The Cronut variation in Singapore: Gnut and Crodos

With the world so connected, food craze in other countries reach Singapore quite fast. A few weeks ago, I saw the instagram photos of the real Cronut from a friend who have traveled to New York to try it. Another friend who lives in NYC says it's worth the queue to try.

Just the other day, I was scrolling my Instagram feed and had the urge for Cronut. I think it was also when the Lady of Substance from our local papers wrote a piece about cronuts too. OK, no way I can fly to New York to try it, so I had the following for breakfast!

Keropokman the Nut! :


Croissant from DeliFrance and a colourful donut from Four Leaves.
The most laughable version I know, but at least I did not think about it anymore.

There are I think 3 places that sells their own interpretation of Cronuts in Singapore. Since Cronut is a trademark, everyone else is giving their version their own name.

Gnut:



Patisserie G, which is near KopiKosongGirl's office started selling their version today. They call it Gnut. She knew I was a bit crazy about it and when she walked pass it during lunch today, she walked in and saw 3 chocolate Gnut and 8 lemon Gnut left. It's the first day selling Gnut today!

When KopiKosongGirl said it was to pack away, the staff there had a mini horror face. Then they gave her strict instructions: Please eat it within the hour and do not refrigerate! I think they would wanted her to have it straight away!

The wife called and say told me: Hey, taking a cab down to her office is cheaper than flying to NYC. Come now if you want to try it! I took a cab and met her to eat it!



The Chocolate Cream Gnut. ($5)

Looks really fragile and it's quite small. Nicely blistered too!
The Gnut is quite crispy and when you hold it harder, you hear the cracks.



Moved the wrapper off a bit to show you how it looks. If you compare it to the lemon version, the chocolate one is a bit flat.



This was taken outdoors very quickly so that I can bite it as fresh. Smaller than the size of my palm.



After two bites, I remembered, I have not taken photo of the inside!
This, the Chocolate cream filled version. The cold chocolate cream oozes out as you bite into it.


The Lemon Cream Gnut. ($5)
You can see that it's much taller than the chocolate one.



The lemon cream is sour enough and it goes well with the fried croissant / donut like texture of the Gnut. It's like how my sis makes her very lemony lemon squares. I prefer this lemon version of it. So did KopiKosongGirl. It's quite a nice treat that I had!



Crodos:




The last time I was at Da Paolo, I was told come around 10 am, it would be sold out around 11 am or earlier. The above was taken at the Pasarbella branch a few days ago.

I thought I will try my luck by detouring to Holland Village's Da Paolo Gastronomia to see if I can get myself some Crodos to compare. It was almost 2 pm, and they still had a tray of Crodos!

Bought 2 of it and hop on a cab back to office!


The Choc Crodo ($4.90)

The layers can be seen and it's filled with a different kind of chocolate cream.



They are slightly bigger than Pat G's version. The chocolate layer on top reminds me of Chocolate Eclairs. Taste about the same like the chocolate on top eclairs too.



If you still like your donuts that still taste like donuts but more of a layered feel, Crodos taste like that. It's not as flaky and crispy like the Gnut.

The chocolate filling in Crodos is nicer than Gnut's though for me.


The Cream Crodo ($4.90)

The cream version has a slight sugar coating over it.



From the side view, you can see the layers as well. Nicely risen and puffed.  I wish I could try the NYC version of it!



The cream had been 'injected' with custard cream. Cream was not too sweet.
Looks tempting to you?


So people who saw my photos on Instragram and Facebook asked, which is nicer? It depends on your taste!

• If you like crispy thinner layers, a bit like how croissants taste in Paris (Singapore croissants are usually very limp) then you would like Gnut's texture.
• If you like donuts to taste more like donuts with the softer feel, you would like Crodos.

Both are a little oily, because they are deep fried. (duh!) Both Crodos and Gnuts taste very different.

Personally, of the 4 that is above, I like the Lemon Gnut because of the lemon tart/refreshing taste of it with a crispy of the dough. I like the chocolate of crodos more though, because I like dark chocolate.

Ultimate Hawker Fest 2012 @ Millenia Walk

Have you heard of the Ultimate Hawker Fest?

Imagine Singapore hawker food that uses the best ingredients available in Singapore.
Imagine...
- Wagyu Beef Satay.(from the Singapore Halal Culinary Federation)
- Popiah with Lobster (from Kway Guan Huat Joo Chiat Original Popiah)
- Bak Kut Teh with premium loin ribs (from Song Fa Bak Kut Teh)
- Gu Bak Kway Teow with Wagyu Beef. (from Hock Lam Beef)
- Char Siew made from US Pig Jowl (From Fatty Cheong)
- Laksa with Boston Lobster meat. (by Chef Eric Teo)
- and many more...


The many premium food supplier that supplies these top end ingredients to restaurants have come together with these famous hawkers/chefs to re-create their signature dishes.

The full menu can be viewed at: http://www.touch.org.sg/ultimatehawkerfest2012

Here's a video to tell you more.


I am helping to publicize this event because of the noble aim to raise $150,000 to support the beneficiaries of TOUCH Community Services. The beneficiaries includes children from low-income or single-parent families, youths at risk, needy families, people with special and healthcare needs, and the frail elderly.

Date: Saturday, 20 October 2012
Time: 5pm – 10pm 7pm (Arrival of Guest-of-Honour)
Venue: Millenia Walk, 9 Raffles Boulevard, Singapore 039596 (Next to Promenade MRT station)

Coupons ($50 per sheet) can be purchased from www.touch.org.sg/UltimateHawkerFest2012
or the Millenia Walk Service Desk.


Note: On the purchase website, it states that all purchases and donations are tax deductible. Donors get 250% tax deduction. So this is a good time for you to support this charity, help the disadvantaged, reduce your payable taxes and at the same time eat delicious food!

Tomi Sushi @ Parco Marina Bay

Momo and I had dinner last Friday at Tomi Sushi. I had some volunteer duties around the Marina Bay area and met up with Momo for dinner.

Wondering where to eat, we walked around and ended up at Parco Marina Bay. Somehow we ended up at Tomi Sushi. It's another of the Japanese chains that has invaded Singapore. From Niigata prefecture and has been around since 1954.

No specials meals for dinner though. If you want more 'economical set meals', come during lunch.

***

We ordered from the usual menu. I had the Gindara Set. ($28) I was tempted by the sashimi and grilled cod fish. The sashimi was good. A bit too decorated though. But it does look really pretty and photogenic. ;-)

***

The cod fish was not too bad. I like the sauce. It also had some crumbly egg something on the side which was quite nice too.

***

The set also came with Chawan mushi and the very delightful (and salty) miso soup and rice.
According to their website, they only use rice that comes from Niigata. The salt they use comes from the Sea of Japan. Does that explains the (a little too salty) but delightful miso soup?

***

Momo had the Yosenabe ($15). I tasted some of the soup, it's a bit mild. The healthy kind of soup that many ladies will like. Pretty and healthy looking kind of dish ;-p

Momo had it with a bowl of Niigata Rice. ($3)

***

Momo was here before and she remembered someone ordered the Wakatori Karrage ($15) the last time and she wanted to try it. We placed an order and a big portion came.

I did not particularly enjoyed it. Well that's because I find it a bit mild and ordinary. I am a fan of the "Ajisen super salted" kind of karaage. If you hate the Ajisen style, you would most probably like this instead. LOL

It's nicely fried and crispy. You can taste hints of Japanese wine in it and definitely not heavily salted. The OK to feed children kind. ;-)




It's a pleasant place. It was not very crowded and the people eating there was also not very noisy (that night).

Tomi Sushi @ Parco Marina Bay
9 Raffles Boulevard
#P3-04 Millenia Walk
Singapore 039596

Tel: 6333 4633

Keisuke Tokyo @ Parco Marina Bay

Momo and I both took weekday leave to go 'walk walk' around town last week. Momo still had loads of leave to clear and I was taking my Labour Day replacement leave. We realise walking around can be quite tiring!

It was around dinner time and since we were picking up some things at Marina so we thought we would eat nearby. Momo, Aromacookery and Camemberu tried the Ramen here before but I have not, so we decided to pay Keisuke Tokyo a visit. They are famous for their Ebi Ramen (prawn ramen) which stock is made out of 3000 Ama Ebi (sweet prawns) daily.

***

If you love crabs, you might want to try their Kani Ramen (Crab Ramen) ($15.80) that they only prepare about 50-60 bowls a day. When you are seated you will see a different menu telling you about it. It's seasonal, so if you are a crab fan, try it while it lasts.

The broth is like having a mix of consomme and bisque (it's hard for me to describe it!), thick and very flavourful.  The oil on it gives it a fragrance that really charms your nose. You see the egg there because I was tempted when they ask if I wanted to add the Ajitsuke Tamago, I said yes. ($2 extra).

The texture of the ramen was just nice for me, not soft and not super al-dante, springy.

As the broth it's very thick and 'seafood' (ok, some people will say it is fishy) taste, they serve some grated ginger on the sides. You can add it in the broth to mute the 'seafood-ness'. But I appreciate that the broth was not very crabby in taste and smell, it's not too overwhelming.

***

Momo had the Spicy Ebimiso Ramen Special ($20). It was served in an unique bowl, it is as if the contents might flow out soon! The broth is a different from the one I had. This taste more 'prawny'. (obviously. haha)

So why is there a 'special' in the name of the dish? Special means I want all the toppings, the works! There's fish cake, wontons, pickles, etc...

Momo said the texture of the ramen served is to her liking this time. The previous time she was here it was a bit too soft. 

Also, when they say spicy, they really mean it. You really break out in sweat. It's a double whammy too, with heat coming from both the soup and the chilli. Woo hoo!




The "special" also includes a side dish that has Ajitsuke Tamago, pickled lettuce stems (which I love), and some really tasty cold chicken that taste similar to the usual 'white chicken' in Singapore Chicken Rice.



Just in case you want to see the chicken pieces. Looking at the smooth sides of soy stained egg, I feel like having one now!

***

We enjoyed our ramen, away from the usual miso, soya, shio, shio butter or tonkotsu based broth. Some say it taste like a glorified hae-mee (prawn noodles). Well, Ebi Ramen literally means Prawn Noodles. You should probably try it and see if you like it.


Keisuke Tokyo
9 Raffles Boulevard
#P3-02 Parco Marina Bay (Millenia Walk)
Singapore 039596

Tel: 6337 7919
Hours: Weekdays - 11.30 to 22.00, Weekends and Public Holidays - 11.00 to 22.00

Octa Hotel @ Parco Marina Bay

We have a so called 'tradition' in our office. We all treat the birthday boy / girl lunch and he/she will treat us the desserts/drinks later.

So after the ramen lunch, though we are quite full, we went ahead to have desserts. The birthday girl was so excited about having desserts, we just could not disappoint her. The birthday girl whipped out the U-weekly pull out again. She said let's go visit the imaginary hotel in the imaginary 8th district (arrondissement) of Paris right here in Parco.

A photo of Octa Hotel. It's a Japanese interpretation of a Paris Cafe.




It's the place for tai-tais or tai-tais wannabe to have afternoon tea! It was peaceful and serene inside. The 4 guys in our group stood out like sore thumbs in the place where there were nicely dressed ladies sipping their teas, having their parfait and also their little lunches.

The food we ordered were served in plates with fancy flowery designs.

*****

This was the Gâteau au fromage (Cheesecake) $8.80 that we had.
The cheesecake was ok (only).

*****

We also had the Ga'teaux Chocolat (Chocolate Cake) $8.80.
The description was real chocolate melting in your mouth. Not really what we expected.

*****

This was the Pain Perdu d'orignal (Original French Toast) $13.90
Probably the fanciest french toast I have tried.
Don't expect it to be crispy with toppings and liquids drench over it. :-p




The place is a good pit stop for resting your legs while shopping around this area.
Antique furniture, beautiful interior and gift shop section too at the premises. The ladies might come back, but not the guys. :-)


Octa Hotel

9 Raffles Boulevard
#01-39 Parco Marina Bay
Singapore 031596

Nantsuttei @ Parco Marina Bay

It's time to celebrate another birthday again!

It was our colleague (HY) birthday last Wednesday. We asked her where she wanted to have her birthday lunch. So she came to work with the Parco Marina Bay pull-out from U-Weekly.

We took a cab to town for lunch! While in the cab she read out the chinese description of Nantsuttei in the pull-out. It sounded so delicious! Yes, it's another new place for Ramen in Singapore. Just like any new place in Singapore, there's a queue.




We had 3 bowls of Chashu Ramen. $16. Compared to the basic version, this had more pork ;-)
You can see the signature 'black aromatic garlic oil' floating on the 24-hour pressure cooked pork bone soup.

It was fragrant. Very salty too. We think that they probably have not localized it yet. We saw that their Mr Furuyo Ichiro is still at the shop. So the taste be probably how it's suppose to be.


Another colleague ordered the Marutoku Negi Chashu Ramen. $17. Which is essentially 'the works' of all the ramen. It looked almost similar so I did not take the photo of it.





The birthday girl had the Negi Ramen. $15.
It had loads of white shredded negi (green onions) and bannou negi (chopped thin green onions) on it. It looks good eh?




If you want to have the eggs, it's a side order.
Ajitsuketamago at $1 each.





The eggs are ok lah. Egg white is soft but the yolk might be a bit over done.




This was the Fuufuenman Gyoza. $6.
Colleague who ate it said so so lah. A health conscious colleague said "chao ta"! :-)




Ramen was good. It meets the expectation of Japanese imported brands of ramen shops.
The broth was rich and salty. Half of us liked it because it was rich and salty. The other half said it's too overpowering for our local tongues.

Should you go and queue for it? If you are bored of eating the same thing all the time, why not try it? I am sure 80% of the people queuing to go in was out of curiosity. Almost everyone in Singapore enjoys doing the 'been there, tasted that'. ;-)

Mr Ichiro Furuya is still around in Singapore on the day we went. He was seen preparing the ramen. While he's still in Singapore, you can expect some 'standard'. ;-)


Nantsuttei

Parco Marina Bay
#P3-06
9 Raffles Boulevard
Singapore 031596

Tel: 65432123