Oh Little Town of Fira

We stayed in Fira, Santorini's capital and most bustling because of the proximity to the caldera. The little town was a maze of cobbled pathways and steps climbing infinitely upwards.

At every nook and cranny, there are several shops and cafes, bars and restaurants - each with clearly, their own regular following of patrons. They were either listed in your Lonely Planet guides or recommended by the locals.

We stopped at Dionysos for dinner on the first night at Santorini. After a series of bad meals in Athens, we were determined to ensure we had something good tonight.

We asked to be seated outside and received a look of amusement from the wait staff. I of course got worried because that meant I was going to be combusting my carbohydrates while being refuelled. But, my dining companion, aka, hubby, being a natural polar bear, took to the cold weather like bees to honey. And hence, we had a nice dinner in cold solitude outside, me peering in occasionally to the inviting glow of the warmers.

We ordered a couple of authentic Greek dishes and hoped for the best. The bread, arrived cold and hard in crust but salvaged with a soft middle for my profuse digging and dipping with their olive dips.

The lamb stuffed with feta cheese and spinach was pretty good, with a hearty serving of warm rice and potatoes. But I must say what I truly enjoyed was the Moussaka. A Greek version of the robust Shepard pie, the warm mash potato layered with vegetables and minced chicken.

We ended dinner with an Ouzu, the traditional trademark alcohol of Greece. Made from licorice, I did not like it at all. But it did provide temporal fuzzy warmth from the night, which was at this point starting to turn chilly freezing.

After dinner, we took a nice stroll along the cobbled streets again and just admired the night breeze and skyline. This little amazing city and it's unfathomable 'height' of architectural excellence it achieved. A splendid way to end the night.


Santorini - Better then any Step workout invented

Picturque is an understatement.


It's scenic reputation has probably preceded its name with those cliff-hanging white houses appearing on name-card holders, art-works, magnets and postcards.



You might have probably already seen the whole of Santorini without even realising it - at least I did. It's on my name card holder and I never had a clue.

So let's get all that great scenery shots out of the way.

Santorini from the plane.

The first sun-set greeting from Santorini. The warm glow provides an excellent mis-conception as to how freezing the nights are! And a beautiful silhouette of the caldera many tourist and Greek locals flock to this island for.

And more shots of the volcano surrounded by the island...by sun-set.



And by day...




Santorini from probably the highest point at Ancient Thira. After risking our lives driving up the narrowest 2-way cobbled winding uphill road, we get our rewards. Breath-taking long miles of black sandy beaches with sun-deck chairs neatly filed in rows.

"The look of love.. is in your eyes.

The look your smile can't disguise."

"The look..." oh sorry, I was just told this song applies to humans only.

Happy Mothers Day all mommies out there!

Swansong of the Butterflies

And the day comes, when all good things must come to an end. Le Papillon served their last plate of tiger prawn pasta last Tuesday on the last day of April. There was a little sadness resonating in the air as Anderson Ho paid visits to each dining table and handed out his new namecard with a polite smile. Unabashed with the forced closure due to circumstances, he shrugs his shoulders and welcomes you to visit him at Muse - his new kitchen home.

We didn't know what to order so Anderson said "leave the menu to me". And that sealed the fate of our last meal at Le Papillon perfectly. We started with three good servings of Anderson's freshly baked breads. We were treated with a few new surprises. He added an onion bread to the usual selection which I honestly hope he brings over to Muse. Seriously, the atrocious bread they serve over there, makes Sunshine and Gardenia look like the refine loaf.

We started with an oyster shooter with a tomato salsa. I had to down this one really quick because I'm not a fan for oysters. But I must say it slides down really well. The oyster, thankfully and as expected, was very fresh and the bubbly salsa went down nicely.

Next Anderson served us a different but certainly more likable rendition of the fresh mud crabs appetisers. Instead of the orange and mango espuma he serves in the standard menu, he swaps it for a very simple apple and basil sauce. Sounds understated, but the effect was excellent.

Of course we had to clause Anderson's freedom to serve us whatever he felt like with the single condition that we didn't leave without his signature Rigatoni pasta with crustacean oil, shaved bottarga and tiger prawns. The portion of 5 Rigatoni pasta strips was selfishly satisfying. By the time I got down to the last strip, I was savouring every flavour. Sadly, Anderson probably won't be bringing this over to the Muse menu. Good for him, tough, for the rest of us.

And if that wasn't already enough, he topped that with a fine steak, a beautiful pink in the middle.

I think this is my 3rd time having dessert at le Papillon. The first time I had pleasant memories of the strawberry macaroon dessert, the second time his New Year's eve chocolate dessert was so sinful it had to be remembered. And this was the 3rd. Normally I'm too full to even look at that page, but I have to say, the desserts are very refine and exquisite. Kudos to Chef's good help.

So, adieu Le Papillon! The red dot building will never be as attractive again. We'll see you Chef, at Muse.

Pierre Herme in Singapore!

Alright I admit it, I am an utterly useless fan. Shamelessly in love with his macarons, where I might possibly sell my future children for them, I was too lazy to reserve a table at Mezza9 2 weeks before to meet the genius of a man - the passionate Pierre Herme in full frontal glory.
But I was still subconsciously and secretly hoping that he might still be around and we might catch a glimpse and perhaps, if it was not too much to ask, a hug and a personal photo for keeps. =) Alas, if only we were so lucky. But at least we got to see the Ispahan again after a year.

The macaroons were lovely, in 3 very rich and exotic combined creations. True to form, you don't get your regular chocolate or passion fruit flavours. If Master Chef Herme dapples in chocolate, you get them with guanaja ganache with cocoa nibs (I didn't even know such refine chocolate existed!) If he twists towards citrus, its lemon with citrus curd. Not the usual "cringe-face" level of sour but a really refreshing and light combination.

But my absolute favourite for the night was the white truffle with piedomont hazelnuts. Everyone knows my absurd obsession with truffles so imagine my glee when it's actually been paired with my favourite dessert, but my favourite chef!

I'm sure most people would cringe at the idea of experiment pairing of savoury earthy truffle with the sweet crisp of almond and sugar. L made a face, B didn't care for it. Meaning more for me!!! I loved it. The first bite was sheer heaven. And the hazelnuts provided the perfect crunch. I can't even put it down to meer word descriptions. The taste was just excruciatingly marvellous.

The Ispahan was nice, but not as mind-blowing as our virgin experience in Paris. The macaroon shell wasn't as crispy as we had hoped. But the rose petal cream with the lychee was as good and the raspberry sherbet was tart but refreshing.

So the world gourmet summit is over and Mr Herme, I believe, has long packed his suitcase and gone from our tiny shores. But the good folks at Mezza9 have kept their blow-torches and oven flames going and are still offering his inspired desserts in their menu. A little pricey but would be worth trying if you have never had desserts from the Master pastry and chocolate chef before.

It would be a very 'sweet' experience.

Mezza9

10/12/06 Scotts Road

Grand Hyatt Singapore

Singapore 228211

6732 1234