Le Petit Baker

We came here for a weekend lunch because Cass wanted to try it out. The layout and ambiance itself was cool and modern with a touch of what I would call a Mediterranean feel? I might be wrong. Anyway, I think they had just ended their breakfast buffet service so when we reached there, every service staff was just minding their own business. There wasn’t anyone available to serve us or more like no one actually cared. I thought they were actually closed before I took the initiative to ask someone there and they said they were open and then he carried on with what he was doing. Kind of turned off by this; no direction to an available staff, nothing, we had to walk in aimlessly before someone actually seated us.

I had the iberico pork and she had duck ragout. The duck was very soft and the ragout was perfect. It had nice chunks of tomato, the pasta was al dente and the duck confit itself fit into the dish wonderfully. The pork was medium well and had a good bite and flavour to it. It was slightly fatty but still nicely seasoned. The mash was amazing, surely one of the best I’ve had. Overall, a perfect meal.

The apple crumble itself was different. The apple could have been poached a little longer for a better punch but I loved the tartness. The cream and crumble was delightful but I found the crumble a little over-spiced.

Overall, other than the poor service at the beginning, it was a great meal and we enjoyed the food. Definitely a place I would visit again but hopefully, staff are more attentive to customers in the future.

Porta
Address: 1 Unity Street, S(237983, Park Hotel Clarke Quay
Contact: 6593 8855

Opening hours:
Daily, 11am to 10.30pm

Personal rating: 4/5 (Class ambiance, great food, service to be improved)

I’m not too sure how Cass heard about this place but she wanted to try it badly. Once we got there, we ordered the grilled iberico pork and a tonkatsu.

The grilled pork was sublime. The glaze on it was so inviting and the texture, flavour and fragrance was unmistakable. I waited 20 minutes for it and it was worth the wait. It was served with seasoned rice, miso soup and pickles. The seasoned rice was a beautiful touch. It kind of tasted like a mild version of the Singaporean Claypot Rice. The miso soup was tasty but I would have preferred if it was served hotter. The pickles were fresh and has a nice citrus flavour to it. On the whole, the meat was melt-in-your-mouth perfection.

The tonkatsu was amazingly thick, juicy and fried to a beautiful golden-brown. My only complain; it should have been served on a raised metal rack to prevent the bottom of the katsu from getting soggy like this one that we received.

Overall, the restaurant is really classy with extremely friendly yet professional staff. We would highly recommend all to try this restaurant if you are at Jewel.

JW360
Address: Jewel Changi Airport, 78 Airport Blvd, #01 – 223 / 224 / 225, Singapore 819666
Contact: 6243 2466

Opening hours:
Daily, 11am to 11pm

Personal rating: 5/5 (Exceptional food with great service)

I remembered it was the day of I think an $8 million Toto draw and Cass requested to visit a cafe the next day. Upon checking the address of this cafe, I was delighted because it would be very convenient for me to collect my prize money if I had won. Sadly, my $1 gamble did not pay off and we had to pay for our lunch with our hard earned money instead. Lol!

We ordered a curious platter which came with slow cooked pork, corn, avocado, poached eggs, mushrooms, a sauerkraut-like cabbage and a slice of brioche. I have to be very honest and say it was utterly lacking in substance, flavour and everything nice. I was really disappointed after having tasted such platters at various other cafes. The pork was tough, the bread was hard, the mushrooms lacked seasoning, and even poached eggs were sad. I was really displeased with this meal.

The decor and ambiance was really lively and cool but the seating was disgusting. It was cramped, the weird yellow stools were absolutely just not right and the cushioned seats were at the wrong height for the table. It was definitely an uncomfortable meal for both of us.

We also had a carrot cake and it was borderline horrible. I think I’m being nice here. It was dry and tasteless.

Fortunately, the iced chai latte was well spiced and tasty though, really smooth and pleasant.

The service staff were also friendly, quick and attentive.

Overall, I would not come here again for food but for drinks alone, maybe.

Curious Palette
Address: 64 Prinsep St, Singapore 188667
Contact: 6737 3488

Opening hours:
Daily, 9am to 10pm
Closed on Tuesdays

Personal rating: 2/5 (upsetting food, nice staff)