Of Waffles, Pancakes and All Sorts of Toasts

Although the pancakes don’t look as thick and fluffy as before, there is no lack in fragrance and deliciousness. The sauce is plentiful in blueberries and has a nicely balanced sweetness.
Still a winner in my book and deserving belly space for sure.

G I F T
Since quite a few of you asked, yes, you CAN order @spagosingapore’s NEW Lemon Meringue Pie too! It’s only $65 (before GST) for the whole thing and it is worth every damn cent. Not only because of its huge size but for its fabulous scrumptiousness.
The luscious lemon curd in there isn’t some meek thing but so brightly zingy it effortlessly holds its own against the cumulus cloud of meringue on top (I also approve of the meringue’s modulated sweetness). Cradling these elements is a crispy, flaky pastry base that’s rich and buttery.
Besides myself, the family members and friends I cut to share the pie with, also couldn’t stop raving how marvelous it is.

Thanks again Chef Greg and Team Spago for sending me this as part of your care package. It cheered me up brilliantly 🤗💖

This is the best dessert crepe in Singapore for me right now.
Delicate, soft and slightly cushiony to the bite, the warm crepe tastes absolutely divine with the pat of salted Bordier Butter and lashings of burnt caramel sauce. Speaking of the caramel, I found out that it is made from scratch in-house. Head Chef Clarence Tan and his team deliberately cook the liquid to the point where it turns a deep mahogany in colour and developes a smoky aroma coupled with a “burnt” taste. A couple of seconds more would mean its ruin. But wow, what a sexy, sexy thing it is.

I ordered the “Salami and Potatoes” Galette on my second visit and found it is as immaculately made and tasty as the “Off The Bone” Galette ($16++) I had during their soft opening.
I do feel this is a little more substantial though because it has small cubes of roasted Russet and Red Pontiac potatoes as a filling. Besides that, there is Brie cheese and a soft-cooked egg too. I appreciate how the slices of salami are lightly fried before they are arranged on top of the folded Galette to be served. For sure they are a little more delicious warm.

Presentation of this item is eye-catching but its taste is what made my dining companion Caecilia and I immediately vow to return ASAP.
The crêpe itself is freshly made upon order, so it is warm and soft. Within the cut-up rolled pieces of the crêpe is gooey melted Camembert - it is quite a strong cheese so if you aren’t already a fan, this might not be the right choice for you. We, however, are. And our opinion is that this tastes wonderful, especially with the drizzle of honey for a delicious blend of salty and sweet. The accompanying fig jam is also really good. We were told it’s specially made for Gather by the owners’ friends in Australia. You can also pick up a jar if you like it that much as they retail it right there too.

H O S T E D
Antoinette has just opened an outlet in Millenia Walk. This much-loved made-in-Singapore brand by Chef Pang Kok Keong is bound to be welcomed with open arms by folks working in the surrounding offices and living in the area.
Launching on 1st Oct is the Breakfast Menu (available on weekdays, 8am to 11am) that offers freshly baked Butter Croissant and Pain au Chocolat ($3.50 each), a hearty Classic Breakfast plate ($12), Scrambled Eggs with sausage mushroom gravy and a Smoked Salmon with poached egg (the latter two have other trimmings too making them very worth it for $10).
If you want to grab and go, the six options in the “Le Menu Sandwich” (available from 8am to 5pm on weekdays), has different combos of breads (all made in-house) and proteins you can pick from. A big hit with us was the Egg Muffin ($5), Chef Pang’s take on a popular fast food breakfast item. His Chicken Foccacia ($8) which has sous vide chicken breast, cheddar cheese, pesto butter and lettuce between the Italian bread is another solid choice. My personal fave though was the Ondeh Ondeh Kaya Toast ($6) where light-as-air pandan kaya, gula melaka and cold French butter make magic with crunchy Italian ciabatta.
The Millenia Walk outlet of Antoinette is also the only one with a Crepe Menu now. They do sweet and savoury versions of it built on a base of the very thin classic French-style buckwheat pancake. Meat-lovers should opt for the Sierra ($18) as it comes with Serrano ham. Fans of smoked salmon should try the Nordic ($18) while those whose palate favour Asian flavours will likely find the Okonomiyaki-inspired Tokyo Crepe ($18) enjoyable.
If you love Soufflé Pancakes, you need to order the NEW Earl Grey Bubble Tea ($14) pronto. It’s a lot like eating clouds perfumed with the bergamot oil scented tea coupled with QQ pearls. “Heavenly” is probably the best word to describe this creation.

One of the specials at this establishment recommended to me by Chef Jean George, is the French Toast. It‘s huge, eggy and as seen in my video, very pillowy with an ultra soft middle and a deep golden-brown caramelised exterior. The accompaniments to this superior form of French Toast are a jug of real maple syrup and a berry jam.
I suggest ordering one to share if there are two of you because you’ll want to save space to enjoy Spadelle’s freshly-made bagels (you can watch the process as it’s done right on the premises) and house-cured fish.

Braved the Singapore Grand Prix’s re-routed traffic for a quick brunch at Clinton St. Baking Compamy this morning.
Shown above is my pre-dig in ritual: Cut through the stack of pancakes then pour on the maple butter. I feel this method creates more highly-absorbent surface area for that delicious thick syrup to become one with the fluffiness. Can’t overdo it though because then the sweetness level can be a little excessive.

H O S T E D T A S T I N G
This turned out to be my second favourite of the four new items launched at Ninja Bowl that we got to try.
I do like a good French toast and theirs was thick, fluffy and sufficiently fragrant. Served with it were a few neat little rolls of delectable maple-glazed pork belly that tasted just like sweet bacon. The interesting thing was these two items which in my opinion, already form a dish by themselves, also came with a round piece of burrata cheese (another love of mine), fresh rocket leaves, ”momo” tomatoes and pomegranate. Honestly, it felt like I was enjoying two dishes in one. And that’s definitely something to be happy about 😄

The Cold Pantry's iconic tower of darkness has been the subject of many Instagram posts.
Interestingly, I found the charcoal vanilla soft serve to have a hint of root beer surface at the end of each mouthful, not unlike a reckless passenger who dashes into the train just before the doors close. Not sure if that's just my overactive imagination at work 😜
Pairing very well with it was the waffle - it's the airily light and crunchy kind that I like.

This is an absolute win!
Because they use sliced banana bread to make the French toast, the texture is a little heavier but oh boy, does it smell great!
Piped on top is a generous amount of fluffy mascarpone that's been showered with freeze-dried raspberries and a bit of thyme - what a brilliant match. Ditto the rich coffee custard served on the side.
If you can't live without ice-cream, there's the option to add a scoop of their signature flavor, a collaborative effort between VXX Cooperative and Apiary, for just $4.

The blueberry pancakes have always been my go-to. But today, TODAY, after what seemed like forever, I finally got around to eating the chocolate version. And boy were they good!
Besides the chunks of dark chocolate on top, the freshly-made pancakes were layered with the same chocolate in between. The heat from those fluffy beauties softened the chocolate pieces into a goopy thing that's ideal for spreading.
Out of habit, I had it with the iconic maple butter of Clinton St. Baking Company but my nephew resolutely stuck to having the pancakes on their own. He was adamant they're yummy as they are. I guess I can't argue with that.