epicurious, ue square.

i was tempted into going to epicurious because of the voucher they were offering on groupon ($24 for $40 worth of food seemed like a good deal). finally made my way over with J on a weekday afternoon. it was pretty late for lunch by the time we reached, so the place was almost empty. i zeroed in on the steak and mushroom don ($20.60) almost immediately, because golden poached egg - how good does that sound?! J decided on the ratatouille omelette ($15.60). while placing my order, i was told that they were out of the golden poached egg (WHAT?!) and they'd replace it with a regular poached egg instead, if i was okay with it. i should've taken it as a warning and changed my order, but i went ahead anyway.

tiong bahru bakery, raffles city.

admittedly i've never been a big fan of tiong bahru bakery (or even eaten their pastries enough to be a fan), but their new hot eats menu, only available at the raffles city branch, sounded interesting. (basically any place that offers an intriguing spin on brunch staples catches my attention.)

went over with J for a saturday night dinner, and was happy to note that there were tables readily available. i pondered over the menu for a bit; the waiter came over wanting to take our orders, and i was still not ready. the breakfast pancake burger ($18), savoury bread pudding ($16) and polenta pop ($16) were all vying for my attention, but in the end i saw that they had a chicken and roasted cauliflower salad ($16)- that sealed the deal. i'm a sucker for roasted cauliflower.



it's rare to have someone who likes salad just as much as i do, and who also orders it in the exact same way. we both got the salad and requested for dressing on the side. interestingly enough, when our salads came, we were served not one dressing, but two. the menu had stated that it was a creamy tahini dressing, so the first container held tahini (which was pasty and not at all dressing-like in consistency), while the other tasted like honey mustard. i ended up mixing up the two (not sure if it was meant to be like that) but it made a pretty good dressing.



what i was slightly peeved about was that the portion of cauliflower and chicken- they really could've been more generous. it was a good thing that we'd snacked on some tamagoyaki over at koki earlier, so i wasn't that hungry. still, i did quite like the salad, which came with sprinkles of middle eastern spices- they'd put some thought into its construction.

i had some serious food envy looking over at the neighbouring table, who'd ordered the polenta pop and breakfast pancake burger. so yes, i'd come back to soothe the food envy, but i doubt i'll get the salad again.


tiong bahru bakery
raffles city
#b1-11
http://www.tiongbahrubakery.com

wild honey, scotts square.

wild honey's almost an institution for brunch in singapore, but strangely enough, i've never been until december last year. it seemed way too overpriced and overhyped for what it was serving, so i dismissed it. motivated by chope's voucher sale, i finally decided to go, with J (one of the few people i know who likes brunch for dinner as much as i do, if not more) in tow.

it was hard to decide what to have- i wanted the spinach hash ($24), boulevard st. michel ($24) and scadinavian ($28) almost equally much. after some pingpong-ing around, i decided on the boulevard st, michel, since it was something i'd never seen on other brunch menus.



our food came after a brief wait, at almost the same time, which is always a bonus. the menu had described mine as a savoury french toast (which was the thing that tempted me) but it was more like a regular slice of brioche. still, i liked my food; in particular the double baked cheese and spinach soufflé, which was quite unlike any other soufflés i've ever had, in that it was more dense (in a good way). the parmesan crumbed poached egg was also perfectly cooked (i wanted another!). everything in the dish worked together, which was why i enjoyed it so much.



when the dish first arrived, it looked small, but it packed a punch, portion-wise. i was surprisingly stuffed at the end of the meal. didn't manage to finish the french toast, actually.

with the voucher, i think we paid about $10 per person, which made it an excellent deal. still, food was good enough that i'd consider coming back at regular prices.


wild honey
scotts square
#03-02
http://wildhoney.com.sg

vxx cooperative, foch road.

it was rare that both R and C were free for lunch on a weekday afternoon (usually only *i* am available for such leisurely activities), so we took the chance to meet. i happened to be in the lavender area, which is chock full of cafés, so i suggested we meet there for lunch. decided on vxx cooperative as i was intrigued by instagram posts.

the place was super hipster- narrow doorway (i could barely get through it with my bag), tiny rickety stools... which was why we took a while to pick seats. in the end, we discovered a long table at the back under a skylight (kind of reminded me of dutch colony over at frankel avenue) and settled down there.

the small breakfast plates (tapas?) sounded quite intriguing (i was sold at potato hash + onsen egg). the breakfast plates went for about $7-$8 individually, but they also offered it at 3 for $20. i really wanted a main, too, though... so... we decided to get a breakfast plate and a main each. i think the waitress who took our order was impressed.



our food took quite a while to come, actually. we got a bit antsy. my beef chorizo/potato hash/honey-roasted tomatoes ($7 on its own) was the first to arrive on the table. we were initially waiting for the rest of the plates, figuring that they would appear sooner or later, but we got a bit impatient (and hungry) and started eating bits of it. the hash was pretty good, actually! simple, but flavourful.



R's salmon scrambled eggs/croissant ($8) came a little after mine, and it was impressive looking. i stole (more than a few) bites of it, and liked how the creamy the scrambled eggs were. yum! R really wanted a photo of her breakfast plate and her main together, though, so we waited around for what seemed like ages (i was almost done with my beef chorizo) before it finally appeared. by then the scrambled eggs were cold, but okay, still pretty good it has to be said.



C got the portobello burger/cheddar cheese/roma tomatoes/kale chips/house dressing ($8) as her breakfast plate. it was really tapas sized compared to R's and my plates- it was more of a slider than a burger. i tried a bite and found it alright, but not as impressive as the rest of our plates. and also, now that i look back at the menu, what kale chips? hmm.

as mentioned, we waited for what seemed like forever before our mains were served. we were assuming that everything was going to be served at the same time, but they were probably waiting for us to finish up our plates before serving our mains. i think they realised after a while that we were waiting for our mains, but we probably still waited close to half an hour before they were served. that was probably the only thing that marred the experience- i hate it when i have to wait ages for food. thank goodness, then, the service was pretty good and the food was, too.



my cauliflower couscous/stewed chicken/pomegranate seeds & zucchini ($13) was light and clean tasting. interestingly enough the stewed chicken was buried underneath the cauliflower couscous- i had to go digging to find it. can't really make up my mind whether i liked the dish or not. it was clean eating, and i'm always fond of that, but it was just a little too bland for my liking.



of course, i also stole bits of C's mac & cheese ($14) which came with mixed mushrooms, chicken chunks and... crispy chicken skin! the portion looked small, but it packed a punch; probably because of the cheese. i was particularly enamoured with the chicken skin. mm.



R's sloppy joe on toast/mozzarella/mixed mushrooms ($13) arrived the last. it was a hearty portion, what with all the bread and cheese.

the food was pretty good and pricing was decent as well. it was nice to spend an afternoon there just chatting. i'd probably return for the breakfast plates (particularly the salmon scrambled eggs) if i have some time to spare.


vxx cooperative
20 foch road
https://www.facebook.com/vxxcooperative/

fynn's, south beach.

we actually visited fynn's when they'd first opened in december last year, so this is slightly backdated. wanted somewhere quiet to have a christmas eve dinner, away from the buzz of orchard, and south beach seemed like the perfect locale. didn't bother making any reservations, but got a table for four pretty easily, as the café was buzzing but not packed.

i zeroed in on the grilled chicken bowl ($19.50) almost immediately (kind of helped that it was in bold on the menu too). it sounded like it came accompanied with a variety of different vegetables, which was exactly my kind of thing. the menu described it as grilled chicken, fried wild rice (!), edamame, snow peas, egg and pickled vegetables; upon seeing the egg, S decided to change her order to the chicken as well.



the food took a while to be served, but it was well worth the wait. mine came prettily presented in a porcelain bowl. i was surprised, however, to note that what they actually meant when they said fried wild rice... was that all the vegetables and egg would be combined with the wild rice and fried together, much like a regular fried rice. the grilled chicken and pickled vegetables were served atop the rice. S and i were honestly envisioning a separate sunny side up- perhaps the menu could've been clearer. that being said, i really enjoyed the bowl. the fried wild rice actually had wok hei, and maybe because they'd used wild rice instead of regular rice, the grains were pearly and separate- exactly how i like my rice to be. bonus: they were generous with the rice.

the grilled chicken was pretty good too, with a thin, crispy skin that was slightly charred from the grill- yum! i basically liked every component of the dish, right down to the pickled vegetables that added a pop of acidity to the bowl.

it was a pretty good meal, all in all. i did spy on my friends' food but found that portions for the other mains weren't quite as generous as for the grilled chicken bowl, though. however, no complaints from them regarding the food, so i assume all was well. i'd come back for the wild rice.


fynn's
south beach avenue
#b1-21
http://fynnsrestaurant.com

meet, city square mall.

i really wanted to like this place. i happened to walk by, took a look at the menu and liked what i saw, so i suggested that we head over for dinner later that week.

C and i got the honey spiced chicken ($18) to share, since it was supposed to be their signature item. the menu stated that it serves two, but i we were greedy and ordered beef rump ($38) as well, since it was just 250g. the caramelised broccoli with sea salt ($4) sounded tempting as well, so i ordered it. R decided on the 400g US prime ribeye ($55).

i knew they were new; perhaps about two weeks old when we went for dinner, but it didn't occur to me that it would be a concern. well... right up until after we placed our orders and... kept waiting for our food. when we were placing our orders, the waitress informed us that the chicken would take about 20-25 minutes, which was fair enough.



but does steak really take that long? it took about half an hour before our steaks were served- we were antsy and irritable by then. it didn't help that the steaks arrived way overcooked. we'd ordered it medium rare, but it came well done. when i cut into the beef rump, there was no hint of pink in it at all- i couldn't even close one eye and classify it as medium; it was well done. we were joking that the reason why it came well done was because they took half an hour to serve it (who takes HALF AN HOUR to cook steak?!). of course, we returned the steaks- i, having lost my confidence, decided to just cut our losses and cancel the beef rump, while R decided to just stick to it.



the chicken arrived a while after we returned the steaks. i have to say that the chicken was pretty good... at least until we cut close to the bone and realised that it was slightly bloody on the inside, which meant that certain parts of it couldn't be eaten. we didn't return it because that would mean another wait, and we were ready to leave (cut our losses and have pancakes next door).



the sides (sautéed mushrooms and mashed potato) accompanying the chicken were alright. didn't quite get why they served the chicken with lemon cream on the side though- i tried a bit and left it largely untouched. the broccoli that i was excited about came slightly later, and... what caramelised?! it looked (and tasted) like it'd been boiled and sautéed in a pan after- the only hint of caramelisation was perhaps at the bottom of the broccoli, which was slightly blackened. no photos because i was annoyed. i felt like i'd been lied to.

R's second ribeye finally arrived at the table probably forty-five minutes after we placed our first order. this time, it was medium rare, though slightly unevenly so. i took a little bit but couldn't quite understand why they'd priced it at $55. i mean, it was an okay steak, but it was way too expensive for what it was. lucky the truffle fries that came with it was passable.

as i said, i really wanted to like the place, but they made it hard. for one, service was spotty as well. the waitstaff were harried even though the place wasn't that packed; rushing around but not really getting anything done. we had to wave several times just to get their attention, and even when we managed to get their attention, they were dismissive. well- save for the manager, who we gave feedback to at the end of the meal. they didn't charge us for the chicken in the end, which was a good save on their part, but i would've gladly paid for it if it meant we could have a good meal. they really have quite a few kinks to work out in their kitchen as well as service. until then, i doubt i'll make a trip back; i'd much rather have pancakes next door.


meet
city square
#02-37/38
http://www.meetdining.com

slake, swan lake avenue.

i've wanted to try slake for the longest time, and now that they're finally open for lunch, i figured it was a good chance to try them out. i was startled by how empty the place was when i stepped in- i was the only person there throughout my meal (feels awkward).



the lunch menu was surprisingly affordable. most items were priced below $10, though it wasn't inclusive of gst. and because of how affordable everything was, i was tempted to get two items instead of just one, but i didn't want to seem like a glutton (even though i am), so i just got the angus roast beef & mixed olive grains ($11.90)- basically a fancy way of saying beef bowl. drink and dessert was available for an additional $5, but i'm not a dessert person. i was hoping they'd have soup as an add-on, though.



while waiting for my food, i looked around and realised they had a chalkboard with some off-menu items. the lime leaf chicken and waffle ($16) sounded pretty good, actually! that might be worth a try.

my beef bowl came just when i was starting to get a little antsy and hungry. the wait was completely worth it, though. the star was undoubtedly the perfectly cooked roast beef. there's always a risk of roast beef being dry and overcooked. i've had too many such versions that are a complete waste of calories but this was the polar opposite of those. for starters they'd cut the beef so it was in thick, small rectangular slices (kind of like how karubi is cut at bbq places). and thus, the ratio of meat to fat was perfect. the meat itself was also juicy, tender and flavoursome- so so good. they'd kept the accompanying sauce light and tangy, so the flavour of the meat really shone through.



the bowl also came with edamame, a spicy, almost kimchi-like onion thing, a perfect onsen egg and olive rice, which were good accompaniments to the beef. i found the rice to be a bit too overcooked for my liking though; i like my rice pearly. still, i wiped the bowl clean, and that's saying something given how i don't usually finish my rice.

the food was good, and i'm surprised the place wasn't packed. maybe because of the location...? still, i'm DEFINITELY going to be back to try more of their stuff.


slake
15 swan lake avenue
https://www.slake.sg

fuel plus+, morse road.

technically, it's not really on morse road, which was why J had some problems finding it at first. its location on google maps is accurate though, so i managed to track it down using my iphone. the place was so ulu that there were chickens (!) roaming around outside (which freaked J out totally).



it was a late weekday afternoon when we went. the place was quiet, so we snagged the large table meant for six in the corner without any sense of guilt (because i really wanted to lounge on the accompanying couch), even though the waitress showed us to a two-people table at first. well... the place was empty, anyway. as usual i scrutinised the menu for ages before finally settling on the salmon pancakes ($16)- there were just so many things i wanted to try from their menu that i couldn't make up my mind. J got a chicken salad ($13) and because i was we were feeling greedy, we also got the baked chicken stew ($17) to share.

strangely enough, the item that arrived first was my salmon pancakes, followed by the baked chicken stew. i would've thought that J's salad, needing the least prep time, would be the first to arrive on the table.



my salmon pancakes, while simple, was an enjoyable eat. it was basically a stack of three pancakes, paired with smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and a salad on the side. i'm a sucker for savoury pancakes, so this was right up my alley. the pancakes themselves were on the thin side, but were fluffy enough. they provided maple syrup on the side, which was a nice touch, but i didn't need it. i was startled by the stingy portion of smoked salmon though- really? that little? i need my protein! but the creamy scrambled eggs made up for it. the salad came with pistachio nuts as a topping, but oddly enough, the pistachio was a little... stale. hmm. that being said, i still enjoyed the dish as a whole.



the baked chicken stew that we shared was good as well. the tomato based stew was tangy and flavoursome, and the chicken leg itself was tender and juicy. the stew also came with potatoes, mushrooms and spinach, which we hoovered up in no time. it came served with toast for dipping, but we left it untouched.



J's salad came a while after the chicken stew was served, but she was shocked by the shavings of cheese on the salad (she doesn't take cheese). the waitress was still around when she expressed her shock ("is that cheese?") but only answered yes and walked away. i was suggesting to J to just pick it out, but because it was shavings and they'd been generous with the shavings, it was quite impossible. J was asking me if the menu had described the salad as having cheese, because usually she would've asked for the cheese to be omitted. after checking, i realise that there was no mention of cheese on the salad at all in the menu. J thus wanted to return the salad, so she waved the waitress over. the waitress was, however, really black-faced and unapologetic about it- she even went to check the menu again. only after ascertaining that we were not lying to her, she replaced the salad with a non-cheese version.

the café doesn't charge for service, but i think service is still part of the experience. it was a nice meal, and food was good, but that marred the experience quite a bit. i'd still return though, just so i can try the baked eggs, but i'll take note to read the menu carefully.


fuel plus+
16 morse road
https://www.facebook.com/fuelplussg/

clinton st. baking company & restaurant, purvis street, 2.0.

finally made a return to clinton st.- i've been meaning to for ages, but their last order timing is ridiculously early so i never managed to. finally made it back because J is one of the few people i know who likes brunch food for dinner (eggs!), which works for me.

i remember really liking the spanish scramble previously, but decided i wanted to try something else, so i got the buttermilk biscuit sandwich ($17). J, as usual, got salmon in the form of the smoked salmon scramble ($23).

our food took quite a while to come. i wasn't that hungry, but the waiting made me antsy.



my buttermilk biscuit sandwich came deconstructed, which suited me just fine, since i would've deconstructed it myself anyway. i was expecting just one biscuit, but i was surprised with two. i was also expecting the eggs to be... well... a bigger portion. still, the scrambled eggs were good, especially since it came topped with melted cheddar. also loved the house-made tomato jam. in all honesty i could've done without the biscuit, because it just wasn't quite buttery enough to be worth the calories, though i did eat the crispy edges. the bacon on the plate seemed more like an afterthought than anything else- they could've given me just a little more. still, because i wasn't that hungry, the food was enough.



so while the food was alright, i couldn't help comparing it to my previous experience more than a year ago. maybe i should've just stuck to the spanish scramble. i'm actually curious to return to see if their pancakes and spanish scramble are still just as good.

group therapy coffee, duxton.

to be honest, we never planned to go to group therapy for brunch- we'd initially headed over to botanist, but it was way too crowded and we had no patience for waiting. was then intending to go to perhaps grain traders, but i realised that group therapy was just around the corner. we made our way over, but had a little difficulty finding its actual location- no obvious signboard, and we didn't realise initially that it wasn't on the ground floor. i was initially afraid that they'd closed down, but thankfully we found the staircase leading to the shopfront.

the place was not crowded, and we got seats easily. i zeroed in on the pumpkin pancake ($19) immediately. i have a soft spot for savoury pancakes, because i love pancakes but they're usually accompanied by sweet stuff and that's not really my thing. so the savoury one which came with poached eggs, smoked salmon and tobiko roe was right up my alley. L, who'd eaten something else before meeting me, opted to just get the maple butter waffle ($9).



i was expecting a wait for our food (as with most cafés) but our food came really quickly, probably within fifteen minutes or so. my first bite was of the pumpkin pancake. it surprised me with how pumpkin-y it tasted, in a really good way. plus, it was light and fluffy. i'd requested for the accompanying hollandaise sauce to be served separately. it turned out to be a good move, as it allowed the pumpkin taste to shine through. combined with the perfectly poached eggs and smoked salmon, it made for a delicious eat. portions were generous as well- i stayed full all the way till dinnertime.



i tried a bit of L's buttermilk waffle, and quite liked it as well. though L was saying she was expecting something more exciting than just a buttermilk waffle with maple syrup and butter served separately- she'd expected the maple and butter to be integrated into the waffle, what with it being named maple butter waffle.

situated at duxton, where there are too many cafés to name, i guess there's a reason why group therapy lasted this long. the food was simple, but i enjoyed it, and would actually return for the pumpkin pancake. of course, the fact that there's no gst and service charge is a bonus as well.


49 duxton road
#02-01
http://www.gtcoffee.com

barnyard servery, wild market.

went over to wild market again at shaw tower for a saturday night dinner with a couple of friends. the place was definitely more crowded than when i was last there with C, but we managed to get a table without much fuss.

i remembered having food envy seeing what people got when they ordered at barnyard servery, so without much hesitation i decided to order. it was a tossup between the honey baked chicken ($12.90) and the sea bass ($14.90), but i was hungry and the chicken sounded like it would be more substantial, so that was what i got. they have two versions of the honey baked chicken, a regular one and a ladies one at $10.90. i'd already decided to have the regular version, but i was curious as to what the difference was, so i asked. apparently, the regular portion came with two pieces of boneless chicken thigh, while the ladies' came with one. for an additional $2, it sounded like an excellent deal.

they meant it when they said two pieces. each piece was a sizeable portion as well (a regular person would probably just be full having one piece but well... i am not a regular person). i cleaned everything up, but my friend who also ordered the same thing donated an entire piece to another friend.



the chicken thigh was good. it was juicy and tender, and the skin was even slightly crispy at the edges even though it wasn't fried. the sides (mashed potato and a salad) were simple but yummy. best of all, they weren't shy about ladling out the portions. i was super full and satisfied, and that's saying a lot.

given how much i liked the food, it's safe to say that i'll be back to try more of their stuff.


barnyard servery
shaw towers
#01-27/37

portico platos, timbre+.

needed to meet a friend for lunch near her workplace; timbre+ seemed like the ideal location for the both of us, so we came over.

the place was buzzing, but we found seats pretty easily. prior to reaching i'd already decided on having portico platos, but of course, we still took a loop around the place to suss out the offerings. it seemed that the places with queues were the hawker stalls. in contrast, there was only one person ahead of me at portico platos.



i have a soft spot for paella, and they were offering it for really cheap for lunch, at just $6 (!). the paella flavour of the day was a curry chicken one, which sounded pretty interesting, so i went with that. they had an option to add extra chicken ($2) and roasted vegetables ($1.50). it was awesome that my bill came up to just $9.50. i waited around for a bit before i was served, and was pleasantly surprised by the generous portions. for the price, i would say it's excellent value for money.



of course, for the price, i wasn't expecting much. but... i was still expecting the food to be at least hot. is that too much to ask for? that aside, the paella actually tasted quite good. the rice was flavoursome, though i wouldn't really be able to tell it's curry if i hadn't been the one ordering it. the chicken was cooked really well- tender and juicy. for an extra $2, it was really worth it. the wedge of lemon served alongside helped to cut through the grease (the rice was a little on the oily side), though i still didn't manage to finish all the rice.

i liked the food, and would probably return for it, BUT i'd make sure to request for it to be warm.


portico platos
timbre+
#01-32
http://timbreplus.sg/community/portico-platos/