original sin takes a lot more than apples...

i had a friend visiting from hong kong, and she (like me) is a veggo.. so i took the opportunity to head to my favourite vegetarian restaurant in singapore - original sin.  i first went there with graham.. and thought it was ok.  but when i went back with my hong kong friend, i have upgraded my opinion.  it was fantastic.  we had such a good time.  yes, the conversation was great.  but even more great was that i could order ANYTHING from the menu!  i had selection!  do you know how awesome it felt not to have to 'make up' something from the sides?  i could order the appetizer or the entree or dessert, whatever i wanted.  and so i did.

we ordered the mezze platter to start.  really how can you go wrong with hummus and pita bread?  so good!  i ordered the beetroot salad.. cause for some reason, i was craving healthy food. and it was delcious.  a strange choice, quite tart.. but a lovely companion to my not so healthy second choice..
the fritters; eggplant and parsnip fritters deep fried. hello!  (actually not so awesome..but not bad...)  kind of wished i had of went for the vegetable tandoori, or the risotto ( i had the risotto my first time... and it was sooo gooooddddd), or the pesto... or the moussaka.. or oh!  the choices!

my friend went for one of the special's which was a veggie pasta with an steamed artichoke.  it was bizarre.  i've only ever seen artichoke hearts, peeled and ready to eat on my pizza.  but my friend was served with a full artichoke, in which she had to peel and try to figure out how to eat it.  fascinating.  she did report, that after having figured it out, it was delicious. as was her pasta.

we didn't have dessert.. because we were actually quite full and satisfied by our mains.  i had the masala tea while we sat and chatted. i wish i had more friends here in singapore. actually, i just wish i had more friends who were vegetarian so i could for dinner or lunch or anything, anytime at original sin.  it was truly divine.

original sin is hidden away up at the top of chip bee gardens across the road from holland village.. but it also just down the lane from gastronomia..  which helps to snab something after for lunch or treats the next day.. (not saying i did... ok i did...).

not that it wasn't awesome, it was.  but i am giving original sin 4.5 stars because they should deliver.  and they should be located closer to my house.

Original Sin
Blk 43 #01-62 Jalan Merah Saga
Holland Village: Chip Bee Gardens
Tel : 6475 5605

check out their menu online originalsin.com.sg

hatched too late

i saw this place as i was wandering around holland village one day looking for a foot reflexology place.  i didn't find one.  but decided to give this place a try.

i googled the menu (super cool website.. its all about face here in singapore = a marketing agencies dream)  and noticed it was voted one of the 'best brunch' places by singaporeans.  and there was a vegetarian option.  so we decided to give our beloved boomerang a rest and try this new place. just like we have all decided to give men a rest...cause they are all annoying.......and ugh........and seriously doing my head in....

i think the theme is everything to do with eggs.. hatching eggs to make breakfast... yeah.. that's kinda cute... no? ...the front has this colourful facade of stretched yellow bungee cords.  and the inside has these small child like round tables surrounded by stools with no backs. like a hawker centre made by ikea.  odd.  we decided to sit outside in the regular outside chairs.  the menu was pretty cool  but not what i saw online.  but i had just returned from a short jaunt (4 days) to thailand.. and after a crazy kamikaze taxi ride from pattaya to the airport my adrenaline was pumped.  so i was up for anything.  i ordered the mushroom burger with the vegetable option of grilled eggplant and a soy cappuccino. the quite, shall i say, interesting, mushroom burger is singaporean's vegetarian option du jour i think.  that is the 3rd restaurant that has offered that. and i've never had/heard of it anywhere else.  huh.  at least its better than beijing.  their vegetarian option was a plate of steamed bok choy.  

lizzie ordered sausage and scrambled eggs, laura ordered french toast, frankie ordered the full fry up (sausage, bacon, eggs, toast). we all ordered water.  

water was the last to come.  the first was frankie's, then lizzie's, then laura's, then mine.  then my cappuccino and laura's coffee. what the?  i will never get used to the random food service of singapore.  how and why does it take an hour to make a cappuccino?

actually not withstanding the wait (or maybe because of the wait increasing my hunger) my food was awesome.  awesome like once in a very long while. because it was so soo greasy. dripping grease.  i drizzled it with ketchup and just enjoyed being 16 and hung over again........and then i popped a few extra digestive enzyme tablets for good measure.

all in all it was an ok experience.  annoying mostly because of the service.  the food was good, but i doubt we would go back. cause it has nothing on boomerang.  but afterwards we were in holland village!  so we went for a manicure and shopping which was delightful.  so that could be considered better than walking down the river at robertson quay.......and its closer to where i stay (yes.. 'stay'.. not 'live'... that's singlish to you).. so cheaper cab.

huh.  2.5 stars. if i was 10 i'd probably give it more because i'd enjoy sitting in the bright cheery restaurant on tiny stools.   if i was 16 and hungover, i'd probably give it more, because it was the perfect hangover cure food.  greasy fries.  greasy sandwich.  it would also have been awesome with a cold coca cola.  but i was terrified to change my order. god knows how long i'd have to wait for someone to put ice in a glass. yup.

Hatched
Holland Village (just up the alley from Starbucks)
26 Evans Road
Tel: 6735 0012

tiong bahru bakery... tiong wasted..

so.. i have heard about this tiong bahru bakery for ages.. the "best bakery in singapore" is what my time out magazine told me. it was also voted the" best almond croissant in singapore".  which.. if you know me at all.. are the magic words.. i loves me an almond croissant. (yes. i know they are not vegan.  but we all cheat sometimes.  well,  i do)  they were my anchor, my rock and my rebellion when i lived in hong kong.  every morning i would have to trudge from the lovely cosmopolitan section of soho over to the wilds of kowloon, choi wan station. which would take about an hour.  so every morning, id stop at my lovely pret manger and grab a lovely freshly baked almond croissant and a green tea.. and yes...break all the rules possible and sit and eat it on the hour long mtr (not mrt) ride. ahhh...never fined.. but attracted lots of dirty looks.. so worth it..

so.. tiong bahru.. is coincidentally where my yoga studio is.  the absolute best studio i have found in singapore. i started at hom yoga.. but me and singaporean teachers don't really mesh.. something about their defiant blinding absolutism... basically they were fackin rude and yelled at you if you didn't follow their specific examples.  i am not singaporean.. and have a rather independent mind of my own.. so i need... well i need a nice teacher.  i also tried bikram.. but that carpet crap on the floor.. some indoor/outdoor thing.. is just, in my opinion.. gross.  imagine the amount of sweat that gets dripped on that every day.. ugh.... so its absolute yoga for me.. lovely hardwood floors.. two clean towels.. large showers.. lovely international teachers... ahhh...

after a particularly long 90 minute hot yoga class, i decided to use my trusty iphone map and find this damn famous bakery.  i walked down from tiong bahru mrt (not mtr). it actually took about 20 mins.  i was surprised.. and tired and thirsty.  its in this tiny tiong bahru village old fashioned singaporean street place... with lots of hawker stands and old fashioned chinese markets.. not really the upscale area i was led to believe of the 'best in singapore'.  i finally found it.. and it is quite lovely.. and damn busy.  every seat in the place (small place) was taken.  i was thinking i'd sit and have a cup of tea or cappuccino and try the croissant.. but no. not today.  i was the only 'ang mo' (white person) in sight.  and everyone was sat around in large groups talking really loudly together. see.. there is a bit of a culture gap in the idea of cafe.  i think for singapore.. it means something more like restaurant.. where people go to meet friends and talk loudly.  for me.. it usually means a nice quiet place to sip tea, read, chat with a friend or two.. and just find a moment of peace.

there was a great selection of bread and baked goods, cupcakes, tarts.. and croissants.  huge croissants. i ordered one almond. it was the size of 3 regular ones and heavy!  huh.  it had a great crunchy edge to it... you know when you cook sugar and it crystallizes creating like a candy apple edge?  yeah.. that was on the bottom.  but damn! was it doughy!  so heavy. good yes.. but huh.  i think there is a disconnect between our cultures. i know this is supposed to be a french pastry type bakery.. but no french baker i know would ever sell something so.. doughy.... croissants are supposed to be light, airy, crispy and soft and melt in your mouth.  although this was good..don't get me wrong.. i didn't have to eat for the next two days (didn't have to...... doesn't mean i didn't) but i was soo full from just one croissant.. i almost didn't finish it.. huh what?

so.. huh.. apparently they are opening a new branch in raffles place (city hall mrt).. so cool?  or not...well.. in my opinion ..let's see... shit seating... shit walking for 20 minutes to find the damn place.. shit heaviness... too heavy it made me feel guilty for eating it all.. which is shit... especially after an awesome yoga class... so huh. but sweet and crunchy apple candy bottom.. nice.. and damn famous.....well let's just say, once is enough.  i don't know?  try one yourself.. maybe i'm just an elitist snob... wait.. i am... mwah..... deux etoiles..peut-etre?... je ne sais pas...chacon son gout....

Tiong Bahru Bakery
56 Eng Hoon St
Tel: 6220 3430

gastronomia... fack yeah.

i haven't been here for brunch yet.  but does it matter?  you need to get your ass in here. stat.

it is an italian/french deli type place that serves ready made food.  like freshly made pizza. and freshly made pasta.  and grilled eggplant and zucchini strips.  and croissants. and french loaves. and pasta dishes.  which all look fantastic.  and desserts to die for.  especially ESPECIALLY my two favourite things in all of the world... and now singapore.  lemon chocolate curd and toffee shortbread.  so i have a sweet tooth.  and a greasy food tooth. and a fack'n good food tooth.

my nanny (that is.. for you singaporeans... my grandmother, my father's mother, not a woman my parents hired from the philippines to do our laundry and live under our dinning room table) used to make it for dessert.  not the full lemon meringue pie.  just the lemon filling mixed with the meringue topping.  yummm....  so tart. and good. and creamy. and this place, this gastronomia genius of a place has added chocolate mouse and a chocolate gauche top.  what?  i gives a fack if its vegan.  its orgasmic. i just love it. and its packaged in single serving (well probably more like a double serving for a romantic shared dessert) and sometimes i actually can halve it and save the other half for later. yes, that has happened never.

the second favourite is toffee shortbread.. which is this delightful breadcrumb crust with soft toffee covered in a layer of chocolate.  and it is single serving about 4 bites of crazy sinful sweet heaven.  to be honest the rest of the food looks awesome, and lizzie said the scones are lovely, but i haven't tried anything else. i only have eyes for my two loves.

so.. for this lovely.... 4.5 stars.  (and that's just based on the two items. there is really no where to sit. and its kinda expensive, the lemon curd goes for about $8.50. someday i may try the other options... god knows what else could be better.  is that even possible?)  there are many locations around singapore.  i usually head to the one in holland village (across the street in bee gardens) or the one.. yes... just around the corner from my school.. like a 10 minute walk.. how did the universe plan that so well?!?.... in serangoon circle.

Gastronomia De Paulo Group
Holland Village (other locations)  43 Jalan Merah Saga
Tel: 6475 1323

artichokes rock.

you say its your birthday... its my birthday too yeah.. no really, it was my birthday. 25 again. ;) so the ladies took me for champagne brunch. yeah!  except i got a bit lost enroute and was half an hour late.  oops.

we went to the artichoke cafe and bar which is a delightful hidden gem off the busy middle road behind a chapel.  its got this cool idea (not vegan, so not the coolest, but cool) the chefs just cook whatever they feel like.  and they use fresh ingredients.  they even have a herb garden outside the kitchen where they grown their own herbs.


i ordered haloumi and mushrooms which comes with tomatoes and rocket on top of toast.. thick turkish sliced bread.... which was pretty damn good. they don't do soy milk (cause they didn't want to... its a whole milk, organic meat kinda place....) so i ordered an espresso   which was lovely. kathy ordered champagne..oh la la.... remember.. we are celebrating.. ME!!
the others did order something to eat.... it looked equally awesome in these massive fry up skillets.. but i really don't remember.  i was so absorbed with eating my awesome bread.  yup.  the bread was awesome.  and then we ordered dessert which was this awesome burnt toffee pudding, which tasted just like cool november nights in canada sitting by a fire watching the wind blow the last leaves off the trees.  seriously, it was just wow.

and also for my birthday.. i went shopping and bought myself a nice little treat.  tiffany's what?  working my life away in singapore does have a few perks....

and also for my birthday.. i got not one but 2 messages from my newest man toy.  seriously, what is wrong with me?  how can i not just find one nice one that i like and can keep and take home?!....... oohh but this one is sooo nice. i met him two weekends ago. he was in singapore on business.  and we went for dinner at clarke quay and made out by the river. so romantic.  then i went for lunch with him the next day and wandered china town, bum-boating around the town acting like the tourists that i avoid. oh heart of mine be still.   he's coming back in october.  not getting my hopes up.. but fingers and toes are crossed.  this guy.. is the bomb.  he's from california (so he's got that cool open minded thing going on..) he's tall (like 6 ft.  i am obsessed with height since living in singapore.. aka.. land of short people)  he's smart.  he's funny.  ok, he doesn't drive a ferrari .. but really does that matter?

so artichoke.... a bit heavy on the whole meat and milk loving vibe.. damn when did i become so elitist? (remember, i'm a vegan......)  but the food was good. the herb garden was cool.  and the vibe was really good. if i lived near i'd go again.  often. i have no idea how much it cost. how cool are my friends??!  let's just say.. it wasn't twenty dollar bills that kathy was laying down.. more like fifties..a few of them.... ok so.... it doesn't top boomerang.. but its damn close.

Artichoke Cafe and Bar
161 Middle Road
Tel: 6336 6949

hahaha.. their email is wassup@artichoke.com.sg.  serious.   awesome.

puttin' on the ritz.....and the eclairs

i have been in singapore for officially one year.  what? i know. times flies when you are expected to work ALL THE TIME. and the weather never changes so it all just seems to fade into one extremely long day.. now i know how janis joplin felt.... "as we discover on the train.. its all the same fucking day"... except i'm not high on drugs..constantly drunk... or in southern US in 1969.... just imagine if i was! oh now that would be a blog i'd want to read!!

so to celebrate our awesome one year of mental stagnation we spared no expense.  there was only one place to go. the ritz baby.  ritz carlton. high tea.  the stuff dreams are made of.  the ritz carlton high tea is held in the chihuly lounge that was made for no one else but me.  it is completely decorated in... wait.. gold.  gold tables, gold sofas, gold pin stripped arm chairs, gold rimmed tea service... and odd modern glass swirly curly tail like sculptures by dale chihuly  the hotel itself is up on a small hill surrounded in lush greenery, so when you leave the main road and drive up to the entrance, its like you are ensconced in this lovely little serene luxiorious oasis.

the tea itself kicks the ass off of raffles.  its a buffet style with at least 3 different stations.  and all you can eat!  first station is finger sandwiches and nibbly bits.  second station is fresh warm scones, cream, jam.. and a banana split station.. and third station is eclairs.. at least 20 varieties.. including the chocolate one covered in... yup.. gold.  and its cheaper at $45.00 per pax (each person) than raffles.   and the couches were comfortable.

so we were all there, frankie, lizzie, laura and kathy. except claire who is now in dubai.. and isabella who's been in canada for far too long.  laura is unsure what to do about her bali boy.. who seems to want to get alot more serious than she.  he asked if he could go home to canada with her when she goes in december. what? and lizzie's german is playing hard to get.. since he really lives in hong kong and was just in singapore for business.. and i've decided to give gordon another chance.

what is with me and guys that have names starting with g? this one, gordon, i met on the internet... (i know!)  he is singaporean. (which explains also the odd choice of english name... i know, gordon.. not gord or gordy.. but gordon...odd right?)... so we have a bit of a cultural gap.. well he calls it culture .. i call it him being a massive player.  i gave him the boot rather not nicely a few months ago by shouting at him and his playing ways.  he decided to 'never talk to me again'.  but well.. its a small town and its a short life.. and one thing leads to another and texts are sent and replied to.. and well... he has a ferrari.  can't blame a girl for enjoying driving around town in a ferrari. and nothing is wrong with a lovely dinner every now and again.  huh.

which is how i explained it to the girls.  yeah.  back to the eclairs.  that's right.  i did two trips to the eclair station.  i couldn't help myself. i seem to have developed a few weaknesses in singapore... namely for toffee chocolate eclairs.. and ferraris.

so yes, besides a bit of leg being shown as we tried to stand up from the very plush sofas, high tea at the ritz was a very civilized and posh affair.  oh..and our server was from switzerland   he was this tall drink of water with impeccable manners.  and a deep low voice.  and a french accent. damn cute.  if only i was drunk and high as janis now, THAT would be an event. back to the eclairs.

The Ritz Carlton Millenia Singapore
7 Raffles Avenue
Tel: 6337 8888

slice of saturday

macritchie reservoir 10:00 AM. me, lizzie, laura and kathy hit the trail.  and walked and walked and talked and walked. for 3 hours!  11 kms around the reservoir.  we even took the sky bridge detour. now that is a view.  people should build houses up in the trees again.  i would kill to live in the top of one of those massive trees surrounded by lush greenery and silence.  mmmm..

and after 3 hours of walking we were hungry. i had originally suggested starbucks, but my friends were in need of a little more sustenance then coffee and cakes after our 11 km walk...   and so we hoped into a taxi to upper thomson and out in front of crust.  crust is a pizza place.  not just any pizza place but a  gourmet pizza place.. its hard to get anything close to good pizza in asia... and this place.. was pretty damn good... especially with thin crispy crusts and vegetable pizza options.. like artichoke hearts.

i ordered vegetarian supreme which was pretty good.  kathy ordered cajun chicken.  laura ordered the brushchetta and lizzie ordered the spicy pesto scallops.  and we all ate most of it.  their pizzas are quite large,  well for one person (8 slices) but we were hungry and it was delicious.

and this time.. not much talking. we had spent all our conversation on the 3 hour long hike.  what fun!
so....if you live in the upper thomson area (there's one in holland village too)... crust delivers.  not bad.  not great.  but not bad.

Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar
Upper Thomson
215R Upper Thomson Road
Tel: 6456 1555

bananas.

ok..so not a brunch post.. but for those following along... just too hilarious of an event not to post.  as you know, my relationship with graham as been gradually fading.. but he is a nice guy, and you know, if it weren't for some serious physical and mental obstacles there could be... ok fine... no, but he is a nice guy and he's fragile having just been ripped out of his family (his words).  so i haven't had the heart to make a complete break like i probably should have.  instead i chose to gradually fade.

so... graham invited me for a late sunday lunch/early dinner at the banana leaf apolo in little india.  i am mentioning it, because the food is good.  damn good.  its mostly all vegetarian... or can be if you chose.  but... you need to be warned, the decor of the restaurant is odd.  it's a massive cafeteria style room with strangely uncomfortable wooden chairs and usually very little patrons. and don't go to the washroom.  they are attached yes.... but not in a nice way.. in a connected to the rest of the mall way... in a rather grungy mall in little india.. if you get my drift... BUT... but the service is excellent and the food, did i mention?  good.  so good.  we ordered naan (of course) some red spicy vegetable dish, paneer and lime juice.  and then no plates!  just large banana leaves which we spoon our choice of food onto and dip into it with the naan.  so hearty.

speaking of heart... or lack thereof.. so... after the meal as we are sipping our lime juice, eating our second order of naan bread... yum...naan... and i am wondering how to get out of wandering around the markets to buy me yet another packet of jasmine, graham starts to tell me that he thinks it might be time if we see another people. well it went sort of like this.

"you know how first i thought i was in love with you and i wanted to get really serious?  but then you said we should slow down?"
"yeah"
"and then you said that maybe we shouldn't move in together cause it was too fast.."
"yeah"
"and then you thought that i wasn't over my divorce and you thought i needed to sow my wild oats so we decided to see other people?"
"ok.."
"well, i did that."
"ok."
"well, actually i met a really nice girl from malaysia.. and well, she doesn't want to share me."
"oh.  ok."
"you know i want to thank you.  you have helped me so much. before i met you i was in such a dark place.  and you made me smile and you showed me that i could fall in love again."

see? it all worked out.. and no one was hurt.  yeah i didn't have to make a big break up scene.  just fade to black.   ahhhh.. but... why is there always a but?......but ..here's the key girls... if you keep silent and let a man talk long enough he will eventually tell you the REAL truth..

(a few minutes later)

"so.....have you slept with this malaysian girl yet?"
"no.  that's why i wanted to tell you first.  so i could be completely honest with her."
"oh.  that's nice."
"and now i am completely confident that it will be good.  i have you to thank for that."
"really?"
"thank you.  you taught me that; just relax and don't try so hard.  kiss the upper lip and then the bottom lip. you want to know something?"
"ok, sure."
"you know the second time we were together and you asked me if i had been practicing?"
"yeah."
"well i had.  after the first time and you taught me how to kiss, i went out and slept with 5 other women to practice what you said."
"oh."
 um......WHAT THE HELL?   who does that?

............and so if you are in the mood for fantastic indian food in an uncomfortable ambiance  then the banana leaf is for you.  and cheap!  3.5 stars.

The Banana Leaf Apolo
48 Serangoon Road
01-32 Little India Arcade
Tel: 6297 1595

like a boomerang

having pretty much exhausted my choices (and my wallet) at dempsey, i went back to google to search once again for brunch. but this time i got smart. you see i think the best place i have ever had brunch (well besides the cafes in paris... oohh i love paris)  was in australia.  serious. amazing brunch/breakfast places.  with get this - fresh vegetables and fruit served on the plate!  and vegetarian options. what are they thinking?  i know!  so there was this place i remember looking awesomely cool on the riverside near clarke quay.. i had seen it during one of my midnight romantic strolls with graham.. who am i?  i know!  you are thinking that my life sounds like a movie, am i right?  well.. um.. no.. you see, sad thing is i wish graham was half as cool as he is in my dreams.  and that he wasn't still recovering from a painful divorce (him being the one kicked out of his house and wishing he could get his wife, child and life back.)  damn.  ever notice the ones you want are hard to get and only want to use and abuse you... and the ones you get.. are the ones you don't want.. the needy, overly romantic, clingy type?  sigh...

anyways. brunch. on the river.  booyah!  or.. more to the point, boomerang. what a great place! and.. wait for it... i could order directly from the menu.. completely.. again wait.. vegan choice! i was so excited.  i know it won't seem awesome to you... but to me.. so exciting.  i ordered the avocado toast.. which essentially is two thick chunks of wheat toast with slices of avocado and grilled tomatoes on the side.  and what i did was order a side of beans and hash browns. and then i put the beans over the toast, then the avocado then the tomato.... and damn!  good!  fresh!  yum!  to add, i ordered a soy cappuccino   ok the others? they ordered equally awesome - non vegan meals - buttermilk pancakes, the 'bondi' (poached eggs and spinach on toast) and 'the ashes' (big fry up, sausage, bacon, eggs, toast...yada, yada)....AND ... all the meals were served at the same time.  after AFTER the drinks.  i actually had time to chat and sip my cappuccino till it was finished and then booyah!  there arrived my meal.  perfection.  damn aussies.  they have the sun, the surf and now impeccable timing. what next?

and the chatter.. um.. well.. it flowed just as smoothly as the aussie service.  maybe because the restaurant itself is this clever inside/outside type set up with a roof but with open walls overlooking the very posh area of robertson quay.  lovely to just sit and people watch.  so gossip.. well...claire is moving to dubai. what?  she just got here. yep.. and she's pregnant again.. with girl number two. lizzie is over the moon with a german businessman we met (she dragged home) at an internations event (our first.. sadly not our last).  i was bemoaning the very gorgeous eygptian man i met (but didn't drag home) at the same said internations event who was sporadically texting me.. and i was trying my best to play coy wishing he was even as slightly as interested and head over heels in love with me as graham... and then.. there is kathy who just got propositioned to take on a HOD position at a very posh school in Singapore for 3 times her now very VERY adequate salary..... apparently education is big business in singapore.

so boomerang.  awesome.  awesome. awe.some.  and to add to its already awesome status, the bill arrived. what?  reasonable.  i walked out of my new favourite place in singapore full, refreshed and relaxed with my wallet only $25.00 lighter.  and so like a true boomerang (which coincidentally  i actually own having bought one and been taught how to correctly throw it in maroubra (near sydney) by a genuine aboriginal boomerang craftsman.  yup. no biggie) i will definitely return.  4.5 stars.  seriously, in singapore i am not sure it can get better.... but a girl can still hope.

Boomerang Bar and Bistro
Robertson Quay at the Quayside 60 Robertson Quay
Tel: 6738 1077

ps. (cafe) i love you.

and back to ps cafe. cause it was an easy choice.

and.....this time it wasn't me and the brunch ladies... it was just me and a guy; the guy i'm seeing graham. and we sat outside, but in the shade and it was fantastic. i didn't want dumb salad and fries again, so i thought i would try to do what i got so used to doing in new york. (i just came back from 2 weeks in brooklyn. holla!!) you see what i could do in new york (brooklyn) was just tell the waiter that i was vegan and that i wanted a mash of potatoes and vegetables. they were so damn good in new york (brooklyn) that they let me even list the vegetables that i wanted to add.  actually, where i stayed (in my sister's guest room) there was a true blue.. or is it green vegan restaurant s'nice (that's the name.. but it's true.. it is nice..) right down the street.  can you say heaven?  seriously fantastic.  i am dreaming right now of their soy chai lattes and vegan brownies ... oh and their awesome urban vibe.. and non humid air.......... sigh....

but this waiter surprised me. "oh, you are vegan? well we can do a portobello burger for you?  or we have a pasta with tomato sauce."

"what?" i was completely flummoxed, "but that's not on the menu."

"no, we write it on the board as vegetarian or vegan options."

"OMG! i love you!" no i didn't say that.  but i thought it.  alot.

so i ordered that; the mushroom burger and a cappuccino with soy milk......and it was fantastic! seriously.  fresh tomatoes and rocket salad with a thick slab of mushroom. yay! a party in my mouth.  i didn't eat it all, not because i didn't want to. but because i was also talking the whole time. cause when i'm happy i can't shut up. and finally in singapore at brunch i was happy.

and then my happiness doubled because this time we ordered dessert: carrot cake... and another cappuccino...
just cause it was a beautiful day sitting in the shade, chatting with a guy...

we split the bill. i know, he's supposed to pay. but he always pays. and why not? the bloody tab came to $126 and no one ordered any alcohol. what the?  but, as graham suggested, if we broke it down by hour, then we essentially paid about $20 an hour to sit there in the cool shade, surrounded by lush greenery and relax and chat and be.

ahh.. happiness. awesome today.  5 stars.....minus the cost, less would be better, but whatever, it was a splurge... ok fine 4.5 stars.  no less.

PS Cafe
28B Harding Rd  Singapore 249549
Tel: 9070 8782

salted caramel heaven.

i know its not brunch.  but its a must stop.  serious. ever since i've been vegan, well no even before that, i gave up ice cream.  i don't know why.  it just played havoc with my stomach.  about an hour after sticking a tub of haagen dazs triple brownie overload (have you ever? fack me that was good stuff) into the microwave for 30 secs to get that nice soft half melted thing going and then devouring the damn whole ooey gooey chocolate ambrosia, the sounds coming from my stomach were.. um... not nice.  did you know the  name häagen dazs was made in america. new york to be precise. its two made-up words meant to look scandinavian to americans so they think the ice cream is danish.... as danes are supposed to make the best ice cream.  huh.  so if they lie about the name.. god knows what they put in their triple brownie overload.

anyways, i was out for dinner the other night in ma hood of upper thomson dining on some fantastic indian cuisine.  see, indian food is the shit.  so many vegetarian choices. and lime juice.  and naan.. ohhh naan...  however, dessert, indian food does not have.  no. i'm not eating those weird styrofoam balls covered in watered down honey.  ok, maybe that's not what they are.. but that's what they look (and taste) like. 

and so, across the street my friend (nope not my brunch ladies.. my man friend....mwah.....ok fine. his name is graham) spotted two ice cream stalls side by side. one very busy. one not. we went in the not busy one. salted caramel. i was looking for some dumb lemon sorbet or mango sorbet.  the general default suspects.  but what.... what is this?  they have chocolate sorbet. huh... could be good... could be crap....whatever, i was in an adventurous mood. and get this... it was FANTASTIC!!   it was soo good my mouth exploded! serious. so not like the watered down cocoa that chocolate sorbet usually tastes like. this tasted like pure chocolate heaven. and not just dark chocolate, but damn, i don't even know how to explain it... it was hershey chocolate syrup out of the can, the thick stuff from the good ol' days....expect with added depth and richness and chocolate-ness. it was good man. damn good. damn fackin' good. and it was vegan. huh?  heaven!

graham got the salted caramel. meh. it was ice cream. i gave him a spoon of my chocolate heaven and then his too became ice cream heaven!
seriously.. ain't got no idea what everyone was doing at the other store.  even the name..udders... tacky!  salted caramel gets my vote.  4 stars.  ( i can't give 5 cause there really wasn't anywhere to sit because it was busy.. and i don't know if there are any other worthy flavours...yet..)

Salted Caramel
246F Upper Thomson Road
Tel: 6753 1718

la barca, la ok-ah

lizzie kept seeing la barca  on her way to work so finally we decided to try it. it was an odd one to find, tucked away in the middle of the goodman arts centre. which in itself is a weird campus.  but a gem too in my opinion.  i love all things art. and was in my glory wandering around checking out all the possible art courses and classes i could attend. if only i didn't have to work all day. oh! the things i could do.

the goodman arts centre is built on the old campus of lasalle arts college, which i think (hope) was built on the old site of an army barracks type building.  it was very 1960's institutional. lots of floors of small doors.  huh.  but la barca was in the middle, a little oasis of white curtains, white lounge chairs and green plants.  i arrived first and sat down in one of the luscious couches outside waiting for everyone else.  i could have sat there all day. but finally when everyone arrived, the waiter suggested we move to a table. we decided to sit outside, under the canopy.

so their brunch menu was pretty good. there wasn't a vegan meal but there were a ton of sides.  i asked the waiter if i could have the potato wedges, the grilled vegetables and the steamed tomatoes together on one plate.  "no, cannot." huh?  why not? i didn't understand, but whatever.  fine.  "you want them all at once?"  yes.  i tried to explain. i am vegan.  i don't eat meat or eggs, so that is what i must do to eat any thing on your menu.  i don't think he understood (or cared).

it was a lovely set up and as we sat down they brought toast for all of us in those lovely little silver triangle things.  very english for an italian restaurant.  laura ordered pancakes.  kathy ordered the full breakfast, eggs sunny side up.  but...."no, cannot. only can have eggs over easy."  huh? why not?  she didn't understand.

but it all became very clear when the food arrived.  i could not put all my sides onto one dish because each side was carefully displayed on a massive plate with drips of oil on top.. very french cafe style. yes.  there were 5 thin strips of grilled zucchini.  and 2 steamed tomatoes and a plate of 4 potato wedges laid out in the the shape of star.  it was a thing of beauty.  and took up half the table.  i subsequently took all vegetables off their gorgeously laid out plates and heaped them on top of the potato wedges.  then asked for ketchup.  (oh i'm a choice guest!)

kathy's over easy which could not be a sunny side up actually was sunny side up. so go figure.  little things.  no big deal.  it was actually, when all the logistics were sorted out, delicious. 

the bathrooms were across the amphitheater area at the bottom of the goodman arts centre. so a fair walk. but somewhat attached.  and probably the walk was good for me. i did it 3 times as i kept getting refills of hot water and we stayed and chatted all afternoon.  about to kill a mockingbird.  why does the singapore school system insist on teaching students to kill a mockingbird? how in the world does it relate to anything in singapore?  1930s, race issues, slavery, rape, and good ol southern american family values. huh.  i thought it was a hard sell to my canadian students.

so la barca. the price was reasonable.  again, i paid the most for my 3 sides as opposed to frankie's massive eggs and sausage and coffee and juice and toast set.  but whatever. who's complaining (me. just once i would like to go to a restaurant that has stuff on the menu that i can eat.  like more then one thing.  i miss vegan restaurants. i would even be happy for a vegetarian option.  i'm just asking for a bit of  love.  just a little)   whatever, it was a lovely brunch. and quiet. we were the only ones there. and the company was great.  so yeah, ok. i was going to say 4 stars. but no, it wasn't ps cafe good. but it wasn't la baci bad.  so 3.5 stars. maybe i'll go back and see if it gets better?

La Barca
90 Goodman Rd, Goodman Arts Centre Blk C
Tel: 6346 5813

psssst! ps cafe. not too bad.

we had seen ps cafe the other times we had gone to dempsey hill, hidden down a long windy path, and it looked delightful, so we were all excited to give it a go.
and we weren't disappointed. it was lovely.  lovely.  as soon as you walk in you are greeted with a row of the most delectable tantalizing cakes you can imagine.  and then massive vases of flowers.  and when i say massive like 6 feet tall.  just gorgeous.  the seating area is lovely with floor to ceiling windows looking out over grass and lush greenness that is singapore.

it was busy when we arrived at 11 and there were 6 of us minus one.  lizzie was out sleeping in and enjoying the peace and quiet after the exodus of laura's bali boy.  and they don't take reservations.  but we only waited about 10 minutes for a table.  ok, the menu was a bit meat heavy and no 'just toast' or home fries or anything.  but i was the only one with ordering issues.  its not really a brunch-y menu, but the usual suspects: pancakes, eggs benedict, eggs and bacon are all there.  i ordered ugh... the green house salad because they didn't even have like a side of veggies or anything.  and i ordered fries.  they were ok.  the green house salad i ordered had blueberries which were delicious but prehaps too many cherry tomatoes.  it was massive, served in a giant bowl.  so even though i didn't finish it, i did eat a fair bit. 

the bathrooms, although quick to get rather icky were attached!  and clever there are actually 2 women's and one men.  ha!  now that is good planning.  and they also have gorgeous floral arrangements. 

yup.  ps cafe had such a nice atmosphere, i have could sat there all day. wait....we did. our waiter was so patient with us even when there was a line up at the door to get in.  but actually, yes we were talking the whole time about stuff.. cause we are girls and we can talk .....ok.. we were also talking about frankie's wacko landlord who is threatening to evict her and keeps making her pay extra saying that she breaks things.. when she can't use the kitchen at all. can you imagine?  she has to go out and buy all her food and then eat out.  she isn't even supposed to eat in her room.  that was the latest stunt her landlord pulled.  just before brunch she knocked on frankie's door (who answered in a towel having just gotten out of the shower) and told her she was kicked out for eating in her room.  because she smelt curry.  frankie had just woken up and had a shower.  and then came for brunch.  no curry. weird.  my roommates drive me crazy at times, and i live in a grungy HBD, but damn, what the hell could it be like?

but we were actually waiting for a dessert menu.  we were dying to try the freakin' amazing desserts.  and i so wanted another cup of tea.  but our waiter never came back.  we waited for hours.  so when she finally did come back we were so tired of waiting and it was going on 3:00 we just asked for the bill.  sigh.

so ps cafe... ooohhh.. not bad.  really not bad.  unless you have to pay for the bill.  and then ouch!  it may just be a  once a month thing.  i paid $50 PLUS for salad, fries and tea.  yup.  $50 PLUS.   all in all, though, i have to say, for location (its in dempsey.. yay!) ambiance, general healthiness of food, service, not too damn bad.  4 stars.

PS Cafe
28B Harding Rd  Singapore 249549
Tel: 9070 8782

jones the grocer.. that wasn't. or isn't. or could be.

disappointing.  well, not completely. but huh.  ok.  let me start at the beginning. i called jones the grocer for a reservation as i was told it was THE place for brunch in dempsey.  umm.. where have i heard that before.  right. house.  huh.  so dempsey take two. i am determined to find a place in this fab village that i love because i want to spend every sunday wandering around, brunching, visiting, sipping tea  and pretending that i am a fab wealthy expat.  ha! like the rest of the people that parade their posh cars up and down dempsey hill.  riiiiiiight.

so.. i was told they didn't take reservations but the queue started around 10:30 so it was advisable to  show up early. huh. a restaurant in singapore that didn't take reservations. that does not bode well.

and the way it starts sometimes is the way it means to go on.  sunday was a late start.  i meant to meet claire at holland village and go over early to get a table, but then i started late (sunday morning dammnit!) and there was a jam enroute to holland village due to the exhumation of dead bodies in the bukit brown graveyard on the way.  what? yes. apparently, according to my taxi driver  the graveyard is being razzed to make way for a new road, so families have been asked to collect the bodies, if they would like.  most  families, my cabbie explained ask their local temple to exhume them and perform a ceremony for them then cremate them.  the taxi driver knew this as it had happened to his ancestors who were housed in a different plot of land the government had wanted a few years prior and he had to do the same thing.  actually, after i thought about it, i wasn't as shocked as you may think i should have been. i remembered they do the same thing in hong kong.  well actually everyone does it, not just a few plots of lands here and there. grave space is essentially non existence in hong kong proper and so grave sites are leased for 100 years.  after the lease is up, the grave is open, but the graveyard guy, the bones are removed and cremated and returned to the family and new dead person moves in.  actually it is fascinating. i read an article about it once and you know how weird facts just kinda stick in your head. well,  apparently in hong kong they are having a shortage of grave yard guys.  no one seems to want to work in the grave yard anymore.  not because its boring or there are more ghosts around, or they are not paid enough.  actually they are being paid more. the problem is our modern diet. our food and medicines contains more preservatives than they used to.  so what used to take 100 years to decompose takes longer.  so the grave yard guys in hong kong used to be able to open the graves to find clean white bones, now they are opening up the graves to not completely decomposed mush. i knew you wouldn't believe me, so read this article straight from the horse's mouth.. or the exhumer ah hoi's mouth. 

on that note, back to breakfast.  so the seating is odd at jones the grocer.  trying to be hip, i think, they have these gorgeous large tables, where they sit people where ever there is an empty seat.  so at our table, with 6 people (our party) we also had 3 girls on one side and a random man all by himself at the end.  huh. ok the second confusing thing is the menu.  they have a breakfast menu from 9 to 12.  then a brunch menu from 12 -5.  what? but i thought, on sunday, brunch was breakfast. and the lady on the phone specifically told me to come at 10:30 for brunch because it would get busy.  and the brunch menu had things i could eat and eggs benedict for claire.  the breakfast menu had crap.  eggs, spanish eggs, eggs on toast with sausages and toast.  ugh.  ugh. ugh.  i asked the waiter if we could order from the brunch menu. "no cannot".  not really understanding why its entirely possible to make toast with a poached egg on top, but not one with added ham and hollandaise sauce for an eggs benedict.  ugh. and  i was sitting beside claire who only comes to brunch for her eggs benedict, so she was pissed.

and back to singapore signature service. lizzie and frankie ordered the spanish eggs and got them super fast; god knows why. me and claire who had arrived early to get the table, were the last served. me, i think because mine was SUPER COMPLICATED.  because there wasn't anything i could order from the menu and when i asked if there was anything the waiter could recommend for someone who didn't eat eggs or meat.. "no cannot". so i ordered toast and 2 sides.  i asked if the 2 sides to be combined into a kind of mash, but that was also rather difficult, so i got a bowl of roasted tomatoes halves (2) and a bowl of sauteed spinach in garlic.  yep and THAT took an hour.  it took so long, that frankie ordered another order of coconut pancakes being still hungry after her massive frying pan of spanish eggs and side of toast....and she finished BOTH before me.

ok, it was not all negative.  the bread was fackin' delicious.  you can not imagine how good the bread was.  superb.  or was it cause i was starving? i have no idea.  i do know that we were so frustrated with the dumb breakfast/brunch menu and the crazy dumb wait that we didn't even think about dessert.  grr.  fine.  i wasn't really hungry after the giant slabs of soft, fresh french bread with gorgeous crusty crusts and lovely homemade marmalade. and when, i would like to know, did i start liking marmalade? i used to think it was so bitter and sour.. and only stuff that grandmothers ate while watching coronation street.

conversation was stilted in between discussions of the lame table arrangements (with odd people at the end), menu issues (why no eggs benedict?), and constant refrains of  "where the hell is our food?"  but laura did brave the mean girls (that was us) and brought her adorable bali boy.  he was  visiting still (much to lizzies' great pleasure) and he was cute, even though he doesn't speak much (any) english and is 23 years  old!  whatever, girl's got to have her fun.  better to talk about that than our lame jobs and our lame habit of overworking, over analyzing and over complaining about said jobs. 

did i mention the bread was good?  and we could pay in separate bills which saves us addition confusion.. good in this case as it was crazy expensive.. i had thought it was also a food store and i might want to buy some food stuffs (or that bread) to take home.. but cookies were $18 each... huh..but..it was in dempsey, so kudos for after brunch wanderings, of  which we didn't do this time because everyone was pissed off and still hungry, expect frankie, who was full.   2.5 stars (mainly for the bread).

Jones the Grocer
12 Dempsey Rd  Singapore 247697
Tel: 6476 1512

in the pantry....where the marmalade is sweet.

now that, is what i call a damn fine brunch.  the marmalade pantry at the stables was suggested by claire.  a damn fine good call. ok, if we are being honest, yes, at first we were skeptical.  since we had no idea where in the hell the stables were.  we: kathy, lizzie, laura and isabella are from the east end of singapore.  claire is from the west.  she had heard from a friend of a friend.  and we all know how good her last friend's angelic suggestion was.  anyhoo....

we: kathy, lizzie, laura and isabella met at the botanical garden mrt and shared a taxi to 'the stables' on the edge of the reservoir.  our cabbie was sufficiently confused by us. he had no idea why anyone would want to head out to the stables, especially on a damp sunday morning. but then we were ang mo (foreigners), so maybe we'd like to see the horses. he drove us along fairways green drive very slowly, pointing at all the happy grazing horses we passed on the way (3).  there were lessons to we could take, just for foreigners to learn how to ride all the old retired horses.  yay! our lucky day.  yeah we weren't taking lessons.

the restaurant was nestled right beside the stables. i had made reservations for inside, but when we got there we decided to sit outside under the fanned canopy.  it was a brilliant decision. during our 3 hour brunch, it was sunny, it was windy, it rained, and it was not once, hot.  a totally delightful day! you know really nothing can compare to sitting outside in the middle of a city surrounded by lush tropical greenery, overlooking empty lush fields, listening to the rain pitter patter on the canopy over your head.  at one time, it rained so hard, we couldn't see anything, just a grey mist. we could have been in scotland overlooking the moors and not even known it.  so refreshing!

i ordered a falfael wrap, again, a delightful surprise being able to order something from the menu.  it was bland.  but whatev's. there was ketchup.  i am not sure i will ever find a good 'vegan' dish here in singapore.  at least it was edible. the tea was delightful, served with its very own tea pot (love that!)  my fellow brunchers however, looked to have made much better choices.  clair got her beloved eggs benedict, which she said was divine. kathy and isabella got the breakfast: eggs, bacon and toast and of course laura got the pancakes.  and then we all got the cupcakes. yay!  really, how could you not.  they were set up inside on a giant table just daring you to order them.  ok. mine was a fail.  it was called chocolate extreme and i just couldn't pass it up.  i didn't see it on the table but i thought.. if they looked that good.. just imagine!  i had visions of a mountain of chocolate icing, with a warm melted lava center, maybe a few chocolate chips to add crunch and then a drizzle of chocolate syrup over the whole thing. yup. imagine disappointment.  dry and flaky and not that chocolately.. and no icing.  isabella got the red velvet with gorgeous cream cheese icing and i almost cried in jealously. (i'm not joking. it looked fackin' awesome)

but whatever.. i had two packets of raw sugar in my tea. who needs chocolate anyways? this brunch our conversation was rather interesting. we spent alot of time talking about how sometimes it can be rather unfair (in a fantastically good way) to be blonde in a foreign country. isabella has a phd in esl education.  she also has short brown hair and could barely get a job in japan, so i cannot begrudge her a good cupcake now and then, especially since i have only a uni diploma, long blonde hair and have been hired way too many times, in all parts of asia solely based on my photo (hair colour/skin colour). 

there is a marmalade pantry in orchard ion.  and we almost went there instead, but since then i have walked past said restaurant. and to be honest, ugh. its in the middle of a mall. with people (like me) walking by and looking at you.  its not that the marmalade pantry has that good food, the food was ok.  but what makes it such a freakin' delight (and what justifies the rather expensive prices) is the ambiance.  when one lives and works everyday in the saturated, crowded, noisy, chaotic concrete jungle that is singapore, a moment (or 3 hours) in a green horse stable-y heaven is divine.  DIVINE!   4 1/2 stars.

The Marmalade Pantry at the Stables
55 Fairways Dr  Singapore 286846

Tel: 6467 7748