Azabu Sabo: Hokkaido Ice Cream Aside

I'm sure many of you have seen plentiful Azabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice Cream kiosks located in town shopping areas, and most of those who have tried usually go for their signature Green Tea flavour. However, the strong taste of Green Tea could be very subjective. You either love it or hate it. Thus another flavour which we find is the best among competitors so far is the Rum and Raisin one. This is a strong recommendation (and not an advertisement!) from us - just get a scoop to convince yourself.

Anyway, so much so for their ice cream. Azabu Sabo also serve Japanese cuisine at several restaurant branches, and we decided to give it a go.

The restaurant offers two dining sections, one inside the shop itself, and the other outside at the 'open area'. We were given the latter and it was pretty okay if you don't mind occasional stares from people at the higher stories or escalators.

Green Tea Milk Shake,   S$7.80++,   

A wonderful thick milky shake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. This should suit the general liking because the green tea flavour was strong enough to taste, yet at the same time, subtle enough to not overpower.

Sabo Style Teriyaki Chicken Bento,   S$11.80++,   

The portion was seemingly decent than what we would expect from a S$11.80 bento. There were generous slabs of Teriyaki Chicken, a mass of sweet minced (?) egg, shreds of seaweed covering the rice, some pickles and salad as sides, plus a bowl of clear miso soup.

Grilled Premium Rib-Eye Beef Steak with
Wasabi Butter Sauce,   S$19.80++,   

This, although one of the slightly higher priced menu item, with lots of (cheap) pickles and vegetables to 'fill in the space', the rib-eye steak was worth it all. Bite-sized premium beef cubes tenderly grilled to relish tasty juices inside your mouth. And for something different, it was served with plum rice and matching Wasabi Butter Sauce.

Caramelized Sweet Potato and Japananese Rice Cake
with Matcha Ice Cream,   S$8.80++,   

We wanted an atypical dessert rather than those bowls of soft serve sundaes with sauces and lots of toppings which people usually order. Wrong choice, because the Caramelized Sweet Potato and Japananese Rice Cake turned out very disappointing. They were hard and tough to chew on, and we struggled our way through to finish it. Lesson learnt - just stick to the popular choices.

VERDICT
For a brand which specializes mainly in desserts, the food fared reasonably well enough. We might be dropping by again for some after-meal-desserts, and when that time comes, we'll be be choosing the popular ones.

Azabu Sabo - The Central
#01-68/69, The Central ©
6 Eu Tong En Street, S(059817)
(+65) 6410 9578
Sun - Thur: 11.30 a.m. - 9.30 p.m.
Fri - Sat: 11.30 a.m. - 10.30 p.m.
http://www.azabusabo.com.sg

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TCC: Eat, Drink, Chill

It's a friday night and you are out with your friends downtown. You want a place where you can have a nice dinner, do some catching up, and stay on long without getting the 'when-are-you-leaving-stares' from the servers. Then, you shouldn't give TCC a miss!

The relaxed ambience and comfy chairs already await you to snug onto them.

Oreo Mocha Frappé,   S$7.90++,   

We don't usually choose this, but doesn't mean that it isn't good! We just happened to have cravings for chocolatey drinks that particular day, and our personal favourites are Peach Me Up and Matcha Mambo.

Chocolate Raspberry Frappé,   S$7.90++,   

It's really a wonder how TCC did their drinks, because none of them ever seem to disappoint us. Chocolate Raspberry Frappé was a new menu item, and as usual, it got us squealing in delight with a sour fruity twist to its rich chocolate.

Smoked Salmon and Camembert Toast Salad
with Apricot Sorbet,   S$13.80++,   

A salad of smoked salmon and camembert cheese toast snaps in as a zesty start! Spread in blobs of homemade apricot thyme sorbet to give an uplifting sensation.

Tropical Tamarind Chicken,   S$17.50++,   

A tender piece of marinated chicken thigh soaked in warm tamarind cream sauce, which goes perfectly well with the tropical fruit salsa, asparagus, and the tastiest dauphinoise potatoes. What else could be better?

Banana Salmon Exotica,   S$20++,   

How does banana curry sauce with salmon and mashed potatoes sound? Weird, and perhaps too exotic for the general. Surprisingly, it turned out to be a taste so unique yet appealing in the piquant blend of everything.

Chicken and Turkey Bacon Lasagne,   S$16++,   

Fork your way through a blanket of golden brown mozzarella cheese, with underlying layers of pasta sheets and generous servings of diced chicken and smoked turkey chicken trapped between - meltingly baked goodness.

Seafood Aglio Olio,   S$18.80++,   

Spaghetti Aglio Olio subtly flavoured with chilli and garlic accompanied with succulent pan seared scallops and fresh prawns.

Chic-Mex Pizza,   S$12++,   

This was more like a pizza toast - crispy bread crust topped with chicken chunks and turkey bacon, spiced up with capsicums and jalapeños peppers. The cheese however seemed to be a tad dry.

Smoked Salmon Avo-bayon,   S$14.50++,   

Citrusy smoked salmon draped with luscious avocado mash and drizzled with a thin layer of sabayon sauce, served between delicious baked walnut rye bread. It's gonna be a big pulpy mess!

Beef D'luxe,   S$14.50++,   

You'll be amazed by how thick and juicy the homemade beef patty was. Grilled to tender excellence, the patty was well accompanied with nectarous braised apples, tomato slices, lettuce, and again, the delicious walnut rye bread.

Shrooms 'N' Cheese Sandwich,   S$13++,   

The best sandwich we've tried by far. Meaty portobello, button and oyster mushrooms with velvety layers of melted cheese - this dish is sure to win the hearts of mushroom and cheese lovers.

Cocoa Mosaic,   S$10++,   

An art piece so pretty that you wouldn't know where to start. Swirls of raspberry sauce and berries encompassing cubes of white, milk, and dark chocolate mousse melt subtly in your mouth. Sweet.

Devil-misu,   S$11++,   

It was quite sad to find out that the Ti-rum-isu in the old menu had been replaced by this. Along with the price hike, the Devil-misu was seemingly an upgraded version made from TCC's finest espresso and mascarpone cheese with a demonic kick of rum, served with berries and brandied cherries.

VERDICT
Nothing in TCC was labelled "yucky". Well, at least of all that we'd tried. We are loving everything here from the food, to drinks, desserts, and presentation. TCC had already earned itself a perennial favourite for hanging out and chilling among us and our friends.

TCC - The Atrium @ Orchard
#01-17, Atrium @ Orchard
60 Orchard Road, S(238891)
(+65) 6884 9223
Sun - Thur: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Fri - Sat: 11 a.m. - 1.30 a.m.
http://www.thecoffeeconnoisseur.com

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Häagen-Dazs: Just for the Premium Ice Cream

Been ages since we wanted to check out the fondue at Häagen-Dazs, and it seemed that the price really soared up higher unknowingly.

Chocolate Fondue,   S$43.90++,   

A pot of rich dark chocolate sitting over slow warmth from a tealight candle, served together with 16 mini scoops of Häagen-Dazs' renowned ice cream - chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and cookies and cream. Those were the four default flavours and they could not be exchanged for others. Very sad, but we reasoned out that perhaps other flavours might not suit the fondue well.

Fresh fruits are also not a kind to be missed when it comes to fondue, and here we had slices of strawberries, bananas and green apples. The third section of the dish were filled with wafer biscuits, chocolate wafer rolls, and cheesecake cubes. And finally, we chose chocolate rice over crushed nuts as dippings.

Chocolate sauce wasn't too gloppy or runny, and it was fun dunking the ice cream balls into the pot, then let the chocolate solidify before gorging them down.

VERDICT
One time and it's over. In our opinion, the fondue was way overpriced and we wouldn't be paying another 50 odd dollars for such a fondue again. We'd say, go for the less expensive ones especially with so many competitors and choices around. Even if you really love the ice cream from Häagen-Dazs, we suggest you get a whole pint instead. Much worthier!

Another point to add, we were quite pissed with the service at Junction 8 branch. The staff made a total of three attempts to clear our plates and "chase us out" half an hour before closure, when we were not even done yet.

Häagen-Dazs - Junction 8
#03-09, Junction 8
9 Bishan Place, S(579837)
(+65) 6255 4839
Mon - Sun: 10.30 a.m. - 10 p.m.

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