Max Brenner Chocolate Bar

"More than anything, I'm in love with chocolate
Chocolate is part of my childhood memories, reminding me of my Mom and Dad
Returning from trips abroad with a suitcase full of chocolates wrapped in cracking colourful paper.
It reminds me of Grandma, hiding chocolate candies in a tin box inside a big wooden cupboard.
It's part of my youth.
And it reminds me of Ana, my first love.
I'm mesmerized with the history of chocolate, and I'm entranced by the nostalgic stories around it, which carry me back to long gone romantic days.
Chocolate is passionate. It's sexy and prestigious, and I always start my morning by eating a tablet of milk chocolate with nuts.
I invite you to watch, smell and taste my love story."
Max

Billy Bombers- Quick fondue fix at decent price

Had an awful dinner yesterday evening and we thought of heading to Billy Bombers for chocolate fondue. We simply can't resist the 50% promotion! ($12.95 after discount)

The chocolate fondue didn't look appetizing at one glance as it looked sticky and burnt. We only had Ben n Jerry's cookie dough ice-cream as they ran out of flavours. However, the chocolate was deceivingly good! Although it paled in comparison to Sweetstone or Swissculture, it's pretty decent for its price. The chocolate was bittersweet which we enjoyed. The cookie dough ice-cream was not too bad, with chunks of cookie dough and chocolates inside which made it a good combination with the chocolate fondue. To our dismay, the waffle was soft and soggy but we just used it as a dipping tool for the chocolate fondue. haha! How we wished we had the sweetstone waffles with us!
Overall we felt that the chocolate fondue was not too bad, but definitely not the best. With the current promotion, the chocolate fondue is value for money given the type of chocolate that they use.

J's & A's Rating: 4/5

Billy Bombers
The Cathay Orchard
#01-12, 2 Handy Road S(229233)
Tel: 6735 5381

Swiss Culture- Best Service & Fondue Award~

J: Was feeling grouchy e entire day after convocation ceremony bcos my lousy heels made my toe swollen & my feet hurt from all the walking. Went to island creamery to eat e famous apple pie ice cream but it failed to impress me with its soggy pie crust. Boy, was I glad to find Swiss Culture. Having read a review online on its chocolate fondue, how could i resist its calling?

The 1st thing which impressed me most was the unparalleled service from Swiss Culture. Now, this is what I call good service & willingly paid for the service charge. The waiter led us to a table n seeing tt we had no place to put our bags, he promptly brought over 2 stools for us to leave our bags on. Then, ice water was served and they kept refilling our water w/o us knowing (alright perhaps we were too engrossed in enjoying e delicacies lol). When serving the rosti, he also brought along 2 small plates for us even though we didnt tell him tt we're sharing. Then, he politely told us to inform him when we're done with the rosti so that he can serve us our highlight, chocolate fondue! Oh yes, they were also very familiar with their menu & could give remarkable recommendations. Excellent service, Swiss Culture!

This rosti is really delicious! It was soo crispy on the outside that we felt as though we were eating potato chips!(A: It reminds me of hashbrown..crispy on the outside but yet firm on the inside.) Unlike Cafe Oliv's rosti which was panfried using shredded potato, Swiss Culture's rosti was panfried using potatoes strips, and therefore much firmer, crunchier and much more crispy!The potatoes inside were moist n soft but yet firm! Their sour cream is also more sour which really whets my appetite. Also, the sauce they used for their salad, which we had no idea what it was, was sour too. Citrus dressing perhaps?? This dish on the whole is a gd starter.

(A: I would probably give a higher rating if it was panfried perfectly.)

We saw e table next to us eating cheese fondue and the meat platter which looks really really yummy. But they're so expensive! We hope we have a chance to try them though. Swiss culture is a gd place for a big group to dine in bcos they have so many dishes tt r suitable for group sharing! Any makan kakis interested in a foodie outing to Swiss Culture? =P

Rosti with Sour Cream (5.80)

* Not in the menu. You can request for the rosti only. Otherwise, it is served with main course*

Chocolate Fondue ($14.80)

We replaced e strawberries with bananas as usual. The 1st dip into e chocolate was disappointing as we were expecting piping hot, if not warm dark chocolate. However, this was only the beginning. As we stirred the chocolate with our fruit n marshmellow dips, the choc became warmer n warmer! More SHIOK towards the end! Just look at e bubbling hot choc! *droolz* We love the molten dark chocolate used as its not overly sweet but was expecting nuts & nougats inside though. Dont be deceived by this small bowl of chocolate. It may look like they're stingy on e quantity of choc but NO! After finishing e entire plate of choc dips, there r still choc left! The choc is sooo good tt we actually drank it like hot dark chocolate on its own! hahaha soooo sinful but satisfactory!

How we wished that we had Sweet Stones Belgium Waffles here so that we could dip into this fabulous dark chocolate fondue!!

J's ratings: 4.5/5 rosti, 4.8/5 choc fondue

A's ratings: 4.25/5, 4.5 if panfried perfectly

4.8/5 for chocolate fondue

Visit http://www.swissculture.com.sg/ for more info

Swiss Culture Restaurant Pte Ltd

3 Temasek Boulevard

#03-006 Suntec City Mall

S(038983)

6333 5919

Sun to Thurs 11am - 930pm

Fri, Sat, Eve & PH 11am - 10pm

Sweet Stone Liège waffle & chocolate fondue

J: We have been missing our Swiss fondue and belgium waffles ever since we came back from our Europe trip. If I were to list the top 3 desserts I tasted in Europe that has the "ooOOmpH" factor, they would definitely be Swiss fondue from 'Des Alpes' in Interlaken, authentic Belgian chocolate waffle from 'Laurenzino Wafels' in Brugge and homemade bread pudding with custard from 'North Sea Fish Restaurant' in London. They are absolutely divine and I literally felt heaven upon the 1st mouthful!

Swiss fondue from 'Des Alpes'- thick warm chocolate fondue with nougats and nuts in it! What's so special about their fruits plate is that they added dried apricots which was something refreshing when dipped into the sweet choc fondue! The most shiok way of eating chocolate fondue is to dip ur fruits or marshmellows and suck the choc 1st when u placed them into your mouth. It's really shiok when u feel the choc running down ur throat! We think that bananas and marshmellows are the best marriage to choc fondue!

Belgian chocolate waffle from 'Laurenzino Wafels'~ Some of u might ask what's so special about belgian waffles? They look almost the same as what we find in singapore. Well, the first difference is distinctive.Unlike the usual liquid waffle batter used in singapore, belgian waffles are baked from dough. That's why you get a crispy crust on the outside and a soft chewy texture inside.

In my opinion, the perfect marriage to waffle is chocolate! Dip the freshly baked waffle into e rich belgian

chocolate and suck the chocolate while biting into the chewy Liège waffle, the mixture of sweetness, crispyness and chewy after taste is simply awesome!

After reading through our all time favourite "ieatishoot" food blog, we finally found a place to satisfy both our cravings for chocolate fondue and belgian waffles at hawker price! Welcome to the Sweet Stone at Golden Mile Food Centre~

For just $14.80, you get a belgian choc fondue, 2 waffles, fruits platter and 2 scoops of ice cream! Well, I must say although the waffle falls short of my expectations, it is still one of my top 3 waffles in singapore. We specifically requested for our waffles to be freshly baked instead of warming the prebaked ones that they had because we had previously tried the belgian waffle at old airport rd which was kind of disappointing when they merely warmed the waffles.

The owner was extremely accomodating and baked 2 waffles for us. Oh yes, he also mentioned that they were not affiliated to the old airport branch and proudly assured that theirs are of higher quality! It was a misunderstanding on my part to think that they were the same! sorry!!

Unlike the one I had in Brugge, this waffle is more bready but still decently delectable for a Liège waffle. "Liège waffles originated from the city of Liège, in eastern Belgium. They are richer, denser, sweeter, and more chewy waffles. They feature chunks of pearl sugar, which caramelize on the outside of the waffle, when baked, giving you the crunch and the sweetness of the waffle."

The owner begged to differ that warming a prebaked waffle will compromise its quality! He had even sent his waffles for lab tests and it has been proven that his waffles can be frozen up to a month without much compromise to its taste! Someday, I'm going to buy one back and try it haha. It was also very nice of him to share some tips with us. To warm ur waffle, preheat ur oven to 150oC and warm it for 45sec before eating.

Surprisingly, their chocolate is really fantastic and I highly recommend everyone to give it a try! It brought me back to the times spent in Brugge when I first tasted it. Yes, according to the owner, the choc is imported from Belgium so that the quality is not compromised. Also, unlike the Swiss fondue that we had in Interlaken which was warmed with candle, they actually microwave the claypot and pour warm choc into it. The reason is simple. The chocolate will be burnt if u warm it over a candle. However, I still prefer my choc to be warmed using a candle so that it can be kept warm throughout the makan session (it was done this way in Switz n the choc was not burnt). We recommended to the owner to try adding nougats or nuts into his choc but i guess he wants to retain the flavor of his belgian choc n its understandable. However, u r free to bring ur own toppings! Also, they dont sell the choc alone and it can only be bought with purchase of their waffles. One complaint from us is that we feel that the chocolate given was not enough. We finished the choc even before we finished the fruits platter! Yes, thats how good it is, almost on the verge of licking the claypot dry lol. But, u can always pay for additional choc at $1.

Lastly, I would like to comment on their gelato. There wasnt a lot of variety and I was rather disappointed with their gelato, with the exception of speculoos flavor. They homemade their ice cream daily from natural ingredients with no preservatives added. I thought the rest of the flavors were rather ordinary just like the ones u can easily buy from ntuc / the ice cream man outside schools. Angeline didn't like the fizzy apple flavor because its a sorbet. Just an ordinary sorbet that tasted sour to me. Speculoos however, was certainly refreshing n uncommon. It has an initial sweet caramel taste and a biscuit after taste. We certainly love it together with our waffles dipped with choc!

All in all, this place is definitely worth a visit for its quality and the price that u pay. U can be sure we will be back for its waffles but prob not the fondue because u pay less for the warm choc dip rather than warming the claypot for the same belgian choc. The marshmellows, fruits and choc dips can be purchased separately with the waffles.

P/s: Imo, the fondue is not really worth the price. They have waffle sets like Set A(1 waffle + 1 choc dip = $2.50), Set B(2 waffles + 1 choc dip = $4.20) etc. I think to make ur money worth, instead of paying $14.80 for the royal fondue, order 2 set As ($5) and bring ur own fruits! The choc dips r exactly e same as e fondue except they r not served in e microwaved claypot but they r still warm. Btw they only serve 3 scoops of choc dips in the clay pot. So even if u purchase additional choc dip n buy fruits from e fruit stalls, the price is still less than $14.80 :) For tt price, u can get 6 Set As which is definitely more shiok to satisfy all the sweet tooth out there lol!

A & J's Rating: 4.5/5 for waffles, 4.5/5 for belgian choc, 4/5 for Speculoos gelato

Sweet Stone
Golden Mile Food Centre
#01-67 (Beach Road)
Open everyday from 10:30am to 9:30pm

www.sweetstoneholdings.com