D'zerts Cafe at 30 Jalan Pari Burong - Revisited with family

The Occasion - Revisit D'zerts Cafe in 2014

I brought my family - Bob, Graceful Gracious Grace & my MIL to revisit D'zerts Cafe this year to savour the delectable desserts at D'zerts Cafe at 30 Jalan Pari Burong, tucked away in the eastern part of little island Singapore. 

D'zerts Cafe is helmed by Chef Lemuel Tay & his dad Mr Tay Yong Seng who is an Engineer by training. Tay Yong Seng and Lemuel Tay is a father and son partnership on D'zerts Trading Pte Ltd - the company that operates D'zerts Cafe at 30 Jalan Pari Burong. Tay Yong Seng used to be an Electronic Engineer with SingTel for 25 years before he left to set up YS Travel with his wife, organizing tour packages to Batam, Malaysia, SE Asia region for SMEs, corporate companies, families, church groups, grassroots organizations. 

IT trained Lemuel Tay worked as a Chef with the Navy for four and a half years before he decided to strike out on his own to pursue his passion and love for creating and developing uniquely different, out of the ordinary pastry and desserts.

(Note *Not much has changed except that the Resident Chef featured in my feature write up for D'zerts Cafe when they first started in 2013 - Pastry Chef Yvette, has since left D'zerts Cafe to start her own Cafe called Hatter Street at 212 Hougang Street 21.**) 

Today D'zerts Cafe is growing strong with their regular customers coming in by the dozens, mostly families with kids, young couples on a busy Sunday afternoon, simply to savor the new menu & delectable desserts served here at D'zerts Cafe. 

The Ambience 

Decorating the entrance of D'zerts Cafe are wooden crates stacked neatly in staggered layers with fresh herbs & spices growing out of them - this makes for an edible garden and renders D'zerts Cafe pretty self-sufficient.

Hot Foods on The Menu 
Apart from the selection of freshly made desserts & cakes, D'zerts Cafe also expanded their menu to include hot foods - 

• Pasta such as Aglio Olio, Linguini with cream sauce & mushroom or chicken, 
• Soups such as Mushroom soup, 
• Sandwiches such as Chicken Ham & Cheese Waffle Sandwich.

Tucked away next to the gelato counter is the merchandise shelf where D'zerts Cafe retails Tupperware products.

Beverage Galore 
Besides the usual Espresso, Long Black, Flat White, Latte, Cappuccino, Mocha, Hot Tea, Iced Tea, Hot Chocolate, Ice Chocolate, D'zerts Cafe also serves up Italian Sodas in various flavors - Lychee, Strawberry, Green Mint. 

Besides all these D'zerts Cafe also serves Affogato - which essentially is a Classic espresso & gelato float. 

The Gelato Selection 
One thing to note - D'zerts Cafe is closed every Monday when Mr Tay & son Chef Lemuel Tay will spent the entire day making the gelato from scratch. Currently at any one time D'zerts Cafe serves up to 10 flavors made using natural fresh ingredients & real fruits.

The Desserts Selection 

Customers can choose from a selection of Artisan cakes & tarts : 

• Apple Crumble
• Mango Passion
• Lychee Heart 
• Bailey's Chocolate Mousse
• Salted Caramel Cheesecake 
• Salted Caramel Sauce**
• Earl Grey Caramel Sauce ** 

(**sold in limited quantity to ensure freshness - due to popular demand from customers)

• Lemon Dancing Meringues
• Seventy Fifty-Six
• Salted Caramel Seventy Fifty-Six
• Matcha Latte 
• Hazel's Delight 
• Chocolate Indulgence 
• Opera Cake 

• Tiramisu
• Kahlua-misu

Take a peek at our Dessert Panacea to satisfy our sweet tooth during this lovely sunny Sunday afternoon:

Mocha - warm brew with beautiful foam on top, and a dash of chocolate syrup at the base. 

Creme Brulee - lovely silky smooth, creamy texture & a melt in your mouth consistency with a mildly sweet lightly eggy flavor, and a crisp caramelised top scorched cover. I am an avid lover of Creme Brulee & is pretty adamant that a great Creme Brulee must be smooth, creamy, eggy & mildly sweet. D'zerts Cafe certainly makes one of the more unforgettable ones. 

Mango Passion - top layer is a lightly sourly tarty mango gelatin layer followed by vanilla mousse layer, resting on a thin Josconde layer followed by Mango mousse resting on final Josconde layer. All of D'zerts Cafe cakes come with a Josconde Sponge which has almond nuts blended into the sponge to give it a nutty taste.

Can't decide whether to drink Matcha or Latte, yet want to have your cake and eat it ? Well you can have them both in a cake at D'zerts Cafe. The Matcha Latte - made with green tea from real green tea bags that are extracted by lightly steaming the green tea, and the extract is then blended into mousse. The layer of Matcha mousse is thicker than the sponge and has a melt in your mouth texture that taste like green tea. All of D'zerts Cafe cakes come with a Josconde Sponge which has almond nuts blended into the sponge to give it a nutty taste.

D'zerts Cafe is located at 30, Jalan Pari Burong, S(488696)
Tel: 64486707
Opening Hours: 
11 am to 11 pm, closed on Mondays 

The Citrus House at The Central Mall 1 Magazine Road #01-01 - Birthday Cum Wedding Anniversary Celebration with Bob

The Occasion 

This is a much anticipated day for yours truly as Bob took leave this year specially to celebrate my birthday. My cravings for a good Duck Confit brought me to the facebook page of The Citrus House where I made a reservation for table for 2 with glee. 

The Duck Confit here at The Citrus House at The Central Mall, 1 Magazine Road, had left a pretty stark impression on me as I recounted the time when Co-Founder cum Executive Chef Tom Oh (formerly from Osahi, Pan Pacific Hotel, Marmalade Group, Dozo, Kitchenette Singapore, OChre) explains to me how he does the Duck Confit at The Citrus House. Here's Executive Chef Tom Oh (below).

The Ambience 

Not much has change since my last visit except that The Citrus House Founders have added some pretty kawaii stickers on the glass doors facing the road. 

Dessert Lovers must check out these selection of cakes displayed in the chiller beside the Barista Station. 

We are very thankful for the great service by the team here at The Citrus House - Serene & Jon. 

Robert Frost's famous quote maintains it position as the central piece on the wall facing the entrance door as a witty commentary to liven up your mood for the day:"There is one thing more exasperating than a wife who can cook and won't, and that's a wife who can't cook & will." 

Gone are the posters depicting the various Signatures at The Citrus House, in its place are multi color silhouette art pieces of classic icons amongst whom are : The Statue of Liberty, Audrey Hepburn, Campbell Soup, Archie's. 

Gone are the hanging lamp with semi-spherical opaque glass shades, in its place are these hanging spider light bulbs (below) that lends a rustic touch to the otherwise modern European theme. 

Right behind where Bob sits is this shelf where upon sits a good selection of Chardonnay & Merlot to pair with the Signature dishes. 

Right next to the Barista Counter is another section of dining area with square white table top paired with two seater metallic chairs for couples who needed a little privacy.  

The Promotions 

The Citrus House now has a All Day Value Meal Promotion (Mondays to Fridays only) :

The Coffee Meal 1, Meal 2, Meal 3, Meal 4 are priced  affordably at only S$6.90.

The Lunch Set comes priced at S$7.80 & S$12.80 only ! 
**The best part is that The Citrus House does not charge GST nor Service Charge. **

The Citrus House offers Brunch Special :

• Salad of the Day + Egg & Beef Burger with Cheese Fries + Dessert of the Day at only S$18.80
• French Toast with Mango Ice Cream + Black Currant at only S$12.80
• Tiramisu with Green Tea Ice Cream at only S$6.80

The Citrus House offers S$14.80 Lunch Special :

Salad of the Day + Chicken Fillet with Pineapple Sauce or Fish Fillet with Pineapple Sauce + Dessert of the Day + Citrus Lemon Tea at only S$14.80

The Citrus House offers S$19.80 & S$25 All Day Special :

Signature Duck Confit + 1 Glass of Noblesse Merlot at only S$19.80

Soup of the Day with Grilled Free Range Chicken + Soup of the Day with Pullet Pork Burger at only S$25.00

The Menu

The Citrus House just revamp their new menu with various categories as per attached below :

• All Day Breakfast 
• Appetisers 
• Salad Soup 
• Mains
• Asian Delights 
• Desserts 
• Drinks 
• Weekends Breakfast Menu 
• Kid's Menu 

Bob & I were delighted that The Citrus House Co-Founder Chef Tom Oh presented us with a complimentary Chef's Platter comprising of Crispy fried soft shelled crab on mashed potato, 

Norwegian Smoked Salmon with Caviar on Bruschetta, 

Crab meat with Tobiko on toast 

Thanks so much The Citrus House & Chef Tom Oh - we are very touched !

We both ordered the Wild Mushroom Soup - our favourite soup flavor! The mushroom soup at The Citrus House is indeed superb, the mushroom are well blended till smooth, the soup is thick, creamy and flavorful, I could taste the garlic, onion, herbs used in this soup. 

Bob travels a fair bit whilst I hardly travel. Whenever he travels to France, he'd always order the Duck Confit since he couldn't read French and most times couldn't understand the menu in French. So Duck Confit is his best bet always. As for yours truly, I am pretty much a chicken & fish person. The only duck I eat on normal days are the Chinese roast duck, or the Teochew braised duck during Chinese New Year. 

But the Duck Confit at The Citrus House really bowled me over with its crispy fragrant skin and its tender juicy meat that tears off the bone easily. Chef Tom Oh served this dish with baked baby Russet potatoes, sous vide vegetables, and a generous dose of the special sauce - the taste comes out strongly as mustard with a tinge of sweetness. The sauce paired extremely well with the Duck Confit. We both enjoyed savouring it. 

Just to let you folks in on the special sauce: Chef Tom Oh makes the winning special sauce using L & P Worchester sauce, with added butter, full cream, black pepper crush, that lends a sprite of spiciness sourly sweetness with a tinge of wasabish mustard flavor. He prepares the special sauce ready for use in this dish daily. Note that the vegetables are done sous vide style in the circulator for 20 minutes at 50 degrees Celsius. The baby potatoes are baked at 160 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes that gives a crispy skin. Overall this dish is a must have comfort food for one who desires a crispy skin and tender meat in a Duck Confit. 

The last course was the dessert - Chocolate Molten Lava cake with Vanilla Ice-Cream. To date I have savoured many a chocolate lava cake served by many restaurants: Wave House Sentosa, Morganfield's at The Star Vista, Wine Connection at The Cuppage Terrace, Mad Jack Cafe at Parkway Parade and this chocolate molten lava cake served at The Citrus House tastes just as great as the rest.  There's no real yardstick to measure or rank which is the best. IMHO, a really good molten chocolate lava cake must be really rich in the outer spongy layer, with a thick gluey lava like consistency of the dark chocolate oozing out as you cut the lava cake. It helps if you use really good quality vanilla ice-cream. I personally would love to have macadamia ice-cream to pair with my chocolate molten lava cake. 

The Citrus House is located at :

1 Magazine Road, 

#01-06/07, The Central Mall, 

Singapore 059567

Tel : 65363877

Email : TheCitrusHse@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/TheCitrusHse