Singapore Arts, Beauty and Inspirations Male Blogger

I made my way up Robinson Point feeling slightly anxious as it was my first time attending a beauty related event. I was expecting to see other male bloggers around since Kris By Mence is a pioneer in men's skincare as well as body toning. I was wrong since the rest of the bloggers were females and treatments are also available for them too. 

We got the privilege to tour around the clinic. I was quite impressed by the treatment rooms being so spacious, with the couple room large enough to be able to hold a 20 pax birthday party at least. A large TV screen as well as a glass walled shower cubicle spotted! I went to ask why was there only a shower cubicle for the couples. Do they share? Turned out that many people had asked the similar question before! 

It wasn't exactly easy nor difficult to locate the venue where cakesonline.sg held their tasting. I arrived and I felt like I was attending a in-house party instead of a food tasting. Cakesonline.sg is actually a brand new online gourmet cake shop, ISO 22000 as well as halah certified.  

I was in time and the first thing I did after placing my bag opposite miss chocoholic was to rush over to the beautifully set up table before anyone else started grabbing those irresistible petite cakes/tarts.
They even labelled the names of each individual cakes, arranging them artistically as if I were at a hotel buffet's dessert section! There were even mini chicken burgers, quiches as well as risotto which act as fillers in case we were not used to having desserts on an empty stomach.

Mini Sliders


Quiche


As the 'party' begins, I took one of each cake and tart for tasting, just like what I usually did in a buffet, before deciding to get repetitive ones later on. I started off with the Lime Meringue Tart and it happened to end up as one of my favourite! Beneath the slightly torched velvety meringue and within the super crunchy tart shell was the lime curd. The tartness was perhaps being too extreme to non-sour takers but I embraced that sensation that strike me hard, making me cringed a little.
I went for the Mixed Berry Tart next, and the crunchy shell remained consistent. Natural beetroot juice was said to be the tart's colorant, allowing it to gain a girly personality. I guess I would have squealed in delight if I were a girl, obsessed with the colour pink.
Being a cheese cake lover, it is not surprising that I would love their chilled (not baked) version of it. Spectaculoos Cheesecake had really low gelatin content, looking like they were in a semi dissolved collapsing state due to the warm room temperature. Ignoring that sight, I stuffed one into my mouth. It was so smooth, creamy and it basically melted down my throat. The lovely caramelized taste as well as the little crunch made it far from being mundane.
I had to 'borrow' the picture of Pistachio Raspberry Litchi Cake from Miss Chocoholic since I actually forgot to take a picture of it! I guess I must have been overly excited over these cakes! I took a second piece just to break down the different flavours since I only felt the rush of sourness from the raspberry. All because I popped the whole piece into my mouth. The lychee as well as the extremely mild rose flavour then surfaced and came into the picture.

That wasn't all, I then proceed on to the chocolaty ones which did not fare as well as those above. The Tiramisu was decent since I must have been too used to having ones with alcohol content. Chocolate Salted Caramel was thankfully not as gooey as it looks since I disliked desserts that could literally glue my teeth together. However, the saltiness overpowered the sweetness for this tasting portion.

I kind of liked the idea of using maltesers as a source of inspiration for the cake. The Malt-Teaser wasn't my favourite since it appeared too dry due to the malt cocoa powder. Kids would surely jump with joy upon hearing the name though.

There was a debate whether if  the Eggless Blackforest Cake contained alcohol. Cakesonline.sg is halah certified and yet Miss Chocoholic and I thought that we had tasted alcohol in it. The truth had unfolded once Chef Evelyn came out to explain to us. (Chef Evelyn was Shatec trained and had 13 years of pastry experience.) The secret ingredient that mind fucked us was actually (..Sorry, I felt that it's a secret ; not convenient to reveal.) ! I was like 'Oh ya! Why didn't I distinguish that taste??' 

Chef Evelyn was really nice to stay on to share some of her knowledge with Miss Chocoholic and I since we were so eager to know more about Cakesonline.sg. We constantly bombarded her with questions and she patiently answered them all! 

(The pictures are in tasting portion. They sell whole cakes.)

Do check out their webpage as they provide free delivery service throughout mainland Singapore!



Tiramisu Whole

I caught sight of Bistro 1855, this time not losing my way like the first time I did. The entrance was clustered with helium balloons. Gold and silver, floating, bouncing against each other randomly or along with the occasional breeze. After a glance for my name on the guest list and collecting a bottle of Moscato as a door gift, I headed in. A quick surveillance around the slightly dim surroundings, I got myself seated at the extreme corner of the bistro, with the other bloggers.
Bistro 1855, the sister of 1855 The Bottle Shop has turned one this month. An occasion that was meant to be celebrated and I was glad to be part of it. A couple of wines were available, as well as tapas that were served to us. (Eg. Iberico ham & melon, Boston Lobster Roll, Squid Ink Otah ; just to name a few.) Some tapas appeared rather unique and would be a perfect pairing with a glass of alcoholic beverage that could either be ordered from the bar counter or bought from 1855 The Bottle Shop (a wine retail/cellar) within the compound. The wine cellar, an interesting selling point which not many bistros out there do not have. Their impressive collection was so wide that you would definitely find something to your liking after consulting with their sommelier.
That day, a photography booth was even set up for selfie/wefies addicts to capture their celebratory happy moments in 1855 The Bottle Shop. I spotted many people, including myself grabbing different props to pose with. The pictures were even printed out for us. Not to forget they have a talented duo singing and playing some of the hippest songs around. Once again, congrats on turning one and thank you for the invite!

(Picture below this time!)
  



Upon hearing that Curious Palate was one of the newer branch of cafes/bistros hidden around Princep Street, we were curiously drawn in to try its menu. How strange that the entrance doesn't seems like a welcoming one at first. We did not reconsider since we have already targeted this place since that last time we met.
The layout was a little strange, perhaps something new, stretching a long way inwards like a corridor. There were 2 large mirrors with gold frames, an unusual find in a food establishment. I could imagine a lady having some preparation works, touching up and getting ready to pose with her food.
My attempt to keep people curious, actually my mistake of forgetting to record the names of these dishes that my dining buddies and I had consumed.
 



Modern European Restaurant with an Asian twist.
Located at 32 Seah Street. Conveniently located in between multiple Mrt stations.
A Foodie Mig Up session where I met other bloggers who uses Migme application too!
 

They also serves an affordable 3 course executive lunch set at $15.90+, from 11.30am to 2.30pm as well as a Singapore style brunch menu on Saturdays only (also from 11.30am to 2.30pm)!

From now till the end of August, when you dine in Restaurant Sela , remember to hashtag restaurantsela as well as me!!!!
The picture with the most likes would have a chance to win a private chef experience (worth $500) by chef Benson Tong in the comfort of your own home!

Restaurant SELA
32 Seah Street Singapore 188388
Phone : (65) 6337 6358
Email : enquiry@restaurantsela.com.sg
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/selarestaurant

Thank you Restaurant Sela and Migme for the invite.



Despite blogging for almost 3 years, I still felt that my blog is still lacking of something, something that would stand out from the pool of other food blogs out there. I tried limiting my blog to focus on desserts, partly because I am lazy since I tend to edit every single picture via Photoshop and adding in my own logo at the bottom of every picture. So does a dessert theme blog work? I doubt so since my rate of consuming desserts has been dropping due to being a bit health conscious these days as age is catching up on me. I wouldn't mind sharing my sugar diet with others but sadly, among my network of friends, I am considered the hardcore spender on food itself. Maybe once in a long while... Strangely, most people I know don't usually eat dessert!? Why is that so?
Another reason could be that café hopping is an expensive hobby. In order to survive the high rental rates in Singapore (to break even?) leads to expensive food and there is a need to keep an eye on our spending. I tried café hopping on a solo mode a couple of times, not that I did not manage to get any café kakis to accompany me. There is NOTHING wrong to be alone at times, which many people would find awkward or afraid that others might think they had no friends. I just enjoy my alone time at times. 
Right now, instead of the usual picture + description type of posts I usually did during my early entries when I first started my blog, I felt that there was a need to express myself more since I worked in the food and beverage field before but decided to leave. (More stories other time)

Some pictures of my solo café hopping mode below. (I self timer those selfies.) Every cake / dessert felt so mundane nowadays. Easy to guess the name of those desserts just by looking at the picture at times.

Café: Butter Studio