Gardin Bistro & Patisserie

I did all my homework before going to Bali and one of the cafes that I really wanted to check out was Gardin Bistro & Patisserie because of the layout of the place. It's design is similar to that of a glasshouse so think of lots of greenery and glass windows.

Now you see what I mean when I say that they're pretty much a cafe in a glass enclosure.

Because of its design, Ben and I felt super relaxed and at ease throughout our whole meal. Oh and coupled with the fact that the service there was super good, we had a very good impression of Bali from our first meal in that country! The waiters were asking us what country we're from and even offered to help us take a photo!

 

We got pretty good seats next to the glass windows cause it was quite empty when we arrived. I actually made a reservation before coming to Bali but I guess you don't really need one if you're going on a weekday. You could also choose to be seated outdoors but that's a smoking area plus Bali's weather is pretty hot so we decided to stay indoors.

They had really cute salt and pepper shakes and tissue holder as well!

We were pretty much spoilt for choices when we were deciding on what to get for lunch. We also wanted to save some space for desserts cause how can you go to such a place and not have cakes right? So we got an appetiser and a main to share.

Gardin Sauteed Chicken (RP 65 000)

I really felt like having chicken that day and so we ordered this. It's topped off with crushed peanuts, coriander puree, honey and soy reduction. It's pretty much like a mixture of chickens in all forms hahaha. There's chicken satay, white chicken and soy chicken. Our favourite would have to be the soy one (darkest coloured one) cause the taste was really strong and vibrant.

Grilled Salmon Fillet (RP 148 000)

And Ben decided on the main cause I chose the appetiser. This was the bomb. I've nvr had such good salmon in my life (I'm not exaggerating) and the mash potato was a bonus for a potato lover like me. We both tried a mouth and looked up at each other and our expressions were priceless haha!

I can't rmb what this was called what it's basically like chocolate covered cornflakes stuck together with almonds in between here and there. I chose this cause I thought the texture would be interesting. Plus, it's pretty much photo worthy.

Red Velvet Cake

Both Ben and I preferred this to the other dessert we got. Trust me when I say I've had some pretty bad red velvet cakes in my life and this just did red velvet cake justice. There was just a right balance of cream cheese and cake. Not too much, not too little.

Vanilla Latte (RP 45 000)

Coconut Water (RP 38 000)

Nothing much for the drinks but just to show you a photo of what we got (:

Overall, all I can say is what a wonderful way to kick start our Bali trip. I even managed to take all my ootd photos outside of this little cafe because it's exterior was just as pretty as its interior. Design is definitely something important to me and this just beats all the cafes I've ever been to. In fact, Gardin Bistro is definitely on top of my list of cafes to go to in Bali. Do check it out if you're planning a trip to Seminyak and I promise you, it won't disappoint!

Gardin Bistro & Patisserie - Jl. Petitenget  No. 106

"People will travel anywhere for good food - it's crazy."

Rene Redzepi

Percolate

Most of my friends will know this but I actually have an album on my phone for brunch places that are near mrt stations to check out! Everytime I see a photo on IG for a brunch place, I'd click on the location to find out where it is and then save it for future references. One of the places in my album is Percolate, simply because it's at Bedok which is relatively near my place.

I went there with Heyse on Monday to get my cake craving satisfied! I kind of know it's under some HDB blocks cause I've seen photos of it but when we were walking to Percolate from the MRT, it still feels quite weird and random to have a cafe haha! Not complaining though cause it just means greater convenience for the majority of us (:

It's actually located next to a hawker centre and a clinic hahaha!

Upon arriving, we got the last seats available! We were a little shocked at how crowded it was on a Monday afternoon. The cafe is quite small actually and seats are limited so I guess it's really about luck!

Banoffee Cake ($7)

Salted Caramel Cake ($6.50)

Heyse and I decided to get 2 different cakes to try even though we both wanted the salted caramel one haha! For the Banoffee cakes, it's actually a mix of toffee and bananas. Both cakes aren't too sweet which is awesome cause that means you won't get sick of it after awhile. A little bland for my liking though. I prefer my cakes to be 'richer' in flavour I guess. This would definitely click with those who like their cakes simple!

Percolate does sell other food such as sandwiches, muesli and bread. But that's pretty much about it! Hence it's probably a better choice for a tea break or when you just want smth light. Definitely won't be a lunch kind of place! I'm still glad I found this place in the East cause it's quite rare to find one near here(:

Percolate - 136 Bedok North
                  Avenue 3
                  #01-152

"Love is like a good cake; you never know when it's coming. but you'd better eat it when it does!"

C. JoyBell C.

Stateland Cafe

Finally got my waffle fix after craving for it for such a long time! I've been wanting to check out Stateland Cafe cause I've been seeing photos of their waffles on IG for the longest time ever! It's actually located at Bali Lane, which is right next to Haji Lane so it's really convenient to get to. About a 5 mins walk from Bugis MRT.

 The Classic Waffle ($9.90)

Blueberries ($2)

Jo decided to get classic waffles that day cause she wanted something simple and light. We were both saying that we shouldn't eat such a heavy meal cause there's lots of cafes at Haji Lane and we could always try out another shop. I had a bite of hers and I found it quite average. Nth really spectacular but it wasn't bad as well. She added extra blueberries but we couldn't really see how it's worth $2. The waffles initially alr came with blueberries so they added really little extra blueberries.

 The Red Velvet ($14.90)

And here's what I got! I was initially inclined to get the big breakfast but I decided to try their waffles instead since it's what they're famous for. And the results? I was so disappointed ): I'm not someone who is very particular about my food. Honestly, I can't tell when something is too creamy, too sweet or stuff like that. But this was really so bad. My waffles were burnt. I actually had to stab the knife into the waffle to cut it. Towards the middle, it got better though. Maybe cause the ice cream was there to kind of overcome the burnt taste. Initially, I thought it was just me but after Jo tried it, she just stared at me and said it's really burnt. Hahaha but being the nice customer that I was, I didn't request for a change or anything.

Well and here's a photo of both our waffles tgt. At least their waffles are pretty and presentable. As for the burnt aspect, it could be a slip up and doesn't occur very often. Jo's one tasted totally fine so I guess I'm just unlucky.

And a photo outside their shop! I'll be blogging about my outfit and trip to Haji Lane soon so stay tuned! (:

Stateland Cafe - 30 Bali Lane

"You should eat a waffle! You can't be sad if you eat a waffle!"

Lauren Myracle

Rokeby

So glad I managed to plan a brunch date amidst all the crazy things happening. Before college day last Sat, Heyse, Jolene and I decided to have brunch at Rokeby cause we needed smth to look forward to hahahahaha. School for 7h on a Saturday is just depressing. Even though we were back to celebrate the school's 25th anniversary, it still feels as if we were going for a morning lecture on a weekend.

Initially, there were suppose to be 7 of us but Jia Lin fell ill, John and Leeyin decided to skip school and Jezreel overslept hahaha! So it ended up being just the 3 of us. It was a little embarrassing cause we actually made a reservation but we had to tell them there's just the 3 of us.

Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad ($11.90)

Chicken Caesar Salad ($9.90)

Doing the reviews for both salads tgt cause they were pretty much the same. It wasn't bad but Jo and Heyse didn't look overly enthusiastic about it. Personally, not a salad person so I gave this a miss!

Freo's Fish n Chips ($16.90)

I thought the presentation of this was really pretty! Really simple and clean. But other than that, nth much to rave about. The skin of the fish actually stuck to the white paper so I was pretty much just eating the meat of the fish. Couldn't finish it cause we actually ordered sides and I wanted to save some space for dessert!

Truffled Parmesan Fries ($8.90)

According to Jo, there wasn't enough truffle in this. I have to agree cause towards the bottom, it tasted like normal fries. I thought the top half was pretty good though! The serving is quite large as well so definitely worth the $8.90 quantity wise.

 Fruits and Nutella Waffles ($11.90)

And here's the reason why we wanted to check out Rokeby! My sister has been raving about their waffles after her visit there and I told the cafe hopping group about it. And as expected, it didn't disappoint! The waffles were crispy and fruits with nutella is a perfect combination. They do have other sides if you're afraid it'll be too sweet. If I'm not wrong, their waffles are one of their most famous dish and you definitely must order this if you're dropping by!

We were all a little disappointed to find out that their brunch ended at 12noon from Mon-Sat cause their brunch menu looks really good. It's quite weird actually cause don't most cafes have brunch all day ): I'd come back to Rokeby to try their brunch someday and hopefully, their brunch would be better than their lunch dishes! 

If you're paying Rokeby a visit, I'd advise to call and make a reservation first cause it's quite small. You wouldn't want to wait outside under the hot sun! Speaking of their size, the 3 of us were quite irked by the fact that it was insanely noisy. It's like we had to shout across in order to sustain a conversation. Definitely not a place to have a chat with a friend but oh well, we still tried our best to have a conversation haha!

And here's a photo of the 3 of us to end this post(:

 

Rokeby - 15-9 Jalan Riang

"Food is an important part of a balanced diet."

Frances Ann Lebowitz

Marche

I'm sure Marche is smth really familiar to you guys. I've always heard of Marche but for the years it's been around, last Thursday was my first time trying it out. My girls and I were at Vivo and we were deciding what to have for dinner when Lynn suggested Marche. I then said I've nvr been there before and they just stared at me and went "Whaaaaaaaaaaat!"

So being a newbie at Marche, I have no idea how things work. I didn't even know they had a market style kind of way of getting food - if you want soup, you go to the soup station. If you want greens, you go to the salad section. We were all given a card and my friends explained to me how it worked haha! Basically you order your food from the different stations and pass them your card. At the end of your meal, you then proceed to the cashier to pay for it. Lynn and I then walked round tgt to decided what we want to have and ended up walking round about 3 times. We were just spoilt for choices! Vanessa then kept insisting that I get Rosti so I did.

 

 

Rosti with Fried Egg

Lynn, Vanessa and I all got Rosti :D I'm pretty sure Rosti is Marche's most famous dish. It's basically shredded potato but wow, mind blowing. We all added egg but you could add other ingredients such as cheese and sausage as well! Today, I went to Marche again with Kaixuan and Lynn and I sucuumb to my temptation and got Rosti again. I wanted to try smth else but the previous experience of having Rosti was just too mouth watering haha! That's actually why I suggested Marche today cause I was craving for it. Definitely a must get from Marche!

 

Salmon

Here's what Shericia got. I'm quite a huge fan of cooked salmon actually so this definitely appealed to me. I didn't see this dish when I was roaming around Marche actually but it's under the seafood section. If I rmb correctly, it's priced around $14.

 

 

Chicken

And hungry Denise got this. I honestly have no idea how she finished this. The store she got it from also sells whole chicken and chicken thigh. The second photo is taken today(: Lynn ordered it today cause her pasta was sold out. She originally wanted Salmon Pasta Gratin (sounds so darn good) but it was sold out! I guess that means it's quite popular? If I didn't have Rosti today, I would have gotten the pasta actually.

 

Crepes with banana, chocolate and ice cream

After eating a chicken all by herself, Denise went on and ordered crepes. Nvr knew she had such a huge appetite! The crepes are really delicious but definitely not very filling. More of a huge dessert in my opinion. Lynn and I decided to get crepes too after trying hers haha!

 

Bread and Butter Pudding

Lynn decided to get dessert today too cause the dessert section looked too tempting. I myself also got dessert(crepes) cause it just looked too yummy! This pudding is quite decent actually and I might get it the next time I'm there!

Just to show you guys the dessert section (my favourite place ever!)

 

And here are some photos from last Thurs and today(:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The belly rules the mind."

Spanish Proverb