The Coffee Academics

It's a couple of hours left before I board my first ever cruise. I spent my weekend enjoying some ME Time this week and thought it's quite an enjoyable experience. I'll keep this post short because I haven't finished packing and cruise wifi need to pay!

So my choice for ME Time was spent at Coffee Academics. I first came across this place when I was in Hong Kong on Repulse Bay. They are known for good coffee! The problem I had back then was finding something I felt like eating and it was very very difficult. Nothing looked appealing. I decided to give them another chance randomly today.

For my main, I picked their signature Crispy Fish Fillet Tacos ($23) which comes with a locally grown golden snapper that is combined with chipotle mayonnaise and fresh mango salsa. There's also salad and curly fries on the side. I felt the fish went very well with the mango salsa and chipotle mayonnaise. In fact it was rather addictive. Unfortunately the taco shells wasn't very crispy and that took some shine off an otherwise hearty meal. Fries was very very generous. I couldn't finish. Taste wise was ordinary but nothing to complain about.

For dessert, I settled for their signature Affogato Coupe, blend expresso with vanilla gelato ($10). Being known more for their coffee than food, the Affogato was presented well and tasted great too. The quality of gelato given was acceptable and I like how the sweetness of the vanilla goes well with the bitterness of the espresso. Worth trying! I also enjoyed the instagram photo-taking moments. HAHA!

On the whole, I enjoyed my visit to The Coffee Academics. This is a coffee place. It's an awesome chill out place for good coffee and a nice book. I'd be back again when I want some ME Time.

The Coffee Academics
Scotts Square, #02-01/02, 6 Scotts Road

Kiss the Tiramisu

This week I'm honestly flooded with stuff to do! Car inspection, renew road tax, work as much as possible, spend time with my other hobby investment plus put it into practice, and I discovered some new stuff I want to try to increase my knowledge on topics of my interest... so you get the picture. There's still the cruise and Bangkok trip the following week which I'll be taking a break from showcasing food. Oh, I would like to add that my original choice of feature was Hai Di Lao which I've never eaten before (despite my love for good food) but the queue is insane! 4 HOURS! I'm amazed. I'll go the next time after I make reservations...

This entry is kept deliberately short. Kiss the Tiramisu originates from Korea. It's a combination of tiramisu and soft serve making it awesome tiramisu ice cream. At least that is the idea. It's pretty popular here too but thankfully no queue. The crowd is just enough to keep the servers busy but not enough to form a line.

We picked the original flavour ($6.90) and it earned my stamp of approval because I'm one of the typical instagram junkie who must take picture of every food I eat. I love it that it's served in this golden flute plastic cup. I didn't take pictures of the preparation process but I felt it's worth watching if you are the curious sort like me. The taste on the other hand doesn't really live up to its hype. I mean it doesn't taste bad. It's just not special. Vain Pot and I kept digging through the cup trying to taste the distinctive tiramisu flavour but all we got was vanilla soft serve and cocoa powder. Essentially I paid $6.90 for a well decorated vanilla ice cream.

Will I eat it again? No. However I didn't regret trying it. While I've been hunting for food every week, I hardly hunt for snacks or desserts to eat on the go. I found this to be a rather novel experience for both Vain Pot and myself. Unless you fly to Korea very often, I recommend going through the process of trying it once. At least you won't be sua ku. I enjoyed the entire experience even though I won't buy it again.

Kiss The Tiramisu
277 Orchard Road #01-15 Orchard Gateway

d'Good Cafe

I spent my weekend reliving a game that few of my friends still play - Pokemon. The brother is still very much into this game although I tell him nowadays only Aunty and Uncles play. Since it's my first time playing after changing to my iPhone SE, I got lots of catching up to do. There's lots of Pokestops in town and he is very into it, so why not catch some Pokemons while we are running errands there? Apparently the game is offering some pretty attractive perks for its current players because more and more players are dropping out of the game.

In any case, I decided to visit a cafe I've left in my Easy to Go Food Hunting By Public Transport list today since I'm at the heart of Orchard Road. The original plan was to visit Fuel + but time was a little tight given that we had a long list of errands to run. d'Good Cafe has two outlets, one in Holland V and another at Takashimaya. It's a very English themed cafe at the Takashimaya outlet but the biggest highlight I read about this place is that Mediacorp artist Chou Choo Ming is said to be an investor.

Somehow the classic red telephone booth and letterboxes sparked a strong desire for Ling Cod Fish and Chips ($22). I must say it definitely satisfied my cravings, with the cod tasting fresh and the batter light and not very oily. It goes well with the sour cream and malt vinegar sauce that comes with it. One strange observation I have is that most of these cafes serving cod fish have a similar tough rubbery taste that comes with some parts of the fish. According to one of my chef friends, it's due to the frozen fats that comes with the fish whenever these big fishes are imported from overseas.

The Brother picked Fresh Sea Prawn Aglio Olio ($16) which is garlicky rich in taste, a bit oily but who cares, it taste awesome and just how good aglio olio should be. The taste lingers in the mouth which passes my primary criteria for awesome food. The prawns were generous in serving as well. A new place to get my Aglio Olio fix when I'm in town from now on!

d'Good Cafe is also known for their cold brews and the Brother tried D'Unknown Coffee ($7.50) which is just like what the name says. You don't know what coffee you are getting! Turns out it's rose coffee which is a refreshing change from standard coffees at cafes. I like it that it isn't excessively sweet!

For its accessible location and safe cafe menu, I feel that it is a pretty good hang out place for group gatherings and social meet ups. The food standards are above average even though I'm not 'wowed'.  I probably won't bring someone I wish to impress here but I'll definitely recommend this spot for my group gatherings. It's still a very convenient spot to enjoy a comfortable meal at the heart of town.

d'Good Cafe
391 Orchard Road #B1-56 Takashimaya S.C Ngee Ann City

Whisk & Paddle

This week is a week of learning. I resumed my book reading hobby thanks to some motivation from reconnecting with some inspiring friends. So far I've finished the book Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and have just started on this new book called Bull by Maggie Mahar. I kinda enjoyed my weekend also given the opportunity to catch up with busy Fat Fat whom I hardly get to see.

I kinda let Fat Fat pick the venue because I hardly see her and we both had to rush off to work after our catch up. Honestly, I believe if we are determined to make time for people we can. Busy is an excuse because believe me when I tell you I'm proud to say I know a lot of friends who make meaningful use of their time but still have time for a 2 hr catch up. She picked her regular haunt: Whisk and Paddle. 

Whisk & Paddle is located at Punggol near a cycling area so people hang out there to exercise and the area boast a couple of nice eateries, one of which is Uncle Leong Seafood for example. I first heard about this place when I developed a soft spot for eggs benedict on waffles which I tried with Vain Pot on my first visit to Whisk and Paddle. This is actually my second visit.

I thought I'd include the Eggs Benedict ($13) which first lured me to this place. The hollandaise sauce were in the right thickness and the sauteed mushrooms were great. The waffles which is one of the highlights of this place was baked just right as well. The only problem was the eggs. They served hard boiled poached eggs instead of runny poached eggs. Back then, fussy Vain Pot asked for a change of eggs only to be served another hard boiled poach egg. Getting a poach egg right is a test of culinary skill and that experience kinda dissuaded me from trying the eggs benedict during this visit. 

Fat Fat picked the Whisk Breakfast Pan ($19.8) after I dissuaded her from picking the Eggs Benny. The pan provides a generous serving of eggs of your choice, potatoes, pork sausage, steaky bacon, roasted tomatoes, sauteed mushroom, sourdough bread and french butter. I tried most of the stuff in the pan and they are competently executed. I guess you can't go too wrong with these basic ingredients. I'd like to add that the french butter is my favourite even though the sourdough bread was a little too hard. 

I chose Macaroni and Cheese ($13.80) for my own selection. Mac and Cheese is the standard comfort food that remains a safe choice whenever I can't decide what to eat. To begin with, I like it that it's serve in a pan. Looks so instagram worthy right? The Mac and Cheese at Whisk and Paddle is served with generous slices of ham. It's cheesy and taste really yummy when it's hot. However, this is one of those dish that you can't wait for everyone on the table to be served before you eat. Once cold, it taste very 'jelat' and hard to eat. Not yummy at all. Finish it while its warm.

Usually I'm not adventurous with coffee. However, I find myself thinking about the black sesame latte ($5.50) each time I come here. My black sesame latte was served on a saucer and with biscuit the first time I visited. Why now no saucer and biscuit? Don't you find it very unsightly for the spoon to be served without a saucer? Anyway, complains aside, the black sesame latte tastes great so consider trying it the next time you are there.

While the food at Whisk and Paddle isn't fantastic, I find myself still drawn to this place. I think I like it that the ambiance is chillax and that parking is easy to find. The food has a good variety that I can come back often on days when I'm looking for affordable food.

Whisk & Paddle
10 Tebing Lane
(Please note that brunch is only available on weekends)