[Singapore Cafe] Vegetarian Chocolate Truffle Logcake from Metta Cafe

 

Thinking what to get for the year-end gathering?  Consider this.  I bought this for a recent gathering and most people couldn't believe that this vegetarian (eggless) chocolate truffle logcake tasted as good as any other chocolate logcakes.  Best of all, the price wouldn't burn a hole in your pocket.  500g at $30 and 1kg at $42.

 

Contact mettacafe@metta.org.sg to entire or drop by the café located at 32 Simei Street 1.

 

Have a great holiday!

[Australian Cafe] Pie Face in Singapore!

If chicken pie, mushroom pie, apple pie and perhaps yam pie are the types of pie that you've eaten all your life, does (spicy) Tandoori Vegetable pie or (sweet) Thai Green Curry Chicken pie or (savoury) Chicken + Peppercorn make you feel a little more excited about eating pies?

 

Leading micro-bakery café from Australia, also the world's largest pie chain, has just arrived in Singapore.  2 outlets were opened in Singapore in November and they are conveniently located at 313 Somerset and Bugis Village.

 

With the eye-catching signboard, you can easily spot Pie Face (Bugis) from BHG's entrance facing Victoria Street.



 

Pie Face doles out pies in a multitude of flavours.  The pies come in regular and mini sizes (from $4.90 and $3 respectively).  The pie flavours include:

- Tandoori Vegetable Pie  (Regular and Mini)
- Thai Chicken Curry Pie (Regular and Mini)
- Chicken + Mushroom (Regular and Mini)
- Chicken + Peppercorn (Regular and Mini)
- Chunky Steak (Regular and Mini)
- Creamy Vegetable (Mini)
- Steak + Peppercorn (Mini)
- Chilli Chicken + Corn (Mini)

My personal favourites are the Tandoori Vegetable (filled with delicious chopped carrots, capsicum and mixed beans) and Thai Chicken Curry (filled with carrots, onion, garlic, coconut milk and chicken) pies.  Like my friend ever commented, I seem to prefer "exotic" food, which I interpret to mean food with stronger or spicy flavour.

Different playful expressions are featured on the pastry crusts, making the pies fun to look at even before eating it.

Sad faces, happy faces....Are you able to guess what type of pie each facial expression stands for?

The reason for success for Pie Face is probably the delicious puff pastry.  It is said that the dough of the traditional French puff pastry takes 3 days to prepare.  The kitchen team is required to fold the special blend of butter to create 48 layers!

Encased within the flaky crust are fresh and chunky ingredients.  Pie Face serves the pies in 2 ways:
1. Either by itself in a cardboard sleeve; and
2. Top the pie with mash potato and gravy.

Besides the savoury pies selection, you get to enjoy sweet treats under the same roof.  The café serves 8 sweet pies, crumbly cookies and moist cakes too!  The cheese sticks (suitable for cheese lovers) and almond sticks are worth trying!

And if you are a sausage person, try the Chicken + Cheese Sausage roll (with some tomato ketchup)!

The sweet pies are really pretty.  Available in pecan, butterscotch, lemon, chocolate, raspberry, apple crumble, green tea + red bean and coffee!  I'm sure there's one flavour that whets your taste bud.

Finally, the banana bread (aka banana cake) is one of my favourites!

Need some coffee to end a good meal?  Pie Face serves freshly brews such as cappuccino, café latte, long black, mocha and macchiato ($4 onwards).

Pie Face Outlets
313 Orchard Road #B3-10 (313 Somerset)
Singapore 238895
Operating Hours: 10am to 10pm
Getting there: Directly connected to Somerset MRT station

249 Victoria Street (Bugis Village)
Singapore 188034
Operating Hours: 10am to 10pm
Getting there: Alight at Bugis MRT Station.  Turn right at the entrance and head towards BHG department store.  Take the escalator to Level 1 of BHG.  Exit BHG using the exit facing Victoria Street (near bags section) and cross the traffic light.  You should be able to see Pie Face while at the traffic light.

URL: http://pieface.com.sg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/piefacesingapore
Instagram: @pieface_sg

Handy Bread-Making Machine by Panasonic



I am not quite into kitchen gadgets since I have always prefer to eat than to cook.  Cooking is time-consuming and there is no guarantee that the final product will turn out the way you expect it to be.  But this cooking demonstration got me curious as to how a home bread-maker can bake delicious bread.  Some friends have got their own bread-making machines at home and it gave them the flexibility to bake bread of their choice.

 

So, here I was at the Panasonic cooking demonstration, organised by omySG.  4 recipes were shared and we were really impressed with the soft texture of the bread loaf, focaccia (flat bread), bun and even muah chee which was the biggest surprise to me.  I would have never thought that a bread-maker machine can be used for making muah chee!

 

 

Panasonic Bread Maker SD-P104 is an automatic bread-maker that has 13 menu (for bread, dough and dessert), 13-hour digital timer and has separate dispensers for raisins/nuts and yeast.  Using the dough cycle, we can even use this machine to make dumpling skin and pizza dough.

 

The metal container is where the ingredients will be placed in and where the kneading process will take place inside the bread-maker.

The control panel looks simple enough and instructions on the display panel looks rather straight forward too.  Our cooking instructor, Theresa, shared that when the cover is cover is shut, the panel will indicated the current preparation stage so that user need not open up the cover to check.

One of the recipes shared during the session was the Fragrant Mixed Wheat Bread.  The good thing about making your own bread is that, you know the actual ingredients used and the freshness of the bread.

Ingredients for the bread include:

75g  Whole Wheat Flour
175g Bread Flour
10g Butter
1 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Castor Sugar
1 tbsp Milk Powder
200ml Cold Water (ensure that the water is chilled)
1 tsp Instant Yeast

Mix together:
30g Sunflower Seeds
10g Melon Seeds
30g Raisin
10g Black Sesame Seeds

Method:
1.  Place the above ingredients (except the mixed nuts and yeast) into the bread pan.

2.  Place yeast into the yeast dispenser and mixed nuts into the nuts dispenser.

3.  Select Menu no. 2 for "Rapid" mode, and select "Raisin" mode, next press start.  [The reason for selecting "Raisin" mode is so that the bread-maker will automatically dispense the mixed nuts at the later stage of the 2-hour process.]

4.  Once ready, remove bread from the pan.

5.  Leave to cool before cutting!  Enjoy the super-soft wheat bread!



 

The good thing which I really like about the bread-maker is that cleaning seems quite easy too.  None of the dough got stuck to the bread pan and so washing can be quite fast too.  For those who are into bread-making and would like to improvise with new bread recipe, I think it is worth to get this machine which is retailing at $329 at Isetan, Takashimaya, Tangs and selected Best Denki, Courts and Harvey Norman outlets.

[Korean Bistro] Korean-inspired Tapas Menu at SYNC Korean Tapas Bar

Tapas, commonly referred to appetisers or snacks, isn't an unfamiliar offering at western restaurants or bistros or bars.  SYNC is Singapore's first ever Korean tapas bar with a range of Korean-inspired tapas with specially crafted Korean-inspired cocktails.  It's first outlet is located at Westgate Mall and blends food with technology using the latest Samsung gadgets.  The success of the first bistro has led to the launch of the Korean-inspired tapas bar.  Both outlets have their own signature dishes.

 

Located at the cosy little town, Serangoon Gardens, SYNCTapas has newly launched several festive cuisines which is available from 12 Dec 2014 to 2 Jan 2015.



 

(Front entrance of SYNC Tapas Korean Bar)

(Modern and Cosy settings) 

(Simple decorations yet complete with antique chairs) 

The main counter is in the middle of the bar.  Towards the end of the bar, there is a "private" section although it isn't separated by any partitions or doors, which sits up to 8 persons.

Mains and tapas selection are quite affordable and starts from $9.90 onwards.  The Christmas Salad ($9.90) is a refreshing and colourful mix of fruits (pomegranate and orange) and salad leaves.  It is topped with citrus dressing which added to the refreshing finish to the salad.  Pomegranate is a popular fruit in Korean which has, in recent years, been added as an ingredient to some skincare products.

Korean sweet potato has always been one of my favourite root vegetables.  For this festive season, SYNCTapas has introduced that Sweet Potato Croquettes ($10.90).  This dish is prepared by frying Korean sweet potatoes with cheese and chorizo (pork sausage), topped with apple salsa for a festive taste.

Clay Duck Saam (a Korean expression which refers to wrapped food) ($10.90), blends the traditional Korean food with Christmas flavour by serving the duck meat with Korean daikon and perilla leaf.

Turkey is a common dish served during Christmas.  For this Turkey Risotto (an Italian rice dish cooked in broth to a creamy consistency) ($26.90), Korean barley was creatively used in place of rice.  The dish was topped with sautéed mushrooms and cranberries.

Complete the meal with a sweet ending, Chestnut Crunchy Bar ($10.90), which is actually chestnut mousse in a chocolate tart shell, topped with crunchy pearls, orange gel and a piece of sesame-filled fragrant thin cookie.

(cross-section of the Chestnut Crunchy Bar)

While these are the festive selection, the bar also serves regular menu which include popular Korean dishes such as Budae Jjigae (Army Stew), Ddeokbokki (Spicy rice cake), Kimchi Fried Rice etc.  Value lunch set, including an appetiser, main and drinks, at $9.90 is available everyday from 11am to 5pm.  Add-on options are available for side dishes and desserts at $2.50 and $5 respectively.

Immerse yourself in non-stop popular K-jazz and K-pop as you enjoy your lunch, afternoon tea, dinner or even supper.


SYNC Korean Tapas Bar
12 Maju Avenue (Serangoon Garden estate)
Singapore 556690
Tel: 62820612
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/syncbistro

Opening Hours:
11am to 11pm (Mon, Wed, Thu)
11am to 12am (Fri to Sun)
Closed on Tue.

Getting there: 2 minutes walk from Serangoon Garden Circus.  Buses that go there includes 73, 136, 315 and 317.