I was all set to hit the gym when my buddy popped over with the magic word: O’briens?

Oh wow. Thoughts of my favourite wrap, bursting with flavour and so rich in antioxidants and omega 3 and 6 shoved all thoughts of gym out of my mind.

We found a cozy spot at o’briens. I like the ambience. It’s a conducive place for hanging out an chatting with pals.

There, I got my favourite make your own sandwich. In my case it’s a wrap. Less carbo, less flour to dilute the taste. Mine was smoked salmon, sun dried tomatos, avocado and olives. Tangy, salty, sweet and tasty to the extreme.

Nutrient wise, its got omega in the salmon, vitamins a,c and e in the avocado and lycopene in tomatos. With olives that are rich in good lipid and vitamin e to boot.

Actually it’s the taste I love. The talk about nutrients is to justify the price.

That went beautifully with a cup of hot chocolate topped with a marshmallow.

My pal had her vgetarian sandwich with humus.

The company’s cool. We ate our fave sandwiches and had that girl talk that keeps us sane. These are the little pleasures in life I look forward to during the week. Beats hitting the treadmill solo each day.

At first glance, Cedele looked like an ordinary sandwich bar. The ambience is cosy. A great place to hang out with friends, but nothing so special that warrants that almost cult-like draw.

Soup. Yeah. Steak. So what? Cakes. Yawn.

Pumpkin soup’s comfort food?

You’ve got to be kidding.

I skipped the soup.. until I got a whiff of the soup my pals ordered.

Pumpkin soup smelled so delectable it had to be my imagination.

When I caught a whiff of the chicken vegetable soup, I couldn’t stop salivating. So to avoid embarassing myself, I ordered a bowl.

You know those home cooked soup boiled for an entire day to create that rich, wholesome base?

My chicken soup was like that. Only better. Not only was the soup so full of rich flavour, the veggies and chicken were tasty and tender too. Cooked to perfection. And that was just the beginning.

We had free flow of bread to go with the soup. Not just plain bread but raisin walnut bread that’s soft and yummy.

Then came the steak. Oh what a steak. A rib eye steak grilled to perfection. I like mine medium well and that’s what I got. A tender steak that melted in my mouth. Seasoned with herbs. Covered with a generous pile of mushrooms. Beneath was an incredibly tasty bed of potato or pumpkin?

While other steak houses require gravy to make the steak tasty, this juicy steak didn’t need any help.

That had to be the best steak I’ve eaten in my life.

Memories of that sumptious steak still haunt me. I felt like I was in heaven. ok. so I didn’t do a Harry met Sally dining scene but it was kind of close.

Oh and did I mention the delicately flavoured salad that came with it?
Instead of creamy dressing, this had a light tangy dressing that’s vinegar based and wholesome.

Actually, the entire meal was wholesome. and yummy. Real comfort food that’s so healthy I just couldn’t believe it.

I associate comfort food with ice cream, chocolates and potato chips but this seriously thrashes all that. Today’s lunch at Cedele came up tops.

To top off the meal, my pals and I shared a banana expresso cake, one of cedele’s specialties I’d imagine. It had a light-as-air sponge base, a coating of chocolate that was neither to thick not too then and a creamy banana center that hit the right spot. There was a generous layer of crunchy.. were those oats? I don’t believe it.

After my Cedele experience, to this junk food fanatic, the phrase wholesome comfort food is no longer an oxymoron.