PS. I love you

lf you don't like chocolate and cheese, you'd probably be bored by this post. Or you'd think that I'm just being biased because I happen to adore both said foods.

On the other hand, it might just be that I'm in love and you can't fanthom why. To some, it might seem trivial, but to me, it's the world.

Love happens when you discover your soulmate, or in this case, my soulthing! Hmmm or shall I say the dessert I've been dreaming about. I've found THE dessert and it's right smack in the middle of Dempsey, Singapore's latest culinary dream

I won't deny the fact that this is only the third time I've been to Dempsey. Until this year, I was still as student with a fixed allowance that would never suffice a meal at this delicious but a tad expensive classy gastonomical enclave.

Even if you're not familiar with the Dempsey Hill area, you would have heard of PS. Cafe. This well known cafe-style restuaurant sits right smack in the middle of the Dempsey area and has a beautiful ambience that reeks casual chic. Friends of mine who've been there rave about their desserts. This place has been one of THE places I knew I had to visit. I was elated when I found out my new foodie friend also wanted to go there. Trust me, had you been there and saw the excitement on our faces, you would have thought we had won the lottery.

Anyway, we went there on Wednesday and we were kind of lost at first. I forgot to take down the address and I didn't think there was a need to make reservations seeing that it was a weekday night. Nevertheless, we found the place, more so because the door we entered led us to this array of pure saccharine delight:



8 pretty cakes in the row - this has got to be PS cafe. It might have been my first time, but somehow I just knew this was going to be one helluva delicious night. Come on, don't tell me cakes don't tempt you? Okay, maybe I just love my desserts too much!

So we reached at 7pm and thankfully there were seats for Elsie and I. But here's the catch - we had to vacate by 8:30pm because there was a reservation at that time and they could only give us the table till that time. We didn't mind because we were really hungry.

The waiter saw me taking photos and told me it wasn't allowed. But they were really sweet - they told me I couldn't take photos of the food but I could take a photo of my friend and pan it down to the food so I would get a shot of the food still. Hmm... interesting. Well that's what I did... And Elsie took some shots too. Some photos you see here were taken by her.

Here's some shots of the interior:







I really like the red 'menu' wall where they scribbled all their new menu items. I was soooo tempted to get that dark chocolate banana cheesecake.

But we settled for something else eventually. And there were NO regrets.

Taking heed of many of my friends' advice to focus on desserts, I thought that it would be a better idea to just share a main course, allowing the limelight to shine on the desserts at the end. And that's what we did.

Oh and I would really like to give credit to whoever wrote the menu descriptions. Vivid and visual writing sure makes one drool and convinced. I was convinced the moussaka (SGD$22) was good, just from the item description which looked more like a 150 word bio than a one-liner that I'm so used to seeing in your typical restaurant menu.

Kudos too, to the chef who delivered. The moussaka was exactly as described and we loved it so much that I made sure every morsel was in my mouth. I'm afraid I didn't take a better shot of it, but here's just a version of what it looks like... well partially, after we scooped it out of the deep round baking dish:



That's Elsie, enjoying her portion :)

You'll see alot of her in this post. Remember what I told you the waiters said? Yes, I really took them seriously and 'pretended' to shoot Elsie while secretly taking shots of the food.

Sounds desperate but I really couldn't do without photos can I? How then would I be able to share with you dear reader the fantastic desserts?



May I now introduce to you the star of the night, the one who stole the limelight: Mr. Double Blackout Chocolate Cake (SGD$13.90). Drizzled with chocolate sauce and frosted with what must be the perfect dark chocolate fudge icing and served with a simple vanilla icecream, THIS dessert nearly knocked me off my seat. Trust me, it was so good until we nearly cried. I kid you not. I was smiling to myself and with enough forkful, I just beamed and beamed and kept repeating how this must be the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten.

Am I exaggerating? Maybe. But I still stick by my tastebuds. There's just something about this cake that's so sexy and so irresistable. It's the perfect cake to have when you're feeling down. I think any depressed person will snap out of their depression if given a slice of this cake. The cake was moist and not too sweet, and the chocolate sauce was more like melted chocolate, which is fabulous because I don't really like those artificial chocolate flavoured syrups.

The cake was so good that we neglected the other dessert a little. Okay, maybe we sort of nearly forgot about Mr. Carrot Cake (SGD$8.90). The carrot cake was good too, and it was a good pairing we felt. I don't think I could have done with two heavy cakes. Mr. Carrot Cake helped provide that balance we needed. Here's Elsie consoling Mr. Carrot Cake, trying to convince him that we loved him just as much:




There's one thing I'm curious about though. I just wonder who in the world came up with the recipe for the chocolate blackout cake. Or better yet, who was the pastry chef. I even told Elsie that I would marry the person who could make me that cake for the rest of my life. Hahahaha... Hopefully I will find a person like that some day. I am dramatic am I?

Soon enough, 8:30pm came and it was just nice. By then, we were done with our food and dessert and all set to leave. We decided to head off to Jones the Grocer to chill for a bit.

A friend had told me about the cheese room and I had to go see! So Elsie and I went into the freezing room at Jones the Grocer and got a Cheese 101 lesson from the Cheese Guy in charge for that night. I believe his name was Jan? I can't remember! Well we shall call him the cheese guy then! He was nice enough to let us try a couple of cheeses. All tasted really good and each had its own characteristics. I was pretty impressed. A slight warning though - if you really hate the smell of pungent cheeses, do not go in there. The smell can be quite strong. That said, it really dissipates after a while - I think that's when your nose gets accustomed to the smell.



Can you see the cheese room at the corner? It's a bit small, but hey, it's something! It's the first time I've ever been in a room with so many cheeses. Both of us were pretty intriguied and decided to get ourselves a cheese platter (SGD$19.50). The platter came with a nice wedge of quince jelly and 3 different cheeses: a brie, a blue cheese and a sharp cheddar like cheese.







And they served it with crackers and some figs as well. I must say, the quince jelly they gave really matched well with the cheeses. It provided an opposite tinge of sweetness that balanced out the sharp and sometimes salty cheese taste.

I was really into the whole cheese tasting thing, and here's proof:



I looked so serious! Elsie was trigger happy and decided to take more shots of me in my cheesey happiness with a really cheesy smile and cheesy pose with some yummy brie:



Yep that's brie I was spreading on the crackers. I think I could get the hang of cheese tasting. I love the idea and it's amazing how much depth there is to various cheeses depending on the type of milk used to the subtle changes that come with the addition of herbs, fruits or spices.

That night was super fun and after we were done with the cheeses (no we didn't finish all, we're not gluts! I packed the rest home for further tasting) we explored the rest of Dempsey. We ventured into House and I was seriously enthralled. I didn't know Dempsey was this beautiful. Have I been living under a rock?!

Perhaps! But it's okay because Dempsey's going to be seeing alot of me, and of Elsie! We're going to eat the whole of Demsey a little at a time. We are already planning on going back to PS. Cafe, this time with reservations so we don't need to rush through our desserts!

I want to try the sticky date toffee cake! And the flourless orange cake and the berry chocolate cheesecake and the brownies....... yes the list goes on. PS. Cafe, watch out, you're going to see alot of me, and Elsie of course!



Here's one more for the cameras - can't you tell how happy we were? Well I think our tummies were happier. This was the highlight of my week. Good food never fails to perk me up. And thanks Elsie for being such great company! It's always good to have a foodie friend who doesn't fuss about calories and gamely agrees to try anything! That's the way it should be. Food is all about exploring, not limiting; tasting and not just eating.

I love Dempsey and I adore PS. Cafe and of course Jones the Grocer. The cheeses are still in my fridge and I'm going to savour them slowly, a little at a time.

Cheers to good food and great company!

____________________________

PS. Cafe
28B Harding Road
Phone: 9070 8782/ 6479 3343
(Check website for opening hours)

Jones the Grocer
#01-12, Blk 9, Dempsey Road
Phone: 6476 1512