Restaurant Standard Food at Salute Coffeeshop at Bukit Merah Lane 1

Salute Coffeeshop is definitely not your typical kopitiam. Tables are wrapped in picnic blue graham cloths; stalls have beautiful menus; and most importantly, Salute is a haberdashery of world cuisine and gourmet food. Salute Coffeeshop is proud to serve food of restaurant standards at affordable prices of below $20. We were very excited to be part of the bustling scene on a Friday evening, and we picked our favourites amidst the wide offerings here.

French - Immanuel French Kitchen

The menu of Immanuel French Kitchen is pretty, simple and focused. We were immediately drawn to the red labels and unanimously decided on the french duck leg confit. Duck confit is very much the national dish of France, if you would put away the (gruesome) foie gras aside, and is the test that every French food place has to pass with nothing short of flying colours.

Indeed, the duck confit ($14.90) at Immanuel French Kitchen put us on cloud nine. The skin was cooked to a crisp, while the meat remained tender and soft in its own oil. The meat separated from the bone very easily, and melted right away in our mouths. The mash potatoes was a creamy blend of happiness and was nicely complemented by the braised cabbage.

☁☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Immanuel French Kitchen

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German - Stew Küche

Stew Küche, or Stew Kitchen, is hard to miss with its sprawling signboard across two shopfronts at Salute Coffeeshop. It serves German food, and a good selection of German craft beers. It also boasts a friendly fleet of staff that would help to arrange and secure seats for you at the coffeeshop with 170 seats.

The staff from Stew Kuche recommended the half pork knuckle ($15) for the two of us to share. We were told that the whole pork knuckle was more suitable for a party of four, and we thought if they had underestimated us (hah).

Boy, we were glad to have heed their advice. Though half, the pork knuckle was HUGE. The skin was deep fried to perfection- it was crackling very loudly in our mouths. In contrast, the meat remained juicy and moist. I absolutely loved the whipped potato that came with the pork knuckle - there were huge chunks of potatoes and held together with bits of onion and black pepper. Very, very hearty. There was also an interesting twist to the national German dish- achar is also served as a side. The sour and slightly spicy preserved vegetable gave an interesting blend and texture to the pork too.

☁☁☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Stew Kuche

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Fushion - Mian

Mian, which has a mobile food truck called the travelling cow selling ramen burgers, had also settled down at Salute Coffeeshop. The menu of Mian is not for the unadventurous or faint-hearted. They challenge conventions and the curious.

The seafood laksa linguine ($12) boost a spicy and creamy homemade sauce that tasted like a cross between traditional laksa gravy and tomyum soup. There were generous portions of shrimps, sotong and fishcake, and the best part was the crabmeat salad that topped it all off. This dish may get a little gelat after a while given its thick sauce, so it is best to share.

However, the truffle fries (add $1 with every main course) at Mian was nothing out of the ordinary. We would have loved the fries to be crispier, and the taste of the truffle to be stronger.

☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Mian

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Belgian - Seasalt

If you love the concept of Brussels Sprouts at Boat Quay, Seasalt tries to be the counterpart in this coffeeshop. Seasalt offers seafood in a pot, served in a variety of sauces and with french loaf as a staple.

We ordered mussels in white wine (vino, $14) but we could not fathom where the white wine went. It was neither in the sauce, nor in the mussels themselves. Perhaps we had the taste (standard) of Brussels Sprouts in mind, and Seasalt fell short of our expectations. In fact, it fell flat. The mussels were pretty small, and more thought could have been placed in the taste of the sauce. This dish was ordinary, and needed a bit more work.

☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Seasalt

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Unlike conventional kopitiams, there is no drinks stall at Salute Coffeeshop. But fret not, drinks selection include craft beers from Stew Küche or bubble tea from Eskimo. Things are really done differently here at this new age coffeeshop.

Another stall worth mentioning at Salute Coffeeshop is Two Wings. The recipe of the chicken wings served at Two Wings is claimed to be the same as the once famous Carona Chicken Rice that was at one point in all major foodcourts around the island. We would be back at Salute soon, and would definitely give Two Wings a try the next time round.

It is heartening to see these young entrepreneurs putting their passion and heart into the F&B industry, and to have them all come together at a single location that exudes such vibrancy and energy. You have to experience Salute Coffeeshop for yourself - now.

SINGAPORE FOOD BLOG REVIEW BY KUMORY

☁☁☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Salute Coffeeshop

Blk 119 Bukit Merah Lane 1

Opening times vary from stall to stall

Lady M Confections at One Fullerton

Lady M Confections is classy, sleek and everything you want to love and emulate. Overlooking the picturesque Marina Bay Sands and the iconic merlion, Lady M exudes such elegance and poise that I felt like a royalty when I stepped into it - a princess I would love to think.

Lady M hailed from New York, armed with a winning (lethal) combination of french artisan pastry techniques with Japanese sophistication and precision. Lady M took the world by storm with its Mille Crepe Cake- a first of its kind. On top of the crepe cakes, Lady M also has a range of delectable sweet treats that looked all so pretty and dainty. There are also savoury offerings at Lady M.

The Signature Mille Crepe Cake is the main reason why we arrived at Lady M for desserts. I mean, who else could exude the love and art of pastry making better than Lady M? Each layer of the crepe cake is handmade, layered with smooth light pastry cream, stacked neatly and nicely, and finally caramelised on the top till it is golden brown. It is indeed an art, really fine art. And it is this exact delicacy that caused such overwhelming commotion in our mouths. Ah, such beauty.

Strawberry shortcake and how well it is done is a true mark of a successful French-Japanese patisserie. Lady M's version of the strawberry shortcake put us on cloud nine with such fluffy vanilla sponge cake among clouds of lightly whipped cream. With fresh strawberries nestled in between, the strawberry shortcake was light, pure and my kind of paradise.

We also had an iced caffe to go along with the cakes. It was watered down and not up to my expectations. Anyhow, we still enjoyed the sweet delights and the dainty atmosphere at Lady M. In my opinion, the cakes that we had at Dulcet & Studio now pales (very much) in comparison. Furthermore, with its central location overlooking the beautiful skyline of the city, Lady M is clearly a winner. To top it off, the service was superb - we had attentive waitresses that promptly brought us the menu, the orders, and refilled our iced water even without us asking. Lady M is truly a class of its own.

Singapore Food Blog Review by Kumory

☁☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Lady M Confections

1 Fullerton Singapore #01-10

6820 0830

10am to 10pm daily

http://ladym.com.sg/

Miam Miam at Bugis Junction

Miam Miam, "yum yum" in French, is yummy in all aspects. The cover of the menu is already an orgasmic sight- beautiful, beautiful typography. What follows inside is pure food porn. Everything was screaming for our attention, and we were so compelled to have them all!

At Miam Miam, the visual delight did not just stop at the menu. We were equally wowed when our orders arrived.

Miam Miam Spaghetti was a fireworks display. The bed of yellow pasta was showered with generous portions of orange frankfurters and bacon; red tomatoes; green spinach and finally, topped with a white runny egg with sprinkles of chilli flakes and sesame seeds by the side. The pasta is tossed with french butter, shoyu and Miam Miam's secret broth. We do not know what went into the secret broth, but we do know that we love it.

Miam Miam Riz Noir Squid Ink Rice was another pretty sight. Yellow, fluffy omelette blanketing the black squid-inked seafood rice. Both the egg and the seafood went really well together, it was like a perfect match of surf and turf; french and japanese.

Miam Miam Souffle De Nuage looked really homely, like what Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother would bake for her when she goes to visit. The fluffy cloud of egg and cheese melted in our mouths, and tomato sauteed rice beneath it warmed our hearts. However, this became a little overwhelming after a while, and it was not without difficulty to finish it. For a rice and egg combi, we would prefer the Miam Miam Riz Noir Squid Ink Rice.

Miam Miam's French Toast was a chef's recommendation on the menu and we decided to go for it. We were shocked to realise that the white cream on top of the french toast was not ice cream but whipped cream, but all guilt was gone after the first bite. It was simply heavenly. The whipped cream was fluffy and light; melted on the piping hot toasted bread and seeped right through; and went really well with the maple syrup. We wolfed these down in no time - whipped cream and maple syrup and all.

Miam Miam Matcha Smoothie with Red Bean Cream paled in terms of flavour as compared to the Miam Miam French Toast. The taste of the matcha was not as strong as we liked it to be, and the red bean in the red bean cream was negligible.

Miam Miam Haze is earl grey tea with steam milk and vanilla syrup. It is also known by its fanciful name, the London Fog. The tea was a tad watered down, and could have been much creamier. It seems like Miam Miam is able to hit the right notes with its food offerings, and not so much for its beverages.

Go for the savouries in this French-Japanese/Japanese-French Cafe. The pasta and squid ink rice will definitely make you go "Miam Miam!".

Singapore Food Blog Review by Kumory

☁☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Miam Miam Bugis Junction

#02-14 Bugis Junction

200 Victoria Street Singapore

1130am to 10pm daily

,http://miam.sg/

Au Chocolat Bistro at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands

When the best friends asked where I would like to go to celebrate my birthday, I said “western brunch or hi-tea”. Days before our date, they flooded our Whatsapp group with instructions like “dress sportily”, “wear sports shoes” and “bring insect repellant”. Oh right. The last those things happened was when I agreed to go camping (yes, the tent kind of camping) with Galen at Pulau Ubin (yes, PULAU UBIN). All our friends agreed that I am his true love after that. Now, not again??

Only on the very night before the date, I was told to dress “normally”. That still didn’t give me a clue where they were bringing me. So indeed, it was a very pleasant surprise when I saw Au Chocolat- what great difference the setting was from Pulau Ubin!

Despite Au Chocolat’s French-sounding name, European décor and French cuisine, a quick check on Google revealed that it is actually a Singaporean brand. Think Raoul. Unlikely that you will associate it with Singapore upon hearing it right. But they both are. I guess that’s the ingeniosity of branding.

We were first served the fresh, premium coffee that was free flow with the Weekend Brunch set (choice of a main course, dessert and beverage). The coffee was a huge disappointment- it was lukewarm and watered down. Even when we asked for it to be replaced, it still came lukewarm and bland. It is often the simplest thing that is the hardest to deliver, and Au Chocolat had failed terribly in the coffee.

I have heard so much about Au Chocolat’s truffle fries ($15) but the coffee urged me to keep my expectations down lest I get disappointed. But boy, this is da bomb! This has got to be the BEST truffle fries in Singapore. There was a fair share of short and cripsy fries which I absolutely adore, and the truffle oil was evenly distributed and the proportion was just right. Truffle oil is really quite an acquired taste (Galen used to think that there was a gas leak whenever we have something with truffle) and I really liked this. This got me craving for truffle fries even until now!

What is French cuisine without duck confit ($27)? Au Chocolat has a pretty decent version of it- the duck mean was tender, juicy and well-flavoured, while the skin was with the right amount of fats, and very crispy. The skin and the meat came right off the bones and paired well with the tangy orange and chocolate sauce that is a signature of Au Chocolat. Amidst the creamy mashed potato were chunks of pear that were poached in white wine. Love the details and twist that made this national dish so un-ordinary.

Smoked salmon is my natural choice when it comes to savoury crepes, and me, being the queen of the day, got my way ($20). There was a generous portion of Norwegian smoked salmon not only on top of the crepe, but there were also chucks hidden in between. The cheese sauce was rich and creamy and the green apple sticks were a refreshing twist.

Au Chocolat’s signature tower cake ($18) is probably the most expensive slice cake that I have ever eaten. The tower cake had 6 (really tall) layers of moist chocolate cake filled with chocolate pearls and chantilly. It also came with warm and rich Au Chocolat fudge sauce and vanilla gelato, which I thought was a bit watery. The cake was really huge, it would probably take a party of 4 to 5 to finish it. The logic of “there is always space for dessert” simply does not work with this giant.

Food at Au Chocolat is on the pricey side. I would accrue 40% of the high price to the quality of the food and 60% to the rental at the exquisite The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. I would come back to Au Chocolat for its truffle fries and crepes, and when I do, I will remember to stay away from their coffee.

Singapore Food Blog Review by Kumory

☁☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Au Chocolat Marina Bay Sands

Bay Level L1-03 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
10am to 11pm dailt

6688 7227

http://www.auchocolat.com