La Cantine & The Bank

A busy start to Feb and CNY zoomed past without us knowing it! Was busy visiting relatives & yes, giving out angpaos for the 2nd year. Took a day off today to stay home and recoup before resuming work on Thurs, a short week, haha! A dinner date with Minqian & Jonah! This time round, we headed to La Cantine, located at Asia Square.

 
La Cantine, the new venture of Chef Bruno Menard, after &Made.
 
Special Happy Hours deals, very common in the business district. Apero starts from 5pm at this place.  

 La Cantine, translated into The Canteen, is tucked at a corner of the ground floor, with indoor and outdoor seating.

 

The supposedly famous rooster suspending upside down from the ceiling,  as seen from their signboard earlier.

The quirky interior (where I read somewhere) which was inspired by the Montmartre in Paris.

 

Minqian & I arrived promptly at 6pm & were ushered to our seats. A while later, we have the wine list presented to us by the sommelier. While we rejected her (politely) that we are good and will order later, she kept coming back to our table every 15 min asking if we would like some wine/champagne to start with. After rejecting her "kind" offers for X time (which I really find it v irritating), we had to order truffle fries to "appease" her. 

 

Saving grace truffle fries that finally got the sommelier off our backs, so we can continue our conversation.

 

Menu with limited selection.

Duck Foie Gras Terrine for starters. 

 

Bread, which we had to request for. Not v prompt service even though the restaurant was only 1/4 filled.  

Grain fed ribs of beef, which was extremely soft and chewy.

 

Royan Cheese Ravioli - must order in my opinion. I had second helpings, as Jonah wasn't fond of this dish.  

with the lovely couple :) 

with the ever-growing-waist-line hubbs, lol!

BFF has very kindly sent her pictures over to me (those without watermarked) for contribution to this blog, thank you :)

Notice how Leecher hides (his tummy) behind Jonah, lol! He's getting good @ deceiving the readers. 

 

 BFF always have to accommodate my height.

 

Looking almost the same when sitting down. 

  

Reality exposed, heehee! 

La Cantine

Asia Square Tower 1

8 Marina View #01-01

Singapore 018960

Tel: 6690 7567 

 We weren't feeling very satisfied from the meal, so we went for round 2!

Headed to The Bank Bar & Bistro, an all-in-one drinking & dining venue to the business crowd. Starting from 16 Jan 2013, every Wednesday is Girls Nite Out with amazing 1-for-1 deals.

The place was quite empty when we arrived, given that it was way past dinner hours. The after-work crowd has long dispersed and headed home.

The full bar that serves all kinds of cocktails and drinks. Not forgetting a 20-seater private lounge that offers premium wines and whiskeys.

Go ahead and fill the glasses!

Another round of food ~ Mains & finger food.

 

One coaster, never enough! 

 

Looks more like it now. 

 

 With quality produce from Australia & New Zealand, the place offers healthier food options that will appeal to the ladies and gym goers.

 

On the other hand, eat all the finger food you want. Local tapas are added to the bar snack menu for lighter bites that complement the wines and cocktails. 

 

The usual chocolate martini for me. I have long realised that while lychee martini can go wrong in some places (mortons still the best!), you seldom go wrong with chocolate martini.

 

Primm's cup cocktail for Minqian.  

  

Whiskey for the macho Jonah.  

 

Leecher ordered a "manly" Gin & Tonic and when it came, we burst out laughing, for the above DONT look anything manly at all. 

The Bank Bar & Bistro
One Shenton #01-01
1 Shenton Way, 
Singappre 068803
Tel: 6636 2188 

Happy CNY!

Have a great CNY! 

Eat all the goodies, take all the angbaos & most importantly, 

HUAT @ the gambling table!

Xmas Gathering with JC mates

 

The last Xmas post I have for last year! This was sitting in my draft folder and had slipped my mind to publish this till now, opps. Anyway, Leecher's JC mates came over to our place for a Xmas/housewarming session, as they couldn't make it during our housewarming party. 

Pot luck session, with each person contributing an item to the table.

Gracie's helper came along and helped to look after the kids while the mummies catch up with their friends.

 

Busy in the kitchen cutting fruits for everyone.

 

The bottle of wine that got everyone's attention!

Log cake first before present exchange.

 It was time to exchange presents! We had to first select a present from underneath the tree.

 Us, with the initial presents selected. Jeff suggested to make the gift-exchange more interesting - that is, each one will write the rules of the exchange on a piece of paper. For example, all those wearing specs will exchange presents with those wearing shorts. Hence, you never know what you will be getting at the very end.

With all our final presents revealed!

Leecher got a tube of hand-cream as his pressie, so he passed it to me & ended up with no present, lol! 

Paris Baguette

 

A dinner date with Leecher @ Paris Baguette Cafe, the newest addition to Wisma Atria, replacing Din Tai Fung (which moved to Food Republic) Don't be mistaken by the French name - Paris Baguette is actually a chain of top Korean bakery, with over 2,900 stores all over Korea, none in France/Paris. 

 Check out the crowd & try spotting Leecher in the queue. The above is the queue for takeaway items, while there is another queue for dining. Don't make the same mistake as Leecher, who just joined any queue that he saw.

 

Paying for the food after queuing for 10 min.

 

waiting for food! 

 

Maybe they should change the uniform (looked very much like a prisoner's uniform!) to a clean-white outfit, for that bakery feel :)

 

with our drinks, which came at a rather hefty price tag.
 

Iced Orange Tea ($11.00) which Leecher didn't have a fond liking of.  

 

Mango Smoothie, which I didn't have a liking towards. 

I'm actually very hungry despite the smile in the pictures, lol! 苦笑

Food better come before I explode with hunger and anger!  

Kitchen across the restaurant, churning out freshly baked bread & pastries.  

 

Cheese Omelette with a Difference ($18.00) - omelette with spinach, gruyere and feta cheese. Cheesy name and it certainly don't make a difference, apart from my pockets. This was extremely cheesy and best to share. 

I can't recall the name of this & google didn't help much. Nevertheless, Leecher was full of praises for the bread while I loved the penne that came along with it. A must-try :)

Kenneth dear came over after picking up his new car, so we became his first passengers later that night.

Kenneth, with his matching clothes & specs, lol!

We were too full to try out their breads, so we packed a couple home for breakfast next day.

The massive jam along Orchard, but we get to enjoy the christmas decorations in the comfort of the car.

 Packed some items back for enjoyment, since Leecher was full of praises of their bread the day before. 

 Berry Berry Buttons ($3.50) - I love the chewiness of this bread, though it was a bit pricey for a small piece of bread. 

 

 Mushroom Foccacio, which was essentially a plain-looking and tasteless bread, topped with mushrooms. Given how I love mushrooms, this bread is a sign of major disappointment. Do not attempt, unless you have a liking for tasteless food. 

Despite the disappointment, I think I will give this place another shot - with the focus being on their star items for my next visit :)    

 Paris Baguette Singapore

435 Orchard Road, Wisma Atria

#02-48/53

Tel: 6836 2010, 6836 3010