VXX CO-OPERATIVE

It's been another eat and eat week for me. I spent TGIF buying LeCastella cheese cake and April's Bakery Thai tarts. I like the Thai Tarts a lot better than the cheese cake but I know of friends who like the opposite. There's a market for everything I guess. I spent my weekend indulging in Crabs at the ParkRoyal Hotel Spice Brasserie. They are having a Crab Buffet now till 30th June and it's much better than the Penang St Buffet at Causeway Point. Quite an affordable way to indulge in crabs. You can see photos of the Crab Buffet here.

This week, I'm doing a throwback post. Been wanting to write about VXX Co-operative because I enjoyed my experience there. This visit was actually done on the week where I came back from Rome but Food in Rome stole its limelight. VXX Co-operative is largely known for its coffee and affordable food. One of the key highlights of the place is the selection of roasted coffee they carry and if unsure, you can always get the staff to introduce some to you.

Vain Pot and I settled for two mains which we mutually agreed on. It's pretty much 'our kind of thing'. Our selection of Crab Omelette ($14) and Porcini Mac and Cheese ($17) really did give me a highly rated opinion of this place. At first glance, the Crab Omelette looks charred and overcooked. Taking a bite inside revealed chunks and chunks of generous Crab meat coated with soft fluffy egg. Pretty good value for money meal if you ask me. Of course, you have to manage your expectations because it's crab and it's $14. We bite into one or two bits of egg shell and the egg was indeed slightly charred. Nevertheless, I felt it was a fairly good omelette and I'm not complaining because I felt it's a much better deal than other more expensive crab omelettes.

The Porcini Mac and Cheese is also a winner. Its ingredients (scallops and caviar) are also nothing short of premium and at $17, its a real steal! The flavours are distinctively obvious in the dish. The scallop was well seared and goes very well with the mac and cheese. I also found the serving of caviar to be generous and added an extra oomph to the dish. This is on top of well executed Mac and Cheese which was just right, decent portions and not exceedingly cheesy till it's difficult to finish. You gotta order this when you come.

As much as I raved about the coffee, Vain Pot isn't much of a coffee person so we only shared a cup. I feel bad because the coffee was introduced to me at length but because of my over-excitement to talk about my Rome travels, it didn't quite register. I'll be back again to try the coffee once more and more importantly, there's a Reverse Affogato which I really want to try when I come back. Guess it goes without saying, I'm looking forward to another visit. The place isn't crowded because of its location and it's indeed not the easiest place to go if you don't drive.

VXX CO-OPERATIVE
20 Foch Road, S209261

Montana Singapore

It's been one crazy month... I've been preoccupied with a lot of work events including a work trip coming up really soon. I'll be heading to Rome next week so won't be sharing any food here but perhaps on my instagram @bluntandfussyeater.

I met up with Bak Bak and Bak Bak 2 this week and brought them to Montana Singapore because Bak Bak wanted western cuisine and desserts. Montana started out as Montana Brew Bar, a semi bar and waffle place. Some of the original dishes included the popular Mac and Cheese Waffle and the red velvet waffle stack. They have since revamped their menu a number of times. This is my second visit, the first was with Ms MooMoo.

We kicked off the meal with Mac and Cheese Fritters with Tomato Relish ($11). Bak Bak as her name suggest wants to try everything on the menu. I found this side to be pretty good! I like it that it was fried till crispy without as residue oil left in the bowl. The mixture of mac and cheese with an added spiciness also appeals to my taste buds. Going with the tomato relish, it makes for a great opening dish. 

For mains, Bak Bak 2 had the Crab Aglio Olio ($20.80). It comes with loads of chunky crab meat tossed inside the Aglio Olio. The pasta was cooked till al dente with the garlic flavour just right. The crab meat is probably one of the most generous servings I've seen in an Aglio Olio dish and probably made the dish very much value for money.

Bak Bak settled for the Signature Mac and Cheese Waffle ($13.80) on my recommendation. I'm disappointed to say that the standard dropped from my very first visit. One of the most intriguing aspects of this dish is the wonderment of where the Mac and Cheese is. It's actually inside the waffle and taste will be apparent when you cut it up. It's also the signature dish of Montana Singapore so for this dish to fail in quality, makes me wonder if Montana Singapore is starting to lose their identity. The waffle is still baked till crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The issue here is the generosity in the Mac and Cheese serving. The taste was totally missing, it felt like an empty waffle. In fact, it felt like eating plain waffles with tomato relish. What's the point of expanding their menu and compromising on the quality of signature dishes? It pisses me off further because I brought my friends there after having a positive experience a year ago.

Rant aside, I decided to try something new and picked the Southern Fried Chicken Waffle ($14). This one is a mixed review with Bak Bak finding the chicken to be tasty and well marinated with the sous-vide southern spice batter. I on the other hand found the dish difficult to finish. While the waffle was crispy and fluffy, I found it a tad dry going with the southern spice marinated chicken. I agree that I found the chicken tasty on the initial bites but had difficulty finishing because it became a 'jelat' experience subsequently. It's probably not a bad dish to share but it's a little overwhelming if it's a dish for 1.

Finally for desserts, it's a struggle between the waffle stack or the new instagram worthy cakes they just added. Bak Bak chose the cake and we settled for the Smokey Nutella ($14.80). It's not a very big cake but it's enough for 3 people to share. I'm almost ashamed to say that I went against my better judgement to choose the waffle stack because I gave in to my weakness for picture worthy desserts. The cake was very ordinary. It's probably a decent cake but nothing out of this world. Enough said.

Will I be back again? Maybe not. I am very much unforgiving when it comes to poor execution of signature food. I mean, com'on, if the very thing that made you known in the first place is presented badly, how do you expect to retain the trust of any customers? People are bound to order the signature dishes and it's almost a sure-fire way to keep customers away in double quick time. To be fair, Montana Singapore has a very interesting concept and I'm not sure if it's the chef's off day for my experience. If you aren't too fussy with food and would like to give their waffles a chance, it's probably a novel experience at the heart of town.

Montana Singapore
1 Selegie Road #02-25 Pomo Singapore 188306

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)

Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters

It's the final post for July and with a bit of guilt given that I took a week off last week. Wanted to feature Tanuki Raw last week but failed due to the long queues. I spent my last weekend of July visiting the Garden Festival at Gardens by the Bay. It's the final week of the festival and my gosh, the queue is crazy! It is nevertheless a pleasant walk around the garden. I was rewarded with a new display picture taken for my Facebook and a healthy afternoon after a hearty brunch.

This week we journey to Thomson. It's a very rare visit because it's extremely out of the way from where Vain Pot lives and I usually pick her up from her home before we proceed to food hunting. Also, parking in the Thomson area is always a hassle. Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters was shortlisted some way back after it caught the attention of a number of bloggers I was following on Instagram. No doubt, its popularity rehashed itself rather than a new discovery because a quick google showed that it first gained popularity in 2014. Online reviews then and now remains highly favourable and it helps that their food looks extremely camera friendly. I am so looking forward to this visit today as a result! 

One of the highlights of this place is its coffee. We shared an ice mocha ($6.50) because Vain Pot wanted to try but she can't take much caffeine and I have too much coffee ever since a Nespresso machine entered my life. 

I wanted to try their red velvet pancakes with mascarpone cheese initially but too bad they removed it from their menu. Sulks! Was really disappointed. I settled for BBQ Pork with Mac and Cheese ($18.50) instead. Vain Pot wanted clean food so she picked Avocado and Eggs ($15.90). 

The BBQ Pork with Mac and Cheese made my long journey to Thomson worthwhile. The dish is made up of 4 different cheese (parmesan, feta cheese, mozerella and mild cheddar) which made the Mac and cheese sufficiently cheesy without being overly 'jelat'. It helps that the portion wasn't too big so it's easy to eat and finish but people with bigger appetites might find the dish a little pricey. I also like it that the BBQ pork was honey coated and tasted like Bak Kwa. The mixture of pork sweetness with the cheesiness of the cheese provided a good balance to the overall meal. I'll definitely order this again when I want a Mac and cheese fix. 

Vain Pot's Avocado with Eggs was also perfectly executed. The poached eggs were runny and the avocado was richly flavored with cherry tomatoes and lemon making the entire taste refreshing. My first worry when I saw the sourdough bread was if it was toasted too hard. It passed the test as it was well toasted and the avocado was well spread across the bread. As a meal, this is a healthy delicious choice! Vain Pot was rather let down by the portion though. We both kinda expected two slices of bread with generous avocado serving like what they offer at Boufe. One slice does appear rather miserly for a $15.90 meal. 

How would I rate the overall experience having travelled a long way to dine here? I really love the food and would be back to try other dishes on the menu. However, it's a really bad place to dine if you come with someone you can't stop talking to. It's way way too noisy and many times Vain Pot and I had to repeat ourselves. It's however a wonderful place to dine if your companion and you loves food, loves taking pretty food photos and just want to share everything on the menu. The food and photos are awesome! No wonder food aficionados love this place! 

Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters

185 Upper Thomson Road