Sunday Market

I've been having a dearth of suggestions when it comes to dinner places. My list of cafes is never-ending, but most of them hardly seem suitable for dinner considering the recommended items are usually brunch-type foods or dessert. While I adore brunch, I can never have it as a replacement for dinner, and it's been pretty hard trying to uncover good dinner venues that are wallet-friendly. Which is why I was so excited when I found out that Sunday Market was known for its main dishes, on top of the Bangkok Toast that has been flooding my instagram feed. Haha.

I'm so proud of ourselves for ordering all the cafe's signature items without even knowing it at that point in time. There were really quite a number of dishes that caught my eye and I spent the longest time poring over the menu. Went with the Roasted Duck with Hoisin ($12.90), which was an interesting twist on pancakes! Somewhat like an east-meets-west dish, which seems quite the theme of this restaurant. Think peking duck, but housed inside a fluffy pancake, with the sweet-savoury garlic hoisin sauce drizzled over it. I wished there could have been more of the yummy sauce, but the dish was pretty tasty on its own anyway. 

I sorta convinced Sam to get the Sirloin Rendang Toast ($15.90) and yay, he did! ^^ The rendang came as a luscious bowl of tasty gravy that was the perfect dipping condiment to the buttery brioche. The both of us exclaimed with pleasure when we bit into the brioche, which was fluffy and had a beautifully creamy flavour. However, we felt that the rendang was a tad too sweet! We would have preferred if it was a bit more savoury to provide a better balance. The beef was stewed till it was almost melt-in-the-mouth tender, which is incredible by cafe standards! 

While the portions of the main dishes we had didn't look remotely big, they were surprisingly VERY filling!! Perhaps it was all the carbs that expanded in our tummies. Still, I couldn't resist ordering the Bangkok Toast ($10.90) because it looked soooooo good. And it didn't disappoint! Three elements to it, that complemented each other to great satisfaction. The toast was generously-sized, crisp on the outside and deliciously soft within. It came topped with slightly tart berries that helped to cut through the sweetness - much appreciated for a decadent dessert like this! The matcha green tea custard was creamy and light, but had an unmistakably distinct flavour, and the Thai milk tea ice cream was simply perfect!! Though I was worried about the whole dessert being too overwhelming with the cacophony of flavours, they all came together in a beautiful harmony that was pleasant to the palate. 

Overall, I was really satisfied from this meal, and despite it's rather obscure location, this is one cafe I would come back to if I've run out of ideas for dinner! 

Sunday Market

22 Lim Tua Tow Road

Tel.: +65 6287 8880

Mon-Fri 1pm-10pm

Sat-Sun 11am-11pm

Rokeby

hiya! (: if you saw my previous post on Wimbly Lu, you'll have heard of this really ulu little street called Jalan Riang in a neighbourhood in Serangoon. well, guess what, i went there again! haha, but this time by car so it was way more convenient. and i'm so glad that we checked out this brunch gem, Rokeby! i read about the dinner served here previously, but not much about brunch, and we were all really impressed at what we found! (: this Australian diner takes pride in their breakfast as evident from thoughtful touches in each dish on the menu, and we enjoyed every single item we ordered.

there is always someone in need of a big breakfast - and the Rokeby Full Monty Brekkie ($18.90) would immediately quash any morning hunger pangs. a sumptuous spread which you see above, that was well balanced with eggs (done according to your choice!), meat, bread & hash and veggies.

everyone was drooling over my dish. hehe. see that thick slab on top? it's FOIE GRAS. two thumbs up for their extremely generous serving of the prized goose liver. my Foie Gras Benedict ($21.90) came at a comparatively hefty price tag, but with such ingredients in it, it's absolutely worth it, if you compare it to other places where even a normal eggs benny would cost you the same price. the foie gras was a delicious melt-in-your-mouth goodness, and whoever thought of this combination is a genius. 

zhen got the Portobello Benedict ($13.90) - the number of egg items on their menu is mind-blowing - and it was great too! the brioche toast by the way, is absolutely lovely. just lightly crisp and super fluffy inside, it goes so well with the oozy goodness from the egg.

and for some sweets, we had a tough time choosing between the Fruits & Nutella ($11.90) vs Peanut Butter & Banana ($11.90). we opted for the former, though the latter sounds SO GOOD (and sinful too) that i might just come back for it next time. except that i'm not a big fan of bananas. argh. anyway, the waffle was wonderfully done, with a great texture.

besides the first two items, the rest of the brunch items are actually really affordable! i'll definitely come by again next time....when someone drives again ;)

Rokeby Bistro Cafe

15 Jalan Riang

Tel.: +65 9106 0437

Tue-Sun 9am-10pm

Arbite

I can’t believe I waited so long to write this!! I’ve actually got quite a few food posts that I haven’t managed to write till now xP

Really glad that I had the chance to try Arbite finally!! And it’s in one of the prettiest neighbourhoods that are quite near my house ^^ I love serangoon gardens! It’s like a little town of its own.

 

Starting with the drinks, they had such an interesting selection that I had a hard time choosing! I ordered the green tea and vanilla milkshake ($6) which was absolutely yummy!!! It was not too thick, but had enough creaminess and substance, which is why I loved it.

 

zhen ordered the iced chocolate ($5.50) which was delicious too! Super thick and chocolate-y yummmz :D

Arbite doesn’t have truffle fries on its menu, but you can request for it! can’t remember what was the price though. It was pretty good! Thick cut fries that were seasoned with the truffle essence. I still think PS café has the best truffle fries though! The seasoning is un-matchable haha.

 

Since it was brunch, so we chose stuff from the lunch menu as well :P the grilled Moroccan chicken ($15.90) was a rather interesting dish. It’s a chicken thigh marinated in Moroccan spices, giving it a lovely flavour, and is served with pilaf rice, side salad and tomato olive salsa.

 

Zhen ordered the frittata ($14.90) which is an Italian style open face omelette filled with lots of ingredients! Bacon, asparagus, onions, potato, fresh tomatoes, olives, mushrooms and parmesan cheese. It was really a smorgasbord of flavours!

The sea salt caramel banana pancakes ($14.90) was alright…I felt it was not spectacular or anything but was pretty decent. The pancakes were fluffy with caramelized bananas layered in between them and drizzled with maple syrup.

And I have to say that I LOVED my eggs benedict ($11.90)!!! haha. no #1 fan of this dish and when I have a good version of it, I definitely have to rave about it :D they use brioche at Arbite for the bread and I loved how soft and fluffy it was!! Perfect for soaking up the hollandaise sauce, which was provided in abundance which was another plus point :) yummy!

We wanted to try their desserts as well, but unfortunately it was too much for us xP I heard the wife’s chocolate cake is damn awesome though!!! Someone try it and tell me please! I wanna go back someday for it.

Arbite 

66A Serangoon Garden Way

Tel.: +65 6287 0430

Tue – Fri 11.30am-3pm, 6pm-10.30pm

Sat – Sun 11.00am-10.30pm

Closed on Monday

The Ship Restaurant

a google search of the ship restaurant produced pretty good reviews! and to think i always had the impression that it was pretty unknown? there is now a new outlet in NEX mall! which i visited quite recently. i like how they had a student meal which was pretty affordable (: $8.50 if i remember correctly. but the selection was rather limited unfortunately :/

the meal started off with a bowl of comforting warm soup of the day and some toasty bread rolls (: the soup that day was cream of carrot! which was lovely! (: even my friend who doesnt like carrots enjoyed the flavourful creamy soup thoroughly.

there isnt much choice of main courses - only four - which were the chicken chop, pork chop, carbonara and something deep fried which i can't remember and didn't bother to order. my chicken chop was done quite nicely. it was a really generous portion! together with grilled vegetables and french fries on the side. it was also slathered with a delicious amount of mushroom sauce :D yummmm!

the pork chop was not bad either, and came with brown sauce. haha i dont really know how to describe it. i found it slightly thin though, not as juicy as the chicken chop.

the dessert was disappointing though :/ their ice cream was kinda sad. i was horrified to hear that there was no chocolate ice cream?!?!?!?!?! zomg. tsktsk. so i ended up ordering the mango ice cream which was sorta strange O.O usually when i think of mango ice cream, i would think of sorbets i guess? but this was creamy mango ice cream, which wasnt really nice. yikes.

but overall, for $8.50, this was a pretty decent meal! (:

The Ship Restaurant

NEX Mall #01-61/62

Tel.: +65 6834 3733

Daily 11am-10pm

Lena's

when i saw the menu of lena's, i was completely blown away. now this is one place that will satisfy any hungry person. or maybe not. because the menu is so extensive, with so much interesting-looking food that it's difficult to just pick one dish! like zhen said, "i don't know what to eat!" we thought that she meant that there was nothing to eat. turns out it was cos there were TOO MANY things she wanted to eat which was why she couldn't decide -.- hahaha! oh and yay! i'm so happy i finally visited Nex mall in serangoon! (: now its not so crowded like when it first opened so it was quite fun. quite a big place too! i wanna go back to explore it sometime again. nowadays there is hardly any time to explore anywhere >.< thank goodness for the circle line! i'll go visit again soon (:

started with a bread bowl of creamy mushroom soup ($8.90). this was really good! the bread had a lovely crispy, slightly crumbly crust, and the inside was lovely and airily soft, and went perfectly with the soup. the mushroom soup was absolute food-for-the-soul, warm, smooth and thick, with chunks of mushroom in it.

i always love being offered choices, so i really enjoyed ordering from lena's menu! firstly, the array of dishes is absolutely mind-blowing, from pastas and pizzas to normal meaty main courses to asian-inspired soup dishes. OMGEEEEEE! (: for the pasta, there were so many things to chose! first, decide on your pasta of course. then you have a choice of four sauces (some types of pastas have less options though!) - tomato, cream, spicy aglio olio and black pepper. then you can chose to have either spaghetti or penne. additional options include adding $3 to make it a baked pasta (cheeeeeeeeeeese! <3) or $1 to add an egg yolk to your cream pasta. mmm so yummy and fun! (: oh and you can add $5 for any dessert which is less than $7.50 or add $6 for a glass of housepour wine/half pint of Hoegaarden draft.

so anyway, zhen ordered the bacon & mushroom pasta ($13.50), aglio olio, penne-style. it was extremely fragrant (: (: each piece of penne was cooked wonderfully al dente and coated with a film of oil. it was super duper spicy though! i would have preferred if they didn't add pepper to it. i wonder what is the difference between the aglio olio and the black pepper sauces then? xP but it tasted good anyway!

i ordered the soft-shell crab pasta ($15.90), tomato sauce spaghetti. haha i asked the waiter whether the pasta i chose would go better with tomato or aglio olio sauce and he recommended the former so i went with it! (: and it was a pretty good choice! the tomato sauce was t-t-tasty! (: and the soft-shell crab was awesomeeeeeee! deep-fried (sinful! but i don't care :P) and crispy and yummy. need i say more? definitely recommend (:

mummy & papa shared the premium pork rib ($32.80) which comes with two sides. hmm i think the variety of sides here is pretty uncreative (i mean, look at the rest of their menu!!! :O haha). the two they chose were the pilaf rice (which was infused with garlic, nice!) and coleslaw. the ribs were nice and succulent with lots of cartilage which was so fun to chew on :D

and although i was absolutely full to bursting (i finished all my noodles! :O), i just had to order dessert! the dessert has an entire menu to itself!!!!! :D so exciting. see why i HAVE to come back again? so many things i have yet to try!!! i ordered the peanut butter sundae ($8.20) because 1. i love peanut butter and 2. i wanted the waffle crackers xD loved the crackers! but i was slightly disappointed with the ice cream though >.< it didn't taste very peanut butter-ish >.< but maybe it was just me. the rest of my family loved it because of the subtle peanut butter taste -.- oh well, i'll just stick to the real thing i guess! the whipped cream on top was beautifully light, and there was this funny sweet liquid at the bottom of the glass which i didn't try.

the marshmallow brownie hot pan ($12) looks gorgeous, doesn't it? chocolate brownie drizzled with a creamy hot chocolate fudge, topped with a handful or marshmallows and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. i absolutely adored the fudge! creamy, thick and gooey, it made the brownie so wonderful. but, the brownie on its own was unfortunately, disappointing. without the sauce, it seemed lacking, not moist enough.

yup that's it! haha i'll be backkkkkk (:

Lena's

Serangoon Nex Mall #02-01

Tel.: +65 6634 4610

Sun-Thu: 11.30am-10pm

Fri & Sat: 11.30pm-11pm

Dessert Bowl

Everybody goes to Serangoon Garden for Chomp Chomp. Personally, i visited Chomp Chomp for the first time only about...a year ago. Don't throw stones at me! :p I know, i'm super laggy. Even until now, i don't see the extremely strong appeal of it. But i have to admit that the food is GOOD. Anyway, besides Chomp Chomp, there are other places to explore in Serangoon Gardens! i love the quaintness of that little village. it looks sooo cute (: it's just so rare to find such a cottage-y place in Singapore. lovely (: the ambience there is what makes it special. my friend recommended a dessert place there which is supposed to be superb. for the love of me, i could not remember the name nor the location of that store. i just knew it was in Serangoon Gardens and on the second floor in a row of shops. uhh, not very helpful :p but we took a walk around after dinner at Chomp Chomp, and we came across Dessert Bowl. well, since there weren't many (in fact, there were none) stores on the 2nd floor, we guessed that it MUST be the place my friend recommended. and we weren't disappointed! :D

the desserts on offer are simple, nothing fancy. if anything, i was slightly put out by the range of choices. but i found something nice to order anyways! :D

i ordered the snow pear with white fungus ($4). sounds sooo healthy right? (: it was a light refreshing dessert to end off my foodie forage for the day (: the pear was boiled such that it was slightly soft, yet maintained its crunchiness. the wolfberries are good for eyes! and i have no idea what those nuts are. can someone enlighten me please?

Zhen's dessert was interesting. i would have been more adventurous had i been hungrier, but since i had already Chomp Chomp-ed before that, i hardly had the stomach for anything else. this was red bean milk custard ($3.50). the milk custard was rather rich, but it was not too overwhelming because the red bean balanced it out nicely.

mummy and yi had the durian mousse ($4.50). no comment. i don't like durian haha. but it was supposed to be good.

the ambience of this place is really interesting! firstly, you get beautiful views of the Serangoon Garden village and also, the cafe is decorated with really cute stuff!!! go check it out (:

any other dessert places to recommend? :D :D cakes, ice cream, tong shui, anything! (: sweets for my sweets (:

Dessert Bowl

80A Serangoon Garden Way

Tel.: +65 6285 1278

Tue-Thu: 12pm-10.30pm

Fri-Sun: 12pm-12am

Closed on Mondays