Located at a corner where Cecil Street meets Marina Boulevard, The Black Swan resides in an 1930s building which used to be a bank. Running with the Art Deco theme, the Lo & Behold Group transformed it into The Black Swan, which serves classic cuisine that borders on being French-Americano.

Upon entering the restaurant, you are greeted by the unique bar and the high ceiling. The writing on the bar reads, "Here's to the Rose Coloured Glasses Of Life". La vie en rose. Well...less American since they still spelt Coloured the British way *wink*.

Panoramic view of The Black Swan

 

Go for their Set Lunch (2 courses @ S$38++, 3 courses @ S$44++) because it just makes things a lot simpler although the whole bunch of us still racked our brains to choose because everything looked enticing! Good thing for you is that there were 5 of us so we ordered quite a variety of starters, mains and desserts to review.

Above is the Farmer's Salad, so it's just a mix of rocket, apple, celery, arugula and tossed with a vinaigrette. Nothing too special about this.

Add S$4++ to order their Crab Salad which has sunflower seeds, avocado, mango, grapefruit and a citrus vinaigrette. Needless to say, this was a little more interesting than the Farmer's Salad.

For an additional S$6++, go for the Foie Gras which is pan fried perfectly and comes with a toast on a yuzu marmalade. Not a fault in this dish except maybe not enough of foie gras?

For those who are feeling 'safe', go for the Duck Confit (+S$4++) which was very crispy on the outside and still tender on the inside. It rests on a bed of bacon potatoes and a mustard sauce. Judging from how 2 of my colleagues ate their duck, it was good on the first few bites but in true Duck Confit style, it does a get a bit much.

Another main course was the Seafood Linguine. It's good and it wasn't wow. Just tasted like how it should be. This is one of the few dishes that were not French-based but Italian but I guess if you're going with an American theme, both cuisines go.

If you like fish, they have the Pan Seared Red Snapper with an egg sauce and with leek done two ways. The skin of the fish was crispy and the sauce creamy. However, it tasted exactly how a pan fried fish should taste like.

Yours truly went for the Mangalica Pork Collar (+S$6++) which came with pickled red cabbage and apple sauce...

It looks like a piece of steak and cuts a little like a piece of steak but beef it is not. This piece of pork was succulent and very well seasoned. It was simple but yet you know that you cannot replicate this dish with your home kitchen unless you're a very skilled chef with a good grill pan. I gave everyone a morsel of this porcine goodness, which spoilt their tastebuds and their mains don't taste as good as it did before. Oops. Needless to say, everyone on my table recommends the pork!

For dessert, I went for the Sticky Date Toffee Pudding (above) which tasted absolutely divine! The cold vanilla ice cream went really well with the sweet, warm pudding which could've been too sweet if it wasn't for the slices of banana and ice cream. Absolutely divine.

If you like dark chocolate, go for the Chocolate Dome. Inside that dome casing of rich, dark chocolate is a vanilla creme mousse and it's paired with strawberries and blueberries. Very classic.

Finish it off with a cup of coffee or tea and you're good.

That about sums up our whole experience in The Black Swan. Everything was classic and slightly laid back and it would be quite a romantic throwback to the 1930s, sitting at the bar and enjoying a glass of martini or whisky. I'm sure if you dine here at night, you might even let your imagination run a little wild and think that you're in a scene from The Great Gatsby. It helps that the restaurant has a Mezzanine floor which houses their 'Powder Room' - an intimate bar for craft cocktails and whiskies. If they played jazz music, I'm sold. I'll find as many excuses as possible to be treated to meals here.

It's not the cheapest place to dine for lunch though. You'll need to be prepared to spend around S$65/pax if you're ordering the 3 course meal with all the add-ons. Nonetheless, it is a place that is worth visiting at least once!

The Black Swan
19 Cecil Street
Singapore 049704
Tel: +65 8181 3305
Website: www.theblackswan.com.sg

Located in a nondescript corner of the 3rd floor of Robinsons, The Heeren (btw, the new Robinsons at Heeren remind me of Selfridges in London...but that's a separate topic), that's only highlighted with this thin sign, the family and I went to Luke's Oyster Bar & Chop House for a special post-Christmas dinner.

This particular branch at Heeren is very small and it has a bar seating as well as about 6 four-seaters and 4 two-seaters. This means that in order to be assured of a table, please reserve in advance. The decor of this branch is a classy black and reminds me a little of the art-Deco era or a throwback to the 60's Hollywood glam.

Love the signboard at the bar which is flanked by shelves filled with lots of whiskey/whisky bottles. As it's in a corner, the restaurant has 2 wall-to-ceiling windows that overlook Orchard Road. When making your reservation, do request to be seated near the window and then you can pretend that you're in Manhattan while dining. You'll impress your date immediately with the ambience.

Instead of normal bread rolls, Luke's serves mini corn bread served with a dollop of homemade butter that's sprinkled with paprika. The corn bread reminds me of my brioche, where it was super crumbly but delicious. I'm not sure why but the butter tasted better than store bought ones. Perhaps it tasted a little...creamier?

Since it's an oyster bar, we ordered half a dozen of assorted oysters (S$45++) and they are all from the 'specials'. We didn't get the Moonstone variety though. So these yummy morsels were flown all the way from the US and interestingly enough, each variety had very subtle differences. I only managed to try the Rome Point and Mantunuck oysters and the differences were that the Mantunuck oysters tasted a little more briny while the Rome Point oysters had a stronger after taste. All were freshly shucked and super delicious! I didn't try the champagne vinegar that came in the middle of the bowl. I like my oysters neat with maybe a squeeze of lemon.

My family loves veg so we ordered a classic Caesar salad (S$26++) to share and you can have the option to add fried oysters for an additional S$3++ but we chose the one without. I liked that the dressing wasn't over powering the salad and that the croutons were slightly chewy rather than crunchy. The Parmesan was generously sprinkled on the salad too but again, surprisingly, this did not over power the whole plate. However, the best Caesar Salad that I've ever eaten still goes to Bridge Cafe.

Dad had his own starter of Lobster & Corn Chowder (S$22++) which was thick enough for my brother to get a taste of it using a fork. It was very thick and tasty but you could tell that there was quite a bit of butter in there so if butter isn't your thing, this is not the soup for you.

I ordered another salad - Kale Salad (S$26++) which came with peanuts and a peanut dressing. One mouthful of this and I declare this Kale with non-spicy satay sauce. Yup, that's how it tastes like to me. Not peanut butter but satay sauce. Minus the chilli. It's interesting and quite yummy and it tastes better with the squeeze of lime to cut back on the thick peanut dressing after a full mouthfuls.

Then came our mains! Dad, bro and I ordered the Bone-in Tenderloin Au Poivre (S$74++) which is a 300g steak that's encrusted with crushed peppercorns and in a mustard cognac jus. The steak was perfectly cooked to your requested doneness and it was very tender. I also really liked the cognac jus as it complimented the steak perfectly. I wished there was less peppercorn though. I had to scrape away the whole lot because biting into the peppercorns caused my mouth to only taste pepper and not the beef nor the jus. The steak was also very lean, which is great for people who just want to load up on the protein and not have to worry about fats. This is really one of the best tenderloins that I've eaten in Singapore.

I spied my little eye on the table next to ours and they ordered the Ribeye with confit garlic (S$88++) and it looked really dry. It was a 400g steak that came either 'Naked' or 'Luau' style but I just saw some glaze on the top of their steaks with a whole head of garlic that's sliced off at the top and fried/roasted. Hmm...I'll stick to my tenderloin that comes with jus.

As a side to our mains, we ordered the Lobster Mac & Cheese (S$26++) and this was soooo good. Don't expect a layer of cheese at the top but do expect macaroni that's still al dente, swimming in a cheesy creamy sauce that has bits of lobster inside.

Mum went for the Georges Bank Scallops as her mains (S$47++) and it was pan seared to perfection. You can't really go wrong with scallops unless you undercook/over cook these tasty medallions of seafood.

Now...we did indulge in dessert afterwards...

Mum ordered the Coconut Cake (S$16++, if I remember correctly) and it's a massive slice so I suggest sharing this one. The cake itself was very moist and flavourful so those who love anything to do with coconut (like my mum) will adore this cake. The coconut shavings on the outside of the cake is not dessicated coconut but rather dried coconut flakes, adding to the coconut flavour subtly. 

The rest of us had a very adult version of cookies and milk. It's actually Warm Chocolate Chip Cookies with Stout Milkshake (S$16++). This picture is actually a 'split' version because I shared with my brother and the wait staff helped us to split it into 2 servings! So the usual one will have 2 chocolate cookies and 1 full glass of the Stout Milkshake. The warm cookie was full of chocolate chips and the gooey sweetness was contrasted nicely with the stout milkshake which was creamy but still retained that slight hops flavour from the stout. Thus, it was a nice balance between sweet and bitter but it was all good and super satisfying. Can they just sell the milkshake separately? In a larger glass? Please?

For cocktails, my bro had previously tried their Rock & Rye (S$21++) which he said was very good and he was very intrigued with the square ice that was clear and bubble-free. It's details like this that make you feel that it's worth paying the prices on the menu, I guess.

Yes, it's not the cheapest place in Singapore for a piece of good steak. However, the ambience is a lot nicer and less false compared to Lawry's. The view is a lot better than Morton's (what view?) thanks to the windows while the service staff were all super friendly. Thus, this is one of the ideal places to impress your date if you feel like splurging and the best part is that you'll walk away feeling that the money was well spent because of the whole package!

Luke's Oyster Bar & Chop House
20 Gemhill Lane
Singapore 069256
Tel: +65 6221 4468

260 Orchard Road
#03-02, The Heeren
Singapore 238855
Tel: +65 6733 4813

Website: http://www.lukes.com.sg/chophouse

If you've read my previous post on Bridge Cafe, Restaurant & Bar, you would've known how impressed I was with the food and so, I decided to bring my colleague there for his leave-do. Again, I ordered their Executive Set II but I went for the Chicken Roulade for the mains.

Again, I was heavily impressed with the tender and moist chicken meat that wrapped enoki mushroom and spinach. It was juicy and so flavourful without being too bombastic on the palate. It may seem like a small portion but for a set, it was perfect for me. The guys ordered the veal stew and they were really stuffed. So if you have a smaller appetite, the chicken roulade is really suitable for you.

Dessert of the day was brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream that had bits of frozen raspberry. I wasn't that impressed with this because the previous brownie that I had was a lot more moist and therefore, decadent. I liked the frozen raspberry bits though but I felt that I would've preferred it to be sprinkled on the brownie instead of the ice cream because it was hard to try and scoop ice cream with raspberry to go onto the brownie.

Once more, the people whom I introduced this place to were thoroughly impressed and everyone was glad to have found a nice quiet cafe in the hustle and bustle of Singapore to just go and chillax with damn good food.

Bridge Cafe, Restaurant & Bar
31 Seah Street
Singapore 188387 (between City Hall and Bugis MRT, opp Raffles Hotel)

Tel: +65 63334453
Website: https://www.facebook.com/bridgesingapore
Opening Hours: 12pm-10pm (Tues-Fri), 10am-12am (Sat), 10am-5pm (Sun)

Chanced upon Henri Charpentier through a friend when we were trying to help my colleague find a proper gift for his step-mum. Despite me being a foodie, I've never heard of this popular (and famous) Japanese patisserie chain.

Opened in Japan in 1969, Henri Charpentier is a French style Japanese patisserie and its namesake is the father of Crepe Suzette. It's a no brainer that their signature dish is the Crepe Suzette. Other signature delectable pastries would be their Madeleines and Financiers. Alas, I did not get the chance to sit down for dessert because we were there simply to get a gift before I had to rush home.

Sorry, I was too busy talking to my colleague that I didn't get the chance to take photos of their first flagship store outside Japan. Located at Dempsey, it is just opposite my favourite House restaurant! What greets you is their distinct fuchsia pink carpet before you open the doors that have customised handles with their logo on it.

The service is a bit slow and the friend who recommended me to this place complained that they don't seem to answer their phones when she tried to make a reservation several times. The wait staff definitely aren't rushing along and they do tend to you in an unhurried fashion. While waiting for one of them to attend to us, I was sucked into their display fridge and I caved in...

I bought their Mille-Crepe (S$9+) and their Mont Blacnc (S$9+) and I loved how they packaged it with supporting blocks so that your cakes don't move about. They even have a protective 'fence' around my Mont Blanc! On the right, there's a small little box where they placed a ice pack so that my cakes aren't wilting by the time I get home. Brilliant! Ok...one up on Lady M.

Here comes the taste test.

Let's start with the Mille-Crepe. For S$9+ a slice, it is comparable to Lady M but you feel slightly better because you still have fruits on top of it whereas Lady M's version is just plain ole cream and crepes. However, when you put it into your mouth, I have to say that I prefer Lady M. Not that Charpentier's version wasn't tasty (my family loved it), just that Lady M's was a little more...fulfilling?

My Mont Blanc was a little damaged during transport despite the fences and cardboard boxes to keep it from jostling. The irony is that the chestnut cream stuck to the side of the 'fence', resulting in it's less-than-perfect reappearance when the box was opened. Nevertheless, we shall judge this Mont Blanc by its taste and not its looks.

First bite and I'm in Mont Blanc heaven. I finally found it! THE best Mont Blanc in Singapore! The chestnut cream was wonderfully rich with chestnut flavour while still being balanced with the tart and cream inside. They did something delightful in the centre of the cream dome - they added a marron glace (candied chestnut) as the centre. Mmm...yum! The cream that they used within the 'mountain' is also delicious and they definitely added something into the whipped cream as it does not taste like your typical cream. The pastry tart crumbles nicely in your mouth and not on your fork too. The dessert god is definitely smiling upon this.

Ok...this calls for a proper visit to sit down and eat their disgustingly expensive desserts (S$18++ for Crepe Suzette??!!) and do a proper review. One day. When I'm feeling rich. Or happy. Or both.

Henri Charpentier
9A Dempsey Road
Singapore 247698

Tel: +65 6479 5518
Website: http://www.henri-charpentier.com/
Opening hours: 11am - 10pm

What do you do after a Mookata session at Boat Quay? Go for desserts of course! Cube and I chanced upon Madame Patisserie and decided to indulge ourselves in this quiet little cafe that faces the Singapore River.

Firstly, ignore their menu. Unless you want to order drinks. Otherwise, walk up to their display counter where they have saliva-inducing treats waiting for you to pick and devour.

Secondly, be adventurous. One of the cakes that we chose was the Earl Grey Strawberry Mousse cake (S$8.50++) which is such a pretty thing with multiple layers of cake, mousse and strawberry jelly jam. I loved how light this was and it was not cloyingly sweet. The sharpness of the strawberry was neutralised nicely with the fluffy mouse and the bergamot from the earl grey complimented the whole bite. Oh...did I mention that this was just from 1 forkful?

Onto something a little heavier, this is the Caramelia Mousse cake (S$8.50++). The base is a brownie with small pieces of nuts. On top of that is caramelised banana slices which is buried by a layer of caramel mousse. Chocolate + Banana = match made in heaven. Although this cake was a lot heavier than the Strawberry Mousse cake, it still surprisingly easy to finish as you do not get sick of eating it after 3 bites. In terms of flavours, this is definitely is less complicated and is just a darn good cake.

Ooh...found Olaf hanging out with Baker Minions there! Hahaha...this is testament to the creative bakers behind Madame Patisserie. The kitchen looks like a wonderful and fun place to just bake and create lots of interesting desserts. If you're interested, they do have 8-week baking courses for all levels at S$500.

Madame Patisserie markets itself as a high tea cafe situated within the CBD but besides pastries, they do serve mains such as pasta and duck confit. However, with those prices, I'm not sure whether I would try them. The cakes, however, yes...I'd like to gobble down all of their creations. Alas, I have my waistline to watch.

If you're near Boat Quay/ Clarke Quay and have a cake craving, do pop over to Madame Patisserie and try out their desserts on display!

Madame Patisserie
76 Boat Quay
#01-76
Singapore 049864

Tel: +65 65367028
Website: http://www.madamepatisserie.com/pastry/

Opening Hours:
Mon – Sat: 8.00am to 11.00pm
Sun: 8.00am to 8.00pm

Moon and I were very lucky to be 2 of the 100 selected to win invites to Cosmopolitan Singapore's 3rd Anniversary Bash yesterday, where they celebrated Fun Fearless Fabulous (females)!

Doors to F-Club were supposed to be open at 7.30pm for registration but they didn't really open up till 8pm. We arrived at about 7.45pm to see a long snaking queue and we had to get in line. Thankfully there was a roving hunk and FFF Cosmo photog to entertain us with Polaroids and chocolates!

Cool thing is that with the hashtag #CosmoFFF2014, we had our Instagram photos printed out inside the event space!

Instead of your usual wristbands, each of us were given a paper DKNY watch band! Really quite cool in terms of marketing because this highlights DKNY's signature timepiece for this season while making the attendees really remember about DKNY's branding.

As you can see from the photo above, the space was pretty packed. One of the organisers said that there was a limit of 300 pax within the F-Club and it certainly felt like the place was maxed out.

Really liked the DKNY catcher booths (there were 2!) and we wanted to try our luck but the queues were too long and I had NO patience to queue although we had free flow of Somerby's Cider (yum!).

For food, it was only a dessert table that had these really cute red velvet cakes with the Cosmo logo on white chocolate discs. Below is a meringue flower on a stick that was really cute too! Pardon the really crappy photo because I was walking and taking the photo - all done in low light.

After jostling with the crowd for about 20 minutes, my stomach said, "You need real food instead of just booze and sugar. The crowd's suffocating too." Thus, Moon and I walked out with our goodie bags and headed over to Liang Court for dinner/supper!

I must say that I'm terribly impressed with the goodie bag! Check out the loot:

Items inside were:

• Kellogg's cornflakes
• DKNY bangle
• Asience Shampoo & Conditioner
• ZA BB cream and cleansing oil
• The Natural Confectionery Sours
• Kao Steam Eye mask
• $50 watch voucher
• $10 hair voucher
• $50 Spa Voucher
• Flight 001 kit containing:
• 2 travel tags
• laundry soap sheets
• body cleansing sheets
• combination lock
• Lush shower gel
• SheShops discount voucher
• Latest edition of Cosmopolitan magazine

I won't be using this because I'm trying to save $$, hope that you guys will benefit from this instead! Go ahead and use the discount code but do remember that it expires on 31 Oct 2014!

It generally was a fun event but it was just too crowded for my liking. The ZA cosmetics were just placed on the bar tables and it was a shame that it was too noisy and crowded for people to just play around with them or talk to the ZA staff. The free flow of cider was EXCELLENT and of course, the games were a fantastic idea. I also like the printing of photos through the hashtag. All in all, it was great to celebrate everything that's Fun, Fearless and Fabulous!

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

Website: www.saveur.sg