LeTAO - The Wonderful Marriage of Two Forms of Cheesecakes

Double Formage: mousse cheesecake decked on top of baked cheesecake, à la New York cheesecakes. Who would have thought that this combination works beautifully, and Le TAO happens to be one of the few places to let us discover this.

First thing first, when purchasing the cheesecakes, you will be asked on your choice between chilled and frozen. If you intend to tuck into it within the day and you will not lugging the cheesecakes around under the hot Singapore sun for hours, go for chilled one. Because the frozen one takes hours to defrost, and I can tell you that even after waiting for hours, the cake spots the consistency of a ice-cream. There are recommendations on letting the ice cream warm up a bit for few minutes after taking it out of the freezer in order to enjoy the unadulterated flavours of the dessert. The same goes for Le TAO's cheesecake. The true flavours of the cake are trapped in the coldness, resulting in a somewhat nice cheesecake.

But when biting into the cake that is thoroughly defrost, there is world of difference in the taste. The mild yet distinctive taste of mascarpone is what "delighting the taste buds with subtlety" is all about. And the baked cheesecake part, made with cream cheese, is slightly salty and features stronger flavours of cheese, complements the mousse cake so well—adding that little extra punch to the overall taste and accentuating the flavour of mascarpone cheese. The combination of these two forms of cheesecakes makes for the perfect texture. Imagine baked cheesecake slathered with a thick slab of delicious cream. Sounds better than the plain old cheesecake, right? The double formage is kind of like this, except that the cream on top is creamier and firmer in this case, thus blurring the distinction between the two layers of cakes and creating the harmonious union of the two.

As for the limited edition formage berry, the tart taste of strawberries added an extra zest to the cake, so I prefer this from "the need to have dimensional taste" point of view. But at the same time, the strawberries muted the delicate flavours of the mascarpone cheese.

From the angle of letting all ingredients shine, the original cake is better. After trying the cakes many times, my conclusion is that I prefer the original one since the addition of mascarpone cheese is for us to enjoy its unique taste. I can pick up other strawberry desserts instead if I want desserts with that extra kick.

So is it the best cheesecake as a lot had claimed? Yes, if I am not taking artisanal cheesecakes into account. Though artisanal desserts are for those really special occasions. For casual indulgence, Le TAO's cakes are good enough for me.

My Thoughts: Yummy!

Nearest car park: ION Orchard's car park
Nearest MRT: Orchard

#B1-K7, ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn
Singapore

Ling Zhi Restaurant - Light yet Tasty Food

As much as I like to go vegetarian, it is not easy to become one. I had tried, but did not make it due to many reasons that do not stem from me. So I give the props to those who can do it. Okay, after this talk on a bit of history about me, let's talk about the food here.

What I like about the food here is that a lot of dishes feature vegetables in their true form, not as mock meat. I do not mind vegetarian meat, but considering those are mostly prepared through frying and such, I will rather give them a miss. Another highlight is the dishes are light and not oily yet pretty tasty. The spinach soup served in bamboo cup is a novelty, but I like it. The contents do not disappoint. The mild flavour of spinach does well to enhance and not eclipse over the delicate taste of the enoki mushrooms and finely chopped crunchy chestnuts.

Like the chestnuts, the lightly stir-fried kai lan and the vegetables served in a basket made from batter also have that crunchy texture. Thus it is really easy to finish them all.

The settings is pretty posh, but the service is a mixed bag, just like most of the Chinese restaurants. One of the staff is quite friendly and helpful, but the manager seemed to be quite impatient when we requested to take out the preserved mustard greens from the kai lan. It did not help that they took a long time to serve up the dishes.

Still, if one wants to have a guilt-free, healthy meal, without compromising on taste and variety, this restaurant is the place to go to. And the choices of food are aplenty, exceeding my expectations of a vegetarian restaurant. Just don't expect great service.

My Thoughts: Nice!

Nearest car park: Liat Towers car park (park on the fifth floor for a short walk to the restaurant)
Nearest MRT: Orchard

Liat Towers #05-01
541 Orchard Road
Singapore
Contact No: 6734 3788

Marugana Ice-cream

This brand is a not bad choice for ice-cream. While not as heavenly as Waitrose Clotted Cream, Green & Black's and Móvenpick, Marunaga Ice-cream still stands a league above lots of its competitors.

Besides the uniqueness of the matching of flavours, like strawberry wrapped in white chocolate and red bean ganache in strawberry ice-cream, another highlight of this brand's ice-cream is the use of real strawberries. A bit of artificial flavour is detected though—the result is this ice cream is sweeter than Móvenpick's one made from all natural flavours. But there is not too much of it to be a deal-breaker.

At least, we shoppers can pick up some ice-cream of decent quality, such as this brand and Hirota, from NTUC, other than Ben & Jerry. Want any better from supermarkets, got to try the luck at Cold Storage instead.

Country of Origin: Japan
Where to buy this: NTUC supermarkets

Ivins Nyonya Specialities - Tasty Food but the service ...

Okay, ambience wise, this place is more like a well-kept coffee shop, saved for the air-conditioning. But every part of it is immersed in strong Peranakan culture. I love the rows of florid porcelain pots at the counter and the colourful tingkats lining the shelves at the other side of the restaurant. Even the claypots sitting in straw baskets ooze that Peranakan vibe. Yes, it is a nice touch to have all dishes served in claypots.

Though claypots does not really work for Ayam Tauyu Lada, which is chicken in sweet sauce. While chicken pieces—the dark brown colours and jumbled up formation make them look not great for photos—taste very flavourful with the right balance of intense saltiness and sweetness, those at the bottom are too sweet due to the accumulation of the sweet sauce at the base of the claypot.

Nyonya Chap Chye has that nostalgic homely feel to it. This is actually very similar to the mixed vegetable stew our mothers cooked, except that the one here has more spices and ingredients added for that subtle, extra zest.

Kuah Lada Ikan Pari—stingray soaked in turmeric and peppercorn gravy is the one that gets the thumbs up from me. I like the huge stab of fresh meaty stingray served, where I am spared of the trouble of scrapping for slivers of meat from the bony stingray. There is a tail part with minimum amount of flesh, but my guy had done the gentlemanly thing to eat that and let me have the meaty part. The tangy, spicy gravy does justice to the stingray meat to impart compatible strong flavours to the otherwise plain flesh.

Bakwan Kepiting is absolutely delightful. Just like Nyonya Chap Chye, it tastes like homemade food. Just that this bowl of unassuming-looking bowl of clear soup is bursting with flavours of different spectrum. The aroma of coriander leaves is very pronounced here, thus complementing the strong taste of the meat balls. It is tending to the oily side, so take note.

The service does leave much to be desired since some staffs, when busy, will outright ignore the customers waiting at the entrance to be allocated a table. Don't expect smiles, as they are not aplenty here.

Despite the service, the food does give me incentive to go back.

My Thoughts: Not Bad

Nearest car park: URA open air car parks around Heartland Mall
Nearest MRT: Kovan

205 Hougang St 21
#02-00 Heartland Mall
Singapore
Contact No: 62887922

East Bistro - Sembawang Well-kept Secret

Who says Dim Sum are meant for lunches only? I want to have them whenever I feel like it, especially given the fact that I have a preference for dishes that come in small plates instead of a huge mountain of food slapped in front of me. Though the fact remains that most restaurants do not serve Dim Sum at night time. This is where East Bistro comes to the rescue, not literally, of course.

Besides the trademark soupy rice, featuring rice grains soaked with the flavourful milky soup base while retaining the firm texture of rice, Dim Sum items are also on the all-day menu. The good part is they are of decent quality and incredibly low price. And the Barbecue Pork Bun has an amazing fluffy exterior that is out of this world, partly because I have never eaten a Chinese Bun with such soft and fluffy skin. And since I dislike the mush-like porridge and is bored with the regular Thai rice, the Soupy Rice here, which has different texture and taste from the other types of rice dishes, does well to entice me into getting my dose of carbohydrates for the night.

Ambience there is ... well ... serviceable. At least, it is clean, air-conditioned, with ample space between the tables. Just keep in mind how wallet-friendly the food there is, and all will be good.

Service is like ... well ... what you find in common Chinese restaurants—efficient but brutal. But I do appreciate that the boss, a chef from Hong Kong, goes around to enquire on our opinions of the food.

Oh yes, the boss greets us and bids farewell if we see him in the restaurant, as we are kind of like regular patrons there already. I do like patronizing this place since both my palates and wallet remain happy after a meal there. One last thing, this restaurant is way better than Tim Ho Wan, in terms of food, ambience and pricing.

My Thoughts: Nice!

Nearest car park: Victory 8 Condominium's car park
Nearest MRT: Sambawang

10 Jalan Tampang
Contact No: 67524844

Kohi-Koji - Nice Cakes

Closed

Emporium Shokuhin: an assemble of various dining concepts, it would not be complete without a cafe for patrons to chill out after meals, right? Enter Kohi-Koji, an open-concept cafe that specializes in coffee, cakes and sandwiches.

The place looks more like a mini square in Emporium Shokuhin, located between two escalators. A little counter displaying pretty cakes and delicious looking, and sometimes unique, sandwiches, and some light beige furniture, and there you have it, a small, quaint cafe. I do feel that this is more for a quick bite, rather than a place for long tea break.

The dessert, Mixed Berries Strawberry Champagne Verrine, it looks very pretty. But does it taste as good as it looks? The answer is yes, if there is an appreciation for the amalgam of different flavours. Since this dessert is created with real strawberries, from the sauce to the custard, it is bursting with the goodness, meaning the aroma … and tart taste, of fresh strawberries.

When I first saw the sauce lacing the top of the pink custard, I did feel a slight bit of apprehension because for one, I dislike the smell and taste of preserved fruits, and most sauces have the smell and taste of preserved fruits. Also, I did wonder if the sauce was made with artificial strawberry flavour, which I hate. But all my worries were dispelled the moment I tucked into it. The sauce simply smells and tastes like fresh strawberries. The cute dollop of cream perched on the top is very fragrant, so much that when I took off the lid, I immediately caught a whiff of the aroma of vanilla cream. Eat the cream with the custard, the combination of sweetness and sourness worked so well that it is hard to stop at few mouthfuls. And they taste great with the fruits also. The champagne sauce is placed at the bottom of the verrine, and a swig of this adds a touch of indulgence and dimension to the taste of the cream and custard. So try to scoop up the dessert from the bottom to get to the champagne. The best part is this dessert is only $4.80. Kind of unbelievable though I am totally digging it.

The cakes are also good, no doubt about it. The cream used is light yet substantial enough to impart that blissful tummy-filling feeling, which is just what I need to complete a meal. The sponge is moist, soft and fluffy. What I like most about the rainbow cake is the lemon flavour infused into the cream, making it a more exciting cake than most of the other rainbow cakes. With the extra zest, the cream tastes a bit like lighter version of cream cheese, with the aroma of lemon. What is more, there is generous amount of cream added into the cake due to six layers of cake sponges. And I love the bright pastel colours.

And here is another good news for cake lovers: since the cafe closes at 8:30pm, the cakes are sold at 30% discount after 8:30pm. There is no reason not to grab them after dinner at Marina Square. I am doing just that already.

My Thoughts: Nice!

This cafe is currently not in operation.

Senmi Sushi - Just Another Sushi Restaurant

Closed

It is through the word of mouth about Senmi that I know of Emporium Shokuhin. But alas, this restaurant is the runt of the lot, offering nothing special as compared to its competitors.

The ambience is similar to the likes of Sushi Tei. Comfortable environment for dining, but there is nothing distinct about the venue. But then again, this hardly matters if the food is good.

The problem is that the food is just comparable to those of the chain restaurants. The menu features all the usual suspects of various types of rolls and sushi. And the quality is not a league above those restaurants. This contrasts greatly with another restaurant of Emporium Shokuhin, Takujo, whose raw seafood is so fresh. The salmon served in Senmi is pale in colour, which is not what I like to see in salmon. This is no different from those salmon sashimi I had at the common mass produced restaurants. I prefer quality salmon that has deeper hue of orange, and too bad that I cannot find it here.

The chirashi sounds interesting since the patrons can customize the toppings to add to the bowl of sushi rice. Though given the quality of the raw seafood, the end result is okay but not exceptional. The plus point of the chirashi is the pearl-like rice with fluffy, smooth texture.

Service is okay. Nothing special to make mention of.

This place is worth checking out if one is looking for a fairly decent Japanese restaurant serving Japanese food catered to the masses. But for unique dining experience, head to the other restaurants in Emporium Shokuhin instead.

My Thoughts: Not Bad

This place is currently not in operation.