The Hungry Bunny

Dean & Deluca  opened to eager anticipation in Singapore back in the fall of 2012. Thanks to the cult TV show Felicity, everyone wanted to have a taste of the cool New York icon that is Dean & Deluca. For months after, the gourmet store was swamped with diners. You could not get a table even if you waited in line for half an hour. The fact that reservations were not allowed exacerbated the maddening lengthy queues. Apparently, the crowds have somewhat subsided. Addie and I took the opportunity to pop by for brunch last weekend. As it turns out, I can't understand the hype at all. The food's overpriced and disappointingly under par. Service is non-existent because it's a self-serviced joint. Just think of this as a upscale canteen.  With mediocre food. We also checked out the grocer's section, and everything is, as expected, correspondingly overpriced. You're much better off at TORQUE at Sime Darby Centre. This branch is such a poor imitation from the fam

Oh yes, I'm back at SPRMRKT . I'm on a quest to bring as many people to SPRMRKT and make as many fans out of them as possible. This time round, I brought Beeps, Suz and Kimchi to my favourite lunch spot for a leisurely lunch (CC the boss was away, you see, so we could afford a relatively long-ish lunch...shh!). The Pasta Carbonara ($14), with fresh, not dried, purr-fectly al dente pasta, was awesome. It was balanced and nuanced and although rich and flavoursome and creamy, never bordered on cloying. I loved the softly poached egg hidden deep in the centre of the mound. One of the best, and definitely memorable versions of this classic Italian pasta around. The Pulled Pork Sandwich Toast ($10) was stuffed with tender, juicy chunks of seasoned spiced pork, made sweet with caramelized onions, and kept fresh and light with crisp lettuce. A most satisfying sandwich. The Sausages and Mash ($16), with a duo of herbed and garlicky beef sausage (because the kurobuta po

I've mentioned before that the best croissants are to be found at Antoinette . So I was curious when Maison Kayser , an artisanal bakery, opened to rave reviews. Apparently, their breads were awesome, and their croissants were touted to be the best around.  Well, I had tea with a girlfriend there recently and took the opportunity to get a couple of their baked goods. My verdict is to stick to their breads, which you can takeaway from the bakery, and avoid their mains. While their breads are indeed awesome, their other stuff were relatively sub-par. We started off on a high note with the Croissant ($2.43), an aromatic, fresh out of the oven confection. Its crisp flaky exterior peeled away to reveal soft chewy and airy insides. It was totally addictive. I had 2 at the bistro and additionally "dabao-ed" home another 3 for the Hubs (okay okay, so I ate 2 of the 3...it was just that good!). It's definitely comparable with Antoinette's version, and a worthwhile alt

Update November 2015: The restaurant has closed down, and replaced by Folks Collective.  I revisited La Cantine with CC, Beeps and Suz. It's been 2 months since my first visit (which was awesome, by the way) and I wanted to see how they were keeping up. I'm glad to report that they're still doing well. So well, in fact, that I think I've made CC a new fan of this French bistro. Service was professional and as usual, the food's flawless. Not a wrong step. This is the place to impress business associates without putting a dent in the expense account. A real recession-friendly set lunch, if you ask me. We got their Set Lunch ($38++), a 3 course meal that's bound to leave you sated and happy. The set menu offerings are completely dependent on the chef's prerogative and the daily market specials. The complimentary Bread basket with fresh crusty bread that was served warm. The Tomato Gazpacho was refreshing and smooth, served thankfully in a small-

We finally tried Paul , the world renowned French patisserie. It's now conveniently located right on our sunny shores just so you don't need to hop onto a plane for Paris everytime you feel like a little Paul's. We waited till the long lines abated before taking away a couple of their lauded eclairs. While I'll readily admit that their eclairs do really live up to the hype, forking out a cool 6 buckaroos for just one eclair seems a little lavish (not to mention, a bit foolish!).  We tookaway the Chocolate ($6.80) and Coffee ($6.60) flavoured ones. These were huge (but then again, at more than $6 each, they better be!), and seriously one of the best choux pastries ever. Fluffy and light and moist, their slightly roasted edges gave way to airy tunnels filled with the most amazing cream custards. Both the coffee and chocolate cream custards were awesome. Rich and sweet but still balanced so it never gets cloying. I preferred the coffee for its bitter undertones

Open Door Policy (aka ODP) reminds us of New York. The long alleyway, uptempo jazz, sexy lowlights, crammed tables and sophisticated buzzy ambience, it's all so reminscent of a typical Manhattan bistro. We liked its grown-up vibe as soon as we stepped in for dinner one weekday evening. Despite the cool factor of this place, it didn't translate to an unlikeable pretentiousness. Diners were mostly engrossed in their own table conversations (the jazz was a loud enough of a foreground base that we couldn't hear the others' table talk), nobody was there to see and/or be seen, and so, we thoroughly enjoyed dinner. Yuppies/adults will so love this place, but I can't quite see people bringing their young kids here. Somehow, ODP doesn't quite strike me as a family-centric place.  Service was great, we were quickly ushered to our seats by smiley waiters and service throughout the night was upbeat and energetic (on this note, we noticed they were very bouncy) although t

We were feeling peckish late one night and headed to Antoinette , which opens till 10 pm, to takeaway their sweets. The Le Royale ($8) with inter-mingling layers of 64% dark chocolate mousse, almond meringue, hazelnut almond feuilletine, chocolate genoise, and a dash of dark rum infusion for grown up decadence, will convert any chocolate haters. It's moist, rich and strikes just the right balance of sweet. One bite and I was hooked. We immediately regretted taking away only 1 of this. Possibly the best rendition of this classic French confection. Antoinette's Macarons ($2.50 each) are another must-try. They're huge, perfectly textured with a slightly crisp, resistant crust and chewy insides and filled generously with smooth rich cream. From left to right: Passion-milk chocolate passionfruit ganache; Grand Cru-bitter dark chocolate; Brittany-caramel with fleur de sel (my favourite!). From left to right: Charlotte-vanilla cream with strawberry coulis, Rose-ros

Apologies but this is quite the backdated post. A galfren and I went out to dinner a while ago at Oriole Cafe & Bar . We were lured by the attractive Amex 1-for-1 promo, but it turned out to be such a dud. Whereas my previous dining experience was pleasant, we found that the food, at present, was pedestrian at best, and sub-par in general. Evidently, the quality of the stuff here has dropped significantly. The  Spicy Calamari ($13) used to be a safe bet , but the battered squid rings were overcooked this time so they ended up rubbery. The pickled chilli peppers were the only good thing about this dish. The Fish & Chips ($18) were also a significant departure from the last time we had them. We didn't appreciate the increase of a dollar as well. This was an extremely ho-hum dish. The snapper fillets were a little fishy and the batter was too thick, having separated from the fish, leaving an air pocket in between. The potato wedges, as evidenced from its tired appea

So, The Professor suggested I do a "best of" list. So, in addition to my new year's resolution to get fit and back in shape (which I wanna put on record for posterity's sake), here goes... Wild Honey : Best breakfast eggs ever. The White Rabbit : Now that they've removed their drool-worthy truffle mac & cheese off their brunch menu, go to TWR for dinner instead. Everything on the dinner menu is yummy, but the best of the lot are the poached red snapper and beef cheek bourguignon. Symmetry : Their truffle fries and mushroom beignet are awesome. Tatsuya : You will never go back to mid-priced sushi chains anymore. Their kaiseki meals are recommended. SPRMRKT : I love this lunch spot, and love that I haven't had a bad meal here yet. La Cantine : The second outpost of Bruno Menard is a hit for good reason. Their set lunches provide an affordable peek into the amazing French bistro fare served here. Senso : Reliably exquisite Italian food that you