Happy Halloween!
Director’s Cut!
Privé @ Keppel Bay
Brunch is love!
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There is a reason why when it comes to friends, Old is Gold. Met up with the group for a brunch yesterday afternoon! And i’ve not seen some of them for more than a year. Great getting updates from them and cracking jokes all over again! Even better is that i’ve found some brunch buddies! I love brunches! 
Food at Privé was pretty awesome. Egg Royale – like egg benedict but instead of bacon, it’s smoked salmon was what i had and was absolutely awesome!
This place is located at Keppel Bay! A really pretty place!
P.S. The last 3 pics (the group shots) belongs to my friend’s – JR! I think he takes quite good photos!
it’s a four.
13 September 2011 in celebration of 14 September 2011.
About a month ago, Vampy and I celebrated our 4 years anniversary! Venue of celebration was Au Jardin; somewhere I was supposed to bring him years ago but he refused to go coz i was still a student then and he thought it was too expensive for me to afford it. It was also our first fine dining after I started working! That was the second week of work and I was still adapting!
Well, i thought the journey has been amazing because he’s like a guardian seeing me grow from an ignorant university freshie to now working my way through in my career! But the funny thing about Asian’s long relationship is sometimes you do feel alil too close to sit down and have a “romantic” date together. Is that what people meant by consummate love?
Anyway, Au Jardin is located in the Botanic Gardens! So it’s surrounded by serene greenery. Maybe that explains why the menu was influenced by the use of fresh flowers and greeneries. Ambience wise, it was definitely a good place to unwind and enjoy special moments with your loved ones. Even more amazing when it started raining.
We sat by the balcony! Yay to that!
Foie Gras Custard
A creation by the chef. A smooth creamy Custard that seem like a remake of a pan seared Foie Gras; where it melts slowly in your mouth. Except the taste of the egg in the custard was alil too strong for the remake to be totally successful. But still a yummy dish. No complaints for being complimentary!
Half Dozen Fresh Oysters Fines de Claire No. 3
Served with Spicy Cucumber Coulis & Apple “Snow – an innovation of oysters
This was absolutely refreshing especially when eaten with the spicy cucumber and apple snow. Beautifully experimented. Simple but a burst of fresh sweetness and joy!
Pan-Seared Foie Gras, Caramelised Fresh Fruits,
Red Wine Glaze & Root Vegetables Chips
Foie Gras came across disappointing as the essence was lacking. In my opinion.. But the boyfriend insisted that i was being fussy. Well, i thought the “melt-factor” for pan seared foie gras was not really there too.
Roasted Whole Boston Lobster, with Vegetable Beignet,
Garden Salad & Orange Scented Beurre-Blanc
This was a heaven. Once again, the chef tried creating the dish with fruits and vegetables/salads. First remarkable point is the texture of the lobster. Bouncy, crunchy and firm! Vampy said that was very close to Boston lobster he had in Boston. Dont miss this if u’re a lobster lover.:)
Char-Grilled Wagyu Striploin (Marbling 5), Gnocchi à la Lyonnaise,
Caramelised Baby Carrot, Dijon Mustard & Veal Sauce
Well, this is one excellent wagyu! Finely grilled with precision + Freshness at its best = yumyumyum!
Baked Alaska”, Caramel Hazelnut Parfait,
Frozen Banana Foam & Mousse with Passion Fruit Sorbet
This is one AMAZING dessert! Not only in terms of presentation. But after the fire died down, the outer mildly crispy and warm and slightly burnt layer (coz of the fire) coupled the passion fruit sorbet and mousse in the middle of this piece was a harmonious combination! Happiness:)
Pistachio Crème Brûlée, Served with Pistachio Tuile,
Peach Coulis & Ruby Peach Ice Cream
If i realllllly have to criticise, this creme brulee is too ambitous. The beauty of creme brulee lies in its simple yet delicious factor. I hated the sponge cake on top of the creme brulee cause it takes away the flavours of the creme brulee and also hardly have any positive contributing factor!
Happy 4 years anniversary! Still the best boy i’ve ever had! Hahas, despite the kind of mean remarks i always give him.. he still took it in his stride and love & give. Not that i dont get teasing from him. Hahas, but let’s keep up the freedom, space and independence we give each other! These are the precious factors that is gonna be difficult to find in other potential relationships. I mean, not everyone can accept not smsing each other daily, not calling and chatting over the phone, meeting once-twice a week and not hindering what we love to do:)
Milan: A Shopaholic’s best friend?
Milan was our second last destination for our Italian Chronicles. I have held high hopes of seeing high rise corporate buildings and most importantly models with hot long legs cat-walking down the streets of the city. I was really hoping to see fantastically dressed city dwellers. However, even in Milan, the skyscrapers were limited and there weren’t really fashion parading models!
It was a little disappointment because the shoes of the businessmen were not exactly as polished as I read about. No doubt there were definitely alot more men donned in business suits in Milan! Nevertheless, we were still able to find chics who dress fashionably quite frequently.
I would call Milan a place ideal for shopaholics. Shops ranging from branded to middle range (guess, bershka, zara) are all within a vicinity. So convenient and so easily lost in that kinda compulsion. Not only are all the shops so close to each other, each and every one of them strive to the biggest outlet i’ve ever seen. Shopping experience – enhanced! That, of coz made the boyfriend’s day a lil duller than the others.
I had my one and only shopping trip down at Milan too. A day when it became my day rather than OUR day =x. Bought my Gucci wallet there too; which i call it my graduation gift for myself =x.
The other highlight of Milan for me was the Gothic church, Milan’s Duomo (biggest and most important gothic church in Italy) which took them about 500 years to build. Characterised by spires all around, the Milan’s Duomo undergoes a regular maintainence. It was, however, a pity that the tower was under maintainence when we were there. It is said we can see all the way to Spain on a clear day from the tower!!
See those gypsies?
from above. Spot the gypsies
The only church that we prayed in.. hmmmm
Word of caution: Outside the Duomo is where the most nasty Gypsies i’ve seen in my whole trip. They attempt to force some pigeons’ food into your hands or pockets and obviously they gonna collect some sorta payment from you. You have to be very firm with them. I felt alittle disturbed because this guy thought that i have a pocket near the chest, and he was almost gonna touch the chest already. So, be careful!
One of the art pieces outside the duomo..
I swear the duomo has the coolest sound system and sound tracks!
Also went to Castel Sforzesco whose structures are quite well maintained. But basically it’s now a museum!
In Milan, Aperitivo is commonly found in bars during happy hours where you pay a small amount of money for a eat-all-you-can kinda buffet and it comes with an alcoholic drink. The food was nowhere near fantastic but it was part of our committment to experience the local’s way of living! Look forward to variations of pizzas, pastas and salads!
Walls full of artistes!
Pizzas, pastas & chips
Other snippets of the day:)
Our accidental 4* hotel~
Coupley pic!
The bull which gives u good luck if u turn around it on its balls with your heels.
So the man does it!
nice gelatos that u gotto try!
Crispy bacon onion @ macdonalds – not found locally.
Afternoon tea time! somewhere that overlooks the duomo! miss that life! This is a cheesecake!
Italian coffees are to die for!
Panini! yummmms
Dinner at a cosy little home style restaurant
Twisted pastas that are absolutely vegetarian – i liked the essence of it!
Milanese Veal!
Where i bought my love!
