A pearl in the east of Singapore - Perle Noire

I read another blogger's post on their visit to Perle Noire and I got inspired to post some pictures myself. These food shots were taken in April 2011 when I had a celebration dinner hosted by my colleague who just got promoted. Thanks Zhi Li for the lovely meal!

First off, the fantastically well done Seared Scallops.  Wonderful taste and cooked to perfection. The outside is nicely seared and crisp while the inside is tender and just cooked. Served on a bed of arugula lettuce and some bacon, the simple flavours of the scallop is enhanced by the aromatic bacon. I'll give this 5-stars if I were a critic! Note: I went there in Juky 2011 and this item is no longer on the menu.

Each serving of seared scallops comes with 3, laid on arugula lettuce and bacon topped with roe

Seared scallops

The Perle Noire Juicy Burger is another of my favourites.  There's a reason why it really deserves such an uninspiring name like juicy burger - that's because the thing I like about this burger is its juiciness.  It's not so juicy that it will be dripping with blood but its just right.  The burger is really huge and tasty. I always eat the ingredients separately rather than to squeeze everything together and take a bite.   

Perle Noire juicy burger

The prosciutto wrapped cod fish was a nice touch to the high cholesterol dinner that the rest of us were having.  The balance of the flavours was good.  It also helps that I love mushrooms, fish and arugula lettuce.  =) 

Prosciutto wrapped cod fish

I was a little disappointed with the foie gras.  Not sure if it was because we divided that portion by about 10, so there wasn't really much to taste.  I got mostly the "un-seared" parts and I didn't like it. I'm sure it would be nicer if it was more thoroughly cooked.

Foie gras with apple chutney sauce

The Yorkshire Pork Rack was surprisingly good.  I've tried this a few times and it never failed.  Although its pork, the meat is tender and juicy.  Coupled with the sauce and mashed sweet potato, this combination is almost perfect.

I ordered the Duck breast.  It came with some sauce.. I think it was cranberry or something.  Nice but not as good as my usual favourites - the juicy burger or the pork rack.

Duck breast

One of my colleagues ordered the King prawns with scallop.  Looks good eh?  Too bad I didn't get to try it.

King prawns with scallop

Time for dessert.  The apple crumble was really good.  The crumble was big and chunky. I'm salivating as I'm typing this.. Hahaha

Apple crumble

Really big chucks of crumble. Nice!

Creme brulee with lime sherbet

As you can see, Perle Noire cleverly plays with its choice of flavours and creates great food marriages.  I'll highly recommend this for a nice dinner out with friends.  The prices are reasonable great for the quality of food too! 

Perle Noire is located at Siglap along East Coast Road. Tel: 64481732

The definitive travel guide to Hong Kong (part 4)

This is a continuation of things to do in Hong Kong if you're making a trip there. From my other posts, you would have already been introduced to the places that I'll go to for shopping and dining.

This year, I went to Hong Kong from 13 to 17 July and the timing was pretty good, considering that its just 2 weeks into the annual summer sale.

We had a meal at Tasty Congee and it was quite good.  Someone paid for this meal, so I'm not sure how much the food here costs. But I'd say that this is a good place to have a meal if you're in IFC.  

Tai Cheong Bakery

This is the look of the shop front, which was recently renovated.

The well reknowned bakery on Hong Kong island.  I read up a little about this place because I was curious as to why this place is popular. So it seems that the previous Hong Kong governor Chris Pattern liked the egg tarts here and had a habit of having an egg tart for breakfast. Well, what would a foreigner know about egg tarts right? Same thought I had too.. but I decided to try it out anyway...

So how did the egg tarts taste?  Yummy!  Though I still prefer the Tong Heng egg tarts that's sold in Singapore's Chinatown area, this is pretty good.  One thing I'll say is you have to eat this while its fresh.  I had ever tried this before when a colleague brought one back to Singapore and it was not quite what I tasted when I ate it fresh.

Other than the egg tarts, we also bought the chicken tart and char siew tart.

Char Siew tart/pie

Chicken tart/pie

Next trip: Hong Kong

I'll be going on my annual pilgrimage to Hong Kong next week and I can't wait.  Its been a long 4.5 months since I last travelled and I really miss sitting in the plane.  I promise I'll take lots of pictures of the places I visit, food I eat and places I shopped.  Yes!  Hong Kong here I come.....