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)

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

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