Cafe Hopping - Two Bakers

After our meal at Suprette, we were craving for something sweet, so we decided to walk around the Jalan Besar area to locate dessert. We located Two Bakers which was a stone's throw away and popped in.

Two Bakers

There were a number of delicious looking pastries on display and after some deliberation, I decided to get the Chocolate Citron Tart and the Salted Caramel Eclair for us to share. I also got a bottle of Cornish Orchards Pear Cider. Yay to day drinking!

(Clockwise from left) Chocolate Citron Tart, Pear Cider, Salted Caramel Eclair

The Chocolate Citron Tart had chocolate ganache laid over citron curd in a crumbly tart shell with gold-dusted rosemary leaves as decoration. The combination was great, but the little imp took great pleasure in just scrapping the chocolate layer off with her fork and licking it off, leaving the messy leftovers for us to finish.

The Salted Caramel Eclair was yummy too with the choux pastry piped with salted caramel cream and a salted caramel glaze topped with chopped nuts. 

Two Bakers

Address: 88 Horne Road Singapore 209083

Phone: 6293 0329

Cafe Hopping - Suprette

When we picked the younger niece up from school, after she greeted us, the next words out of her mouth were "I want to go to a cafe!" So it seems my nieces have associated me picking them up from school as a cafe excursion.

We went to Suprette, which is located at the lobby of Kam Leng Hotel in Jalan Besar. We ordered 2 Set Lunches to share among the 3 of us. Each Set Lunch was $15 nett and included a soup, a main and a drink. 

Suprette

The soup du jour was Cream of Tomato and it was pretty delicious. Tangy with crispy croutons thrown in.

Cream of Tomato

For our mains, we got a Turkey Ham & Cheese Sandwich and an Angel Hair Puttanesca.

Angel Hair Puttanesca

The angel hair pasta was overcooked in this one, so it tasted kinda like mee sua rather than pasta. Such a pity as the salty sauce would have gone better with pasta that were more al dente.

Turkey Ham & Cheese Sandwich

The sandwich was the better main, with the warm crispy toasted ciabatta bread sandwiching slightly melted cheese and turkey ham. Simple but tasty. It came with salad and crispy fries that paired well with the sweet chilli sauce given.

Cappuccino

The perfect end to a meal is always dessert. If not, a decent cup of coffee is also a good stand-in.

Prices do not include service charge, so tipping for good service is at customers' own discretion. It would be nice if more places in Singapore do not just slap on a 10% service charge even when service is less than stellar.

Suprette

Address: 383 Jalan Besar Singapore 209001

Phone: 6298 8962

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