Dinner at Vanilla Bar & Cafe

Tucked away in a quaint shophouse along CBD area, Vanilla Bar & Cafe caught my attention because of its beautiful interior decor and famous Vanilla Dirt Cake. Its exact location is at 3 Boon Tat Street #01-01, Singapore 069612 and the number to dial is 6423 0366.

As the name goes, the shop is furnished in a pretty, uncluttered style full of whiteness and resplendent of Zen-style serenity. The most distinctive point was the sweet vanilla scent that fills the cafe the moment one steps in - this scent immediately brings to mind delicious thoughts and the jazz music transforms one into another time. Catering to professionals as well as cafe hoppers, Vanilla Bar & Cafe serves as a spot for brunch and coffee in the daytime, and a dinner + drinks respite in the evenings.

The Beau and I ordered an assortment of items from the usual menu and the special menu. The first item, for sharing, was the Boston Lobster Bisque topped with ebikko (SGD$10.90). While not exceedingly thick or creamy, this soup was strongly infused with the sapid sweetness of lobster, and there was a tinge of spiciness so we did not need to add pepper on our own. There were chunks of lobster swimming around in the soup - fresh, tender pieces of lobster so what more could we ask for?

The Mains were served shortly. I had a sandwich - Ciabatta Panini with Norwegian Smoked Salmon & Egg Mayo (SGD$9.50).  I enjoyed the crispy quality of the fluffy bread, as well as the buttery sumptuousness of the egg-mayo and saltish flavor of the tender smoked salmon. I was only a little put off by the tiny celery cubes within - supposed to add flavor / fresh crispiness I suppose? But I could've done without it. The side salad was fine - fresh and lush.

The Green Curry Pasta with Chicken and Mushroom (SGD$17.90) was from the special menu. It looked plain but trust me, the first bite made it impossible to stop till the plate was empty. The gravy was green curry literally - very tasty with hints of spiciness, and the pasta was so smooth one could slurp it in literally. The mushroom slices were juicy and added a distinctive flavor, as well as the tender chicken slices which added texture to the pasta dish. 

Time for desserts! We finally got to try the Vanilla Dirt Cake (SGD$9.50) - a beautiful dessert served in a tiny flower pot which I couldnt believe was edible at first. It was smaller than I had anticipated since this item always appear rather huge in photos on blogs or social media platforms. The pot and flower were not edible, so we dug into the "soil" portion of this dessert - an entire layer of Oreo crumbs that went very well with the thick, rich vanilla pudding that formed the base. The cold vanilla pudding was amazing and tasted like ice-cream but did not melt, so we slowly savoured it.

While we were tempted to order another Vanilla Dirt Cake or their famous Molten Chocolate Cake, but changed our minds and tried another item not readily found in other restaurants / cafes - the Durian Creme Brulee. While it does not taste like your typical creme brulee at all, rest assured that this tiny pot of fresh, creamy delight made from D24 or Mao Shan Wang grade durian, is worth every bite. Besides the sweet, unique taste of durian, the top layer is a thin crunchy layer of burnt cinnamon sugar, adding flavor to the pudding-like dessert. 

We spent a total of around SGD$60.00 on this simple but utterly satisfactory meal.