My one weakness - Macarons

I had my first bite of macarons at La Duree in Paris way back in 1997.  Since then I become an avid fan and pledge to try every shop that sells them whenever I travel.   The best macarons for me is when the crust is delicately crisp, inside is just sinfully moist and the creamy centre just melts in your mouth.   I like it when it stays true to its flavour...no more, no less.  Imagine my excitement when I saw the plush pink parlour of Jean-Philippe Darcis' at the Marina Bay Sands!

L'Operetta

L'Operetta is a Japanese owned Italian restaurant at Boat Quay.  It is the first Italian restaurant to serve Vera Pizza Napoletana.  My hubby follows http://www.ieatishootipost.sg to check out some of the best eats in town & he came about L'Operetta.  I love Italian food and after reading the post I get all excited!  

It was actually a post-wedding anniversary dinner for us & its the perfect place except for the mild drizzle of rain.  We didn't have any reservations and even though we came early, the place is already fully booked.  The only seats available are outside so we wine & dine al fresco.  In fact, I love it outside you have a view of the river...such a romantic setting!

We start off with a complimentary salad from the Chef...

For Antipasti, we ordered the Oven Baked Hokkaido Scallops flavoured with Aromatized Butter. Fresh Hokkaido scallops!  Plump, tender & oh so yummy.  Served in a petit Le Creuset pots.   Worth all the calories!

For Primi Piatti, I had Tagliolini with Red Wine braised Minced Meat Bolognese. This is no ordinary bolognese! It's by far the best Bolognese I ever had. The sauce is like beef stew,  very tasty & each mouthful is a delight.  

Hubby ordered the Sea Urchin Spaghetti tossed with Grey Mullet Bottarga. The picture doesn't look appetizing but if you are a Sea Urchin fan, you'll love it.    I don't quite like Sea Urchin so I'm a bit biased.  Hubby think its interesting & pleasant while it's a little too raw for me.  

For Secondi Piatti, we shared a 400grams Grilled Pork Rack Smoked in Cherry Wood. This dish is so scrumptious!  I'll definitely order this again :D

Unfortunately, we have no room to try the famous pizzas but we shall return :D  There are over a dozen pizza on the menu and I can't wait to try them.  I am also gonna try the most talk about risotto.  Obviously there's no room for desserts as well, we are "busog (full) to the max"...I heard the Tiramisu is to die for!  




L'Operetta
78, 79 Boat Quay
Singapore 049866
http//www.operagroup.com.sg/home.html
Tel: 6438 2482

Paradise Dynasty at ION

We came about Paradise Dynasty by chance.  Hubby & I were in ION Orchard mall looking for a place to eat. We actually plan to eat at Marmalade but the queue was long & I don't have the patience to wait especially when I'm hungry. So then we ended up at Paradise Dynasty famous for it's rainbow Xiao Long Bao which surprisingly has no queue.  

I particularly like the black truffle, foie gras & crab roe.  Not a fan of cheesy & ginseng.  All are true to its taste/flavor. We also tried other dishes which did not disappoint. The service is impeccable, the ambiance made me feel like Gong Li on a movie set in Imperial China :D & reasonably priced.

I can't seem to remember the name of this shrimp dish but I do remember how good it    was.

 Cold dish chicken in Szechuan sauce.  

My favorite pork dumplings with hot chilli sauce.  Delish!

Scrambled Egg White with Scallop & Crabmeat my hubby's favorite.  

Finally, the famous Braised Pork Belly that will definitely give you a belly!  It melts in your mouth yet not overly fatty.  

Paradise Dynasty
Ion Orchard
2 Orchard Turn #04-12A
Singapore 238801
Tel: 6509-9118

HAPPY SATURDAY

These made my day...

Hubby & I went to buy some sweet goodies from Awfully Chocolate.  The pictures speak for itself...rich, moist & it's got soft/fluffy chiffon layers.   I'm a bit biased though, as Awfully Chocolate is a favorite when I have chocolate cake cravings.  I love the Original Dark Chocolate Cake!   The chocolate ice cream is to die for as well!    

Although I'm not a big fan of their cupcakes ( I find the cake a bit dry) everything else are just yummy.   My hubby favors their Cold Poached Chocolate which I find sweet & oh so rich!  

Too much sweets makes me wanna eat something hot & spicy.  So, we decided to buy some Mexican salsas & chilli sauce for some BBQ Chipotle Chicken Wings that I am going to make this Sunday.   We bought these at a Mexican stall at Kallang Leisure Centre owned by of course a Mexican guy.  They have freshly made Green Salsas every weekend, yummy Tamales & homemade tortilla chips.   A bit pricey though but then where else can you find Mexican condiments & goodies in Singapore.

Lastly, we shared a large tub frozen yogurt from my fave YOGURU.  It's the simple things such as these that makes me happy!  

Awfully Chocolate

http://www.awfullychocolate.com/

YOGURU

http://yoguru.com.sg

Belmonte Latin Foods

http://belmontelatinfoods.com/

5 Stadium Walk, Level 1

Leisure Park Kallang

Yamakawa Super

Yamakawa Super is my fave one stop shop for Japanese snacks.  There's one near my place and I drop by every now and then to check out new stuff.   

So I went last Friday to buy a few of my usual favorites and some of which I haven't tried.   Two of my all-time favorites (since grade school) are CRISP CHOCO & PICOLA. It's amazing how they are still around and now with different flavors to choose from.   

CRISP CHOCO are cornflakes covered with chocolate, it sort of like the Choco Flakes from Baguio.  It's crispy as it melts in your mouth.  I can finish the entire pack in one seating!  It comes in Milk Choco, Bitter Choco & Almond Choco.

Now, PICOLA I really love!  Yummy rolled wafer sticks filled with rich milk chocolate, strawberry, peach and matcha green tea.  I have tried other wafer stick brands but I still prefer PICOLA.  Sorry no pictures of PICOLA as I cannot wait to bring it home and ate it as I wait for hubby to fetch me.

CARAMEL CORN is my hubby's favorite.  I like it too, but it's not something I would crave about.   Caramel coated corn curls with peanuts...once you pop, you can't stop! There are also a few pieces of roasted peanuts inside the pack (I wish there's more). It comes in different flavors such as Milk, Matcha Green Tea, Mango Pudding, Chocolate, Honey Roasted Nuts & Almond to name a few.  Lots of flavors to choose from!  

KITKAT CHEESE is something new to me.  It wasn't a pleaser, I would describe the taste as white chocolate with a mild hint of cheese flavor.  It taste weird to me and hubby says so too.  So, it's not something I would eat again.  I think it'll taste so much better if the cheese flavor is stronger like cheddar-ish. 

There's 10 bite size pieces in the box and I don't know what to do with the rest of them...ugggh!  Hmm maybe my colleagues at work may like it.  I'll know on Monday!  

Nestle KitKat in Japan seems to be doing a lot of interesting & some I must say weird flavors.  There's Soya Sauce, Grilled Corn, Watermelon, Sweet Potato, Baked Potato to name a few.  There are also beverage inspired flavors like Ramune Soda, Earl Grey Tea and Lemon Vinegar. 

I also bought this Bitter Chocolate KitKat.  This one...I like!  I actually prefer this than the normal one. Intense chocolate flavor without the sometimes sour-ish after taste when you eat a bitter dark chocolate bar.  I would definitely buy this again!

I also bought a pack of these Bourbon Japanese snacks.  I like that I can just grab a pack and go which I always have in my bag.  There are a lot of varieties to choose from and although the descriptions at back are in Japanese, you can see what's inside just by looking at the packaging.  

So until my next visit to Yamakawa Super...