Potato Head Folk

If you have heard the news way back about Tong Ah Coffee House, you could have knew that the one talking over the shop space would be Potato Head Folk.

Facade of Potato Head Folk

Potato Head Folk creates a whimsical environment with its furnishing spanning across 4 floors in the hertitage building of Chinatown.

Potato Head Folk

At the first level along the passage way, you can see the workings in the kitchen and perhaps smell the good food that they are preparing. They are called the Three Buns with a space serving gourmet bugers and cocktails, also for taking aways.

Three Buns

Stairways between the levels are all hand painted with murals and hanging with art pieces.

Along the Stairways

Stairways

On the third level where we dine in the lounge bar as the dining room in level 2 was fully reserved. Atmosphere is definitely better if you are in the search for vintage seating, leather couches to chill and have catch up conversations with friends over for some snacks and cocktails.

If you enjoy alfresco dining, head up to their rooftop setting where you grab a good dining environment with herb around.

Lounge

Their artisanal buns were freshly baked by local baker daily. Even their sauces, pickles and garnishes were made by their own chef with love. Priding their food with best quality prime beef and lamb from Australia as well as UK, be rest assure to sit back and enjoy the burgers. Do not be too shy to request how you want your patty to be done, be in medium or well done. Even if you are looking for different diet like protein style, they can provide patties to be wrap in lettuce instead of the buns.

Baby Huey - $18

The toasted demi brioche buns was airy and light, sandwiching 120g of prime beef patty together wtih cheese, lettuce, ‘Notorious T.O.M. sauce’, pickles & spiced mayo. Yummy!

Baby Huey - $18

Fun Boy Three was classified as burger of the month. With its name after the 80's pop band, grab it when you see it as they won't be in the menu for long.

Fun Boy Three -$25

This rich gourmet burger features 120g aged beef patty, roasted portobello mushroom, garlic, miso butter, smoked cheese, double ketchup, truffle aioli in toasted demi brioche bun. If you were to asked me to choose 1 between the 2 burgers, I would give this more vote

Fun Three Boy - $25

Just 2 burgers with nothing else in our orders cost us about $55 in total which we thought was hefty to our pockets. If you don't mind splurging once a while for quality burgers, these gourmet burgers are actually good. However, do remember to make a reservation before heading down to avoid disappointment.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Potato Head Folk
Location: 36 Keong Saik Road Singapore 089143
Website

La Ferrandaise

Stumbled upon La Ferrandaise by chance as we were walking down the streets and was excited when we saw the decal mentioning that La Ferrandaise is one of the Michelin recommended restaurants.

La Ferrandaise

In my opinion, Restaurants in Europe are kind of humble and inconspicuously located as most of the time maybe because of the weather, their dark glass doors were closed and its hard to tell if they were open for business or even there is a crowd. Looking through the menu pinned right next to the entrance, our eyes were fixed on the promotional menu.

Facade of La Ferrandaise

Environment is modernly designed with some of their specialties scribbled on the black board. The place is popular among the locals and have a lovely cozy ambiance adding a romantic touch by the lighting.

Interior 

Restaurant was rather crowded and tables were placed quite close to each other with narrow walking aisles in between.

Environment

We had the prefix lunch menu that combines the Entree, main and dessert at an attractive price which we felt that was a steal. A good thing is that their menu will be changed from time to time and you wont get the similar combination of food.

While waiting for our set menu, We were served with some warm breads.

Starters

Soup was served in a petite cup. Since menu was fix and we did not really communicate much with the servers, we did not get the names of every individual item served. It tasted sweet and yummy like pumpkin soup.

Soup

Though La Ferrandaise offers an extensive white list, we still prefer the juices as they were more on the budget side.

Apple Juice - € 4,00

Having 3 courses on a plate has not been common for me and I was kind of culture shock even though I was expecting its portion size. With such portion, I'm confident I will complete the meal but that was not so true later on.

Prefix Lunch Menu - €16 

Starting my meal from left to right and I have absolutely the least idea of what I am eating but it's kind of interesting to order something I don't know. What a sweet start to the meal! The entry was something grainy like cereals in milk (Puree form) topped with apricot and nuts.

Entry

Moving on to the 2nd dish which is also the Main on the plate, it threw a surprise to me as the mini pot was much heavier than my expectation looking at its size. This is the dish much more closer to my heart and had my vote among the rest. With delicious mashed potatoes served with tender beef slices, they had already filled half of my stomach.

Main

The last dish was not to my liking as I'm not very used to all kinds of cold cut meat and livers. In the end I only have a few mouthful of the meat and clearing off the vegetables and cherries.

Cold Meat

My dining partner is at advantage as he enjoys second portion of the cold meat from me. I dislike the after taste of liver meat thus I will give this a miss.

Cold Meat

Heading to the area near the toilet, you will see such interesting corner. Baby friendly place spotted with a baby chair.

Interesting Corner Near Toilet

It was a great find and we were very contented to have our lunch there. Food was wonderful and value for money as compared to other places dining in France. Even being the only Asians in the restaurant, I find that the level of service is commendable, professional and prompt. This is the best lunch I ever had in Paris during my trip.

La Ferrandaise
Location:  8 Rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris, France
Website

Bing Go Jung

With the amount of heat we had from the weather these days, its hard not to get ourselves stay out of non air-conditioned place, not mentioning cold desserts to cool ourselves from the horrible heat.

Buzzer

Bing Go Jung is located in Bukit Timah Plaza and this Bing Su place is in fact very obvious to the public if you pass by the perimeters of the shopping Centre as they are located out of the shopping building itself. I started noticing Bing Go Jung since last year every time when I drove pass Bukit Timah, heading into the entrance of their carpark.

Bing Go Jung

Surprisingly, the place was empty without any customers taking in consideration to the scorching hot weather. Interior was modern and I was amazed by how they are maximizing the storage place given a very small counter.

Counter

If you were to take a closer look at the wooden chair, you will notice that each and every one was labelled with a name indicating what is inside the storage chair. Items like straw, boxes and serviettes were all part of the storage.

Storage

Very Berry is one of the latest Bingsu in the menu and these berries were generously spreaded across the shaved ice and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Very Berry - $16

Enjoy an additional taste with condensed milk drenched on the bowl of yummy and filled with anti-oxidant fruity flavours. Black and red berries were naturally on the sour side, however the milky sweet taste of ice from the Bing Su had kind of neutralized the level. What I like best is the surprise that Very Berry gave with the little bites of sponge cake that hide among the ice.

Condense Milk

Berry Goodness!

Rating: 3 / 5

Bing Go Jung
Location: Bukit Timah Plaza, 1 Jalan Anak Bukit L1-CA2 Singapore 588996

Dessert Bowl 一碗甜品

We chanced upon dessert bowl at a inconspicuous location along Serangoon Garden Way when we drove pass the row of shop houses. The name "Dessert Bowl" kind of ring the bell and we took the opportunity and headed for the 2nd Floor.

Dessert Bowl 一碗甜品

Dessert Items and photos were pasted along the stairways up to Dessert Bowl and you can sense the intermittent strong durian and mango fragrance once you swing open the glass doors.

Photos 

 As soon as you reached the 2nd level, you will be greeted by the sunflowers and the sudden splash of greyish black environment.

Dessert Bowl

Seating places were spacious with 4 sofa seating by the side by side to the glass windows looking out to the roads. Furnishings were simple with movable tables and stools on the cement screed flooring.

Dining Environment

Noted as their topped recommendation will be Durian Mousse. I must admit I'm not really a die hard fan of durian but the amount of flesh given in the middle was great. Mousse tasted good and even having the whole bowl of it, you just would not feel cloying.

Durian Mousse 榴莲慕丝 - $5

Colors of Aiyu Mango comes in 2, Orange and white. Aiyu was wobby with mango cubes. Coconut milk is added into the dessert bowl. On this hot weather, the bowl of chilled desserts really help us to battle with the heat. On a side note, this dish is classified as their 2nd popular dishes after Durian Mousse.

Aiyu Mango 爱玉芒果 - $4.20

 The miniatures display of typical Hong Kong Stalls had captured my attention.

Miniature

 Display from Bakery to Roasted Meat and Cha Chan Ting were a good introduction to what you can see in Hong Kong.

Miniatures of Roasted Stall 

 Since I had visited Hong Kong 2 months back, these miniature stuffs were a reminiscent of my trip.

Miniatures of Cha Chan Ting

With limited stomach space, we didnt get a chance to try their Mango Pomelo which is the 3rd recommended and popular dessert. When will I be back again?

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Dessert Bowl
Location: 80A Serangoon Garden Way Singapore 555976

Osteria Art

Visiting Osteria Art for Restaurant Week dining was a last minute arrangement from my pal. I have not heard of her name till last week when I was introduced to this elegant Italian restaurant and bar by Beppe De Vito.

Osteria Art

It threw me a surprise as I did not expect the environment being upscale and immediately I felt as though I'm in a foreign country with most of their staff being Caucasians. The outer part of the dining place is a Alfresco area installed with ceiling fans and laid with beautiful furnishings and Italian Marble. And since its located in a strategic location among the CBD offices, do check out their exquisite bar lounge right next to its entrance.

Before Entering Osteria Art

As you walked deeper into the restaurant,  feel the ambiance while you enjoy a good passion for Italian Cuisine with quality and freshness of ingredients. The 80 Seater Osteria environment lays a comfortable European feel with dining table neatly spread with white table cloth and bright red leather chairs.

Dining Environment

Let's start off the Italian gastronomic heritage with our Restaurant Week Dinner Menu at $58++ per pax...

Starters

Besides dipping the warm buns into balsamic vinegar oil, what I like best was these 2 soft sponge starters that contains cheese in them!

Cheese Balls

Plain water for the teetotalers...

Quench Your Thirst

The overlapping of scallops was topped with fava beans and elegantly decorated with flowers and the halves of Quail Egg. Paring the starter with raspberry balsmico gave a different taste to the plain sweet scallop. If you love sashimi, you will love the texture of this dish!

Scallop Carpaccio with Fava Beans, Quail Egg and Raspberry Balsamico

Pappardelle was our additional order on top of the restaurant week menu. These large, board flat pasta noodles were perfectly cooked and was really delicious in its red wine sauce and shredded cheese topping. I enjoyed their softness of pork cheek which literally melts in your mouth. Crispy pork lards / belly meats had not only added another texture to the dish but also gave a good aroma to it.

Pappardelle with Pork Cheek & Red Wine - $28

The miniature size of ravioli had immediately caught my attention with its green foam and brown lobster bisque that was generously spread on top of the pasta. These Ravioli contained shredded crabs meat in its bag. As a whole, its a dish proportionately spread out and their sauce left my lips wanting for more.

Crab Ravioli with Lobster Bisque and Basil Foam

Colors of the dish is interestingly match among 3 colours here and ravioli within a size of a table spoon.

The Size of Ravioli on a Table Spoon

Here comes the main with a large cube of Atlantic Cod sitting on Sea Urchin Zabaglione with Sunchoke paste underneath and Romanesco Broccoli as sides. Other than the Cod on this main dish, all the rest was my very first try out. Initially, I'm not very use to the taste of Zabaglione and sea urchin but after a few mouthful of it, I got addicted. Though I'm someone who enjoys the freshness of consuming cod fish, the style of its preparation was not to my liking

Atlantic Cod with Sea Urchin Zabaglione, Sunchoke and Romanesco

 Amazing ending to the meal with a good dessert that kind of act as a palate cleanser to the seafood dish earlier on. A mixture of black, rasp and strawberry fruits on its top layer with some matcha sponge cake while in the second layer it was well done with white chocolate that was not too sweet. What I like about the middle layer was the little crunchy chocolate balls surprises in between the bites.

Amalfi Lemon & White Chocolate Lingotto with Red Berries

 And finally, a good closing up to the meal with our tea and coffee in place accompanied by some sugar coated peanuts.

Tea / Coffee

To be frank, it was a great opportunity to have visited Osteria Art. I love how my dining was without any hurry to rush us off even after we completed our meals. Waiters will still continue to top up our glasses of plain water. Praises to their service and not only that, waiter that served us was well trained , knowledgeable and knows the menu well.

Osteria Art

Bearing the mind of its ambiance and budget, it is best recommended for special occasion.

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Osteria Art
Location: 55 Market Street Singapore 048941
Website

Le Deauville

Charmed by long street of Champs-Élysées, this is the consecutive night walking along the up scale and tourists area where you get to see luxuries brands around. While we were done grabbing a feel of its atmosphere, we ended ourselves hungry in Le Deauville.

Le Deauville

We linger around the premises for a while before the server came to us and finally we dined in the alfresco area with heating elements to shield us away from the coldness.The area was under a warm purplish lighting and till now, I was still amazed by the kind of light I'm dining under.

Serviette

We wanted to have a quick fix and order something easy. Chicken was poached and was covered with savory sauce. Mashed potatoes was the main filler that keeps a stomach warm and full. No doubt chicken was tender, they have a gamey taste leaving clues of a frozen meat.

Supreme de poulet 270g - 18,90 €

Having so much meat throughout our trip in Europe, pasta had kind of enlightened us. Spaghetti was not too dry nor soggy, cooked with cream sauce and fresh mushrooms. Both dishes has a vine-ripen tomato that gave the burst feeling when you bite on it.

Spaghetti a la Forestiere -16,50 €

Comparing the 2nd night dinner in George V Cafe to this, I would say Le Deauville atmosphere is much more touristy but it is still a good place to watch and enjoy the kind of ambiance in the streets of Champs-Élysées.

Le Deauville

Location: Le Deauville 75 Av. des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris, France