No Pain, No Love

If you’re Singaporean, chances are you’ve probably been to Hong Kong, at least once a year. It’s less than four hours away. And the food is delish!

I know, I know. The shopping’s ace. It really is. But the food is achingly gorgeous, devastatingly yummy and blindingly spicy.

There are so many makan places I attacked with my over-ambitious appetite in cute little dresses and knee-high black patent leather boots.

The one place you MUST go is the Agnes b. café. It is the only Agnes b. eatery in the world. Why Hong Kong, you ask? Well, I honestly don’t know. Maybe it is recognized for being the true foodie place in Asia where experimental art meets tasty sophistication. Price tags not included. Who looks at how much stuff costs on the menu anyway? Who?

You sit at a table and order whatever you like and then get ushered out after card’ing a check which you don’t even look at. Well, that’s how I do it.

Anyhoo, back to the Agnes b. café which is properly known as “Le Pain Grille” or literally "Toasted Bread". The minute you enter the wooden doors, you are transported to a charming little place in Paris. The white French curtains held up by wooden rods create a surreal feel to the Parisienne furniture. The special items of the day are written vigorously on a chalk board that plays a mobile role throughout the room.

Order the mussels…they are amazingly fresh and soaked in a aromatic broth in a cream-coloured bowl. All cutlery is branded with “Le Pain Grille”. How cute is that? And the bruschetta is oh-so-lovely. Chopped tomatoes are rosy and heaped onto toasted baguette which is crispy, soft and crunchy in the mouth.

The most memorable part of the meal, of any meal, are the desserts. I tried a few of them including the hazelnut praline and blueberry cheesecake. Ahhh….what is life without sugar? And the different ways they can be eaten makes life that much sweeter.

I am so very impressed by this unassuming café simply because I never expected it to be that good. It’s like when I was on a search for the best apple tart in Singapore and I ruled the former DKNY Café with the winning recipe. The café has since moved to the Club 21 I-shop in Cathay Cineleisure.

Remember these three words when in Hong Kong – Le Pain Grille.

Loosen Up My Buttons, Babe

Sweet Surrender. That’s my theme song, you know the one from Sarah McLachlan. Thought I’d share with you some of the mighty fine-looking candies I’ve laid my eyes upon, and was moved to stab a fork into.

Starbucks’ strawberry tart is something, isn’t it? It’s so worth the money and the calories. The strawberry chunks are pretty big, so it does offset the sugar loaded in the rockin’ pastry...I think...I hope. Can share one. Looks teeny but really packed with grub-a-licious, so delicious, yum-in-my-tum from the L-I-C-I-O-U-S.

Carrot cake from Toast. I just can’t rave enough about it. It’s the best in the country! Crammed with chockfuls of pineapple, walnuts and raisins smooshed into real carrots and moist cake, this is the best treat to a long day or to celebrate the end of a crazy diet. Slathered with true-blue cream cheese, you’d be tempted to inhale the whole cake.

A really simple yummy-doodle treat is almond beancurd with longans, which I LOVE at The Ship. They don’t serve it all the time, but when they do, you wish they could serve it in a bigger sundae cup! It’s so smooth-tasting, very refined really. It doesn’t taste synthetic at all which most jello tend to be. And it gives off an aromatic almond smell.

Ooooh….the curd just glides into your mouth and skis into your tummy through your throat. So light, you’ll have space for more desserts…happy days are here again :)