Singapore Food Fest: Day 3

When we were living in Singapore, I used to go to Fair Price in Tiong Bahru Mall but never really explored the area, save for a seafood lunch one time with our friends Sara, Bob, Sherill, Dave and our little girls. Back then, it was a quiet neighborhood known for their hawker area, that had more of a residential, sleepy feel to it.

So when my friend Naomi told me that Tiong Bahru was so hip and happening now, we just had to see it for ourselves while we were in town.

First stop was  Tiong Bahru Bakery by Gontran Cherrier. Naomi had been telling me about their croissants and baked goods since they opened May of last year. I was so jealous because I love French pâtisseries and it was a shame they did not open soon enough while we were there. Just take a look at the scrumptiousness:

I wanted to hoard croissants and kouign amanns to take back home, sadly we never found the time to go back. Their baked goods are nothing short of delicious and just looking at the breads, they were just beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful breads. Call me OA (overacting in case you don't know, haha), but Tiong Bahru Bakery has got to be the highlight of our trip for me, more than anything! I am definitely bringing home a box of their breads on my next visit!

Tiong Bahru Bakery by Gontran Cherrier

56 Eng Hoon Street #01-70
Singapore 160056

252 North Bridge Road, #B1-11/12
Raffles City Shopping Centre
Singapore 179103

About a brisk 5 minute walk from Tiong Bahru Bakery is a cupcake store like no other. In fact, there is nothing plain vanilla about Plain Vanilla Bakery, "purveyors of good cake".

Right before the door to the actual shop is a communal dining area, that is just too pretty, in a scant, Scandinavian sort of way. It also hosts a flower bar/pop-up shop by the New Romantics on certain days.

just picture perfect

this was the "before" of the picture perfect shot, nothing wrong with it actually

a stylish water dispenser that I discovered with a bit of online sleuthing, is available at cb2.com

an obligatory tourist shot with Naomi, of course

The selling space is just adorbs. If I had a store, the shelving would so look like this.

I like the flooring and the wall too actually, but I might go for real brick walls

chic pot scrubbers!

Tarts, tea cakes, cookies displayed so artfully and all baked using French butter, pure Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, bittersweet Belgian chocolate, i.e. only the best, freshest ingredients they can get their hands on

of course, they are known for their moist, delicious cupcakes - the kind where you'd want to close your eyes so you can remember the sensation of flavors with every bite

If you are having a mild panic attack because of the inability to decide amongst these choices in front of you, I'd say go for the red velvet and salted caramel cupcakes. These two are just THE. BOMB. (ok, this expression just dated me, haha)

Plain Vanilla Bakery
1D Yong Siak Street
Tiong Bahru Estate
Singapore 168641
Phone: +65 6465 5942

As a suki of PS Cafe on Dempsey Hill, PS Cafe Petit in Tiong Bahru was a pleasant, pleasant treat. It would have been infinitely more pleasant of course if they opened during the time we were living in SG, haha.

take note! they are closed on Mondays!

was aiming for an outfit shot, but got too self-conscious, ahihihi!

As with all PS Cafe uhm, cafes, the interiors are a joy to take in. PS Cafe Petit as expected, is small, but it is a jewel box of a space. I loved the dark elements, with an oversized vase of blooms that would have been overwhelming for a dim, tiny bistro, but it works!

As if breakfast wasn't heavy enough, we still had to have this. OMG. So. good. The sweet, spicy chili topping was ugh! Too too too good. This pizza and my breakfast from Tiong Bahru Bakery allowed me to skip lunch and fueled me for an afternoon of window shopping, I swear.

Gotta love Tiong Bahru. It is just so great to get a taste of all our past and current favorites in one place.

P.S.Cafe Petit 
No.41, Blk 78 Guan Chuan St.
Tiong Bahru Singapore
Phone: (+65) 9226 7088
Hours: 11.00 am to 10.30 pm
Closed on Mondays

For dinner, we decided to revisit an old haunt close to Dada's office. Don Your Personal Pie Club in the Raffles Place area was our go to for piping hot chicken pies and black pepper crab bee hoon.

a hearty chicken pie shared with Dada

turns out they phased out their black pepper crab bee hoon and replaced it with black pepper prawn bee hoon. Thankfully, it was just as good in a way prawns can replace crabs

This combination always hits the spot. 

Don Your Personal Pie Club
#01-01, 25 China Street
Singapore 049567
Phone: +65 6536 0925

Day 3 of our Singapore food trip was spent just the way we liked it. 

To be continued...

Cupcakes by Sonja is Spreading the Cupcake Love

What happens when...

and...

...spend an afternoon bonding over cupcakes? Well, they have a fabulous good time! That's exactly what happened when Berry & I joined the SoMoms and the SoKids at the new Cupcakes by Sonja shop at the Bridgeway in Glorietta 2 when it opened a few weeks ago:

Going to Sonjas is a huge, great, big deal for Berry because in our home, she is the biggest Cupcakes by Sonja fan ever! So much so that she has at least one box a week from Auntie Miriam.

Not only is she a consumer of cupcakes, Berry loves to bake too. When we want to keep her occupied, we give Berry a box of cake mix, cupcake liners, a bowl and a spoon and she's pretty much a happy camper in the kitchen all afternoon. So when Berry had the chance to ice and decorate her very own cupcakes, she was so excited! She took to the icing and frosting spatula like a fish to water:

She enjoyed sprinkling her cupcake with sugar and candy sprinkles,

And had a blast decorating the cupcakes all by herself, with very minimal to no help from me:

Yes, she decorated quite a lot, but she enjoyed doing everything, she even managed to frost a cookie!

For Berry, meeting Tita Sonja is like meeting a rockstar. Or maybe meeting a Disney Princess. When I told her to have a photo taken with Tita Sonja who makes her favorite cupcakes, she suddenly became shy and wanted Atchi N to join their photo. But "momtuition" tells me she was thrilled to bits inside. Just look at that smile!

Berry with Atchi N and Tita Sonja

By the way Dear Readers, you and your kids can go to Cupcakes by Sonja at Glorietta 2 and arrange for a cupcake decorating party for you and your friends too. Or you can have them bring cupcake customizing kits to your party venue. It's a unique and fun activity that I am pretty sure kids from 3 to 73 will love. Is there an unhappy child in this photo? No? Told ya!

Incidentally, we also got to bring home and try the new cupcake flavors at the Glorietta 2 store and I cannot wait to go back! I used to be just a Peppermint Patty kind of girl, but my oh my, I now have a growing list of flavors to try: Outrageous Mississippi Mud Pie, Valrhona Milk Choco-Hazelnut, Melt-in-your-Mouth Flourless Chocolate Cupcake and more. Uhm yes, I love chocolate!

Six years later and Cupcakes by Sonja is continuing to revolutionize the cupcake industry! (Haha, industry talaga) Apart from coming up with new gourmet cupcake flavors, it also has a growing customized cake business, offering cake pops and dessert buffets for private parties and corporate events. Sonja has definitely come a long way from the time she was frosting cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker Street in the West Village years ago. And just like Magnolia Bakery, the store that started the cupcake craze in Manhattan, Sonja's cupcake stores are popping up around the metro!

I got to chat with Sonja's business partner, Anne Gonzalez of Terry S.A., and she shares more stores are set to open within the year at Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Eastwood City, Greenhills Promenade, and TriNoma. Isn't that the sweetest news? Woohoo!

For more information, visit Cupcakes by Sonja online:

FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/CupcakesBySonjaOfficial
TWITTER http://twitter.com/CUPCAKESBYSONJA
INSTAGRAM http://instagram.com/CUPCAKESBYSONJA
PINTEREST http://pinterest.com/cupcakesbysonja
BLOG http://blog.cupcakesbysonja.com/
TUMBLR http://cupcakesbysonja.tumblr.com/

Paper Chic Studio

I am super excited to prepare for Xavi's first birthday party! Ask me why! Ask me why!

Because Paper Chic Studio is here! Woohoo!

Such a perky post no? Well, its not everyday that you run into a party supplies business carrying such chic paper products as Paper Chic Studio. I remember planning for parties and I could only dream of doing the kind of things I would see on Pinterest. Because seriously, where to get those things right? Got to buy them abroad and have them shipped over pa. Hassle. Lucky for us, the search is over.

My friend and fellow SoMom, Cai Sio, finally did something about Manila's dire need for pretty party supplies of Pinterest levels. It all started when she was planning for her daughter's birthday party and she realized there was a serious lack of cute stuff that weren't character based, if you know what I mean. She wanted party supplies that were environment-friendly too. So, she came up with these oh so chic paper straws, loot bags, table napkins, cupcake holders and such. When I got my Paper Chic loot, OMG, I just wanted to throw a party for no reason! 

Check these out, yo:

milk bottles and paper straws

cupcake liner

baker's twine

more cupcake liners

loot bags

table napkins

candy cups

With items like these, the party planning is just as fun as the party itself! Can you spell, L-O-V-E? (Yes, you may order these felt letter cut-outs too!)

Cai also sells jam jars, and will also be coming out with paper cups, gift bags, wrapping papers and more for Paper Chic Studio. All to make your parties, chic and pretty, my dears!

For product updates, inquiries and orders:

- Visit Paper Chic Studio's Facebook page, HERE.

- Email info@paperchicstudio.com