with friends when at AMK Hub.

Link to check out the location of the branches

Ordinary Burger - Not Ordinary at all

I am guessing the burger is named Ordinary because the owners are expecting us to refute that with titles such as mine when we write about it.

Its lineup of burgers is not definitely not ordinary, ranging from buttermilk chicken, ebi prawn to portobello mushroom and impossible burger (a plant-based burger that tastes like real beef burger). I like it that they have veggie options to cater to different tastes.

I had passed by the outlet at Ang Mo Kio several times, and I like the look of the burgers and the concept of the burgers being freshly handmade. But it is only until now that I decide to give it a try. And portobello mushroom burger wins me over. The meaty flavour of portobello mushroom plus the stretchy mozzarella cheese and special sauce yield a very flavourful burger that is full of that smokey aroma I like. This veggie burger does not lose to meat-based burgers in any way. My only issue is that the centre of the mushroom, where the stem was, is harder than the rest of the mushroom, making it more challenging to chew off.

Another vegetarian option, Impossible Burger is impossibly good! Super juicy “meat” slathered with tasty, slightly spicy sauce is definitely a winner. This is most probably my favourite burger of all burgers of all brands.

Ebi burger is very good too due to the generous amount of prawns stuffed into the patty. If one has craving for prawn burger, this is the place to satisfy that craving.

Actually, I am not into fast food at all. But somehow, I always end up getting an Ordinary Burger when I go to Ang Mo Kio. The burgers are definitely worth a try since they are different from their counterparts in other fast food restaurants.

My Thoughts: Worth a try, and is a must try for burger fans. And is my favourite burger joint.

First Culinary Restaurant - Surprisingly Good

Actually, it had never crossed my mind to visit this Chinese restaurant located in ITE College Central building despite passing by it often and taking note of it. Since I need to look for a restaurant to have my CNY reunion dinner next year—lots of restaurants are fully booked by now, yes, the horrors—this is where First Culinary Restaurant comes onto my radar. And since we are there, we figure that we might as well have our dinner there. I did not expect much, so I am pleasantly surprised that the food is pretty good!

Crispy Prawn Pancake is the one of highlights since I like the fresh prawn paste wrapped in incredibly thin and crispy dough.

Lemongrass pork gets the thumbs-up from me too due to the interesting addition of lemongrass and the not-so-chewy texture of the meat. I also appreciate the hand drawn pictures on the serving plates. A nice extra touch.

The Qing Long vegetables is slightly firm in texture yet easy to bite, signifying its freshness.

One of the staffs has told me that there is a family specially coming down for the char siew, but since the chef who makes the char siew is not in, it is not available that day. Char siew that needs specialized chef to make? Interesting, I may go back to try the char siew. When I do that, I will update on here. The same goes for the update on the restaurant’s standard during CNY period. Update: I really go back and get to try the char siew. It is really good due to the fact it is marinated with natural ingredients instead of the usual factory made red colour char siew sauce. This char siew, like any quality char siew, has layers of fat between the meat, so it is best to share this with a couple of people.

The stir-fired hor fun is excellent, and the Prawn Mango Roll is interestingly made with rice paper.

Again, I was expecting the restaurant to look dingy due to its location at the fringes of the heartland. Yes, my bad, stereotyping. But the interior of this place exceeds my expectations. It is pretty grand actually. The layout is that of traditional Chinese restaurant, but the furnishings and decor have touches of modern influences.

Service is pretty much like that of other Chinese restaurants—efficient and pretty friendly.

With pretty good, nice ambience and convenient location (for me), this is a nice choice for heartlanders living around Ang Mo Kio, Hougang and Serangoon.

And the CNY reunion dinner gets the thumbs-up from me. Way, way better than Kai Garden. The service is especially efficient, no delay, no dirty plates and no wrong orders despite the huge crowds. And the standard of the food is good. Lobster and duck are included in the mid tier set menu instead of the usual chicken and prawns. We are definitely sticking with this restaurant for our 1st choice to have CNY reunion dinners.

My Thoughts: Nice Choice for Family Gathering

Nearest car park: ITE College Central’s carpark
Nearest MRT: Ang Mo Kio

ITE College Central
2 Ang Mo Kio Drive
Block A #01-09
Singapore
Contact No: 6481 5500

Akimitsu - Don Don Don

Ever since Kinsa had relocated to Bukit Timah and Marugoto Shokudo had shuttered, Ang Mo Kio is again facing a dought of decent restaurants. Haru, the restaurant that takes up Kinsa’s premises, looks promising, but I haven’t tried enough of their offerings to write a more comprehensive post. So it is cool that Akimitsu comes to fill up that void, sort of.

The menu is extensive in the Don department, featuring all kinds of don, from cutlet, fried ebi to stir fried pork. I have tried the spicy tendon, and I like the spiciness of the chilli powder that adds an extra kick to the don. And of course, I appreciate the generous helping of fresh prawns coated in light batter. The starchy Japanese rice gets the tick from me also.

But take note that this place is mainly about don, so there is not much of anything else outside of don that is available on the menu. And the free flow of prickles is refreshing in taste but too rough in texture though.

Still it is a great place to get a satisfying, quick and filling meal

My Thoughts: Cheap and Nice!

This restaurant had shifted to Plaza Singapura.

Chateraise - Japanese Cakes À Gogo

Residents of numerous neighbourhoods, time to rejoice! Japan's Chateraise had set up outlets at a fast and furious pace around Singapore. It is great that Chateraise decided to go for the heartlands' market so we does not always have to go down to Orchard, Marina Area, Outram, Shenton Way and such for delicately made cakes.

The sheer variety of the cakes and Japanese snacks can be pretty overwhelming, in a good way. It is so tempting to buy them all to try! I finally decided on the Blueberry Rare Cheesecake, Happy Little Bunny, and of course, their best seller: Legendary Cream Cake. Check out this site for updates on other cakes when I get around to try them.

Blueberry Rare Cheesecake - My favourite of Chateraise's offerings. The rare Cheese mousse has that slight saltiness and nutty flavour of cheese that I very appreciate. Coupled with fresh cream, and layered between two types of cake sponge—yes, two types, the middle looks like butter cake sponge to adds that hint of buttery goodness—we have a cake that is unique in taste, creamy yet light and pleasing to the palates.

Legendary Cream Cake - The light moist sponge and fresh whipped cream are the highlights, but the layer of real strawberry jam at the bottom does not stuck a chord in me. It is commendable that real strawberry jam is used but the incorporation of it into the cake does not work for me. The taste is too sharp, eclipsing the nuanced flavours of other components of the cake.

Happy Little Bunny - A sure winner with the kids. This kind looks so cute. And the shop is very generous with the amount of cream used since the dome, saved for the base is made up of strawberry flavoured whipped cream. Though it does not win with me, as it seems like artificial flavouring is used—tell-tale sign: no tart taste, but a dome of real strawberry cream is not going to be a crowd-pleaser anyway.

Lemon Cheese Cake - Double fromage cake with addition of lemon zest is a sweet creation that works! Double formage is always my favourite type of cheese cheese since the pronounced nutty flavour of baked complements the light and airy texture of non-baked cheese cake so well. In this case, the non-baked part is made up of my preferred rare cheese, which is creamy and rich but still light and airy. The lemon adds a refreshing element to the overall taste. I would love the taste of lemon to be stronger. Though the current amount of lemon is more suited to different palates.

Real Grape Tart - This is like the favourite among my favourites because this is such a unique creation and the combination of Kyoho grapes, fresh cream, aloe vera cubes and almond tart base works so well. I love it that the crumbly, flavourful tart base is made from almond flour, which has this sweet aroma. Lots of flavours packed into this confectionery.

Real Melon cake - Sweet blissful delight! With pastry base and cream followed by cake sponge and then melon cream, the texture and myriad of flavours get the thumbs up from me. Best to savour all the layers together.

Strawberry and Darjeeling Chiboust is an interesting creation, but who would have known that strawberry, black tea and light cream works beautifully? Yes, I love the super light chiboust, which is cream whipped with egg white to get that extra lightness. But note that the cream cannot sit out too long at hot weather. This lightness of chiboust allows the delicate aroma of Darjeeling to come through, and the bits of strawberry adds dots of excitement to the overall taste. A very light yet very flavourful cake.

Real White Peach cake - Another beautiful treat like Real Melon cake, except that the star is peach instead.

Berry Rare Cheese Fluffy Roll - A must-try. Probably one of the best swiss roll due to the insane cream to cake ratio. And definitely helps that the cream is made up of real berry jam mixed into rare cheese, which is a match made in heaven since the tart taste of berries complements cheese so well. There are bits of berries added in too.

Strawberry Bombe Cake - Another one of my favourite due to the multitude of flavours incorporated harmoniously into this cake. Fresh vanilla cream decked on top of a strip of cake sponge, and below this is a generous dollop of strawberry cream enveloping a ganache of strawberry compote. To add on to the strawberriness of the cake, there is a paper-thin layer of strawberry jam sandwiched between the strawberry cream and thin cake sponge—I love it that this cake has high cream to cake sponge ratio. And the part that elevates this cake from nice to awesome is the baked cheese cake, which is slightly salty, thus adding a great extra dimension and kick to the taste. This cake can do without the chocolate cake sponge at the bottom though, since the chocolate does not mesh well with the delicate flavour of strawberry.

Double Fantasy - Stuffing lots of fresh cream and custard into the puff pastry shell simply works wonders, period. And it is only $1.90!

Strawberry Ice-cream Cheesecake - This is like the ultimate ice-cream cake due to layering in taste profile resulted from pairing cream cheese with its mild nutty flavour and strawberry cream with its sweet aroma and slight tang. The macarons on top gives a nice variation to the texture.

Purple Potato and Sweet Potato Cake - Just imagine on the nice crumbly biscuit base, there are chopped crunchy sweet potato bits hidden in a dome of light sweet potato mousse with strands of purple potato cream and Naruto sweet potato cream decked on top. Sounds good? I sure think so, and it definitely tastes good. This is earthy flavours galore! Another one of my favourite cakes.

Cream Soufflé Cheese Cake - It looks plainer than its counterparts, but in terms of taste, it is a winner. Saved for the somewhat dry cake base, the huge slab of soufflé cheesecake in the centre has the cake consistency yet it is also has that unbelievably melt-in-mouth texture. Paired with the light-as-air cream for that extra creaminess to complement the mildly salty cream cheese, this cake induces a blissful feeling when indulging in it.

Sumo Orange Tart is filled with floral citrus goodness of sumo orang, the light creaminess and nuanced tang of rare cheese and the flaky puff pastry. A delight to enjoy.

Mochi Mont Blanc - I never like mochi, but the novelty of using Japanese Chestnut cream as filling compels me to try this. While this does not convert me into a mochi lover, I will say this is the best mochi I ever have. The glutinous rice dough is incredibly thin, to the point that it tears up the moment I scratch the surface with a fork. And I think this is one of the reasons that makes it so much more delectable than any other mochi. Just a bit of the dough for that extra chewy texture and let the filling runs the show. The distinctively earthy flavour of fresh Japanese Chestnut cream is always a joy to savour. This is definitely worth a try, and it is not like one can get Japanese Chestnut Mochi everywhere.

Kuri Manju - As a fan of Japanese Chestnut, I must try this Japanese Chestnut bun, naturally. The skin is reminiscent of the one of baked mooncakes. The filling is consisted of mashed white kidney beans and the huge Japanese chestnut hidden in the centre. Considerably less oily than our mooncake, it is nice and healthy alternative to consider if in the mood to eat mooncake. But I would not say this is a must-try since it is really not bad, but not outstanding in anyway.

Fluffy Cream Roll - Being someone who prefers high cream-to-cake ratio, this cake, regretfully, does not meet my expectations. The fresh cream is of course nice, but there is not enough of it to add moisture to the slightly dry sponge—I am starting to think that maybe only butter cake sponge and cheesecake are not dry in my opinion. But this is great to give as gift since most people, not as particular about cream-to-cake ration as me, will like them and it is only $1.90 a piece.

As for the service, they tried to emulate Japanese kind of service. They are sort of there, but my box was sealed in the wrong way. I realized this when I got home and saw that the box top was supposed to be folded in such a way that a handle is formed. Intentional or not, I don't know. Anyway, this is a minor thing.

The shop looks very pretty due to the light brown wooden panels and shelves, and display of scores of cakes and snacks. The ambience does make it so tempting to get lots of the cakes.

More updates and photos coming soon after I visit the shop again!

My Thoughts: Nice!

Check out Chateraise's website for locations:

Rainbow Cottage - The Selection is exactly as the Namesake suggests

Closed

Actually, I just happened to pass by Blk 452, Ang Mo Kio and immediately took note of this cafe due to the quaint wooden settings, which sets the place apart from the surrounding neighbourhood shops. I guess I can say that the ambience seems tranquil and inviting enough for me to just step in to try out a cake.

The rainbow cake looks very brightly coloured, which will win the hearts of many. However, for me, who is more into natural ingredients, the colours seem too garish to my liking. So I was pleasantly taken aback that the taste of the cake exceeds my expectations, considering that I do not have very high expectations in the first place.

The texture is not as moist as I would rave over, but it is good enough to please most people. The consistency and taste of the cake seems like a cross between butter cake and sponge cake—not bad at all. I like the buttery flavour of the cake and the exceedingly light, airy cream slathered on top and in between the layers of different coloured sponge cakes. In fact, I feel like I am eating sweetened creamy clouds when eating the cream off the top of the cake. And I appreciate that there is no chemical-like taste atypical of colour additives.

The rainbow cake here will delight the kids and make pretty nice centrepiece of parties. Maybe next time, I will try the Thai Milk Tea ice-cream.

My Thoughts: Nice!

Note: This cafe is no longer in operation.

Osaka Ohsho Gyoza Bo - Mouth-watering Dumplings

Okay, the place is dingy but clean. The service is so-so but effective and quite friendly at times. The main attraction of this restaurants are the gyozas that prove to be hearty in taste. In fact, this place and Canton Paradise are the only two food establishments that I will patronize in Ang Mo Kio Hub.

What I like about the gyozas here are that each dumpling are stuffed to the brim with fresh, juicy meat, mixed with generous amount of cabbage for that variation in flavours and imbuing a refreshing taste to the stuffing, cutting down the oiliness. The pan fried ones are the best since the slightly charred flour adds a kick to the overall taste and accentuates the flavour of the meat.

The sui gyozas are pretty tasty when paired with the chilli oil. The fried ones are surprisingly meh, considering how good the original gyozas are. The fried skin is too hard, and the meat juices are lost due to the frying process.

For a good, filling, quick meal, this is the place I will always consider.

My Thoughts: Pretty Good

https://osakaohsho.com.sg/index.php/store-locator

Kinsa Sushi - Great Find in the Heartlands

Closed

Just when I thought that it is almost impossible to find a decent restaurant in the heartlands since those malls are usually populated by chain restaurants and franchises, I found some rare gems in Ang Mo Kio and the latest cool find is Kinsa Sushi!

Located in the quieter part of Ang Mo Kio, Jubilee Complex, the restaurant ambience is cosy, comfortable and quiet, away from the buzz of the crowd. I had passed by it several times before and was tempted to go in to try the food since I am usually more into trying out small establishments than those chain restaurants (based on personal experiences, the food is generally much better and more unique in those humble little shops). I'm glad that I finally did.

The huge slab of hotate on top of the little mould of sushi rice (I love it when there is more meat and less rice in a sushi) is unbelievably fresh and silky, and for $2.80 only; it is a dish I can keep on ordering when I'm there for a meal. 

As for the sashimi, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the akami does not have any fishy smell (most akami I had tried in many places have that hint of fishy smell except in the likes of Kaiho and of course, the supreme haven of Japanese cuisine; Shinji) and even the mekajiki tasted okay (I normally cannot stand the taste of this fish but the one in Kinsa does not have that typical fishy smell at all). Ika and Ama ebi taste good also. The salmon belly is needless to say; fresh, creamy (due to the higher fat content) and smooth; pure delight to one's palates. I especially like the seasoning sprinkled onto the rice; looks insignificant but this little touch counts a lot in my opinion and it helped to enhance the taste of the rice. The appetizer in a little small glass bowl is very flavourful also and performed its role effectively to whet my appetite. 

Their maki rolls make for pretty good bites.

One of the must try is the prawn tempura temaki because the piping hot, freshly cooked prawn tempura wrapped in crisp, fresh seaweed and vinegared rice is simply heavenly in taste and texture.

The service is very good; very prompt responses to requests and friendly. Especially an uncle in there who will take the effort to query about customers' opinions on the food—make one feels important as a customer. And found out that some Japanese patronize this restaurant; a sign of the quality of the food there since I personally know that Japanese are particularly fussy about the standard of Japanese food they eat (a reason why one will never see a Japanese dining in one of those commercialized Japanese restaurants).

Now, I do not always have to trudge down to Cuppage to satisfy my cravings for quality and affordable Japanese food (and Shinji is more for that occasional sinful indulgence) since there is Kinsa (and another two restaurants, though for raw fishes, Kinsa is the choice). 

In fact, I actually prefer this place over Aoki and even one of my old favourities, Kaiho since I find the quality to be almost the same—special note: the special complimentary appetizers in Kinsa wins the one in Aoki, hands down—but there is a difference in price. While I can only get ordinary types of sushi, such as akami, tamago and ebi in a sushi set lunch in Aoki and Kaiho, with the same amount of money spent, I can order more premium items, along the lines of hotate and amaebi, in Kinsa by ordering individual sushi items off the menu.

With the set meals at less than $20, I can afford to patronize this restaurant often. Have to admit that the ala carte items are too tempting to resist either.

My Thoughts: It used to be one of my Favourite Haunts when located in Ang Mo Kio

This restaurant is no longer in operation.

Marugoto Shokudo - Unexpected good find in the heartlands

Closed

My general impression of food in Singapore stereotypically goes like this; for good hawker, look for it in the heartlands' hawker centres or coffeeshops; for good restaurants, look for it in the city area or places nested among the landed properties. So I was quite surprised to find a decent restaurant situated in a secular, regularly overlooked area of Ang Mo Kio, and that is Marugoto Shokudo. Of course, the food is not stellar or exceptional (so far, I can only use these descriptions for Shinji only when it comes to Japanese food), but considering the price range of ten dollars plus to thirty plus for a set of premium sushi moriawase, the dishes are considered as very value for money since the quality is way better than the ones in those common chain restaurants.

For twenty dollars plus only, I got a bowl of chirashi of premium sashimi consisting of hotate, salmon, otoro, ama ebi, mekaiji (I do not like this though), tako, ika and ikura. Wow, this dish looks particular impressive; the hotate and salmon are  yummy. Ika and Ikura are pretty good while otoro is melt in the mouth quality (though so-so in quality). My main disappointment is with ama ebi that is ridiculously not ama (sweet); the prawns look good but the taste is incredibly bland, like the prawns were washed mutiple times or soaked in water. Aside from that, this dish is generally considered as thumbs up. 

The fried chicken pieces in the curry rice are extremely fresh, having none of the smell of stale meat or overused oil, it helps that the chicken pieces are also very flavourful. The complimentary dessert and miso soup that come with all set meals, are very good also. I like it that creamy custard pudding is served instead of the generic watermelon slice.

The other dishes are delicious also; definitely way better than the likes of Sushi Tei, Ichiban and Sakae (but the price is comparable). The grilled cuttlefish is very fresh, sublimely tender and easy to chew, the makimono are all of decent standard, the gyoza paired with the fragrant spicy oil is tasty (yet not salty). The scallops with cheese are creamy and tasty without going crazy on the amount of salt used and there is no sand inside (yes, I had bit into bits of sand or some gritty stuff in such scallops in few dining establishments), though this dish must be eaten hot; leave it there for a while and the cheese will harden.

Generally speaking, I think that the cooked food is way better than the raw ones since there are times where I found the raw fishes to be quite stale.

The ambience is very conducive for casual dining in a comfortable setting. The service is very good and friendly for a mid-range restaurant, prompt in refilling of tea, due to a group of young, energetic and dedicated staff (another lady staff is very friendly also).

Definitely near the top of my list of restaurants to go to, for a quick, decent quality meal, especially for cooked food, at a wallet friendly price.

My Thoughts: Nice!

Note: This restaurant is no longer in operation.