Nook & Cranny

One rainy evening, we headed to Nook & Cranny. The ambience is perfect for rainy days. People were just sitting around, using their laptops or doing their assignments. There was one teacher, who was visibly frustrated with the scripts that she was marking. The grief that we inflict upon our teachers. 

They have a seating area outside as well.

We ordered the Nook Wings ($8.50). Yes, these are decent crispy wings, but a little too salty for my liking. Plus, once I had tried Lola's Cafe's Honey Paprika Crispy Wings, these cannot really compare.

As I had over-eaten for the previous meal, I decided to get a simple and hard-to-get-wrong Aglio e Olio ($12.90). The addition of chilli gave the dish some needed punch. I had wished that fresh herbs were used instead of these dried herbs. It was otherwise, again, decent.

My husband got himself the Chicken Bleu ($15.50) which consisted of boneless chicken thigh stuffed with bacon and cheese, served with orzo. The chicken was very easy to tear apart and had a layer of cheese generously spread over it. The first time we ever had Orzo was in Greece. Although it is the size of short grained rice, it is soft and soaks up some of that cheese.

The food here is decent. But if anything, I would be here to spend an entire afternoon just chilling, rather than being here because of good food.

Nook & Cranny
Thomson V One
9 Sin Ming Road
Tel No: 6452 7449 

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Redpan

Redpan is a collaboration between DP Architects and Grub. 

Taking into account the experience of an established homegrown architecture firm with that of a restaurant which knows how to dish out good casual fare, we had high hopes for this place.

The restaurant was spacious and beautifully designed- normal lights are too pedestrian so they got curvy lights instead.

When someone who has artistic genes sets up a restaurant, this is clearly evident, even from the layout of their website.

I know, I know. Truffle fries are just means to cheat people of their money since there is no truffle in truffle oil. But if I like the taste of truffle oil, why not? We ordered the Truffle Floss Fries ($9) - the generous portion of fries came with chicken floss- giving a spin on the otherwise boring truffle fries. Best to be shared by more than 3-4 people.

We ordered the Lup Cheong Iberico Chorizo Paella ($28). This was good enough for at least two to share. The Chinese element in this was the lup cheong which went well with the moist paella rice drizzled with garlic oil. This was in fact a rather genius combination because it was probably meant to taste like claypot rice (along with some slight charred rice). There was really nothing to complain about the dish, except, which is the Iberico chorizo? This was the question that everyone at the table had. Unless we all had issues with understanding what Iberico chorizo is (which we understand to be pork sausage), besides the lup cheong, all we saw and tasted were pieces of chicken.

We also tried the Prawn and Hae Bi Hiam Pasta ($19). The tagliatelle was tossed with a spicy shrimp paste, and accompanied by fresh prawns.

Redpan 
#02-03/04 Marina Square
6 Raffles Boulevard
Tel No: 6884 6884 

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Mezza9

Lunch at Mezza9 is always a welcome affair, especially when you manage to get your hand on some card which allows you to get 50% off the bill!  

I always remembered the bread here, not so much for the bread per se, but because of the tangy tomato sauce which companies the bread.  

Their prices have increased since the last time I dined at Mezza9. A 2 course menu which used to be $29++ now costs $32 ++. The 3 course set lunch is priced at $42++.

Their menus change periodically and I did not find items that particularly appealed to me this round. I initially wanted to try the Blue Swimmer Crab Cakes. The waiter told me, "Just to let you know, the picture shows that there are two crab cakes but actually we will only be serving one." Then isn't there something wrong with their menu - first, the picture shows 2 crab cakes, then the name of the dish itself is plural!

Because I felt a little shortchanged, I ordered the Spencer Gulf Wild King Prawn Cocktail. Although the name of the dish sounded fancy, the prawns tasted like frozen prawns which had little texture to it.

The Gai Yang fared so much better. The chicken was grilled and marinated with honey and tamarind. There was a choice of three sauces, so you could decide which you wanted to dip your chicken into. A rather big piece of chicken was served and I enjoyed the smoky taste of the tender chicken.

After finishing the 2 course set meal with a cup of cappuccino, we decided to order a mango tart with coconut shards. The mango was sweet and the there was a mixture of a slightly creamy and "cakey" mixture on the tart, making this a refreshing dessert.

Mezza9 
Grand Hyatt Hotel
10 Scotts Road
Tel No: 6732 1234 

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9 places to get your birthday cakes

Probably two decades ago, whenever my family celebrated birthdays, the birthday cake was always the same, no matter which family member, year after year.

But nobody complained because this was our favourite cake - mango cake with a thick layer of sponge and generous slabs of mangoes neatly arranged on the cake, topped with a layer of jelly. The cake was home made by a lady who stayed around a 7 minute walk from where we stayed. Sadly, she passed away due to cancer and we never found another mango cake remotely close to those that she used to make.

Every time I have to buy a birthday cake, I have to think hard. Here is a compilation of my favourite cakes (and will be happy for suggestions too!).

1. Awfully Chocolate

The first time I tried Awfully Chocolate's cakes was when my university classmates celebrated my birthday. If you are one for good old fashioned chocolate cakes, Awfully Chocolate offers precisely that. The All Chocolate Cake ($34 for a 6 inch cake) is no-frills and moist.

Credit: Awfully Chocolate

I like their Chocolate Banana Cake ($36 for a 6 inch cake) as well- I mean it's moist upon moist! Bananas and chocolates are a match made in heaven and the sweet banana adds a kick to the otherwise bittersweet chocolate cake.

2. Chateraise

Chateraise, a Japanese bakery, is a new discovery.

I tried the Crispy Chocolate Cake ($40). Typical of Japanese cakes, the white chocolate fresh cream was light. Using good quality Belgium Couverture chocolate, this was a decadent chocolate cake topped with chocolate balls.

3. Four Leaves

Four Leaves is so common until sometimes, we forget that common bakeries can also produce good cakes.

Coco Exotic (21 cm X 17 cm for $38) is one of those cakes that no one can complain about (unless you really hate chocolate). The sponge cake is layered with light chocolate mousse and the best part is of course the crispy hazelnut flakes lining the bottom of the cake.

4. Windowsille pies

If you want a break from cakes, how about try some pies? This is an especially good option for young people who want to take capture instagrammable food pictures and just want to try a bit of every possible flavour.

For my birthday last year, I requested for the Assorted Pie ($70) which had 10 slices and I asked everybody to choose what flavour they wanted beforehand so you could be sure that no one would be getting what they don't like! My favourite flavours include the Strawberry Lemon and Sparkling Yuzu because they bring that sour tang to the pies.

Credit: Windowsille Pies 

5. Stuttgart Blackforest Boutique S-Cafe

My husband does not have much opinion about food. But, he swears by Stuttgart S-Cafe's Black Forest Cake ($125). We have never bought the whole cake because of the hefty price tag and will usually order one slice for two to share.

This Black Forest Cake is serious business. The cherries are not only abundant, but abundantly soaked in kirsch. This balances out the sweetness of the cake and is an absolute delight.

Credit: Stuttgart Blackforest Boutique S-Cafe

6. L'atelier Tiramisu 

L'atelier Tiramisu is my favourite tiramisu place in Singapore. I do not know how an authentic tiramisu tastes like. But the Classico ($30 for 500 gram) suits my tastebuds the best- the right proportion of mascarpone to lady fingers, the lady fingers thoroughly soaked in aromatic coffee and the bitter chocolate to top it off.

Credit: L'atelier 

They also offer other flavours such as lychee, matcha, dark cherry etc. but classico remains my favourite.

7. Pine Garden 

I have never heard of Pine Garden until family members started ordering huge cakes from Pine Garden for their kids' birthday celebrations. Pine Garden is one of those old school bakeries which has more than 32 years of history. If you are one for old school cakes with a twist, this is for you. Popular cakes include the Lychee Martini ($48 for 1 kg).

My favourite is the Orange Zest Chocolate ($48 for 1 kg) while my mum's favourite is the Pulut Hitam cake ($44 for 1 kg).

Credit:Credit: Pine Garden

8. Island Creamery 

Eating Swensens' ice cream cake used to be a real treat. However, after growing up, I realised that there's certainly more to ice cream cakes than Swensens. 

The Mudpie Cake ($48 for 8 inch) consists of layers of chocolate, cookies & cream and burnt caramel ice cream topped with Oreo cookie crumbs. If you are both a cake lover and ice cream lover, this is the perfect way to enjoy the best of both worlds. 

9. Cedele

I refused to try carrot cakes (the Western one, not chai tow kway) because carrots and cakes just sound really weird together. However, upon much cajoling, I tried Cedele's Carrot Walnut Cake ($52 for 8 inches) and could finally understand why people enjoy this cake.

I have to admit that I am still not a fan of the sweet cream cheese frosting but then again, I generally do not like frosting and cream cheese. The carrot cake, thankfully, tasted nothing like raw carrots. It is dense, moist, tasted of cinnamon and contained lots of walnuts and carrot shreds.

Credit: Cedele

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