Gullible Travels

The Marmalade Pantry - Brunch

POSTED ON Monday, October 28, 2013 AT 3:18 PM \ leave a comment (0)

it was a holiday and we wanted to spend a lazy morning/afternoon doing those high-tea styled brunches which are all the rage these days. TWG often comes to mind but we thought we'd pick something similar, though less cliché this time around..

The Marmalade Pantry at ION Orchard brings their brand of fusion food to a more central location, having moved from the more obscure Palais Renaissance some years back. while the restaurant is made famous for their fusion cuisine such as their signature crabmeat linguine, Aglio Olio with Sakura Ebi or their salmon on scrambled eggs, this edition features their weekend high-tea/brunch offerings..

intended to reach out to the weekend early shopping crowd, Marmalade started their own range of brunch food some time ago. Their offerings such as the Bananas and Berries hotcakes above became a house favourite. there are many a brunch place that do not whip up good pancakes (though they serve them), so we actually felt that the texture and time taken to do these hotcakes were just right. their serving together with maple syrup, bananas and fruits made this one savoury breakfast treat..

we also tried their Eggs Benedict, to really test if they are brunch-material. actually, it was quite normal; nothing wrong, the eggs were well-done, the blend of hollandaise sauce and grilled salmon just right. just no wow-factor. still preferred the ones at Hatched or Epicurious.

as the crowd started streaming in past mid-day, some attention could be paid to some of their signature high-tea creations. their now uniquely Marmalade cupcake-of-the-month edition sees them introducing various new flavours of cupcakes from time to time.. look out for their promos the next time you head over for tea.

the location of the restaurant in the middle of ION's third floor atrium (similar concept to TWG) gives you that all-the-time-in-the-world feeling as you enjoy your brunch and people-watch. The Marmalade Pantry's brunch offerings is certainly one for the ambience..

The Marmalade Pantry
#03-22, The ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn, Singapore 238801

Opening Hours
10 am to 10 pm daily

Brunch only served on weekends and public holidays

Two Chefs Eating Place

POSTED ON Saturday, October 19, 2013 AT 7:49 PM \ leave a comment (0)

it's back to zi char food again after a one week hiatus. i've been to this one a few times and still find them one of the more consistent ones; maintained their food quality over the years, continued to attract queues for their dinner crowd.

Two Chefs Eating Place is a standalone zi char stall located at the heart of Commonwealth. its quite abit of a walk from the MRT station but you'd be relieved to know that bus 195 ploughs through the area and there's ample roadside parking spaces. try to be here early for dinner though, there hasn't been a time when i don't recall queuing to be seated.

their breakthrough dish is this serving of Drunken cold cockles, served with diced chilli, garlic, spring onions and a splatter of wine. for those who are not a fan of shell-seafood, take heart that the cockles do not emit a raw taste and are certainly not rubbery like those you find in char kway teow. they are served cold, fresh and you could certainly taste the wine..

Cereal fish, amongst many popular dishes that we ordered, including their highly blogged about Buttered pork ribs, Chicken soup and Marmite chicken. amongst which, the pork ribs and the chicken soup really stood out for me. the buttered pork ribs are served warm, sprinkled with a very generous serving of milk powder and butter bits which blended very well with the meat. The chicken soup has a strong herbal flavour and went very well with the fried and salty dishes that are usually ordered here.

i have to comment on the service standards though. they got our orders a little mixed up and initially served us buttered fish instead (now why would anyone order buttered pork ribs AND buttered fish?). when we highlighted our situation, we were first ignored, and finally had our butter bits "replaced" (literally) with cereal flakes. i think not very professional/ethical.

i don't think people really give them enough credit for their crabs though. when actually, their Chilli crab was done pretty well. the crab was fresh, mantou served warm and the chilli sauce was sweet and spicy enough. the pincers and parts were well crushed, so we could literally peel off the shell to access the meat, lovely..

so when you are having that occasional zi char craving, have Two Chefs on your shortlist for a possible place to visit.

Two Chefs Eating Place
116 Commonwealth Crescent, #01-129
Singapore 140116

Opening Hours
Mondays: 5pm – 11.30pm
Tuesdays to Sundays: 11.45am – 2.30pm; 5pm – 11.30pm

Closed on the last Monday of the month