Ivan Teh - RunningMan

Maison Kayser

Maison Kayser
6 Scotts Road
#B1-09 Scotts Square

501 Orchard Road
#B2-01 Wheelock Place

200 Turf Club Road
#01-11 The Grandstand

http://www.maison-kayser.com/en/

Truely Excellent French Bread And Pastries

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 9
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 9
Service: 7
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $15 per person.

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Named for Master Baker and Founder Eric Kayser, Maison Kayser was established in 1996 in Paris, France. Since then it has grown worldwide, with at least 1 bakery in most major cities. Maison Kayser is well known for its innovative baking techniques and equipment, including several designed by the founder himself, such as the Fermentolevain machine which maintains liquid leaven at ideal temperatures.

Ambience at Maison Kayser is casual and functional. Layout is spacious, though furniture seems to show signs of aging. This isn't a place known for ambience. Service at Maison Kayser is above average, while staff are polite and efficient, attracting their attention requires a bit of work. They seem a bit shorthanded too.

Maison Kayser specialises in authentic French breads and pastries, made according to traditional recipes. A strict attention to detail and insistence on quality when producing their products means Maison Kayser has extremely well made and tasty bread. Bakers usually train for over 1 year just to master the house techniques of slow kneading and long fermentation, and each bakery is overseen by a Master Baker who is trained in all the recipes.

Surprisingly, the distinctive premium quality of Maison Kayser is offset by their reasonable and affordable prices, which most breads and pastries costing between SGD $3 - $8. Maison Kayser is also known for incorporating local flavours into their products with French patisserie techniques, producing some interesting fusion flavours.

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The traditional French Éclair Chocolate And Éclair Vanilla (SGD $4), stuffed full with sweet cream filling. Lovely when cold.

Éclair Chocolate And Éclair Vanilla

Drinks are an afterthought here, and the Latte (SGD $7) is below average. Nothing special, and skipping it is an option. Their traditional French breads such as the Baguette, Campagne and Ekmek are pretty good.

Latte

Baguette

Campagne & Ekmek

An excellent flaky, buttery Croissant (SGD $4) that is crisp, tasty and not too rich or oily. Very good.

Croissant

The Bostock (SGD $3) is a French brioche egg bread, coated with almond syrup and studded with almond chips. Sweet, and tastes like a sponge cake. Very good.

Bostock

For those with a sweet tooth, there is the Bichon Poire Caramel (SGD $6), a flaky, buttery, crisp pastry shell filled with a mixture of caramelised pears and caramel sauce. Extremely sweet and rich, a decadent dessert pastry.

Bichon Poire Caramel 01

Bichon Poire Caramel 02

The Assorted Bread Trio, served with a set meal. Very good bread, even without any toppings, and good when eaten plain for the natural flavour.

Assorted Bread Trio

The Corn Soup here is more sweet than savoury, which may appeal to some. Thin in texture, but rich with corn flavour.

Corn Soup

The Kayser Chicken Parcel (SGD $17) is a fusion of French, Chinese and Japanese cooking techniques. A paper wrapped and baked chicken meat like a sausage roll, and the meat is coated with Japanese soy sauce, honey, and sesame oil. Savoury, salty and fragrant, good for a light meal.

Kayser Chicken Parcel 01

Kayser Chicken Parcel 02

Kayser Chicken Parcel 03

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The New Harbour Cafe & Bar

The New Harbour Cafe & Bar
114 Tanjong Pagar Road

Inconsistency Mars The Experience

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 4
Ambience & Setting: 5
Food & Beverage: 6
Service: 5
Value for Money: 3
Spent about SGD $30 per person.

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Located in Tanjong Pagar, The New Harbour Cafe & Bar serves a large variety of general Western food. Think Hawker style Western food with a Singapore / Asian flavour, but more upmarket. The biggest problem I have with The New Harbour Cafe & Bar is the inconsistency of both the food and service.

Ambience at The New Harbour Cafe & Bar is average. Think typical bar, dim lighting, functional but not so comfortable wooden furniture, and beer decor. The good thing about The New Harbour Cafe & Bar is they have quite a large indoor and outdoor seating area. Outdoor seating tends to be more popular, and the place can get pretty crowded.

Service at The New Harbour Cafe & Bar is sometimes good, sometimes bad. Non peak periods means the staff have more time to pay attention to you and food is served quickly. But peak periods can mean grumpy staff, long waiting times of more than 30 minutes, and poor food quality.

The New Harbour Cafe & Bar doesn't have a speciality cuisine, with the menu consisting of a mix of American, British, German and Asian flavours. Dishes are generally tasty with big portions, but similarly upmarket prices of hawker western food. I personally find The New Harbour Cafe & Bar to be poor value for money, and the food quality can be inconsistent as well.

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While popular with office workers in the area, you shouldn't go out of your way to dine here. In fact, there are much better Western restaurants in the area.

The New Harbour Cafe & Bar Signage

Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc

Archi Pelago Summer Ale

The absolute best dish here might be the Fried Chicken Wings In A Basket, the perfect bar snack. Crisp, pipping hot chicken wings, juicy inside with meat that comes off the bone easily. The skin is crisp and fragrant, with a slight hint of spice. Excellent!

Fried Chicken Wings In A Basket

I quite liked the Spicy Chicken Debreziners, which consisted of 2 long spicy chicken sausages, on a bed of perfectly cooked, smooth mashed potato and tasty, slighty sour German sauerkraut. Asian vegetables like kai lan / chinese broccoli is used. Decent dish.

Spicy Chicken Debreziners 01

Spicy Chicken Debreziners 02

The Pork Chop With Apple Sauce is bordering on good. Nice pork flavour, and the meat was cooked through. However, it was slightly dry, slightly tough, and slightly overseasoned. Worse, I experienced 3 small bone chips. Plus the potato wedges were rather hard and dry as well. While I loved the sweet Apple sauce, done perfectly in the British style, I won't be ordering this again.

Pork Chop With Apple Sauce 01

Pork Chop With Apple Sauce 02

Pork Chop With Apple Sauce 03

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Spinelli Coffee Company

Spinelli Coffee Company
18 Cross Street
#01-28 China Square

1 Kim Seng Promenade
#01-07 Great World City

1 HarbourFront Place
#01-08 HarbourFront Tower

9 Changi Business Park Central 1
#01-03 IBM

11 King Albert Park #01-05

1 Raffles Quay
#B2-01 One Raffles Quay

3 Coleman Street

1 Changi Business Park Crescent
#01-19 Plaza 8

9 Battery Road
#01-01 Straits Trading Building

31 Kaki Bukit Road 3
#02-01 Techlink @ Kaki Bukit

460 Alexandra Road
#02-29 The ARC

238 Thomson Road
#01-61 Velocity @ Novena Square

501 Orchard Road
#B1-01 Wheelock Place

http://www.spinellicoffee.com/

Go For The Sweet, Skip The Savoury

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 7
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 6
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $10 per person.

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Amongst the many international coffee fanchises in Singapore, Spinelli Coffee Company stands out, for having its own coffee roasting plant in Singapore (Woodlands), as well as a wide and varied selection of pastries, cakes, salads and pastas. Targeting the discerning office worker, Spinelli Coffee Company has thus stayed largely away from shopping malls, choosing to open in business or industrial areas instead.

Ambience at Spinelli Coffee Company is on par with many other coffee franchises, spacious, comfortable, and welcoming. Furniture tends to show signs of wear though. I like the brightly lit interiors, as well as the painted artwork. The display case draws the eye with its selection of fresh, healthy salads and made in-house pastries.

Spinelli Coffee Company is self-service, meaning you order and make payment at the cashier, then collect your order in a short while. However, I do like that staff appear friendly and welcoming, and are able to make recommendations. This San Francisco (America) based coffee house is known for their fresh, hand crafted coffee beverages, meticulously roasted and blended by their Master Roaster.

Besides coffee, Spinelli Coffee Company is also known for their salads, sandwiches, and cakes, all made fresh daily. Prices are comparable to other major fanchises. Spinelli Coffee Company also has a small breakfast menu, available daily till 11am. Personally, I think their cheesecakes, tea cakes and salads are much better than their savoury items.

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Love the unique sweet and salty taste of the Sea Salt Chocolate Layette, with its rich and fluffy chocolate sponge cake and decadent chocolate topping.

Sea Salt Chocolate Layette

Loved the fragrance of the Caramel Latte, and its sweet, rich taste. The Hot Chocolate has a rich chocolate taste and a medium texture, and I loved that they do chocolate art here.

Caramel Latte

Hot Chocolate

The Nutella Cheese Swirl is rich, but lighter in texture than other cheesecakes, making this easy to eat. The nutella adds a slight hazelnut taste which makes it different from just regular chocolate.

Nutella Cheese Swirl

Didn't quite like the Green Curry Chicken Turnover, while warm, it doesn't taste like Thai green curry. The chicken is moist, not dry, which is good, and there is good flavour throughout, but it just doesn't appeal to me.

Green Curry Chicken Turnover 01

Green Curry Chicken Turnover 02

Tea cakes are a signature item here, and I feel the best among them is the Lemon Yuzu Tea Cake. Sweet with the yuzu infusion, the cake has a light, airy texture perfect for a light tea, while the icing is thin enough to shatter when cut. The lemon flavour gives it a nice tangy feeling. The best part, it's low fat!

Lemon Yuzu Tea Cake

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Want Want Senbei Rice Cracker

Want Want Senbei Rice Cracker

I love the Want Want Senbei Rice Cracker for its salty, savoury flavour and crisp rice cracker texture.

Manufactured by Want Want Holdings Limited, a food manufacturer based in Taiwan, Want Want Senbei Rice Cracker is a Japanese style rice cracker.

Want Want Senbei Rice Cracker

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Smoke House Charcoal BBQ

Smoke House Charcoal BBQ
1 Kim Seng Promenade
#01-37 Great World City

http://www.smokehouse.com.sg/

Pricey But Excellent Meat At This DIY Japanese / Korean Barbecue

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 8
Value for Money: 6
Spent about SGD $45 per person.

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While advertised as a Japanese charcoal grill barbecue restaurant, Smoke House Charcoal BBQ is more like a fusion Japanese and Korean place. An while the concept of purchasing your food directly from a mini supermarket and then cooking it yourself is a novel idea, the actual execution is lacking and rather flat.

Headlined by Japanese Master Chef Mr. Naoki Tsuzuki, Smoke House Charcoal BBQ is a retail and self-service BBQ. This means that the entrance is fronted by a mini-supermarket, displaying all their various cuts of meat, condiments, sauces, drinks, and more. Known for their wide variety of premium and rare cuts of Wagyu beef, including those not found anywhere else in Singapore, Smoke House Charcoal BBQ offers parts like beef chuck roll, flank steak, inner skirt, and even tongue.

Besides their 21 cuts of beef, Smoke House Charcoal BBQ also offers poultry (chicken and duck), fish, kurobuta pork, lamb, seafood, salads and more. There is also a wide variety of drinks, including wine, sake, umeshu, and a in-house shochu. Smoke House Charcoal BBQ also retails specialty charcoal and barbecue equipment, for you to prepare your own Japanese barbecue at home!

Smoke House Charcoal BBQ is self-service, meaning you order your food from the supermarket, pay at the cashier, then prepare it yourself. This concept also means Smoke House Charcoal BBQ is more expensive than other restaurants. Furthermore, there is also a SGD $10 dining charge for the free flow buffet, which is the worst deal I've ever had.

Ambience at Smoke House Charcoal BBQ is decent at best. There is sufficient ventilation to prevent smokiness, but cooking smell still lingers in the air. Lights are rather dim, but furniture is spacious and comfortable. The booths are slightly more comfortable than the stand alone tables and stools. Charcoal is used to good effect for decor.

However, the buffet spread is limited, and not very good. For SGD $10, you basically get unlimited refills of rice, soup, and salads, and there isn't much choice. There is a good variety of Japanese and Korean inspired sauces, but again, this isn't good value for money.

As for the premium meats, I have to admit that they pack good flavour and are tasty. But I could get just as good a quality, or better, elsewhere for a much lower price. Overall, Smoke House Charcoal BBQ should be avoided, as your money is better spent elsewhere.

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Attractive entrance and mini shop layout. The interior is spacious, and there isn't much smell. Charcoal is their speciality, and used also as decor.

Smoke House Charcoal BBQ Signage

Charcoal

Charcoal And Bottle

Booth

A scanty selection of 2 meats, 1 fish, 1 mushroom and 1 sausage, not even the premium beef cuts, already costs SGD $100 +. Without drinks. Poor value for money. As for taste, it's pretty decent.