Cafe Hopping - Brawn & Brains

Oh glorious day! All 5 of us reunited at M's new home in the morning for breakfast that S tapow-ed. After breakfast, M drove us to Brawn & Brains for coffee and dessert.

We got the Dark Chocolate Tart, Salted Caramel Tart and Earl Grey Croissant with Pistachios to share and I got my usual coffee poison of choice - a cappuccino.

Dark Chocolate Tart

Good. J liked this a lot so I will say she consumed most of it.

Salted Caramel Tart

Yep. Those are salt flakes on top of the tart pictured above. Tasty.

Earl Grey Croissant with Pistachios

Pretty delish. M ate most of it I think.

Cappuccino

Great coffee. It really perked me right up.

I am aware that I do not have much to say about the items I sampled. But I will confess that this is because I was too busy enjoying myself with my friends to make detailed mental notes about what we ate. The main reason I am writing about this cafe was to document this wonderful day. 

Brawn & Brains

Address: 100 Guillemard Road #01-07 Singapore 399718

Phone: 6348 8892

Show Time - Public Enemy

A very special playmates date on this night with H gallantly giving up his ticket for the play so V could join us girls for Wild Rice's first show of the year, Public Enemy. After shamelessly taking selfies with S's selfie pole in front of the posters, we trooped into the theatre for the 1 hour 45 minutes long show (no intermission).

The play is about a doctor who discovers that the water supply of his city is contaminated with life-threatening bacteria and he wants to publicise the information as he believes it is the right thing to do. But as the city is being marketed as a resort spa paradise, his discovery had implications that would severely impact the economy of the city and livelihoods of the people. In no time at all, he found himself becoming the public enemy of the people he had intended to protect, even getting flak from some of his family members and friends.

Public Enemy

The pace of the show was a little slow in the beginning as the premise was being set. I thought things got interesting when the theatre 'transformed' into an auditorium as the different actors addressed the audience like we were concerned citizens who had specially gathered for the press conference. In his impassioned speech, Dr. Chee (Ivan Heng) made some politically-incorrect observations about society that were funny possibly because they were a little too close to the truth for comfort. And so nervous laughs ensued when he made his angry proclamations.

After the play ended, we talked about hidden political references. The most obvious one perhaps was that Dr. Thomas Chee and his most loyal friend Ravi alluded to stigmatised opposition politicians Chee Soon Juan and M, Ravi. 

I must confess that initially as the characters were introduced on stage, I thought it was contrived that the producers made a deliberate effort to cast a Malay actor, an Indian actor and an Eurasian actor as second leads (much like a Michael Chiang play). But upon reflection, I have realised that it was done so that the main ethnicities found in Singapore are represented in the make-believe society. Or...I could just be over-thinking and over-analysing the entire situation. Ha.

It was not a bad way to spend an evening with my dearest friends. And because of the play, the word 'majority' now takes on a whole new meaning for us.

Public Enemy

Event Date: Thu, 9 - Sat, 25 Apr 2015; Tue - Sat: 8pm; Sat & Sun: 3pm

Venue: Victoria Theatre

Dining Out - Ramen Champion

Before our play, we had wanted to dine at the World Street Food Congress located at the open field beside Bugis MRT. Upon arrival and seeing the throngs of people and long queues, we decided that we were not keen to jostle with the crowd. So we detoured to Bugis+ to grab ramen at Ramen Champion, which features six outposts of popular Japanese ramen shops.

S ordered the God Ramen from Buta God (2013 Ramen Champion) while J, VY and I  got different ramen from Tonkotsu Ikkyu (winner of Ramen Tasting Competition 2015).

God Ramen

I polished off most of the thinly sliced pork belly for S from her God Ramen, dipping it into the yolk of the poached egg. Yummy, though it left me very full by the end since I had a generous bowl of ramen of my own.

Green (Spinach Special Tonkotsu Ramen)

I enjoyed my pick, Green, which was a Tonkotsu Ramen with spinach-flavoured creamy pork broth. The thin springy noodles were complemented by sous vide pork collar chashu slices. The tasty pork bone broth was rich and filling. VY got the White (seen in the background of the image above) which was the same except that the broth was simply original pork bone broth.

J's Pick

J picked a bowl that featured the same original broth and noodles but the meat was cooked in a different method. I did not get to try it but I must say it looks pretty yummy in the photo.

Ramen Champion offers a myriad of choices for ramen lovers. The system of charging to individual tags and payment at the cashier upon exit also makes it a great venue for large group gatherings since there is no need to fret over splitting the bill.

Ramen Champion

Address: Bugis+, 201 Victoria Street #04-10 Singapore 188067

Phone: 6238 1011

Dining Out - Anti:dote

SC & I were flushed with excitement and satisfaction after the show ended and we were keen to grab a drink to dissect the play together. She suggested going to a cocktail bar at Fairmont Singapore, so off we went to Anti:dote.

We ordered the Baked Chocolate Mousse with Hazelnut Praline and Pear Sorbet to share and for drinks, I got a Whistlers & Allies and SC got a Brown Derby. Complimentary chips and olives were served with the drinks.

Booze, Chips & Dessert

The Baked Chocolate Mousse was delicious. The pear sorbet offered a cool contrast to the warm mousse, with pear chunks and caramel popcorn adding crunch and texture. I liked that it was not overly sweet.

I took a sip of SC's bourbon-based drink and it was strong (just the way she likes). Not my cup of tea glass of drink. I preferred my choice to hers.

My rum-based drink was fruity and cheery (much like me!). It even had an adorable flamingo lemon peel garnish pegged onto the rim of the glass.

Hello Mr. Yellow Flamingo!

SC said she had tried the tapas at the place before and they were pretty good, so I am looking forward to returning to the place to try them out.

Anti:dote

Address: 80 Bras Basah Road, Level 1 Fairmont, Raffles City, Singapore 189560

Phone: 6431 5315

Show Time - The Weight of Silk on Skin

The Weight of Silk on Skin is the second of The Studios: fifty play I watched and it is a monologue by Huzir Sulaiman of a man musing on love, lust, human nature and society.

The Weight of Silk on Skin

In my opinion, the dynamic husband-and-wife team behind Pangdemonim Productions have outdone themselves on this one. Adrian Pang was perfect in the portrayal of the narcissistic, sexist, egotistical protagonist, John Au Yong, doing justice to the poetic words of the playwright. The monologue was delivered as John prepared himself to attend the charity ball where he would meet his long-lost love. As he moved through the stylish and well-designed set to don each item of clothing, he reminisced about his love history and waxed lyrical on his regrets. 

Gorgeous Set

Like most members of the audience present, I was enraptured. The 90 minutes flew by and I found myself deeply moved by the end. The standing ovation Adrian Pang got was well-deserved. It is one of the best productions I have watched where writing, acting, lighting, music and set design all came together perfectly to deliver a incredible theatrical experience. A triumph for the local theatre scene.

The Weight of Silk on Skin

Event Date: Thu, 9 -  Sun, 12 Apr 2015; Thu & Fri 8pm; Sat, 3pm & 8pm; Sun 3pm

Venue: Esplanade Theatre Studio

Dining Out - Comnam

Before our play at 8pm, SC and I met for a quick dinner at Raffles City. We decided on Comnam because we both had not tried it before, plus it had a quick meal concept. This is a sister restaurant to Nam Nam Noodle Bar and the adjacent Vietnamese restaurants share a kitchen.

The signature dishes of Comnam feature broken rice and I decided to go for a soup-based rice dish that featured Sliced Patin Fish, Fried Chicken Balls and Beansprouts.

Broken Rice in Soup

The soup was flavourful and the broken rice soaked up the flavour without becoming overly soggy. It reminded me of Teochew Fish Porridge albeit with broken rice grains. But if you pick this dish, you need to like beansprouts, spring onions and cilantro because these were sprinkled liberally into the soup.

There were a few other options on the menu that looked interesting and I am keen to return to try them out. It would be great if parent company Les Amis Group opened up more outlets like they did with Nam Nam.

Comnam

Address:Raffles City B1-46, 252 North Bridge Road Singapore 179103

Phone: 6336 0500

Cafe Hopping - Three Years In A Balloon

The niece wanted to go to a cafe for lunch so we drove to Three Years in a Balloon. They had a few options for lunch and we chose the Chicken Pie and Chicken Mushroom Baked Rice.

Chicken Pie & Chicken Mushroom Baked Rice

Both options were terrible. The baked rice was served barely warm with dry and hard rice grains and the cheese was a chewy crust. The chicken pie had a thick crust that tasted slightly stale and the fillings were less than generous. If I had to guess, the baked rice probably had been kept in the fridge for days and no amount of microwaving could make it taste good. As for the chicken pie, it was also likely stale. It would not be surprising considering the fact that the cafe location is out of the way.

The saving grace would be that coffee was decent and that the server at the counter was really friendly. 

Cappuccino

The Mum and I both agreed that this is one of the worst meals we have had at cafes. 

Three Years in a Balloon

Address: 163 Upper Paya Lebar Road Singapore 534857

Phone: 9236 7366