Exhibition: MT Ex at ION Orchard, Singapore

My sis is crazy over tapes.

She made an iphone cover, 21st birthday invitation cards, decorated shelves and cabinets with these masking tapes... Anyway, she has been talking about this MT ex for the longest time ever since she watched the youtube video on it.

We finally made a trip there (on the last day yes. talk about procrastination):

I actually thought that the exhibition will be of a bigger scale, watching the youtube video previously. Hence, upon reaching the venue, i was actually a little disappointed. 

The video:

That said, the thought that the entire space was decorated by tape and tape only still impressed me much.

Upon entry... Walls and floor decorated solely with their tapes:

The colourful paper lanterns matched the taped walls and floor perfectly, and created a fun and relaxing ambience for the space:

More photos of the walls:

One of the pillars was decorated with tapes of different designs and size:

Close up shots of the various tapes (the last two are apparently limited edition and each customer is restricted to purchasing only 3 at a time):

And the camwhore in me cannot resist not taking a photo with the pretty lanterns and background:

On a random note, we walked around ION after viewing the exhibition, and pardon me for not noticing these before:

This gorgeous Peacock had me in awe with Mother Nature while i oogle at its majestic feathers up close:

The awfully cute panda (and we acted as tourists by taking turns to have our photos taken with it):

The traveller:

All in all, the exhibition was an eye-opener. How do people think of such brilliant ways to use tape other than stitching giftwraps up?

Review on Nine Thirty by Awfully Chocolate at Esplanade Mall

Late post on nine thirty restaurant...

We went for Singapore Chinese Orchestra's Mostly Gershwin concert, a 'East-meets-West' experimentation with the highly anticipated 'Rhapsody in Blue' and we decided to go to the restaurant after the concert for late dinner cum supper. I can't say we left the restaurant as high-spirited as we did when we enter it.

According to the official website, Ninethirty aims to showcase local heritage dishes in a modern setting, and they have adopted recipes and ideas that are 'testament to Singapore's adventurous melting pot of a food culture'.

The cakes on display, with the name of the restaurant being written out in chinese with cocoa powder:

We love the cakes and chocolates (dur right. with awfully chocolate being famous for their chocolate cakes) and these were what we had:

Mille Crepe Slice:

This was not too sweet, good for people who would love to catch up over desserts and yet have no liking for overly sweet cakes.

White Chocolate Butterscotch Block (i have absolutely no love for butterscotch, but my sis loved it) - $7.50 per 100g:

Super Stacked Chocolate cake - $7.50 per 100g:

The awesomeness packed in a stacked cake bar. With the rich chocolatey flavour filling your mouth as you bite into the soft dessert... PURE BLISS (i just have to type that in caps).

 What's dessert without tea? I prefer TWG tea (for the selection and unique blend), but Gryphon teas are still flavourful and strong:

The disappointment of the day was this. The souffle omelette.

We saw this on the menu and thought that it will taste as good as it sounded. On the contrary, it was a huge disappointment. Perhaps this is when the phrase, 'the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment' comes in.

The so called souffle omelette was actually just fluffed up egg whites baked into the shape of an omelette it seems. there were grated parmesan cheese in the middle of the omelette (which weren't melted, and hence was just there in bits and it was actually the only taste the omelette had. 

I mean, how much flavour does egg white has right.

The other weird thing was the chicken rice chilli at the side (i think so la, it tasted like it). The chilli did not blend into the dish and it served no purpose in enhancing the taste of the dish.

We painstakingly finished half the dish before surrendering.

My sis had to request for the dish to be cleared off the table because quoting from her, 'she is going to puke soon if she has to look at it anymore'.

 

All in all, Awfully Chocolate should perhaps just stay with selling chocolate cakes and ice cream. I wouldn't recommend people to try their mains (I have heard other reviews about their other dishes).

Ninethirty
Address: 131 East Coast Road S(428816)
Contact: +65-6345-2190
Opening Hours: Mon to Thu: 1200 - 2300hrs, Sat: 0930 - 0100hrs, Sun: 0930 - 2300hrs, Fri and eve of PH: 1200 - 0100hrs

Review: Opening of Laduree ~Fabricant de Douceurs~ in Singapore

Image from Laduree FB Page

Ladurée is a French luxury bakery and sweets maker house created in 1892. It is one of the top premier sellers of macarons in the world. I heard about the crazy queues that formed for this famed bakery when it opened its first store in Ngee Ann City, Singapore.

When I was planning farewell for my colleague, I remembered that she mentioned Laduree's tea collection is on her wishlist. Basically, that sounds like the best excuse for me to convince lazybum me to make a trip down to Laduree.

I went to the counter store on Level 1 of Ngee Ann City and I was captivated.

I am not a sweets person to start with, but the macarons neatly lined up by flavours beckoned. In the heat of the moment, I decided to ignore the fact that the dainty little macarons will cost me more than a plate of chicken rice, or the fact that given my appetite, it will take at least 10 macarons to fill my tummy.

A box of 8 macarons cost SGD$30.40 (the cheapo me did a quick calculation and there is no discount from the individual price of SGD$3.80 per macaron).

From left to right - Pistachio, Salted Caramel, Praline, Orange Blossom, Rose Petal:

Ok, on to the taste.

I asked the lady which flavours are their bestsellers and she recommended: 'vanilla', 'orange blossom', 'rose petal', and 'praline'.
The macarons are one of the best which I have tried so far. Though my sample size is pretty small (I have only tried Bakerzin, Antoinette, TWG), there is a distinct difference that set them apart.

These macarons are crunchy and soft at the same time, and the signature sweetness of macarons spread swiftly within as you bite into them. The rich flavours linger in my mouth and I particularly love their 'vanilla', 'rose petal', and 'praline'. 

The best thing you can have at the particular moment, is a pot of freshly brewed tea.

Speaking of tea, it was supposed to be the main focus of my Laduree trip. We bought the Tea-Tasting set (SGD$63), which consisted of Jardin Bleu Royal, Laduree, and, Marie-Antoinette.

According to the Laduree Official Webpage:
Marie - Antoinette : An dulcet marriage of Chinese black tea combined with rose petals, citrus fruit and honey. An pastoral walk at the « Petit Trianon ». An delicious afternoon tea for a sweet and romantic pause. All the spirit of Ladurée.
Ladurée : An elegant association of Chinese black tea, citrus fruit, flowers, light spices and vanilla. A tasty blending sweet and delicate. Ladurée’s signature.
Thé Jardin Bleu Royal: Non-smoked China and India tea blend with rhubarb and wild strawberry flavours, scattered with cornflower and belianthus petals.

My colleague had yet to tried the tea leaves, hence I am unable to comment much yet. Will update when I have more information.

All in all, it is worth a one-time splurge at the very least.
But wait till I get a chance to try it in Paris, then I will tell you if it is still worth the extra markup for the direct import from Europe. :D

LADURÉE SINGAPORE

Address: Takashimaya S.C., Ngee Ann City #02-09
Tel: +65-6884-7361
Opening hours: 1000hrs - 2130hrs