The Christmas Season

I look forward very much to every festive delivery from TWG Tea as they are always a joy to receive. For Christmas 2021, the team has planned many wonderful treats, so gifting this season will be a cinch.
All the holiday feels are found in the enchanting Festive Music Box Tea Sets that chime merrily when open to reveal four mini tins of fine harvest teas and blends.
I was most bowled over by the Heritage Chocolate Gift Set which consists of 32 excellent tea-infused chocolate bonbons (I’d gobbled up 5 at this point of writing 😋😋). This would be a perfect gift for chocolate and tea lovers alike.
Gold-specked crimson is the colour of the Festive Macarons made with TWG’s Red Christmas Tea-infused chestnut purée, blood orange and chocolate ganache.
Gorgeous Log Cakes are also available in two flavours of Strawberry Pavlova and Chocolate Pear Log. I tried the former and enjoyed its finely-crafted, chantilly cream-bedecked scrumptiousness very much.

M E D I A T A S T I N G
I have long been a fan of Chef Damian’s uncompromising and robustly flavoured dishes. That and his encyclopedic knowledge in the culinary heritage of the Peranakans and Eurasians. So happy I got a good helping of both at the media tasting for Folklore’s Christmas Menu to be launched on 14th December.
The “White Debal” ($42++) was one of my two top dishes from that evening. It is essentially the popular Eurasian dish of “Curry Devil” but prepared with a white meat like chicken or turkey. I had a piece of thigh meat and it was cooked just right and tasted delicious. The highlight in this for me though had to be the housemade “achar”. Those pickled carrots, cucumber, whole garlic cloves and shallots gave the thick “rempah” punch and were so addictive to munch on.

M E D I A T A S T I N G
Ask anyone who has ever picked my brains to recommend a Peranakan restaurant and they will tell you my answer was “Folklore”. The reason being my palate has always found Chef Damian D’Silva’s cooking very agreeable.
At the media tasting of their Christmas Menu, we got to try a few new items as well as a couple from the past festive menu that‘ve been included due to popular demand.
One of the two dishes I enjoyed most was the “Eurasian Pork Vindaloo”. It has its roots in Goa, and is piquantly spicy and tangy thanks to the vinegar added in with the garlic, ginger, turmeric, dry chillies and brandy. Traditionally, the meat of choice is pork ribs but Chef Damian followed his grandfather’s recipe that calls for bone-in pork chop instead. I think it’s smart as it makes it really inviting for you to eat with your hands which of course, is always fun.

By the way, every dish on the Christmas Menu can be ordered for takeaway for $3 more and 5 working days’ notice period. So if you aren’t in the mood to cook or have a potluck event to attend, there’s Folklore to the rescue! 😄

Here's the only reindeer I've ever eaten. And my goodness, was it ever scrumptious! 😋
"Rudolphski" is actually a honey cake from The Patissier that's based on a traditional Russian recipe. It's formed by layers of honey sponge interspersed with caramel-flavoured frosting (a blend of sour cream and buttercream) upon a crispy caramel biscuit base. Roasted honey almond crust makes up the coat that "Rudolphski" wears, lending more texture to each bite.
As this delicious cake seemed more unusual compared to the other desserts on display at my uncle's Christmas lunch, it turned out to be a hit!
I am keeping my fingers crossed this won't just be a Christmas special. With Chinese New Year just a month away, I hope there might be a "Roosterski" from The Patissier to crow about as well 😆

C H R I S T M A S S P E C I A L
Michelin Bib Gourmand 2016 restaurant Peony Jade has once again, created specials for the festive season that're sure to be welcomed with open arms (and mouths).
I may not appreciate the pungent fruit all that much myself but the five durian-lovers I shared this "Organic Black Gold Mao Shan Wang Durian Log Cake" with, were full of praises for it.
They loved the abundance of premium durian filling rolled with the soft mochi sponge. And were pleased the snowy-looking dessert wasn't too sweet. Because it came straight from the chiller, it was nice and cold as well, which prompted one of them to comment it tasted just like an amazing ice-cream cake.

Do visit www.peonyjade.com to find out more on this 25cm long log cake that feeds 8 to 10 pax ($128 before tax), and their other Christmas delights.
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This afternoon, I explored new frontiers of taste with the "Milky Way", a new and very striking looking cake on Boufe's Christmas 2016 menu.
Designed to resemble a giant capsule, it tastes pleasantly light due to airy white chocolate yogurt mousse and honey génoise sponge cake being its key components. The wedge of calamansi jelly tucked within and crunchy chocolate sablé base deliver the excitement of a sour note and crunchiness respectively.

When Burpplers get together, lunch is hardly a simple affair. Tastemaker Justin Teo and I kicked off our 3-part lunch at Park Bench Deli with their Porchetta, a festive special and let me just say this: IT BLEW US AWAY.
We couldn't care less for politeness as we mutually proclaimed our adoration for it through mouthfuls of the fantastic sandwich. Packed between the slices of ciabatta were crazy-good crunchy pork crackling, melt-in-the-mouth pork belly, roasted garlic aioli, caramelised onion and arugula. Altogether, they weren't a mere party in the mouth but a 3-day festival of hedonism!

I N V I T E D T A S T I N G
This Christmas season, the already legendary pancakes of Clinton St. Baking Company come decked out in festive flavours of fragrant cinnamon Granny Smith apple slices, vanilla chantilly cream, candied walnuts and their one-and-only maple butter.
"Batter" keep a lookout for its launch which will be happening very soon.

I N V I T E D T A S T I N G
Don't mistake the exceedingly healthy ingredients of this Kale & Quinoa Salad ($19++) to be a bore on the tastebuds because it packed an extraordinary amount of flavour.
A beautifully nuanced lemon vinaigrette dressing was responsible for lifting the frilly kale and quinoa to taste nirvana, while sunflower seeds gave each mouthful of the salad an enjoyable crunch.
To my delight as well, the grilled chicken breast (add-on: $3++) revealed its tenderness and just-right seasoning upon the first bite.
This new dish will be available soon in December as part of Clinton St. Baking Co.'s festive menu.

Usually, I avoid turkey but I would gobble-gobble this "Hot Butter Ball" in a heartbeat.
The dryness I associate with turkey meat is vanquished via sous vide preparation. Also, the shredded turkey is mixed evenly with stuffing, brown butter emulsion and truffled chicken jus which makes the main filling incredibly moist and flavourful in a "hugs-you-from-the-inside" way. With the right proportion of cranberry jam smeared on, this forms a seriously glorious sandwich that's perfect for the festive season.
I recommend getting your hands on it before the year is out.

I saw this post shared by Gwennon on Burpple and on Strangers' Reunion own Instagram account. Am sharing it because I feel it is good to help spread the word to other Burpplers:

From Gwennon: This head chef is a friend of mine. If you happen to be looking for a place for coffee or food on Tuesday. Please please please, make your choice or trip down to strangers' reunion. Every Tuesday's sales revenue will proceed to Sebastian's treatment. Render some support and do some good cause. Remember, every Tuesday! They got very good coffee and waffles! And they have more than one outlets! (Save-A-Stranger)
Dine for a good cause on Tuesdays, and help save a stranger.He may be a stranger to you, but he’s an important member of our Strange family.

From Strangers' Reunion: Sebastian, our dear friend, and the head chef of Strangers’ Reunion since the beginning – has been recently diagnosed with four different kinds of cancer at just 26 years old.
The treatments are proving to be substantially costly, as he unfortunately does not have the appropriate insurance coverage to tide him through this period of time.

We are sure he’s touched the lives of many who have been to Strangers’ Reunion, and the many people who have worked with him. He’s been there for countless blogger events, food-tasting sessions, and tirelessly working in the kitchen, making sure that the food on your table tastes good.

In order to lend support to someone who has given us much of his, Strangers’ Reunion and Curious Palette will no longer be closed on Tuesdays.

Instead, both our cafes will be open for business every Tuesday from 12pm – 9pm. All staff working on Tuesdays will be volunteering their time, and all proceeds from Tuesdays’ sales will go to a fund to support Sebastian through his treatments.

All we need from you, is to simply help to spread the word about our Save-a- Stranger initiative - Come dine for a good cause, either at Strangers’ Reunion or Curious Palette. Any bit of help will be greatly appreciated – please, bring your family and friends down if you’d like to contribute.

Save-A-Stranger commences 8th December, and we will be open for business every Tuesday till we hit our target. Strangers' Reunion
35 Kampong Bahru Rd, 169356
Tel: 6222 4869

Curious Palette
64 Prinsep St, 188667
Tel: 6238 1068
@strangersreu

How charming is this concept - it's an edible version of a terrarium! Every component of this "tiny garden" has been created with care to be combined into a most picturesque dessert. Within the clear plastic sphere, you can dig into dark chocolate mousse, passionfruit parfait, caramelised banana flambé with dark rum, light cocoa sponge cake with dark rum and smoked almond nougoutine. The mini size would be just right for one or two persons. Large groups can consider having the 1 kg option ($120). I'm not sure if it requires to be ordered in advance though. Best to call and check.