Bakerzin: Have desserts & ONLY desserts

Phew i made it here just before August swerved away.

The 50% offer on all classic desserts is too tempting to resist even if food/service is bound to displease. Accruing to that, chew on Bakerzin's newly revamped menu. Mimicked after a magazine publication.

Hello porkchops, macau porkchop bun, hazelnut butter spaghetti & a judicious upgrade of selected desserts...

Goodbye all unreceptive asian desserts (smart move!)...

Here's the Assam Prawn Linguine ($13.80) looking so deceptively harmless. I like the fact it came with 5-6 sizeable prawns, but not the reality of encountering shell traces. The big picture: spill some concentrated assam paste over pasta and there you got it.

In attendance of Trio of Bruschetta ($9.80), 2 out of 3 screwed up. I saw no wonder in cheese & tomato blanketing wet bread; and would rather have plump juicy mushrooms on bruschetta than these oil-logged mushroom chips (poor juices got expelled). Spicy otah ciabatta was best among them but also excessive in grease.

Lesson to learn: Please TOAST breads!

You'd probably heard it a million-&-one times... Bakerzin's desserts are usually responsible for turning the scores around. They are a real steal at half-price! (:

The signature Daniel Tay-prided Warm Chocolate Cake ($4.90 after discount) now sits on a slice of flavour-boosting orange confit and continues to promise molten outflows.

Gotta rave about their souffles too. The Bailey's Irish Cream Souffle ($4.40 after less) i bestowed upon bore wonderfully airy and moist eggwhite lushes, almost sublime when drizzled with the shot of bitter espresso. Can't wait to try Chocolate on my next visit to see how they compare with Laurent's The Ultimate~

Whether old or revised menu, i'm sticking to my original stance:

Bakerzin is only great for DESSERTS.

Extends no further.

Bakerzin

81 Clemenceau Avenue

#01-15 UE Square Shopping Mall

6738 6992

Chili's: My Boston Dream

It may be years years ago that i stayed in Boston but the memories still visit every now and then. Acclimatizing to the food there was so facile. I became an American grub freak within days, hooked to all that Uno's, Chili's, Panera Bread, Dunkin' Donuts... yada yada junks. Could eat them routinely without feeling an inch of guilt.

That explains why im such a bread freak now haha. Not born to be but nurtured to be one.

So imagine my joy to hear about Chili's reappearance in Singapore! Of course slightly dismayed that Spageddies had to go (there's always Paragon), but Chili's is one dearly missed joint i'm pouncing to eat at.

From my recollections i don't suppose the menu deviated much. Chili's food is chiefly North American, with plenty of Tex-Mex & Canadian accents. Like in the States service is a highly regarded factor. I'm always pleased with their chirpy, genuinely passionate staffs and this extends to our side. Only difference was the cosy lodgy ambience at Boston which i failed to find here.

I decided to keep things light for the night. The Guiltless Chicken Pita ($14.90) is nothing over the skies but a neat collation of some of my favourite foods. I totally dig grilled meats with those charred indentations, the clearer the better.(*thinks of those droolicious charred charsiew ends...) This one starred Fajita-marinated chicken (grill lines assured), pico de gallo and shredded lettuce wrapped within a soft pita. On the side a personal pot of blackbeans stew filler. Now all i need is a good dollop of creamy guacamole and the picture would be complete.

For the hungrys & hungrier, there is always Chilli's Big Mouth Burger series to depend on. Shamefully intimidated by their prized Southern Smokehouse Bacon BMB, the BBQ Ranch Burger ($18.90) became a predicated alternative. Applewood smoked bacon, aged cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce, Ranch dressing, shredded lettue, tomato, pickle and fries. Surely sufficient for the hungrys.

Skipping desserts at an American haunt is not my behaviour. We partook in what seemed to be their signature choice, being actively highlighted on all their advertising scores. The huge Molten Chocolate Cake ($16.90)- warm not-so-warm chocolate cake with non-molten chocolate fudge filling, topped with rich vanilla ice cream under a crunchy chocolate shell. Mysteriously felt like a pud out of Betty Crocker's stir-and-bake instant mix. Utterly disappointing.

Nooope, even a poor dessert didn't kill my fluttering mood. I couldn't say more about the awesome feeling i have when in Chili's. Felt like i was teleported back to the junkfood paradise and the number of caucasian diners is a living proof of it. This feeling is simply indampenable.

Chili's Restaurant

163 Tanglin Road

#02-23 Tanglin Mall

6733 3317

Morton's The Steakhouse

My close friend who achieved patriotical glory decided he deserved a quality meat reward, self-selecting the mother of steakhouses as venue for celebration. Something straightforward yet pridefully presented. He really hecked the recession.

I am one person in least position to fuss over steakhouses. Being a beefless-tarian meant i am disqualified to join any form of intellectual discussion about that versatile cow, it's bodyparts, doneness, rawness, bloodyness blah blah blah... So just give me a decent piece of fish & dessert and i will gladly behave.

the famous, incredibly huge onion bread

I really thought i would. But certainly not when their renowned Onion Bread showed up as normal as it shouldn't be. Usually enticed by the titillating fragrance of onions baked in dough, i was buried in equal disappointment from the oversized loaf. Insipid brown spots, no aroma diffused. It failed to shut me up and instead suppressed my tendency to overnibble.

Our waitress Tracy then came to recite her piece, introducing every gem on the meat wagon as though her script came from "Morton's for Dummies". She ends off with a friendly warning, " Please try not to eat too much bread ok?"

Fret not, i won't.

Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, Mustard Mayonnaise Sauce

I'd rather be off to my appetiser. My love for crabcakes developed at Whitebait & Kale (sadly have not reopened) where they came in high crab, low carb proportions. Morton's second. Neglecting price-to-price comparison, theirs is done with doubly satisfying lumps of crab. Very luscious, almost impurities-free apart from some essential breadcrumbs. Lump lump lump... perfect with a squeeze of lemon.

Maine Lobster Cocktail, Mustard mayo & Cocktail sauce

The friend had a serving of maine lobster meat shuffed in an ice-bedded glass. Chilled and fresh as anticipated since you can't quite go wrong with lobsters. All was fine except for his heart already half-set on my 2-inch tall crustacean coin. The grass is always greener on the other side.

Note: application not for entrees.

Ribeye Steak, USDA Prime

I foresaw a flying white flag when the Ribeye reached our table. At first instant i crowned it Biggest Single-portion Steak of the Year (among my encounters). But as my beef-loving friend hunked it down in smiles, he made it seem like pre-school spelling. Too good not to finish, he says.

Perhaps i should consider changing biggest to best.

Sesame Encrusted Yellowfin Tuna, Spicy Soy Ginger Sauce

On my side i thought i needed some SOS. My thick-like-i-never-had-before Yellowfin tuna fish was overdone (wanted medium well, came almost welldone) and bland if not for the toasted sesame coat & oriental sauce. The salvaging point was no fishyness!, a great indication of freshness. I tackled it s-l-o-w-l-y so i needn't activate the white flag.

Steamed Fresh Jumbo Asparagus, Hollandaise Sauce

We ordered a portion of steamed asparagus too, long gone past its optimal softness. Regretted not going for the grilled ones with balsamic glaze instead. And these are certainly NOT CHEAP for veggies.

Morton's Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake

And how to resist dessert? Morton's ensures submission of your dessert choice before the approx 40 minutes prep time. Tracy recommended the LEGENDARY hot chocolate cake, served with a scoop of Haagen Dazs Vanilla icecream. When you have scrumptiously sweet cake walls, ideally molten outflows & premium icecream coming together... the conclusion is divine.

And the place is Morton's.

Generous portions in generous pricetags.

If i could rewind time back to the start of the meal, i would say medium rare for fish and insist divine for dessert.

Morton's of Chicago: The Steakhouse

4th Storey, Mandarin Oriental Singapore

5 Raffles Avenue, Marina Square

6339 3740

Sweet Indulgence: Slice of Bittersweet

Pink, sweet, girly. Charming things.

Sweet Indulgence is all about title-appeal. To begin, a name that sounds good enough to bite. To end, glamoury descriptions and discerning prices which may not permanently please.

i admit my mixed feelings about this place.

A close friend's insistence set me on a swift street-navigating around Tanjong Pagar. We arrived, number ones. With proud illusions of booking the entire small-scale restaurant for at least the first half an hour.

Complimentary Foccacia

And the dinner began well. Blocks of foccacia bread, warm and soft like how i would imagine them to be. The complimentary pizza was all thats hampering me from accepting a second helping.

Seafood Platter ($18.80)

The awesomeness continued. we were both taken in by the seafood platter's array of fresh variety sauteed in its sweetish white wine stock. liked the crystal prawns, albeit tiny, but felt the scallop flesh was way too XXS in size.

Chicken & Mushroom Pizza

($17.80, complimentary w every 2 main courses ordered)

And more.

I was still slurping the platter's wine reduction when my friend's sudden "OMG" grabbed my attention.... "the pizza is sooo good".

Nods my head in agreement. Sweet Indulgence's chicken and mushroom pizza honestly sat chunks of chicken, juicy white button mushrooms, onions, roasted green peppers & fresh cheese on a pizza base so optimally rolled out. There's this charred fragrance about its crust that gets me going.

takeaway-whatever's-left-behind policy holds.

Baked Salmon Fillet ($24.80)

One step back. the baked salmon fillet was pan-seared, and almost dried up of the herb butter sauce at consumption midpoint.

Chilean Black Cod ($32.80)

Two steps back. heavily flouring the chilean black cod and coating it with a gimmicky homemade lobster jus performs no justice to the prestigious specie, and its extortionate pricetag. The nuttily-dressed salad was more brilliant than that.

Warm Chocolate Lava Indulgence ($10.80)

Warm Chocolate Lava Indulgence. The chocoholics wouldn't miss out on this people-see-people-like hotshot. decent rendition, minus the burnt base, for any trace of molten dark cocoa lava and a non-magnolia/marigold/kings scoop of vanilla darling seals the lips.

I love stuffs pink, sweet & girly.
But a pity, the sweets don't tie with full agreement.

PS. envying their 19-year-old dessert chef!

Sweet Indulgence

2 Stanley Street

6223 7707