Brassica Doughnuts Emsphere - Signature Creme Brulee @ Bangkok [Thailand]

While researching for food to eat at Emsphere, Bangkok's newest mall, I chanced upon Brassica Doughnuts which was said to be place to go for "innovative Bangkok doughnuts"! What I didn't know then was that it's co-owned by a Singaporean.

Unlike the typical donuts we were accustomed to, these were actually bomboloni; a mouthful to say so let's just stick with donuts / doughnuts. Anyway, there were 22 to choose from, ranging from a not-cheap 100 to 160 baht. 

Alex wasn't keen to share with me and I can only make do with one. A signature it shall be, and I guess creme brulee would likely be the favorite for any decent human! 

After subjecting the poor donut to a session of burning to secure that thin layer of burnt sugar, the surgical procedure continued with the cruel cut across the side of the donut, revealing a slit. 

Then in goes the filling. Damn, the way I described sounded like it was an artificial impregnation although it could also be put forth as forced feeding; i.e. the making of foie gras.  

Placed in a paper bag, we quickly found a common table nearby where I could immediately indulge since I always prefer to eat things fresh, where possible. p.s. that's the reason why GrabFood and Foodpanda find it difficult to earn my money.

Oozing with cream, this wasn't a nice picture after my description in the paragraph before the above. Without that description, I would have called this tempting. 

As expected, the thin layer of sugar broke upon biting but I was more impressed with how incredibly soft and fluffy the inside was! You can see the layers from the above picture!

Creme inside was vanilla and surprisingly didn't taste very sweet. The cold cream also contrasted with the slightly warm donut even though I would have preferred a hotter one for a more balanced contrast with the cold. 

It was good but when it comes to a reorder, I hesitated as the price wasn't that cheap (still more economical than the ones we have in Singapore) and I would need a wow factor to entice me. However, a revisit would still be necessary to try out the other donuts at Brassica Doughnuts as I totally love the texture! 

Helpful to also know they were best eaten straight out from the fridge and no reheating is required. Given that it's ideal not to keep for more than 2 days, I guess three would be a good number to consider for future buys!

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Address

G Floor, Emsphere, 564 Sukhumvit Rd, Khlong Tan, 

Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Map

As above. 

Pricing

Signature Creme Brulee - 100 Baht

GetFresh at Terminal 21 Asok in Bangkok [Thailand]

When you are spoilt for meal choices, it can unfortunately result in a state of dilemma. That's how I felt when I was at Terminal 21 Asok, and I eventually chose an eatery I wouldn't have expected to dine at in Bangkok.

GetFresh - an eatery that focuses on healthy eating. I am on holiday and should be indulging excessively on sinful food that would result in weight gain once I get back in Singapore! 

One thing for sure, I am not going to get a salad as that's my usual choice for lunch in Singapore and I don't see the point of "suffering" on holiday. To be fair, GetFresh has a review score of 4.5 on Google Maps, and there's more than just salad and wrap on the menu.

The Classic Smoothie - made of strawberry, banana, apple and yogurt, the first thought that came to mind was its similarity to the Skinny Dip from Boost Juice! Me like, except for the high price tag of 159 baht. 

The Avo Mozza Sourdough Melts - "sliced avocado, sundried tomato, guacamole, hot sauce, fresh mozzarella, fresh-cut tomato, wild rocket on toasted sourdough bread served with a side of adobo chipotle hot sauce", reason I chose this was due to its slightly lower calorie count at 443. 

Second reason for the choice, my seemingly love for avocado. In the past, I only have avocado in juice form, with added milk. Nowadays, I have taken a liking for avocado spread on bread! 

Aside from a generous portion of avocado, I love the combination of the warm sourdough bread that had just the right touch of chewiness with the subtle nuttiness from the avocado,slight sour-sweetness from the sun-dried tomatoes and a burst of spiciness from the sauce.

Salmon Steak - Alex' choice, which I would say was a safe choice. How badly can one screw up a salmon steak? Even I can easily make one using my air-fryer, except that I don't like the smell in my kitchen afterwards.

Vegetables were flavored well, pumpkin was nice and Alex commented that the mashed potatoes were delish. Pity the star, said to be Atlantic salmon steak, was mushy and tasted fishy, almost like we had a bad bout of frozen salmon! Now, that's disappointing! 

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I wouldn't mind coming back for the The Avo Mozza Sourdough Melts. 

Definitely not for the Salmon Steak. 

Address

88 Sukhumvit Soi 19,

Terminal 21 Asok, 5th floor, Room 5020, 

Wattana, Sukhumvit Rd, North, Khlong Toei, 

Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Map

As above.

Pricing

The Classic Smoothie - 159 Baht

The Avo Mozza Sourdough Melts - 299 Baht

Salmon Steak - 499 Baht

(Subject to Service Charge and Inclusive of VAT)

Woodlands Claypot Prawn & Hokkien Mee @ Marsiling in Woodlands [Singapore]

Videos of bubbling hot claypot prawns had been appearing on my social media feed for quite some time and with a review score of 4.5 from 326 reviewers, I guess it's time for me to make my way up to Woodlands!

Time was 9.11 pm, with less than an hour to go before its closing! I was so dead afraid to come during lunch or dinner as Singaporeans can be real crazy with queuing; hence, I decided to wait for a friend who was working till late to join me for a late dinner.

How to order? Make a beeline for the cashier at the stall, take the double sided laminated menu and a whiteboard marker, find a table, ponder about your order, indicate your order and write down your table number on the menu using the whiteboard marker, proceed to the cashier, make payment, and then wait for your food.

While waiting for our food, I was enjoying the fun and laughter from the table near us, and was patting myself on my back that I went for the bare basics for this meal, without opting for the extras that would have been too much for us!

You can also take the opportunity to take / design your own sauces; in addition to common ones like thai chilli sauce, there were also homemade chilli sauce, Japanese sesame dressing, hot chicken korea sauce, and even nacho cheese! Help yourself to the raw garlic, coriander and chilli padi too.

These items were placed on our table and I knew I shouldn't be so enthusiastic to immediately remove the cover of the claypot. From observations, the claypot would be cooked via the charcoal stove and I should just be patient, and bide my time. 

Seven minutes later, a stove with tongues of uncontrollable flames and a mouth filled was red-hot charcoal was placed on the metal plate. I must admit; high quality charcoal was used as there were hardly any smoke!

Cooking the claypot.

Wait again.

Hokkien Mee - let's begin with the specialty hokkien mee first! Despite the raw egg, there's no further cooking required and you would have to mix everything up! Honestly, it would have been nice for the stall to inform us as we were totally clueless, until we asked.

Tossing process threw out a disappointment; I realized the noodles used for the hokkien mee were a mix of yellow noodles and thick bee hoon but 90% was the former, which I generally don't enjoy. Oh well, must try before commenting further. p.s. portion looked tiny but bowl was deep. 

Initially, I thought the noodles were too dry and didn't soak up enough of the thickened prawn broth. Turned out the broth was at the bottom! As it turned out, it was just too much yellow noodles for me and while the broth was above average with a rich seafood flavour; it's the prawns that were the main stars. There wasn't much wok hei and I would love more pork lard too...

Specialty Prawn Broth - Claypot cover was sizzling and we had to notify the stall operator before it was removed; revealing boiling hot soup that was bubbling over a school of prawns that numbered a total of twelve! That explained its basic high price of S$32.80! 

Couldn't wait to take sip and my first sip was unexpected as I thought the soup would be thick and heavy of prawns but it turned out to be lighter, more watery and tasted more like typical prawn soup that will not have commanded such a high price.

But we have to be fair, the prawns were not small prawns and I had to admit that they were fresh tasting with sweet, succulent meat that made me almost regretted not paying the S$15.80 more for an extra 500 grams! 

In addition, the broth tasted much better as the prawns simmered further in the claypot, slowly releasing all their sinful essences into the soup, making it taste a lot more robust, and yummier! p.s. might get a bit too salty towards the end. 

Before long, the claypot dried up and the prawns were comfortably in our tummy. As the charcoals were still burning, you can opt to top up the claypot with normal stock soup for free but there were just two of us, and our tummies were already full.

Again, the prawns were so good! 

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I wouldn't go back for the hokkien mee but on a cool, rainy day, I bet I would seek solace in boiling claypot of delicious tiger prawns. That would have been so shiok! 

Not wasting the videos I took! 

Address

10, Marsiling Industrial Estate Road 1,

#01-01, Stall #7, Eden Food Mall,

Singapore 739276

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

12.00 pm to 10.00 pm

(Last order at about 9.30 pm) 

Pricing

Hokkien Mee - S$8.00

Specialty Prawn Broth - S$32.80

(NETT)

Freshly Grilled Garlic Bread outside the Duck Stall @ Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok [Thailand]

I was walking underneath the pride of fluttering colors strips, on my way to Kamphaeng Phet MRT station at Bangkok when my sensitive nose caught a whiff of something delicious! 

Like a dog, I traced the smell to this above stall. Nope, it's not the duck noodle that caught the attention of my nostrils but the makeshift stall right in front.

Turned out they were grilling bread for sale and the one and no doubt it was the aromatic garlic bread that appealed to me. Given my starch-restricted diet, bread was something I love yet trying very hard not to eat.

However, I caved in to the temptation after seeing how nicely grilled they were! And I have an absolute soft spot for garlic bread; so much so that I made my own garlic spread before and it was terribly bad for my weight management plan! 

You can even opt for free toppings ranging from sugar, condensed milk, ketchup, chocolate to strawberry! Do note that you are supposed to help yourself after paying and securing your bread. 

Secured my bread. I wondered why we would need a plastic cup just to hold the skewer of grilled bread. An overkill and totally unnecessary, not to mention it's environmentally unfriendly too.

Warm to the touch, with the edges featuring that addictive crispness, the bread was soft on the insides and the garlic was sufficiently intense to placate my taste buds. One problem though; it was bland and you would definitely need the free toppings to up the flavor. 

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Location

Within Chatuchak Weekend Market,

Bangkok, Thailand

Pricing

Garlic / Butter Bread - 30 Baht