was in raffles place on a saturday afternoon, and needed a quick lunch. it seemed that only shops in one raffles place were open, so we headed over and chanced upon jar'd by sarnies, where their mason jar salads were going for half the usual price! seemed like a good deal, so we quickly picked up two jars.
admittedly the tuna tataki salad (usual price $16) was not something that i'd usually choose, not being a fan of tuna, but choices were limited. J got the tuna tataki as well, but in a smaller size (usual price $12.50). it was a takeaway only concept, so we found a quiet spot elsewhere to eat.
i'd read comments previously that jar'd's mason jar salad idea was a good one conceptually, but not practically sound. the reviewers had almost unanimously commented that they found it difficult to mix up the salad by shaking the jar, because there were too many ingredients in the jar (sounds like a happy problem to me). they'd had to resort to taking everything out of the jar and mixing it in a separate bowl, which kind of defeats the purpose of a mason jar salad.
having no access to an extra bowl, luckily enough, we had no problems shaking the jar to mix up everything. J was happily shaking hers and mine away. i found everything to be mixed up quite satisfactorily once she was done. not sure if jar'd had considered the comments and reduced the amount of ingredients, or was it that the components of the tuna tataki that made it easier to shake up. still, i actually quite enjoyed my salad. the addition of the bonito flakes and seaweed made it a really interesting eat. i especially loved the soy and mirin dressing combined with the spiralized radish and shredded purple cabbage. J didn't like the tuna though, and gave some of hers to mine. it wasn't my favourite, but i was okay with it.
i enjoyed the salad enough that i would come back and have it, but only if it was half priced. at $16, it was priced too steeply for my liking, and i would rather have omnivore.
jar'd
one raffles place
#b1-38
http://www.jar-d.co
pacamara being one of my go-to cafés, i was understandably excited to hear that they'd opened botanist over at neil road, which is much more accessible for me. i made a trip over with J, who loves pacamara as much as i do. the first time we were there, it was a rainy weekday afternoon. we were initially seated indoors, but it got too cold, so we requested to be seated outdoors instead, under the canopy.
the first thing that caught my eye was the corned beef hash ($19), so naturally i went with that. J is equally predictable, so of course she chose the salmon & egg ($23).
our food came really prettily presented- the flowers added a pop of colour to the plates. i guess it kind of links back to their name. the taste, however, fell a bit flat. i was expecting my shredded corned beef to be juicy, but it leant towards the dry side. the poached egg and hollandaise did make it better; in fact it was not bad when combined together, but coming with high expectations, i expected more, i suppose. still, portions were generous and i was full.
J quite liked her salmon, but commented that she still likes the food at pacamara more.
we came back in a big group sometime later, and this time, it was really hot out! it was a weekend, so the place was packed, and we didn't manage to get indoor seating. there were fans, but we were basically sweltering in the heat. alfresco dining really doesn't work in singapore.
this time i decided to try the slow cooked beef cheek ($24). it was nice, but didn't leave too much of an impression.
i got slight food envy when i saw J's chicken & quinoa salad ($17), especially after she added two poached eggs to it. my food envy subsided after J commented that the chicken breast was dry- i took a bite, and had to agree.
still, no gst and service charge makes botanist a good place to head to for well priced café food. they do a mean coffee, too! J doesn't seem enamoured with botanist, but i wouldn't mind coming back to try their other stuff, given that their all-day brunch offerings are not the usual ones.
botanist
74 neil road
https://www.botanist.sg
debated internally for a while between trying ash & char and having salad for lunch (i honestly stood there pondering, and someone i know walked by and asked me what i was doing there *awkward*). decided on ash & char in the end, since the menu looked suitably tempting. plus, they had a set lunch as well (just $5 extra for a soup and drink with any mains).
soup of the week happened to be roasted butternut, served with toasted sourdough. it seemed to be the one on their christmas special menu, which came with chestnuts and spiced crème fraîche. it came piping hot, like all soups should be, but the crème fraîche was mysteriously missing, replaced by what seemed like truffle oil. hmm... i'm not the biggest fan of truffle oil. the soup was also more watery than i'd expected, but it tasted alright. what i didn't like was the grilled sourdough- it seemed to have been brushed with truffle oil, and its taste was overpowering.
for my main i got the grilled chicken leg ($17), which came with charred broccolini, sweet potato crumble and king oyster mushroom. i was curious as to what was a sweet potato crumble, but it turned out to be just sweet potato mash. everything on the plate was spot on, though! the chicken leg was juicy and tender, with an almost crispy skin.
but my favourite of the plate was probably the king oyster mushroom, which had been grilled (?) until its exterior was almost crackly. the dish was finished off with a truffle chicken jus (!) but thankfully the truffle taste was nonexistent. the jus was pretty good, actually- it tied the dish together.
i finished off my meal with a coffee. strangely enough they don't do things like lattes or flat whites- the only option is espresso, with milk or without. i got a 7oz espresso with milk, which bordered on the bitter side. it was drinkable, but not something that i'd get again.
i liked my food enough that i'd return. they're having a christmas special of chicken roulade stuffed with sticky rice, and that sounds like it's worth a try. hopefully i can squeeze in a trip back before they take it off the menu.
ash & char
21 mccallum street
https://www.facebook.com/AshandChar/
come to think of it, it's been almost a year since i was last at luxe. i've always wanted to return to try more of their stuff. happily enough J was suitably intrigued by their menu, so we made a trip down.
i did make a reservation, but it wasn't necessary. we reached at 2 pm on a monday, and the place was quiet. and yes, they're open on mondays now!
their menu has changed quite a bit since i was last there. more brunch items seem to have been added, which suits us just fine. they have quite a number of interesting sounding salads (braised lamb! roasted aubergine!), which caught my attention, but eventually i went with the tijuana ($26) off the breakfast menu.
i was taken aback by the amount of pulled pork that appeared on my plate. when they said pulled pork, i was expecting a token amount, as with most brunch plates, but i was given two generous mounds. and when they said potato hash, i was expecting quite a bit of potato, but it was just a token amount- i finished it in a couple of bites. so proportion-wise, i found it oddly skewed towards protein, what with the poached eggs as well. i found i needed more of the potato hash and corn salsa to go with the generous amount of pulled pork.
odd proportions aside, the food was pretty good. the pulled pork was packed full of flavour- super delicious, especially with the perfectly poached eggs. also loved the potato hash, which was super crisp (part of the reason why i wanted more of it). i just didn't quite get the chipotle cream. to me, it was one dimensionally hot, even with the tiny amount that i tried. not sure how it worked with the entire dish, given that it was so overpowering and the pulled pork was already so flavoursome anyway. i left most of it alone.
J had no complaints about her luxe bowl ($20, additional $4 for smoked salmon). they were similarly generous with the smoked salmon, and i got to hoover some up because J was too full (sometimes it's good to eat with people with less stomach space than i do).
prices were admittedly on the high side, given that they do charge for service and gst, but portions and quality did match up, so i didn't mind. enjoyed our quiet weekday brunch there, and wouldn't mind returning.
luxe
1 keong saik road
#01-04
http://luxesydney.sg
i have to admit that SPRMRKT was never exactly on my to-try list... until chope came up with the chope x visa promotion, offering $10 off each meal above $30 for the month of october. SPRMRKT happened to be on the list of cafés offering that promotion, so i decided to just make a booking to try it out, since it was one of the few places that were a) accessible and b) i hadn't tried.
they have daily specials, which is cool, and an all-day breakfast menu that stays throughout the week. it was a monday when i went- i was expecting pork ribs for the daily special, according to the chope website. when i got there, however, i realised it'd been changed to a chicken, mushrooms and spinach roulade ($19)- even better! (side note: the chope website for menus seem to be slightly outdated most of the time, so it's probably better to check with the restaurants themselves. i found sprmrkt's website updated with their current menu.)
so it was an easy choice for me. i got the chicken roulade and decided to add on $8 to make it a set lunch, which included a small soup of the day and a large hot coffee of my choice. ordering was done at the counter. pricing was nett, but they still brought my food over when it was ready. water was freely available in jugs in a corner. i liked how they offered two types of water- a regular one, and another with mint and lemon (of course i picked the one with mint and lemon). it's a nice touch, really.
i ordered a flat white, and it came first. when they said large, they really MEANT large. i was surprised by its size, and it only goes for $5 if you order it a la carte. i got it with soy milk at no extra charge.
the soup came slightly after. the soup of the day was beef, barley and tomato. i was expecting just a token amount of beef, but they were generous with it- there were at least five good sized chunks. the soup itself was tangy, delicious and appetite-whetting.
i had to wait for quite a while before the chicken roulade arrived- i was done with my soup by then. i had time to spare that day, so i didn't mind, but i can imagine getting antsy waiting if i was in a hurry. the chicken roulade was worth the wait, though!
the roulade was succulent and tender- delicious paired with the gravy that they'd ladled generously on top. the accompanying (super large) potato croquette was really good as well. it had an utterly crisp and light exterior, with fluffy mashed potato within. the balsamic glazed greens provided a freshness and sweetness to the dish, completing the dish. i found the dish well balanced, and of course, extremely well portioned. i was stuffed and satisfied by the end of the meal.
food was surprisingly good! i went with no expectations but left feeling really pleased. good meals make my day! SPRMRKT is definitely on my to-go-back-to list now.
SPRMRKT
2 mccallum street
http://www.sprmrkt.com.sg
grain bowls are all the rage nowadays, and there are so many such places sprouting up. saw on instagram that a spanish-inspired grain bowl place has opened at raffles place, offering paella, and of course, i couldn't say no to that. i tried googling for their opening hours and the exact address, but there seemed to be no such details easily available- i know they're new, but they should really look into making such information available. after some in-depth googling i managed to find out their exact address; it turned out that they are open all the way until 7.30 in the evening.
it was about two-thirty by the time i got there, and the place was suspiciously empty. i was already starving by then, so i didn't think too much about it, and just decided to order. they had two options; one to build your own bowl at $16.50, and the other was pre-crafted bowls, but i was told before ordering that the pre-crafted ones weren't available. no matter- i was there for paella, anyway. the concept was pretty similar to other grain bowl places (*cough* grain traders *cough*), with a choice of base, protein and veggies. it was simple to order- just point and the server would ladle the items onto a plate.
the paella was counted as a base and protein rolled into one, so i didn't get to choose any protein. i got a choice of hot veggies and two cold ones- i chose creamy cauliflower for my hot veggie, brussels sprouts salad and beetroot for the cold ones. there was a choice of topping as well, with a few different types of nuts to choose from. i got what looked like ground almonds. there was dressing available too, but i didn't feel that my bowl needed that, so i chose not to get any.
it was, all in all, a very vegetable-heavy bowl. don't get me wrong- i like vegetables, but coming from the gym, i need a good portion of protein to feel satisfied. i was looking forward to the paella, but it was a letdown. the rice was gluey and gluggy- i haven't eaten that many paellas, but this was the worst. to add insult to injury, saying that it was a base and a protein rolled into one was just too generous on so many levels- there was perhaps just three small pieces of sausage in it. my favourite dish was the creamy cauliflower. the rest of the sides were just meh. really not a satisfying meal- i only finished the food because i was starving.
with strong competition all around in raffles place, it's going to take a lot for mercado to survive if they don't up their game. the food was meh- for the same price, grain traders practically next door is a much better alternative. obviously, i'm not returning.
mercado spanish food market
50 market street
