Breakfast and Brunch in London

It's the last day of 2017! I'm still writing content on my last London trip. Technically in a couple of hours, I'm heading out for high tea with Fat Fat. After which, I might be thinking of buying a water gun to wash my new carriage. Breakfast and brunch in London is really a food blogger's heaven. The selection is so plentiful and this is just a little bit of my long list of must trys.

I went to Cereal Killer Cafe on my own when Vain Pot went to work. I know, the common perception is what's so great about cereals you have to travel to somewhere just to eat it. Cereal Killer Cafe carries an international spread of cereals and the selection is abundant. It's a cozy and interesting place with beds in the cafe where almost everyone rush to sit on.

One reason why I'm fascinated with this is because I don't enjoy eating cereals that much when I prepare it myself. However, the cereal advertisements on TV tend to bring out a more delicious appeal on cereals and I'm curious to know if the pros can give me a different experience. Visitors can either mix and match their own cereals or select from their cereal cocktails. I selected the Feckin Nut Case which is made up of crunchy nut clusters, crunchy nut cornflakes, honey nut cheerios, hazelnuts and almond milk. I got to say it's awesome! Greedy me ordered the medium size bowl and I couldn't finish but I tried my best because it's really good. There's adequate sweetness yet you don't feel diabetic and the nutty crunchiness was really an excellent balance of flavours. Cereals can really taste awesome if you know how to prepare it! If I bring guest to London, I'm definitely bringing them here.

Cereal Killer Cafe
Mezz 2, Camden Stable Market, Chalk Farm Road, London, N16 7UY

Vain Pot took me to Darwin Brasserie for an early birthday celebration. It's unfortunate that it's semi-raining semi snowing that day because the highlight of the place is dining at the Sky Garden. Yes, awesome views, perfect Christmassy environment and cozy interior. There's a semi-buffet (continental breakfast) menu and an ala carte (hot breakfast) menu. I'll strongly suggest the Hot Breakfast menu because the Continental Breakfast looks too ordinary.

Vain Pot selected the Pain Perdu which is made up of crisp bacon, crushed pecans and maple syrup. It's the first time we are trying such a dish and it's surprisingly agreeable with our palettes. The bacon goes excellently with the bread and maple syrup, you don't get sick of eating it and in fact, you want to have more! I settled for traditional English breakfast and all the individual ingredients were executed perfectly. No complains! I especially enjoyed the bread with butter. I'd like to come back here when it's sunny and experience the full ambiance of the beautiful sky garden with awesome food and company.

Darwin Brasserie
Sky Garden, 1 Sky Garden Walk, London, EC3M 8AF

We woke up too early for Duck and Waffle even though it's 24 hours. To successfully book Duck and Waffle is a challenge. Our time slot was 6:15am breakfast so it was too early for me to be sufficiently awake to remember to take photos of the venue. Duck and Waffle is located on the 40th floor. The awesome view of the London skyline and it's affordable menu makes it a highly popular venue for tourist and locals alike. Trying the signature duck and waffle justifies that this place isn't just gimmicky. The waffle was fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. The duck was tender with the skin fried till crispy. I'm not much of a savoury waffle person but I found the meal easy to finish. I don't mind coming back here to watch the sunrise and enjoy some simple breakfast.

Duck and Waffle
Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY

Granger and Co is actually my very first meal in London. I found them while searching for the best pancakes in London. The place is really popular, there's a snaking queue just to be seated. Granger and Co specialises in Australian food and having eaten there, I'm now tempted to visit the Down Under.

Vain Pot and I ordered two dishes to share. While the serving is huge, they are surprisingly very easy to finish. In fact we fought over the food because we can't get enough of it. The first dish we had was the Fresh Aussie which is jasmine tea hot smoked salmon, poached eggs, greens, furikake, avocado and cherry tomatoes. The smoked salmon is by far the best smoked salmon I've ever eaten! I wanted the entire piece to myself. It's light, with a little tea flavour and you can taste the absolute freshness of the fish. 

We also had to try the signature ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter. This is the fluffiest, lightest, hotcakes I've eaten. It's so light, you don't feel like you are eating flour. The honeycomb butter and maple syrup goes so well with the banana and hotcakes it can double up as a dessert. 

I strongly recommend Granger and Co for its ricotta hotcakes. You won't know what good hotcakes are before trying this. 

Granger and Co

237 Pavilion Road, London, SW1X 0BP

Cakes & Snacks in London

London is always known for fresh bakes and afternoon teas. It's almost a waste if anyone in London doesn't give cakes, cookies and biscuits a chance. In my stay there, I have noticed that London is pretty similar to home, they got all sorts of food ranging from the street snacks to the dessert parlours. This week, I wish to share all that my stomach consumed (it's bulging more now) and what I feel everyone should try.

Peggy Porschen Cakes is a popular cake shop at the city centre of London. They are known among tourist as the instagrammable cake shop. My visit there was marred by the misjudgment of the day turning dark early due to Winter. My photos turned out less instagram-worthy.

Aside from the appeal to the eyes, the quality of cakes at Peggy Porschen Cakes is really high. The owner herself is a Le Cordon Bleu Graduate. The both cakes we tried, Bejeweled Chocolate (Christmas special) and Pink Prosecco (Christmas Special) were both soft and fluffy with icing blending very well with the cake. For tea, we shared a pot of Sugar Plum fruit infusion cinnamon spice. The hot tea went excellently with the cakes and it'll be perfect if the day was brighter so I am appreciate my food better. It really gives you a taste of what tea in London should be like on a lazy afternoon and oh yes, before I move on, be prepared to queue.

Peggy Porschen Cakes
116 Ebury Street, Belgravia, London SW1W 9QQ

One of the most memorable stuff I ate during my London trip is the Butterbeer and Butterbeer Ice Cream. Yes, if you are a Harry Potter fan you no doubt know what I'm talking about. This is found in Harry Potter World so unless you pay for entry to the tour, you won't be able to try it. I'm personally not a Harry Potter fan, heck, I didn't even read the book! Despite this, I'm largely fascinated by the Butterbeer, made of butterscotch soda with ice cream on top and caramel ice cream for the Butterbeer Ice cream. I enjoyed what I ate, it was delicious, I got to share it with you! I've no regrets paying for Harry Potter World too, coming from someone who knows nothing about Yule Ball or Firebolt.

Harry Potter World 
Warner Bros, Studio Tour, London

One of the task I really wanted to complete this trip was to finish reading my book. So I went to this tiny quaint cafe in the heart of town to try some of their very unique ice cream flavours. It's a small place but I found a seat to read my book. No kidding. It's my very first dark chocolate chilli gelato. I also enjoyed the more normal Tonde Gentille Hazelnut. Ice cream was smooth and doesn't melt easily, just the way I like my gelato to be. Awesome! I also tried their oreo hot chocolate which I found very enjoyable as well. It's worth checking them out for their unique ice cream flavours. They won some awards! 

La Gelateria

27 New Row, Covent Garden, London WC2N 4LA

I visited the famous Dominique Ansel Bakery on my last day just before my flight. For the entire duration I'm in London, we have a few occasions where I nearly ate there but had a good reason not to each round. So my foodie nature kicked in and the last day saw me making a special trip to Victoria Station just to try my very first Cookie Shot and Cronut.  

A Cronut is basically a donut and a croissant combined as one. The one I ate had strawberry filling in it. Not much of a strawberry fan but it tasted awesome. I was quite surprised the cronut wasn't served pipping hot but I supposed that's how it was supposed to be. The sides were coated with sugar and the top glazed with pink sugar. Taking a bite into my cronut, the few adjectives I can think of are fresh, addictive, good pastry. The coffee shot is another interesting experience but I won't be specially doing this again. The cookie cup was really solid and the cold milk tasted good in the cup. Some of you who like to buy the cookie cup as a gift can do so in a box of 6. Really though, the main show stopper are the fresh bakes. 

Dominique Ansel Bakery

17-21 Elizabeth Street, Belgravia, London SW1W 9RP

Recommended Chinese Food in London

Been too busy clearing work and enjoying my London holiday that I've been guilty to neglect my little hobby food blog lately. Anyway, living in a London apartment I can pretty much call home makes writing blogs far more enjoyable. During this short break, I've noticed a problem getting reliable reviews on good food in London. So I'd like to pretty much fill this gap as much as possible. I thought I'd kick start my writing on London by touching on the Chinese food here because I got cravings for food back home after getting a little bored with the Western fare.

Goldmine Restaurant is known for their duck dish. Basically in London, the 3 popular duck restaurants are Four Seasons, Gold Mine and New Fortune Cookie. Given that my stay is limited, my very limited research led me to conclude on trying Gold Mine for this visit.

Vain Pot and I ordered half a duck and my gosh, this is by far the most value for money half a duck I ever had! Half a duck, no bones all meat and so tasty! We devoured the generous slices of meat with relish. The balance in flavour is awesome with the tenderness of the meat and the juiciness from the fats just beneath the duck skin. Vain Pot asked me if this is even better than the Kam's Roast Goose we fell in love with in Hong Kong... and I kinda felt that Roast Goose still wins at its best but Goldmine is far more consistent in terms of food quality based on the reviews and my own experience.

We tried a couple of other dishes at Goldmine and I felt while decent is nothing to rave about. Stick to the duck when you come here.

Goldmine Restaurant
102 Queensway, Paddington, London W2 3RR, UK (nearest tube: Bayswater)

The second unexpected discovery was at Ma Po. It's a restaurant walking distance from where we live and that day I was craving for some Chinese fare but didn't want to take the tube. Vain Pot recommended I try this place.

I ordered stir fried chicken with ginger and onions as well as a hot and sour soup. Both dishes were awesome and prices were reasonable. The rice cost me 2 pounds though... I felt the best thing about eating Chinese dishes with rice when you are away from home is the warm and fuzzy feeling it brings you. It helps that the chicken was tender and honestly I've eaten this dish many times elsewhere and I thought this is one of the best versions. I'm certain I'll definitely have at least one meal here each time I'm in London.

Ma Po
176 Lower Road, London SE16 2UN, UK (nearest tube: Surreys Quay)

The final place I'm featuring this visit is Lin's Restaurant & Bar. The weather was too cold, I skipped the photo-taking of the shop front. I found this dish on Instagram and literally walked in showing the photo to the host and told them I wanted the exact same dish. Turns out there're two similar dishes so it's difficult to tell which was which. Apparently, there's a Chongqing Noodles and a Szechuan Noodles and the key difference is the sauce. For this visit, I tried the Chongqing Noodles which I can vouch taste very authentic. The mala effect was so strong it literally numbed my taste buds for most of the meal.

I heard 2 Chinese girls next to me asking the waiter for the spiciest dish they got to offer. Lin's Restaurant & Bar is known for its spicy authentic Chinese food that caters to the Chinese community in the city. I was generally satisfied with my experience even though the noodles were a tad too spicy for me. I'd like to give them additional points for the hospitality and excellent service while I was there.

Lin's Restaurant & Bar
134 Southawk St, London SE1 0SW, UK (nearest tube: Southawk) 

Good Food on Budget

If you were following the previous article, you probably read that I tried living on $400 for the month, but after trying for 2 weeks I've decided to call it quits. Too miserable. It's quite difficult to do when you factor in petrol and cashcard top ups. In any case, this experiment wasn't in vain. I discovered that there's a good number of budget food around Singapore if you want to eat something better but keep the cost low.

Chicken Murtabak ($7.50) - Springleaf Prata Place

One of the perks of my job is running around Singapore which means I get to try food from every part of the country. So I was at the East in Bedok wondering what nice food was nearby which I could keep below $10. Springleaf Prata Place springs to mind and I've written a full article about them previously. Awesome for their prata. Having been wanting to try Murtabak for the longest time, I finally ordered it this visit. The prata skin was great as usual and the minced chicken was generous. I found the chicken to be a little on the dry side but it tasted good when it was still pipping hot.

Springleaf Prata Place
57B Jalan Tua Kong, S457253
(there's 2 more outlets at Thomson and Bukit Timah)

Pork Koka Noodles 可口面 ($3.50 w/egg) - Hai Xian Zhu Zhou 

This is honestly my favourite food for the year. I don't care if you are judging me for loving instant noodles so much. I've craved for it for close to a year and finally got to eat it when I discovered they have a branch in Yishun that works at earthly hours. The original outlet in Bukit Panjang opens at 3am and sometimes closes by early morning. (Are you kidding me? Business so good can close by 10am?!) It's basically Koka noodles cooked with pork, vegetables and an egg thrown in with fried onions to top it off. It sounds simple and ordinary but it taste like heaven for instant noodle lovers. The broth is really flavourful, the meat well marinated. The noodles felt a tad too salty but the rest of the dish balances it out.

Hai Xian Zhu Zhou
#01-472 Choh Dee Place, Blk 233 Yishun Street 21, S760233

Bak Kut Teh ($9.30 w/rice) - Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh

I was wandering around Marina Bay Sands after a not very pleasant appointment and wondering what can I eat that is affordable. A quick look at the food court reflects unknown hawker food at cafe prices. So expensive! Then I saw Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh and I actually heard of this stall while researching for nice Bak Kut Teh! The bigger bonus was that it was under $10. I took the middle option which consisted of one sirloin pork rib and two short ribs. I totally enjoyed my meal so much so I want to eat it again! The ribs fell off the bones easily and the fats melts in your mouth. I found the meat of the short ribs more pleasurable to eat that the sirloin pork rib. Perhaps I'll just opt for the $6.60 option next time. Save even more!

Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh
Rasapura Masters, 2 Bayfront Avenue, #B2-50, Stall 11, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, S018972


Claypot Laksa ($5) - Depot Road Zhen Shan Mei Claypot Laksa

This was awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2016. My hawker food savvy colleague pointed this stall out to me and I ordered the medium size version to try. Apparently, this recipe was bought over from the original owners.. The laksa broth is really thick and very rich in taste. Ingredients were well infused with the tangy gravy making the dish highly addictive. My only gripe was that at $5 and medium size, I felt like the only reasonable size meal to last the day is actually large. Be warned, the gravy splatters easily so do not wear white ordering this. It is otherwise an awesome laksa dish even though I heard the standard has dropped!

Depot Road Zhen Shan Mei Claypot Laksa
Blk 120 Bukit Merah Lane, #01-75, Alexander Village, S150120


Penang Hokkien Mee ($5) - Traditional Penang Food

I love black hokkien mee although good ones are really hard to find in Singapore. I found the one at Traditional Penang Food to be one of the more well cooked ones with a generous serving to match. The sauce thickness was just right and I enjoyed the ingredients provided which wasn't excessive or too stingy. While I believe this isn't the best Hokkien Mee in Singapore, this is definitely comfort food in a neighbourhood, certainly better than my neighbourhood's hokkien mee!

Traditional Penang Food
Blk 768 Woodlands Avenue 6 #01-12, Woodlands Mart, S730768

This pretty much sums up my budget post. If you wish to keep more in the loop about my day to day food you can follow me on Instagram @bluntandfussyeater

The Playground Coffee

This is a throwback post. I've been on budget for the past half a month to try out a save money challenge so couldn't afford luxuries like restaurants. In any case, my conclusion remains that earning more still works best for me as compared to trying to cut down on expenses which felt really miserable. Incidentally, today I fulfilled my desire to try the Pablo tart in house and also indulged in very satisfying Prawn Aglio Olio and Chicken wings at D'Good Cafe. I also bought a new book - Made to Stick, to resume my reading habit.

I went to The Playground Coffee a couple of weeks back when work took me to Pioneer. Given that I would never have travelled to Jurong West on my own even if it's for the food, I decided to indulge in some instagrammable brunch food before I left this ulu corner of the west. The Playground Coffee is a new cafe that fits the bill for the typical cafe hopping culture in Singapore. Located in Nanyang Community Centre, it serves a very niche community who probably have a long travel every time they leave home.

As it was a weekday, they had some attractive lunch sets where you pay for the main and add $7 for an additional drink and cake. I made this trip with a colleague of mine and settled for the Salmon Grain Bowl ($16) while he picked the Hearty Breakfast ($16). I found the food to be very competent for a neighbourhood cafe and was pretty thankful for the healthy meal. I enjoyed the quinoa in the bowl but would have preferred if the Barley was excluded the next time. I guess while everything was competently prepared, I didn't find any standout factor in my meal. 

As for the Hearty Breakfast, my colleague's comment was that it tasted like how a typical big breakfast dish should. Average was his comment. I took particular pleasure in the plating, liked the vibrant colours that stood out of the bowl.

I didn't feel like drinking anymore caffiene or soda given my pretty intense consumption over the past couple of days so gave the set lunch a pass. Instead, I ordered a separate dessert called Death's Nectar ($8) which is basically brownie with warm hot fudge and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This is really good! As someone who loves all things chocolate besides chocolate itself, I took particular pleasure in the richness of the chocolate fudge sauce. The brownies were soft and warm which goes exceedingly well with the cold vanilla ice cream. Awesome dessert!

My colleague went along with the set lunch and got a red velvet cake as his dessert. The cake was pretty delicious. The cake was coated with a cream cheese icing while the red velvet sponge is layered with milk chocolate. Taste is awesome but a little too rich that it's pretty difficult to finish solo. I think most of the cakes are pre-made so the cake is a little on the hard side given that it is frozen for hours. I like hard cakes but if you like your cake soft and fluffy, this isn't the cake for you.

In the past, there was a shortage of cafes in the West and The Playground Coffee would definitely cater to the Westies well. Given that, there's a rise in cafes springing up in the West, The Playground Coffee would have a challenging time trying to get a slice of the market share. That said, their food is very decent. I did note that their pricing is tilted a little to the high side considering its location. Whether this backfires on them remains to be seen. I won't specially travel to Jurong West to eat this again but if I'm around the area, I'll treat myself to Death's Nectar one more time!

The Playground Coffee
60 Jurong West Street 91, #01-04, Nanyang Community Club, S649040

Oh My Cafe

This week has been largely committed to work and researching for my London trip. Thankfully, I still managed to squeeze a day to meet up with a friend. As a whole though, I don't recall doing much for this week besides working...

I've been wanting to try Oh My Cafe since it surfaced on the blogosphere a couple of months ago. Being an avid fan of Korean Ramen, I simply got to try! Oh My Cafe is located in Westgate which is really far from where I live, thus even with my own transport, it takes quite a bit of effort to get me travelling there. It's a good thing that the day I was supposed to meet Supercai and she had to suddenly travel to Jurong to meet a client. So in a moment of spontaneity, I suggested eating at Oh My Cafe.

Besides the Korean Ramen which is a rather recent addition to their menu, Oh My Cafe is known for their cool drinks and instagramable desserts. Supercai and I ordered a light bulb beverage each, mine is the Blue Lemonade while hers is the White Grape ($5.40 each). I found my drink to be really refreshing and Supercai was raving about her White Grape too!

Both of us eyed the same mains. In the end, Supercai settled for the Spicy Dry Chicken Galbi Noodles ($12) and I ordered the standard Army Stew ($13). The Chicken Galbi Noodles was fairly delicious and the chunks of chicken meat given was really generous. Supercai was so full after the meal, there's no room for dessert. One gripe she had was the staff doesn't have a good command of English or Chinese because she was from Korea. So she didn't understand what is no green onions. Which means be prepared not to be able to customize your meals. The Spicy Chicken Galbi also couldn't meet Supercai's expectation on the level of spiciness. Other than that, she felt the noodles was tasty and definitely a joy to eat.

My Army Stew doesn't look like the photo on the menu at all. That's my primary reaction when my food was served to me. Aside from that tiny little nit-picking, the ingredients met every bit of expectation. The noodles were well cooked and the flavour was spot on. To me, I satisfied my craving with comfort food. I am a satisfied customer, money well spent!

All in all, Oh My Cafe serves my favourite food. How I wish they are located somewhere more central. I guess if you love instant noodles like me and live in the west, then you are in for a treat! The next time I'm in the west, you can be sure I'm eating here again!

Oh My Cafe
3 Gateway Drive #B1-01, Westgate Mall, S608532 

Gyoza Bar

This week, time seems to fly faster than usual as I over-committed myself to a host of activities so that life is more productive and progressive. I'm waiting to watch Tottenham vs Manchester United as I'm typing this. Can't wait to watch the Premier League LIVE when I'm in London. We might as well call this week a sports week since I'm heading to the indoor stadium tomorrow for the WTA Finals.

This mid-week, I finally managed to meet the ever busy Fat Fat for dinner. Apparently Fat Fat was in Raffles Place for Yoga which she somehow 'missed' and thus we ended up dining at Gyoza Bar. This is an interesting bar cum ramen venue, hidden in an obscure stairway. It explains why the place is fairly quiet and empty when we got there. It's like a secret hidden haunt, and I'm feeling a bit selfish about sharing this to be honest.

We kicked started our meal with gyoza. Obviously right? Given the name of the restaurant....

So greedy Fat Fat and I (trust me, we almost always over order), ordered the 15 pieces Yaki Gyoza ($19.90) to share! I found the gyoza very generous with the meat, taste is on the milder side but the dish seems to jump to life when we dip it with the salt on the side. I'm certain it will appeal strongly to those with a lighter palette.

For mains, I ordered the Chicken Soup Ramen with Egg ($15) and Fat Fat settled for the Mazesoba with Soft Boiled Egg ($12.30). I pretty much enjoyed my chicken soup ramen. I found the soup to be sufficiently flavourful, ramen Q enough and the egg and char siew well prepared. I definitely felt some hearty satisfaction after my main.

Fat Fat too enjoyed her Mazesoba with soft boiled egg. The noodles were well prepared, seasoning sufficiently tasty and the overall dish definitely provided the adequate balance to the lightly flavoured gyoza.

Of course, Gyoza Bar as the name suggest meant we also enjoyed some hot sake to go with our food. There's a range of alcoholic selection and it's an awesome place to catch up with a friend. I liked it that it is quiet and cozy. You can sit there for hours without the stress of a hurried meal with long queues and many pairs of eyes staring at you to finish your meal.

I'll certainly be back again with another companion on another catch up session. I highly recommend this place if your companion loves the occasional alcohol indulgence with a fairly presentable dinner. I even think this is an awesome place to bring a first date! It is inexpensive, cozy with food and wine to complete the night out.

Gyoza Bar
7 North Canal Road, 048820

.Elia

This is a throwback post for Deepavali, It was quite a long awaited rest from running around due to work. I took the time to do some shopping for winter clothing. In any case, anyone who wishes to buy winter clothing in Singapore can visit Uniqlo or Universal Traveller. They have the most stylish winter wears from my observation. Universal Traveller is having a sale at Changi City Point now for interested parties. I'm looking forward to my first trip to London and hopefully catch Manchester United live in the stadium!

.Elia is one of the new kid on the block along the long stretch of cafes in Keong Saik Street. The restaurant is considered huge with two stories. .Elia serves homemade pastas and sandwiches and have earned some strong approval from the food blogging community so far. To be honest, to hear raving reviews about food in new cafes these days is few and far between. So given the rarity of finding such a place, I was raring to give it a try on my first break.

Usually, I won't bother to blog about the beverages because I tend to stick to boring flat white. What's there to write about flat white right? In this instance, this is one of the best flat whites I've had. The .Elia flat white ($5) comes in 3 different sizes - 3Oz, 5Oz and 7Oz. The one I picked was the standard 5Oz. I've tried multiple flat whites in cafes everywhere, some lacked the sweetness which meant I needed to add sugar, some used coffee beans I deemed too bitter, blah blah, just not perfect. This version on the other hand got the mix just right. I didn't have to add sugar because it was sweet enough. The coffee beans was aromatic, and didn't have an overwhelming bitter taste. I enjoyed the creaminess of the milk which meant that the balance of coffee, sugar and milk was just right before it was served. It really made me look forward to give their other coffees a go now.

One thing I need to gripe about is how cafes have weekday and weekend menus. Seriously for working adults, we only ever get to try the weekend menus but most of the much raved about food is on the weekday menu! Does the cafe really think people will visit them to eat their food on a weekend if they work nearby or specially take leave or taxi/drive over on a weekday if their workplace is faraway? There's no logic in appealing to different crowds on weekends and weekdays.

Due to their weekend menu, I settled for the Spice Girls ($16.90), This pasta is made up of fried chicken with curry sauce. The curry has a very authentic Indian flavour, just like how a good curry chicken would taste. It's definitely an interesting way to blend it with pasta. I felt that while the sauce, pasta and chicken was well executed, the combination didn't work for me. It reminded me of curry noodles in Hong Kong cafe with thick mee pok. Not a good match in my opinion.

On the other hand, Vain Pot chose the Italian Job ($16.90) which was a combination of brown butter and egg yolk cooked with generous chunks of Italian Bacon. This combination is very delicious and gives me the eagerness to devour the food. A perfect choice if you love pastas.

.Elia has shown a lot of potential in terms of food execution. I would love to try their weekday menu some time but it's really a bad idea to offer different menus for weekends and weekdays in my opinion. I noted that the waiting time is really long. I finished my flat white before our food arrived. Vain Pot finished her pasta before mine arrived. I wonder how they coped with a weekday lunch crowd with their current efficiency. So good food with slow service, you can give them a chance if you aren't in a rush!

.Elia
10 Jiak Chuan Road, S089264
(remember your parking coupons if you drive here)

Brawn & Brains

It's Saturyay again! Okay, I spent my Saturday working. Yayy because I managed to be home in time to watch Liverpool face off with Manchester United. Man Utd kept their streak of zero losses so yayy to that as well. This week is pretty much a throwback post where I pampered my stomach with brunch after a really long time. For a period of time when I went missing from this blog, I had a hard time finding food that convinced me they are worth visiting. So I dallied for really long with no real craving. Despite the hiatus, I grew fatter. Can't explain why...

I visited Brawn & Brains while on my way to purchase my Surface Pro Core M3 Model. Yes, I'm typing this out with my Surface Pro at the moment. Located in a very much run-down former Singapore Badminton Hall, Brawn & Brains is known for fresh bakes, coffee and awesome brunch selections. When we visited over that weekend, it was packed till the staff had to tell us the waiting time for food was 45mins.

For those who are familiar with my style, I typically do my research on food before making my way down. Coincidentally, the stuff I wanted to eat was exactly the same as Vain Pot so we shared. The food that enthralled us were Bacon with Open Face Toast ($15.90) and Oven Baked Molten Eggs ($16.80).

The Bacon with Open Face Toast came with loads of generous grilled bacon strips on sourdough bread with slow cooked egg on the side, along with cherry tomatoes and greens. I felt this was one of those dishes which starts off really well but becomes overly 'jelat' and difficult to finish. If I were to break it down in parts, the bacon strips were grilled well, perhaps leaning towards the salty side. The slow cooked egg was perfect, the yolk runny if you break it. The toast was great too. Portions are big so maybe it's me but I couldn't finish my meal.

The Oven Baked Molten Eggs with a side of smoked salmon, avocado and melted cheese (full name), was a more balanced dish. I found the eggs very delicious, the melted cheese on it definitely gave it the added oomph! Avocado and smoked salmon taste exactly as it should but it lightens up the richly baked eggs and it makes the meal a lot easier to finish.

 

Another highlight of the place was said to be good coffee so we definitely had to order. Vain Pot ordered the iced version of caffe latte while mine was hot. Iced latte cost 50 cents more. In any case, her feedback was the ice version tasted a bit too diluted. I had no complains with my coffee so perhaps you might want to stick with the hot drinks when you visit. Coffee tasted like what it should but nothing out of this world.

Would I return for another go at the food? I probably won't make a special trip down but I would pop in for breakfast if I'm nearby. I was pretty attracted to the fresh bakes I saw during my research and they were sold out by the time I arrived. That says something about the quality of the buns there, so I would like to try. I found the brunch menu to be above average and the food wins on the eggs. If you love eggs a lot, you probably would wish to try here at least once!

Brawn & Brains
100 Guillemard Road, #01-02 Guillemard Village, 399718

3D2N Taipei 2017

Been ages since I last blogged because of being overwhelmed with work and hobbies. For those who still don't know, my first love is still investment and finding new ways to make money. I like the thrill and empowerment that it brings. Recently, I've been dabbling in the ICO space and it's taking up my play time when I'm not doing my day job. In any case, I'm proud to announce that I'm on track to fulfilling my 4 holiday trips this year. As of now, I've been to Rome, Hong Kong, Taiwan and end of this year, I'm going London.

Given that I've written about Taiwan before and the trip is so short this time round, I've took the opportunity to revisit some of the food I enjoyed and tried very few new food. Our first stop was actually a company dinner at Shin Yeh 101 at the top of Taipei 101. As it's a customized menu, I felt it won't make effective sharing. If you wish to see photos of it, visit instagram and search @bluntandfussyeater. 

The highlight meal I brought my colleagues to was Wu Lao Elixir Health Pot. In my view, it's a must try when you are in Taipei! This is the original beauty in the pot. The experience is exquisite top down from the service, the value for money, the freshness of ingredients to the taste. 6 pax with an over-generous boss ordering freely only resulted in a $200 SGD meal. 

Wu Lao Elixir Health Pot

No 143, Section 3, Civic Blvd

This Lu Di Handmade Shaved Ice is one of the unique experiences I had when I wandered around Taipei myself. The sun in Taipei now is very unforgiving. Treating yourself to shaved ice now will make it taste 10 times nicer than usual thanks to the scorching sun. In any case, Lu Di Shaved Ice isn't easy to locate. Searching for it on google, you need to type its Chinese name 路地冰怪物台北. Take note of the cute shop front to spot the shop! 

The ordering process basically consist of the flavour of the shaved ice and 2 toppings. I settled for milk shaved ice with oreo cheese and red bean with dumpling balls. The milk shaving which looks like tissue paper on first glance tastes really good. I'm not sure if I'm bias because I was soaked head to toe with sweat by the time I found the shop. Creamy and sufficiently solid, I liked it that it doesn't melt easily so I didn't have to gobble it up. The eyes are made of cookies so you can eat it too! Toppings wise if I have to choose again, I'll do away with the oreo cheese. Cheese with ice cream doesn't match at all. The red bean with dumpling balls works fine but I prefer the shaved ice with none of them to be honest haha! The damage was about $10 SGD. Incidentally, some Taiwanese food bloggers were filming a vlog when I was there. It's the sort of thing you'd like to show you did something different and cool in Taipei on Instagram. 

路地冰怪物台北

106, Taiwan, Taipei, Da'an District

I felt the content of this post must have something different besides what to eat there. I'd like to share some of the gifts I brought back from Taipei as well. One of which is Yu Chocolatier, winner of International Chocolate Award 2016. There's a mixture of alcoholic and non-alcoholic flavours. Being lazy, I asked the sales staff to select the award winning flavours for me. One interesting observation my colleague made was how the box was designed like a Rolex box. I guess it adds the premium shine to it. 1 box of 6 cost about $30. There's a bigger box of 12 that cost about $60. They offer a total of 14 flavours. They also have a dine in section where you can try the in-house cakes. Personally, I think this is a unique gift to bring home as everyone else would be busy buying sun cakes and pineapple tarts for friends. 

Yu Chocolatier

No 10, Alley 3, Lane 112, Section 4, Ren'ai Road, Da'an District, Taipei 106

Given that I've been to Taiwan before and participated in the Sun Cake frenzy before, I did quite a bit of research to decide what to buy this visit. Sun Cakes has always been a fight between Li Yi, Chia Te and Sugar and Spice. During my last visit, I already bought Li Yi and Chia Te so this trip I settled for Sugar and Spice. It's a pleasant surprise to know Sugar and Spice won some awards before and the general feedback by those who tried all 3 felt that Sugar and Spice's version of Sun Cakes got the balance just right. Not excessively flaky, not too sweet and sufficiently addictive. 

Sugar and Spice

No 158, Section 1, Dunhua S Rd, Da'an District, Taipei City 106