Singapore: Arteastiq-the café of dreams

A Café-cum-art studio in the heart of fashionable Mandarin Gallery- there's something to be said about the elegant décor, the savoury food, and the tea choices of dreams. Brought to you by Marxx, the furniture and home décor expert, this stylish tea lounge offers an incredible view of the famous Orchard Road shopping street while you snack on some very unique treats. 

I enjoyed freshly infused rose tea on a floral induced china set, while relaxing in a velvet-backed comfortable pink chair. This rose tea was something fresh- there was a very mild taste and a hint of rose, which was delightful for refreshing one's palette after the sweet and savoury afternoon tea treats. 

To start, we ordered sweet potatoe fries to share

And the afternoon tea set (for two)

I will admit I wasn't expecting much from the afternoon tea set- I expected a lot of fancy named dishes as euphemisms for the general afternoon tea courses- a lot of sweet cakes and some sandwiches. I was, needless to say, pleasantly surprised- everything on this set was delicious and unique. The "sandwiches" were wrapped with local favourite prata, a doughy skin that was rolled with smoked duck. Any seafood or meats used were fresh and well seasoned, and complemented the sweet very well.

I will also admit that I was pleasantly surprised with the sweet treats- although I am a massive fan of afternoon teas, I am not particularly great with sweet things, and generally leave most of the cakes (and macaroons) for others to devour. This was very different- the macaroons were not too sweet to handle, and because there were only 2 of them, I wasn't completely overwhelmed by the sugar. Additionally, the apple cake came with a berry sauce, which balanced each other out well. 

I'm very glad I got the chance to enjoy this afternoon tea with one of my closest friends, and although I trust her food recommendations every single time, I will also admit this is probably her best choice so far. 

Arteastiq is a charming lounge that also offers a-la-carte options during afternoon time. I think I'll be going back again to try as much as they have to offer. Maybe I'll attempt to bring my friends there and attempt to embark on an artistic adventure while enjoying some food. Long shot, but with 2016 you never know... ;)

PS: Happy New Year! May your new years also be filled with delectable food choices 

My Week in Food (Part III)

Back and hungrier than ever before!

Singapore has some fascinating delights when it comes to delicacies... local cuisine aside, it has a varied choice for international cuisine, and the most exquisite when it comes to fusion foods.

The first "fusion" food of sorts is the chilli crab pasta presented by Cups n Canvas.

 

Chilli Crab Pasta ($22.90)

Located in one of Singapore's forgotten old-hangout locations that's recently making a comeback thanks to gentrification and office buildings, CupsnCanvas is a cute art-cafe that is the literal embodiment of food as an art form. There is a section where patrons can paint and creative to their heart's content, and a selection of pastas, all-day breakfasts, and sandwiches to anyone's content. It helped that the lunchtime pasta deal arrived with a free coffee of anything under $4.80, which opened up quite a large selections of drinks. The chilli crab taste was not lost on me- I could barely eat towards the end because of the authenticity of the sauce, and the freshness of the crab still lingers.

The Saveur Group's Italian venture- Concetto

Salmon ($17.90)

Concetto, like its French sisters, hasn't shyed away from the flavourful and delightful. The chef's recommendation comes pan-seared with a frothy blend of cous-cous and shallots, and the salmon is as tender and fresh as its cousins still swimming in the sea. The dessert menu, although delectable, wasn't sampled, although I can say from my friend's experiences that the tiramisu is a force to be reckoned with. Aside from the food, I was so very pleased with the trademark service and their attention to detail. I would suggest coming early early early. By 6:30, the place was full.

Savoury brunch at Paddy Hills
A pretty new addition to the Singaporean brunch scene, I would say. Even Lady Iron Chef  blogged about it!

Quesadillas ($18)

Stuffed with cheese, duck, and seasoned with Hollandaise (it says BBQ on the menu but thats not what it tasted like) sauce, these are some of the most savoury and mouth-watering feats of cuisine I have encountered this holiday. To be honest, I'm not the massivest fan of Mexican food, but I do make exceptions for quesadillas, because who doesn't want to eat rolls of meat wrapped up in cheese and bread? Aside from the fact that the portions were worth the price in terms of their size and filling-up ability, it helps that the meats and internals of the quesadillas weren't dry and flaky and there was just a right amount of cheese to give it flavour and moisture.

Bacon steak 

Because this is one of the newer items on the menu, and I forgot to note down the price because I was too concerned with stuffing my face, the price of this dish eludes me, although I will say that it was wholly worth the price because of a juicy bacon steak oozing with fat, butter soaked potatoes, and a hollandaise sauce to kill. 

Want me to go anywhere else? Let me know x 

Working Girl Series

Happy Monday Lovelies!

I promise I'm still working on my back to school series, but I'm also starting a concurrent series where I document the outfits and styles that I wear to my internship at TBWA, hopefully on a daily or every-other-day basis.  I'm not really going to be sharing my make-up styles much because I don't intend on wearing a lot of make up everyday, but maybe once in awhile if I choose to do something special, who knows!

I've recently started a PR stint with TPR in the advertising agency TBWA, which is a very renowned global advertising agency with a lot a vast clientele, such as Adidas and Apple.  It also has various branches, such as PR, events, advertising.... etc.  Like most advertising agencies, its got a huge marketing base and aims to be a part of a lot of important projects not only in Singapore, but globally as well. 

 Disclaimer though: I'm not going to be blogging about my experiences there! I'm just going to be sharing my style and stuff throughout the few weeks that I'll be in TPR.  I feel like some of the stuff might be confidential and its not very polite to blog about the people and the culture there because everyone's experience and what they gain from their internships are all different and I just don't feel like I want to give out any kind of false projection from my blog..ok RANT OVER!

SMART CASUAL! For your first day, you might want to be comfy but still maintain a sense of style.  I wouldn't recommend black and white on your first day because boring! Save those for when you really can't think of any more outfit combos.  Just in case you're gonna be doing something like running errands or in the rain you don't want to be wearing a nice dress that you could potentially ruin.  Be smart, also wear sensible shoes!  You can start dressing up when you've gotten a better feel of the place and the kind of tasks you'd be expected to do.

For bag, anything big is fine.  It should be able to hold a lot of things (in case you bring home tons of documents) and maybe a laptop.  I chose to bring one in case, but I'm provided with a desktop so I won't be doing that in the future. 

For fragrance..... something that gives you confidence (: Choose your favourite perfume (this is Giorgio Armani's Aqua di Gioa) that will give you the extra strength to do everything to your best ability (:

If  you're starting to intern or work somewhere, good luck!  (: 

Exploring :)

Tucked away in the quiet corners of the city, there are lanes of untouched heritage that have recently found their way into the "cool" books of Singaporean youngsters.  Such was the experience I had with Tiong Bahru and Yong Siak Street.  To most, Tiong Bahru is merely an upper-middle class estate-- located in the Tanjong Pagar area, the community has been re-developed numerous times over the years, and is centrally located enough to command a high housing price.  But hidden away in the midst of the Singapore heritage trail are quaint cafes and bookstores that will light a hipster's heart up with delight.  (Unfortunately, as not much of a hipster myself, I'm not entirely sure if that's a valid statement), but I can say from a mainstream point of view that the charm of the comfortable road side eateries and restaurants were a pleasant change from the hustle and bustle of elsewhere in Singapore.

Unlike eating in other places al fresco, there was not a flurry of movement constant on the main roads, and any cars that did pass by were supercars (I counted 2 Audis and 3 BWMs in a row), giving one a faint sense of accomplishment and entitlement to the good service and good food being provided.  It was also a change as it was load enough to create a happening vibe, but not so loud that we had to shout over our eggs benedict to continue our conversations.

The interior of the restaurant for Brunch: Open Door Policy, which serves Brunch on weekends from 11-3:30.  Remember to make a reservation though, the place is packed!  Eggs Benedict had a curried hollandaise sauce, which I found very unique, but I would much prefer the original.  I wasn't expecting it to be so packed inside, but it seems to be an up and coming favourite with the expat and the young professional crowd...Almost becoming a slightly less expensive (and more young) version of Dempsey Hill


I appreciated the open kitchen as we sat by the bar, the red brick in particular gives it an illusion of a homey and vintage vibe.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: YUMMMMMMMMM EGGS BENEDICT!!!

Our next stop was a vintage bookstore called Books Actually that sold various kinds of books--- from cutesy art design photo journals to second hand books about famous politicians.  

I was very impressed by the DIY vibe of the store-- all the lights and decorations were handmade and the store was fully stocked of all kinds of DIY products and even DIY how-tos.  Also, if you're on Tumblr and into Tumblry- type books such as Haruki Murakami, this book store is on pointe.

There's a little corner of the shop that celebrates vintage and all things old-timey.  (Sorry Rachel--- disclaimer: she's not actually grunge but she's just trying a cool new look).  The entire area has old pictures of families, personal portraits, imported cigarette boxes and cigars...... its very unique.  

POPAGANDA!

http://www.popaganda.com.sg/--- check out this website for more information about Popaganda! Also, if you're in the Yong Siak Street area, you can be a part of this cool project if you stop by Strangelets, which is another DIY store that sells all kinds of super cute home-y stuff, including very wonderful smelling candles.  Popaganda, a kind of ice cream, is also sold there and they are popsicles that come in a variety of amazing flavours such as Mango Coconut and Kiwi Watermelon.  My friend tried one of them in the store yesterday but I wasn't aware that it was such a yummy flavour until I sampled one myself earlier today.  I'm starting to get very thirsty thinking about these yummy flavours ): ):  Popaganda is all about eating popiscles with fun and healthy flavours and contributing to others where we can.  2% of their sales go to non profit organisations such as the Association for the Visually Handicapped.  I will definitely be buying more of their popsicles from now on whenever I want to treat myself and get a healthy edge.


I know this area has been covered before by the likes of Lady Iron Chef and most other food-ish bloggers, but I was super excited to come visit here and be part of the cool crowd.  How did you feel about this place?

What did you think about this kind of blog style :O Where do you like exploring :)