After You Cafe: Decadent

Famed for it's Shibuya honey toast, After You is almost a must-visit for any tourist. From what I heard from my Thai friend, After You was opened by a Thai girl who was very passionate about baking. That's a success story.

After You is almost always crowded, and we had to wait for about 10-15mins for a table even though it was 8-9pm and we picked the branch at Siam Paragon. The original branch attracts the most tourists though, but the location itself is pretty inconvenient. Glad to have been told that there was one at Siam Paragon because we gave up the long trip to the original branch earlier on in the day.

I'm not really a huge fan of the shibuya honey toast though. I thought it was too sweet for my liking. The toast was salted with butter and sprinkled with sugar. It was slightly overwhelming. I had honey toast when I was in LA (trust me, it is sold in many Asian cafes and restaurants). They served larger servings of ice cream with just honey butter toast. The extra sugar was unnecessary. I am also not a fan of whipped cream. But these are all just personal preferences.

Shibuya Honey Toast

The chocolate mud pie was decadent. It was rich and heavenly, although I wouldn't recommend finishing all that by yourself. Share it so that it wouldn't be too overwhelming due to its portion and thick chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Mud Brownie

The earl grey squash jelly tea tasted like aiyu jelly in sweetened earl grey tea. Not really my thing because I prefer my tea pure without adding anything else. On the other hand, they named their iced chocolate 'the world's best iced chocolate' which I thought was a mistake. I dont know what kind of iced chocolate are available in Thailand, but to raise customers' expectations by claiming that it is the best is just a huge mistake. Godiva and even McCafe do iced chocolate better. But of course, some of you would refute that McCafe does not serve "real" iced chocolate (Habitat Cafe claims that the streaks of chocolate on the sides of the glass are indicative of a "real" iced chocolate). Fair enough, but I've even had thick hot chocolate in Europe where hot chocolate resembles pure melted chocolate. 

So what is the best hot chocolate in the world? Definitely not at After You. It was slightly bland as well, and I would have appreciated a strong dark chocolate taste that flows smoothly. 

Earl grey squash jelly tea & the world's best iced chocolate

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Kei Kee Dessert: Famous B仔涼粉 (B-zai Leung Fun)

Kei Kee Dessert is a famous chinese dessert spot in Yuen Long, Hong Kong. They are known for their fresh fruits, cheap prices and massive portions The giant bowl below only costs about HKD$75. It's really cheap for the massive bowl of fruits and grass jelly. We couldn't finish it despite splitting it among 5 of us (after dinner of course).

They also serve a large variety of other fruit bowls, such as with ice cream or shaved ice. It is also less inaccessible these days after opening MTR stations in Yuen Long. 

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Audrey Cafe: Dainty and Pretty

Thailand is known for its cheap and good food among Singaporeans, and I'm not going to debate that. It's like food heaven there especially since they serve delicious food at half the price of what it would be in Singapore. I was literally eating nonstop, but thank god Bangkok has such poor transportation systems that I was walking a lot everyday as well.

One of the cafes that I fell in love with is Audrey. They have a few branches around, and I've been to the one at Siam Center and EmQuartier. Both have different designs although their concepts are similar. I didn't expect myself to fall in love with it because this place made it to my to-visit list because of its thai tea crepe cake. It pays to research on the place that you are visiting to maximize your time there! 

Store front and menus

Cafe interior

Cafe interior

Their thai tea crepe cake was delicious, and it wasn't too sweet like the average thai tea drink that you can get in Thailand. It wasn't really layers of thin crepes like those of Lady M, but it still has a lot of thin layers of cake and cream. Delicious nevertheless.

Thai Tea Crepe Cake (110 baht)

Chanced upon another branch when we were exploring EmQuartier (and yes I actually recommend exploring some of the very unique and grand shopping malls in Bangkok). We were walking in circles at the Helix (spiral section of the mall where many food establishments were) and we got tired of hiking up. Decided to try their milo crepe cake and mango rosy. Both are delicious.

Milo Crepe Cake (120 baht)

I think their milo crepe cake was better than their thai tea crepe cake. But maybe I'm just biased because I love milo and chocolate, and the crepe cake just gave me both, with heaps of milo powder and milo chocolate chunks. So decadent. However, it was pretty sweet so those who prefer something more lightweight this is not for you.

We were prompted to order the mango rosy because of it's pretty picture on the menu. I was not disappointed. Their sticky rice was interesting as well, with a floral aroma and taste. However, there could have been more mango.

Mango Rosy

coconut panna cotta with fresh mango served with sweet sticky rice, flavored with authentic thai aromatic candle

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Oblong: Unique, Cheap, Photogenic Waffles

Waffles and ice cream is like a cult among youngsters in Singapore. Some of them aren't great, but I think Oblong is a hidden gem. They serve waffles of different flavours, such as red velvet with cream cheese, buttermilk, charcoal, matcha with azuki red beans etc. They also make their own ice cream which is a huge plus because they have many unique flavours to choose from.

The only downside is that they seem to always hire these annoying young barristers who cannot be more annoyed to serve customers. But whatever I just want my waffle with coffee for SGD$10 just 3 bus stops away from home. It is such a good deal.

Red Velvet Waffles with Cream Cheese Filling, and Strawberry Ice Cream

Buttermilk Waffles with Cookies and Cream

Red Velvet Waffles with Cream Cheese Filling, with Lemon Pie Ice Cream and Mocha

Charcoal Waffles with Lemon Curd Filling, and Banana for Nutella ice cream

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Showcase by Bread n Butter: Marriage between fashion and tea

Showcase is a cafe established by Bread n Butter, a fashion clothing brand. It is opened alongside a Bread n Butter outlet, which enables shoppers to relax and enjoy a tea set in the afternoon. Nevertheless, they serve delicious crepes and tea sets. Everything about it is also extremely pleasing to the eye. Talk about being fashionable.

Signature bread n butter fondant pudding with vanilla ice cream

Berry berry crepe

Their desserts were absolutely delicious, and I will definitely be back at PMQ to shop as well. Some of the shops here are reserved for local designers, which is why this place is extremely hipster. There are also some high-end restaurants for fine dining (I think there are 2) with killer interior designs. I managed to get a tour of one of the restaurants because my mum's friend made a reservation for the next day anyway. It was overwhelmingly classy and chic, and I really can't describe its unique ambiance.

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Lady M: Worst Service Ever

Visited Lady M cafe at Orchard Central twice. The first time I was there was probably when they just opened, and hired sufficient well-trained staff to ensure that customers were attended to albeit the long waiting time for a table and for food to be served. Nevertheless, I wasn't too angry about the 40min wait. 

But things went downhill quickly when I returned again 2 weeks later on 26 July 2015. There was little waiting time for a table, but their service crew were just absolutely horrible. Because there was a large group of 7 before us, and we saw several tables for 2 or 3 available, we asked one of the waitresses if we could be seated first. She was reluctant to attend to us, asking us to sit at the long table near the counter instead, but agreed to our request anyway. 

Cake counter for takeaways

Long table near the entrance on level 2

So everything that could go wrong in a restaurant went wrong at Lady M Orchard Central. We were seated at the table by the waitress who was unhappy to serve customers. But she did not hand us any menu, and no other service crew member took note of us. I'm not asking for great service nor was I expecting tired service crews to keep smiling, but I hoped that service crews at F&B establishments realise that customers expect to be served if they were seated.

So yes we ended up sitting there for nearly 10minutes watching other service crews getting scolded by other customers for long waiting times for their food to be delivered and whatnot. I thought we were very reasonable people to give up waiting to be serviced and decided to self service by getting our cake from the counter upstairs. However, my boyfriend had lined up for 10mins only to be told that they would not sell us the cake because the counter only catered for takeaways. Well, I didn't want to do that either but your service crew was just not even trying to handle the situation. 

He returned and we managed to get a waiter's attention thereafter and placed our order. I was kind of irked by his incompetence because it took him 3mins to register our order while he left us staring at him in awkward silence as he stared at his phone. Well yes I understand that technology probably replaced manual orders but that was pretty rude and awkward. It just sounded plain stupid to ask us to repeat our order again after the awkward silence when I only asked for 1 item. Did you even try?

We ended up waiting for another 10mins hoping that a slice of green tea mille crepe will be delivered quickly to us. But we were disappointed once again. In that 10mins, we saw that same waiter getting scolded by other patrons, and him apologising without knowing how to handle the situation. It just drove me nuts being in Lady M that day.

I guess I ran out of patience and got the unwelcoming waitress who sat us down to cancel our order. My boyfriend still maintained his composure and nicely requested for our order to be cancelled. I expected some sort of apology or some sense of regret/remorse from her but I was greeted with her poor attitude instead. All she said was "cancel order ah?" with an icy rude tone and glaring eyes. Her rude attitude was outrageous. She just turned around and walked off as well. Like dude, you know you didn't have to take up that job if you didn't want to. I'm never returning to the branch at Orchard Central if I see that she is still working there. 

The contrast in service and coordination from the 2 visits was too much for me to handle. What happened to the pleasant and efficient service crew from the opening weeks?

Salmon and avocado panini, with chips and coselaw

Checkers cake ($9)

Green Tea Mille Crepe Cake

with Earl Grey Tea ($5)

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Creamier: Affordable Belgian Waffles and Ice Cream

I don't think this place needs anymore introduction, but I guess this post isn't for the Singaporeans. The waffles served here are the best in Singapore in my opinion. It is crispy yet fluffy, unlike other waffles which are mostly just hard or fluffy. The waffles served here are also tasty on its own, unlike many ice cream waffles which are tasteless if not for the ice cream on top.

The hype about this place was actually for its cheap and delicious waffles. However, as they grew exponentially in popularity, the prices have gone up as well. Perhaps not the most affordable, but definitely worth the wait and the money.

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Isaan Station: Best Thai food in downtown LA

It's almost impossible to find Singaporean food when you're out of Singapore. Or at least Singaporean food that actually tastes like Singaporean food. There used to be a Papparich branch in Ktown, but it moved to the San Gabriel's area (where a lot of awesome and authentic Chinese food can be found).

I was brought here by my fellow Singaporeans who raved about this restaurant. I guess everyone had insatiable cravings for Southeast Asian food and the spice that we are used to. Jalepenos. sriracha chili sauce and hot sauce isn't really our thing. This restaurant also served authentic Thai food from the Isaan area, which is where all the spicy dishes originate from. You could even place your order in Thai (which is what one of my friends did). 

Menu

So we ended up ordering Cha Yen (Thai tea), Tom Kha (chicken coconut soup), Kor Mu Yang (grilled pork neck), Crying Tiger (grilled beef) and sticky rice. We ended off with honey toast, which their version of the Shibuya thick honey toast. We ended up paying USD$20 per person after splitting it 4 ways, inclusive of tax and tip.

Thai Tea ($2.50) and Sticky Rice ($1.50)

After coming here, I dare say that many Thai restaurants in Singapore do not serve authentic Thai food. Its a shame because we are so much nearer Thailand than Los Angeles is. Same for Korean food. Anyway, I fell in love with their grilled pork neck. It is one of the most amazing dishes ever, and it has a similar effect on me as how char siew makes me crave for it all the time. I think the pork neck was grilled with honey, and it was extremely tender. Their grilled beef was not as amazing as their grilled pork neck, but it was tender and it was pretty good as well. The tom kha was flavourful and there was also a generous amount of ingredients unlike some places in Singapore.

Tom Kha and Kor Mu Yang

We ended the meal with the honey toast, which came with 2 huge scoops of ice cream. The thick toast was fluffy and not to sweet. However, it was impossible to finish even though we shared among 4 people. Or maybe we were just really full from our meal.

Honey Toast

I returned again shortly after with my other friends before spring break. This time, we ordered Kor Mu Yang, Tom Yum soup, pad thai and sticky rice.

This place is also very interesting, because they offer spicy levels on a scale of 1 to 10 for their soups. We decided to try level 6 because my other Singaporean friends said they couldn't handle level 7. It was a lot spicier than any tom yum soup that I had in Singapore. However, the other table which were all from Hong Kong were not asked to choose their level of spiciness, and their soup wasn't as strong. Not sure if they bother asking all their customers. Perhaps they would only ask if people sound or looked like they were used to taking spicy food (from their appearance and accents).

Pad Thai, Tom Yum soup and Kor Mu Yang

I returned here on another occasion for desserts after having kbbq at 8 Korean BBQ. The Taiwanese love coming here for their iced grass jelly. My friend would always want to come here to get it.

Mango Sticky Rice

The iced grass jelly was slightly underwhelming because I was expecting it to taste a bit more like chendol. However, it was just ice, grass jelly and brown sugar. But it was still pretty good. Their mango sticky rice was great and they do it better than a lot of places in Singapore.

Iced Grass Jelly

While I would consider Isaan Station to be the best Thai food place in Los Angeles, some people would argue that this other restaurant with a red signboard near BCD Tofu House is the best. I have never tried it because I've not heard anyone rave about it in USC, but I did see a crazy long line when I passed by it once. However, it could be just really popular among their Americans. There is also a Thai Town near Hollywood, and some of my Thai friends have said that the best Thai food can be found there. If you are able to travel all the way out, you can ask the Thais for the name of the restaurant that they believe has the best Thai food in LA. 

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Honey Mee: Honeycomb Milk Soft Serve

Chanced upon this when I was done with dinner at BCD one day. My friend said that this was highly raved in Los Angeles, and so I decided to get one to try. I believe this was about USD$4.50. This is just a small stall in front of Boiling Crab. It resembled an old school ticket both for movies that is often depicted in cartoons.

Milk soft serve with honeycomb

This thing was really sweet, although I think the one with honey drizzled is even sweeter. Anyway, I don't know if I got it wrong, or that it is almost impossible to eat the honeycomb without taking bits of plastic-like things. They weren't exactly chewy so I had to take them out after chewing the honey away. Nevertheless, the milk soft serve was really good. It was also interesting to try the honeycomb. It was a pretty good way to end the night. It was satisfying even though this small cup was shared between 2 people.

I know there are similar stores in Singapore like Honey Creme and all that sort of things, and I'm looking forward to trying them here. Hopefully things are cheaper in Singapore, while the quality remains the same.

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Sprinkles

I never knew that cupcakes could be so expensive until I saw the price of Sprinkles cupcakes in Los Angeles. But then again, cupcakes from other famed establishments such as Georgetown cupcakes are priced similarly. Singaporeans are probably familiar with Twelve Cupcakes, with their price at SGD$3-$3.50 per cupcake. It is probably considered pretty exorbitant although I guess the packaging is pretty and so youngsters will pay for it. Anyway, Sprinkles cupcakes are USD$3.75 each without tax. That is nearly twice a price of a red velvet from Twelve Cupcakes...

Sprinkles Cupcakes at Fig@7th near USC

The first ever Sprinkles that I had was thanks to my roommate who just entered a sorority and was gifted a dozen of these cupcakes by her Big. I thought the price was justified initially based on the size of the cupcake, but I guess I had second thoughts about it after cutting it open.

Black and White

Belgian dark chocolate cake with creamy vanilla frosting

I guess most of the mass was actually frosting instead of cupcake. I was kind of horrified at first, and it just reinforced the American stereotype because of all that unnecessary sugar. Even their red velvet cakes here have cream cheese frosting most of the time instead of the creamy and smooth yellow cream that we are used to. I would say I prefer our take on cream cheese because it has a stronger cheese taste as well.

Anyway, I was fortunate enough to have also tried Sprinkles ice cream for free at an end of year event with WBB. The red velvet ice cream was delicious, although it tasted like frosting that was turned into ice cream with some red velvet cake. However, I don't think I've seen ice cream being sold at The Grove nor at Fig@7th. I think the only place which I have seen Sprinkles ice cream being sold was at Glendale, around the Americana, which also had Cupcake ATM.

Red Velvet Sprinkles ice cream

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