In a bid to welcome divinejoybites back to sunny island briefly, together with Fen and Yuan, Mister and Missus Chewy, Daniel and Laysian as well as Glenn headed to the new kid on the block - Antoinette. Fairly filled for the night, in fact people streamed in quite readily throughout the couple of hours we were there.
So here's the deal.
Yet another brainchild of Chef Pang after Pique Nique, Antoinette goes Parisian with his latest offering. It does look a little mismatched along the road. In fact, it sticks out like a sore thumb (in a good way!)...you cannot quite miss seeing it!
From the decor to the array of delicious looking goodies greeting you at the door to the same glass counter concept applied across most patisserie these days...it is welcoming. One thing though, the servers were clad in a formal white-black combination with the F and B manager in a suit. Too poshnosh for the surroundings, methinks.
Packaging too cute to resist.
The temptation counter.
Jars for takeaway.
Couture wedding cakes!
Love the old english rose...roses give that added edge of elegance to anything!
Chandeliers and roses...classic!
The all day brunch menu inclusion has become a staple across most new eating establishments, no surprises from Antoinette heading in that direction either.
Glasses made for clinking...I felt inclined for a glass of wine to complement the surroundings.
Burger Royale ($18)
Panfried beef patty on brioche bread, mayonnaise, homemade tomato relish, lettuce, red onions, mustard, aged cheddar cheese, chips and petite salad with house dressing
Unlike the usual burger works, Antoinette's interpretation came with brioche as the main source of carbs rather than sesame speckled hamburger buns. I have my reservations about brioche as they tend to be crumbly and lacking in bite. This, however, was pretty good! *signals the confetti* Paired with a tasty beef patty, I actually like this cafe burger! What's great is, the patty is not entirely minced so it does not fall apart within bites.
Savoury Blinis with Grilled Sausage, French Butter, Grilled Tomato and Salad ($15)
Blinis are french thick pancakes.
Their pancakes are one and all the same - just paired with various toppings for a name change. Don't get me wrong, I am not faulting them on that. These mildly salted pancakes were denser than Mcs hotcakes but less wholesome than Food for thoughts. Decent attempt methinks but the sausage and salad that came with it did not go as complementary as desired.
Here's what the rest indulged in..pictures only, head over to their blogs for commentaries!
Nordic $16.50
Dill cream cheese to go with it!
Part one.
Part two.
Antoinette's Breakfast ($20)
Egg with grilled bacon, sausage, pain de mie toast, basket of viennoiseries and orange juice
Classic Eggs Florentine ($14)
Served on toasted brioche, wilted spinach, serrano ham, hollandaise sauce and salad with house dressing
Country Style Baked Omelette ($15)
With potato, bacon and onion. Served with mushroom ragout, homemade pain de mie toast and salad with house dressing
Savoury Blinis with Smoked Salmon, French Butter, Sour Cream and Salad ($15)
Wild Mushroom Risotto ($20)
Gnocchi Carbonara ($16.50)
After much unglamorous jabbing, the yolk reluctantly peeked out.
Desserts have been highly raved about, from fans of Canele to fans of Antoinette. In true food-blogger style, we tried to have a taste of all daily offerings.
Macarons
Sesame, Pitaschio, Brittany , $5 for 3
Chloe, Charlotte $5.60 for 2
Crispy sugar shells meets soft buttercream filling. That should sum the macarons up nicely. Britanny (Salted caramel) had a nice savoury touch to it to balance the sweet but the Chloe (Orange) was over the top sweet. Would have expected a chewy and rich filling but it was met with a cream filling instead.
Some of these cakes were interpreted but uncannily resembled some offerings at Canele.
Let's start with the personal favourites
Mont Blanc ($8.50)
Always a fan of mont blanc. Infact, my expectation of one is simple - chestnut flavoured cream, whipped cream and a sable tart as the base. Would be a surprising find if a rum-soaked chestnut were embedded within! In all smoothness, I liked this enough.
Saint Honourl' Amour ($8.50)
I once fussed and drooled over this both Laduree and Pierre Herme counters but no call-to-action was taken. I berated myself to death over the choices made then.
Choux puffs plumped with rose-flavoured cream, raspberry coulis spread across the sable tart and choux puff donut at the base and finally topping off with an edible rose petal complete with gel droplets. While rose-flavoured desserts are not completely my cup of tea, I thought this was pleasantly nice.
The rest were nice, not great though. Personal preference I suppose.
Antoinette ($9)
Hugely raved about for its multitude of layers and complexity of flavours. Jab through the raspberry puree filled sphere and multi-layer chocolate confectionery to take in within one bite. The sour puree went well with the mousse-florentine combination. Liked the crunchy-smooth textures at play here.
Pudding Maple ($6.50)
Initial thoughts of these were - Japanses inspired wobbly caramel pudding. Post consumption thoughts - Curd-like-stiff jelly with caramel. Unimpressed.
Brittany ($8)
Dry layers meets sweet raspberry jam, once is enough.
Chocolicieux ($9.50)
Magnum look alike popsicle caused much excitement within the group. Coated with a layer of edible shimmer, it literally sparkled under the glass. Pierce beneath the crushed peanut encrusted shell and find a decadent chocolate treasure. Yes it had chocolate, chocolate was smooth...I did risk pimples and had more than one attempt at it but more pomp than substance here.
Tart Cafe Caramel ($8)
Almond tart, caramel a la fleur de sel, genoise cafe, coffee mousse, caramel glace
We joked about this one - being the only one left, it had to be awesome. I countered that remark with "there could be tons more in the waiting to be brought out".
Awesome this is not though I admit, I am sold on the crunchy tart. Coffee meets caramel custard, it was nice not outstanding.
Violette ($8.50)
I label this the kueh lapis lookalike, chocolate sponge with layers of coffee cream. Sponge was moist, coffee cream had hints of coffee but together, lacked a certain punch to it.
Religieuse of Caramel with Fleur De Sel ($8)
Choux pastry, caramel cream perfumed with fleur de sel, caramel glace, caramel butter cream
Modelled after the Strawberry choux, this was a stacked choux puff confection. The puffs were slightly soaked through with cream but still had a certain bite to it. Forgettable one.
Le Royale ($8)
I like the crunchy praline embedded, and that was it.
Their chocolate confections are not hugely impressionable with the exception of Antoinette. Perhaps there are too many chocolate offerings to create a clear disctinction.
Ending the meal on a glittery note.
Reservations are highly recommended if you go in big groups as the layout of the shop isn't exactly huge...would fit 20 comfortably. Occupancy beyond that can be a challenge.
Be prepared to get hushed by waiters who gently remind you not to use flash though photography is encouraged, waiters may appear to educate you on how to eat the cake properly and of course, they are at your kind disposal for group photo taking as well. Overall, it was a tad contrived. Service is not as polished as TWG's not as warm as K Ki's, there is still room for improvement!
I am no Canele fan, not quite an Antoinette dessert fan either...I will return for more of their brunch items though!
Antoinette
30 Penhas Road
So here's the deal.
Yet another brainchild of Chef Pang after Pique Nique, Antoinette goes Parisian with his latest offering. It does look a little mismatched along the road. In fact, it sticks out like a sore thumb (in a good way!)...you cannot quite miss seeing it!
From the decor to the array of delicious looking goodies greeting you at the door to the same glass counter concept applied across most patisserie these days...it is welcoming. One thing though, the servers were clad in a formal white-black combination with the F and B manager in a suit. Too poshnosh for the surroundings, methinks.
Packaging too cute to resist.
The temptation counter.
Jars for takeaway.
Couture wedding cakes!
Love the old english rose...roses give that added edge of elegance to anything!
Chandeliers and roses...classic!
The all day brunch menu inclusion has become a staple across most new eating establishments, no surprises from Antoinette heading in that direction either.
Glasses made for clinking...I felt inclined for a glass of wine to complement the surroundings.
Burger Royale ($18)
Panfried beef patty on brioche bread, mayonnaise, homemade tomato relish, lettuce, red onions, mustard, aged cheddar cheese, chips and petite salad with house dressing
Unlike the usual burger works, Antoinette's interpretation came with brioche as the main source of carbs rather than sesame speckled hamburger buns. I have my reservations about brioche as they tend to be crumbly and lacking in bite. This, however, was pretty good! *signals the confetti* Paired with a tasty beef patty, I actually like this cafe burger! What's great is, the patty is not entirely minced so it does not fall apart within bites.
Savoury Blinis with Grilled Sausage, French Butter, Grilled Tomato and Salad ($15)
Blinis are french thick pancakes.
Their pancakes are one and all the same - just paired with various toppings for a name change. Don't get me wrong, I am not faulting them on that. These mildly salted pancakes were denser than Mcs hotcakes but less wholesome than Food for thoughts. Decent attempt methinks but the sausage and salad that came with it did not go as complementary as desired.
Here's what the rest indulged in..pictures only, head over to their blogs for commentaries!
Nordic $16.50
Dill cream cheese to go with it!
Part one.
Part two.
Antoinette's Breakfast ($20)
Egg with grilled bacon, sausage, pain de mie toast, basket of viennoiseries and orange juice
Classic Eggs Florentine ($14)
Served on toasted brioche, wilted spinach, serrano ham, hollandaise sauce and salad with house dressing
Country Style Baked Omelette ($15)
With potato, bacon and onion. Served with mushroom ragout, homemade pain de mie toast and salad with house dressing
Savoury Blinis with Smoked Salmon, French Butter, Sour Cream and Salad ($15)
Wild Mushroom Risotto ($20)
Gnocchi Carbonara ($16.50)
After much unglamorous jabbing, the yolk reluctantly peeked out.
Desserts have been highly raved about, from fans of Canele to fans of Antoinette. In true food-blogger style, we tried to have a taste of all daily offerings.
Macarons
Sesame, Pitaschio, Brittany , $5 for 3
Chloe, Charlotte $5.60 for 2
Crispy sugar shells meets soft buttercream filling. That should sum the macarons up nicely. Britanny (Salted caramel) had a nice savoury touch to it to balance the sweet but the Chloe (Orange) was over the top sweet. Would have expected a chewy and rich filling but it was met with a cream filling instead.
Some of these cakes were interpreted but uncannily resembled some offerings at Canele.
Let's start with the personal favourites
Mont Blanc ($8.50)
Always a fan of mont blanc. Infact, my expectation of one is simple - chestnut flavoured cream, whipped cream and a sable tart as the base. Would be a surprising find if a rum-soaked chestnut were embedded within! In all smoothness, I liked this enough.
Saint Honourl' Amour ($8.50)
I once fussed and drooled over this both Laduree and Pierre Herme counters but no call-to-action was taken. I berated myself to death over the choices made then.
Choux puffs plumped with rose-flavoured cream, raspberry coulis spread across the sable tart and choux puff donut at the base and finally topping off with an edible rose petal complete with gel droplets. While rose-flavoured desserts are not completely my cup of tea, I thought this was pleasantly nice.
The rest were nice, not great though. Personal preference I suppose.
Antoinette ($9)
Hugely raved about for its multitude of layers and complexity of flavours. Jab through the raspberry puree filled sphere and multi-layer chocolate confectionery to take in within one bite. The sour puree went well with the mousse-florentine combination. Liked the crunchy-smooth textures at play here.
Pudding Maple ($6.50)
Initial thoughts of these were - Japanses inspired wobbly caramel pudding. Post consumption thoughts - Curd-like-stiff jelly with caramel. Unimpressed.
Brittany ($8)
Dry layers meets sweet raspberry jam, once is enough.
Chocolicieux ($9.50)
Magnum look alike popsicle caused much excitement within the group. Coated with a layer of edible shimmer, it literally sparkled under the glass. Pierce beneath the crushed peanut encrusted shell and find a decadent chocolate treasure. Yes it had chocolate, chocolate was smooth...I did risk pimples and had more than one attempt at it but more pomp than substance here.
Tart Cafe Caramel ($8)
Almond tart, caramel a la fleur de sel, genoise cafe, coffee mousse, caramel glace
We joked about this one - being the only one left, it had to be awesome. I countered that remark with "there could be tons more in the waiting to be brought out".
Awesome this is not though I admit, I am sold on the crunchy tart. Coffee meets caramel custard, it was nice not outstanding.
Violette ($8.50)
I label this the kueh lapis lookalike, chocolate sponge with layers of coffee cream. Sponge was moist, coffee cream had hints of coffee but together, lacked a certain punch to it.
Religieuse of Caramel with Fleur De Sel ($8)
Choux pastry, caramel cream perfumed with fleur de sel, caramel glace, caramel butter cream
Modelled after the Strawberry choux, this was a stacked choux puff confection. The puffs were slightly soaked through with cream but still had a certain bite to it. Forgettable one.
Le Royale ($8)
I like the crunchy praline embedded, and that was it.
Their chocolate confections are not hugely impressionable with the exception of Antoinette. Perhaps there are too many chocolate offerings to create a clear disctinction.
Ending the meal on a glittery note.
Reservations are highly recommended if you go in big groups as the layout of the shop isn't exactly huge...would fit 20 comfortably. Occupancy beyond that can be a challenge.
Be prepared to get hushed by waiters who gently remind you not to use flash though photography is encouraged, waiters may appear to educate you on how to eat the cake properly and of course, they are at your kind disposal for group photo taking as well. Overall, it was a tad contrived. Service is not as polished as TWG's not as warm as K Ki's, there is still room for improvement!
I am no Canele fan, not quite an Antoinette dessert fan either...I will return for more of their brunch items though!
Antoinette
30 Penhas Road
Congrats! I think you're the first among all of us to post this up :P We really took alot of photos! I actually quite like some of the desserts though :D
ReplyDeletehahahah get the ball rolling mah. :) yar! i always take tons of photos during such gatherings. Yeah..not all the desserts are bad...!
ReplyDelete"waiters may appear to educate you on how to eat the cake properly"?!?!
ReplyDeleteSuch pomposity! I don't like people telling me how to eat my food, worse still, my cake! = FAIL
Haiz... the maple pudding makes me crave Kki's awesome pumpkin pudding.
hahahaha...depending how you see it. Perhaps it was the way it was communicated "take the fork to pierce into the sphere and taste all the flavours together." well not verbatim but along those lines. :)
ReplyDeletei do suggest avoiding the pudding. haaa!
I think that was no waiter.. haha. It was Chef Pang who came to our table and said that if I remembered correctly!
ReplyDeleteissit? not the f&b manager??
ReplyDelete