realised that håakon has taken over soup stock tokyo over at 313 somerset, and decided to try it for dinner (the menu was tempting enough- they have all-day breakfast!).
we got three mains to share- the lean protein platter ($15.90), salmon & zoodles ($12.90) and the avocado vegan bowl ($10.90). strangely enough, we actually waited for quite a while before our food was ready for collection. i thought that the items were pre-prepared, and they would only need to assemble them.
it's a good thing i wasn't hungry, because the portions leant towards the small side (can they be more generous with the proteins?). thankfully the flavour, though light tasting, more than made up for it. i was quite happy with all the food that we got. my favourite was definitely the zoodles, especially with the miso sauce. the food was really clean tasting, which made it right up my alley.
i'd also got an organic acai soy latte ($6.50), because it sounded really interesting. i've never seen it on other menus! it was more milky than anything else, though there was a faint acai taste. i did like it, but J found it weird.
we were feeling greedy, so we also got an acai bowl to share (i think acai bowls are my new obsession). we got a large cacao bliss bowl ($12.90), which came topped with coconut flakes, granola and fruits, with a chia seed parfait right at the bottom. it being cacao bliss, it tasted more chocolatey than anything else (not that i'm complaining). i loved how generous they'd been with the crunch elements (that's the thing that makes or breaks acai bowls for me).
yum. i can see myself coming back for the acai bowl.
haåkon superfoods and juice
313 somerset
#b2-14
https://www.haakon.com.sg
i'll be honest here- i had high expectations for this place, given that it's a) out of the way; b) hipster-ish; and c) clean food. J and i arrived separately, and we were both startled by how empty the entire mall was. thrive kitchen was perhaps the only thing open, save for another japanese restaurant.
i was drawn to the all-day brunch menu first, and i made J share the wholegrain crepes ($9.90), adding on house made coconut yogurt for an additional $3.50. i was hungry and so decided on the teriyaki chicken brown rice bowl ($17.90) as my main (i was tempted by the 63 degree egg).
the wholegrain crepes came first. it came presented as three different crepes, each folded with different fillings- red bean, banana jam and chocolate ganache. the best part of it turned out to be... the coconut yogurt. maybe because they'd used wholegrain flour instead of plain flour, the texture of the crepe itself was off- dry, and broken at the edges where they'd folded it.
our mains came while we were halfway through the crepes. J's grilled salmon ($20.90) came as a pretty sizeable portion, while my chicken looked kind of sad. maybe i should've gotten the grilled chicken breast off the mains menu instead of one of the rice bowls. i was expecting a heartier portion of edamame and kale salad than i was given. the rice was probably the most generous part of the bowl, but i didn't quite like it as well- i like my brown rice with a bit more bite.
i have to say that i was quite disappointed with the food, especially given the prices they were charging. doubt i'll be back in a hurry.
thrive kitchen
1 west coast drive
#01-73
http://www.thrivesg.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/
made a reservation and swung by on a saturday night for dinner; turned out that the reservation was utterly unnecessary. the place was empty when we got there (and remained so throughout the meal). i was surprised by how tiny the place was. it was mostly outside seating, with just a row of three bar seats inside. there was only one person manning the entire place- he was the chef, waiter and cashier all rolled into one. not exactly confidence inspiring, but we stayed to eat anyway.
the menu was written on a chalkboard near the cashier, so ordering and payment was all done at the same time. i didn't need to think much- settled on the pearl barley and mushroom salad ($10), adding on grilled chicken for $4. we also got mussels ($20) to share.
the mussels came first, and even came with bread to soak up the white wine and herb broth. no photo because we were hungry, but the mussels were fresh and cooked just right. the white wine broth was delicious as well, especially paired with the bread. i dunked my bread into the broth to soak it up. yum!
our food came a while after we finished up the mussels. best of all, all our plates came at the same time! given that he was working alone, that was a feat in itself. my pearl barley salad was pretty good, if a little on the oily side. didn't quite take to the chicken though- it was cut too thinly, and leant towards the dry side. should probably have gone for the sea bass, but it was an additional $10 (!) and i was feeling stingy.
it was an interesting place for a quiet dinner. most places are crowded on saturday nights, so it was nice to have the entire place to ourselves. the food was decent, though i found prices to be on the high side given the portions.
paper crane
96 waterloo street
https://www.facebook.com/papercranesg/
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/
