Bakerzin
the dessert oasis


The use of simple furnishing and soothing colours offers a comfortable and relaxing ambience, making it a perfect place to chill out. You would simply smile when you see the tantalising array of cakes and pastries at the front counter.

New York Cheesecake ($5.20)
"cream cheese covered with strawberry glaze"


Their versions of cheesecakes are remarkably dense and rich. Unfortunately, the entirelty soft wet texture fails to score for me.

Mango Mousse Cake ($4.90)
"Fresh mango mousse with light finger sponge topped with mixed fruits"


What draws my attention most is that their cakes never fail to be extremely moist and soaked. For this, the top layer was disappontingly hard while the base was too wet. Fortunately, the soft mango mousse had a pleasant taste and offered a good contrasting texture with the cake layers.

Rose Buds Tea ($6.20)


Being caffeine free, this tea with a feminine touch is soothingly fragrant and relaxing.

Overall: Bakerzin is just the place to be after a tired day of shopping. It is pure indulging to settle down and have a slice of cake and tea. i simply enjoy the feeling it gives!

Bakerzin
VivoCity #01-207
1 Harbourfront Walk
(Sun-Thur) 10.30am -11pm
(Fri-Sat) 10.30am -12midnight
http://www.bakerzin.com/

White Dog Cafe
bizarrely funky

This real weird and quirky name is bound to rouse attentions of shoppers in the bustling vivocity.

Entering, a youthful vibe greets with its bright sofas and eclectic decor. Flooding with natural light, the restaurant gives a pleasant bright airy feel.


They serve a fusion of Italian, French and Japanese cuisines all under one roof- all clearly listed in a dalmation-resembling menu.

On two consecutive visits of mine, i went for thier Set Lunch at $10.80++. 18 main courses are available for selection and it comes with a soup-of-the-day+garlic bread and coffee/tea. Cakes can be ordered with an additional top-up of $3 and icecreams at $1.50 per scoop.

Chicken Consomme with Bread


The soup-of-the-day was pretty standard- a clear chicken broth with tiny chicken chunks. Tasting just like msg, this saltish starter didnt not manage to impress at all. The french baguette slice was an exact replica of delifrance's.

Glazed Salmon Fillet


My main course surprised me with its seriously small portion. A salmon fillet came accompanied with a heap of white pearl rice so flat that it only offered 2 mouthfuls.


Beaming with an unusually bright orange colour, the salmon fillet was indeed measly but satisfying. I particularly like the glazing sauce which exudes a japanese flavour with its mild sweetness.

Grilled Striploin with Black Pepper Sauce


Looking like a bigger slab, there is definitely an improve in their portion size for the striploin.


The reasonably-sized beef fillet was pretty well-cooked and moist on the inside.

Of course, my meal could not do without an indulging sweet ending.
Apple Crumble


Served lightly warmed, the apple crumble was truthfully one of the better ones i've had. The apple filling came in chunky slices and tasted good with a sugar over-dosage. Encasing it is a thick crust managing between a mushy top and flaky base- which actually went quite well for me. all it was lacking was a dollop of vanilla icecream.

Oreo Cheesecake


Their oreo cheesecake was up to expectations; lighter-textured and offered a rich cheesy taste. However, it could do much better with chunks of oreo cookies instead of finely chopped ones.



Just the next day, i returned for a second visit.

Chicken Consomme with Bread


Same soup served and once again, it didnt appeal to me.

Tiger Prawn in Black Pepper Sauce Linguini


Mediocre pasta partially submerged in a savoury cream sauce sprinkled with black pepper. The tiger prawns were fresh but the overall dish did not wow me.

Grilled Fresh Chicken Fillet with Mushroom Sauce


Again another average main course with nothing particularly memorable. The light gravy wasnt too bad though.

Freshly Brewed Tea



Overall: Without the inclusion of desserts, the set lunch came across as a little steep in price. However, the money spent is well made-up by the excellent ambience and full glass panels offering an unobstructed view over the harbour and sea beyond.

White Dog Cafe
Vivocity #02-131/132
1 Harbourfront Walk

Shi Nai Hong Kong Cafe 师奶茶餐厅
authentic "cha chan teng" specialties

Located along the bustling east coast food street, this hongkong cafe sure enjoys brisk business.As it is of close proximity to Shilin's house, we've made it our usual place for meals.



Stepping in is a brightly-lit area which provides a clean casual ambience.

As a themed eatery, the ever-changing and improving menu is packed with lists of hongkong fare- some even with twists of local fusion. The wide variety makes choosing seem like a tough chore.

Mango King Iced Blended ($5.50)


Special-blended mango juice with fresh mango cubes topped with mango icecream- shared by sarah & shilin. The chokeful of mangoes makes a wonderful mango fix.

French Toast with Banana ($4.50)


Their french toast here comes in a smoothly-coated batter and is pretty much hard-crusted. The inner bread was slightly dense with very mildly soaking grease. Not too bad, but there was banana taste detected.

Chicken Chop & Fish Fillet Rice with Black Pepper Sauce ($10.50)


This belongs to part of their "HK Popular Rice Series" where a choice of range of meats and sauces are offered with steamed white rice and seasonal sides. Deep-fried battered chicken chop and fish fillet with a generous dollop of black pepper gravy.

Salt & Pepper Chicken Chop Rice ($7.50)



Under their seasonal specials is a newly-introduced dish of pan-fried salt& pepper-marinated porkchop on a bed of rice. Sarah commented that it merely tasted of choking spicyness from the chilli padi bits.

HK Famous Wanton Noodle Soup ($7)


My choice was a recommendation from Makansutra, which proved to be a wise decision. The wantons, made hongkong-style, were solidly packed with a huge succulent prawn and some smooth minced meat. Every bite of it was satisfyingly crunchy and the skin was well soft and thin.

Curry Chicken Chop Noodles ($6.80)


Shilin had this nissin instant noodles tossed with curry chicken gravy.

On our previous visit...

HK Famous Wanton Noodle Dry ($7)


The dry version disappointed me with clumpy hard noodles with a pathetic drizzle of bland sauce. With skins tough and dry, the wantons were also not up to standard. Go for the soup one instead.

More from the HK Popular Rice series;
Chicken Chop & Fish Fillet Rice with Curry Sauce ($10.80)



Pork & Chicken Chop Rice with Curry Sauce ($9.80)



Fish Fillet Rice with Curry Sauce ($7.50)


I must commend on their pan-fried fish fillet which was well-cooked to a soft and moist slab. its certainly a must-try!

French Toast Banana with Ice Cream ($4.50)


The half a portion of banana-flavoured french toast was well paired off with the scoop of vanilla icecream by the side. We all loved it.

Golden Fantasy ($4.50)


Another nice dessert to end the meal with- creamy mango base with bits of sago and pomelo. The dollop of mango icecream was a nice additonal to the bliss.

Overall: A perfect place for the original affordable "cha chan teng" fare made closest to the hongkong context. The extensive menu is pretty much shocking, and its opened to cater for supper as well. only grouse was that service was a little slow at times- be prepared to wait for most of their dishes.

Shi Nai Hong Kong Cafe
378/380 East Coast Road
(Opposite Caltex Petrol Station)
(mon-fri) 6pm to 5am
(sat-sun) 5pm to 5am