Review: Little Diner

The sign outside Little Dinner says Food Drink Hang - exactly the three things we were looking for on a mid-week public holiday.

I was inclined to like this place on the interior alone - Lower-East-Side-inspired, small cool space, textured concrete walls and a back wall dominated by a wine cellar - and I hadn't even seen the menu.  The punches kept rolling as we sat down and were promptly bought iced water served in funky jars with handles (I want some!), Toby's Estate coffee and menus.  Attentive service made up for a somewhat haphazard food arrival, and they were happy to accommodate Laura's inability to order anything off the menu just as it is, which we find a constant challenge in cafes around Singapore.

The food is very affordable, especially compared to the new Dean and Deluca (review here) in Orchard Central.  I paid $15.50 for my salmon eggs benedict.  I'll definitely go back to sample the dinner menu, and it's great to see an affordable selection of wine by the bottle (especially when they're from New Zealand!).  They also have weekend brunch specials where for $20 you can enjoy free flow cider from 12 - 2pm.

Eggs benedict (hold the hollandaise)

There was a constant flow of people in and out, so it might pay to book as this place becomes more popular, which I'm confident it will.

Little Diner
www.littlediner.sg
Menu here
789 Bukit Timah Road
Ph:  +65 6466 4088

They're open Monday evenings for drinks only, and Tuesday until Sunday for brunch, lunch and dinner.

Review: Dean & Deluca

Dean and Deluca must have been one of the most anticipated cafe openings in Singapore.  The New York cafe was destined to be a Singaporean favourite - it's a big international brand and it serves all day brunch.  Having not yet made it to NYC (I know, I know...) I didn't have a strong basis of comparison, but my taste buds were pleased, although my wallet was slightly shocked.

First up, everything looks amazing.  There is a fantastic bread and sweet treat selection, much of which is supplied by Baker & Cook (review here) and the cabinet food is much more affordable than the brunch menu and has a wide variety which you can mix and match, including old favourites like mac and cheese.

I think the brunch menu is the star of the show and the Ladies Who Brunch sampled it vigorously.  The French toast received two thumbs up, the New Yorker (scrambled eggs and salmon on a bagel) was delicious but the clear winner was the jamon iberico poached eggs - perfect!

Expect to pick up your own coffee from the barista bar, but brunch will be brought to you.  Oddly, almost everything is served in takeaway coffee cups - even the water.  The gourmet store has a vast array of goodies - good luck not picking anything up on your way out.

I think the only downside (apart from the price) of our experience was one rude waiter who tried to usher us off our table.  After nine ladies had brunched, coffee'd and smoothie'd, you'd think we'd earned the right to enjoy a bit of chat - we ordered a second coffee and lingered as long as we could out of principal.

Oh, and one last tip - go early or expect to wait.

Dean and Deluca
Level 4, Orchard Central
181 Orchard Road
Singapore

+65 6509 7708

Review: Kith - Just Redeemed

It's fair to say my first experience with Kith on Roberston Quay was a disaster (here) which put me right off the place for almost a year (I don't forgive a bad brunch easily).  When I saw they'd opened a new place in Park Mall on Penang Road I thought the time had come to give them a second chance and they just made it back... just.

The menu covers brunch, lunch and dinner, with an extensive drinks menu.  I had more trouble deciding what to drink that what to eat.  I decided on a ice blended latte which they obligingly left out the ice cream and swapped the milk for soy (my August dairy-free challenge).  Feeling virtuous, I ordered a grilled vegetable salad and Caro ordered a grilled chicken sandwich - both of which disappointed from the moment they were set on our table.  My salad fit the description to a tee - grilled eggplant, zucchini, tomato and green apple with balsamic dressing.  Two long strips of eggplant, three zucchini rounds, two halves of a grilled tomato with a quarter of a fresh tomato, two thin green apple slices, all very lightly drizzled with balsamic.  Each was spread around the plate to maximise coverage with absolutely no artistry.  What a disappointment!  I wouldn't put in this little effort if I was making this for myself at home, let alone pay $14 for it.

Caro's chicken sandwich was worse.  Four huge bits of bread covered the plate, two of which were clearly for decoration purposes only and were completely plain.  Riddle me this - what is with the excessive serving of bread in Singapore cafes?  The 'sandwich' was a thin layer of gherkin topped by grilled chicken cubes, completely unadorned.  No mayo or relish to stick it all together - completely dry.

This is where the redemption occurred.

When Caro politely enquired as to whether the chicken sandwich usually came like this the staff very quickly picked up she wasn't happy and offered to replace it with another item from the menu, which she did.  When her eggs arrived (very quickly) I was asked whether I was happy with my salad, to which I replied that I was a little disappointed with how plain they were.  After apologies all round, she returned with an offer of a drink, coffee or smoothie for each of us on the house, and an explanation that the chef was brand new chef.  We both decided to get a ginger, lime and mint cooler which was delicious.

So, would I go back?  I think I'll give them one more chance - the food coming out around us looked much better than our order, and the coffee needs a trial run.  It is just around the road from my house, and a peek at the wine list showed surprising value.  

Third time lucky perhaps?

Ladies Who Brunch: Living Cafe

Living Cafe came with a glowing recommendation - fresh flavours, whole food, good portions - I couldn't wait to try it out!

First impressions?  It certainly looks like a cafe in a holistic health business.  The walls are lined with bottles of potions, powders and capsules of every kind of super food you can imagine, the interior is clean and simple and tables are spaced out, not the cheek by jowl that you see so often around Singapore.

The menu is extensive, really, I'm talking about eight pages, and all of it looks fantastic (see for yourself here).  I was originally eyeing up the chia porridge, but when I picked up the lunch menu I was forced to abandon that plan.  Temptation beckoned in the form of raw zucchini hummus, brown rice sushi, living salad, quinoa salad, brown rice bowls, wholemeal pizza, baked aubergine... and that was before I got to the juices, smoothies and desserts.

Disappointed to find out that the wholemeal pizza was unavailable for the rest of the month(!), we opted for the zucchini hummus and sesame crackers, and living salad to share, and a brown rice bowl each (one Mexican and one more Greek).  Delicious!

The zucchini hummus was smooth and fresh.  I'm not sure how the sesame crackers were held together, but I suspect it was something soy sauce based as it had a salty tang.  

Raw zucchini hummus and sesame crackers

The brown rice bowl came next and didn't disappoint.  The flavours were light and fresh, and the portion size perfect.  The living salad was tasty but completely over dressed and soggy.

Brown rice bowl - Greek-style

We were seated by the deli counter and spent the whole hour and a half eyeing up the raw sweet treats on offer - key lime pie, apple and cinnamon slice, spirulina and mint balls, and many more.  Despite being pretty full, we decided to share the black forest bar with our coffee - excellent choice.

So far so good right?  Well, I guess people who are into raw/whole food aren't into coffee, because it was quite a disappointment.  Try a juice, tea or smoothie instead.  If you're blessed with a car in Singapore, lucky you, because getting a taxi was also quite difficult.

Still, the food speaks for itself and I'll be going back to try a few of the other menu items which caught my eye.

The Living Cafe is a part of Balanced Living which is a mecca for health/whole food and living holistically.  They have yoga classes, nutritionists, raw food cooking classes, books... in short, everything you could need if you're interested in health and wellness.

The Living Cafe

779 Bukit Timah Rd (just before 6th Avenue)

P:  +65 6762-8029     

Open:  Mon - Sun / 9am – 10pm

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

Review: Baker & Cook

Baker & Cook were off to a great start once I found out they served Allpress coffee.  For those non-Singaporean coffee lovers, a decent brew here is a rarity and when you find a good spot it quickly becomes a regular - especially when the food is good.

Baker & Cook is a bakery and foodstore, offering a short but delicious brunch menu, a selection of deli salads and pastries, fabulous coffee and incredible-looking bread.  The NZ support is extended beyond coffee to offering a range of Selini wines (I'm biased, Selini is Hawkes Bay-based, where I'm from) at reasonable (for Singapore) prices.

Already incredibly popular, the long line was a mix of brunchers and people nipping in for a takeaway coffee or to pick up a baguette, a loaf of dark rye or a huge round.  I can attest that the dark rye (served with my scrambled eggs) was moist, dense and delicious.  The baguettes must be equally as good, as the toddler ahead of me in the line couldn't help but rip a few chunks off the one her dad had just bought, meaning he had to top up with another one.

The owner we met was super friendly, and once he figured out we were pretty mad about coffee he let us know that the Allpress representative was coming in to train their baristas on 22nd February.  I'm definitely going back to test the results myself.

I'll also be keeping an eye on the schedule for their cooking school since I'm a huge novice when it comes to bread and pastries, although a very experienced consumer!

Sander and Kathy's eggs bene - polished off in a second

My scrambled eggs with dark rye bread

Our brunch of eggs bene, scrambled eggs, two smoothies and three coffees came to $77.

Details:
Baker & Cook, 
77 Hillcrest Road,
Greenwood,
288951 
SINGAPORE.

t: +65 6469 8834

Opening hours: 
Sunday to Thursday - 7am to 8pm 
Friday to Saturday - 7am to 10pm

Wild Honey: From Great to Good and Beyond

Isn’t it a shame when a fabulous experience fails to live up to its hype after that killer first impression?  This is the case for me and Wild Honey.

Image from Wild Honey website

My first Wild Honey experience was a drop of rain in the Singapore desert of decent cafes with the Ladies Who Brunch.  The menu was excellent (if pricey), the atmosphere was cozy and a little zany, and (crucially) the coffee was great. 

Since then I have been back four times (although only actually made it in the door three of those) and each time Wild Honey has slid the scale of vaguely to excessively disappointing.  It’s incredibly popular and doesn’t take reservations.  If you can’t make it before 10am (preferably 9.30am) don’t bother as you’ll be waiting forever.  We waited for 45 minutes before giving up and heading to Jones the Grocer.  Out of interest for the final waiting time, we didn’t cancel our name on the list.  They called to let us know there was a table for us...a total of 90 minutes later. 

This most recent time was the nail in the coffin though – a birthday lunch at their new Scotts Road premises.  We waited 50 minutes for our lunch to be brought out, only for them to get my order wrong even though they’d repeated it back to me correctly at the time of ordering.  The actual food was delicious (despite the huge slab of brioche under my avocado and eggs) and, unusually for Singapore, our water glasses were continually refilled.  We waited 15 minutes to be brought the bill, and then another 10 for them to come back and tell us they couldn’t split it as we’d asked for so could we please itemise which orders were to be billed to which credit card.

By this stage we were rather late in getting back to work and in a bit of a huff.  I don’t think I’ll be trying for a fifth.

High Tea at the Fullerton Hotel

I am no longer a High Tea virgin.

I popped my cherry at the Fullerton Hotel in fine style with a glass of champagne, some beautiful lavender and green tea, a delicious assortment of goodies and some excellent company.

Laura said the Fullerton Bay Hotel high tea is better... I'd better go and find out for myself.

How am I going to find room for dinner?

Dessert first?  Don't mind if I do!

Mini scones with jam and clotted cream

Cucumber sandwiches - naturally

 Delicious nibbley bits

Restaurant Review: Kith - Disappoints Terribly

A premature breakfast attempt at new coffee joint Toby's Estate on Roberston Quay led me to Kith yesterday morning.

Toby's Estate is a new kid on the coffee block but has opened a week early to serve coffee only - breakfast service starts next week.  Great coffee (although the first one was luke-warm) means I will definitely go back for breakfast, but more on that at a later date.

Hungry, I headed two doors down to Kith.  I was looking for a light breakfast as I planned to run home, and muesli, fresh strawberries and vanilla yoghurt seemed to fit the bill.  Sander had no such qualms, ordering scrambled eggs on toast with a side of grilled tomatoes and bacon.

Oh how disappointing.  In fact if I hadn't been so hungry and in need of something before my run I don't think I would have eaten it.  Where to start?  The 'muesli' barely deserves to be described as such, heavy on the cornflakes and clearly poured straight from a supermarket-bought package.  The strawberries were barely ripe and the vanilla yoghurt far too sweet (natural/unsweeted/unflavoured wasn't available, I checked).

The scrambled eggs were equally poor.  Despite Kith displaying some lovely grainy bread, the scrambled eggs came out on two enormous slices of super sweet Singapore white bread and the tomatoes were distinctly sorry-looking.  The icing on the cake was a small ramekin of a runny substance our waiter identified as home-made strawberry jam - who serves strawberry jam with scrambled eggs?.  The jam was fortunately pre-identified for Sander, not so fortunate was the man next to us who mistook it for some sort of salsa and poured it over his eggs before tasting it.

The water dispenser was a plastic picnic container with a few flimsy disposable cups stacked on top.  It rested on a small stool and served a dual purpose of watering the patrons and filling the doggy bowl beneath it.  Only now am I wondering whether any thirsty pooches had licked the spout...

Yet the outside tables were jam-packed with people, little kids were playing and people were reading newspapers in the sunshine.  Perhaps they knew not to order eggs or muesli.  I've heard the toasties are good, and Sander's juice looked delicious but I won't be going back to try for myself.

Image from Kith's website

Lady Marmalade Makes a Good First Impression

First impressions count, and never more so for me than with a café in a mall.  

Weapon of choice when fighting for the attention of thousands of shoppers has to be an impactful shop front.   How to make it stand out from your clothes store neighbours, but not look out of place with the likes of Marc Jacobs across the hall?  And how to make it obvious you’re a café?

I think The Marmalade Pantry has the answers – well they certainly captured my attention.

Mmmm... so many goodies in one window

The menu looked good (lemon ricotta pancakes anyone?) with reasonable prices, so all that remains is a coffee tasting. 

I’ll be checking The Marmalade Pantry out for sure when I get back from London in two weeks. 

Ladies Who Brunch: Capella and a Perfectly Girly Singapore Day

What a Sunday, and it's not over yet!

When the boys are off golfing in Malaysia and you have the good fortune to possess a borrowed car it seems criminal not to take advantage of the situation.  Our solution was to drive to Sentosa for breakfast at Capella.

I don't often go to Sentosa.  It's a reasonable taxi ride (~$30) and I associate it with Universal Studios and screaming kids rather than luxurious breakfast options.  However with a car and a recommendation both barriers are gone so why not?

First impressions of Capella are a beautiful colonial-style hotel nestled in acres of lush foliage.  As you penetrate the exterior you find a modern, spacious and luxurious setting (amazing art - modern and Chinese) with a gorgeous view out to sea (most of the oil tankers are hidden behind the foliage).

We booked for the breakfast buffet ($48 ++) and it was amazing.  Presentation of the delicate little dishes was superb, great service, extensive choice.  Soph said it was one of the best brunches she'd ever had.  We spent three hours sampling our way through the selections - highlights for me were the mini waffles and beautifully presented yoghurts.  The coffee was standard for Singapore but the tea selection made up for it.  Having finally exhausted all options we wandered around the grounds to ease our taut tummies before piling back into the car.

Gorgeous mini jars and a rambutan (delicious but strange hairy Indonesian fruit)

Impeccable presentation

Our breakfast view

Day beds - an invitation for copious cups of tea and a good book
or lounging with champagne

After a quick tour around the Sentosa residential area to see how the 'other half' live, we stopped in at the flower market on the way home.



These tiger orchids are so impactful - I love fresh flowers!



And now it's not even 3pm and the most difficult decision I face is whether to keep sneakily reading Sander's book (Open, by Andre Agassi - really interesting) or to open my newly arrived Dish magazine...

Ladies Who Brunch: At The Barracks

Yesterday was a lovely combination of food and activity.  Laura and I kicked off with brunch at The Barracks on Dempsey Hill and then stretched our legs at The First Tee, the 9-hole pitch and putt down the road.

The Barracks is well worth a visit, although it's not the easiest of places to find.  It's tucked around the back of the main Dempsey Hill cluster of bars/cafes and borders the forest.  We arrived shortly after opening, but after an hour the place was humming so clearly not everyone had the same location difficulties I had!

The menu looks great, it's styled as a newspaper with a bit of background on the front and a huge array of choice on the inside.  Things which caught my eye: Very Berry Stuffed French Toast, Ahi Taki Salad and 3 Berry Ahi Sandwich (both tuna), and a couple of delicious smoothie options. 

I was craving eggs however, so I went with poached eggs.  They came with bene-dressing, mushrooms, crumbed tomatoes, sausages and raisin toast.  A big tick for The Barracks - they let me switch out the sausages for asparagus spears (I was eyeing them up in another meal) for no extra charge.  This sounds pretty obvious right?  Believe me, in Singapore menu flexibility is not always easy to accomplish.

In the end, I had supreme food envy for Laura's Ahi Taki Salad.  Small things (eggs a little too over done, raisin toast - odd combination) were outweighed by the mouth full of vinegar water I received when I bit into my eggs.  Luckily I had a delicious mango and banana smoothie to wash away the taste.  And my double shot macchiato was pretty good.

They were advertising a vintage high tea which looked amazing, but unfortunately it's only available Thursdays and Fridays from 3 - 5.30pm.  Definitely targeting the ladies who lunch, rather than the ladies who brunch.

All in all, I'm not against going back, but I'll probably spend some time investigating other Dempsey Hill hideaways first.

Ladies Who Brunch: Hatched and Dispatched

The quest for Singapore's best brunch spot continues with Hatched on Evans Road

First thought, "I've driven passed this place so many times - why haven't I noticed it?"  It's tucked within a building at 26 Evans Road, easy to miss I guess, if you're not looking out for it.

Pro's

• Cute interior - black chalk board walls, lots of egg paraphernalia around
• Menu looks great
• Coffee is definitely above the normal Singapore standard.  Not quite as good as Loysel's Toy, but good enough
• Service extremely prompt and friendly
• Very reasonable prices - especially for Singapore (two poached eggs on ciabatta with tomato ~$10)

Cons

• Not quick enough on the water refill (although got better once we asked for it)
• Too much choice on the menu (a pro for many, a con for me - I get paralyzed with too many options!)
• My side dish of baked whole tomato with basil pesto (yum!) was a bit cold

I'm definitely interested in returning to sample a few items from their very interesting selection of boutique beer from around the world - brunch just didn't seem the appropriate moment.

As a side note, it baffles me a little that serving staff have to check whether it's 'ok' to substitute one item on the menu for another.  For example, Laura didn't want a creamy-eggy side with her pancakes and so requested yoghurt instead - the waiter had to check whether this was ok.  In the end she had to pay extra for the yoghurt, even though she didn't get any of her creamy-eggy condiment.  This happens all the time and I find it really annoying as a customer.

Ladies Who Brunch: To South Beach and Back

Yesterday's brunch stop was South Beach down by the water at Marina Bay.  They served their coffee in the sweetest blue cups (I had a long macchiato, so mine was in a glass, but you can see the saucer).

I really appreciate it when a cafe serves their coffee with a little something extra - usually a biscotti.  It doesn't happen a lot in Singapore so I was very pleasantly surprised to discover a sliver of chocolate biscotti perched next to my glass.

Coffee rating: 3/5

Not as good as Loysel's Toy (earlier post), but pretty good.  Rating also lower because I think they served percolated coffee to my friends disguised as a long black...


On the walk home I captured a couple of interesting things with my iPhone (desperately want to upgrade to iPhone 4 for better camera but locked in - damned contract).  I love wandering around a city, just looking around.  You never know what you come across if you keep your eyes open.

Crane curtain

Long strings of beautifully coloured paper cranes outside a gallery on Hill Street - just imagine the work which went into making them all!

I thought this was interesting - a shop dedicated solely to selling possibly the oldest book in the world looking distinctly modern and minimal.

And I made it home just before the thunderstorm (currently a daily occurrence).

A Few Things

It's the little things right?  And at the moment there are a few little things that I'm loving.

Ticking It Off The List

I love lists, and I love the satisfaction of crossing an item off my list.  Sometimes I even put a small task I've done already on my list just so I can cross it off.  One things which has been on the list for a while is getting a frame for our Mark Rothko poster.  Added bonus - the frame was only $29 from IKEA.

I think it looks fabulous - the red really pops in our previously almost exclusively white bedroom.

 Mark Rothko meet IKEA

Incidentally, there is a really great list iPhone app called Zenbe.  With a quick press of the 'sync' button, the Dutchman and I have a live shopping list.  And it has a really satisfying tick box to check those items off.


Singapore Cafe Crawl

For a nation that is pretty obsessed with food, it's quite hard (rephrase: nearly impossible) to find a place which does good brunch and coffee.  Two friends (the Italian feasters) and I are endeavouring to hunt these places down one macchiato at a time.  Yesterday we went to Loysel's Toy - somewhat randomly located, but great coffee and sandwiches.  I'll head back - I want to try their omelet (the ultimate test in my opinion). 

Chicken/mango/curried mayo and
beef/caramalised onion/rocket/dijon

A Long Lusted-For Purchase

In Haji Lane there is a small furniture store which started my obsession with shop houses (a subject for another time - trust me, you don't want to get me started).  I have been lusting after this lamp for about two months (a very long time for me to hold out) but couldn't quite justify it. 

Yesterday it became mine.

Finally mine!

I love lighting - it's critical to setting the atmosphere (our apartment is filled with lamps and candles).  I really miss my three-headed lamp back in New Zealand.  It used to be my Mum's, so it ticks the boxes for both vintage and straight up cool.


Lovin' Bloglovin'

This website has changed my blog-reading world.  All the new posts for the blogs I follow in one spot - so simple, so easy, so wish I had found it earlier.

Have I had my head in the sand this whole time?

My First Official Retraction

Yesterday's post mentioned the Dutchman's love of the snooze button.  He very pointedly reminded me that he has been up at 6am or earlier for the last four weekends in a row in order to play golf.

My apologies.

But why am I loving this?  Well, firstly I love that he reads my blog, and secondly I love that he thinks his golfing mornings are the rule as opposed to the exception.