noms.: brunch

brunch

Showing posts with label brunch. Show all posts

i've been eyeing fat prince's brunch for the longest time, but because their last order timing is pretty early at 2.30 p.m., it's been hard.

we finally managed to make our way over one rainy saturday afternoon. liked the vibe of the place- it was laidback and chill; the perfect place for a rainy saturday brunch.

i had my eye on the lamb kofte menemen ($26) from the start. never had menemen before and had no idea what it was, but the menu description of scrambled egg, roasted eggplant, crispy potato (!) and zaatar yogurt sounded really good. i was also briefly tempted by the falafel scotch egg ($22), because it's a combination of everything i like, but i wanted something more substantial. J decided on the roasted mushroom menemen ($23).

our food came after a brief wait, and in short, it was good. portions were, happily enough, on the generous side, especially the scrambled eggs. they'd added some sort of middle eastern spice to the scrambled eggs, so they tasted a bit different from the usual. i liked how they'd also included a small side salad of cucumber, cherry tomatoes and olives, as the other items were pretty heavy on the palate. what i didn't get, though, was the bread- it was crispy, sure, but i felt i needed something to dip it into, and the scrambled eggs weren't quite runny enough.

the food was good, but it leant towards the expensive side, and it's not somewhere i can go back regularly to. i was also slightly miffed that they'd added $1 per person to our bill for water, listing it as a donation (?!) for sustainable water. i don't mind donating, but i wish they'd at least informed us beforehand before just charging us. still, i'm glad to have checked it off my to-try list, and the food was good enough that we left satisfied.

fat prince
48 peck seah street
http://www.fatprincesg.com

came by for a weekday brunch with L sometime earlier this year, and really liked their brunch food. too bad, though, that they only offer brunch up to 6pm, thus eliminating it as an option for dinner (their dinner menu doesn't tempt me quite as much). had some time to myself on a rainy saturday afternoon, and decided to head over for a late lunch.

even at that hour, the café was crowded. it had a much different vibe from when i was there previously (okay, it was just noisier). plus, the tables were pretty close together, so i was (unfortunately) privy to the conversation of the couple next to me.

as usual, i debated internally for a while what to get (i'm really bad at deciding). i was torn between having the scotch egg i had previously and trying something new. novelty won out in the end, and i ordered the hand-pulled pork on sourdough ($18.90) that i'd spotted on another table my previous visit. besides, i really can't say no to pork crackling.

and it was just as glorious as i'd envisioned. they'd been really generous with the pulled pork, and given my love for protein, this was right up my alley. plus, the pork crackling came in the form of a crumble, sprinkled generously all over the pulled pork- genius. i loved the caramelised onion jam as well (and i really hate onions)- it added a sweet note to the dish that really tied everything together. i remember thinking, during my previous visit, that the food at curious palette felt disjointed- everything worked separately but just didn't come together as a whole, but that wasn't true for the pulled pork dish. i ate everything together (yum poached egg; yum hollandaise sauce) and it worked.

i'd also added on the gammon ham and cheese croquettes ($2.50), which came piping hot and oozing with cheese. (though, where was the ham? hmm.)

curious palette has just cemented its status as one of my favourite cafés. yup, i'm heading back.

curious palette
64 prinsep street
https://www.facebook.com/curiouspalette/

wanted some café food for brunch with L, and strangers' reunion came to mind, because of how much i enjoyed the food at their sister café curious palette. we came over on a late friday morning, and were surprised to see that while the café was not full, it was buzzing with activity. (i guess that's how strangers' reunion has managed to survive through the years.)

it's not my first time to strangers' reunion. i went once, when they were still considered new, to try the buttermilk waffles that everyone was raving about. long story short: wasn't impressed, and that took them off my radar since then.

so this time, back again, i was interested in trying their savoury brunch offerings. the brunch menu was compact, but there were still several items i was interested in. i flip flopped between a few before finally settling on the salmon & kale ($19.90). L got the crabcake reunion ($18.90). having seen photos of the avocado smoothie bowl ($11.90) on instagram and upon seeing its menu description, i really wanted to try it (and managed to convince L to share it with me, even though she wasn't too enthusiastic- i love my friends). however, when we were ordering, the waiter told us that it wasn't available because they were running low on avocados, though they were expecting a delivery soon. he also recommended the acai smoothie bowl instead, but i already had my mind set on the avocado one. service was good, though- he told us that he would let us know if the avocado smoothie bowl became available again.

it turned out to be our lucky day, because ten minutes later he returned and told us that the avocados had been delivered. yay! (sometimes stubbornness does pay off, then.) it was a good thing we managed to have the avocado bowl, because it turned out to be really, really good.

we had it after our mains, so it was kind of like a dessert, but a healthier one. i loved all the toppings- the crunchy bits went together really well with the creamy avocado smoothie on the bottom. best of all, they'd been light handed with the sugar, so it turned out to be refreshing. even L who wasn't that interested in the bowl at first, enjoyed it.

but i digress. our mains were pretty good, too! and surprisingly, we were served our food within ten minutes or so of ordering.

i'd asked for the hollandaise sauce to be served separate, but they'd forgotten. thankfully the food was good enough that i decided not to make a fuss. the kale salad, along with japanese seaweed, was tangy and refreshing- the perfect offset to the creamy hollandaise and crispy skinned salmon.

i didn't quite get the addition of the poached eggs (though they were poached to perfection)- they didn't quite go with the other elements of the dish, and i wished i had some sort of carbs to have the eggs with. that aside, i did like the dish.

L liked her crabcake, too. i managed to steal some of it; and while i would've liked it to have less potato and more crab, i guess at that price point, it was a pretty good rendition. plus, portions were good. her only complaint was the wilted looking asparagus ribbons.

so yes, i'd come back to strangers' reunion for the savoury brunch options. there are a number of items i have my eye on, and i'll love to come back to get my hands on those.

strangers' reunion
33/35/37 kampong bahru road
https://www.facebook.com/StrangersReunion/

i've been meaning to go to curious palette for ages it seems; and then it got struck off my to-try list when someone told me that it was quite meh. and then i saw that they had scotch eggs on their brunch menu- that sealed the deal for me. i'm a sucker for scotch eggs. sadly, the scotch egg only exists on their brunch menu, which happens to be not all-day, so it's been hard to head there to eat it. i finally got my chance when L suggested meeting for brunch on a friday morning- away from the weekend crowd!

the drizzle made the walk from the train station seem to be quite a long one; it also made us doubly glad to finally reach the café. it was my first time there, so i was surprised to note that it was spacious inside despite the nondescript shopfront. it being a rainy friday morning, there were only a few other tables occupied, and we got our pick of tables.

upon being handed the menu, i zeroed in on the corned beef scotch egg ($18.50) straightaway. L was more indecisive, but eventually went with the house citrus-cured ocean trout ($18.90). i was tempted by the gammon ham and cheese croquettes in L's main, saw that it was offered as a add-on for just $2.50, so of course i went for it.

i was expecting to have to wait for our food for a while, as is the case with most cafés, but was pleasantly surprised when our food got served promptly.

the first thing i ate off my plate was the gammon ham and cheese croquette- it oozed cheese the moment i cut into it. best of all, it was piping hot, super crisp and yet, not greasy. i was expecting only one croquette, but i was surprised with two. it was a good start to the meal.

my scotch egg came with the requisite gloriously runny yolk. i found the corned beef to be leaning towards the salty side- i preferred crackerjack's vegetarian version of scotch egg in comparison. still, a scotch egg is a scotch egg, and curious palette's wasn't too shabby. the accompanying sides were really pretty interesting, though- green mango salsa, grilled brussels sprouts, cauliflower cous cous as well as guacamole. not sure how they worked together as a whole, especially the guacamole; they seemed more like separate entities. that being said, the sides were enjoyable separately eaten- i especially liked the tangy green mango salsa.

L's house citrus-cured ocean trout also suffered the same somewhat schizophrenic fate. hers came with the croquettes, poached egg, cauliflower hummus and lemon-infused yogurt, which sounds okay on paper, but in actuality, they didn't seem to come together as a whole, though the separate elements, like mine, were good. L was commenting that she didn't know how to eat the poached egg, since there weren't any other things to match with it.

despite the somewhat haphazard throwing together of sides, i really quite enjoyed the meal. spied another table having the hand-pulled pork on sourdough, which looked really tempting as well. i'm definitely coming back for their other brunch items.

curious palette
64 prinsep street
https://www.facebook.com/curiouspalette/

i got tempted into buying a groupon for the bravery, reasoning that since it's been around for quite a number of years, the food would be alright.

the shopfront was so nondescript that i walked right past it, before doing a double take. the café was quiet, with only two other tables occupied (both its occupants doing work on laptops). we grabbed menus and pondered over it for a bit. there weren't many choices for mains, especially when items like pizzas and pastas are eliminated. i went with a steak ($19.90) that came with peppercorn sauce and roasted vegetables; J, of course, went with scrambled eggs on toast ($8), adding on mushrooms and smoked salmon. we wanted to share the S.A.M. salad, but upon ordering, we were told that they were out (!) because the supplier hadn't been in yet (!!). hmph, okay. ended up ordering an additional set of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon (without toast) to share, to make up the cost of the voucher.

our food was served shortly after we ordered. surprisingly enough, my steak actually came first. and while it wasn't of the best quality, it was reasonably tender and actually cooked to the requested medium rare. the steak had been laid on a bed of roasted vegetables, mainly made up of red and green peppers and a whole load of garlic (which i proceeded to pick out). i actually quite liked the accompanying peppercorn sauce- i found myself dipping my steak into it. that in itself wouldn't have been a complete meal though- for the price, there just seemed to be something missing. i guess it was good that we'd ordered an extra set of eggs and salmon to share, else i would've been hungry.

the scrambled eggs were really quite ordinary- nothing like the creamy, buttery ones i've come to expect from cafés.

so while i didn't have much to complain about regarding the food, i didn't have much to commend as well. it was all pretty average, and i wouldn't bother making a special trip down if not for the groupon. without the groupon, the prices would be on par with other cafés, and honestly, i've had much better café fare elsewhere. nah, just not my kind of café.

the bravery
66 horne road
http://www.thebravery.sg

we were in the tanjong pagar area, searching for brunch options, and decided to head over to duxton. i was intent on trying thirteen duxton hill, but they weren't open (though they should've been). in a rare show of decisiveness we settled on xiao ya tou, which was (almost) just next door.

i decided on the XYT breakfast ($21), because scrambled eggs! beef! potatoes! sounded right up my alley. J wanted the kimchi scrambled eggs but not the cheese sausage that came with it, so she asked if they could replace it with anything else, but they flatly refused. she then asked if they offered chicken as an add-on (the chawanmushi & asian salad main that she wanted was a purely vegetarian meal, and protein is important to us) but they were also equally inflexible about that. (or maybe we're just the picky ones who always need some sort of special order.) in the end she went with the chicken salad ($17) off the starters and snacks column, which i was eyeing as well.

my main came with a complimentary starter- a fried mantou, served (in true hipster style) skewered, hanging over a bowl of tau suan. the fried mantou was hot and delicious, but the tau suan was a letdown. having more water than actual mung beans, its only saving grace was that it was not too sweet. i left it largely untouched. i'm of the opinion that if something is to be served (even complimentary) it should be cooked with heart; or else why even bother? i know it's free and all that, but if the item is subpar, i really don't mind not having it.

our food came after quite a long wait. we were craning our necks trying to spy for our food. J's came first, and for a starter, it was quite a good portion (then again it was $17). i stole bites of the pearl barley and charred sweet corn salad, and liked it.

my main came a while later. the scrambled eggs was the best part of the dish- it was perfectly cooked; buttery, creamy and smooth. the corned beef and potato preserved turnip (?) was buried underneath the eggs. for all its "asian fusion" label, it was really a glorified hash, and i actually would prefer a regular hash. they were too stingy with the corned beef and too heavy handed with the chili jam coating the hash. the corned beef and potatoes were sticky with the chili jam, which was too sweet, throwing everything off balance. i found myself scraping off the chili jam to my best ability just so i could get at the beef and potatoes.

the concept is a good idea, but execution was lacking. i found the food to be quite meh for the price. highly unlikely that i'd make a return. there are much better brunch options in the duxton area.

xiao ya tou
6 duxton hill
http://www.xyt.sg

every time we make a trip here for brunch, i end up having the duck confit hash, because it's the item that tempts me the most off the brunch menu. this time, however, i was forced to not have it, because they didn't have any of the duck items. one good thing about their service, however, was that the waitress actually bothered to tell me even before i'd placed my order, saving me the hassle of rethinking. after some consideration, i settled for the steak & eggs ($19.90).

strangely enough, they didn't ask me for the doneness of my steak- that in itself should've been an indication. i only remembered after we'd placed our orders, so i went back to the counter to tell them that i wanted mine medium-rare. i was told that they do the steak medium-rare by default. hmm.

we waited a while for our food. mine came exactly as i'd ordered- they'd separated all the sauces like i'd asked. the only thing... was the steak was way overdone. i took a bite and pondered whether i should return it; i did in the end because it was way too tough. they were nice enough to replace it without much fuss. the second one was much better, though leaning towards the rare side. one thing though- they'd barely salted it, and i had to go grab a salt shaker.

note to self: steak is definitely not their strong suit. the accompaniments were thankfully really good, especially the potatoes which had been roasted till they were golden. the skin was deliciously salty and crisp, while the inside was fluffy. best of all, they were all piping hot. it was supposed to be topped with sour cream, but i found myself dipping it into the creamy chive hollandaise instead. perfection. i didn't expect the plate to come with a slice of sourdough, since it wasn't stated in the menu. not complaining though, because the sourdough was pretty good.

definitely prefer the duck confit hash, even though the roasted potatoes tip the scale slightly.

pacamara boutique coffee roasters
185 upper thomson road
http://pacamara.sg/#home

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.

disappointingly enough, my poached egg was already obviously broken when my bowl came. part of the joy of eating a poached egg is about breaking it apart on your own, and they'd robbed me of that joy. i discovered that the egg yolk had already leaked out onto the rice below, leaving just the egg white. meh, not impressed. to add insult to injury, the steak was not the medium rare i'd requested- overdone and tough to chew at some parts.

the accompanying sides were actually pretty good. i liked the sautéed mushrooms, beetroot, the mixed red and white rice, the fact that they'd added fried ginger (which was a nice touch) and even the soy truffle hollandaise, so that made up for it a little.

i tried a bit of J's ratatouille omelette. sounded good on paper, but it tasted quite average.

the fact that they'd broken the poached egg and still served it is a deal breaker. it makes me feel that they're sloppy and can't be bothered. so yeah, not coming back, even with a groupon discount.

epicurious

ue square

#01-13

http://www.epicurious.com.sg

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'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

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/

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/

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.

clinton st. baking company & restaurant

31 purvis street

https://www.facebook.com/clintonstsingapore

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

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

J was driving and we had to be in the west, so paddy hills, which i've been meaning to try for a while now, seemed like a good choice.

the place was quiet when we got there, with only a few tables occupied, so it was really nice for a quiet lunch.

they have all-day brunch, right up to 5pm, so it was right up our alley. i zeroed in on the potato & fish ($24) straight away, because i can never say no to rostï. they had christmas specials as well, but the item i was interested in from that menu happened to be unavailable. J wanted the green scramble & bacon ($23), but without the bacon (much to the waiter's bewilderment). he told us that it would be silly to have it without the bacon, since it was kind of the point of the dish. i then asked if they could change the bacon to smoked salmon, but after consulting the kitchen, we were told that it wouldn't be possible. in the end J settled for the naked english muffin ($16), adding on the house cured salmon ($5). i don't understand why they couldn't have been more flexible about it, though!

both our dishes came prettily plated.

the rostï wasn't quite what i expected, though. the potato strips were cut more finely than usual, so it resembled fried vermicelli more than regular rostï. it was yummy just the same, though a bit on the oily side. the sea bass was generously portioned and super well-cooked, especially the super crisp skin. the bagna cauda sauce was interesting- not like anything i have ever had before, but it went well with the fish and rostï, though being placed on the bottom meant that it made the rostï slightly soggy. on googling i realised it was made from garlic and anchovy, both of which i don't exactly have a fondness for, but i couldn't really discern what it was when i was eating it. i quite liked my plate, but it leant towards the greasy side. i also found myself getting hungry quite soon after the meal, which meant that the portion wasn't quite enough- it would've been nice to have a more generous portion of carbs.

J's naked english muffin was basically in-house stewed beans, guacamole, poached eggs and greens stacked atop english muffins. she quite liked it, but i found it on the pricey side. still, food was obviously well cooked, and i wouldn't mind returning to try their other items (on a day when i'm not famished).

service was not too bad, but they took forever to serve J's side order of smoked salmon. we were halfway through our meal before we decided to ask about the salmon again, and were told that they'd check with the kitchen. but... we still had to ask them yet another time before it finally appeared. given that it was pretty much empty... it makes me wonder how they manage when it's full house.

paddy hills
38 south buona vista road
https://www.facebook.com/paddyhills.sg/

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

noms.

fat prince, peck seah street.

curious palette, prinsep street, 2.0.

strangers' reunion, kampong bahru.

curious palette, prinsep street.

the bravery, horne road.

xiao ya tou, duxton hill.

pacamara boutique coffee roasters, upper thomson, 3.0.

epicurious, ue square.

tiong bahru bakery, raffles city.

wild honey, scotts square.

vxx cooperative, foch road.

fuel plus+, morse road.

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

group therapy coffee, duxton.

botanist, neil road.

paddy hills, south buona vista.

luxe, keong saik, 2.0.

About

Popular Posts

Blog Archive

Labels