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

Paddy Hills

There is no lack of cafes popping up in every corner in Singapore, and rarely do I feel compelled to go back to one that I've visited more than once. Occasionally though, there are a few, and Paddy Hills is one of those that stole my heart. If only it wasn't so inaccessible!!!!! :"( I've got to come back though.

Barely a month old, but it was pretty crowded on a Saturday noon, packed with families and groups of friends who no doubt saw this cafe on social media and braved a trek to the far west to check it out. The breakfast menu is served throughout the day from 9.30am-5pm, while the lunch menu is served from 11.30am-5pm. We went during this period to get the best of both worlds ^^

If you've read other reviews about this cafe, you've probably heard of the long waiting time for the food. It's true. Possibly the only niggle about this cafe which they'll hopefully fix once they get their processes in place. Thankfully our drinks arrived fast enough to keep us somewhat occupied during the wait. Tea is from 1872 Cipper Tea & Co! :) I immediately perked up when I saw this, and while most of the selection seemed pretty typical, we ordered the Bed of Roses ($9) which was a really fragrant blend of pink rose buds. The perfume of the rose tea was infused into the flavour of the tea as well, and was definitely one of the strongest rose teas I've ever tried. Why wasn't the tea pink though??? I was hoping it would be. Haha.

The Iced Chocolate ($7.50) was fantastic. Nothing I've ever tasted before, it's made from artisanal chocolate from Chocolate Naïve, handcrafted in Lithuania. The flavour was robust, and the drink was thick without being overly creamy. It was, simply put, very chocolatey - exactly the way hot chocolate should be. And it came with a yummy piece of dark chocolate on top too. This was SO GOOD.

After half an hour or so, our food finally arrived. And it was absolutely worth waiting for!!! I was so glad :') First up was the Asian Brick ($18). My first thought was, "Where's the french toast?" (at least that was what was mentioned in the description). Turns out the brûlée brioche french toast came in those yummy bite sized buns that were crispy and fluffy all at once. They went wonderfully with the yam ice cream (!!!) on the side, and so did the goreng pisang (fried banana). There was a rather random addition of purple sweet potato on the side, but it was roasted to perfection and I loved it. We used the buns to mop up every bit of the ice cream and butternut squash puree and I was almost purring with happiness at the end of this dish. 

Next up was the Hash Hash ($24) which as a stew of roasted baby potatoes, chorizo, sautéed mushrooms and beef shank. There was a decent portion of beef in it, which was tender and easy to eat. Our favourite part of it had to be the sous vide egg which we burst with delight and mixed into the stew to be mopped up by the toasted bread.

From the lunch menu, we ordered the Golden Man Tou Sliders ($23) and I really liked this dish!! A twist on the fried man tou with chilli crab that is typical Singaporean, this dish featured a beef patty and trio of cheese sandwiched between two halves of a crispy man tou. This surprising combination was divine! Dipped in the homemade bbq sauce, it is definitely an east-west fusion done right. And did I mention how incredible those purple sweet potato fries were??!! We couldn't get enough of them. Deliciously crisp with barely a hint of oiliness - can I order a whole bowl of this pleaseee?

And finally, the prettiest item on the menu - the Berry Ricotta Hotcake ($19). Nothing like McDonald's hotcake (though I actually quite like it), this brings pancakes to a whole new level. A single hotcake, thick and fluffy in the middle, crackly on the edges, dressed in a stunning bouquet of edible flowers and berries, with a dollop of ricotta cheese in the middle. The hotcake was lightly sweet, and the berries added a tangy acidity while the creamy ricotta pulled the contrasting tastes into a harmonious blend. 

I loved every single item we ordered, and there's more that I would like to try! Also liked how the cafe seemed spacious, despite the crowd and its obvious popularity. The vibe (and perhaps the location played a part here) gave me a fleeting feeling as though I was in a cafe in Melbourne, with a steady buzz that is reminiscent of aussie cafe culture. 

Paddy Hills

38 South Buona Vista Road

Tel.: +65 6479 0080

Daily 9.30am-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

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

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