The Tiramisu Hero, Jalan Besar - Terrific Décor, Mediocre Tiramisu.

If there was ever a restaurant/cafe best described as "style over substance," The Tiramisu Hero would be it. Located in the up-and-coming gastronomic neighborhood of Jalan Besar, this cafe specializes in - what else? - Tiramisu. Decor is quirky and homey, and yet somewhat strangely romantic. It's a very nice place to impress a date, or to just relax and spend a couple of hours in air-conditioned comfort. There's even a mascot: His name is Sir Antonio.


The Tiramisu comes in two sizes - MommaHero ($7.50 for normal flavours, $9.50 for premium flavours), and PapaHero ($17/$21) (MommaHero is just about right for one person). There are a dozen or so flavours, some of which are mighty interesting - for example, Milo, Horlicks and even Durian. We play it safe and go for Chocolate and Lemon Lavender.


With so much effort spent on branding, a killer website, and gorgeous decoration, it's a shame then that the Tiramisu itself is mediocre at best.

For starters, both our jars had no booze. Apparently only the original and Baileys flavours come with booze - the other jars are all non-alcoholic. Is it possible to add alcohol to the non-alcoholic flavours? We don't know, because it wasn't clear on the menu and it wasn't suggested by the waitress. But fine, chalk this one down to us not being "in the know."

Secondly, the savoiardi/ladies fingers were exceedingly dry, having obviously not been soaked in espresso/any form of liquid long enough. Or at all. It follows, then, that the fingers had no coffee taste ... or any other taste.



So ... all style, no substance, and a bit of a pricey disappointment, then (The cafe also serves up an assortment of hot dishes, but we didn't try any of them as we were here for dessert).

The Tiramisu Hero is at 121 Tyrwhitt Road; open 11am-10pm daily. Non-Halal.

American-style BBQ meats at Red Eye Smokehouse

When eating out, the darling and I like places that serve up food that isn't easily replicable at home. For example, for American-style barbecue'd meats like brisket and ribs, you'd need to smoke them in a smoker for hours on end (expensive, and not practical for the majority of us who live in HDB apartments).

It's this train of thought that leads us to a honestly rather ulu corner of the Jalan Besar neighbourhood, where Red Eye Smokehouse has set up shop, serving up varieties of smoked, fatty, sinful meats!


Red Eye Smokehouse's dining area is industrial chic while yet maintaining a casual vibe; We particularly dig the huge blackboard menu outlining all the available meats. There are the usual suspects, of course - brisket, beef/pork ribs and pulled beef/pork - and some other interesting items like salmon fillets and sriracha bbq wings. Oh, and of course a number of sides, and a complement of beers and soft drinks.


We end up going with 116gm of Brisket ($17.40), 152gm of Smoked Salmon ($12.16), 356gm of Short Rib ($39.16), and sides of Broccoli Salad and Sweet Potato Fries ($8 each). No GST or Service Charge is tacked on to the blackboard/menu prices, which is a nice surprise.

The sides first: Sweet Potato Fries were pretty delicious! Nicely seasoned, crispy on the outside while still adequately moist and fluffy in the center. Broccoli Salad - nice vinaigrette providing a bit of acidity to cut through all the fats in the meats.


Speaking of meats - Red Eye Smokehouse's short rib was the most expensive but also the best meat of the three. Nice bark, terrific juiciness/moistness, and a great balance of fats to meat. A tad bit bland in some areas, but nothing a dash of either of the two supplied BBQ-sauces can't fix.

The brisket, on the other hand, was rather a disappointment, being too low on smoke in the flavour profile, and being too dry. Salmon was somewhere in between the two - nicely seasoned and having retained an adequate level of moisture.


At over $40/person, Red Eye Smokehouse's meats are ... somewhat reasonable. It's got the potential to be a regular hangout for carnivores who live nearby, but otherwise we feel that a better place to feed a brisket addiction would probably be Meatsmith in Telok Ayer.

Red Eye Smokehouse is at 1, Cavan Road; Reservations accepted for parties of 6 and above. Non-halal.