Cocotte in the heart of Bugis with communal style dining

Once in a while you stumble upon great dining finds and all you wanna do to clap really loudly and tell all your friends about it. After many misses I finally found a restaurant worth shouting about and that's Cocotte located at Wunderlust hotel at 2 Dickson road. It is just a stones throw away from Sim Lim. 

The place is decorated industrial chic with metal chairs and wooden table tops. What's great is the large tables and spaciousness about it. A place that you don't have to shout above the din and have a fabulous time catching up with friends. The food is most suited for sharing. While waiting for my friends I enjoyed a cup of earl grey ice tea. Though the food menu did not have many  choices, each item was done to perfection that makes you want to come back again. We had grilled cauliflower and squid which was a winning appetizer and also hormone free roast chicken. For once I was happily eating the chicken without being concern of the amount of hormones injected. And it tasted so fresh and tender you knew it was not frozen stuff. 


Coffee was just about average as the foam was not well executed. Dessert was quite delicious though the sour lemon pie was not as sour as I would have loved it to be. Above all it was a lovely experience and one that I am looking forward to repeat in the near future. 

Cocotte industrial chic dining

Cocotte lovely side of roasted cauliflower, squid and spinach

Cocotte homone free roast chicken

Cocotte sour lemon pie

Loolas by Awfully Chocolate if you like your desserts sweet

This is my second time visiting Loola's as I was wrecking my brains where I could have afternoon tea in Singapore that was not overly crowded on a public holiday. And then I remembered Loola's by Awfully Chocolate located at Esplanade. Central yet not overly crowded, this meant a perfect place to have tea and not have to worry about booking a place.

Though there was plenty of seats for you to choose at Loola's, somehow even with a few diners, the place was very noisy. Perhaps due to the lack of soft cushioning to absorb the noise.

I tried the Lemon Yoghurt Cake twice which to date is still my favourite cake that is not overly sweet with a lovely lemony yoghurt icing. It comes with vanilla bean ice cream which was a little melted by the time it arrived. I think it would be nice to have sorbet instead to create a more tangy experience.

Also on our plate was the Lemon Meringue Tart. I felt that this was overly sweet without any tartness to the lemon. The Meringue was thick and frothy and could afford to be more burnt for the crispy effect.

A friend tried the Chocolate Tart which was pretty good chocolate and if you like a high dose of sugar.

Overall it's a lovely place for tea if you are looking for some place central to accommodate a large group of people. Just be prepared to have desserts just a little too sweet. I wish that they would also carry the selection from Awfully Chocolate itself as the cakes and cupcakes are simply perfect.

Loola's by Awfully Chocolate
Esplanade #02-14
Tel: 6336 9563
MRT: Esplanade

Opening Hours:
Sun-Mon: 12pm - 10.30pm
Fri-Sat: 12pm - 12am

Marmalade Pantry Ion Orchard

I have begun to like Marmalade Pantry at Ion Orchard after they had a service staff change. The staff is friendly which certainly makes dining a more pleasant and relaxing experience. They used to have a bunch of nose-in-the-air staff, that make communicating really tough!

Smack in the branded fashion section of Ion Orchard, Marmalade Pantry is a great place to rest your tired feet after walking the entire Orchard Road belt, that is if you can find a seat. It's certainly best to go during off peak hours. I prefer Marmalade Pantry for brunch, lunch or afternoon tea. If I am are considering between Marmalade Pantry and TWG (located a floor below) for afternoon tea, I would choose Marmalade Pantry as it has a more spacious and less cramped feel.

My favorite meal here must be the crab linguini - I had a generous serving of crab meat and pine nuts, almost as much as the linguini itself, which was less. My conclusion, people who eat at Marmalade Pantry probably are more carbohydrate conscious - hence less carbohydrate, more ingredients.

Marmalade Pantry Crabmeat Linguini

If you are looking for sides - the fries are really good here. And my favorite dessert is the lemon meringue cake which is super moist with lemon jam in-between for the wow factor. The cupcakes look nice, but I wasn't impressed because the sponge cake was dry inside.

Marmalade Pantry Lemon Meringue Sponge Cake

A place I would favor coming back whenever I am in town, and hankering for a good pasta, salad or Lemon Meringue cake.

Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie

Being in Australia for 3 solid years really sets the standard as to what's good dessert. I'm so glad that in the recent years more dessert cafes have sprung up, though many seem to be wholesale, there are some which really look and taste good. Canele is one of them. I have tried both outlets at Robertson Walk and City Hall, as well as several of their birthday cakes. Really good, not cheap I must say, but good. Something you know if you splurge you really get your money's worth. We were at Robertson Walk and since there was such a big group of us, we tried about 9 cakes at once. I was so busy taking photos, I could hardly have a sample of the cakes - it was almost completely wiped out when I was done taking the shots! My favourite - the one that looks like Ferrero chocolate. Best eaten in small quantities and shared! Subsequently, I went to the City Hall outlet and had Nougatine which is essentially crepe with nutella, caramel, and ice cream. Yummy! Be relaxed on their service at City Hall as they seem rather shorthanded.

Canele has since closed it's operations in Singapore. One of the first serious dessert cafes to start in Singapore, setting standards on how the dessert scene should be, it has become a part of Singapore history. Goodbye Canele.