Brunch at Bar Zini

Panini Prosciutto Sandwich

Choosing Bar Zini for brunch this Saturday, just shows how powerful a blog could be. A friend's blog, Love My Foods & Sugar, has just been updated a post of a recent visit to Bar Zini. I was also opening up Time Out Sydney for inspiration and saw yet another recommendation for Bar Zini. It was a Saturday, the weather was gorgeous after a week full of rain and I just didn't feel like going to Surry Hills and fight for parking space and wait for a table. A quick read of Time Out Sydney showed me that there were a few cafes near Bar Zini in Pyrmont which would be handy in case we didn't get a table.

H2O

J and I arrived just a little over 11 am and the menu said breakfast available till 11 am. So we ordered a panini sandwich from the lunch menu. Apparently though, we could have still ordered the breakfast menu. The table next to us were having this baked egg that looked and smelled delicious! The sandwich consisted of tomato slices, prosciutto cotto, greens, and mozarella. So very simple, yet oh so very good. I was warned that Bar Zini would have a limited choices, but what they lack in choices they more than made up in taste and quality.

Espresso Machiatto

The espresso machiatto were short and lethal. It certainly woke me up. I was also impressed with their drink menu and I love the neighborhood bar feel to it. Once my liquid of happiness buddy is back in town, I will try my very best to drag her here. What's better than a good fun night full of liquid happiness and the possibility of a tasty panini sandwich?

Bar Zini

78 Harris St

Pyrmont, NSW 2009

+61 2 9660 5718

Confirming The Rumors @ PEPeNERO

Our Table

A little birdie told me that the Chef at one of the PEPeNERO branches in Jakarta was a good looking Italian. So good looking that this little birdie's friend often frequented the restaurant in hopes of a glimpse of this Chef. Interest piqued, I went to investigate with M to the Menara Karya Branch.

The inside

I felt right at home the moment I entered Menara Karya Lobby, on my left hand side the restaurant had some tables outside with warm lighting and plenty of plants.

The outside

It was easy enough to get a table for two, it was Monday night after all. While we peruse our menu, we were given a basketful of 4 types breads. Then they also gave us the special complimentary appetizer, a couple of bruschettas.

Bread Basket

Complimentary Bruschetta

For drinks, we both got the Iced Lemon Tea. For mine, I asked that the sugar is separated. After deciding to get one pasta and one pizza to share, I ordered the squid ink pasta with salmon cream sauce. M ordered the pizza, I forgot which one it was but it was one with Italian sausages.

Iced Lemon Tea with Liquefied Sugar

We devoured the breads while waiting for the main courses, my favorite was the bread sticks: crispy and crunchy and less carbs? I wish. So while we ate and waited for our main courses, we had our eyes and ears opened. After all, we were there on 2 mission: to confirm a certain rumor and to eat. We saw a foreigner guy gliding around the room, checking the tables and the booking list. However, as his hair was blond-ish, he wasn't the Italian chef we were looking for. The description sent by my source was: dark hair, Italian looking, and wearing a chef uniform.

The kitchen door opened..., alas not the Italian chef. The waitress were carrying our main courses. I love my squid ink pasta. I don't know how a squid ink should taste to tell you the truth, but I enjoyed that pasta. It was well cooked, firm and chewy with delicious sauce. The cream sauce was pinkish from the salmon pieces no doubt. Not too creamy yet rich.

Squid Ink Pasta with Salmon Cream Sauce

The pizza was thin crusted. Another plus, for me anyway. Crispy on the edges and chewy soft in the middle. The Italian sausages were crisp which reminded me of bacon. Yummy though as it gave the simple pizza it's kick. While we devoured our main courses, we saw someone opening the kitchen door and walking towards the diners' table. Someone wearing a chef uniform with dark hair. I had to assume that this was the Italian chef as M wouldn't let me asked any of the waitress. Was he cute? Yeah, he was kinda cute. So the rumor was confirmed. The Italian(?) chef at PEPeNERO is cute.

Italian Sausages Pizza

Up Close and Personal

For dessert (Ladies, do I still have your attention here?), we ordered Creme filled Crepe with nutella. We asked the waitress if we could have it extra crispy, but unfortunately it wasn't possible because the crepe was the cold kind. It was prepared earlier and was chilled waiting for someone to claim and eat them. We ordered one anyway and we liked it, though once was enough. The crepe was soft on the savory side while the nutella balanced it by being sweet.

Nutella Crepe

As we finished our meal, we were surprised by another complimentary items: limoncello. Chilled with strong smell of both lemon and liqour, it held a good promise. After a sip, indeed it was strong but I loved it.

Complimentary Limoncello

Our bills didn't reach Rp 200,000. Another plus. Casual yet chic ambience, good quality of food, value for money, good service, oh and a cute chef! What else could a diner want? This diner was satisfied and definitely would be coming back.

PEPeNERO Kuningan

Menara Karya Building, 1st Floor

Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said Kav 1-2 Mega Kuningan

Jakarta Selatan

+62 21 579 44727

www.pepenerobali.com

Word of advice: If you go to their branch in Pondok Indah, the food might be of a different quality. M was there a few days before we went to PEPeNERO Kuningan and had a bad experience. We let the staff know at the Kuningan branch and they acknowledged it and said that they were still looking for a head Chef there to oversee the kitchen. Hopefully when they eventually hire this head chef, the food quality on all branches would be on the same standard.

Afternoon Tea@ Cova

Cova's entrance

Considering Singapore was a former British colony it is of little wonder that afternoon tea is highly popular here. From afternoon tea break at the office to the splendid afternoon tea sets that are scattered all over the island. That afternoon, P and I just wanted some dessert after our lunch at Casa Verde and the first thing that came to mind was Cova. So we took a cab and headed towards Paragon.

Apparently we weren't the only one with that idea, so we had to wait for a bit before getting seated. The maitre d saw me taking a picture and asked me not to take a picture, but since I just had to blog this I sneaked in a few shots inside anyway. Food blogs or even pictures posted on facebook these days are a part of word of mouth review that restaurant should let people take pictures and post them online. If you read my posting on the dim sum at Cherry Garden, you would see that the reason I discovered it in the first place was a food blog! Free advertising for them, right?

Anyway, we decided to have some tea and shared a slice of the strawberry mousse cake as we were quite full from lunch. P got herself a pot of Earl Grey tea and I went with Imperial Scent o' Morocco. While we waited for our tea and cake to arrive, I surveyed the coast and took some pictures. I love how the setting in Cova is very regal and proper but not English like. The chandeliers, the brass mirrors on the dark wooden walls, low intensity lighting were very charming. I also like the neatness of the linen clothed tables and the comfortability of the chair. P and I were definitely loving the chair as they were much comfortable than where we were seated earlier.

The seats, the mirror and the bar reflected on the mirror

A little about Cova: it is Italian franchise, established in 1817 by a former soldier of Napoleon, Antonio Cova. For more on the history click here. I am always a firm believer that if a restaurant can survive that long, it is because they have good quality. When the cake arrived, I can confirm that indeed the quality is high. Not only the taste was good, the presentation too was nice. Another friend told me that the food here is also good, but so far I have yet to try their meals. Remembering how the restaurant is set up, with a majestic display of all the cakes and sweets you can think of on one side I associate Cova with cakes and dessert.

Strawberry Mousse Cake

Our tea came steaming hot in silver pots. Be careful not to burn your fingers. The tea scent was strong, my Imperial Scent o' Morocco smelled like mint tea, very calming and relaxing. The two of us sat there for quite a while just hanging out enjoying our tea and strawberry mousse cake. The mousse cake was soft and flavorful, and for those of you who prefer your strawberry mousse cake sweeter, they put whipped cream on the side.

A pot of Imperial Scent o' Morocco

A cup of Imperial Scent o' Morocco

Another thing that I like about Cova is that they don't hurry you to finish your meal or give you the bill before you even ask for it. I suppose their being in Paragon, one of the poshest mall in Singapore, does have something to do with it, but its just nice to be able to linger and decide when you want to make a move. The only thing that I would want them to change is, be more camera friendly. Trust me, they should let people take pictures. Digital pictures posted on the web is the 21st century version of word of mouth.

Caffe Cova
Paragon #01-20A
290 Orchard Road
+65 6836 0925

Sunday Lunch at Casa Verde

One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is to catch up with friends over brunch. When P gave me several options for brunch, I decided to go with Cafe Verde because of it's location at the Botanic Garden. I have to admit that in the two years that I have been here, I have thought that this garden is called the "Botanical" Garden instead of Botanic. So when I arrived at the visitors' center I discovered when I read the plaque that it is actually called the Botanic Garden. Oopsie...

My ice water and order number

It was raining when I got there and I was hoping that this cafe would be close to the Visitors' Center as P texted me. The last time I was dining at the Botanical Garden, my Spanish connection and I took the wrong entrance which gotten us lost and we had to walked quite a bit to reach our destination. Thanks to the detailed text P sent me, I was only 10 steps away from Cafe Verde. It is located on the left hand side after entering the Botanic garden, with the cafe standing up next to the trees... how very fitting to name it green house.

Place your order here

I thought the pear shaped light decoration was cute...

On my way to find my friend, I saw the cashier and ordering lines and I was confused to find that you have to order on the cashier instead of the waiter coming to your table. I suppose it made sense as the cafe was open spaced and with the Botanic Garden just steps away they probably don't want people to order and just walk out without paying. Not sure what to order with my stomach not feeling too hungry, I looked through the menu and decided to go with pizza. Then they told me that their specialty pizza was wrapped spring roll style. I decided to try it: ham, mushroom and mozarella that came with a bowl of red sauce. P ordered beef taglioni and a basket of fries.

Sfilatino Casa Verde (House Specialty) spring roll style pizza

served with red sauce

Sfilatino Casa Verde: Mozarella, Ham & Mushrooms

The pizza was thin crusted with generous amount of ham, mushroom and mozarella. The red sauce was nice, but it could do with a bit more of herbs. The portion was just nice, well, actually for that day it was too much for me. I had to doggy bag two pieces and had it the next morning for breakfast. It was good, but I don't think it was worth 20 bucks... Or maybe they included the view price on that pizza... The fries were thick cuts, but they were crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. It tasted good with my red sauce. I didn't try P's taglioni, so I can't really comment on it.

Basket of Fries

Tagliatelle Bolognese

Overall, I would say that the food quality here is standard, perhaps a little on the pricier side considering the location. However, it is a nice place just to relax and hang out with friends on the weekends. Then after you stuff your face, you can just walk around the garden and work that calories as well as guilt out of your system. I really liked the Botanic Garden cause I can experiment with my camera and check out the cute dogs that walk around with their owners. I know some people check out the owner, but I check out the pups. I really wish I have my dogs here with me, I bet a million bucks they would love the Botanic Garden.

Casa Verde
1 Cluny Road
Botanical Gardens (Visitor Center)
Singapore
+65 6467 7326

Click here for website

Going Italian @La Strada

La Strada's sign board, can you tell the heavy rain on the background?

My parental unit were in town that Saturday and I had a feeling that we were going to have Italian at some point during the day. Boy, was I right. Unfortunately, our first choice Italian restaurant, Pontini at Grand Copthorne Hotel was closed for lunch on weekends. Lucky for us, a friend of mine took me once to La Strada during which I had an amazing gastronomic experience.

The quickly vanishing bread basket; white bread slightly toasted and warm pizza slices

Quickly we cabbed it to La Strada, the restaurant wasn't packed. We quickly got seated with menus in our hands. Since one of my parental unit ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara, La Strada's specialty, I opted to try their other specialty which was the Crab Meat Pasta. We also ordered the Beef Carpaccio to share. My other parental unit ordered the 3 course lunch for SGD 35++ consisting of mixed green salad with balsamic vinegar dressing and small 7" salami pizza.

The Carpaccio di Manzon (Beef Carpaccio) was to die for. For me anyway since I love the salty and savory taste of it. It's topped with rockets and parmesan cheese and drizzled with truffle oil. Did I die and went to heaven? It was simply amazing. Such simple ingredients but the taste just shoot you up to cloud 9. Let me warn you though that if you were to eat too much of it, the taste might get too strong. So eat in moderation... ;)

Carpaccio di Manzon: red and green, Christmas came early for your taste buds ;)

The Spaghetti Carbonara, the pasta was boiled to perfection. The cream sauce was just right, not too creamy or thick, pieces of bacon floating on top of the pasta with the lightly broiled egg in the middle. All of these done with truffle oil. I'm not a fan of creamy based pasta, but I bow down my head for this one and so did my parental unit ordering the carbonara.

Spaghetti Carbonara in Truffle Oil

My crab meat pasta, Tagliolini Al Granchio, had a nice consistency too. The crab meat was in abundance. If I hadn't had the carbonara, I would have loved it. However that day, I wasn't in the mood for something light. So it was good if you want something light tasting.

Tagliolini Al Granchio

The 7" salami pasta was thin crusted and yummy. I don't know what it was if I was too hungry that day or what, but I was absolutely enamored with the crust. The dough was baked real nice that it was still chewy but you can taste the sweetness of the bread. And the salami was satisfying.

Salami pizza, personal size

Last but not least, the desert. We ordered the baked berry pie with brown sugar ice cream. The pie was a balance of sweet and sour, it was served warm to contrast with the ice cream. I didn't think the ice cream tasted much like brown sugar, but the combo was good. Next time I shall strive to try the apple dessert.

Baked Berry Pie with Brown Sugar Ice Cream

La Strada

1 Scotts Road

#03-10 Shaw Centre

Singapore

+65 6737 2622

Friday Italian Lunch @Mont Calzone

It was the long awaited lunch hour. The most waited one of the week, because it was FRIDAY! It was also a lunch I was waiting for cause I was lunching with K that day. We were both running late due to issues and the so called "urgent" requests. Luckily, S decided to join us and she was free, so she ran to grab a table first. When we finally got there, the place was jammed packed. Since I hadn't been there before, I had to read the menu while my stomach starting to protest already. We finally decided; Curry Chicken Calzone for K, Al Fungi Linguini for S and Parma Ham and Arugula pasta for me.


Pesto Chicken Calzone with red sauce on the side


Cross section of the pesto chicken calzone, doesn't it just look so good stuffed with all those yumminess?

We had to ask for our orders three times. Not good. Seems like they were either short staffed or not efficient. Since it was my first time there, I didn't know. Finally, K's calzone arrived. We were getting happy because that meant our food was on the way, right? WRONG! We had to wait 5-10 more minutes before ours finally came. And they gave K the wrong calzone! They gave her instead pesto chicken calzone with pineapples inside and red sauce on the side. K decided to stick with it and turned out that she liked it better than the curry chicken one.


Parma Arugula Pasta - check out that beauty

She was almost done when finally our order came. I love my parma arugula pasta. Yes, I am a fan of parma ham! It just looked so beautiful; white spaghetti with pinkish peach parma ham and arugula greens. It was done in garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese. Very light to compliment the strong taste of parma ham and the arugula. The pasta was firm too. Good quality Italian food, though I wouldn't mind a little bit more parmesan cheese on my pasta next time. ;)


Al Fungi Linguini

S' al fungi linguini was also firm and I could see an abundance of mushrooms. The cream base sauce was infused with mushroom so that even the cream itself had mushroom taste. The earthy fragrant of the mushroom was really mouthwatering. That and our hunger probably made it really damn good pasta.

I would come back to Mont, but please shorten the wait time! Hmm.... I get hungry writing this...

Mont Calzone
#01-01 Far East Square
38 Pekin Street
+65 6557 2304
http://www.montcalzone.com.sg/
(Closed on Sundays)

*Due to hunger, I hereby apologize for forgetting to note down the price, however the pasta ranges about SGD15 per portion and so was the calzone, before tax that is...*