I finally went to Saveur for lunch today for my intern's leave-do and it has been a long awaited affair. The abstinence was necessary to ensure interest in the food and observation of changes. The last time I went to Saveur was in Mar 2013. That's almost a year ago!
So...some changes noticed:
The price of their signature Duck Confit is now $12.90++ instead of $10.90++. Photo courtesy of my colleague.
Their Beef Bourguinion too has increased its price by $2 to $16.90++. Also...I wonder whether the portion of the beef has reduced because this is how their beef used to be circa 2013:
Well, can't complain because the most important thing is that the TASTE doesn't change and it didn't. Saveur's food quality is still maintained although they have opened a new branch in Far East Plaza last year and they've also opened an Americano bistro thing at The Cathay.
When I see 'Specials' in restaurant menus, I tend to order them because the staples can always be consumed another day. So this time round, we ordered their Salted Caramel Lava Cake (S$9.90++).
Look at that well of salted caramel! I should've taken a video of how it overflowed/oozed onto the plate when my intern did the honour of making the first cut. This dessert was simply divine. I wanted 2 of those. All to myself!! The scoop of whipped cream was the palate 'cutter' - much to my surprise. It was not sweetened and therefore, lent a neutral tone to the tongue if you felt overwhelmed by the caramel. I want to go to Saveur again JUST to eat this cake and to also nibble on the Salmon Confit (S$9.90++) which I didn't order. Yum.
So, if you don't already know, Saveur is located at the following addresses and do note, they don't take reservations and at these prices, don't expect 5-star service from the wait staff either:
5 Purvis Street
Talib Court, #01-04
Singapore 188584
14 Scotts Road
Far East Plaza, #01-07B
Singapore 228213
Please note that I did not eat both pastries in the same day. Despite my self-love on my rolls, I am trying to reduce them...so these 2 were eaten on separate days but I decided to post them in 1 posting since it is about Tiong Bahru Bakery.
I have eaten an uber expensive sandwich from Tiong Bahru Bakery last year and you can read about it here. This time round, I'm going to focus on 2 desserts that I had.
First up is their Millefeuille Marron Casis (S$7).
Layers of flaky pastry filled with chestnut cream and what looks like blueberry jam. Sounds and looks good, doesn't it? I love chestnut cream so I was a tad disappointed that the jam overpowered the chestnut, although I think the jam was to add in some acid to take away the creaminess of the chestnut. Thus, I can't really fault the filling. What was the disappointing factor in this dessert is the pastry. I don't know whether it's this batch but it tasted almost over baked. Bordered between crispy goodness and burnt. Needless to say, I didn't eat half of the pastry.
Another colleague has turned into an ex-colleague and as a farewell gift, she bought us pastry from Tiong Bahru Bakery. My request was for their Almond Croissant (S$3.80).
Now...THIS was excellent! It's a croissant that has met melon-pan/roti-boy but is in all its almond glory. Sweet but not cloying, the croissant is filled with an almond paste that for once, I did not dislike. I must say that the croissant itself is slightly different from the traditional ones that you get from Delifrance (for example) but this is really quite yummy. Oh no...beware fat rolls! Stay away!!
Tiong Bahru Bakery
56 Eng Hoon St
#01-70
Singapore 160056
252 North Bridge Road
#B1-11/12 Raffles City
Singapore 179103
Met up with some old friends at Gunther's for lunch although we were supposed to have gone to Saveur but Saveur lost us because of the wait staff's rudeness. Anyway, back to Gunther's Restaurant. This is the second time that I've eaten at Gunther's and the first was a business lunch so I couldn't do the whole instagram/photo-taking thing.
All of us ordered their set lunch which is priced at $38++ and there are a few choices of starters and mains, all of which you can view prior at their website www.gunthers.com.sg.
For appetiser, I ordered the raviolo of foie gras on pumpkin coulis. We joked that it's just foie gras wanton/dumplings which they essentially are but I think it was rather well cooked because they were light but I think the dumpling kind of took the spotlight away from the foie gras.
For the entree, I ordered the Gunther's creation because I was sold by the photo shown to me by my friend. I knew that it was pork but I was NOT expecting the above. When it was served, it looked and smelt like Bak Kut Teh. Took a scoop of the soup and...it was glorified Bak Kut Teh. (-_-) Talk about being underwhelmed. Only differences between this and our regular BKT are:
mushrooms
mustard
broiled veg
no cut chilli
no youtiao
no rice
Naturally, we started joking about how we should glam up other hawker foods like fried carrot cake but in this case, I shall name it tarte au radish. It also made us think whether we really walked into a modern French restaurant and not modern Singaporean. $38++ for BKT. ( -_-;) What left another bad taste (no pun intended) in our mouths was the fact that my friend had to ask for olive oil and vinegar 3 times before it was brought over.
Dessert of the day was chocolate pudding with coconut dusting and chocolate sauce. We each only got HALF a pudding. Since there were 4 of us, they only used 2 full puddings? Well, the restaurant salvaged the meal with this dessert and the petit fours that came after.
Overall, I was kind of disappointed with the meal because my first visit was a lot better in terms of service and taste. When I walked in, one of the wait staff didn't see me behind her and the door almost slammed on me. Thank goodness another wait staff had the other door open so I could duck to the side quickly. Would I go to Gunther's again? Maybe...but it wouldn't be my first choice. I'd rather head to Garibaldi next door, Saveur opposite or Jai Thai further along the road.
Greedy friends and I went to Saveur again after dinner at Jai Thai, Purvis Street, for dessert (and dinner round 2 for a super greedy friend). Note that we originally wanted to have dinner at Saveur but when I arrived at 6.50pm, the waiting list was so long that we would have to wait 1.5 hours before we could get a table.
Nonetheless, friend did leave his number behind and we did have a nice Thai meal in that 1.5 hours. However, this post is on the yumminess of Saveur...let me proceed:
Looks like a simple salad? Do not let it fool you. Their salad has a quail egg that's cooked just right, with the yolk slightly runny. What's the MOST spectacular part of this is the salad dressing! At first, I thought that it was uber oily but when I tasted it, I was pleasantly surprised and how NOT oily it was! The dressing was the perfect blend of tangy citrus and olive oil. In fact, it seemed as if there was a perfume of citrus fruits.
Anyway, super glutton friend had a duck confit and angel hair pasta too but you can read about that in my previous post. This time round, I managed to try the angel hair pasta and well, I wasn't too wowed by it. It's a very simple pasta tossed with olive oil and pepper and topped with the sakura ebi.
We were there mainly for dessert and I ordered the "Cookie Milk ($9.90++)" off their special menu. It has been a LONG time I've been served froth. Last time I saw so much edible froth was in 2009 at Tom Aiken's in London.
Ah...what treasures lie beneath? It's ice cream with peanut butter and milk froth. Wait. There's a surprise in it. They have sprinkles of honey pops or whatever and it's like fireworks in your mouth! Super fun dessert!! Will definitely bring out the kid in you.
My friend ordered another dessert from the special menu which was Strawberries with a basil sorbet and mini meringue biscuits. Basil sorbet? Yup...I frowned when I read that initially but I tried it and it was very very refreshing. Amazing how everything just came together and was the perfect mix of sour, sweet, cold, soft and slightly crunchy. Wow.
The week after that, I just HAD to go to Saveur for lunch with my colleagues. I ordered their Beef ribs ($14.90++) and the Cookie Milk again.
The beef was cooked wonderfully. Each piece was so tender that no knife was necessary. You will use the knife to halve the slices so that you get to savour each morsel of beefy goodness twice as many slices as there are. The potato gratin was also cooked perfectly. My only complaint was the horseradish dressing in the mesclun salad that accompanied the dish. I hate wasabi and horseradish. But if you like them, it is a very nice pairing with the meat and potatoes.
Colleagues and I have fixed Saveur as a weekly lunch destination. 'Nuff said. Are you sure you're not going to try the food there once?
The trend nowadays seem to be making fine dining cheap while cafes are making simple fare extravagant and expensive. I'm all for affordable gourmet!! For my boss' birthday lunch, the whole bunch of us went to Saveur at Purvis Street to sample their affordable French.
Started by 2 friends who did stints at Guy Savoy and Tetsuya in Sydney, I was really looking forward to the meal in their chic minimalist restaurant (fyi - one of their units used to be Miss Clarity Cafe).
For starters:
I ordered foie gras on a bed of lentils (S$7.90++) with sauteed pearl onions although I was very tempted to try another variation of the foie gras. It was pan fried to perfection and makes you want more!! I think I could eat another 2 more plates of that...minus the lentils and maybe skip the mains. Haha!!
One of my colleagues ordered the angel hair pasta (S$4.90++) and I was so impressed with the presentation! It's not easy to roll pasta up like that! I must say that I was so engrossed with my foie gras that I forgot to pinch a little sample of this...so I can't vouch for the taste.
For mains:
The gorgeous duck confit (S$10.90++) served on a bed of mashed potato, mandarin oranges and mushrooms. The duck leg was tender and moist on the inside while the skin was crispy. Very impressive! For that price, I think a lot of men will be bringing their dates here...good idea, isn't it?
Most of us ordered the duck but one colleague ordered the pan seared sea bass (S$14.90++). He inhaled it so again, couldn't pinch a sample but it looked really good.
Now for dessert:
Some colleagues who have been to Saveur before, raved about the chocolate mousse (S$7.90++). It comes as a huge dollop served with chopped nuts and raspberry bits. It is also garnished with chocolate slabs and a swab of caramel sauce. They describe it a lot better in their menu but I'm putting my copywriter hat aside and telling you how it is. I love how the bits of raspberry gives that acidity and cuts back on the richness of the mousse but that said, please share this dessert unless you have a huge appetite.
Now, here's something that you MUST not share (LOL)! Above is the Pistachio Panna Cotta (S$6.90++) and it's gorgeous. Smooth, creamy without being cloying, this dessert is the perfect ending to an excellent meal. The serving size is just right so you don't feel guilty about satisfying your sweet tooth.
I'm definitely going back there again and I want to try out all the rest of the items on their menu. Apparently, they don't take reservations and they only seat people if 80% or more (depending on party size) are present. Go early and just saveur the food!
Saveur
5 Purvis Street
Talib Court #01-04
Singapore 188584
If you've managed to take a look at my planned itinerary, you'll realise that we skipped the Musee d'Orsay on Saturday thanks to our exhaustion. My dear brother said,"Let's do that and we blindly went. When we finally got there, it hit me as to why I had planned it on Saturday. Musee d'Orsay, which is a museum for modern art, is closed on Mondays! Doh *smacks forehead with one hand*!
Ah well, since the Musee d'Orsay is near the Louvre, we decided to head there straight. The Louvre was already famous before the "Da Vinci Code" but I think the book has made it even MORE famous. The Louvre used to be a palace (the royal family shuffled between the Tuilerie @ Louvre and the Chateau de Versailles) and it really is an impressive building.
There is so much art in the Louvre that it is said to take a few months to see every single art piece and exhibition! Well, I haven't got that much time and it was our 2nd time to the Louvre (mine being 12 yrs ago and Gor's being 2 yrs ago).
Armed with a Louvre book guide, we mainly focused on what we wanted to see (yes, the Mona Lisa included) and just walked around. Mind you, we still managed to spend 3 hrs in that place despite our focused plan. Enjoy the pics!!
Medieval Louvre...
The Three Stooges? Hahaha....nah...its some Roman tombstone thing. Victory, represented in the form of a winged goddess placed on the prow of a warship. Part of the huge oil painting entitled "The Wedding at Cana", which is 666 x 990cm in size.
Who can forget the uber famous Mona Lisa?
I'm sure most of you will recognise this Delacroix painting of the French Revolution from Coldplay's Viva La Vida album cover.
This is the view from Cafe Mullien, which is the cafe that within the Louvre on the 2nd floor. I would suggest going to this cafe and put up with the overpriced drinks/ food as well as the stares from hungry, opportunistic pigeons just so that you can enjoy this fantastic view. Just relax a little from all the walking and bask in this wonderful veranda. Perfect for summer.
After the Louvre, we hunted down for the elusive but famous Pierre Herme pastry shop. Pastry shop sounds so unclassy...but that's essential it, isn't it? I can't call it a cafe cos there aren't any tables for you to sit down and have a cuppa. Ok, how about boutique? But...that's just french for shop. That being said, I highly recommend going to this shop and buy their macaroons!! Scoff them down immediately after leaving the store to get the best flavour/ taste. If you're there during winter, perhaps you need not worry so much but if you're there in Spring/Summer...those delicate things will get soggy. Nonetheless, the macaroons from Pierre Herme are just bursting with flavour. They don't taste like sugar and almond powder with cream sandwiched between.
After our sugar hit was a trip to the Jewish Quarter (we didn't quite follow the sequence of our planned itinerary, which goes to show how you can be flexible when you're free & easy). It's nice to see a part of Paris that most people don't visit...but I wouldn't put it as a "must see".
At the end of our day, we went to Galerie Lafayette, which is THE departmental store to visit. Longchamp was having 30% off and their signature foldable bags were going for like SGD50!! But nobody ordered any from me...so...too bad.
As mentioned, my bro and I went to Paris over the weekend and I had planned the whole itinerary on Thu in 5 hours. I highly recommend doing the planning at least 2 weeks in advance and yes, I LUUURRRVE the internet!! I will be posting a link for you guys to look at our itinerary and change it to suit your needs.
We went to Paris via the Eurostar and the recommended time to check-in was 30 mins before departure. My advice is to be there AT LEAST 45 mins before departure. Not only do you have to scan your ticket through the turnstile, you've got to scan your luggage and bags AND lastly, you've got to go through immigration.
Above is a short clip that we took from our seats in the Eurostar on our way to Paris. The train ride is about 2h 23mins, which is pretty fast and convenient!
Upon our arrival, we went to the hotel to leave our luggage there since check-in was only at 2pm and we had arrived in Paris at 10.30am (hotel review was posted a day earlier). After depositing our luggage and grabbing maps etc, we headed to St. Michel-Notre Dame metro station in an attempt to get tickets to Chateau de Versailles. Since we were going to do a lot of travelling, my bro bought 3-day passes (Paris City Centre, Zone 1-3) for us. Yes, I do recommend buying such passes because you'll save money on travelling. You can use this pass for the RER, Metro and buses. For more info, you can check out the Paris transport website here but I prefer to buy the passes from the metro station itself rather than online. If you are planning to go to Versailles as well, please DO NOT purchase the pass that includes Versailles. I'll recommend a cheaper way to get there in my next post.
Well, we realised that we couldn't get tickets for Versailles from St. Michel-Notre Dame and they had stopped selling those tickets since the beginning of the year. So, please disregard what other websites have been telling you. The only places to get tickets for Versailles is either through Versailles' official website or queuing up on the day itself.
The St. Michel-Notre Dame station is at Notre Dame itself, so we decided to pop out for a bit and just take a look at Notre Dame. Both my bro and myself have been inside, so we didn't really bother going in to take another look. Thank goodness too...as there was an ordination going on and tourists weren't allowed to go in.
After that, we decided to head to Sacre Coeur, which is a Basilica located on Monmarte, which is the highest point in the city. Once you get up the hill, you'd be able to get a nice view of the city. The basilica is HUGE. Really massive and the size itself is quite impressive.
The view of Paris from the top of Monmarte.
TIP: There is a main stair entrance to Sacre Coeur and a smaller one to the right side. DO NOT take the side entrance because there are bunches of African hawkers who are touting their goods at the base of Sacre Coeur. My bro and I took the side entrance and our passage was blocked by 4 of them as they wanted to sell us some string bracelet thing. They even pushed my brother to prevent him from passing through after I had managed to see and opening and 'escaped'. They are at the main staircase as well...but it's tougher for them to block your passage etc.
After Sacre Coeur, we went back to our hotel to take a nap as we both had to wake up at 5am to catch the tube to St. Pancras station in order to catch our 6.55am train to Paris.
We, being good children, went for English mass later that evening in St. Joseph's Church. How did I manage to find this church? Well, I simply searched for "English mass paris" in google. We didn't know what to expect but we were most certainly not expecting a church that was so modern and minimalistic. In fact, the main hall was located underground and we felt as if we were attending some kind of secret meeting.
The main hall. The stations of the cross.
I kinda like the location of this church as it is near the Arc de Triomphe. So, after mass, we went there!The Arc is the second largest Arc in Paris and is also a monument to the unknown soldier who died during WW1. As such, it is also considered as as monument to all the soldiers who lost their lives during the war.
Dinner was a very uneventful burger and fries but we were going cheap..since we were at Champ Elysees - where all the big designer brands are. Think of it as a more upmarket version of Orchard Road.
After dinner, we headed to the Eiffel Tower 'cos I haven't seen it at night before. The last time I was in Paris, I went there in the afternoon and even went up to the top. I do recommend that but I also think that you should come back in the evening too. The Eiffel Tower really looks very pretty at night. It was 10.30pm before the halogen lights for the Eiffel Tower were switched on. However, I think these pictures proved that it was worth it to wait for it, despite how tired and sleepy we were. I took a lot more pictures but I shall not bombard this post.
I'm Melissa and this is where I like to share my travels, thoughts, ideas and review about things/places that I come in contact with. Besides that, I'm also the COO of SAUCEink - bringing you the juicy content that women love!
