Drips

Where are the women?

I mean.

I am one.

Or so I'd like to think.

And there were many a table of women lounging in the chairs,

catching up on girl talk over these delicious looking desserts and coffee.

But the service staff were all men.

Boys.

For some reason that made me feel uncomfortable.

Too much eye candy perhaps?

This was a recommended special.

Bread pudding with vanilla bean sauce.

What they didn't mention in the name was the apple.

Poached apple.

Was it a whole apple?

The baking process seemed not to have any effect on the poached apple.

It was juicy and tender morsels of fruit.

It was good.

But.

I wanted my bread pudding!

That constituted only half of the ramekin.

Le sigh.

And no there were no raisins either.

The vanilla sauce?

It was runny and not big on taste.

Now this however,

blew me away.

This was BERRY good.

Simple mixed fruit tart.

Choice of blueberries or raspberries.

We took whatever they recommended.

And it was ohsogood.

Fruits were ripe and plump.

Custard was just right.

No feeling of queasiness or maybe it was just massacred so fast.

And the tart.

It had me at hello.

Full fat short crust pastry.

No, I take it back.

Full fat short crust FLAKY pastry.

ohmyyum.

But pricey.

$6.50 for a tart.

Uh huh.

A matcha latte.

Love the steamed milk.

 A faint and lingering taste of matcha.

This was perfect for what I wasn't looking for. :)

And just because this was the sweetest treat of the day.

Rockmelon from a random shop and save store.

These would be perfect with parma ham.

Or maybe not.

Simple.

:)

PS at A.S.H Park

And I'll bet you didn't know that Ann Siang happens to be the name of a wealthy hokkien merchant and he was the proud landowner of both Mount Erskine and Ann Siang Hill where he lived.

Unless you've been to A.S.H. Park where P.S Cafe sits quietly amidst the greenery. Then that's no count for the bets. Because there's a heritage board that tells you (well, me) all about it! :)

This branch only admits teenagers and adults. Any idea what's the reason behind the restrictions?

In any case, this was our welcome respite from the oppressive afternoon heat.

So we actually wandered about for a bit to leave our options open. 

There was a chocolate cafe which had a unique rainbow cake and options like cheesecake amidst all the other chocolate offerings but it had limited seating space and wasn't my idea of comfort.

Antoinette down Erskine Road was even smaller. The cafe was constructed studio style. I can't imagine how these people in there would feel safe eating there. This place was a fire hazard waiting to occur. Become a crab when you walk in.

There's no other way to avoid bumping into people or furniture unless you walk sideways.

I kid you not.

I crabwalked my way out immediately.

And so we went on our way to P.S.

Which thankfully had ample seating space on the second floor.

And a new twist on cold water.

I've never noticed (or did this just happen recently?) how they have these colourful fruit slices in their water jugs. It might be psychological. But I could taste those fruits in my water.

Now,

 I was sure that there could've been no other place I wanted to be other than here in the madness of the afternoon heat. :)

Done with brunch and now it's time for desserts. These mega monstrous sized desserts make one sin. The sin of gluttony. But I gladly indulge. For it's not every Sunday that's a girlfriend day out. :)

We decided to depart from the usual carrot cake and sticky date pudding (everytime.allthetime) and made orders for a coconut raisin bread pudding and a caramel banana cake.

These came as if they were castles surrounded and drowned in the moat of sauce. While I do profess I like my dessert with ample dressing, this was dessert suicide. Next time, we'll be sure to ask for sauce on the side. Vanilla and caramel sauce. Both were saccharine sweet. You'd be none the wiser after having both.

The taste of coconut was subtle but ever present in the bread pudding. And that little coconut puff on top? Me like! I wish for some burnt crusty edges and more raisins though.

The banana cake was rich and tasted of brown sugar but my taste buds were too overwhelmed by the caramel sauce to do any more detective work.

The vanilla ice cream on the side was commonplace and melted at an alarming rate. 

Where are my specks of vanilla beans? It's 17 dollars, I'm sure we could do better with the ice cream? And while we're at it, how about also keeping hair out of this.

I gagged when I saw a strand of hair.

And no, it wasn't mine! Ohthehorrors!

They offered to replace the dessert but who could stomach anymore of thatwhichcomeswithhair :/

so they took it off the bill.

Thanks for the gesture but sigh. Long while before I order this again.

The third floor was where they had a second bar counter smaller than the one on the first floor and there was more seating but probably only for dinner. Their seats were reminiscent of british colonial office chairs. Lighting was dimmer up here and had a cosy vibe that one would imagine to make for good dinner ambience. Opening the glass doors to the al fresco area, we saw a couple of people soaking up the sun. It offered a pretty view of the park below and to the CBD area beyond. Perfect for an after dinner drink in the evenings.

Hair aside, I hope you had an awesome birthday dear :)

To more girlfriend days ahead. <3

brunch adventures

80, Neil Road

Blink and you'll miss it.

A lazy late Sunday brunch saw me waiting for 45 minutes without reservations for a seat indoors.

It was positively boiling outdoors. I was seated in the shade while waiting outdoors and even then, the staff made sure I had the fan lowing directly at me while I was left undisturbed with my book. Once there were seats available indoors, I was invited in for a seat at the bar counter to wait for a proper table to be vacated. This was heartwarming service. Effusive but still, a respect for my personal space. I really appreciated that. :) Especially being alone while I waited for my friend who was totally lost.

Quaint. :)

Anywhere with a book in hand.

Rosti? That sounds like a good breakfast item! This goes for $7.80 plain with sourcream. There was a whole list of add-ons ranging from $2-$3.50. I opted for add-ons of scrambled eggs and a chicken cheese sausage. I thought the rosti was a tad overcooked. But if you like crispy charred potato strips then this would be a perfect rosti for you. The chicken cheese sausage was a recommendation and it was good. Cheese sauce oozing out of the sausage with every cut and white meat that had none of that poultry smell. The serving was generous and it was a departure from the usual eggs on muffins at brunch.

The pot of Earl Grey was served full. Literally to the brim so be careful about spills. However, it was still a strong pot of tea. Adding that lil bit of honey to every cup of tea for that touch of sweetness.

My girlfriend chose the recommended eggs montreal with salmon and hollandaise sauce. I don't see how there would be any connections to Montreal with this creation. I was expecting smoked meat from the namesake. In any case, the eggs were poached perfectly. With delightfully runny bright yolks and a savoury hollandaise sauce. :) The side salad was simply dressed and cheery cherry tomatoes to add color to the dish.

It was a cosy setting for us to have a relaxed brunch for about an hour and a half. Kitchen closed at about 3pm? But no one chases you to settle the bill. Everything was to the customer's convenience. It was hard work finding this place but we left with tummies satisfied.

But that wasn't all.

It's a girlfriend day out.

There just HAS to be after-brunch desserts!

Coming right up :)