Antoinette

So much has been reviewed already by people all over, about this cafe, but I still wanna write about it because this is where Paul brought me to celebrate my 23rd birthday :)

I will skip the introduction, to pictures!

French onion soup. 

My breakfast set

Cakes

The décor is lovely, the staff is relatively helpful, the prices are tad steep… but the food? Paul's wild mushroom risotto (sorry no pictures for this! He was too hungry and tucked in before we could take photos) was great-- The risotto was creamy, the mushroom was strong though not too overpowering for the palate. 

The experience would have been better if not for the letdown from the breakfast set. Poached eggs they served were rubbery and cold. Perhaps they had stopped the cooking process by dunking the poached egg into cold water and forgotten to warm it up in hot water. Or perhaps it was just my fault for eating the egg last. Not my fault what- I wanted to save the best for the last. I had great eggs at Wild Honey, eaten last too. Unfortunately, that eggy, oozy, burst-in-your-mouth feeling wasn’t replicated at Antoinette.

The cakes on the other hand, were fabulous. Good things come in small packages; size wise not money wise. We took small, dainty nibbles with our forks but the cakes finished all too quickly. 

We hadn't had enough at Antoinette to conclude about their food offerings, but we do know one thing for sure, is that we will only patronise it again for its cakes. Main course elsewhere, cakes here -- if we have that extra moolah of course :)

Total bill was $80 + (incl. GST & Scv Charge)] 

In conclusion,

Food: B

Service: B

Ambience: A

Value-for-$: B-

Overall grade: B

Apples given:

Maison Ikkoku

Social media is indeed powerful. After seeing pictures of the cafe's interior and its absolutely handsome sandwiches on my friend’s Facebook, I knew I had to put this place into my list of “Must-Visits”. 

I trooped down with two other friends on a weekday afternoon, and we were lucky to find comfy sofa seats where we spent the next three hours chatting at. Yes, we girls have plenty to talk about :) Next door, was the "Rich and Good Cake Shop" specializing in swiss rolls that my friend recommended. I did not buy them, but go early if you must, earlier than 5pm, because they sell out really fast. 

Back to Maison Ikkoku! This place has that welcoming feel you would gladly embrace each time you step foot into a new café. Non-pretentious vibe, friendly staff, and best of all, ready sofa seats for us to rest our derrieres as we while the afternoon away.  We just had lunch, so we ordered the Red Velvet cake, a box of tiramisu and our respective drinks. I had latte while my friends had tea.

The Red Velvet Cake

The cute looking tiramisu in a plastic container and my latte

Ok, how should I put it?

Initially I wanted to go down to this cafe for its sandwiches, but ironically we didn't order any of them as the group just had lunch so we figured desserts would suffice. It was a mistake, as the red velvet cake and tiramisu fell short of our expectations. The red velvet cake was tasteless; I couldn't taste the chocolate. The tiramisu was tad alcoholic and the cheese... wasn't to my liking. 

Maybe it was because one of my friend was a budding baker and she had baked better red velvet cakes herself, or maybe because I just made tiramisu a few days prior to this visit. Oh well. We were disappointed at how they tasted, but nevertheless the ambience and company made up for it. 

In short, perhaps going their for their sandwiches is a safe decision to make. Afterall many bloggers are raving at how good they are. As for cakes, you can get better ones elsewhere, or maybe even from your own kitchen. Maybe the carrot cake with a cute little carrot on top is better tasting? I don't know. 

Total bill was $-(incl. GST & Scv Charge)] (NO GST!)

In conclusion,

Food: C+

Service: A

Ambience: A

Value-for-$: A-

Overall grade: A-

Apples given: