South Union Park

This is another throwback post because I've been overwhelmed with work this week. Been so occupied, I'm reaching a point where I'm running out of food to write about or share. Oh well, a hobby is a hobby, work comes first...

I went to South Union Park in late April just before my Rome trip. Been wanting to write about this but week after week there're other food to share about. South Union Park loves experimenting with food and their menu changes often. I'm not even sure if the food shared is relevant anymore! What I love about this place is the lack of GST and service charge, ease to find parking and well the decently executed food up for grabs. I'm not sure about most of you, but I'm the sort who doesn't like a constant change in menu. You don't know what's the latest change and it might end up a wasted trip if the new menu doesn't suit your palette.

In any case, I kick started my meal with the Gnocchi ($20). This should be a favourite with vegetarian lovers. It's a form of doughy pasta cooked with herbs and mushroom which offers a unique taste that I find a little too saltish. Vain Pot loves it though. She kinda ignored her food and lord over mine.

Vain Pot settled for the ever popular Duck Confit Tagliatelle ($22) which survived the cull when they changed the menu. It's another very unique dish because I've never eaten anything like that. They cook the pasta with hazelnut sauce which offers a very different twist to the duck confit dishes I'm familiar with. It's nonetheless a decent meal but as a pasta lover, it's not gonna be my first choice elsewhere.

We shared the Passionfruit Carrot Fonda ($14) because we were feeling adventurous. I was heading to Rome that week hence decided I've got to be more open to trying new food. In any case, the dessert looks impressive but we both got difficulty appreciating the dish after the first bite. The dessert is made up of a white chocolate lava carrot cake with carrot sauce topped with a gigantic lump of yogurt. Honestly, it would be great if they did away with the yogurt or replace it with vanilla ice cream. The sourness of the yogurt tainted the good mix of carrot cake with white chocolate in my opinion. Very very weird dish.

Would I come back to South Union Park? I might give them another shot since they change their menu often. I do agree that this is a cafe of adventure that challenges your taste buds. Coupled with the fact that its easy to find parking and no gst or service charge, why not right? Visit this cafe with an open mind :)

South Union Park
101 Jalan Kembangan S419139

Henri Charpentier

I have decided to resume writing after a short hiatus. I realised blogging is a way to showcase the food I eat, enjoy and share with people who have no time to hunt for good food. The past few weeks have been a rollar coaster but I did bring Vain Pot to a nice manicure and massage for her birthday. I've also come to appreciate the merits of the hard work I've put in such that it allows me to enjoy good food and activities week in and out. Looking back at my student days where I've to limit my food hunts to groupons and one-for-ones, it feels wonderful to eat and play whatever I like now. Really grateful for the opportunities that I'm exposed to so far :)

We went to Henri Charpentier some time back on National Day. It's my very first visit to Dempsey Hill so I was pretty excited to go. With the craze over Pokemons rampant at that point of time, it felt like a fun social activity we can mix with food. 

To kick off our dessert indulgences, I ordered the Dome ($29), It's basically a chocolate ball which encloses a chocolate parfait biscuit of fraise d'amande. It's one of the key highlights of Henri Charpentier, a must try in my opinion. There's even a live performance right next to your table on how they set the chocolate ball alight with flame to prepare the dish for you. Quite a wonderful treat to the eyes. The dessert itself was rich in taste, chocolate not overtly sweet to the point you can't finish and the melted strawberry and almond within the dome was just right. 

Aside from the elaborate display of the Dome, we also tried one Financier ($2.90/piece) apiece and a Mont Blanc ($9). Both were a pleasure to eat. The Financier was buttery, light and fluffy. It's delicious and I felt I could eat more for a meal. The Mont Blanc was perfectly executed, you can see that the dessert was prepared well and the rum chestnut cream was distinct in taste yet not too overwhelming till you feel 'jelat'. 

Henri Charpentier is indeed a pampering experience perfect for a girls day out. The ambiance was one of the contributing reasons I decided to bring Vain Pot here for a pampering afternoon. We both deserved a treat after working hard all week. My only gripe was the service which when you finally get the waiters, it was great. Otherwise it seemed like they were a little under-staffed. I do recommend Henri Charpentier for anyone who wants a pampering afternoon with live dessert performances and to satisfy a sweet tooth. 

Henri Charpentier

9A Dempsey Road

(I like this place even more after I discovered that Dempsey has free parking)