Boufe: Boutique + Cafe

My tummy has been rather well-fed recently with lots of good food, and it's so satisfying! I've gotta try to lose some weight before Krabi though :P haha don't wanna be lugging a pet tummy over to the beach, yikes! It's been a series of cafe hopping over the weekends, which is something we haven't done in a long while! Gosh, how I've missed this. Paddy Hills a couple of weeks ago, and this time we checked out Boufe (: Seems like a trend to be visiting out-of-the-way cafes though. Maybe the next one would be somewhere in the far east...? Haha. 

The first thing I really liked about Boufe was its clean, white interior and natural lighting. It was such a gorgeous space! I love decor like this, and I'm so tempted to have it for my house, although I don't think I ever will because it's so difficult to keep clean! With my OCDness it'll probably drive me (and Sam) nuts. Hahaha. Anyway, below is a peak of how pretty and bright the cafe looks! The drinks here were rather decently priced, or perhaps it just seems this way in contrast to the $8.90 hot chocolate I drank at Awfully Chocolate the other day. Goodness! The iced chocolate ($6.50) piqued our interest by being served in a mason jar (love!!). Unfortunately, flavour-wise it was a letdown as it seemed to taste more like milo than chocolate. 

I didn't do the food justice with these photos (what's with my camera these days!), but they looked pretty darn good, and lived up to expectations taste-wise as well.

We started with Triple B ($21), which is Boufe's idea of a big breakfast. And I've got to say it's one of the most impressive ones I've had in awhile! It's one of my pet peeves to have to pay for a so-called big breakfast which is a letdown, but this was fantastic - milky scrambled eggs, caramelised bacon (which tasted like bak kwa!!), assorted sausages (we all liked the pork sausage more than the chicken), sautéed mushrooms and buttery mini croissant.

The Classic Croque Madame ($19) was a hearty dish with ham sandwiched between a thick fluffy brioche topped with gratin cheese and a sunny side up egg. 

I got such a poor shot of this Brioche French Toast ($14) but it was so delicious! The brioche was so fluffy, it tasted like a cake! The ultra moist bread absorbed the essence of the maple syrup and cream Chantilly and oozed with goodness. Special mention for the cream Chantilly that was super light and yummy.

My Truffle House Baked Baguette ($17) was one of the most novel items on the menu. Always looking out for dishes like these that reflect some creativity in the cafe's offerings, rather than simply serving the usual (read: boring) brunch items. The truffle mushroom ragout was very tasty, and had a distinctive aroma of truffle. The eating was a rather messy affair though, because baguette was a tad hard and difficult to cut through.

Overall, it was a good meal and ambience was fantastic. It's super difficult to get to this place, though if you're lucky, I've heard that you can get a ride out in the buggy xD

Boufe Boutique + Cafe
308 Tanglin Road, Phoenix Park #01-01
Tel.: +65 6734 7656
Tue-Fri 8am-10pm
Sat-Sun 10am-10pm

Little Diner

This is one place I would have never known of, if I hadn't gotten a recommendation from Jiayee who lives in the neighbourhood ;) The bukit timah area does have many hidden gems which are almost impossible to uncover because the area is just too difficult to get to! Glad we ventured to this place though (: Haven't had a hearty brunch in awhile, and I liked how this place had items that stood out from the typical brunch selection. There were quite a number of chef's specials, and we ordered most of them to try :D

Jiayee was raving about the Delancey Red Velvet Pancakes ($13.50), and we were pretty excited about them!! Ended up being a tad let down though, because the portion was really tiny. The pancakes were rather flat and thin, rather unlike the fluffy version we like. The colour, while a beautiful velvet, didn't translate into much flavour, and couldn't stand alone without the maple syrup.

The Stuffed Super Cereal-Crusted French Toast ($16.50) was awesome though!!!! If I were to come back to this place for a dish, THIS would be it. I must have really grown out of eggs ben into french toast now, cos I'm absolutely in love with all versions of it ^^ Cranking up their average french toast by a few notches, this version was stuffed with nutella (could've had more!), topped with fried bananas and drizzled with chocolate sauce. Loved how fluffy the brioche toast was, and the fried bananas complemented it perfectly!

Because mummy wanted the french toast, I ordered the "Krusty Krab" Benedict ($19.50). It sounded really interesting - a twist on the ubiquitous eggs ben with the addition of a golden crabcake pillow. Loved the crab cake, couldn't find any fault with that! But it was kinda sad that there was only one egg!!!!! >:( I'm sorry, but I really think that eggs benedict that comes with only one egg deserves to be boycotted. Hmph. Just like Hatched (which I condemn for being overpriced and not very tasty). Okay, enough of that short bout of angst :P The flavour of the dish in general was good! Fluffy brioche (only half a slice whuttt...), perfectly flowy egg, crispy bacon, grilled asparagus, and the juice of a zesty lemon gave a zing to the dish which I liked.

Papa got the Steak & Eggs ($27), which was termed 'Breakfast of Champions'! We were impressed by the thick strip of chargrilled steak - a generous portion by most measures. It came with two eggs sunny side up, a really delish pile of potatoes, toast and baby green salad.

The last, but not least, was a really pleasant surprise to us! It was hilarious how papa was saying how he detested "deconstructed" dishes, and yet Zhen opted for the Croque Madame ($13.50) nonetheless. While deconstruction often seems to imply an inability of the chef to put the dish together properly, the description of this "gussied-up" ham and cheese sandwich was really apt in this case! An impressive tower of ham and cheese sat in a pool of truffle-scented béchamel sauce that absolutely irresistible!!! This is definitely one of the best truffle-flavoured dishes I've ever eaten, and I'm not sure whether it would be too rich after awhile, but I loved it. Topped with a beautiful fried egg, this was one hearty dish!

Special mention for the coffee although it was not made in-house. Toby's Estate hot chocolate ($4.90) was delightfully chocolate-y without being too rich. Yummy!!!

Little Diner

789 Bukit Timah Road

Tel.: +65 6466 4088

Lunch 11.30am-3pm (Tue-Fri)

Dinner 6pm-10pm (Tue-Thu, Sun)

6pm-10.30pm (Fri & Sat)

Brunch 11am-3pm (Sat, Sun & PH)

Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters

So...OZ Specialty Coffee closed down, and there's a new kid on the block at Upper Thomson road! And gosh. I absolutely love it. Though there are many cafes along the entire stretch and there are no lack of choices, I hadn't really found one that I had a calling to....till now. I liked One Man Coffee, but it's a tad too small to stay for long. And I just never really got what the hype was about for Habitat Coffee. Of course, I do still feel very privileged to have all these options around me, but Pacamara Boutique just stole my heart (: 

I rarely take photographs of restaurant/cafe interiors but this place is gorgeous!!! I'm selfishly quite reluctant to share this place with all of you but...ah well. Good things are better shared I guess ^^ 

I was spoilt for choice there, and I really wished we could have ordered more. But that's just more reasons for me to go back hehe. We chose the Miso glazed Salmon ($22) for our main. Though it's rather on the pricey side, it made up for it in leaps and bounds in terms of quality. The salmon was beautifully cooked, with a crispy charred skin. It came with an apple fennel salad that was really tasty, and I loved the flavourful miso seasoning for the fish. That smear of pumpkin (at least that's what I think it is) on the side, perfect!

We couldn't resist the Salted Caramel Banana French Toast ($16) which sounded so sinfully good. I'm really not a fan of bananas, but in desserts like these, I do think they go together pretty well. The french toast was fluffy, and though not spectacular, was saved by the creamy, gooey salted caramel sauce. The bits of crispy oats added a welcomed crunch to this dish which I really liked too! 

Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters

185 Upper Thomson Road

Tue-Sun 9am-11pm

Dean & Deluca

I had a rather 'productive' foodie weekend a couple of weeks back, ticking off a bunch of items on my eating list which have been there for the longest time!! (: Always happy when I go around eating good food. Yay! 

Finally tried Dean & Deluca, which has been in Singapore since forever. I'd actually been wanting to come here since it first set foot on our sunny shores, and yet I didn't. There are just way to many restaurants/cafes in Singapore to keep up with. Thankful for my accommodating boyfriend & family who get dragged around by me to check out my new foodie craze ;) Wouldn't life be so boring without food? Hehe. Anyway, so excited about Dean & Deluca, which turned out really spectacular! The prices are pretty steep though :/ But I felt that the portions justified it. 

I'll start with my Brioche French Toast ($18) first because it took the cake for me! At $18, it's probably one of the pricier french toasts around, but when you see the size of it, it's definitely WORTH IT. Two people could share it comfortably and have enough to eat. I certainly couldn't finish it myself. Cue three thick, fluffy slices of brioche, lightly toasted to produce crisp edges, drowned (literally) in a gooey, sweet salted caramel sauce, topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream, salted caramel bananas and an assortment of berries. This was a food coma, sugar rush-inducing, recipe-for-diabetes concoction that killed me afterwards, but it was so so good. I recommend sharing like I did though, because the sweetness can get overwhelming.

The American Country Breakfast ($22) was a hearty spread of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, greens, grilled cherry tomatoes, hash brown and a slice of multigrain toast. I really liked how the scrambled eggs were done, or perhaps I've just missed eating it.

The Eggs Iberico ($22) were a tad disappointing appearance-wise, since there was a really appetising photograph of it on the menu. The taste was fab, nevertheless - I guess it couldn't go too wrong with the smooth jamon iberico which was the perfect complement to the poached eggs and sautéed mushrooms.

Mummy ordered the Portobello Cheese burger ($20) which surprisingly turned out to be rather meaty, with a thick beef patty. It was juicy and delicious, and we especially loved the perfectly crisp fries which came laced with a generous truffle flavour.

The Marinated Salmon & Mozzarella Quiche ($12) was possibly the only let-down we had. It was a small slice and we wished they could have heated it up more as the mildly warm temperature did little to bring out the flavours of the quiche. Also felt the veggie taste was a tad too strong, which over-shadowed the salmon. 

The cakes on display looked totally drool-worthy!! We were completely stuffed that day, but we'll definitely be back to try them! 

Dean & Deluca 

Orchard Central #04-23/24

Mon-Fri 11am-10pm

Sat & Sun 10am-10pm

The Assembly Ground

When Yi first told me that she visited the Assembly Ground at The Cathay, I thought she was referring to a more accessible branch of Assembly Coffee at Bukit Timah. I've been wanting to try out that cafe, but it's just too out of the way! The Assembly Ground is not related to the former, but it's actually an extension of the Assembly Store in The Cathay. Spacious premises that don't get too crowded even on a weekday lunch hour, it was a great place to chill! :) Food was not bad too! 

Okay, actually Rachel's Eggs Zoey ($17) could have done better. A fancy name for Eggs Royale, we felt that the eggs were a tad too small, and was served atop a muffin that looked rather unimpressive. I felt the flavour of the hollandaise sauce was pretty yummy though! But there are definitely better eggs elsewhere. 

On the other hand, I really liked my Beef Chilli Fettucine ($16)! Lovely thick strands of parpardelle slathered with a delicious beef chilli sauce that was reminiscent of Mexican flavours, with a generous amount of braised beef and an added kick of sharp parmesan cheese. I loved the contrasting flavours that were married together in this dish, which gave it an interesting, yet harmonious element. 

Overall, I was quite satisfied with this cafe, and I think it's a lovely place to relax if you're in the area.

The Assembly Ground

The Cathay #01-21

Tel.: +65 6733 3375

Tue-Fri 12pm-10pm

Sat-Sun 10am-10pm

The Providore

Hello! :) I'm back again with one of my wayyyy overdue posts. It's embarrassing to mention how long ago my visit to The Providore was, but I think it's a place worth sharing anyway, so I shall just write about it :)

Nestled on the 2nd floor of Mandarin Gallery (simply go up the escalator on the outside of Mandarin Gallery's entrance), The Providore could give Wild Honey a run for its money. Truthfully, I do prefer it over Wild Honey, which I find is overhyped and overpriced. The Providore, while still on the slightly pricey side of brunches, serves up a selection of items which I feel are of better quality.

The Spanish Baked Eggs ($18.50) was a dish of two free range eggs served atop grilled chorizo in a spicy tomato sauce. A very tasty dish, thanks to the chorizo and smoked paprika spices.

The Open-faced Breakfast BLT ($16.50) could be considered a little gimmicky, but I loved the ingredients that went into it. The thick chewy bacon was a hearty change to the usual fried bacon, and went well with the provolone cheese and roasted tomato.

We loved the ricotta pancakes ($17.50) for their delightful fluffiness!! I'm sure you can see that for yourself from this photo ;) The pancakes were so yummy, a couple of additions (candied walnuts and caramelised banana) sufficed to complete the dish.

The English Breakfast ($19.50) was pretty standard and probably a tad too pricey! I would most definitely go for the other dishes if I had to choose :)

The Providore

Mandarin Gallery #02-05

Tel.: +65 6732 1565

Daily 9am-11pm

One Man Coffee

The newest kid on the block along Upper Thomson Road, this cafe cleverly shares the space of Crust Pizzeria, which only operates for dinner. Word spread about this hidden gem of a place, and suddenly everyone was flocking there! I'm glad that we managed to come here right before the crowd on a Sunday morning though! :) Hehe, we were lucky to take the last available table :P Whoops! And I've gotta say that I'm so happy to have this new cafe in my neighbourhood! :) Love the food and vibe of this place.

The menu is really simple, with less than 10 items on it. What you really need to order though (at least on your first visit) are the Brioche french toast ($10) pictured above, and the gashouse egg ($10) pictured below. All items on the menu are very affordable for brunch, considering how some cafes charge increasingly exorbitant prices, and I can see myself coming back for numerous visits for my favourite dishes here! OMC's french toast is one of the best I've eaten (especially at that price), for its fluffy brioche (I just love this bread) that comes with a homemade berry compote which had the perfect balance of tangy and sweet. The candied walnuts added a crunchy dimension to the dish, and the final flourish came in the form of the fresh cream atop the french toast which was so delicious!

This might not look like much, but boy, it was good!

Now you see why? Another name for this dish, as aptly described on the menu was egg-in-the-bread-with-the-hole-in-the-midde. We cut open the bread and out came this oozy egg goodness. An alternative to eggs benedict for those who are getting bored of it. And that bacon jam that came with it was spectacular. Who's ever heard of a savoury jam like this? I certainly hadn't. And while the bread had been seasoned with a light hand, the bacon jam was enough to jazz up the taste of the bread significantly.

The Big Brekkie ($12) was pretty decent and beautifully plated, but if I had to choose, I'd pick the two above anytime.

I also tried the Baby Spinach Salad ($10) that was drizzled generously with olive oil and tossed with prosciutto, feta, dried cranberries and toasted pine nuts. Though it was not very filling because of the lack of (real) meat and the rather small portion, it was one of the tastiest, healthy salads I've had! :)

One Man Coffee
215R Upper Thomson Road (look out for the Crust banner)
Daily 9am-5pm

Becasse

It's been awhile since i had brunch. as in a good ol' western brunch on a sunday morning. With all the travelling that i was doing in the past two months, I really missed Singapore food and actually gravitated to Asian food with the family quite a bit. And haven't been cafe-hopping with Sam since work started. So i was really excited when papa suggested brunch at Bécasse last Sunday! Bécasse is one of the latest concepts at the Dempsey area, having expanded from its casual takeaway outlet in ION. 

I didn't manage to capture a picture of the restaurant, but I really loved how spacious and airy it was. Definitely a welcome change from the small, cosy cafes - which we do love, but are sometimes a tad claustrophobic when they get crowded on weekends. 

The first item that caught our eye on the menu was the Sticky Date Pancakes ($13). Pancakes are such a common brunch item, and it's nice when restaurants do a twist on this ubiquitous dish. They came in a stack of three, with a huge scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top, which was a wonderful touch. I loved how the pancakes lived up to their name, with the syrupy essence of sticky date infused within it. The butterscotch sauce drizzled onto it was the perfect finisher to this dish, which would satisfy any sweet tooth. Perhaps a little too sweet for some, but I enjoyed it immensely.

Zhen ordered the Pulled Chicken Crepe ($16), which was filled with roast chicken slices, oyster mushrooms, spinach and gruyere cheese. It was decent, but nothing fantastic.

It's been awhile since I had Eggs Benedict ($18), but I didn't order this by the way! Papa did. It was pretty standard too.

The following two dishes we had were interesting, because they seemed to be the savoury and sweet twin of each other!

I ordered the Croque Madame ($16), which was brioche sandwiched with smoked leg ham and gruyere cheese, with a truffle baked egg on the side. Kopitiam breakfast, anyone? It sure looked like it, haha! The truffled baked eggs impressed with their fragrant aroma though. I certainly can't bear to compare it to the the half-boiled eggs we eat. The generous amount of truffle oil used was evident in each mouth we took as well. Definitely go for this option, even though there is an option of a Croque Monsieur ($14) without the egg. I am so in love with brioche - it has got to be my favourite bread ever! It can never go wrong with its fluffy texture, and I honestly think I could eat it plain. While the cheese got a bit too much after awhile, I still enjoyed this dish quite a lot (:

The Berry French Toast ($15) was the sweet twin of my dish. Lightly fried in a batter and topped with   some mixed berries, poached pear and ricotta, this was quite a nice dish. The thing is, it was missing maple syrup. Plus, the limited amount of toppings resulted in it having a lack of flavour. While the texture of the brioche was a saving grace for the dish, I felt this was one of the more disappointing french toasts I've had. 

Overall, I felt that the food was decent, but apart from a couple of dishes, nothing to shout about. I will be back though, for the spacious ambience (hopefully it doesn't start getting too crowded), and affordable prices. Honestly, it is rare to see such reasonable prices in the Dempsey area. Consider yourself warned. ;) 

Bécasse

Blk 10, Dempsey Hill #01-21

Tel.: +65 6479 8119

Daily 8am-11pm

The Coffee Daily

don't rainbow cakes make you feel so happy? ^^ 

it was my first time trying a rainbow cake ($10) and i gotta say that the sole reason for visiting The Coffee Daily was really for this :p heard that it's really popular and gets wiped out in the afternoon so you have to reserve it! but we went right when lunch hour started so we managed to get a slice of this yummy cake ^^ i actually have absolutely no clue what the flavour of the cake was supposed to be :P but the cake was decently moist and pretty tasty! quite good imo for the first time :)

i ordered the roast chicken sandwich ($9) which came in a choice of croissant/ciabatta/something else . the chicken was quite well seasoned and the croissant was nice and flaky. the chips that came with it were addictive!!

aline ordered a really interesting dish - laksa lagsane ($8.90). it had quite a distinct aroma of the laksa and was quite unique! the portion was really tiny though, which was a bit of a letdown. 

overall a cosy cafe, and i had a good experience with my first rainbow cake ^^ any other nice rainbow cakes around? i would love to try them!!

The Coffee Daily
75 Brighton Crescent
Tel.: +65 6284 8894
Mon-Thu 12pm-10.30pm
Fri 12pm-11.30pm
Sat 9.30am-11.30pm
Sun 9.30am-10.30pm

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

Artistry

I realised there are many little cafes tucked along small streets near the bugis area. and so far, they're proven to be such gems :)) Symmetry is just nearby, and one of my most recent finds - Artistry - is a great place to dine as well! seating capacity indoors is really limited and you'll be sharing a huge table with probably 10 other people. but the food is simply YUMMS! i wish i came on a weekday actually, because all the recommendations i heard of were actually available only on weekdays -.- they have a different menu! so yup, just take note that the stuff i'm writing about are only available for Sat & Sun (:

despite the fact that i couldn't order based on my recommendations, we had such a tough time deciding what to get because everything sounded so good. i'm not kidding! haha.

for savouries, we ordered two kinds of burgers (because we couldn't decide between the two) - the beef sliders ($18) were mini beef patties topped with bacon, lettuce, guacamole, gruyere and mustard mayo. i always loooove having gruyere in burgers because it just brings all the flavours of the burger together in one savoury, gooey combination. these were delicious, and the best way to eat it is to just pop them in your mouth and relish the explosion of different notes of the burger. (though you'd probably need a pretty big mouth for that haha)

the Artistry Crab burger ($20) came with a thick crab patty that was deep fried to a delightful crisp, crumbed texture, yet retained the its fluffiness and juicy texture within. it came with a lovely tomato relish that balanced out the deep-fried flavours of the crab patty, and came sandwiched between artisanal squid ink burger buns. welllll, probably a gimmick since i don't think squid ink has any taste, but it made for a great photo ;) we chose truffle fries to accompany both our dish (they have cajun fries as well), though we felt they were pretty unimpressive - could have done with more truffle flavour pleaseeee.

for sweets, we got the PB & J french toast ($14) which was WOW-WOW-WHEEEEEE! you know how much i love PB! :D this was so yummy!!! a fluffy brioche french toast (gosh i gotta buy some of this brioche sometime!), stuffed with swirls of peanut butter and raspberry jam, drizzled with maple syrup and topped with vanilla ice cream and raspberry compote. I NEED TO EAT THIS AGAIN. the combination was totally melt-in-your-mouth delicious! 

for fans of windowsill pies, you'd be glad to know that Artistry serves pies from there too! i've never had the chance to try their pies, so i jumped with excitement when i saw that they were served here! ^^ we ordered the vodka lime pie ($9 if i remember correctly. so expensive!!) and it was super refreshing :D love the tartness of the lime, and the tinge of alcohol within. i realised that i made something almost similar though. hahaha. the only thing missing was the vodka. lol! we also ordered a lychee martini cake (should be $9 too) which was a special edition of the day! i can't really remember how it tasted, but it was yummy too :)) *slurps* #iwannagoback

Artistry Cafe

17 Jalan Pinang

Tel.: +65 6298 2420

Tue-Sun 10am-7pm

Cafe-hopping with my love

my cafe-hopping partner-in-crime <3<3<3

so happy to have found this darling who loves food as much as i do! (: always have such an abundance of yummy food and good times whenever we're together. studying for exams was so much less of a chore when we could go check out new places to do work at. there are not that many places with wifi though! so we usually had to do quite a fair bit of research before venturing out. (and also because i have this thing about always wanting to try out new places :P haha so we don't usually repeat places). just FYI, besides the two i'm gonna talk about here, Toby's Estate and The Loft have wifi as well, and are great places for sitting for long hours (: 

checked out Craft Bakery & Cafe during the study week, and i've gotta say i really love it!!! definitely will be back again sometime to try out more of their lunch dishes ^^ they always have some sort of promotion going on, which makes the food really worth it :) the lunch for example, is priced at $20 for 2 items from 12pm-2pm (if i rmb correctly), which is really affordable for a cafe! we didn't go for this deal (thanks to Sam's uncooperative stomach that day ahem. hahaha) but i'll definitely come again while it's around ^^ i ordered The Craft ($11.50) which was a really interesting take on waffles - a savoury version, with crisp waffles sandwiching a delicious maple-candied bacon and green apple slaw. the bacon was one of the best i've tasted, and it went perfectly with the sweet/sour slaw. 

Sam got the usual - The Whole Nine Yards ($17.50) as they call it here ;) it was alright, felt it was a bit pricey for the quality of the dish. definitely not one of the best, and it was pretty expensive! the good thing was that they were having a promo for the month where it came with a free coffee/tea, so that was good! :) and the huge pile of scrambled eggs was a plus point too ^^ i love scrambled eggs! had fun coping his. haha.

Sam also ordered the Basil Pesto Chicken pasta ($15.50) which was really interesting. their pastas sound delish btw! this linguine bathed in a basil pesto cream sauce was super tasty, but it was a bit jerlat after awhile because we were kinda full. it was a generous portion which is really good! 

we got greedy and decided to order a dessert as well :P but i really wouldn't recommend ordering the hazelnut buttercream cake though :( it was such a disappointment and cost $7.50!!! bleah. should have known that it was bad when no one ordered it... -.- haha. the molten chocolate cake sounds awesome though!!

really love this cafe for its affordable lunch deals, and the ambience as well! i just enjoyed the quiet simplicity of this place, and it didn't get too crowded during lunch (their peak hour seems to be around tea-time), which was perfect for a whole day of studying. 

Craft Bakery & Cafe

24A Lorong Mambong

Tel.: +65 6467 7710

Mon-Sun 9am-11pm

another place we checked out was The Bravery! (: located at the jalan besar area, this is one indie cafe that fits in perfectly with the hipster vibe in this region. and it was an absolutely pain for me to get here. #nokidding. i changed FOUR buses, and it was raining. hence, please pardon the not-so-nice photos because it was kinda dark there. on a rainy day, i wouldn't really recommend studying here, because the lighting is pretty dim. and the seats aren't good for sitting too long. but if you're looking for a hole-in-a-wall cafe to chill, this is the place to be. i walked past the place twice because i couldn't spot the entrance :P haha #2 obscure entrance after chye seng huat lol.

anyway, about the food. i was hoping Sam would order the ricotta pancakes because they were quite highly recommended! (haha i don't like bananas so i wouldn't order them myself :P) but he decided to go for something savoury instead - the Brave Begedil ($17) and it turned out to be quite good! quite surprised at the rather smallish portion for the price, but it was still filling for Sam, which is what matters ^^ a really interesting twist on the Begedil (malay traditional potato patties - i learned something new!), which was mashed with corned beef and topped with bacon and two perfectly poached eggs. the breaking of the eggs was a SHIOK foodporn moment ;) 

i ordered the Beef Steak Ciabatta ($13.50) which was not bad as well! i suppose their food here isn't fantastic or anything, but it's decent++! the rump steak was wonderfully tender, and was complemented by the onion jam, melted mozzarella and tomato salsa, sandwiched between the delicious ciabatta. okay, i take back my previous statement, it was really quite yummy! :) the only thing is they seem to prepare it before hand (i saw a whole row of them at the counter). would have been better if it was fresh i guess?

aaaand we also tried the famous lavender latte ($5.50) that we heard so much about! sorry for the awful pic, i only remembered to take a photo after we nearly finished the whole drink. whoops :P it was so good though!! (: the lavender taste was quite subtle, but the smell...mmmmmm :) i felt relaxed instantly once i breathed in the aroma from the cup. haha seems like quite a contradiction eh? coffee x soothing lavender? it was a beautiful combination though. 

the menu here is quite bare-bones (no dessert! >.<) but all rather un-traditional stuff. do check it out if you're in the area!

The Bravery Cafe

66 Horne Road

Tel.: +65 6225 4387

Daily (except tues) 8am-8pm