SgCafeHopping

Gudetama Café Singapore...

The highly raved and ever popular Gudetama Café is finally here in Singapore. Its doors will be open tomorrow (Wednesday, 30^th November 2016) at 9am and they are giving 50% off total bill for the first 10 customers. This unconventional yet charming egg with a growing global following will be making its appearance with a mint leaf specially designed for Gudetama Café Singapore.

Located at Suntec City, this new themed café is started by home-grown brands – Joe & Dough & The Soup Spoon, and serves both mouth-watering and aesthetically pleasing (kawaii) food and handcrafted beverages. The café has also teamed up with an award-winning bento artist and local food blogger, Shirley Wong or widely known as “Little Miss Bento”, for co-creating and food styling, so diners can expect the plating and presentation of the dishes to be photo-ready and a feast for the eyes. In terms of the aesthetics and taste, trust me, Gudetama Café is by far the best themed café in Singapore.

Greeted with so many different and cute Gudetama decorations and ornaments inside the café, fans will definitely be jumping for joy. The attractive plating of each dish would probably cause all the fans to hyperventilate and I’m pretty sure everyone would spent more than half of their time snapping photos. Not to over-exaggerate but I really spent almost an hour taking photos of the food as well as the drinks. Also, how to eat the food when they are so cute?

Eggcited Cajun Chicken with Waffles // $23.90

Grilled Cajun chicken and sunny side up egg on buttermilk waffle served with seasonal greens.

Gudetama Lobster Onsen // $16

Velvety lobster bisque with poached egg in bread bowl served with seasonal greens.

Rib - "I" Don't Care // $28.50

Chargrilled NZ grass-fed Angus Ribeye Steak topped with creamy wild mushroom sauce, served with grilled vegetables and mash.

TA-MA-GO // $17.90

“Kawaii” sushi cakes made with egg sponge and cheesecake coated with rice pops, served with maple syrup and matcha “wasabi” curd.

“Shoyu Ramen” Set // $21.50

“Ramen” dessert made with chocolate and feuilletine cake topped with layers of chestnut Mont Blanc and earl grey jelly, served with a side of panna cotta and sweetened rose tea.

Gude Pudding // $16.90

Caramel flan with premium vanilla softserve, caramelized bananas, apple crumble and a crispy sesame orange tuile.

Citrus Pan // $7.50

White Chocolate Mango Roll ($8.90), Passion Milk Chocolate Mousse ($7.90), Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake ($8.50)

Most people have a perpetual bad impression of themed café. I am one of them. The themed cafés in Singapore (I do not wish to name them) are really bad. I’m sorry but it is the fact. Even though the plating of the food is remarkable, the low quality of the food normally offsets whatever that pleases my eyes. I mean I understand that the food would not turn out to be superb, but at least it was edible.

Gudetama Café Singapore is an exception. It debunked the myth. The food was not as bad as what I thought it was going to be. It was surprisingly good. Okay, I did not like some of the dishes but they were quite a few that impressed me both visually and sensually. Overall Verdict: Gudetama Café Singapore is worth the visit!

Thank you Gudetama Café Singapore and the PR Salon for having me! I had such an egg-citing time yesterday!

Nearest Mrt Station: Promenade

Location: 3 Temasek Boulevard, Suntec City Mall #01-361

What To Order: Everything

Café Rating: 4.5/5

Food Ratings: 8/10

Written by: Yong Wei Kai (Follow me on Instagram @yongweikai or @sgcafehopping)

Brozeit...

One of the most anticipated German Christmas traditions lies in its Christmas dinner. A typical German Christmas meal comprises of duck, goose, rabbit or roast. These main dishes will always be accompanied by German delicacies such as apple and sausage stuffing, red cabbage and potato dumplings. Besides the food, Mulled Wine (Glühwein) is also a quintessential Christmas beverage consists of hot mulled red wine, with an optional shot of brandy (Glühwein mit Schuss). With that said, where can we exactly experience how the Germans celebrate their Christmas? You can, at least for the food and drinks, experience it at Brotzeit in Singapore.

Brotzeit has a few outlets in Singapore but I would like to point your attention to their Outlet at Somerset. I never knew the Somerset outlet had a second level because it was much hidden. It was warm and cosy, just the right place to chill and drink with your loved ones this Christmas.

The Christmas Platter at Brotzeit was nothing short of stellar. Meat-lovers should come here for this!

Gemischite Fischplatie (Fish Medley for 2) // $25

The fish platter was more appetising than what it appears to be. The anchovies were salty but good. I couldn’t stop eating it because the flavour was really addictive and trust me, it goes very well with the asparagus and mustard sauce. The smoked trout and gravlax were soft and the texture of both fish was superior. It was lightly-marinated and I could taste the freshness of both fish. The prawns were also very crispy. It's definitely a good and huge appetiser dish to start your Christmas meal.

Braised Duck & Cranberry Sauce // $32

The duck was well-marinated, has this smoky flavour which retains in my mouth. It was not dry. The cranberry sauce was well-made and it was not too sweet, definitely did enhance the flavour of the duck. Also, the potato dumplings and purple cabbage were a good complimentary sides to the dish. It was really very filling.

Venison Steak // $42

The steak was well-marinated and it was very tender. There wasn’t really fats in the beef. I could easily finish a portion all by myself. I would bring my family to Brotzeit because of this dish!

Weihnachtsplatte (Christmas Platter) // $118

I was thrown aback when they served the Christmas platter onto our table. It was gigantic and super intimidating! But isn’t Christmas all about sharing? I believe the portion is good for about 6-7 people. It includes, oven roasted pork roulade, braised veal shank, venison sausage, veal sausage and the ever popular Brotzeit’s signature Crispy Oven Roasted Pork Knuckle. This is definitely the dish for meat-lovers. My stomach was already bursting and we barely had half of the platter. It was insane!

Frisch Gebackene Waffeln Mit Walnusseis (Choco Drizzled Waffles) // $16

The waffle was a tad dry for me but I believe some people will like it. I was more attracted to the walnut ice cream because it was rich and creamy. It definitely went well with the drizzled plum sauce on top of it. Some people may find the ice cream very sweet but I thought it was alright. Perhaps because I have a really strong sweet tooth! There's also in-house ginger biscuits for you to go with the waffle and ice cream.

Heisser Gluehwein // $12

A drink that the German always have for Christmas! I really liked it and the colour of the drink really reminds me of Christmas. It was smooth and refreshing. The sugar coating at the side of the cup was really smart because it enhanced the flavour of the mulled wine! Cheers to a great Christmas!

Mango-flavoured Beer!

Thank you Brotzeit and Foodcult Comms for the kind invitation!

Nearest Mrt Station: Somerset

Location: 313@Somerset 313 Orchard Road #01-27 Singapore 238895

What To Order: Christmas Platter

Restaurant Ratings: 4/5

Food Ratings: 7.5/10

Written by: Yong Wei Kai (Follow me on Instagram @yongweikai or @sgcafehopping)

The Armoury Singapore...

With only 5 months in the industry, the Armoury Singapore has already made a name for itself. Featured as one of the must visit bar places in Singapore by several online platforms, the Armoury is now open everyday with a brand new menu.

Located in the new South Beach Quarters, the Armoury Singapore is a modern and rustic restaurant/bar that serves an extensive range of carefully-curated European-Asian cuisine. It’s dark and mysterious interior is a stark contrast to the more rigid and colonial setting of the South Beach Quarters building. The nice ambience thus makes it the perfect place to drink and chill at night.

The first thing you would want to see when you open your eyes – A table full of delicious food for you to feast on, featuring Armoury’s Ume Soba, Miso Salmon, Ricotta Hotcake, Berry Ricotta Hotcake and Choya Jelly. Not only were the spread sensational to the eyes, it also brought phenomenal pleasure to my taste buds. In short, I had an incredible dining experience at the Armoury. My Saturday was definitely well-spent!

Berry Ricotta Hotcake // $19

I am always sceptical when it comes to Berry Ricotta Hotcake. The ones that I’ve tried (probably 4-5 in different cafés) were not up to my expectation or should I say it was not as tasty as what it appears to be. They were either too jelat (few bites and I’m already sick of it) or too sweet and floury. The Armoury’s Berry Ricotta Hotcake was nothing short of amazing. It was, not exaggerating, very addictive and we couldn’t stop feeding ourselves with the hotcake. The hotcake was soft and fluffy, and it goes extremely well with the berries and nut drizzled on top and around the cake. Also, the yuzu gel and cream cheese enhanced the flavour of overall dish. Not jelat at all and it’s definitely good for sharing!

Ricotta Hotcake // $18

A different flavoured hotcake but still equally good as the previous one. This hotcake is more complicated and has an outlandish taste (but in a good way). The taste was magically interesting in the sense that it was sometimes sweet and sometimes bitter. I took quite long to figure it out and I was guessing it could be because of the poached bear. The sweet-bitter flavour stands out the most for me and it’s also one of the reason why I love this dish. The only thing I thought could be further improve would probably be the coconut ice cream. If the flavour was stronger, it would have been the perfect dish to tackle the scorching hot afternoon. Overall, I would still highly recommend you to try this!

Pork Belly Confit // $14.50

I was very impressed with this dish. Very creative and the combination works perfectly. The pork belly was heavy and salty but it was balanced by the crunchiness and sweetness of the watermelon. The flavour was bursting in my mouth when I was chewing the food. The hazelnuts added an extra crisp to the whole dish!

Ume Soba // $20

Another interesting Asian-fusion dish that caught our attention. I’m not a huge fan of soba (I don’t know why – probably hate the texture of the noodles) but I was more than willing to finish half a bowl of this soba. The soba wasn’t too sticky but it was relatively springy which explains why the texture of the noodles were so good. My favourite has to go to the broth that was served in a tea pot. You have to pour it into the soba! The broth was rich and flavourful, and it definitely brought out the flavour of the soba. The meat was also not too bad, very tender.

Miso Salmon // $24

I loved the miso salmon! The skin was very crispy and you can definitely hear the crackling sound when you bite the skin. On the other hand, the salmon was so soft and tender. The meat almost melts in my mouth and the flavour was so on point. I think the salmon was prepared medium so as to achieve the soft and melty-ness texture. The crisp biscuits on top of the salmon was very addictive and it was a good compliment to the soft miso salmon. A must-try!

Choya Jelly // $14

This was the perfect dessert to end the meal. The yuzu sorbet was very refreshing, woke me up instantly when a small scoop of it was popped into my mouth. Also, it complements the berry flavoured jelly at the bottom very well.

Thank you Vallence and the Armoury Singapore for the amazing spread as well as the great hospitality. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed my Saturday so much!

Nearest Mrt Station: Esplanade

Location: 36 Beach Road, South Beach Quarters

What To Order: Hotcake, Salmon and Soba

Restaurant/Bar Rating: 4/5

Food Ratings: 8.5/10

Written by: Yong Wei Kai (Follow me on Instagram @yongweikai and @sgcafehopping)