Sunday Folks

Ever since I tried Creamier, I've been dying to visit it's sister cafe in the Holland Village neighbourhood. A more spacious setting compared to the hole-in-wall premises of Creamier, Sunday Folks is a great place for dates, albeit the fact that it gets pretty crowded. The electronic queue management system is pretty darn awesome though. I got a shock when my name popped up when I typed in my phone number :O Apparently I'd used it before and so my number was recorded in the system. Cool stuff! Thankfully we didn't have to wait too long for a table for two. I guess we came at the right time too! It was like a madhouse after 8pm.

We were ushered to our seats and we pored over the menu, trying to decide on what flavour to get for our ice cream. Unfortunately, as the ice cream here is soft-serve, testing of flavours is not allowed. Which means you have to sorta take a chance. The sea salt gula melaka sounded really interesting and begged for our attention, and we just had to get it! And of course, a waffle was in order as well, because I remembered how fabulous it was from my previous experience at Creamier. Prices are much steeper here though, at $11.80 for a waffle+ice cream, and we added on a Nama Green Tea topping for $1.90. I was soooo tempted to get an extra scoop of ice cream, but since it was going to be served in a cup rather than on top of the waffle, I decided to forgo it.

Disappointingly, the ice cream flavour we chose turned out to be rather strange. One bite into it, and we looked hesitantly at each other with pursed lips trying to figure out what the other was thinking. Conclusion: it tasted weird. Which was really unfortunate, because I tasted this flavour at Creamier (the normal ice cream, not soft serve) and it was great! The waffle was as fab as I remembered, and the Nama Green Tea was yummy, though perhaps not really value-for-money. Not too sure whether I would want to give the rest of the soft serves a chance now, or simply stick to the regular ice cream.

Sunday Folks
44 Jalan Merah Saga,
Chip Bee Gardens #01-52
Tel.: +65 6479 9166
Tue-Fri 4pm-9.30pm
Sat & Sun 12pm-10pm

Creamier

How could I have waited so long to try out this place??!! Granted, it's not really in my neighbourhood, but it's near enough! And it's such a gem. I'm glad that I finally, finally, went there for some indulgent me-time. The only problem was that the waffle stack with three scoops of ice cream looked so good but....

Well of course I couldn't finish all that on my own. So I reined my greedy self in, and chose just ONE flavour. I tried a couple of flavours - earl grey lavender, sea salt gula melaka and butterscotch almond. I really liked the first two! Super unique, and absolutely delicious. I thought the sea salt gula melaka would be a tad too rich for me to finish on my own though, so I opted for the former. Which was the perfect choice to go with my waffles because it was the quintessential balance between a deep, well-infused flavour and a lightness that allowed me to finish the entire waffle+ice cream combo without feeling overly jerlat. The waffles themselves were one of the best I've tasted. Though they seemed to have lost some of the crispness, perhaps because I spent the longest time taking photos of my food :P Also liked how the scoop of ice cream was so generous!!! It was more than enough for my stack of waffles. I can't image three scoops! There wouldn't be enough waffle to go around :P 

I thought that the cafe would have lost its hype after all this time, but apparently not. Despite the fact that it's located in the heartlands, it was PACKED during lunchtime. Plus the fact that it's a really cosy space, there was a queue extending all the way out when I was leaving the place. Waffles for lunch? Apparently I'm not the only one with that idea ;)  

Creamier

Blk 128, Toa Payoh Lorong 1, #01-835

Tel.: +65 6250 1476

Tue-Thu, Sun 12pm-10pm

Fri-Sat 12pm-11pm

Closed on Monday

N.O.M. No Other Meaning

Rainbows make me happy, when skies are grey ~

Haha wheeee I finally tried an awesome rainbow cake! This craze has been going on in Singapore for the longest time but I'm really quite deprived of these pretty eye-candies! The only other rainbow cake I've bought so far is the one from The Coffee Daily, which really didn't bring out the rainbow-ness with its colours more geared towards pastel tones. I was so happy with the Rainbow Cake ($7.90) at NOM though!! :) It was gorgeous ^^ Just look at that!!! It comes in three flavours for the "cream" (or whatever you call it) - salted caramel, oreo and chocolate. Perfect excuse to go back for more, because I want to try the other flavours! We tried the oreo, and it was soooo yummy! The cake was perfectly moist, with just the right amount of cream, and it was so so tasty. We also had the Peanut Chocolate Cake ($5.90) which was really decadent. Loved this as well.

To balance out the sweetness, we ordered a serving of Sweet Potato Fries ($5.90). Hmm okay, maybe "balancing" is not really the right word to use xP hahaha. But it was still a savoury dish! Really liked it!!! The fries came piping hot, nice and crisp on the outside, and soft inside. They were addictive. And knowing how I actually like savoury food more than sweets, I couldn't help reaching for this in between mouths of rainbow cake. Hehe.

So far we were really satisfied with everything we'd ordered. And I've heard that the mains at NOM are pretty good too! Tried a bit of Linwei's NOM Orange Duck Salad ($7.90), and I'm so inspired to come up with something like this for my own salads too! It was a scrumptious salad with mixed greens, smoked duck, orange slices and a really tasty goma sauce. No idea what that means but it was delicious! (: 

This cafe is situated in MacPherson Community Centre, which is a really random place to have a cafe. Lucky easties!! It was really hard to get to though - a zig-zag 15min walk from the train station through an HDB estate. But I'm already thinking of my second visit for my fill of rainbow cake... ;) Oh yes, and prices are nett!!! Which makes this cafe really affordable :) 

N.O.M. Cafe

MacPherson Community Club Level 1 

400 Paya Lebar Way

Tel.: +65 6747 3839

Mon-Sun 11am-11pm

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

Catalunya

Celebrated my birthday with the family with a meal at Catalunya! I've been wanting to check out this place ever since it opened around, what, 2 years ago? But of course it's not the kind of place we go to on any normal day. The ambience is stunning, with 360 degree panoramic views of Marina Bay thanks to full length windows around the entire restaurant. Service was pretty good too - we had to wait for our table to be ready as we arrived early, and they seated us at the bar area and served us water (warm water specially for my grandma) without us having to ask.

I've read quite a number of reviews on how Catalunya is over-priced. To a certain extent, yes, you are forking out quite a bit for the ambience and view. But then again, Spanish food is pretty expensive in general.The Traditional Suckling Pig ($135) from Catalunya is probably the most "reasonably-priced" item on the menu, in my opinion. Compared to the ½ pig we had at Serenity Spanish Bar & Restaurant that cost $168, this was definitely a better deal! But then again, all the other items at Serenity were more affordable.

I was initially a tad disappointed when I saw the pig. It definitely appears more like a piglet by the looks of it. But whoa, after we ate it, I was full to bursting by the end of it. Our waiter served the dish to us with true Spanish flair, chopping it up rapidly with a plate and flinging the plate to the ground in one fluid movement, shattering it to smithereens. The skin of the pig was satisfyingly crackly, and the meat was very tender too. While it looked small, it was massive to eat is definitely good for sharing.

It is unfortunate that Catalunya doesn't serve paellas for dinner. How could we eat Spanish food without having that signature dish?? :( Thankfully, in place of that, Catalunya has a dish that is close enough to satisfy all possible cravings of those who love the Spanish rice as much as I do! The Lobster Rice ($80) is a wetter version of our favourite paella. While there are no crispy bits at the bottom, the dish is not lacking in any way, with every grain of rice suffused with a delicious flavour. And who can say no to those lobster pincers balanced on top of the rice?

Why Spanish food is so expensive is because no one really wants to pay the same price for a few scraps of tapas, when you can get a full meal in another restaurant. Catalunya's tapas are really quite expensive, and they sure weren't enough to satisfy our starving selves at the start of the meal. (We needn't have ordered them actually, if we knew how filling the suckling pig & lobster rice would be!!)

I was really glad that I finally had the chance to try White Asparagus ($18) though! :) I've been hearing so much about it (it was one of my greatest regrets that I didn't buy it while it was in season when I was in Europe...), and it was really quite delicious! The texture is pretty different from that of green asparagus, and it was served simply - steamed, so that its natural flavours could shine through, and topped with blood orange sections and tarragon mayonnaise.

The Bikini ($20, a double portion is pictured above) was anything but skimpy, with two super crisp slices of toast (the bread they used was awesome!) sandwiching ham, gooey cheese and truffle. Sounds simple, but it packed a punch in terms of flavour, and we devoured it in seconds. Didn't help that it was so tiny :P Luckily we ordered two portions of it. 

I think this was the Tortilla Del Trampo ($18) if I remember correctly. Eggy, fluffy, and topped with an interesting sauce. This was quite tasty, but didn't really stand out significantly. 

Conclusion? Great for a one-off experience, but I probably wouldn't be back :P

Catalunya

82 Collyer Quay

Tel.: +65 6534 0886

Mon-Sat (lunch) 12pm-2.30pm

Mon-Sun (dinner) 6pm-10.30pm

Sunday Brunch 12.30pm-4pm

Aaaand I have to showcase my birthday cake! ^^ This is such a poor picture of it though >.< But I really liked it!! I took a risk this time, ordering a cake from Maple and Market though I've never tried their cakes before, nor have I heard anything about it. Their bakes seemed really nice though! And since they organise baking classes, I figured the quality should be pretty good. I wasn't disappointed! :))) When I first saw my cake, I thought that it looked like a really fluffy sponge cake. When I cut into it though, I got the shock of my life. It was super dense. In a good way though! I absolutely loved it!!! I'm evidently in an adventurous mood this birthday, because I ordered a flavour that I wouldn't usually go for (not in my birthday cake!) - The Blossom ($34 for 6" cake) was a rose cake with raspberry cream cheese frosting and caramelised pistachios. And it was super yummy!!! I can't wait to go back to the cafe and try more flavours already ^^ 

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

Hatter Street

Get ready for your tastebuds to be whisked into the world of Alice in Wonderland in this whimsical cafe tucked away in a nondescript HDB estate in Hougang. honestly very ulu imo - it was an absolute chore for me to get there! and i went to three places in the serangoon/hougang area in that single week. talk about an overdose :p but i'll be blogging about all three real soon! guess they were definitely worth the journey there for at least a try ^^ (which reminds me! i still haven't gone to nakhon kitchen yet - a few doors down from this place!! if anyone has recommendations of what to eat there, please lemme know :) i've been hearing so much abt it!)

our favourite item that day was the Whoa-ffle ($8.90). the name itself it enough to catch your attention! a word play on 'waffles', the whoa-ffle comes in three flavours and we went for the most whacky sounding option of pandan ice cream with gula melaka sauce. as long as you're a fan of these oriental flavours, you'll definitely enjoy this choice! ^^ i was impressed how the pandan flavour came out really well, and it was a beautiful harmony between the different components of the dish - especially the generous drizzle of gula melaka!

we were fascinated by the two variations of the Yin-Yang ($5 each) on display at the counter. one was a blend of the failproof combination of matcha and azuki beans.

the other was supposed to be a horlicks/ovaltine flavoured cake, but the taste of the traditional drink was indiscernible. it pretty much tasted like a normal chocolate cake. while the cakes had a lovely texture, we felt that there was nothing very 'mad hatter-ish' about them haha. 

overall a very pleasant experience at this cafe! :) love the pretty setting of the place. though it was pretty small, we were lucky to go during a non-peak weekday afternoon so we could enjoy a lovely teatime catchup ^^

Hatter Street - Bakehouse & Cafe

Blk 212 Hougang St 21 #01-333

Tue-Sun 1pm-10pm

Strangers' Reunion

Strangers' Reunion has been around for a pretty long time, and there was such a huge hype over its waffles that has kept me excited for reallyyyy long. no idea why i procrastinated so long before visiting this place, but i'm so glad i did! decided to check out the place for dinner after reading about it on a couple of blogs - it seemed that their dinner menu was more interesting than brunch ;) they do serve all-day breakfast though! and dinner starts from 6pm.

actually, there were several items on their menu which were highly raved about, and the truffle fries ($12.90) didn't disappoint. in fact, i was really impressed, and i conclude that it's one of the BEST truffle fries you can get in singapore, after PS Cafe!! the aroma of the fries wafted towards us and we could barely get a proper shot of the dish before we enthusiastically dug into it. the bowl was emptied in 5 minutes :P hahaha. really loved the generous amount of parmesan shavings and truffle salt scattered on top of the fries, and the garlic aioli that came with it was an interesting twist that was the perfect complement to the fries.

i'd heard a lot about the crispy pork belly ($24.90), but i think it was the only dish that kinda disappointed :( not that it was bad, but it just wasn't...good. it was pretty normal, and slightly tough in fact! nowhere close to the 'melt in your mouth' experience which i'd heard about. oh wells. i really liked the ginger beer, apple & date chutney that was on the side though! the tinge of spiced sweetness went really well with the pork belly ^^ the truffled mash was very interesting as well!

in a rare showcase.... the truffled wagyu burger ($26.90) deserves TWO photos because it looked so orgasmically good!!!! don't you agree?! that thick patty looks absolutely delish! #foodporn. i was surprised that the truffle flavour developed most significantly in (guess where?) the burger bun! haha rather fascinating infusion, but it tasted pretty good! topped with a beautifully-fried sunny side up egg, the thick beef patty tasted as good as it looked and the tomato relish rounded up the flavours wonderfully. the sweet potato chips that came on the side made us feel slightly healthier, and tasted really yummy.

i really wanted to try the sous vide salmon which i'd heard so much about, but it was no longer on the menu! :( sadddd. instead, we ordered the halibut & chips ($27.90) and i highly recommend this as well!!! it was fried very delicately - seemed like tempura-style - and it was light and hardly oily which was great! the meat was really fluffy as well, and it was soooo tasty ^^ i just realised that they didn't serve us the kaffir lime mayo that was stated on the menu though!! :O BOO :( remember to ask them for it when you're there! it sounds good! 

and finally, for the star of the day - the buttermilk waffles with homemade mixed berry compote and vanilla ice cream ($14.90)!!!!! SO GOOD. i loved how they gave such a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream! ;) generosity goes a long way :D it was the perfect combination of flavours with the tart berries that were deliciously juicy, the crisp & fluffy waffle and sweet, (icy) ice cream. and Strangers' Reunion recently opened a waffle bar next door as well! how awesome is that ;) definitely gonna try out the wider selection next door one of these days! 

Strangers' Reunion

37 Kampong Bahru Road 

Tel.: +65 6222 4869

Sun, Mon, Wed-Thu 9am-10pm

Fri & Sat 9am-12mn

Wimbly Lu

Wimbly Lu is a quaint little shop nestled in a neighbourhood in one of the estates in Serangoon. we took forever to get to this place on foot, but it was worth it! :) not a bad idea to look at pretty houses as we walked through the neighbourhood :) ...and suddenly as we stumbled into the clearing, we saw a row of shophouses. haha it is such a random place to have eateries! but i wish there was such a place in my neighbourhood too ^^ 

it was almost 10pm at night, but the queue for a table stretched all the way to the door of the cafe! not surprising i guess, since there was quite little seating space in there. perhaps capacity for around 20-30pax, arranged in a mish-mash manner. i literally had to get through a maze to reach my seat, which was squashed all the way in a corner. not the most comfortable i've gotta admit, but i'd like to come again someday when it is hopefully less crowded :) it was a lovely place to be in, just out of a fairytale with the pretty fairy lights hung on the ceiling, quaint furniture and cute plates. 

i'd heard so much about the waffles with ice cream ($8.50 for one scoop of ice cream + $3 for an additional scoop) at Wimbly Lu and i was really excited to try it! though i can't really make a judgement on it because i haven't eaten waffles in quite awhile, so i don't really have anything to benchmark it against. the waffle was really fluffy which was nice though! (: but not that 'wow' imo. (my opinion might have been slightly clouded by the events of that day though. so it might have been better than i thought). the ice cream serving was really small! which is why i ordered another one. LOVED the salted caramel flavour which we polished off really speedily. the honey cinnamon on the other hand, is possibly an acquired taste. mind you, i love cinnamon, but i felt that it was a tad too strong in this ice cream flavour. 

since we'd made such an arduous journey all the way to this place, we decided to make the travelling worth it by ordering another dessert! ^^ i was spoilt for choice (which is why i want to come back again), and finally decided on the nutella chocolate pie ($6) after changing my mind about 3 times :P this is rich, sinful goodness. just look at that layer of chocolate! :O luscious hazelnut chocolate packed densely into a pie. this was a punchy dessert which was absolutely delicious. 

there was an adorable beetle outside the shop which totally complemented my attire for the day!! haha too cute ^^ and i realised it was a permanent fixture there rather belatedly haha. take a picture with it for me when you go there! ;) 

Top: Bkk //

Shorts: H&M //

Shoes: H&M //

Bracelet: Thomas Sabo

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

d'Good Cafe

finally, finally i had the opportunity to visit d'Good Cafe!! ^^ i'd been wanting to come here since last year, and it was always a potential study cafe for me because it is pretty easy to get here from where i stay and there is free wifi! but there was always some other place to go (zzz) and so we never came here - till now! and i've gotta say that it's not a very fantastic study location after all (haha) because it's so popular. BUT there is a good reason why it's so popular!! i'll definitely want to come back again for the good food, pretty cosy ambience and free wifi of course! (: i didn't take a picture of the swing, but it's soooo cute. permanently occupied, naturally. we were there on a weekday afternoon and almost all the tables were occupied all the time! the good thing is that they have quite a lot of seating space (hidden all over the place :p)

okay, enough blabbering - here's the food! ^^

two of the items i had at this cafe are MUST-TRIES, and this is one of them! :) i really didn't expect much from the chicken tikka masala ($12.50) but it turned out to be really awesome!! :D it was deliciously creamy with a tinge of butter, without being overly rich. in fact, it was super addictive and i mopped up every bit of the sauce eagerly. the jasmine rice that came with it was fluffy and subtly fragrant, and was the perfect complement to the curry.

sam ordered the eggs benedict ($13.50) and it was pretty standard i guess. the egg yolk didn't flow as nicely as he wanted it too, so it wasn't that fantastic. 

but hey, we were sure satisfied with our dessert!!!!! ***drumrolls***

the Maple Sea Salt Cheesecake ($9, if i remember correctly) was SO SO SO good!!! Sam was absolutely blown away, and it was pretty amazing to see ;) it had a wonderful combination of maple syrup, with just a smidgen of sea salt to balance out the sweetness. luscious, but not cloyingly so, and the texture was just right - it was pretty light, but totally satisfying. such a perfectly balanced cheesecake! (: and plus i had the most epic experience trying to get hold of this cheesecake. you can check out my instagram for the full story if you're interested. haha.

i can't wait to come back to try their chilli crab pie and different types of pastas! everything here just sounds SO GOOD. and how about another cheesecake? ;) yep, i would definitely love to have one.

d'Good Cafe

273 Holland Avenue #02-01

Tel.: +65 6219 9807

Sun-Thu 10am-10pm

Fri-Sat 10am-11pm

The Brunch Edition

hi everyone! (: so you've probably noticed that i'm a hugeee fan of brunch, and why not! singapore's full of these places popping up ALL the time and sunday mornings are simply perfect for this in-between meal that allows for late risers to get some good grub ;) since i've been doing so many posts on brunch since i started blogging (58 and counting!!), i decided to compile a list of my favourites and i hope it's useful for you! i will try to keep it updated, so do check back! (p.s. sorry for some of them i think the pictures got deleted :( i hope the food descriptions help anyway!)

For a chill brunch by the river

Toby's Estate

With a generous serving of its big breakfast set, this will satisfy anyone's hungry tummy.

For a unique Middle Eastern brunch

Artichoke

As far as I know, you can only find a fully middle-eastern brunch at two places in Singapore, and Artichoke is one of them. Plus they have awesome desserts! What's not to love? 

Common Man Coffee Roasters

Delicious-sounding menu and hearty brunch dishes. And a collaboration with Harry Grover, the barista of Forty Hands to boot. 

For simple, but well-executed fare

Drury Lane

With little choice on the menu, this place looked set to disappoint. But I was wrong. Here, I discovered simplicity in perfection. (psst, and they have pay-as-you-wish cupcakes too!)

For the best hot chocolate 

SPRMRKT

Not just their hot chocolate, most of the food on the menu was great as well! 

For the most extensive menu

Open Door Policy

Okay, i cheated. Their interesting menu is actually the lunch menu, but it's served during brunch too! So many things to order, and the desserts are wonderful too!

For an alfresco brunch in the park

Canopy

Enjoy the fresh morning breeze amongst lush greenery with this brunch place set in Bishan Park!

For the prettiest cakes

Antoinette

Don't tell me you aren't tempted! Love the Victorian-ambience as well.

 Fabulous Baker Boy

Huge slices of moist cakes, oh-so-divineeee.

For some dim-sum!

Taste Paradise

One of the best places for dim sum in Singapore ;)

Red Star

Old is gold. There's a reason why this place has been around forever.

For some cosy couple time

The Book Cafe
Littered with shelves of books and an entire sofa area, this is the perfect place for you to cuddle with your other half or a group of friends and immerse yourself in a sanctuary of stories.

No reason, just one of my favourites

The Missing Pan
For artisan breads and modern cuisine with a spark of imagination.

Five & Dime

For an out-of-singapore experience (: 

PS Cafe 

Two words: Truffle Fries.

Arbite 

For some cosy time in the Serangoon Gardens enclave!

Symmetry
for not-so-typical brunch dishes. and their lunch/dinner menu looks great too!

If you're looking for any other brunch places, you can check them out here. I'm always on the lookout for new places for brunch, so if you have any suggestions, please do share them with me! (: 

Artichoke Cafe & Bar + Overdoughs

hihi!! another place that i've been wanting to visit since forever. more specifically, since about 2 years ago when i popped by this place as one of those in the list for Gourmet Club's food guide to eating places around school. now that was such a long time ago. i had so much fun helping out with that publication :) anyway, the last time i went there, i didn't get to try any food, but everything looked so good that i vowed to come back. and i finally did, two years later. gosh. and i'm so glad to announce that it hasn't disappointed at all! ^^

artichoke's brunch menu is a pretty short one, but what makes it so special is its middle eastern influences. now, where else can you find a middle eastern brunch? in singapore, it ain't easy to find one. okay perhaps you can find it at Wild Honey, but i do find that place slightly overrated. anyway, back to our breakfast...

possibly our favourite of the lot had to be the Brunch Mezze ($26). it actually refers to a selection of little things, which i believe changes on a regular basis as you have to refer to a blackboard for the description. not sure whether the price changes accordingly as well. our Mezze consisted of a chickpea and sesame hummus, tzaziki of beetroot with pistachio dukka, terrine of smoked chicken, picked white anchovies and tomatoes, turkish spring cheese, mixed pickles and za'atar toast. now doesn't that sound scrumptious! loved the hummus, which released the essences of middle eastern flavours into our mouths and went perfectly with the toast. the cheeses too, were delicious when paired with the toast. have i mentioned how much i LOVE middle eastern breads? they are always flavoured with incredible spices that make them so tasty on their own, and they go with practically anything on the platter!

the lamb shakshouka ($25) is one of the most popular items on the menu, and even though i don't really eat lamb, i have to say that this was one tasty dish! i was totally drawn by the two runny eggs sizzled in spiced tomato sauce with kashkaval cheese and lamb, with pistachio dukka. and guess what, more toast! dipping the toast into this sizzling mess was simply divine.

a slightly less middle eastern-ish dish we had was the sweet potato and bacon hash ($23) and it was so so so amazingly delicious! gosh, it is actually impossible for me to pick a favourite dish from this place because i enjoyed everything so much! this looks pretty similar to a typical brunch dish, but it really isn't. the bacon was super interesting - my first time ever seeing thick cut bacon, and it was delightfully bouncy and oozed just the right amount of fats to make it juicy, yet not feel too sinful. the sweet potatoes were fried to perfection and this was all topped with sunny side up eggs, and toast with Jim Beam bourbon butter. mouth-watering? you bet it was!

in contrast, the most middle eastern dish we had was the Ful medames ($17), which was an aromatic, hearty egyptian fava bean stew with a dollop of soft egg in the midst of it (i do love their eggs so much too!), with toast to go along with it. again, it was just so gratifying to mop up all the goodness with the delicious slices of toast. so satisfying.

and as if we hadn't had enough, we ordered dessert!! Overdoughs is the sister bakery of Artichoke, and it's located right at the entrance of the restaurant. now look at that picture. this was on display. how on earth could we resist it??!! i was completely stuffed by this point, but being greedy as usual, i helped us order not just one, but TWO desserts :p well my "saving grace" was that i knew mummy would definitely prefer the other dessert, while i was sure we would all like this one, so we had to get both, didn't we? haha. this was a gorgeous oreo cheesecake block with cookie dough, marshmallow and caramel ($4.80). like i said, impossible to resist. it was every bit like the description. luscious and rich, it screamed "eat me!!" and we devoured it within five minutes.

our other dessert, cashew cranberry slice with rose cream ($3.60) sounded so pretty! bathed in a perfume of rose, we ate this dessert daintily (contrasting with our barbaric attack on the former), and we were rewarded with the combination of sweet essences spreading through our mouths. such a happy dessert! :) we loved it so much. 

this has got to be one of my most satisfying brunches ever, and a unique one too! hopefully i'll be back to try their dinner sometime ;)

Artichoke Cafe & Bar

161 Middle Road

Tel.: +65 6336 6949

Tue-Fri 6.30pm-9.45pm

Sat 11.30am-2.45pm, 6.30pm-9.45pm

Sun 11.30am-2.45pm