Saturday, March 26, 2011

FLOR Pâtisserie


FLOR Pâtisserie is a Japanese-styled patisserie serving authentic Japanese inspired French pastry. 


CARAMEL ICE CHEESE TART
In a tartlette of an almond cookie and FLOR's signature cream cheese filling, there is a flurry of tastes and textures; featured most prominently is the melt-in-your-mouth lightly salted cream cheese filling, followed by the incredibly fragrant crunch of the almond cookie. Swirled with FLOR's own homemade bittersweet caramel.

I absolutely love this, it tasted really nice when chilled, i love the distinctive cheese taste, and the based is still crunchy and not soggy which i thought it might be. 


BERRY BERRIES
Using traditional French method of aeration which does not use any chemical leavening, Chef Yamashita creates his signature strawberry shortcake, which consists of naturally soft sponge cake, fresh strawberries and luscious cream. 

Nice creamy taste, it tasted better than the average cakes, definitely one of the better choice.


CACAO ROYAL
Dark chocolate sponge alternately layered with thick chocolate ganache, covered in rich chocolate glaze and topped with fresh berries. 

One of the nicest chocolate cake that i ever eaten, it is really chocolaty, nice and fragrant, what more can i ask? this is heaven, isn't it?


WAKAKUSAYAMA
Named after the famous mountain in Nara, the Wakakusayama is smooth Kyoto-uji matcha cream pipped onto a swiss roll of honey-infused green tea roll and FLOR's own red bean cream.

This is my favorite. I love the distinctive light green tea taste, and i love the red bean cream, love the texture.


NAPOLEON
The tradition Napoleon, made with Chef's signature puff pastry, the strawberry version. 

Love the puff pastry, and love the cream with the pieces of strawberries. 

FLOR Pâtisserie
2 Duxton Hill #01-01 Singapore 089588

Friday, March 25, 2011

Uniquely german experience at Paulaner Bräuhaus Singapore


First visit to Paulaner Bräuhaus with anticipation.


The interior is rather german exclusive.





We are here to try out their exclusive lunch menu.


I have always wanted to try the german beer but lunch is a little too early to get drunk so not too appropriate.


The coke is free flow with the order of set lunch.



They do have daily lunch specials but only from Monday to Friday, 12.00 pm to 2.30 pm. We decided to go for Breaded Pork Schnitzel 'Vienna' Style. The pork chop was a little too tough, it required a certain technique to cut it so the breaded layer would not break away from the meat.


We tried Paulaner's Lunch Special Mix, we got 4 different kinds of sausages on sauteed potatoes. The potatoes were soft and rather tasty, love the bacon bits. The sausages were pretty good too.



Paulaner Bräuhaus Singapore
9 Raffles Boulevard #01-01 Time Square @ Millenia Walk Singapore 039596

Monday, March 21, 2011

PREVIEW: Morning Glory

A special thanks to omy blog club for the invitation to preview Morning Glory at The Cathay on 21 March 2011 (Monday) at 7pm.
Paramount Pictures Presents



Executive Producers Sherryl Clark . Guy Riedel
  • Produced by J. J. Abrams . Bryan Burk
  • Written by Aline Brosh McKenna
Directed by Roger Michell

  • Starring: Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum
  • Synopsis: From director Roger Michell ("Notting Hill," "Venus"), producer J.J. Abrams ("Felicity," "Alias," "Lost," "Star Trek"), and writer Aline Brosh McKenna ("The Devil Wears Prada," "27 Dresses"), comes "Morning Glory," a new romantic comedy set in the hilarious and dysfunctional world of morning television.  Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton star along with Patrick Wilson and Jeff Goldblum.

  • When hard-working TV producer Becky Fuller (McAdams) is fired from a local news program, her career begins to look as bleak as her hapless love life. Stumbling into a job at "Daybreak" (the last-place national morning news show), Becky decides to revitalize the show by bringing on legendary TV anchor Mike Pomeroy (Ford).  Unfortunately, Pomeroy refuses to cover morning show staples like celebrity gossip, weather, fashion and crafts – let alone work with his new co-host, Colleen Peck (Keaton), a former beauty queen and longtime morning show personality who is more than happy covering morning "news." As Mike and Colleen clash, first behind the scenes and then on the air, Becky's blossoming love affair with fellow producer, Adam Bennett (Wilson) begins to unravel –and soon Becky is struggling to save her relationship, her reputation, her job and ultimately, the show itself.
The movie was directed by Roger Michell, the same director for Notting Hill and written by Aline Brosh McKenna that wrote 'The Devil Wears Prada'. There is a certain similarity spotted between both stories.

A very good movie, one of the better so far for this year. I am a big fan of Indiana Jones thus i am a big fan of Harrison Ford, and he is the main reason gotten me wanting to watch this movie. The very different Harrison Ford from Indiana Jones can be quite a surprise, but if you do watch him on various talk shows then the level of surprising is not quite. Somehow, it is a transformation for Harrison Ford from Indiana Jones to Mike Pomeroy.

The on screen chemistry between Harrison Ford, Rachel McAdams and Diane is truly magical. Rachel McAdams definitely did a great job played Becky Fuller but i feel, the anchor of the movie is still Harrison Ford, and if without him, the effect might not be quite the same. McAdams gives the role plenty of pluck but she does not seemed to have the natural comic charms the role required.

And, Diane Keaton suited the character of Colleen Peck, she brought the charm of a TV host is expect to have with her charming smile.
One of the scenes that i like, it got me to shed a little tear but i felt the happiness in my heart.
This movie is about how people do their jobs, live their lives and how they love their works which i can really empathized. The movie has a certain charm and a light-footed smartness which i appreciate.

The script and direction are a little predictable but it is still have its appealing factors.  The ending is a joyful one that brought a smile to my face.

And now, watch the trailer. Enjoy!
“Morning Glory” is a Paramount Pictures release

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Cold Stone Creamery Singapore

First experience at Cold Stone Creamery Singapore was a disappointing one.

I was attended by Amiz. After telling him i wanted to order 'Berry Berry Good',  he went off too quickly without asking me on the size that i want, he started making the ice cream and then he put it in the 'like it' cup. 

I was disturbed then i asked why did not he ask me on the size that i want, or whether i want it in a cup or a waffle cup. And, how can he assumed that i want a 'like it' size without me mentioning it and he asking me? 

Someone by the name of Mark stepped in, he offered to change it. I accepted it. He sorted it out well, so i guess i should not be complaining it. But first impression is always important. 


I was excited but later it turned to be disappointment, and it indirectly spoiled my day.


I got an extra big waffle cup and extra big ball of ice cream. But the berries especially the strawberries tasted sour. I did not quite enjoy it. 


Coffer Lover, this is definitely nicer than the 'Berry Berry Good'. But, the ice cream melted too fast, and it definitely not a good thing. Those that we had in Taiwan were a little firmer and it took a longer time to melt. You might be thinking it has something gotta do with the hot weather in Singapore, but today happened to be a rainy day, and it was quite a heavy rain, so how hot the weather can it be?
I thought it might have something to do with their technique, i did observe that the staffs were not too professional when they were doing it. Perhaps more practices would make perfect but they are definitely not quite there yet.


The difference in size is rather distinctive, does that mean their standard is inconsistent? Other one is definitely so much smaller in size, and the melting ice cream is a definite turn off.

I have another set of discount vouchers for 20 March 2011, but i doubt i am going back there so soon. I do not wish to be disappointed again and most importantly, i do not want my day to be spoiled.

And, if you thought of visiting Cold Stone Creamery Singapore soon, you might want to consider to hold back a little, the staff are not quite well trained yet. They did not mix the ice cream well, certain part of the ice cream was just plain vanilla, and some of the berries were still rather chunky. But if you do not have prior experience for comparison then you might find it acceptable.

There is definitely room for improvement for their customer service. When we last had it in Taiwan, we did not order any drink, while we were eating it, a nice waitress actually went around with few plastic cups of ice water and served to those that did not order drink.

Maybe, the Cold Stone Creamery Singapore here might want to consider providing such value add service that would help to bring its customer service to a higher level. Honestly, i do not expect much of customer service in Singapore. 


'Got to have it' is $9.90 and the Waffle Cup is $1.00.

The waffle cup is nicely made, and it definitely worth the extra dollar.

Cold Stone Creamery Singapore
181 Orchard Central #01-09/10 Singapore 238896
Opening Hours: 11 am to 11 pm

Friday, March 18, 2011