Alice Boulangerie @ Icon Village (Tanjong Pagar) - More Than Just Your Artisan French Bakery with Classic French Patisserie and Viennoiseries

Nestled within Tanjong Pagar Icon Village, artisan cafe Alice Boulangerie offers a variety of bread, cakes, croissants, and French pastries freshly baked in-house on display. They have generated quite a buzz with their bi-coloured croissants since their launch in 2021, and fast forward years later, they have expanded to include a decadent range of breakfast, sides, and dinner mains in a full-fledged modern-euro menu.

Matcha Cream Latte 4.2/5, Ruby Oolong 4/5, Fruity Mojito 4/5

To kickstart the meal, we tried a few of their signature speciality drinks, such as the Matcha Cream Latte ($7.50), which features a smooth unsweetened matcha drink with a dollop of Chantilly cream atop, which added some sweetness to the drink. The result is a smooth and light matcha drink with a nice balance of bittersweetness and not too sweet. The Ruby Oolong ($7.50) consists of a mixture of strawberries, lychee and oolong tea which makes for an enjoyable light fruity tea. At the same time, the Fruity Mojito ($8.50) has a more tangy flavour profile with the addition of orange and lime and is extremely refreshing.

Scallop Ceviche 4/5

The Scallop Ceviche ($19) is paired with fresh Hokkaido scallops and refreshing yuzu gel, finished with a sweet and tangy ponzu sauce, the perfect bright starter to welcome your dinner with.

Charred Broccoli with Tobiko 3.8/5

The Charred Broccoli with Tobiko ($15) is flavoured with yuzu mayo and comes topped with pickled beetroot, bonito flakes and tobiko. However, the broccoli was a tad overly charred which lent a sharp bitterness to the vegetable and masked any other flavours in the dish.

Tiger Prawn Capellini 4.5/5

We tried the Tiger Prawn Capellini ($28), which features capellini topped with baked mentaiko tiger prawns. The pasta is nicely cooked to an al dente texture and has a robust prawn fragrance, having been cooked in a rich prawn broth, prawn oil and garlic. Notably, one of their most popular dishes in the restaurant, it has been a mainstay on their menu since day one.

Wagyu Beef Cheek Risotto 4/5

The Wagyu Beef Cheek Risotto ($36) consists of soft and fork-tender braised wagyu beef cheek in a creamy and fragrant butternut squash risotto. The pumpkin seeds and pistachio added a crunchy texture. However, we prefer it without the nuts for the dish to be more coherent - a soft, creamy, buttery dish that we will most definitely enjoy!

Yuzu Apple Tart 4/5, “Mushroom” 4.5/5, “Acorn” 4.2/5

Finally, we ended the meal on a sweet note with a signature trio of desserts. If you're a sour, fruity desserts fan, you will fall in love with the Apple Yuzu Tart. It features a homemade sweet tart filled with a tangy lemon Madeline, and hazelnut praline. It is topped with a juicy glazed yuzu and Granny Smith compote and finished with a refreshing Swiss meringue.

The "Mushroom" consists of a classic choux puff piped with gula Melaka Chantilly cream and coconut diplomat cream, complemented with chewy gula Melaka caramel. We enjoyed the smooth Gula Melaka cream that is not too sweet, encased in a light, crisp choux puff exterior.

The “Acorn” features a green chocolate shell with 32% white chocolate that reveals a layer of forage mousse, pistachio dacquoise, pistachio crunch with soft pistachio praline, and a homemade red fruit compote finished with pistachio mousse for differing textures and complimenting flavours.

Photos and words by Crystal. A girl who likes to eat, photograph, and write about food, and dreams about travelling around the world one day. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Alice Boulangerie
Icon Village
12 Gopeng Street
#01-05/11
Singapore 078877
Tel: +65 8874 3300
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Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Sun-Thu: 8am - 6pm
Fri-Sat: 8am - 9pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Tanjong Pagar MRT station. Take Exit A. Turn left and walk down Peck Seah Street. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

Gary’s Restaurant @ Rochester Park - Contemporary Italian Restaurant Set In A Heritage Bungalow

Gary's Restaurant, helmed by Taiwan-born Singaporean Chef Gary Wu, is located in a heritage bungalow surrounded by greenery. It's tucked in the quaint Rochester Park and offers both indoor and alfresco dining, as well as private dining spaces that are fit for various occasions.

Homemade Focaccia with Kombu Butter

We were served complimentary Homemade Focaccia with Kombu Butter before the start of the meal. I would highly recommend enjoying them immediately upon serving while they are still warm. The focaccia slices were lightly toasty yet fluffy, pairing perfectly with the homemade kombu butter.

Red Prawn Tartare 4.5/5

Appetiser was a flavourful start with the Red Prawn Tartare ($26), made with a combination of Botan Ebi and Gambero Rossi prawns. The drizzle of citrusy dressing and crunchy watercress bits complemented the intense sweetness and freshness of the prawn base, elevated with caviar and creamy uni.

Iconic Gary’s Garden Salad 4/5

The Iconic Gary's Garden Salad ($26) is a creation inspired by one of Singapore's iconic city skylines - Marina Bay Sands. It is assembled with mashed potato, charcoal powder and breadcrumbs as the 'soil' base, alongside seasonal greens such as heirloom carrots, US asparagus, mushrooms and more. It's then topped with truffle snow, pops of olive oil caviar and seasonal truffle shavings. It is a lighter starter than the Red Prawn Tartare, focusing on the freshness of the seasonal vegetables.

Signature Seafood Pasta 4.2/5

The Signature Seafood Pasta ($28) features homemade tagliolini in a seafood-rich stock made from slow-cooked lobsters and prawns. All the seafood in this pasta - clams, mussels, lobster and baby cuttlefish, were flambéed with brandy to bring out their flavours further. I appreciated how there wasn't too much of other additional seasoning added in, which allowed emphasis on the natural seafood sweetness.

Scottish Bamboo Clam 4.5/5

The dish that won unanimous praise from our table is the Scottish Bamboo Clam ($36). It is flambéed in white wine, and the crunchy slices of clams are then dressed in a light lemon dressing to pair with Italian squid-ink pasta in a garlicky base. The addition of bottarga powder elevated the overall seafood flavour with its light fishy notes.

Iberico Pork Jowl 3.5/5

The Iberico Pork Jowl ($38) features pork marinated with a blend of herbs and spices for 24 hours, accompanied by carrot purée and crushed pistachio. While the flavour was decent, it was a pity that the pork slices were too chewy for our liking.

Grass-fed Tenderloin

My dining companions enjoyed the Grass-fed Tenderloin ($42). The 150-day grass-fed Australian tenderloin is chargrilled and served with sides of potato cake, endives, roasted mushrooms, Dijon mustard and veal juice reduced with red wine.

Dessert Platter

If you're here for a celebration, the Dessert Platter is something you can look out for. End your meal with a fun sparkler candle that comes with a minimum order of 2 desserts. We got to try a trio for our platter here.

Gary’s Chocolate Lava Cake 3.5/5

Though the exterior of Gary’s Chocolate Lava Cake ($16) leaned more eggy tasting, it had an oozy dark chocolate centre which we enjoyed. We had ours with a scoop of nutty and sweet pistachio ice cream.

Gary’s Apple Tart 3/5

I prefer apple tarts with more tartness, while Gary's Apple Tart ($16) leans more bitter-sweet with the caramel sauce. Unfortunately, we found this a little too dry as a whole.

Tiramisu 3.8/5

Last but not least, the Tiramisu ($16). The highlight was its smooth and light mascarpone pairing with Kahlua coffee liqueur.

Photos and words by Jo. A girl who loves her Mala (麻辣) at Da La (大辣), discovering hidden food gems and a good cup of matcha latte. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Gary's Restaurant
41 Rochester Drive
Singapore 138582
Tel: 65 89200200
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Nearest MRT: Buona Vista (CC Line, EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 1030pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Buona Vista MRT station. Take Exit C. Take the sheltered walkway and walk towards Star Vista. Turn left onto Rochester Drive. Walk down Rochester Drive towards Rochester Mall. Take the staircase at the back of Rochester Mall. Walk to destination. Journey time about 6 minutes. [Map]