Dean and DeLuca: this well-known gourmet brand is yet another name to join the ranks of gourmet food outlets available in Singapore... now, I'm not a huge food connoisseur (wow, I spelt that correctly!) but after all the hype in June when Dean and DeLuca's flagship store opened in Singapore, at Orchard Central, I thought it would be nice to check the place out, and I suggested it for dinner with the girls!
I guess they are kind of sick of Sukiya too hahaha because we have had dinners at Sukiya one time too many (which I honestly don't mind, I love Sukiya)! Everyone agreed to Dean and Deluca, and we found ourselves there on a relatively quiet Tuesday evening.
Dean and Deluca is a gourmet store consisting of a bakery, cafe, charcuteri (deli meat) counter, cheese counter and a sundries section.
Once you arrive on the 4th floor, it's hard to miss Dean and Deluca. The cheese and charcuterie counters appear in sight first, and you'll see a huge selection of various cheese and cuts in the chilled display freezers.
The sundries/groceries section. Utterly fascinating to look at, but the prices are also incredibly steep! From pasta sauces to exotic spices, to organic fruit jams/conserves.. a food gourmet's dream, I'm sure.
The cafe/dining section is right in the heart of the store, and it was barely occupied with diners when we arrived at around 7PM-ish. Weekdays are always best for dining in town!
Ordering is self-service, but that means there is no 10% service charge, which is a good thing because the prices on the menu are by no means cheap.
I was delighted by these Halloween-themed cupcakes... Soooooo cute please! :D Especially that black ghoul with turquoise icing! I would buy it, except it's so cute I wouldn't bear to eat it.
These muffins and bagels looked so good!
The bakery section offers a huge variety of pastries, breads and other treats! I didn't know that not all of the baked goods available are produced in-house. Some are sourced from gourmet bakeries in Singapore such as Baker and Cook, and Maison Keyser, and are actually specially baked for Dean and Deluca! Pretty cool.
Four of us ordered five different items from the menu for sharing, and it was a good decision because the food portions are decently big, and breaking down the portions definitely works well when shared with your fellow diners!
Nubs and Bunzi! Teehee. Silly Bunzi actually changed her seat because she didn't want to sit next to me, claiming I had too much makeup on and she wouldn't look good next to me ;( Whyyyy you like thattttttt!
dear HJ who specially bought dessert in the form of a mini apple strudel especially for us! How did you know I adore apple strudel hahaha. Lovelove!
Two of the Citrus Mint Teas to share! By the way, you can get water too, from the self-service station (along with the cutlery and condiments)
The salad looked very good in the display, so we ordered a half portion of this: Prawn, Avocado and Mango Salad. Fresh ingredients and tangy vinaigrette! Good stuff. A half portion costs about $11.50 (if i remember rightly?) which is kind of expensive for a salad, but then again salads are always overpriced aren't they? ;(
Eggs Iberico
2 Poached Eggs with Sautéed Mushrooms, Jamón Ibérico and Hollandaise Sauce on Sundried Tomato Bread
For some reason, I've never really appreciated poached eggs, even though I am a huge lover of eggs! This one is no different, fancy poached eggs with a gourmet ham but still not loving the poached eggs. The only part of the dish I enjoyed were the sauteed mushrooms..! Can't go wrong with mushrooms, as usual. The girls agreed with me that we thought this was quite average, and nothing to rave about.
Berries & Flap Jacks
Oat and Honey Buttermilk Pancakes with Fresh Mixed Berries, Dean and DeLuca “Grade A” Organic Maple Syrup
Fluffy soft pancakes alternated with layers of cream and drizzled with maple syrup.. Definitely need to run that extra 30 minutes (at least!!!!) on the treadmill just by partaking of this sinful dish :( But no regrets!!! I love pancakes, be it Macdonalds' hot cakes or this more ATAS version, and when accompanied with fresh berries and high-grade maple syrup, they are absolutely delicious!
I was the last (wo)man standing, haha. Devoured the last of the pancakes all by myself after requesting for additional maple syrup! Probably best eaten shared, though.
Chicken Burrito
Ancho Chicken, Black Bean, Tomato Salsa, Guacamole, Jack Cheese in Tortilla Wrap
Deceptively simple looking, but easily the most popular dish on the table! We all loved the hearty and generous meat filling with cheese in a crisp toasted wrap, and even I thought it was yummy even though I don't enjoy cheese that much. NOMS.
Valhrona Chocolate Walnut Banana Muffin
We ordered this muffin for fun because it looked so huge and yummy, and also because it costs only $3! For such a huge muffin, easily the most value-for-your-money item on the menu hahahah. AND it tasted great! Served warm so the Valhrona chocolate bits are all melted and the muffin itself was exactly the sort that I liked, a little crusty on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside without being toooo oily or rich.
We were really stuffed by the end of dinner, after rounding it off with HJ's apple strudel! (Too full to even take any pictures hurhur) However, don't expect the food to be that cheap, it cost us about $23 per pax for the three main dishes, one half salad, one muffin, and two mugs of tea shared amongst four.
I would still return to Dean and Deluca, only because I heard that the Sauteed Brioche French Toast is amazing and to-die-for and I want to try that as well as order the Pancakes again!
(Psst. HJ, when are you free to join us there for dinner again? HEHE :X It's our secret)
Love this beautiful group shot!! Aww, everyone looking like dolls here.
The very sweet and helpful staff who helped us with this group shot even had us stand specifically right below the Dean and Deluca sign, she said that it was the nicest spot for photo op in the restaurant! :D So kind. Most of the staff were very attentive, though the staff to customer ratio was absurdly high, haha.
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Dean & DeLuca Singapore
181 Orchard Road, #04-23/24 Orchard Central,
Singapore 238896
Phone: +65 6509-7708
Website: www.deandeluca.com.sg
Operating Hours: Daily from 11 am to 10 pm
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Fantastic dinner and catching up! We cut short the session because it started getting crowded and we decided to be nice and leave so that the next group waiting could take our table. Went shopping at H&M after that (they're having sales now!) but nothing caught my eye!
HJ and Nubs made us wait forever while they queued for the changing room TSK. Poor me and Bunzi! We ended off the satisfying night with drinks and more talk at Coffee Club!
Hope the other girls can make it for the next one :D OKAYYYY EVERYONE?! Let's go to Sukiya again! (JUST KIDDING, okay, maybe not kidding) Potluck at my house next! :D :D HAO MAH?
Hope the other girls can make it for the next one :D OKAYYYY EVERYONE?! Let's go to Sukiya again! (JUST KIDDING, okay, maybe not kidding) Potluck at my house next! :D :D HAO MAH?
Can't believe we're talking about this year's upcoming Christmas gathering already when it feels like the last Christmas gathering we had at Skinny Pizza was just MONTHS ago. How does time slip by so fast? By the way girls, I believe one of the first times we all met up for a gathering was in March 2010.... Good grief! That's ancient history already omg! More than two years down the road, and the time is witness to our friendship still going strong :')
Glad to have a bunch of nonsensical and fun friends like y'all who are always there through the good times and the bad! Cheers to many more years ahead!
Glad to have a bunch of nonsensical and fun friends like y'all who are always there through the good times and the bad! Cheers to many more years ahead!
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My makeup for the day, eyes done with the new Urban Decay Vice Palette! Insane love! I used: Anonymous, Freebird, Penny Lane, Noise, Occupy and Vice! Six colors on one eye, hahahaha. Sounds a little crazy but turned out gorgeous! Will play around with the palette more and share more looks soon!
My lovely embroidered hummingbird top that's upcoming on TheVelvetDolls!
And beautiful accessories, from Sort And Pepper! Both my gem earrings as well as bracelets are from Sort And Pepper. My watch is one half of the couple pair that I bought in Europe, from Emporio Armani ^^
My purple/pink hair looks so extremely gorgeous in the pictures above! I know I said I'd blog about my hair soon, but as it's gonna be a long post with lots of pictures, I thought I'd throw in this post as a "filler" post first to give y'all new material to read whilst waiting haha! :D But really, hair post coming up next!!! :)
Today, I feel good because I dragged my sorry butt down to Amore Fitness and did two classes back-to-back, Yogasana and CardioBlitz! I have been PMS-ing like crazy and my diet has been impossibly bad. I have been eating junk and rubbish, and ALOT of it! Geez.
My gym buddy, Evonne is in Sawadeekap land and so personal training sessions have been put on hold this week, and I didn't get in any exercise or workouts at all the entire week until today! TERRIBLEEE. Hoping to go down for tomorrow's StretchFit class (one of my favourite classes at Amore Fitness!) too and clock in some miles on the treadmill too if possible. Though I think that would barely burn off 1/100th of the 5839812214 calories I have indulged in this whole week. But still, better than nothing.
In the meantime, TGIF!!!! I am soooo looking forward to this weekend because of the HP TopShot Tea Party which is happening this Saturday, as well as a special wedding showcase event at Villa Halia on Sunday! (No, no plans to get married YET. But can go and look look see see and share with you all first, right?) All hyped for the weekend already. Yay!
xoxo
