Fashion & Style Diary
I love Bruno’s and I think it’s taken the (eastside pasta) food spot in my heart where Al Forno used to reside. I usually end up with the linguine granchio (that’s crabmeat linguine) and finish the whole lot on my own, leaving zero space for dessert! I don’t have a separate space in my stomach for sweets, unfortunately!) After the many, many times I’ve had a meal there, this was the first time I’ve ordered dessert. Chocolate craving, satisfied!
Checked out Communal the other day with the girls. It’s a little hard to find as there is no obvious sign from the main road, even if you drive by really slowly (unless I am as blind as I am deaf!). If you know where Mad Men and Sur are, Communal is right next door. If you don’t, then look out for this modern new building, 22 North Canal Road – it’s a short walk right when you are facing this. Parking is a bit of a pain in the area; the carpark behind the police station is tiny and usually full (with several cars waiting on lots, to boot). I think the parallel lots along North Canal Road are probably your best bet.
With a faintly hipster vibe, I was expecting another ‘lost-the-plot’ (LTP) dining establishment – you know, the kind that focuses on the ambiance and cool factor over the nosh – but I have to admit that I found the food surprisingly comforting. Too many places try to be fancy for fancy’s sake with food these days, but the food that I had at Communal that day was generally simple and well-executed.
This was our complimentary starter, cornbread served with some fancy butter. Our server was this very pleasant (and very attractive!) lady – she looked like a model-type from Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, her accent was pretty thick, and she spoke quite softly; to add to that, I am a little deaf(!), so we didn’t manage to catch what she was saying about the butter, even though she had repeated it three times. (I gave up asking after that, haha!) This was yummy! Moist but still light, and very savoury.
French fries, fried egg, garlic aioli. Simple and delish.
Boston Lobster Mac & Cheese – what’s not to love??
Heard their fried chicken is really good, but the lot of us were not super hungry (I had shared wanton mee with a friend just before dinner because I couldn’t wait, heh!), so we went for the Communal Buffalo Wings instead – these were super good. Spicy, tangy and well-fried. Yes, it was an extremely unhealthy supper we had!
Which we finished off with the Hot Chocolate Souffle. It was rich, packed with dark chocolate goodness and i dare say, one of the better ones I’ve had. Special mention to the strawberry ice-cream – I’m not usually a fan of the flavour, but this one had just the right balance of sweet and tart.
Till the next food adventure!
Hung out at NYC’s West Village with the cousin, and it has a very different feel from a lot of the very neatly-formed grid system in most other parts of Manhattan. Love the quaint, somewhat ‘untidy’ charm of the oddly-angled streets, the shopping’s fantastic, and the bars, cafes & restaurants in the area are pretty cool. =)
We started at this cute little coffee shop called Bee’s Knees, because C needed her java and I needed something sweet. (I don’t know why I am idiotically not looking at the camera, lol.)
The joint is small and cozy, with seating options consisting of just a bar counter by the window, or an angled\roundish-shaped communal table. I had their signature dessert, the Cake-cup. Picked the Red Velvet one, although it was such a close fight between that and the Salted Chocolate Caramel as I love my chocolate (tough life, heh). It was delish!
We spent the rest of the day wandering around the shops, stopping for a drink at this super cute place called Elephant & Castle, which incidentally is also the name of a major junction in London.
The aimless wandering (amidst a LOT of chatter & gossip) brought us to Magnolia Bakery, which I remember coming to over ten years ago, on my first trip to the Big Apple, Sex & the City crazed fan that I was.
It was just before Easter Sunday, and they had the prettiest Easter cupcakes – of course I had to buy some!
maryjulian Ombre Denim Shirt; similar here | Knit faux fur cardi from HK | MNG sports-inspired skirt | Uniqlo knit tights | Accessori necklace (coming soon) |