A few years ago, I made a public love declaration (click here) for Chocolate Origin's Cuppa Lava Cake. 

Some said it smelled like an awkward teenage love story. But really, it changed my life. 

Recently, I was invited by Chocolate Origin to try their new dark chocolate gelato and latte art session, together with the other existing cakes. 

One does not get invited to a chocolate feast party every other day. Especially when it's from Chocolate Origin. Unless one is certifiably insane, one does not reject it. So off I went with great anticipation.

I was given a moment with my old love - the Cuppa Lava Cake. The airy moist chocolate sponge and luscious chocolatey intense lava goodness still had me swooned over. Yes.. yes and yes! It's still that warm fuzzy ecstatic feeling. As I dug deeper, however, the vanilla ice-cream that I used to be familiar with seemed to have grown colder (pun intended) - Cold and hard, literally. Likened to a lover who was warm on the outside but cold and stranger on the inside.

I'm going to ignore that slight sign of trouble for the moment and turn to the Original Chocolate Cake. For the love of food, it is the best-chocolate-cake-ever. That ratio of mousse vs sponge, and that ratio of chocolatey bitterness vs sweetness... golden, perfect, mind boggling and amazing. Washed down with its liquid equivalent - Iced Chocolate Shake.

It's chocolate at its best.



Apart from the rich cakes and gelato that you can indulge in, Chocolate Origin also offers coffee made from the finest Arabica coffee beans from Latin America. The Arabica beans, known for their distinctive aroma and exquisitely smooth texture, form a perfect marriage with Chocolate Origin’s cakes and gelato. They are looking into organising latte art sessions where you can show off your inner barista.

I was a little restless as the star, Dark Chocolate Gelato, hasn't made its appearance as the night goes by. After all, we all know the law of anticipation which increases invariably as time ticks on. They do know how to play this game.

Finally.



It was love at first bite.

For a moment, it felt like a guilty betrayal towards Cuppa Lava Cake. My mind and heart were pretty much out of control. They were right about this one. It's richly divine, intense and effortlessly smooth. Made with Belgian chocolate, it's not overly sweet and tastes how chocolate should be - bittersweet. According to Chocolate Origin, it was a five year work-in-progress, from curating the perfect Belgian premium chocolate, the right gelato-making machine (from Italy, the birthplace of gelatos), tweaking, testing, tweaking, testing.

$4.50 a scoop, and $12.50 a pint which is cheaper than Haagen. Give me the pint.

In conclusion, this place is dangerous and a slippery slope to diabetics and heart problems. Chocolate Origin does what it sets out to do - steal my heart at the first bite. There is no stopping. It never will.

Stepping into Dong Po Colonial Cafe felt like a blast from the past. It's located in a colonial shophouse ventilated by fans that hung from tall ceilings. Chinese oldies sung by Chinese songstresses played softly in the background. 

My immediate thought : This is totally my kind of place. You see, I am a huge fan of heritage, vintage, but not my age. 

Dong Po serves cream cakes and pastries that look like what mother fed me back in 80s and 90s. These cakes actually go all the way back in the colonial days when some Chinese pastry chefs learn western baking from the ang mohs. Hence such western cakes were popularized back then. I do realize that such cakes are now a rare sight in big shopping malls. But they can still be found in the neighborhood bakeries. 

I got a set meal which comprise of a bostock toast and teh for $3.50. While waiting for my bostock, I got a butterfly cake for $2. 

The butterfly cake looks like something I learnt to make during my home econs class back in the 90s. It's a sponge cake which has cream. I like that it's airy and light.  The icing in the middle of the "wings" might be a little hard but I like it that way.  I would say this is quite value for money. If I compare to what I charged for the one I created back then. 

After a good 10 minutes, my bostock arrived. The bostock is actually a buttered toast with almonds on top. The crunchy almonds and crispy toast make an interesting combo of different textures. My recommendation is to eat it best when it's hot.

The Teh was nothing to shout about. Tastes like the normal type you find from normal kopitiam. 

The cafe has a SG50 campaign where you can purchase a drink for our Pioneer Generation and the cafe will match it with another drink. You can also leave a note of appreciation. Kudos to the cafe for this meaningful initiative. 

It would be interesting to bring your ah gong or ah ma here. For an afternoon of story telling. Bet they would have lots of stories from good old days to tell you.  

Old is gold. 

Address: 56 Kandahar Street Singapore 198904

Tel: 6288 1318

Update: Download the Holler Out app and enter promo code "weekendeatwhat" to enjoy 10% discount off spending more than $50.

Because yesterday was Peanut Butter and Jelly (PBJ) day, I thought it would be good to honour and commemorate this wonderful brunch item. 

And also to give a shout out to all the PBJ lovers on where to find a really good PBJ toast. That would be at Artistry. 

Wow at the fluffy PBJ French toast ($14) that is stuffed with raspberry jam, and topped with berries compote. And of course the vanilla icecream!! What's a good brunch if it doesn't end off  with icecream, right?

Looks small but it's actually quite big.

Artistry signature crab burger ($20) is one of a kind with its squid ink buns. The crab meat patty was topped with onion-tomato relish, and served with truffle fries. It was quite salty for me so I preferred my PBJ. 

Artistry serves as an art gallery too and you can actually purchased the paintings that are hanged on the walls. 

If only art can be eaten.

Address: 17 Jalan Pinang S(199149)

Dark and elusive, Ronin looks like a favourite brunch place for vampires. Except that no blood is served. I had quite a hard time finding Ronin because it doesn't have a signboard. There is only a sign outside stating its address 17 Hong Kong St. 

Visited at 11am on a Saturday morning and was very pleased to find quite an empty cafe. #victoryscored

Communal table spotted in the middle and several bar tables nearer to the open kitchen. Common sense says don't sit near the kitchen unless I want to smell like my food. 

A glance of the drinks menu and Wicked ($5.50) caught my eyes. Blink blink. It is actually a mocha mint which was refreshing and cooling, and surprisingly mint complements the mocha very well. I like that it is not bitter and yet not overly sweet. My friend got the pretty Matcha tone ($5.50) that had steamed milk on top of a thick layer of matcha. Which was highly raved as intense and nice.

We both ordered the brioche French toast ($14.50), a sumptuous brunch which comes with braised apples, bacon and hazelnut butter and syrup. I like the fluffy toast and the hazelnut butter sauce that drenches and complements it nicely. But the apple was too sour for me. 

Service was attentive too. I like that Ronin doesn't charge GST or service charge, which made our brunch pretty value for money. I think I'll go back for Wicked soon.

Address: 17 Hong Kong Street Singapore 059660

Wow where do I even begin? It has been a busy busy month and haven't got time to update this little forgotten blog of mine.

Anyway I visited Symmetry quite a while ago. Symmetry had been on my "to eat" list for the longest time. In fact, this was the second time I visited. The first time when I went without reservations, I thought there was a queue for a free meal or something. So in the end I gave up.

Queue for free food?

So unless you want to take your patience training to a higher level, please remember to call and make reservations or book online.

Yes that's how insanely popular Symmetry is. Which I can understand why. I love everything about it. The brick walls. The cute lamps. The big windows. The menu that shows drawings of the food instead of real photos. The witty posters and quotes. The music that I don't know who is the singer but I like it because it makes me feel cool. 

I ordered my favourite drink of the century (DOTC) aka green tea latte ($6.50++). Hmmm Symmetry's version is a bit less sweet and a bit diluted for my liking, although I can still taste the green tea powder. I prefer the Starbucks version which is sweeter. My fellow diner ordered a flat white ($5.50++). It was good per my friend.

And here I present to you the die die must order: Symmetry Eggs Benedict ($22++). It comes with two poached eggs sitting on top off bacon, portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions, aged cheddar and of course hollandaise sauce. I love the awesome hollandaise sauce and the golden eggs which flowed like a river. The fragrant toasted bread was crispy at the edges and fluffy in the centre to soak up the sauce and egg yolk. And I love the bacon which was savoury salty with a tinge of sweetness. The mushrooms were a bit bitter and  pungent which gave a different dimension in taste to the whole dish. The lonely looking tomatoes at the side tasted a bit weird and were strangely not sweet. 

My friend got the waffles with ice-cream $16++ (I don't know how come got people eat waffles with ice-cream for breakfast). The waffles were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Very substantial and will feel full half way. But I think I prefer Wimbly Lu's version much more. 

Service was not very attentive and I had to wave frantically to catch the wait staff's attention zzz. It also took forever for them to give us back our change. But overall they were polite and friendly lah.

Address: 9 Jalan Kubor, 199206
Symmetry website 

Common Man Coffee Roasters is a cafe located at Martin Road. 

Which is ulu for those without a car. 

Which is a less crowded brunch place for those with a car. #justsaying

Anyway I was here to give a birthday treat to one of my "sisters". The sister who broke the sister code regularly #BoysOverSisters #GaveUp. The sister who had a week-long daily celebration starting from Monday. And the sister who scheduled my turn only six days later on a Sunday.

I could have wished her happy birthday like how someecards did. But I'm nice. Haha.

Common Man Coffee Roasters is the typical popular cafe that does not take reservations on weekends. 

But due to my good karma, we didn't have to queue when we reached at 12pm on Sunday. There was a short queue from 1pm though. 

I couldn't get a picture of the interior of the packed place but here's one from the Common Man Coffee Roasters's website. 

Patrons are mainly ang moh with kids and youngsters, the usual suspects. It can be really noisy so if you are looking for a quiet place, this ain't it.

Seats are mainly bar table style. There was a big common round table in the middle. But we are anti-social Asians so we were given one private corner next to the windows with plenty of natural light. 

Latte/Cappuccino ($5++ each)
I am no expert in coffee. But I love Common Man Coffee Roasters' version of cappuccino very much. Everything about the coffee hit the right notes with me, as if the barista and I had common wavelengths. The coffee doesn't leave a sourish/bitter after taste - my usual concern with most other coffees. It is light-bodied yet does its role well to wake me up on a Sunday. 

Organic eggs benedict ($24++)
My friend had the organic eggs benedict with braised ox cheeks and artisanal sourdough toast. She had nothing but praises for it. If you don't trust 99% of what I crapped on this blog, you can trust my friend who was probably a serious food critic in her previous life. 

I had a small bite of it. The ox cheeks were moist/tender and not overly gamey. And when soaked with the golden egg yolks and hollandaise sauce as well as the accompany toast, it was a wondrous mix. 

Brioche French toast ($18++)

I had my eyes set on the brioche French toast. The brioche French toast was served on a wooden board. Vibrant red raspberries and strawberries compote sat on top of soft warm golden brown brioche that is dusted sparingly yet with the right amount of icing sugar. The compote was not sour but sweet. 

End it off with some really smooth Kapiti vanilla ice cream that was melting slowly into the brioche toast. 

I loved the toast which was served warm, fluffy and crispy at the corners. Haven't had a really good French toast like this for a long time. 

Service speed was amazing for a Sunday crowd. We only had to wait for about 10 minutes for our food to come. 

What can I say?  Common Man Coffee Roasters has exceeded my expectations with its substantial and good quality food and coffee, as well as speedy customer service. It might be a bit expensive, but at least you don't get crappy food or service. This is certainly one of the better brunch places that I would highly recommend. 

Address:
22 Martin Road #01-00 Singapore 239058

Tel: 6836 4695