Marmalade Pantry: the two best desserts

Despite being great on serving mains, Marmalade Pantry’s scrumptious desserts never failed to impress me. The simple menu- white sheets on a clipboard, doesn’t guarantee a boring list. Nestled in the middle of a deserted shopping mall, this contemporary restaurant has always been crammed, with executives as their main clients. The place is undeniably comfortable, I could sit there for hours, drink my cup of coffee and catching up with my girls over desserts.


I was torn between ordering something sour, like their mouth-watering lemon pie, or the banoffee pie. After all, my tongue was calling for that banana, toffee and thin layer of creams over the sweet tart base. It land in my table gorgeously. Originated from the UK, this Simple, yet lip-smacking dessert has become one of my favourite. Banana, dulce de leche and tart complement each other very well, making it irresistible.


The house specialty is the sticky date pudding. No doubt about it, I was ordering one too. Though I had encountered a couple of experiences in this pudding, it still wowed me to this moment. The gooey warm cake is smooth and moist, perfectly accompanied by a scoop of smooth vanilla beans ice cream and butterscotch sauce.


For the same amount of money I paid this time, you can get a lunch for two at a pretty decent place. A tad too expensive for desserts in my opinion, but the feeling you’ll get is incomparable. It makes a brilliant choice for a lazy Sunday afternoon or after a special dinner.

Marmalade Pantry
390 Orchard road
#B1-08 Palais Renaissance
Tel: 6734 2700

Garuda: Authentic Padang Cuisine

Padang is a city in Indonesia which is mostly famous for their foods. While very common to be found in our country, it's a little surprising that people in Singapore are becoming their fans too. Lot's of Indonesian restaurants here have adopted Padang foods. One of them is Garuda.

Here, you can opted to choose your meal right away from the foods displayed in the see-through bar counter, the way this kind of eatery traditionally worked. Or, you can choose from the menu instead for more choices. Most of the foods are spicy, so you might want to ask the waitress for the level of spiciness in the dish.

Terong balado, sauteed eggplant with chilies. I'm not an eggplant eater, but it does look good.

Beef rendang is a must; the beef are slow-cooked so that the meat can absorb the spices throughoutly.

This Chicken with green chilies is my favourite. Tender chicken with sweet and sour chili, best eaten with the rice.

This is a veggie dish made from the leaves of singkong (cassava). This only can be found in Padang restaurant, my other favourite.

Some of you might never heard lungs being eaten, but this crispy cow's lungs are great. I never knew it was lungs back then, until my mom told me. Still, I ate them. It's very good when they're perfectly crisp.

For dessert, the one worth trying are their young whole coconut and chendol. That day I can't take any more, so we skipped them. One thing you need to watch out when eating this foods is their fats. Most of the them are cooked with coconut milk, which are high in colestrol. But for once in a while, I think it's perfectly fine. Good foods make you happy. ;)

Garuda
15 Cairnhill Road
#02-01 Cairnhill Place
Singapore 229650
Tel: 67354111

Mini Glazed Sponge Cakes

These little babies are seasonal. First time I found them in Takashimaya, but apparently it was a temporary stall. Another time, I saw it in Isetan. It turn out that they're always appearing in those Japanese food fairs, where people sells sweet Japanese stuffs which has cute shapes. The sponge cake is very soft and light, with small sweet toppings, they made a really good tea time snack. And, how cute it is that they came in bite sizes! Japanese food arts are so popular these days. They're so creative when it comes to foods; the colour, the shape, the flavour.. The other day, I saw some square watermelons in the supermarket. Again, Japanese invention. Oh what I'm talking about? I'm gonna go and eat these cakes with my cup of coffee. c ya!

I Baked That Banana Bread

When buying a bunch of bananas, I always knew that I wouldn't be able to finish them up. Over some time, they would blackened and turned very soft. At this stage, lots of people think that they're not good anymore and so they'll throw them out. I'm telling you now: don't ever think of throwing your bananas and instead, make a wonderful banana bread out of it.

The soft, old, over-riped bananas are easy to be mashed. In addition, they're super sweet, so why throwing them out? Combine them with some ingredients that you'll presumably have in your kitchen most of the times: flour, oil, sugar and eggs, and you'll be eating a slice of banana bread the next morning you'll wake up. I baked stuffs a lot of times and I know where to find some good recipes. When it turned out very well, I'll usually stick with it. Banana bread should have that cake-like texture, slightly crumbles with crisp outers when it's freshly baked. Though crusts might go softer after a day or two, but the flavours will continue to develop. The most important part is not to over-mix the batter as it will result in a tough, rubbery bread.
This banana bread recipe has gained some popularity among my families and friends and I think it's time to share it with you. Enjoy!

Banana Bread
(from Joy of Baking)

1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe large bananas (approximately 454 grams), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. This bread can be frozen.

Makes 1 - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf.

Cinnamon Roll

Imagine yourself walking passed a place with a strong smell of freshly baked breads and sweet cinnamons. You'd like to have one, don't you? That's what always occuring to me every time I walked out of Great World City's Cold Storage, usually after my grocery shopping. That little pastry stall sells various baked stuffs, with cinnamon as the main ingredient. Their cinnamon rolls have reminded me of Cinnabon, which unfortunately, absent from Singapore. Sometimes I quite miss them, I enjoy baked stuffs with cinnamon a lot and I'm the kind of person who has that sweet tooth.

So that day, I decided to get one for breakfast, the original flavour (there are some with nuts, chocolate and dried fruits). The sweetness is alright, it's balanced between the cinnamon and sugar but they're lack in moisture. Cinnamon rolls should've been soft, moist and milky, delicatedly sweet without being overly sweet. All I've got here is a simple bland bread roll with some cinnamon sugar. Sigh. It has made me miss Cinnabon even more.

Graze: Table for Three, Please

"There you go, finally we're here!" said my friend I when we first spotted the sign. It was half past eight, no doubt we were very hungry. Walking down the road from the valet-service, the air was full of food aromas, musics and chattering sounds from the cafes along the way.

The lounge seen from our table

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It was our lucky day, since there was only a table left available. We didn't mind outdoor seating at all but rather pleased as the weather was supportive that night. Another good thing that I like about the seating's in Graze is the lounge, where you can relax a little bit before or after dinner while watching some classic movies.
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The complimentary breads that were gone by the first minutes

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I noticed some changes in their menu, the main entrees are mostly replaced by a longer list of some exquisite meals. They're also serving some grilled stuffs and a wider range of pastas, as well as vegetarian foods.
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The tiger prawn linguine ($29), with a generous serving of wild rockets, has that subtle flavour of white wine and a sharp garlic taste. I like the simplicity here, less ingredients doesn't always means taste-less.

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Just like it's name, the trio of cheese risotto ($27) starred three cheese in the rice: stilton, mascarpone and taleggio. Not that spectacular, but just deliciously smooth and creamy.

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This is the star of the day. Taken from the vegetarian menu, this organic pumpkin ravioli ($27) dressed in shallots, hazelnuts and some fresh herbs. The pumpkin fillings was a true winner, very rich in flavour, a little spicy with some chermoula.
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Clockwise from the top left: sour soup sorbet, banana fritter with ice cream, bittersweet chocolate tart with banana, Graze black and white puddings with their ice creams, homemade strawberry and honeycomb ice cream, classic afrigado, chocolate creme brulee, apple, pineapple and cherry crumble, and in the middle, pavlova with mango sorbet.

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We were stuffed; but I still wanted my dessert. The last time I was here I had the dessert tasting platter ($35) which I found very amazing. Since my best friend I was only staying for a short trip here, I really wanted her to taste it. It's basically a sample of all the desserts on their menu but only in mini portions.

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We're really glad that we had to walk back since we need that extra move to get the foods down the throat a little before we sit again. It was a real delectable dinner though, a stunning meal with my closest friends.
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Graze

4 Rochester Park

Singapore 13921

Tel: 6775 9000

Website: http://www.graze.com.sg

Toast: the Story of Me and Elvis

Being a coffee addict, the morning cup wasn't enough for me. That afternoon I demanded for some more and off we go, to Toast. Some people do not aware of the existance of this cafe by Marmalade Pantry in Ngee Ann City. Is it new? No, it has been there for quite a while, only that the location is a little hidden. Nevertheless, every time I came, there always been some people crowding in. They either munch on some light meals of sandwiches and salads or having their coffee break, like me.
What's a good cup of bitter coffee without some sweets? Today I decided to go for a cupcake, after being spoiled by the choices of various cakes and tarts. That's when I met Elvis. Dressed in a peanut butter frosting and chocolate glaze, he catched my eyes. The combination of salty peanut butter and the sweet, moist chocolate cake has always been my all-time favourite. Desserts are my big, big weakness: I bought some more cupcakes to be brought home. Anyone wants some desserts for dinner?

Toast

391 Orchard road

#02-11 Ngee Ann city

Tel: 6733 8489