The Missing Pan @ Upper Bukit Timah Road

This entry focuses on TMP's dinner menu. For review on The Missing Pan's brunch items, please click here. 

So yes, we went back on the same day wanting to try other brunch items but alas, it was not meant to be. But that did give us the opportunity to try out their dinner menu. Please make reservations if you're going for dinner on a weekend because it was full house when we went! 

 Complimentary bread and butter 

How nice it is when a restaurant offers complimentary bread. Such a simple gesture that doesn't cost much on the restaurant, but is a sincere display of one's hospitality. 

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Soup with Tom Yam Crouton ($10) 

An innovative twist to the traditional pumpkin soup, adding on a spicy and sour touch to the familiar pumpkin soup. Very nice.

Similar to their brunch menu which is meticulously designed and chosen, their dinner menu also ensures there's something for everyone no matter whether you've a carnivore, vegetarian, or pescetarian. 

Seafood Squid Ink Risotto ($24) 

All things squid ink have grown on me over the years, and as long as I'm with people I'm close to, almost always I'll go for squid ink. Well, you know how the lips and teeth turn black when you have this don't you. The seafood was fresh, risotto nicely done with a buttery taste. We scooped up every single morsel on the plate, save for licking it clean. 

A look at their dinner menu 

Whole Roasted Chicken for 2 ($35) 

Stuffed with olive and sundried tomato risotto, roasted root vegetables, homemade ketchup, garden greens 

IMHO, this is best shared amongst a party of at least four pax. If it's just the two of you, this may become a bit gelad after a while. This is such a farmer's dish, I felt like I was in a farmhouse tearing the chicken apart and scooping up the stuffings. Although nicely roasted on the outside, we felt that the meat inside, although tender, was on the bland side. 

La Passion ($14)

Meringue, passion fruit, fruits 

Check out those cute little mushroom-shaped meringues.

Berries 'N Cream 

At first we didn't fancy ordering this cake as it looked very creamy and pasty. However, it was surprisingly good. Modelled after strawberry shortcake but with mixed berries, it was light and fluffy in texture and not too sugar-laden. 

Besides the satisfying meals we had here, I also like the ambience here. The tables are spaced adequately in between, allowing you to have your own privacy. Although the place was full house, it was not too noisy because of how the place was structured. 

And psst, there's buy-1-get-1-free bread after 7pm! 

The Missing Pan

 619D Bukit Timah Road

#01/02-01 Singapore 269724T. 65 6466 4377

Opening hours:Tuesday - Sunday from 9am - 10pm

The Missing Pan @ Upper Bukit Timah Road

When the Sis and I knew that Grace and Bernard have opened a cafe in the very accessible area of Upper Bukit Timah Road (it's the row of shophouses facing main road, few doors down from My Little Spanish Place and beside Coronation Plaza), being food and brunch lovers, we knew we had to try it! What more a cafe opened by someone we know! Heh heh. 

TMP doesn't take reservations for brunch/lunch on weekends, but yes for dinners. We arrived at about 2.00pm on a Saturday and got seats at 2.15pm. By 2.45pm, most of the crowd had subsided. 

You can access their menu here. Although not a super extensive menu, you can tell that each item is carefully designed and selected with at least something that piques your fancy. For the seafood lover, there's Crustacean ($24; clams, mussels, prawns, in tomato pasta). If you're one who likes your meat, there's steak burger ($22), pulled pork burger ($19; a bestseller from the now-defunct Upper Crust run the same husband-and-wife duo), or Oven Hangover ($19; chicken schnitzel with bacon and sunny side up). Of course, for the brunch and eggs lovers, there's the Eggs Benedicts. 

What makes TMP different from other cafes or brunch places sprouting elsewhere like nobody's business is that they have their own in-house bakery! Taking pride in crafting good and heartwarming loaves, all the bread served in the brasserie comes from this bakery. TMP also provides bread to other cafes and bakeries on the island. 

Lychee & Lemon Soda ($6)

Mocha ($6.50) 

The lychee soda was definitely an antidote to the 35 degrees weather outside. With a zest of lemon and mint, this refreshed our taste buds, and our minds. Although the latte art on the mocha was not very impressive, the aroma of the coffee was satisfying.  

French Toast Salcipon ($19) 

You must be thinking what's so great about a French Toast topped with Fruits, looks like I can make one at home myself too! That's what I usually think and hence usually I don't order French Toast in cafes. However, TMP serves a french toast like no other place; this dish definitely packs a punch! Stuffed with chicken, spinach and mushrooms, with fresh fruits and banana nuggets (ala your modern goreng pisang), savoury and sweet flavours never went so well together before. 

Besides the flavourful stuffing, the french toast was very yummy as well, fluffy, and nicely charred on top. 

62 Degrees Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon (or Ham) ($22) 

A tantalizing dish of wobbly eggs, avocado, in-house hollandaise sauce with a thick slab of smoked salmon, this item is bound to delight any eggs benny lover, like me.

Byo ($14)

Home-made orange yoghurt ice cream, raspberry jelly, marcerated strawberries, basil, chocolate crisp 

Craving for something refreshing on a hot afternoon, we settled for the above. Besides making their own bread, TMP makes their own ice cream too! Now how awesome is that. I enjoyed the chocolate crisp, ice cream, and the crumbly stuff underneath. A sweet ending to a hearty meal.

Simple, modern, tasteful interior decor

Freshly baked bread on sale 

Actually, we weren't satisfied yet. Because there were other items on the menu that we had wanted to try, and another two didn't make it for our lunch date, we resolved to come back again... and it turned out to be for dinner the same day. Brunch menu is served till 6pm on weekends, after which dinner menu is rolled out. Well, dinner is another story to tell. Stay tuned. 

The Missing Pan

 619D Bukit Timah Road

#01/02-01 Singapore 269724T. 65 6466 4377

Opening hours:Tuesday - Sunday from 9am - 10pm

How much did I spend? $40 per pax (A bit on the pricey side, but all worth it once in a while)

Would I come back again? Definitely. 

Restaurant Week Review: Salt Grill & Sky Bar @ Ion Orchard

It so turned out that friend S booked Gaia which I just had a few days before our dinner appointment (I mean, what are the chances?), so we changed to Luke Mangan's Salt Grill & Sky Bar instead, which served modern Australian cuisine (though I can't tell the difference between Australian and normal Western cuisine). 

Some of us may think that Ion Orchard is just 4 or 5 floors of shops, but there's actually a restaurant hidden all the way up at Level 55, accessible from a lift near Level 4 Concierge. There is a counter for Salt Grill there and the receptionist will direct you to the lift. Taking the lift itself, with its astronomical ceiling, is an experience in itself, especially if you go for dinner, and you step into the dark, romantically lit restaurant, with one of the best views of the Singapore skyline. 

Upon arrival, we were pleasantly greeted by the wait staff, who ushered us to our seats. Although we didn't get the window seats, the view was still pretty awesome from where we were. 

We were served with bread first, and interestingly, besides olive oil, they provided dakka/duqqa/dukkah as well, which is an Egyptian side dish consisting of a mixture of herbs and nuts.  

Entree: "glass" Sydney crab omelette, enoki mushroom and herb salad, miso mustard broth (U.P $34) 

You can rarely go wrong with egg, and the crab meat wrapped inside the omelette was sweet and juicy, and enhanced the flavour of the egg. 

Citrus cured salmon, avocado, apple, fennel, with salmon roe 

Then I wished we went for lunch instead of dinner because the lighting was so dim, the photos turned out lousy. We resorted to using a simple trick for the next few photos, which looked marginally better. 

Main: BBQ spiced beef tenderloin, mash, pumpkin puree, red wine jus 

Sad to say, I'm afraid the U.S. Angus Steak served at New Ubin Seafood was much better. 

Grilled barramundi, caramelized witlof, capsicum and sultana  

Dessert: Chocolate delice, salted caramel, honeycomb, and praline ice cream

Lemongrass panna cotta, char grilled pineapple, and ginger beer sorbet 

The ginger beer sorbet and lemongrass panna cotta were refreshing, and the praline ice cream from the other dessert was also very good. Although the place seems pretty atas, once you settle into your space, it's relaxing and comfortable, the wait staff are non-intrusive but readily available, and there's a healthy space between you and your neighbours. 

 2 Orchard Turn, ION Orchard, 

#55-01 & #56-01 

Singapore 238801

Operating Hours: Monday to Sunday

Restaurant

Lunch: 11.00 – 14.00 (Last Order)

Dinner: 18.00 – 22.00 (Last Order)

Sky bar

18.00 – 23.30

(Drink last order at 23.00)

Brunch (Weekend)

11:00-14:00 (Last order)

Afternoon Tea: 14:00-18:00

Dress Code: Smart Casual

http://www.saltgrill.com/ 

Little Part 1 Cafe @ Jasmine Road

A cozy little cafe tucked away in a residential area near Upper Thomson Road - I never knew this row of shophouses existed here! Found the perfect reason to drop by here after church across the street. They have a decent selection of savoury crepes, as well as other mains such as ribs and fish n chips.

  

What a cute name

 

Good old root beer float ($6)

 

  

Pineapple and I ordered a Chicken Scallopini ($16?) (no scallops inside) to share - the meat was tender and the sauce good

Some snapshots around the cafe - they have quite a selection of alcohol!

Very simply decorated with un-uniform furniture, and I love the wall peppered with photo frames. 

15 Jasmine Road, S(576584)
(+65) 6451 7553
Sun – Thur: 12pm - 10pm
Fri - Sat: 12pm - 12am

Mon - Fri: Closed from 3pm to 5.30pm

Closed on Tuesdays 

Would I come back here again? Yes!

Delicious @ Scotts Square

Happy 2012 everyone! A new year of food hunting, a new year of good food waiting to be discovered, and relished, with hits and misses along the way, of course. Anyway. I read about this newly opened restaurant at the spanking new mall along Scotts Road and decided to try it out. 

A simply-decored place with a blue and white theme that's easy on the eyes, and bird cages! There's something about bird cages that make them...aesthetically pleasing, in a strange way.



They have pastas, sandwiches, burgers, quite a decent range of desserts and Asian-Western fusion choices (Duck Confit Red Curry? Rendang Tok Beef Short Ribs?) on their menu. 

We weren't feeling adventurous that day and just wanted some comfort food in the form of carbo so we settled on pasta.


Y's Spicy Crabmeat Linguine ($15) - with real crab meat, not the frozen kind. She said it was not bad, though it was not spicy at all.

Spicy Seafood Linguine ($15) - With mussels, prawns and calamari, comes with a zest of lemon. There's something about the tomatoes and spices used that makes this pasta taste like how pastas should taste like.





Blackberry Apple Crumble with Vanilla Crumble ($6) - We couldn't resist desserts. This came really reasonable at just $6.





The food isn't fantastic but it's a nice place to hang out if you want to escape the crowds along Orchard Road. Reservations enabled. 



Address: 6 Scotts Road, B1-16/19 Scotts Square, Singapore

Tel: +65 6636 0903

Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm daily 

relish by wildrocket @ Cluny Court

Last Saturday a bunch of us went to Relish @ Cluny Court to celebrate the tennis stars' birthdays. "Tennis stars" because they used to be, gasp!, national players?! I think. Anyway. It was a rainy morning but we still managed to get ourselves out of bed and met there at, 1.15pm. More like lunch. All of us had heard of this place before, but never been here. We had our virgin experience together.

While trying to locate this place at Cluny Court, I came across several interesting cafes on the first floor - another potential brunch place, a cupcake cafe, Awfully Chocolate, Marble Slab Creamery, and what we would later find out, 3-Inch Sin! And Cold Storage. Next to this mini shopping centre is Botanic Gardens. This place has everything you need on a weekend! 

Thankfully we had a reservation, because the place was packed with families, couples, friends, expats... 

Blue Cheese Beef Burger with Rucola, Poached Pear & Walnut Butter ($19) -

Beef burger with pears?! Walnut butter? Blue cheese?? An experimental recipe that would go awry, or be awesome? 

Verdict: Simply, awesome. Two thumbs up! We had it medium done. The pears added a refreshing and delightful taste to the burger and left my taste buds wanting for more, and same goes for the walnut butter, which tasted more like peanut butter. Beef burger with pears and peanut-butter, hm, sounds like an unmixable mix, but they surprisingly well together. I couldn't really taste the blue cheese unless I scoop it out, but Pineapple, whom I shared this with, insisted the taste was very strong. Either my taste buds doesn't work well or I'm not adverse to blue cheese. 

 The Englishman had a Pauwel Kwak (a kind of Belgian Beer) to go along with his Steak Sandwich, and it came in an interesting-looking beer glass and wooden stand. Very authentic, I must say. The Peach Beer and Honeydew Beer sounded interesting as well but sadly, no one ordered them.

Eggs Royale   - 

It wasn't on the menu but Ms Soprano requested for the ham to be changed to smoked salmon instead, with an additional charge.

Smoked Salmon, Scrambled Eggs and Cream Cheese Bagel - 

The eggs was good, but the smoked salmon was too fishy and the bagel too hard. Wrong choice, unfortunately. Pineapple shot daggers at me because I kinda forced her to share this with me. 

 Crabmeat Linguine 

This tasted pretty good for the first few twirls, but it could be too much for your palate if you were having this on your own. Food taste best when shared IMO :)
Because it wasn't my main and the grass is always greener on the other side, I stole quite a few forkfuls from TY, teehee.
Real crabmeat with generous servings. After a while it tasted like Chili Crab Pasta - East meets West. Which starts to taste strange after you have half of the dish..

 For desserts (which we placed candles at the side and on top of the dessert cup), we had the Signature Cheesecake ($9), which surprised me when it came in a cup (no photos) with ice cream, strawberries, cream cheese, and crumble. It wasn't fantastic, but it might be because I'm not a fan of cheesecake and sour stuff (strawberries). 


Now this was good - Lava cake with ice cream. Look at the volcano of molten chocolate oozing out! Yummy.

It was a good meal - the restaurant was packed but it wasn't too noisy, which some restaurants could be when they have that amount of people. The ambience was laid-back and the atmosphere casual, sunlight streaming in from the side window after a rainy morning, company of friends who enjoy a good meal with you, what's not to like?


How much was spent per pax: $26 - $33 (I can't remember!)
Would I come back here?: Definitely!

501 Bukit timah road
#02-01 Cluny court
Tel: 6763 1547

Kki @ Ann Siang

I'm trying to post more regularly on my food escapades. In a way, it's good to keep track where all those calories and blubber on your body came from. 

Before Miss Masters scooted off to London for her further studies, we grabbed her for a lunch followed by desserts at Ann Siang Hill.

I've been wanting to try Kki (ケーキ: "cake" in Japanese) for quite some time now. The previous times I dropped by the Little Drom Store (Retro lifestyle store that Kki shares a shop space with), Kki was filled with customers. It's a small place, with only about 5 small tables. 

We were greeted with a fine whiff of batter fragrance when we entered the cafe. The delicious display of cakes made me palpitate with anticipation. I'm not much of a desserts person, but who can resist such delicate presentations of hand-made goodness?

There isn't a wide variety of cakes, but being our first time and not done my due research, we were at a loss as to what to order. We settled on Emily (the red coloured leaf-shaped cake) and the chocolate-coloured dome-shaped cake.

Wrong choice of Emily!!! I had a hard time swallowing it. Miss Masters puts it aptly, it was as though we were eating butter. The dome-shaped cake is tiramisu. Not too bad, but not fantastic.

 Ordered tea to go along with it. All in all, I'm a sucker for such tea places. It's also a plus point that the Little Drom Store sells retro eye candy! Nice to look but not value-for-money to buy if you know of cheaper places. Although the cakes we chose this time were below expectations, I'm eager to visit this place again and give it another go.

Amount spent per pax: $5
Will I go back again? Yes.


7 Ann Siang Hill
Singapore 069791
Tel: 6225 6650
Open 12pm - 7pm (Sun to Fri)
12pm - 4pm (Sat)
Closed on Mondays

Heirloom & Caramel @ Shaw Towers

 After lunch on a Friday at Raffles City,  Miss Y and I decided to go in search of desserts, and we thought of this place because a) Miss Y has always wanted to try this, b) She missed her chance to try because she was on exchange when Miss M and Miss X brought me here to celebrate my birthday 2 years ago and c) It has indeed been 2 years since I dined here.

Caramel Cafe is a quirky cafe located at Shaw Towers (where another of my favourite eatery is). Eclectic furniture? Check. Vintage items for sale? Check. Cosy feeling? Check. Affordable pricing? Check. Main courses and desserts/drinks? Check. There, just my kind of place :)

 

The furniture looks like they're second-hand and hand-painted again. I like

how everything doesn't look like a set together, but fits well with one another

anyway. There's harmony in the mismatch.

 

Take a look at their menu! Their range of pastas, though not wide, should be 

able to please, and I like their selection of coffees, hot teas and cold drinks. 

 

Vintage items for sale! How nice. 

 

Our hot pomelo tea came in this dainty, pretty tea set. 

I'm a sucker for "packaging" like this :)

 

Bread pudding with ice cream. 

 I love the colours! 

Colourful, retro, whimsical decor, cosy ambience perfect for an afternoon tea and chat with your friends - what's not to like about this place? They serve pastas, salads, sandwiches, and cupcakes as well. Haven't tried their mains before, shall go back there one day to have a meal. For the 2 times that I was there, we ordered Vita-Plum, which is an interesting and refreshing mix of Vitagen and plum juice. Worth a try!

How much was spent: $9 per pax
Would I go back again? Definitely!

Address: 100 Beach Road, #01-50/52 Shaw Towers, Singapore
Tel: +65 6295 2188
Opening Hours
Mon–Thu: 12pm – 8pm
Fri–Sat: 12pm – 10pm
(Closed on Sun & PH)