of mojitos and other madness: canele

there is not doubt that canele is probably the place to go for kick ass chocolates and mind blowing desserts...i mean when i don't know what to get for pak law...a box of canele handmade chocolates and truffles will definitely always does the trick *wink*. but this post isn't to rave about canele's chocolates but more to give a big shout out for extending its culinary finesse beyond the sweet endings and into its entrees, sides and mains.

dinner was a little late last friday evening but we manage to hit the new canele at paragon at the perfect time, post dinner and pre coffee so it had a nice quiet cafe buzz to it. i was craving pizza that evening and was literally spoilt for choice so heeding the maitre'd's recommendation, i indulged and had the big breakfast for dinner! plastered with a half boiled egg, the pizza was layered with fresh tomato paste, pepperoni and bacon and baked fresh on not your usual doughy pizza base but on a rather more like the slightly flaky dough, similar to that used in the classic chinese red bean pancakes. it definitely hit the spot for me but unless you really are hungry, this big breakfast can easily satisfy two.

as i predicted, g had the bolognaise and poached egg with parmesan cheese doria, translated to simply mean awesome bolognaise baked rice with a perfectly poached egg. i really enjoyed the mouthfuls i had...think tangy yet sweet tomatoes stir fried in minced beef, covering short grain rice and enveloped with a generous portion of freshly grated parmesan cheese. topped with the warmth of the gooey runny egg, this not only was a visual piece of work with the warm colours, it tasted pretty good as well. what i didn't expect was g's choice of soups... i had my bet on either the cream of mushroom or the minestrone but i think g chose right with the corn and clam chowder. bursting with flavours of sweet corn and sea saltyness of the clams, the soup, served with homemade garlic pesto bread, was a good appetiser, whetting the appetite without over filling our tummies before dinner.

dessert honestly wasn't in my plan, although i did spot the crepes section in the menu and made a mental note to come back for them another day! but g seemed taken by the possibility of a nutella crepe so i saved half of my pizza in a doggie bag and dedicated the rest of my tummy space to the heavenly nougatine. filled with nutella, salty caramel, caramelized filo, nougatine ice cream and vanilla crème chantilly...no one and i mean no one will be disappointed with this sweet crepe. whole wheat crepes layered with generous spreads of nutella and topped with home made nougatine ice cream and a touch of salty caramel...if one ever needed a definition of dessert bliss...this pretty much will be it!