Arteastiq Signature Teasury

This week is another incredibly busy week at work. I haven't even had time to send my family to the airport. Brother and Mom holidaying in Korea now :) I spent my weekend chilling and catching up with my very good friend at Prive Cafe. While the service, ambiance and drinks are great but the food really needs improvement. Carpark cost $8 for 3 hours. Think I'll only be back when I'm rich enough to play on a yacht.

Since Prive was a disappointing visit, I decided to feature somewhere I went with Supercai a couple of weeks back in our weekday indulgence. Arteastiq Signature Teasury ($48 for 2) makes a decent entry level high tea experience. It's Supercai's first ever high tea so I felt we should start off with somewhere more affordable.

The set comes with 2 specialty teas of our choosing but be warned that it's non-refillable. Alcoholic teas are also excluded. I must say that the quality of the teas are surprisingly refreshing and I kinda like their selection better than TWG teas. The cookies on the side are really good too. Much better than a range of other high teas I've tried.

The bird cage carries the savouries and sweets. The selection is honestly not meant for a full-meal, rather it's more suitable for afternoon snack with a place to chit chat. Supercai was complaining she's still hungry after the meal... whoops.

The Savouries selection consisted of Vol Au Vent, Panini Morsi, Smoked Salmon and Viva Duck. It's delicious and easy to eat. Nothing fancy so if you have been going for higher end high teas please manage your expectations. I'll say the selection here is more suitable for value and an inexpensive introduction to English High-tea.

As for the Sweets, there's matcha cheesecake, pineapple upside down cake, chocolate truffles and macarons. To be honest, it's one of the rare high-teas I finished the sweets portion because it isn't too sweet and filling. I quite enjoyed the experience because I don't have to endure the guilt of wasting food. I really don't like to waste food that doesn't taste horrible.

Summing up my experience at Arteastiq, I would bring friends here to catch up and have some small bites. The ambiance is considerably comfortable. It's surprisingly popular on a weekday. I felt the service has a lot of room for improvement but you pay for what you get. I'll recommend this place if you are looking for somewhere accessible to chillax for 2-3 hours with food and drinks without breaking the bank.

Arteastiq
333A Orchard Road, #04-14/15, Mandarin Gallery
If you need an activity, you can paint there too but you will need to check the available slots and book in advance.

Chin Mee Chin Confectionary

This weekend is a very rushed week. I was just telling Vain Pot that I'm so overwhelmed with work I didn't have time to make any balloon sculptures. As a big fan of living an enjoyable and exciting life, I feel particularly proud of myself this week because I still managed to head to somewhere meaningful with Vain Pot for a comfortable 1 hour meal. It's simple and easy to do. I get especially riled whenever people who have more time on their hands don't even bother to come up with something more exciting than window shopping and movies week in and out whenever they initiate a meet up. Buay sian meh?

Our choice of leisure this week is to pamper ourselves with some simple old school comfort food. Kaya bread on toast and soft-boiled eggs. Vain Pot loves this place a lot while I don't really fancy coming here for a number of non-food related reasons. Chin Mee Chin Confectionary specialises in traditional bread on toast with kaya or butter spread and soft boiled eggs. They also are wildly popular for their cakes and egg tarts. The place is so popular, you'll have to share tables.

The cakes which mostly go for a dollar are soft and fluffy. They are also rich in flavour and easy to eat. I would like to highlight the egg tart which I find very different from egg tarts I find elsewhere. Vain pot especially likes this one. The crust taste more like a cookie crust and the egg in the center taste a lot more like custard than your usual soft yellow creamy eggs. The egg custard and cookie tart gives it a uniquely CMC taste that makes the tart very popular among CMC visitors. Be sure to go early because there's a chance the tart may go out of stock due to strong demand.

The traditional kaya toast with soft boiled eggs is also clearly a winner. The toast is very old school, look at the buns, it's made in house freshly baked using the charcoal grill we see on TV for shows depicting that semi-modern era.

The eggs are big and fat. See the yolk still so big despite breaking. It makes for an extremely filling meal despite its simplicity. The total damage is only $10.80 with drinks included. A simple yet awesome way to kick start a weekend. I don't only eat atas food okay! Haha! My friends tend to feel that my definition of enjoyment is to spend a lot of money which doesn't necessarily have to be the case if you bother to look hard enough.

So will I come back here? I'll be very honest. I'll only come back when I wanna give Vain Pot a treat after a stressful week of work. I don't like the parallel parking here. I think the hygiene factor sucks and the attitude of the old timers extremely bo chap sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself when I ask them questions about my orders or the food. (For example, they screwed up my eggs order and served me 3 eggs instead of 4. I even had to chase for that 1 elusive egg myself even after they acknowledge its their mistake) So I'll only suggest visiting this place if you can look past all the non-food negative points and just want cheap and good comfort food.

Chin Mee Chin Confectionary
204 East Coast Road

Chock Full of Beans

This week has been an extremely busy week for me. No time to play balloons or do other stuff I like. While it's generally a happy week, I was rather annoyed that my weekend didn't follow the plan. Nevertheless, it's still a great week especially after I won my first Pokemon plush toy at the Pasar Malam near my home!

I'm featuring food eaten last month during one of my enjoyable week day outs while the rest of the world is working. Chock Full of Beans is known for their 3D Latte Art and I'm probably really late on this feature because I first got fascinated with this place in 2014. I'd like to add that its location is a Pokemon lair and lots of players gather here. It's another outing with the brother and he had a whale of a time catching pokemons.

For mains, my brother settled for Eggs Atlantic ($13.90) and I picked the Spaghetti with Prawns in Arrabiatta Sauce ($14.90). Both dishes tasted pretty good for the price you pay. Definitely meets expectations for budget meals. 

Of course the main highlight of the visit is the latte art. In line with the Pokemon craze, we got 3D and 2D Pokemon latte art coffee. Be prepared to pay an additional $1 for 3D art. Cute right? The weekday brunch menu comes with a soup or drink for the price of the mains. Another perk of dining out on weekdays! 

On the whole, I'll recommend a visit to Chock Full of Beans if you like taking pictures of food, like value for money food or enjoy catching pokemons. This place definitely meet all 3 needs. I'll certainly want to come back with my other friends simply because the food is really value for money, not to mention the added incentive of wowing them with cute coffee. 

Chock Full of Beans

4 Changi Village Road, #01-2090

(Parking is a hassle on a weekday though)

WORD.

This week is all about balloons. I started a hobby on balloon sculpturing and have been spending a lot of time twisting various patterns, taking my lessons from youtube. Also, I've found less pleasure heading out for food on weekends and gain more satisfaction enjoying good food and meet ups on weekdays when the rest of the world is working. I foresee more food reviews to be coming from weekdays in future!

WORD. was recommended to me by a friend whom I was asking for recommendations on budget food. Honestly, I don't think WORD. falls in the category of budget. My friend must have grown atas after she started working this year. WORD. is founded by the people who did the Rainbow Bagel at the Ramadan Bazaar. The restaurant is halal and the name of the restaurant I surmised is catered to the menu's play on words. This visit was made with the brother.

We kick started the meal with one of their quirky drinks called the Word Concoction ($7). It's a home-made drink which is refreshing, ingeniously presented in a light bulb and in my view expensive. Worth a try and I like it that it's camera friendly.

For mains, I chose the Mother Cluckers ($14), which basically is a whole baked chicken leg with potato puree and grilled vegetables. It's surprisingly good! The chicken was tender, easy to eat. The meat peels off the bones freely and the seasoning made the taste rich and aromatic. I'll eat it again!

My brother picked the Seafood Marinara ($18). Such a safe choice made me a little disappointed because I thought it'll be boring photos and food quality. Again, we were pleasantly surprised by the plate brought before us. The portions were generous, it was aromatic and the taste lingers in the mouth. Awesome!

In short, WORD. is a hidden gem. Its ulu location is making it bad for business. When we arrived, we thought the place was closed because we were the only patrons on a Sunday afternoon. The food really is a winner but obviously not many people know that. The MRT Springleaf station will only be ready in 2020. By then, I doubt WORD. would still be around. Please visit it while you still can. It's worth the hassle :)

WORD.
906 Upper Thomson Road

The Westin - Lobby Lounge

My weekends this week was great because of the company. Unfortunately I found the food at Populus Cafe not worth blogging about so I'll share with everyone somewhere else I dined at sometime this month which was another pampering experience.

I picked the Westin Lobby Lounge Seafood High Tea ($85++ for two) as a way to thank my Tai Tai friend for recommending me my latest job which I'm extremely happy with. Believe me, it's a very pampering experience with 2 champagne flutes, seafood platter, fresh lobster and oyster and desserts.

I just want to add that I thought this high tea set is extremely value for money because how often you get seafood and champagne for 2 at less than a hundred? 

I'd like to add that we met up for this high tea on a weekday afternoon. Believe me when I say that the feeling is awesome. Everyone else present from the business associates discussing their grand plans over food or the rich Tai-tais enjoying their regular afternoon teas to the young girls enjoying their girlfriend time while the rest of the world is working helps you enjoy your afternoon better. At least I did. Tai Tai friend was very satisfied with the entire experience too.

I strongly recommend giving the Westin Lobby Lounge Seafood High Tea a shot when you are on leave and want to have a pampering afternoon on a weekday. You'll appreciate the experience better.

Westin Singapore - Lobby Lounge 
12 Marina View, Asia Square Tower 2

Hakumai Sushi & Omakase

This week I pretty much didn't do much besides work and squeezing in brunches in between which feels really good on weekdays. I thought I'll do a double post this month because I have been quiet for too long.

Hakumai Sushi and Omakase is my first ever Omakase ($170/pax) meal in my life. Another milestone reached. Be warned that this post would be picture heavy because it's pretty much what it really is. This occasional extravagance is mainly a treat for Vain Pot's birthday. 

Due to the photo heavy nature, I won't be doing much food introduction. Photos are pretty much self explanatory. Instead, I'll give an overall summary of the experience after you see the food. 

Appetizers:

Cooked Food:

Sushi:

Basically the sushi doesn't end till you say you are full. Vain Pot and I were really stuffed till she had to escape outside for walks on multiple occasions. 

For dessert:

The overall experience at Hakumai is summarized as satisfying and value for money. No doubt the experience is on the pricier end but I'd gladly pay to do it again. The ingredients used were very fresh, I like it that the chef bothered to introduce each dish to us. I also like it that many of the dishes I wouldn't have ordered if it's on the ala carte menu because I am not adventurous enough. It's an eye-opening experience and I feel very grateful and fortunate to be able to have such meals from time to time. 

Hakumai Sushi and Omakase

#01-50A, 10 Anson Road, International Plaza

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)