Pierre Herme

Exactly a month ago, on 13th June, 

X told me that he had a craving for Lao Ban tauhuey and that we should go to Old Airport Road for dinner. I kept suggesting that we should go to Maxwell instead since it's alot nearer when he finally broke the news that he had a surprise for me! I was really excited. So my surprise was at Old Airport Road, I thought he was going to bring me to watch some netball game again hahaha. However, he drove me to a block of flats and I was told to wait in the car. A few minutes later, he returned with a paper bag and handed it to me. I opened it excitedly and to my utmost surprise,


PIERRE HERME MACARONS!!!

I was so super happy and we said we should take a picture of every individual macaron!
However, we were gone too long for dinner and the macarons kind of melted and were destroyed ):


So we hurriedly put them in the freezer after dinner!


Took them out a good 20 minutes later


They weren't in great shape to be photographed individually ):

Pierre Herme macarons are known to be packed with surprises, unconventional and daring.

Here are the 12 flavours :

Fresh Mint
Chocolate and caramel
Olive oil with mandarin orange
Peach, Apricot and saffron
Milk chocolate and passion fruit
Rose and rose petal
Pure origin Venezuela Porcelana Dark chocolate
Salted-butter caramel
Creme Brulee
Pistachio, Ceylon cinnaom and Morello cherries
Vanillas from Tahiti, Mexico and Madagascar
Orange and carrot with Ceylon Cinnamon

The dark chocolate was my favourite, followed by chocolate and caramel and salted butter caramel. Guess I'm quite traditional... Hahaha. The more unique flavours were interesting and a few didn't quite suit my tastebuds. Others were really strong and left a lingering aftertaste. They were a delightful twist to the usual macarons found in Singapore. All in all, I enjoyed my macarons!


X surprised me with the macarons as it was the 13th, and it marked the 13th month that we've been together. Today, it's the 13th again. And X has been in Korea for 2.5 weeks now. Happy 14th month favourite boy. See you soon [:

I'll be flying to Korea tomorrow night to find him and we'll be back on 11th August! We'll be updating pretty regularly about the cute and popular cafes and attractions in Korea!

Also, I'll like to take this chance to thank all our readers. We've come a long way now. It's been a year since Strictly Ours had been set up. It started out as a diary for X and I but it evolved into a food blog that has brought us many opportunities and fueled our passion for food. Thanks for all the support [:

Love, K

(CLOSED) Hediard

Hediard has been around for a long time. I always looked at it and wondered when I'll be able to dine there as it looks really posh and expensive. Little did I know that it is actually extremely affordable to dine there! X and I arranged for brunch at Hediard one Sunday morning with 4 other friends. This was kinda a farewell gathering for X before he left for Korea for summer school.

 

 



 



 




Hot Chocolate - $7
This was served with a little jug of milk with froth, a chocolate coated biscuit and a piece of candy that they're selling.

You can decide how much milk you want in your hot chocolate since the milk comes in the cute little jug. The hot chocolate was extremely thick and dense. It was however, too sweet. The chocolate coated biscuit was a delight but I can't say the same for the rose-flavoured candy that most of us abandoned after a bite. It was really sticky and sweet.


Cute jug

 
Iced mocha - $10
This was really good! Everyone liked it! A little pricey though


Bro Z ordered the
Hediard Breakfast Set - $19
- Madeleine blend coffee, chocolate or Hédiard blend tea
- Orange juice freshly squeezed 16.5cl
- Choice of one viennoiserie (croissant, brioche or pain au chocolat)
- Soft boiled egg or hard boiled egg or fried egg
- Hédiard country style toasted bread and butter
- One 30gr jar of home made jam and one 30gr jar of honey

Country Style Toasted Bread & Brioche
Bro Z said that the bread were really good and that he could eat it alone without any jam or butter haha


Butter inside


Homemade Jam & Honey
Bro Z brought home the remaining jam and honey!
I think it's a really great idea to serve jam and honey in this manner. You can be sure that the jam and honey is fresh and also, you can bring them home! How thoughtful!



Soft Boiled Egg
This is damn cute hahaha. Bro Z had a hard time eating it before we came up with a bright idea of pouring the egg into the cup


Salt & Pepper


Madeleine Blend Tea


Orange Juice


Pure Butter Pain Au Chocolat (top up to the breakfast set) - $3.50
Sweet, crispy and definitely the best I've had!

 
Eggs Norwegian - $19
2 poached eggs on toast with Norwegian smoked salmon, parmesan and hollandaise sauce

XM and N ordered this. The eggs were slightly overcooked but overall, they enjoyed the dish. The portion was pretty small though


One of XM's poached eggs was really overcooked and he told the waitress about it. It was, then, replaced. This poached egg was runny and nicely done.


Eggs Benedicte - $16
2 poached eggs on toast with Parma ham, shaved parmesan and hollandaise sauce
Instead of the usual cooked ham, this Eggs Benedicte comes with parma ham. The toast was crispy and really yummy. I could hardly taste the parma ham as it was overshadowed by the hollandaise sauce. The portion was too small for me

 
Croq Germaine - $18
Grilled bread with Parma Ham, gruyere cheese, mornay sauce topped with a fried egg
X and CP both ordered this. They both liked it. The cheese was thick and they said that this was pretty delicious!


Moelleux chocolate cake with vanilla crème Anglaise - $8
The chocolate cake was really good! The chocolate was oozing out as we dug our forks into it! It wasn't too sweet and your eyes will sparkle with joy when it melts in your mouth haha


Large Macaron - $8
Flavour of the month : White Coffee
We'd wanted to try more flavours but there was only one flavour available. Everyone was excited about this. I mean, who doesn't like macarons! XM was excited because the macaron looked like a burger hahaha. This was fragrant, not too sweet and had a great texture! We all loved it!

 
Unique products by Hediard

 











Everything in Hediard is elaborately designed and branded. Service was pretty good. The waitresses were attentive and generally quite friendly. The portions were a little small but all in all, we had a pleasant afternoon at Hediard

I'll be back for their macarons haha

123-125 Tanglin road, Tudor Court
Everyday: 9.00am-8.00pm

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Love, K

K's rating of Hediard : 7.5/10

Vineyard

I would be going away for the summer so I wanted to have a good dinner with K before I leave. After the usual research and restaurant hunting online, I decided on Vineyard. Whats better than a quiet and scenic place for a good meal!



If you know the general way to HortPark, the place is quite easy to find.




I can see myself on one of these rocking chairs with a beer in my hand.










 Outdoor seating







 

 
Bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

 
Mussels Meuniere with sauvignon blanc and normandy butter - SGD $20

We started off our dinner with this pot of mussels. When it first came, there was a overpowering stench coming from the pot. So, we had it sent back to the kitchen. The waitress came back out with the pot and said it's just the smell of the mussels and that their mussels are all fresh and delivered on that day itself. Given that assurance, we dug in. I had one or two juicy mussels that were undoubtedly fresh, but in the mix were also a few that tasted stale. That stench must have came from those. A bite into those stales one definitely spoilt this dish for us. When soaked in the sauce, the fresh mussels were quite tasty


Coq au Vin - $29
cabernet sauvignon braised corn-fed game hen with Paris mushrooms and potato mousseline

Next up was the main course, Coq au Vin. I like this dish. The chicken meat was soft and tender and very well infused with the gravy. The tender meat coupled with crispy chicken skin is a perfect combination. The gravy has this herb'ish taste to it but the aftertaste is unique and very pleasant on the taste buds. Together with mushrooms and mashed potatoes, it has everything I like in one dish. Thumbs up.  

 
Duck confit - $32
Crispy Duck Confit with sauteed extra fine beans, bacon, potato mousseline, toasted almonds and sage-infused orange sauce

K had the duck confit as her main course. She's a fan of duck, so when her initial choice of Pork Rack wasn't available, I knew she would pick this. There was lesser hype for this dish. The duck meat was dry compared to its poultry partner that I had. The orange sauce did add some flavour to the dish but it still wasn't as good as we expected a duck confit to be. Also, the portion was pretty small.


Lemon Lava Cake with Creme Chantilly - $13

Ever tried a Lemon lava cake ? Neither have we. So we went for it. I think the key to a good lemon-dessert lies in the .... no secret here, lemon flavour. You don't want the lemon flavour to smell like detergent , or for it to be too sweet or too sour. The balance is very delicate here. I didn't think Vineyard got the flavour right. I was expecting a fusion of the sponge and the lemon lava but they were more like 2 separate entities. 


Also, the creme chantilly tasted pretty artificial and lacked sweetness. The crispy cracker was pretty good though. The worst thing about this dish was that it was served on a flat plate. The lemon lava was flowing off the plate and we were desperately trying to prevent it from flowing onto the table

I think, on the whole, the dining experience could have been better. Also, for the price that we paid, the food was a little disappointing.

33 Hyderabad Road
#02-02
Hort Park

--
Love , X

X's rating of Vineyard: 6/10