Pique Nique

 

Tucked in a corner of Takashimaya Shopping Centre (where McDonald used to be), is a cafe known as Pique Nique. Pique Nique means "picnic" in french but I was more attracted by the deco, which reminded me of a french cottage. 

 

 Pique Nique is yet another brain-child of Chef Pang. Yes, the same guy behind Antoinette. Well, I must agree that Antoinette is the more famous sibling :) 

 

While Anotonette was decorated in elaborated French pieces, Pique Nique gave a down-to-earth vibe. It almost felt like dining in a French cottage, except that you are looking at people munching on KFC across the walkway. 

 

Leecher spent a long time looking through the menu, hovering b/w pastas and mains. Despite the French deco, Pique Nique serves mostly American comfort food, along the likes of Burgers, Hot Dogs, Mac & Cheese etc.

 

I flipped through the menu & already decided on what I wanna have. 

 Chocolate Milkshake ($8). This was extremely rich & thick. In fact, I was full from this drink and couldn't finish my food later, lol! 

We had a "window" seat, looking across KFC.

Leecher sitting on the armchair #likeaboss.

In fact, I would recommend sitting at other tables instead for the arm chair is rather small. I had to squeeze into the arm chair with my bag on the side. Rather uncomfortable experience.

 

 Hot Chilli Meat Fries - Pique Nique's fries with hot chilli meat sauce and home-made cheese sauce ($11).  I feel that this was a tad pricey, given the serving size. In fact, they didn't inform us that my order came with fries. We had to pack the rest of the fries back.

 The Swiss Shrooms Burger - beef patty, sauteed mushroom, Swiss Gruyere cheese, lettuce, onion and tomato ($13.80).

The Roasted Chicken and Mushroom Mac & Cheese - elbow macaroni, mascarpone & gouda cheese, roasted field mushroom & Cajun style roasted chicken leg ($16). This was quite bland, pale in comparison with my fave Mac & Cheese at White Rabbit. Nevertheless, this dish was packed with chicken & mushroom which made it enjoyable. I would recommend to order this for sharing though. 

 

I'm guilty of over-ordering this time round & Leecher had to stuff himself silly (nearly bursting out of his shirt, lol!). As much as I love to order desserts (since its a separate stomach), I didn't want to be greeted with glaring eyes from Leecher.

 

 Grab some goodies on the way out if you fancy. 

There is a supposedly 15% discount when paying by Citibank CC. We were bluffed when the cashier told us this discount is not applicable on eve of Public Holidays & Public Holidays. So, we had to pay the full amount - not that we are complaining, but this is the first time that I've come across credit card discounts not applicable on certain days. Anyone have the same experience before?

Pique Nique

391A Orchard Road, Ngee Ann City Tower A

#B1-01/02, Takashimaya Departmental Store

Singapore 238873

Tel: 6238 6705

Opening Hours: 10am till 9,30pm daily

Honeymoon: First Meal in Amsterdam

An extremely busy Sunday - attending Yen's baby girl shower in the afternoon, came home and packed my bags for my flight later tonight. I'm heading off to London for the annual sales conference :) A long 14 hours journey, but I'm looking forward to having my in-flight meals + entertainment again!

Departure to Amsterdam

Arrival at Schiphol Airport

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We had a 3-hour wait before our scheduled departure time to Paris. The first thing was to look for a place to sit down for a nice meal :) Even though we had breakfast on board, I was still hungry. Hence, we went walking around the airport in search of food.

 

 There was a wide variety of options available, ranging from pizzas to sandwiches, etc. We even spotted Delifrance *chuckles* No, I didn't fly all the way to the other end of Earth to try out Delifrance. I was looking for an authentic Dutch cafe to have my 1st dutch meal. Instead, we ended up at Pronto the Ice-cream Bar.

If you have a craving for an Italian ice-cream, then this is the place to go. There is a wide selection of homemade ice cream, but we didn't have any of those.
 
Well, at least the cashier is quite cute, lol! 

Thankfully, the menu had English translation, which made ordering a breeze.

When in doubt, just point to items on the menu. We weren't sure of the serving size, so we only ordered 1 main & 1 dessert to share.

Hot chocolate to start the day :) This version is quite mild, as compared to those that I tried during the trip. This contained more milk than chocolate, which made me feel less guilty about drinking it.

 

Cheese, Ham & Eggs sandwich; our healthy breakfast fix.

 

I just couldn't resist ordering their waffles. This was actually the reason why we chose Pronto, for I spotted a kid eating this! I knew I had to try this, lol! Waffles were crispy and literally coated with dark chocolate sauce, heavenly. 

Let's tuck in!

Pronto Ice Cream Bar

Schiphol Airport, Schiphol Plaza

Opening Hours: 7am till 10pm daily

Honeymoon: Arrival at Schiphol Airport

 Departure to Amsterdam

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We finally arrived at Schiphol Airport @ Amsterdam after a long 14 hours journey. I was just glad to get off the plane & begin our honeymoon journey! The start of our 14 days adventure in Europe :) In fact, I was slightly nervous for this is my first time in Amsterdam & was worried about having to navigate our ways. I'm thankful for the wonderful  people that helped us throughout our trip. 

  

It was almost 6am (local time) when we touched down at the airport. A quick call to mummy dearest to keep her informed of my whereabouts. The weather has actually turned chilly & I conveniently left my jacket in my check-in luggage :(

Leecher was well-prepared, wearing his long-sleeved shirt.

Someone strolled his way through the airport while I had to quicken my steps to keep my body warm.

Even though Schphiol is ranked as Europe's 4th busiest airport, we managed to clear immigration with ease! The airport was pretty easy to navigate too. I was attracted to the stores, but I had to zoom my way to the baggage belts.

Retrieved my jacket, sparing me from the cold weather outside :)

Headed straight to the travel agent counter to purchase the Amsterdam passes for the rest of the journey. Usually, I'll be the one planning our itinerary. This time round, I had to delegate the task to sit-and-do-nothing-Leecher for his contribution towards the trip. He gamely opt for Amsterdam while I planned for Paris.

 Finally, it was his turn at the counter.

Came back grinning like a kid with his "achievements", lol!

The Amsterdam-Holland Pass is ideal for it is an all-in-one city pass saving both money & time. You can choose b/w 2,5 or 7 free and/or reduced entrance tickets to must-see attractions, museums and public transport in Amsterdam & other popular Dutch cities. Based on Leecher's research, he reckoned we should buy the 5 free pass. Each package comes with a guide book & a Holland Pass discount card. The pass can be bought at GWK Travelex offices in the major cities as well as the airport.