Origin + Bloom (Singapore, SINGAPORE) ★★★☆☆

I'm planning to spend the entire afternoon at Jewel but not before I indulge myself in a sweet breakfast at the Marina Bay Sands first. Despite visiting Singapore every year since my little nugget was borned, I have never entered the lobby of the skyscraping hotel once. Yes, I have visited the shoppes downstairs a number of times, even walked past the passage from Garden By the Bay through the hotel's Sky Garden but never once did I have the temptation to enter the hotel. This was the perfect chance to finally do it as I have about an hour to burn before taking off to Changi International Airport.  



I was running around the hotel looking for Sweet Spot, the hotel deli and cake shop but only to find out that it's been re-launched as Origin + Bloom, a European-inspired patisserie. Let's see what they've got for me for breakfast here.

Executive Pastry Chef Antonio Benites cut his teeth at Pierre Hermé Paris and most recently Joël Robuchon Sentosa so expectation was sky high to say the least.



Mango (mango shaped mousse cake on the left) and Piedmont Hazelnut Praline Macaé Chocolate Bar are some of the chef's most inspiring creations.



This is my idea of a perfect breakfast, highlighted by an elegant cheesecake and a cup of pandan earl grey tea (no sign of any pandan flavor though).



Pistachio madeleine (SGD$3.00) - This came with a pistachio icing and some crushed pistachio for some extra bite.



It certainly wasn't bad (but not as pillowy as I expect). The raspberry jam in the middle did well to offset the sweetness from the pistachio. 



Cheesecake (SGD$9.00) - But the focal point of my "breakfast" was of course their pastry. It was a tough call not to pick their signature mango mousse cake but I was looking for something cheesy this morning. 



Lime cheese mousse with acai jelly filling. They also threw in some silver foil on top for good measures. This was very very light for a cheesecake. In fact, it tasted more like a lemon mousse cake than a cheesecake to me. The Brittany biscuit base was a bit weak as well. Yeah, for a patisserie with such pedigree, I certainly expected a bit more.

I had a brief chat with my neighbours who are likely visiting from Europe judging by their accent. They said they came all the way here for "breakfast" this morning because they've heard all the good things about the chef and his time with the "picasso of pastry". They even thought this was supposed to be THE best pastry shop in Singapore which I have my doubts about. But I didn't want to blow my cover as a self-professed foodie so I just politely nodded in agreement and continued with my caffeine fix.





Food Rating: 6.2/10
Price: $$$
Address: G/F Marina Bay Sands, Tower 3 Lobby Hotel,10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore
Closest Metro Station: Bayfront
Tel: +65 6688-8588
Website: www.marinabaysands.com/restaurants/origin-and-bloom.html
Opening Hours: 7:00am - 10:00pm daily

Keong Saik Bakery 恭食烘焙坊 (Singapore, SINGAPORE) ★★★☆☆

Located in the heart of Chinatown, Keong Saik Road is enjoying quite an exciting run of late thanks to its award-winning bars and modern eateries. To soak in the buzzing atmosphere of its striving food scene, I decided to arrive a little early for my dinner at Burnt Ends.

Keong Saik Bakery (恭食烘焙坊) was the first shop I dropped by when I arrived at this famous eat street in Singapore.

Every Asian city seems to have at least one of these East-meets-West or Traditional-Meets-Modern bakery cum dessert cafe. For Singapore, it's Keong Saik Bakery.

A retro style cafe with nostalgic vibes highlighted by all these wooden tables, chairs and stools.

Sor Hei (SGD$4.0) is Keong Saik's signature pastry (left), a black and white pastry with chocolate chips nestled within multiple layers of pastries almost like a croissant.



Another signature item here is their cruffin, a hybrid of muffin and croissant. They come in different flavors including milo, matcha, burnt cheese and matcha burnt cheese.



Burnt cheese looked like a very interesting choice but I decided to go with the one with the best Singaporean twist, Milo.



For a cruffin to be considered tasty, it should have a crispy, flaky exterior of a croissant and the doughy centre of a muffin at the same time.



And this is where Keong Saik Bakery's Milo Cruffin (SGD$4.50) failed to impress. Yes, the crust was flaky and crispy enough, reminiscent of a delicious croissant but the centre was a little hollow. I do like the runny ganache made with Milo Kosong Gao though.

I thought the idea was great but the execution was far from perfect. That doesn't mean I won't be back for more (kaya toast and burnt cheesecake) on my next trip though.

Food Rating: 5.9/10
Price: $$$
Address: 41 Keong Saik Road, Singapore
Closest Metro Station: Outram Park / Chinatown
Tel: +65 6909-3199
Website: keongsaikbakery.oddle.me
Opening Hours: 7:30am - 5:00pm (Mon), 7:30am - 8:00pm (Tue - Fri), 8:00am - 8:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Burnt Ends (Singapore, SINGAPORE) ★★★★☆

While Odette is the restaurant in Singapore grabbing all the headlines in 2019, Burnt Ends is quietly enjoying another strong year. With yet another great showing at the Asia Best 50 Restaurants (10th) and The World's Best 50 Restaurants (59th) Award ceremony, the modern Australian barbecue restaurant picked up exactly where it left off last year. That's really bad news for us as we continue to find it frustrating to get ourselves a table at this incredibly popular restaurant in Chinatown.

But last week must have been my luckiest one for years. I managed to secure tables at two of the most coveted restaurants in Singapore, Odette and Burnt Ends. It's almost like winning the lottery. All I needed to do next was to book my flight and off I go on this trip.



Burnt Ends is located just steps from Keong Saik Road, one of Singapore's top eat streets. I decided to come early to check out a number of places including Keong Saik Bakery (恭食烘焙坊) before my highly anticipated dinner.



It's amazing what people would do for good food. Check out these outdoor seats facing Teck Lim Road. Not exactly the most comfortable places to be sitting but the chance to experience chef-owner Dave Pynt's grilled meat was way too much to pass up.



The daily menu was a short and sharp one. Only 6 snacks, 6 starters, 3 mains, 3 side dishes and 3 desserts to choose from. Disappointingly, no langoustine (served with umami-rich kombu beurre blanc) from Chef Pynt’s native Western Australia today. That one stinks a little bit.



I will be camped here against the wall tonight with my back towards the open kitchen.



Finally, Chef Pynt shows up where he belongs, getting himself ready and directing traffic in the kitchen.



Smoked quail egg and caviar (SGD$15.00) - Lovely smoky flavor, probably from the hay-smoke. The caviar was surprisingly a non-factor here without the burst of flavors.



Eggplant and miso (SGD$12.00) - The perfectly thin and crispy batter was so irresistible.



With my first bite, it felt a bit like having deep-fried zucchini flower (but I later found out it was way better!). The eggplant was soft on the outside coated with a nice crispy crust but very juicy and moist inside. The miso aioli tasted like it's been smoked giving the eggplant some beautiful smoky flavor and there's a bit of jalapeño in there too for some extra heat. Likely my favorite dish of the night.



Beef marmalade and house pickles (SGD$14.00) - The chef's signature snack featuring a beef marmalade that has been slow-cooked for 16 hours. It was served on a sourdough toast with house pickles and fresh chives on top.



The minced beef was sweet and savory at the same time. Very nice.



Burnt Ends' Sanger (SGD$20.00) - I have heard a lot of great things about the chef's version of a pulled pork burger. In fact, it's so popular that I think it's available on UberEATS now.



There were pulled pork shoulder, cole slaw and chipotle aioli sandwiched between the super buttery brioche buns. It's seriously tasty and very addictive. A very filling dish that is probably better to be enjoyed with someone (I was so full after taking down the whole thing on my own).



Beef tenderloin, burnt onion and bone marrow (SDG$56.00) - My main course was the chef's grilled beef tenderloin served with burnt onion, bone marrow and a kale salad on the side. I ordered exactly 200 grams of meat (SGD$28.00 per 100g) and turned out it's a lot for a solo diner!



What tied everything together was the homemade gravy made with steak jus, red wine reduction, onion purée and of course, the bone marrow.



My server recommended medium rare and it's right on the money with a nice charred exterior. This was so tender and juicy.



At this point, I was way over my limit so as much as I wanted to take on the chef's spiced pumpkin pie, I decided to settle the bill instead.

I have been waiting for this meal for more than 2 years now so it was nice to get it out of the way. The chef's signature grilled meat was certainly as good as advertised but for someone like me who's not really a meat lover, the miso eggplant and Burnt Ends' Sanger showed up as surprisingly tastier options.



Food Rating: 7.2/10
Price: $$$$
Address:  20 Teck Lim Road, Singapore
Closest Metro Station: Outram Park / Chinatown
Tel: +65 6224-3933
Website: burntends.com.sg
S. Pellegrino Asia's 50 Best Restaurants: 10th (2019)
S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants: 59th (2019)
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:00pm (Fri - Sat), 6:00pm - 12:00am (Tue - Sat)

Pantler (Singapore, SINGAPORE) ★★★★☆

Pantler has been on my to-do list for quite a while. The popular bakery cafe in Chinatown is famous for their straight-out-of-the-oven viennoiserie, gourmet sandwiches and more. 

But I'm here mainly for their Japanese influenced pastries.

Head Chef Tomoharu Morita who used to be part of the pastry team at Grand Hyatt Tokyo, has brought their signature cake The Yatsura (SGD$8.50) along to Singapore.

Other popular choices include their Cassis Mont Blanc and velvety vanilla mousse cake, Blush.

I have already made up my mind before my trip to Pantler that it's going to be The Yatsura for me today.

Like the Torta Pralina al Cioccolato I had at Dolcetto by Basilico yesterday, Yatsura is a chocolate hazelnut themed cake but what separates this from my dessert yesterday was the variety of texture.

This features a dark chocolate mousse, nicely complemented by a thin and crunchy layer of feuilletine and a hazelnut dacquoise base, finished off wonderfully with chocolate ganache. The flavors were surprisingly intense thanks to the various degrees of bitterness from the milk and dark chocolate. But it was the contrasting textures from the chocolate mousse, feuilletine and hazelnut dacquoise that really brought this dessert to a different level.

Food Rating: 6.6/10
Price: $$$
Address: 198 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore
Closest Metro Station: Telok Ayer
Tel: +65 6221-6223
Website: www.pantler.com.sg
Opening Hours: 8:30am - 7:30pm (Mon - Fri), 10:30am - 5:30pm (Sat)

Kura Patisserie (Singapore, SINGAPORE) ★★★★☆

After lunch, I took a long and deliberate walk around Robertson Walk before arriving in the middle of River Valley district. Despite the diligent work by my GPS, it still took me a while to locate The Herencia, a restoration project that saw the former Nan Chiau High School turned into a commercial premise.

 

I'm here solely because of Kura Patisserie, a well-hidden pastry shop and cafe situated in the former canteen.

 

I have heard a lot about Kura's decadently delicious pastries and wallet-friendly prices but seeing is believing.



They are currently sharing this premise with another tenant, In Bad Company who is offering a wide range of comfort food including salad, sandwich and pasta dishes to go with their coffee, craft beers and wines.



The Japanese inspired patisserie was almost full when I stepped through the doors but the crowd thinned out considerably after 4pm.

 

I was supposed to be here to take a few photos but I was like a kid seeing his favorite candies from the display counter.



Still full from my lunch at Corner House but I think I can squeeze in one of these, perhaps two.



Some of these pastries are already dressed in their Christmas outfits (Santa's hat was looking good there!).



White Forest (SGD$8.80) - William pear chutney with creamy pear mascarpone filling.



This was very delicate. Underneath the white chocolate ganache was a layer of creamy pear mascarpone which was light and airy. In fact, it was so light that I once thought it was white chocolate mousse.



The sweetness of the fresh William pear compote meshed so well with the creaminess of the mascarpone and there was the crispy sable on the bottom to provide some much-needed crunch. Thank goodness I was able to find this secret place.



Some of the prices have almost doubled since its soft opening but they're still rather reasonable, especially considering the high quality of these cakes.



Food Rating: 6.6/10
Price: $$$
Address: 46 Kim Yam Road, #01-07 The Herencia, Singapore
Closest Metro Station: Fort Canning
Tel: +65 9722-2996
Website: www.kura.sg
Opening Hours: 9:00am - 5:30pm (Mon), 9:00am - 6:30pm (Tue - Fri), 10:30am - 5:30pm (Sat - Sun)