Sweet Indulgence

Sweet Indulgence, the petite cafe at Stanley Street is as charming as its name. From the decorations, to the food, to the service, everything just made you feels at home. Your cosy corner, in the hearts of the city. My female companion and i arrive at the place at 530pm, but the restaurant was not opened yet as their kitchen starts at 6. However the staff warmly welcome us in to the place. Being early-birds, we were the only diners there, and we enjoyed every moment there. The feeling was though we had booked the restaurant, and had the whole place to ourselves.

Upon stepping into the restaurant, I felt as if I had transported into another world all together. The bar counter, the simple yet comfortable furnitures under the dim spot-light made us feel totally at ease. The staff was very friendly, and he told us to make ourselves at home. So we heed his words, and literally make it our home.

Pretty is the word to describe the place, cozy is the word to describe the feeling, and indulgencing in the sweetness basically sums up everything else. We took photos, every shot and angles of the whole restaurant. While being overly engrossed in taking pictures, we even forgot to take our orders until we saw the chef sitting behind us.

The menu ranges from appetizer, salad, tapas, to the main course like pasta, fish & seafood, meats, to desserts and wine. Although under each category there might not have a wide range of selections, but for what it lack in variety, it made up for it in the pure quality and the presentation of the food.

And just for your information, the restaurant starts its lunch menu from 1145 to 230pm, dinner is served from 6 to 10pm. Indulge in a sumptuous three course set lunch at an additional $6.80 on top of the main course’s price.

As we were in quite a rush for time, we didn’t have any appetizer or tapas to start the delightful meal, so we proceed on and begin with our main course. A peek into the menu, we immediately know what we wanted. As my female companion is a fan of spaghetti & also a lover of fish, the spaghetti salmon & mushroom seems to be tailor-made for her. To complete the fish-lover experience, i had the pan-sauteèd salmon steak.

The spaghetti selections come in the price range of $13.90 to $17.90, while the main course starts from $14.90 to $23.90 for its beef tenderloin.

Spaghetti Salmon & Mushroom ($15.90)
Spaghetti tossed with fresh salmon, mushrooms & seasonal vegetables in cream sauce. Being the fan of cream base rather than tomato base, the Spaghetti Salmon & Mushroom suits the tastebud of my companion perfectly. The sauce isn’t very strong, therefore it doesn’t overwhelm the overall taste of the dish. Coupled with the generous helping of fresh salmon & mushroom, every slurp of the pasta seems to exist for your savour of it.

Pan-sauteèd Salmon Steak ($19.90)
Pan-grilled salmon accompany with daily vegetables, serve with vanilla infused cream sauce, finished with balsamic reduction & caramelised cherry tomatoes. First taste into the Pan-sauteèd Salmon steak tell me this is something special, the second bite confirms the truth. The salmon is pan-grilled perfectly, where pan-grilled salmon in the hands of less-skillful chef will becomes hard and dry, this is definitely not the case at Sweet Indulgence.

The grilled skin did not prevent me for tasting the soft and freshness of the juicy salmon. Some pepper and salt are sprinkled to add additional flavouring to the salmon, not that it is necessary, the salmon is so good that it can be eaten on its own.

The daily vegetables of broccoli and carrot helps to balance the meal, and the mashed potato together with the vanilla infused cream sauce certainly taste specially good. The only thing that i have to add will be the serving could be better, but i guess good food comes in appropriate serving, too much of a good thing spoils the taste.

Warm Choco Lava Indulgence ($8.90)
To end off our delightful meal, there is no doubt desserts are a must at such a sweet place like Sweet Indulgence. Warm chocolate cake filled with melted dark chocolate, served with tropical fruits and a scoop of ice cream.

Warm Choco Lava Indulgence’s filling very much satisfied the chocoholic in me. As our spoon cuts into the chocolate cake, the melted dark chocolate ooshed out and filled our spoon. Eaten separately, the warm dark chocolate taste like dark chocolate, and the ice cream like any other ordinary ice cream, but combine both together, the result is totally different. The warm dark chocolate seems to fuse perfectly with the cold vanilla ice cream, and the effect is a yummy sensation.

Tiramisu ($7.90)
Dessert couldn’t have been more satisfying than in the form of the popular Tiramisu. Original Italian tiramisu made with mascarpone cheese and Italian sponge fingers soaked in espresso and lots of kahlua, rum & brandy.

In my personal opinion, this ought to be one of my favourite Tiramisu. The first moment the tiramisu goes inside my mouth, I fell in love with it. Touching the tip of my tongue, the super soft texture of the cake immediately melt and touch my heart. Beautiful is the word, heavenly is the feeling, and falling in love with it concludes the tiramisu. I’ll be back for this one, watch out for it yeah!

Total bill for 2 main 2 desserts for 2 person comes up to $52.60 which is definitely not expensive, given the quality and presentation of the food, the excellent service, the comfy environment, which makes our dinner perfect. Also please be reminded that the restaurant is currently opened during weekdays only, there are plans to open on Sat in the near future.

After we finish our dinner, the boss of the restaurant, Christopher came and we had a friendly conservation, and the restaurant even gave us two complimentary orange juice on the house. The orange juice are some of the ones that they are looking to bring in from new suppliers and are not on the menu as yet.

If you visit the place and may not agree with me that the place is that good even its a small restaurant, hidden in the heart of the city. But the fact is I enjoyed the place very much indeed, and that is enough. We received dining vouchers in the form of $15 discount for every $60 spend in the dinner menu for our next visit. I will definitely be back for more. memorable dining experience - Sweet 2 Indulge

You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )

” I fell in love with you “

Sweet Indulgence is a cosy little spot nestled within the hustle & bustle of the CBD... A sweet little cafe such as this brings a welcome escape from the not so sweet corporate world outside the walls...There's an instant sweetener promotion of 30% if one orders a starter a main n a dessert..

We started with the calamaris n chicken wings...  The chicken wings was sooo aromatic that it immediately tingle your senses n put smiles on our faces but sadly the wings r surprisingly totally tasteless... Save for the chilli powder dusted on the wings..there's simply no taste.. The calamaris fared a bit better but was unfortunately limp and looked a little sad.. esp on a bed of sadder looking rockets... The meal simply did not start on a sweet note..

For mains we had the salmon pasta, the tenderloin n the cordon bleu... I quite like my salmon pasta.. the creamy tomato base is light n subtle yet flavourful in its own way.. Do go for the fettuccine choice which seems to be a good fit for such a dish... They are generous with e salmon pieces as well...

The tenderloin which seems a bit pricey scored well in e taste dept... The tenderloin is interestingly pre-sliced but seared n seasoned exactly to our liking... The balsamic honey element is very alluring in this dish and i liked the little touch of sun-dried tomatoes in the side salad... The chicken cordon bleu on e other hand was overcooked being dry n hard..   

For desserts we had the much sought-after chocolate lava cake and creme brulee.. Both, as the restaurant's name suggests, are sweet indulgences in their own right but a little teeny in size.. The chocolate lava cake do have a molten centre that oozes out seductively when provoked and paired beautifully with e ice cream and sprinkles of blueberries which i heart... The lava cake is quite a lovely rendition although i would yearn for one with more crust so that there's more balance than just flowing choc n ice cream on my dessert spoon...

The creme brulee packed quite a sweet punch as it is really quite sweet hence those with sweet tooth would lurve it.. Fresh blueberries r alwaz welcome on my plates too... The drinks that we had of iced tea n iced chocolate is simply weak and tasteless...

Overall it's a lovely little gem hidden in the biz district.. There's some hits n misses which does disappoints me as i did came with high expectations but i can see the efforts put in... With such a sweet name as sweet indulgence.. it's hard not to smile fondly but it would be better if the indulgence has been sweeter.. cute chefs though haha...

Just posted the review on my blog, I like the place and the food, service was very accomodating as well.

Would recommend the salmon spaghetti, but would be even better if you can share it with others, gets a little too rich at the end and hard to compromise with the cheesyness a lil' later.

For picture and more info: http://miammmiam.blogspot.com/

Visited Sweet Indulgence for the first time after hearing so much good reviews about it to celebrate my colleague/mentor’s 25th birthday! Situated on Stanley road, it is quite inconvenient to reach and when I called to check how to get to the restaurant, a lady answered the call and she appeared to be very unsure of where the restaurant is situated at (Not sure of what building is it in front of, what bus to take, which direction to take etc.). Nevertheless, she did try to help me get to the place by providing me with some bus numbers. I was rather surprised to see that the restaurant was rather empty when we reached since apparently it is a pretty popular place. The waiter who greeted us is very approachable and polite and notified us that there is a 30% discount for 3 food items ordered promotion going on right now. The place is beautifully decorated with brass fans and chandeliers, along with the eye-catching bar, which was tiled with pictures of roses. *** Mushroom Soup Creamy flavorful soup with chunky mushroom bits. I always favored chunky mushroom soups and Sweet Indulgence did theirs perfectly. *** Calamari Fritti Calamari deep fried to perfection and accompanied by tartar sauce. I enjoyed this dish a lot, especially when I am a calamari lover. Their calamari is fresh and springy. *** Prawn Fritters Battered Shrimps accompanied by sweet and sour chili sauce. The battered shrimps tasted a little over cooked as the prawns ended up a little too rough in texture. It tasted well with the sweet and sour chili sauce but definitely could be better. *** Hawaiian Pizza Ham, Mushrooms, Cheese and everything nice spreaded out on top of a thin and crispy crust. Fragrance from the baked cheese is mouth watering but crust seems to be over baked. But even though over baked, it adds on to the fragrance of the dish. It just seemed to be a beautiful mistake. But of course, Timbre still defeats all pizza restaurants HANDS DOWN. *** Prawn Aglio Olio Linguine Rather different from what I have expected from the normal Aglio Olio. The cooking of the prawns must definitely be improved. Tasted not bad but I still prefer coffee club’s prawn Aglio Olio. *** Pan Seared Dory Fish Fillet with Mash Potato THIS DISH OWNS THEM ALL. Fantastisimo. The fillet is cooked to perfection with a slight crisp on the surface which goes perfectly well with the mash potatoes. *** Cordon Bleu (According to the trainer at DFS when I was still a brand ambassador there, it is supposed to be pronounced as Cordon BLUR!) Breaded chicken wrapped around slices of ham and melted cheese, topped with passion fruit sauce. I sincerely love this but it could be much better if they used chicken thighs instead as it turned out to be a little too tough. But overall, it tasted good! *** Molten Lava Cake Molten Lava Chocolate Cake accompanied by Strawberries, Blueberries and a huge scope of real vanilla beans Ice Cream. The Vanilla Ice Cream is superb! The molten lava cake is surprisingly good but a little too small ): *** For the night, we paid SGD 138 for 4 pax after discount. Which I felt was rather worth it considering the fantastic service they provided us! I would definitely go back there for dinner again if I had the chance, as I believe a dinner experience comes in a package and not just food alone! *** Please visit my blog at APPRÉCIER for more pictures and reviews on other places! =))

It\'s a different menu experience when I returned this time. I was actually expecting some of their usual favourtites - but they had made some changes and I really had to try those new creations.

 

Prawn fritters

- A very lovely done dish : deep-fried to perfect crisp on the exterior but juicy and soft on the inside. Very well complimented with their fusion Thai chilli sauce.

 

Soups

- We ordered two : mushroom + seafood soup. Very nice.... in fact I would say these are probably my comfort food... really perk up my mood and the after appetite.

 

Pasta

- We had the salmon pasta that is served in tomato cream. Tasty! We finished the pasta in a flash :)

Main course (fish, beef steak)

- Again, we are sharing these. The Fish is done cajun-spice style and they had retained their previous unique flavours as how I had remembered. It was cleaned up quickly. Beef steak was designed for Singapore tastebud as pepper sauce is served. This is not really my favourite but hey, our table party love it and finished up with gusto pace.

Was told to try their now popular beef tenderloin slices which is served with balsamic honey

See some of the photos taken. Probably did them injustice with my more than life photography skills :) Enjoy!

 

Like many reviews below, you should know by now that this restaurant has quite a high standards, in terms of food. Went there when the restaurant was having a promotion, 50% off ala carte items if you show them the email flyer. So my colleagues and I ordered a soup to share, a side to share and a main each.

Cream of mushroom soup was super delicious. Fell in love with it the moment I tasted it. The servings are huge too. Unless you are a big eater, it is best to share the soup if you all had ordered sides and main dishes.

For the sides, we ordered this mix fried seafood dish which consist of calamari, fish, mussels and prawns. We all love the fried fish. The meat is extremely soft and tasty.

For mains, I had a salmon pasta with creamy tomato sauce (mix of cream base and tomato base). It is really tasty, though I thought the salmon is a little tough. But overall, this pasta is very good.

My 2 colleagues had a pan fried fish and a cordon blu each. The fish is really tender nd the chicken is very delicious. Both of the mains are served with generous portions of vegetables. Talk about a balance diet!

Finally for dessert, we ordered lava cake after reading about it in HGW. True though, the lava cake is really to die for. So very soft and spongy with warm, chocolate sauces flowing out of the cake as you take a bite into the lava cake. Scoop a piece of the lava cake drenched with hot, lava sauce and eat it with the ice-cream that came along with the cake. Trust me, you'll be in Seventh heaven. :)

PS: The food can be quite pricey, so prepare yourself before stepping in!

i've been craving for pan-seared fish and choco lava cake for quite a while now. and after searching thru HGW's reviews, i shortlisted a few places i would like to spend our wedding anniversary, and Sweet Indulgence happens to serve both so it was our top choice.

it was a rainy nite, so there were only us and another table of 2 guests, so our food were served fast. i was quite disappointed the white cod listed on HGW was no longer available (they change their menu every 3mths), but decided to try the pacific dory and hubby ordered a pizza. the nice lady server suggested we take the set meal with a top up of $6 to get a free soup of the day and coffee and dessert. i wasnt too keen on the soup as spinach is not my fav veg but the server assured me it would be good, so we took 1 set. seeing that we will be ordering 2 desserts, the highly recommended tiramisu and choco lava cake, she suggested that we can top up just $13, to change the dessert of the day to dessert of our choice, which is very worthwhile cos both the desserts we ordered cost $12 each.

we also ordered calamari as a starter which came very fast. it was the best calamari we ever tasted! the squid was fresh of cos, but the batter was the winner. they sprinkled some spicy powder on the lightly deep-fried calamari which was just nice, not too spicy, but enough to wake up those taste buds. the soup came as well, and to our surprise, it was very pleasant and so delicious, especially with the cream drizzled on top. it was also a nice welcome on a cold rainy nite, and we so looked forward to our mains.

the lady server came to us after we finished our starter to inform that the pizza will take a while to be ready, and asked if we wanted our dory served first. we were already full of anticipation so we agreed. but we frozed for a good minute when it was served. the layout was so pretty... too pretty for us to touch! tat really whet our appetite and we tore into the dish like we havent eaten for days. the dory was crispy on the outside, but so tender inside. the outside was also coated with some spicy powder, adding flavour to the fish. we were really impressed with everything in the dish, down to the veg and the deco noodles and some "black bits" along the side of the plate, which hubby scooped up every bit. we later asked and was told that was roasted black olives. who would have guessed!

then came the pizza, which was on such a thin crust, you have to put it into your mouth the moment it leaves the plate else the toppings will slide off. the fresh tomato sauce was very refreshing, and the cheese just make you want to chomp down one slice after another. unfortunately for me, i cant take garlic, which was in the sauce, so i had to give up unwillingly after forcing two slices down and bearing with the garlic cos it was so nice. hubby made the wise decision to stop at 4 slices cos we were so sure by now the desserts will be fantastic and we want to make sure we had space to stomach them!

and that was a really good decision, cos the tiramisu was a thick, big slice of the more cakey version, which went down well with hubby cos he wasnt really a fan of creamy tiramisu. the base was well soaked in coffee liquer, and we were licking our spoons. last to come but the highlight of the evening was the unbelivable choco lava cake. you know how a pudding wobbles when you shake it? that was how our lava cake wobbled when we tapped the top! the cake was so thin, and so fully-filled with choc that one light tap on the top and the "lava" is released! like the other reviews mentioned, the choc went really well with the ice cream, and the surprise treat of thinly sliced roasted almonds around the ice cream. we really had the urge to order another lava cake, but decided we were really too full and should not spoil the wonderful dinner by overeating.

thanx a lot dave, for the incredible dinner. i'll be dreaming of the lava cake till we visit again! hope to see ya real soon!



one word of caution, do check out precise directions before you head down cos there are a lot of road works along the way and they block the road signs sometimes. and if you miss a turn, you've gotta go one big round again. Sweet Indulgence is at the beginning of Stanley Street, so you should see it on your left once you turn into Stanley Street, where there is a 7-eleven at the corner, which shd be your signal to turn.

Despite having numerous reviews on this prominent sponsor for HungryGoWhere, I had trouble finding the place as it is really well-hidden. In fact, I had a few unsuccessful attempts to locate this bistro.

We arrived at around seven when most of the tables had already been filled up. Amidst the crowd, everyone in the restaurant spoke softly, as if afraid of spoiling its peaceful atmosphere.

Though there was only one service staff then, she was spontaneous and helpful. I was impressed by her friendliness and extreme patience when taking orders.

We ordered Salmone Affumicato and Aglio Olio E Pepeponncino E Gamberi for our main courses. Both their servings were just right.

At a place such as Sweet Indulgence, you will regret walking out without trying their desserts. As recommended by the waitress, we ordered their famous lava cake, which did not disappoint. Soft chocolate cake filled with melted dark chocolate was served on a plate painstakingly decorated by the chef for the delight of diners. Rich dark chocolate oozed out and filled my spoon when it slowly sank into the soft texture of the chocolate cake. Try it with ice cream.

Our total bill for the night was $64.25, after 10% discount, for one appetizer, 2 pastas and dessert. I was more than satisfied by what it had offered us - hospitable service staff, quality yet affordable food, tranquil and cozy ambiance. Our dining experience here was overall a memorable one. As a dessert place, Sweet Indulgence lives up to its name. If you are looking for a romantic night out, no doubt this is the place.

As for me, I will come back again after I get a more powerful flash.

For a more detailed review, please visit Amasou-Umasou.

Decided to take the opportunity to pig out at Sweet Indulgence during their National Day promo (45% off total bill). The 3 of us shared:

1) Buffalo Wings ($8.50) - This was nice. Juicy and tender wings with a decent marinade

2) Spanish Garlic Bread ($4.50) - Mm..tastes like regular garlic bread! It's alright.

3) Calamares Fritti ($9.50) - You can choose between marinara or tartar sauce. We chose marinara. Again, just ok. I've had better calamari elsewhere.

4) Pasta Pesto di pinolo ($11.00) - This was the best dish we had. The pasta (penne) was done al dente and the pesto sauce was delicious.

5) Pasta Alfredo ($14.00) - Pretty ordinary alfredo sauce. In fact, I felt that it wasn't creamy enough.

6) Pizza Verdure ($12.00) - This was a miss for me. The toppings of artichoke and mushrooms were dried out and it just wasn't cheesy enough for me.

7) Tiramisu ($10.00) - It sounds expensive, but their tiramisu is huge. A huge block of mascarpone and savoiardi. Unfortunately, it looked better than it tasted. The savoiardi was not moist enough for my liking, and the mascarpone was underwhelming. It could've done with a more generous shot of liquor as well.

8) Warm Chocolate Lava ($10.00) - The ubiquitous chocolate lava cake. Again, pretty ordinary. To be fair, I still have not eaten a chocolate fondant which I feel is out of this world. It is nice, but nothing to rave over.

Total damage before discount - $90

Every time I visit Sweet Indulgence, I always stumble onto some promotion going on in the house. In June 2008, it was the 'Free Pizza for Every $60 Spent!!' In April 2009, it was the 'Free Dessert for Every 2 Main Courses Ordered', whereby I finally got to taste the Tiramisu. And in August 2009, it was the National Day promotion, whereby there was a 45% off the total bill for every dine-in on Saturday evenings.

And in every visit, I was always assured of the food quality, such that every new friend that I've brought to the restaurant, left with the same comment - 'The Food Is Good!!'

Word about the National Day promotion has definitely spread to many in our tiny island, coz just in one seating of 6-8pm, I bumped into 3 friends in the quiet little corner of Shenton Way on a Saturday evening. Seriously, what are the odds!!??

My friend and me were definitely surprised at the new menu presented to us, which led us to conclude that the restaurant has changed its menu. A sudden rush of Italian terms, but thank God for English translations in italics. We tried to hold on to one menu for a later order, but was told that we could only do one order i.e. last order. Hmm, a little comical but it wasn't much a problem with us.

We got a starter to share - Gambas Al Ajillo (SGD 12.50), which was essentially prawns in white wine sauce served with fresh garlic bread. Missing from the description was the inclusion of mushrooms & raw garlic bits as well!! =) It was an interesting dish and I was silly enough to dip my spoon into the sauce, which subsequently actually allowed me to taste the white wine in it. But in my honest (personal) opinion, I think I will give this starter a miss in the future, as it is pretty pricey for its quantity.

My friend got a Pollo Farcito Al Marsala (SGD 21.00), which was essentially chicken breast stuffed with spinach, cream cheese & sundried tomatoes, topped with mushroom marsala sauce with couscous. Hmm, sounds super exciting and when the main course came, we were pleasantly surprised. I was 'horrified' at the sea of green-coloured couscous, but my friend enjoyed it though. And the chicken breast meat was 'well-stuffed', almost like a burst of textures upon taking a bit.

I got myself a Cajun Dory (SGD 21.00), which was oven-baked pan-seared pacific dory coated with 'home-blended special Cajun spices', served with mash potato. Interesting presentation, coz the mash potato was hidden under the dory slice. My initial bites (from the ends of the slice) were a little soft, thus I was about to feedback the main course as 'overcooked', but subsequent bites from the centre of the slice were nicely done. The herb lemon butter sauce provided a tinge of sourness, which (in my opinion) should not be missing from any fish dishes. =) Yummy!!

Disappointed!!! We were, when we learnt that the Tiramisu were completely sold out (or reserved). Having tasted the tiramisu here once, I am proud to announce that the tiramisu from Sweet Indulgence is one of the best that I have tasted. Hmm, shall return again to try my luck with the tiramisu!!

But I still introduced my friend to my 2nd favourite dessert - Chocolate Cake Lava Indulgence (SGD 10.00). Its name has already spoken volumes and yes, it still has not disappointed me. I was a very happy customer from having the chocolate lava cake!! =)

Compared with the quiet surroundings of Shenton Way, Sweet Indulgence was definitely serving a crowd (~22 people) inside. There was definitely a shortage of staff, but with whoever they had, the service crew did their best to make sure that everyone had a good time that evening. So thumbs up to the crew!! =)

Since I have always somehow stumbled onto promotions at Sweet Indulgence, it is definitely a place with food value-for-money. Otherwise, even for the prices the food command, given its quality assured, I will still be willing to fork out the amount to enjoy the food. =)

A friend from the neighbouring table was disappointed to hear about the tiramisu, so she said that she will return someday to give the dessert a try!! And I guess, the same can be said about me!! =)

I had a really hard time getting there due to the location.
i was already somewhere around the area.. but i didnt know the exact location..(blame myself partly for not bringing a map as well)
so i called ther restaurant..
the staff picked up.. but she didnt know where i was..
I was told her that i was at the URA building beside the red dot museum..
but she really didnt know what they were.( they were actually just around the corner of the street to the restaurant)

well after alot of walking, i managed to get there.. and they were nice enough to send a staff down to guide us as well, but i already made my way there.

We ordered confit of duck and tortellini..
both were not bad..
but the confit of duck was not to my expectations..
i have tasted better duck confit elsewhere.

but overall, it was not bad..