Review: Wimbly Lu

I believe I've found the best cafe (yet) to satisfy my dessert cravings.

Welcome to Wimbly Lu.
 The place to be if you have a sweet tooth and an unsatisfiable appetite for desserts.

Wimbly Lu is one of those vintage, cozy, quaint lil cafes with wonderful environment and setting for camwhoring. It reminds me a bit of Carpenter and Cook (gosh, they serve great desserts too). Wimbly Lu is located at Jalan Riang, nestled between those landed properties and private estates. Not exactly the most convenient location, but it is still within walking distance from Serangoon MRT.

For somewhere so ulu, Wimbly Lu was really crowded. We reached the cafe at around 450pm on Sunday and was told that we had 6-7groups of customers in front of us. We estimated that it will take at least half an hour before it's our turn, so we went to Rokeby (just a few shops away) for a cup of coffee. We returned at 530pm and we were just in time. The best time to visit is around 6pm, the place is quite empty during dinner time.

Anw, we proceeded to order and after a good 15, maybe 20min, we were still waiting for our food! The table beside us ordered later than us and got their food within like 5mins-.- Turned out there was a 'miscommunication' with the kitchen, therefore we had to wait for another 8-10mins-.- means they forgot our order lo. I think i'll be quite annoyed if we weren't playing 'hardest game ever 2'. Actually now that I'm typing this, I feel abit pissed, the waiter didn't even apologize leh:( 

He said 'There was a miscommunication with the kitchen, is it okay if it takes another 8-10mins?'

Lol, you mean I can say not okay meh? Still have to wait right. 

Haha, so bitchy. 

But I think that was just a one-off incident, from what I observed the service was pretty fast.

Aside from the 'forgotten order', yeah, the food was pretty damn good. 

Here's what we ordered

Sticky Date Pudding ($6/$6.50-can't remember)

I think this is one of the best sticky date puddings around (Marmalade Pantry serves nice ones as well). Anyone tried P.S cafe's sticky date pudding before? I tried it once and it tasted like Huat Kueh (发糕). 

The sticky date pudding at Wimbly Lu is legit. It was packed with dates, not too sweet and was sufficiently moist (unlike the huat kueh at P.S). I guess the portion could be bigger, I was craving for more when we cleared the last bit of pudding off the little bowl.

Waffle with salted caramel ice cream and toffee sauce ($8.50)

Oh mah gad. This is da bomb. This is the mother of salted caramel ice cream waffle. As advertised on
several foodie blogs, this waffle was crispy on the outside and fluffy (freaking soft and fluffy) on the inside. Its quite amazing actually.

We requested for the sauce to be served separately so that we could try out the pure waffle, but you could ask for it to be drizzled on your waffle. The toffee sauce was a nice touch and it blends in nicely with my salted caramel ice cream. I like it that they offer toffee sauce, usually you get either caramel or chocolate so it's really good to have another alternative.

And of course, the salted caramel ice cream.
It wasn't too sweet and the texture was quite light, not the creamy kind of ice cream. It beats the crap out of the salted caramel ice cream at Salted Caramel. The salted caramel ice cream at Salted Caramel used to be my favorite, but recently their salted caramel just tasted like vanilla ice cream. You have to try really hard before you realize 'ahh, yes, I can taste the salted caramel'. Yes, maybe some people prefer the subtle, faint and delicate kind of salted caramel ice cream, but for me, I like mine to be real distinct and easy to understand.

The salted caramel ice cream at Wimbly Lu is full on, in your face, 

BAMM! 'THIS IS YOUR SALTED CARAMEL'

 No speculation, no hesitation, once it touches your tongue, you know it. 

Salted Caramel

So as you can probably tell by now, despite the little annoyance, I'm obsessed. 

Here's a little map of Wimbly Lu. 

Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Staycation

Thanks to Tien, I managed to book a room at MBS (at a super cheap rate) to celebrate my Mummy's 49th  Birthday!!! Tien was super nice, settled everything for us. I didn't need to do anything, just showed up on the day itself. Thank you babe, I love u <3.

So on the 20th, my entire family woke up for brunch at AMK. Had the legendary Char Siew Noodles there. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. The noodles were really super QQ, at a very affordable price of $2.50 per plate. If you want extra noodles, it will be $3.50. But i find that to be way too much*overkill*

$3.50 Char Siew Mee

The Char Siew Mee stall

The parking at MBS that day was quite bad, I think we took about 15mins before we could get a space. And we had to park at the managers' floor, because everywhere else was full! Parking cost was only $6 for 24hrs since we had the parking coupon from the hotel.

Anyhow, here's how the room looked like

Room corridor

Please take off your shoes

Our room was on the 10th floor, so the view wasn't spectacular, but it was good enough for me:)

Luckily there was an extra sofa. I slept on it that night with the extra pillow and blanket that the hotel provided. Didn't want to squeeze with my mum.

The toilet was GORGEOUS! Super big and I LOVE the bathtub. I seriously contemplated getting a bath bomb from LUSH and use it that day.

Shower area and toilet bowl in separate cubicles

MBS has stellar customer service. I had to call concierge to ask if I could remove the drinks in the fridge to make space for my Mum's cake (because the fridge at MBS has a weighing system, so if something is missing, they will have a record of it). The lady said it was okay to leave the drinks out as long as we don't consume them, so they will double check with the physical stock. And, she offered to send us a mini fridge, free of charge. 

I was super impressed man! But the mini fridge was quite weak, not very cold. Still, it was nice of them to do that.

Alas, I didn't go for a swim (by swim, i mean playing with water, i can't swim-.-) at the SkyPark, but i took some pictures for my parents. 

And my dad took some pictures of my brother. I thought they look quite cool.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel for cake!

Coconut, durian and pandan cake from Goodwood Park Hotel. Really good. I like how the coconut is the big chunky kind, instead of the usual small frilly ones. The pandan was very light, almost couldn't taste it cos of the strong durian taste.

Overall, I think for the amount I paid, it was really worthwhile!!! If i get to go again, I want to sleep on the soft fluffy bed. By myself.

Review: Caudalie Beauty Elixir

There are quite a few reviews online about this baby, mostly raving about this product. I bought my first bottle in Dec last year, and I've been loving it! This is my 2nd bottle and I have a backup in my drawer-.-

What is it:

Part-toner, part serum mist of essential oils and plant active ingredients.

What it is formulated to do:

Smooths the skin

Tightens the pores

Provides an instant burst of radiance, as it stimulates micro circulation.

How to use it:

There are many different ways to use it. You can use it as a toner by spraying it before applying your moisturizer, you can spray it during the day to refresh your skin, or you can use it to set your makeup (which is what I usually do). I don't use it on a day-to-day basis since its rather expensive, so I save it for days when I'm going to be out for the entire day.

You can see the layer of essential oil floating in the bottle. Shake before using!

Price:

S$24 for 30ml or S$79 for 100ml at Sephora stores in Singapore. 

Texture:

Feels very light, just like your regular face mist/toner. 

Smell:

Minty, slightly herbal smell. To be honest, I didn't really like the scent when i first started using it, but it doesn't really bother me now. Plus the smell disappears in a couple of minutes.

Nozzle: 

The mist from the nozzle is very fine and it distributes the solution evenly. However, the nozzle gets wonky towards the end, so I'll recommend just getting the small bottle-imagine you're only half-way through the big bottle and your nozzle gets wonky, you're going to get big lumps of uneven mist. Furthermore, there is not much cost savings in getting the 100ml one (you save S$1-.- seriously they need to change their pricing, how to entice people to get the bigger bottle like that?!) and the small bottle is more travel friendly:)

Effect:

The product fulfills its promises

Smooths the skin-Check

Tightens pores-Check-ish?

Radiant finish-Check

Once the mist sets in nicely, I can feel that my skin became more plump and smooth. 

My theory is that when the skin is plump, it sort of pushes the ridges and valleys on your skin, to create a smooth and even surface. I don't really have big/noticeable pores, so I can't say if it really does tighten the pores, but I did notice that my face felt slightly tighter.

I've got quite dull skin, so I'm always looking for ways to get the radiant skin look. The fine mist catches onto my makeup and eliminates the powdery look from powder products (blush and face powder) creating a very natural, radiant finish. 

I would say the radiant, smooth skin effect lasts for about 4hours on my skin? i have normal skin, so it might be different for people with oily or dry skin. If you're looking for something that will drastically change the way your skin looks, well, it won't. A foundation/ bb cream will do a better job since it evens out skin tone and provides some sort of coverage. The beauty elixir, on the other hand, is like icing on the cake. It is not essential, but it definitely makes your skin look better in a subtle but noticeable way.Having said that,  I'm still on the hunt for cheaper alternatives!

Ingredient list:

Aqua (Water), Alcohol*, Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Flower Water*, Parfum (Fragrance)*, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil*, Potassium Alum, Glycerin*, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil*, Styrax Tonkinensis Resin Extract*, Commiphora Myrrha Resin Extract*, Melissa Officinalis (Balm Mint) Leaf Oil*, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil*, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Extract*, Tocopherol*, Citral*, Limonene*, Linalool*, Citronellol*, Geraniol*, Farnesol*, Benzyl Benzoate*, Eugenol*.

*Origine Végétale - Plant Origin

Review: Ladurée at Takashimaya!

French patisserie Laduree  just opened two outlets at Takashimaya Shopping Centre. They have a small counter at Level 1(near LV), and a boutique at Level 2 (near Jo Malone). Apart from the macarons, the boutique at Level 2 also has a selection of home fragrances, candles and bath products. 

Now, Ladurée is famous for its macarons. So being such an avid fan of the small chewy dessert (you can see them on my header, together with the cats and rabbits), I was super psyched to try it out!!! 

Price:

 

 Starting at $3.80 per macaron to $266 to a box of 70 macarons. 

That's really expensive. The usual price for macarons in Singapore is between $2.20-$2.80?

I guess you're paying extra for the quality and extra extra for the brand and packaging. 


Packaging:

Absolutely adorable. I love the pastel colours and mint green furnishing. From what i read online, you will need to purchase at least 6 macarons to have them stored in a pretty little box. But the lady who served me said we need to purchase at least 8 macarons to have a box, else it will be packed into a paper pouch-.- Maybe they ran out of boxes for 6 macarons?

Queue Time: 

Around 15min on weekend. Cos Singaporeans LOVE food. They gave out small pamphlets that show the variety of macarons they carry, so customers can choose what they want before ordering.

What i bought: 

Marie Antoinette: I like that it has a very light and subtle tea after taste, and it wasn't too sweet.

 Pistachio: I like the small bits of Pistachio, which gives an additional crunchy dimension to the chewy texture!
Salted Caramel:  I was quite disappointed with the salted caramel though:(  I read reviews online and i had quite high hopes for it, so i bought 2! But I felt that it was wayyyy too sweet, and to me, it was just a regular caramel macaron, I could hardly taste the salt in it.
Strawberry Candy Marshmallow: Quite interesting. The marshmallow was kinda gloopy and sticky. I've never had a marshmallow macaron before, so it was something new for me.
Orange Blossom: Very mild, light taste. Nothing too special or memorable.

Overall, all the macaron I tried had the chewy chewy texture which i adore! 
Must Try: Marie Antoinette Tea and Pistachio

But I wouldn't say that they are THE BEST. Honestly, for the price, i would expect a lot more from them.
I don't think i will be going back any time soon to buy more for myself, can't justify paying so much for the macarons. But I think they will make lovely gifts!

My favorite place to get macarons was Jewels artisan chocolate at Orchard Central- their Palm Island Salt macaron was DA BOMD....But they closed down already, so i'm still on the search for the BEST macaron in Singapore.

Ladurée Boutique
Takashimaya Shopping Centre #02-09

Ladurée Counter

Takashimaya Shopping Centre #01-24A

Tel: 6884 7361.

School's Out

My first and only exam (HyakHyakHyak:):):)) is scheduled on 6th May, so 3 more weeks? And after that will be GRAD TRIP!! Then when I'm back, tiresome job search :( not looking forward to it...Anyway i thought since i have the time, i should start writing a blog again!!!

And so, after 3 long years, school's out! I'm leaving!

Had my official last lesson on Wednesday (going back for a class next tuesday, but that doesn't count because its a Q&A session with Prof).

Overall, it still feels quite surreal.

I mean, yeah I've been kinda looking forward to it. But its still quite unbelievable. Really? I'm done?

This sem was quite chilled. I've only got 2 modules (Global Marketing Strategy-GMS and Cultural Intelligence), out of which, 1 is non-examinable (no final exam).

Speaking of GMS, I heard that the mod is no longer compulsory for juniors. But! I highly highly recommend it. Yeah, its quite a extremely tough module, but I think it really teaches you to be more inquisitive and to think beyond the surface. In fact, some of my group mates think that we should've taken this module earlier, just because its so useful. 

Super thankful for my hardworking and fabulous group mates. I think our efforts paid off!

Cultural Intelligence was kinda fun i guess?? It's non-examinable and the class population is highly diverse, so its good if you want to know people from other cultures.  

Our group won the best video award and our lead actress got the best actress award!

Aaaandd....that's all the updates for now~
Blogger is so user friendly now and I'm quite addicted to customizing all the different layouts and templates. Think i'll be exploring more and changing more stuff on this blog next week.