An afternoon with my cousin Jim in Singapore

I went to Singapore last June to attend the World Street Food Congress 2013. I arrived early Sunday morning and I had a few hours free time in the afternoon. Those precious few hours were supposed to be ‘rest time’ but for me it meant speed shopping since that was the only free time I had for the duration of my trip. My cousin Jim who’s based in Singapore decided to accompany me and acted as my tour guide.

My first stop was Tanglin Mall to buy the orange and almond cake at Brunetti. I discovered that when I was in Melbourne. Brunetti had their lone branch in Singapore at this mall. To my dismay the torta d’ arancia was teeny weeny bite sized piece unlike the full size cake in Melbourne. I didn’t buy it since I would need at least 4 pieces to be happy. So I looked for something else.

torta d arancia from Brunetti — torta d arancia S$2.75

My eyes quickly zoomed in to the Italian cookies which I didn’t notice in Melbourne. The baci di dama on the left was a chocolate & hazelnut biscuit filled with chocolate ganache. While the baci di san remo was a flourless version of the former.

Italian hazelnut cookies from Brunetti — baci di dama, baci di san remo S$1.75@

I couldn’t resist buying one each of these flourless cookies. Biscotti al pistachio was made with ground pistachios while both bocconcinis were made with ground almonds. Nonna’s version had an amarena cherry center.

biscotti al pistachio, bocconcini, bocconcini di nonna S$1.75@ — biscotti al pistachio, bocconcini, bocconcini di nonno S$1.75@

The chocolate cookie was as decadent as it looks. It’s perfect for those who love Nutella. I actually preferred the flourless almond cookies with either with citrus rind or sour cherry center. It tasted like fine, chewy balls of marzipan with just a touch of sweetness. I already told Jim to bring home these cookies next time he comes to Manila.

Our next stop was Ion Orchard Mall where I bought a Samsonite 72 hours carry on. It’s the lightest soft side carry on with a weight of 1.6 kg. It’s even lighter than Rimowa’s Salsa Air and was 50% cheaper. I used it on my recent trip to New Zealand and I was able to stuff it with lots of stuff including my Macbook Air and the carry on didn’t go past the 7 kg. weight limit.

Samsonite 72hrs carry on — Samsonite 72hrs

After shopping I took pity on Jim and fed him since he only had instant noodles for lunch. Tea Loft is owned by the Bread Talk group which also owns Toast Box which has a similar concept.

Check out the huge containers filled with kaya, peanut butter and butter.

Jim had the chicken curry which wasn’t bad at all. I liked the fried tofu which soaked up all the curry sauce. He also had a hot milk tea.

I had an ice cold class of teh (tea) with condensed milk. My kaya toast was just mediocre. I couldn’t taste the kaya which was overpowered by the butter. I always wonder why the large slice of butter doesn’t melt both in the container in the prep area and in my sandwich. It was just softened.

While we were waiting in line at Tea Loft I took some pictures of the stall next to it. It served all fried Chinese snacks.

Their specialty was You Tiao or Chinese fritters which I love to dunk in hot congee. They served it with hot soy milk. I have yet to try that combination but many assure me it’s delicious.