Sunday, March 4, 2012

Review: Five & Dime

A 'five and dime' is a cheap variety store, similar to the $2 Shop back home.  Based on that, I wonder why anyone would give that moniker to an eatery.  Five & Dime looks anything but cheap - the interior of this old shop house is fabulous:  tiles, exposed concrete, and a pared back aesthetic.


A couple of cute details - mini cookies served with coffee in bright red retro espresso cups, canisters and cake stands on the counter.  The coffee is ok, certainly not amazing enough for a $5++ double macciato (the #1 Ladies Who Brunch coffee is found at Baker & Cook), but the food prices are reasonable for Singapore - around $20.


The brunch menu is heavily Japanese-influenced which is slightly unusual - the omelet (tamago), the eggs benedict (with seared beef), gyu pasta.  For those craving a simpler breakfast (scrambled eggs, muesli, poached eggs on toast), best go elsewhere unless you want to opt for a small fruit salad, toast or pancakes.  I opted for the eggs and corned beef hash.  The presentation wasn't anything special, but it tasted great!


Unfortunately, the same could not be said for my companions dishes - the omelet and the pancakes scored an 'ok' rating - and my two friends who ordered the fruit salad had to pay an extra $1 for a small additional portion of yoghurt.  It infuriates me when cafes do this - it's completely unnecessary and is something which should never happen.

So, Five & Dime?  It's ok, but I wouldn't rave about it.  Perhaps it's better for dinner?  Most of the reviews I've read say the cocktails are pretty good.

Five & Dime
297 River Valley Road, Singapore
+65 9236 5002
Open:  12 - 12 weekdays, 10 - 12 Saturdays, 10 - 10 Sundays

1 comment:

  1. Hi thanks for review, my friends were just talking about this place :))

    ReplyDelete