Bread & Hearth - Keong Saik Road, Outram Park

Bread & Hearth serves artisan bread baked daily, fresh out of the oven! One good thing to know is there are no preservatives were used in process. Although the b

I tried some of the food from Bread & Hearth over a span of 2-3 weeks so I decided to do a compilation of the food I tried.

Located at 18 Keong Saik Road, 089125.

This place can be a little hard to find if you never been around the area.

Nearest MRT: Outram Park, Exit H

Opening hours - Daily 8am - 930pm.

Good variety of breads, tarts, puddings and viennoiseries available.

Devil's Food Cookie - $3.80

I love the cookies. Rich dark chocolate flavour cookies with crushed walnuts. These cookies have a hard outer layer and a chewy center. Very addictive.

Their coffee menu are above the counter so look up for the prices!

Latte - $5 a cup.

Bread & Hearth mixes their own coffee blends and their coffee has a rich nutty flavour. I also love that fact that the coffee is not sour at all (I hate sour coffee). It really does complement the breads and pastries well like they mentioned. The hot coffee are served with a piece of financier cake - sponge cake with shredded coconut filling. Yum.

Bacon Egg Mayo (Pain De Campagne) - $9

My favourite sandwich here. Anything with bacon goes! This rustic bread has a crackly crust and a slightly chewy interior filled with bubbles. Pain De Campagne contains 20% dark rye flour. The dark bread has a kind of fragrance that I really like. The bread is drizzled with olive oil and layered with cheese, bacon strips, lettuce and egg mayo. A very flavourful sandwich.

Lemon Chicken Sandwich (Herbaceous Ciabatta) - $7

This has a crispy crust and a chewy interior and it is much softer than pain de campagne. The aroma of the herbs goes well with the lemon chicken. The bread is also drizzled with olive oil and the basil in the sandwich adds another kind of fragrance to it.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich - Jambon Fromage (Pain Au Tomate) - $8

If you ever order the Jambon Fromage just go with the default baguette. I chose pain au tomate bread which is sour because of the sundried tomatoes and on top if it, mustard is used as a spread here. You can imagine how this is more sour than it should be.

Matcha Orange - $2.80

The bread are toasted when you dine in. If you are having takeaways, do request for the bread to be warmed up. (It just makes the bread 10 times tastier) The warm matcha bread has a crispy crust and a chewy interior. The bread is pretty dense and there is a subtle green tea aroma lingers in the mouth. The citrus orange peel is a pleasant surprise. 

Lemon Meringue Tart - $6

Real lemon juice are used to make the lemon filling. I think the different flavour is well balanced. The sourness of the soft lemon filling with the sweet meringue on a mildly sweet, thick buttery crust.


I purchased some viennoiseries and breads back home. Their breads can be only be kept till the next morning (no preservatives) so it can last till breakfast.

Pear Danish (Pain Au Poire) - $3.20

I love viennoiseries. 

Basically viennoiseries are bread that has laminated dough (a lot of layers) and the most common viennoiserie is the croissant. This one comes with sweet custard and pear slices. Sweet.

Butterhorn - $3.50

I really like this one. Sugar coated, crispy and showered with a lot of caramelized bread crumbs on top! A little messy to eat because it is very crispy and flaky.

Pizza puff- $6.50 Not the ordinary cheap pizza bread. Love the layered crust, topped with pineapples, capsicums, onions, mushrooms and cheese on top. Mildly sweet and salty. 

Croque Monsieur - $4.50

I find this one pretty ordinary. Cheese on the top and more grilled cheese and ham in the middle. I guess if you like grilled cheese and ham then this might be the bread for you.

Viennese Chocolat - $2.80

This is a soft and fluffy white bread with lots of chocolate chips. I expect it to be super sweet but surprisingly it tasted only mildly sweet and I was told that they used dark chocolate chips for this.

Overall, I think they serve excellent coffee and good bread. This place gets pretty crowded during brunch hours but is a good and quiet place to chill in the late afternoon/evening/night on a weekday. They provide free public wifi only when you check in via their facebook page.

Great news is that they do not have service charge and there is a 10% discount for UOB cardholders for dine in.

Ministry Of Food @ Jurong Point

Having some food at Ministry of Food, level 3 Jurong Point. Here, a variety of food are served such as Japanese, Italian and Western.

Oysters - 4 for $8 (MOF members)

I was expecting a lot but sadly it disappoints. The oysters were not that fresh and I bite on a large grain of sand. 

Carbonara Creamoso $14.90 + egg yolk ($1)

I haven't had Carbonara for a really long time. This tasted really fantastic during the first two bites. The bacon and the heavy cream mixed with the egg yolk. Everything went downhill from there as it got really cloying and I downed a few cups of water.

Service was pretty fast considering the crowd. It took around 8 minutes wait for my oysters and carbonara. One good thing about eating here is the short wait. There are tons of tables even at peak hours. The food is decent but not that spectacular in my opinion.

Just Acia @ Dhoby Ghaut Exchange

Dining at Just Acia with friends today.

Set meal - Basically you get to choose a main dish and then have an option to add $5.90 for free flow drinks and ice cream. 

Aglio Teriyaki Chicken Spaghetti - $9.20

This is a pretty weird combination. The aglio olio is buttery and salted while the teriyaki chicken with sauce is sweet. Personally I don't think they go well together so I ate them separately. I think the chef added way too much garlic. After eating all the spaghetti, there is still half a tablespoon of garlic on the side. Pretty decent aglio olio but not the best I've tasted.

Teriyaki chicken was a little overcooked.

Chawanmushi - additional $1.20 (with any set meal)

The egg was really smooth. There is nothing much in here, only the slice of fish cake on top as you can see with another cube of chicken to be found in the egg. However, for $1.20, there is nothing to complain about as the price is really low to begin with.

Free flow soft serve ice cream (from dispenser)

Tasted like Mcdonald's vanilla ice cream.

Free flow ice cream (scoop it yourself) - Jackfruit, Taro, Lime Shermet, Blueberry vanilla (Clockwise, starting from the left)

The jackfruit and blueberry vanilla were a little sweet. I really like the Taro flavour - yam fragrance when it melts. Lime sorbet was very refreshing and not too sour. There are more flavours there but I didn't try it all.


All in all, I think Just Acia offers a wide variety of meal such as Western, Japanese, Korean, Thai and weird fusion to choose from. There are a lot of seats available so it is pretty good when you are meeting up with a large group of friends.

Aglio Olio

Chef John's recipe on Foodwishes:

Ingredients:
1 pound dry spaghetti
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1/2 cup olive oil (note: I prefer a regular olive oil for this recipe, as opposed to a strongly flavored extra virgin olive oil)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (highly recommend Parmigiano-Reggiano)
*It's not traditional, but for extra richness add 1 tablespoon of butter when you toss with the cheese.


My version. I forgot to buy Parmigiano-Reggiano and I forgot to put butter into the spaghetti.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound~ (Around half a pack of spaghetti, around 2-3 servings)
Grated Parmesan
150g~ parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped
6-7 tablespoon of olive oil
Chicken cheese sausage (Fairprice)

The only brand of sausage selling in Fairprice that is near my house. I oven toasted these.

Instead of thinly slicing the garlic, I chopped them up.

Chopped parsley

They were quicker to brown, around 2-3 minutes on low-medium heat. I think I added two much olive oil. The dish is slightly oily. Maybe you should add only 4-5 tablespoon of olive oil.

Tip: Add in Parmesan cheese and parsley quicky and mix very well for it to fuse into the spaghetti while it is hot!

This pretty delicious but different from the best I'd tasted. I think it is the cheese being used. I shall make it next time with Parmigiano-Reggiano. This is good, frangrance of olive oil garlic and parmesan cheese. I think the step in slowly bathing the garlic in the olive oil is very important, to infuse more garlic taste into the oil.

The sausages splitted due to the heat and wrinkled when it cooled. I love it though. It has the texture of  chipolata sausages (which I like a lot!)  but it taste like cheese sausages.

Tip: Try not to add too much salt because the parmesan cheese and the cheese sausages are quite salty.


Give it a try guys!

Back to recipes

Rocky's Pizza and Pasta

Location: Block 106 Clementi Street 12 (Sunset Way) #01-60 Singapore 120106

Meetup with my primary schoolmates. We decided to visit Sunset Way since one of my friends worked there. She mentioned that Rocky's Pizza and pasta is pretty good, so we decided to try. The place is a little old school kinda of dining place. There isn't really much of a crowd, only another large family and a couple.

At first, I wasn't very impressed with the dirty menu but the food really makes me love the place.

A basket of chicken wings (4 wings and 4 drumlets) - $8.40 This aroma of the chicken makes me really hungry. I must say that this crispy and well marinated chicken is really one of the best I'd ever tasted in a long time. Perhaps it is because it is cooked and served instantly. The crispy skin and the tender and juicy meat is really savoury. We would order more if it wasn't that pricey.

Boston pizza 12" large - $26.20 They have the size on the pizza on the wall so it is pretty easy to see. This is a pretty big pizza for just the 3 of us and I had three slices. It makes me super full with carbohydrates and cheese. This is one of the best pizza I've eaten. As good or even better than Sarpinos.

Nothing better than a freshly baked pizza on a sunny afternoon. I love generous topping of mozarella cheese on the pizza!  Cheesy pizza with mushrooms, pepperoni, sausages and beef with tomato base. Very juicy!

I was surprise that this two dish made me really full because I eat a lot usually. I definitely recommend the pizza! They do deliveries but I suggest eating there for the piping hot pizza. Check out Rocky's Pizza


Rating: 4.5/5

Hot Tomato Express @ Dhoby Ghaut

Location: 68 Orchard Road Plaza Singapura, #B2-40 Singapore 238 839

Hanging out with my friend! I like Hot Tomato because their portion speaks for their price. Not that it is really expensive but the portion is rather satisfying.

Add $3.50 to a meal and get a soup of the day (For that day was tomato soup) and one tiny garlic breadstick plus a cup of drink. (I got lime juice) I learnt it the hard way, not to order acid drinks with tomato soup. I didn't finish the juice. The tomato soup is really appetizing. Slightly sour tomato broth with herbs. Great dip for the garlic bread.

Main course: Pork N sausage. - $9.90 Comes with Aglio Olio spaghetti, leafy and a cup of gravy that taste like the mashed potato sauce.

 I love the taste aglio olio. Made out of simple ingredients like olive oil, herbs, garlic and chopped parsley yet so delicious. The pasta is well cooked and in my opinion much better than Pasta Mania.

Chipolata sausages is a little soft. I would love it more it the skin is crispier. The pork chop is  very springy and well seasoned. The mashed potato dip goes well with the pork chop and sausages. Pretty filling dish for a $15++ meal.


Rating: 4/5 I really like this. The service is pretty fast and the food is awesome.

You can visit their website here: Hot Tomato

PastaMania @ Westmall

Dinner at Pasta Mania with my family.

A little introduction: PastaMania started in Singapore by an Englishman in 1998, who wanted to make Italian food affordable.

Chicken Ham & Sausage Baked Rice - $8.60

This is quite a shallow baking dish so the portion isn't a lot. I couldn't quite make out the taste of the homemade sauce. It is kinda tomato-ey, creamy cheese bake rice. Love the mushrooms.

Cappuccino - $3.40 Cappuccino is an italian drink prepared with Espresso, steamed mik & froth. Without adding the sugar provided, it is slightly bitter and milky. I love the foam.

Meatballs Spaghetti - $8.90

The usual spaghetti. This is a little watery. I would like it better if the sauce is a little thicker. The meatballs are a little overcooked and hence a little dry and tough. The spaghetti on the hand is well cooked.

Cheese Sticks - $3.90 This is my favourite dish from PastaMania. Love the crispy breadcrumbs. Eating an entire cheese stick is awesome. Very creamy and gooey. If you are afraid of a strong cheesy taste,  try dipping it in the chilli sauce. It cover the strong cheese aftertaste in the mouth.

Seafood Zuppa - $7.90 I don't really like soupy pasta. This one is quite a mild tasting soup. This is not spicy at all, in fact it taste like tomato soup with diced prawns and squid rings in it. If you don't like rich creamy food, you can have a go with this light soup. 

Vongole Spaghetti - $8.90 The clams are really small. Not really worth it in my opinion. 

Smoked Salmon $ Squid Ink Risotto - $9.90 

I'd never tried this before and I have no idea what it was initially. I just wanted to try something new. Basically the black grains are actually Arborio rice cooked with squid ink hence the color. Arborio rice is a type of Italian short-grain rice. The grain size are larger and rounder. I really like the texture of the rice. It taste very refreshing. I think there is some lemon juice and parmesan cheese cooked together with the rice as well. I'd never tried smoked salmon before. I really the smoke taste and I think it goes well with the rice. This dish is pretty dope.

Rating: 3.4/5

A little disappointed with the spaghetti as I had tasted better. The cheese sticks and Risotto are definitely recommended.

Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe, Liang Court

Saizeriya a Japanese chain of Italian family-style restaurant.

177 River Valley Road, #02-22 Liang Court Shopping Centre, Singapore



9 inches (diameter), Bacon and pineapple pizza - $6.98. I love the mozzarella cheese! If you like Canadian pizza, you will like this.




Creamy blended mushroom soup -$2.98. I don't really like this. The texture of the mushroom bits and the taste of cream is a little too strong.



Spicy drumlets. (8pcs) This one taste like the pizza hut's drumlets. It's well seasoned and a little spicy. Must try.



Mushroom meat spaghetti - $5.98 (Cream based) The presentation isn't this bad, I stirred and mixed it a little. The actually dish served isn't as colorful as the one in the menu. Lots of mushroom and very little minced beef. Eat with the mushroom or it taste rather bland.



6 Cheese baked scallops, $5.98

This is one of those that taste better! Try this if you love seafood.

Overall, the ambiance is good. The food is pretty decent if you order the right ones. I heard that the seafood chowder and escargots are good. The plus point is that the food served are cheap.

3.5 stars!

Aston @ Cathay

Hey! I met my friends to try out the food at Aston. We visited the Cathay outlet. We went around 7pm and have to queue for 45mins! Gosh! The good thing was that the food was rather cheap.



I ordered the black pepper chicken: $5.90 It comes with two side dishes so i chose Pasta salad and mashed potatoes. The chicken is really tender and goes really well with the pepper sauce. Everything just taste great! Perhaps because the 45mins made me really hungry!

I tasted the same plate of dish at the Jurong outlet. The pepper was way hotter than the one at Cathay. I guess the cooking is not consistent but the point is that the food taste good.

Check out the menu here:Aston Menu

Rating: 4 stars!

April 2012


I'd visited the place again after so long and I ordered the same plate of food and it costed me $8.20 with plain drinking water. Price hikes everywhere. Darn.