The Mayor of Tiny Town

I’ve got to admit honestly that I belong to the weird rare group of people who don’t fancy waffles and pancakes at all, but after trying the waffles at The Mayor of Tiny Town, I’m officially a convert (to a waffle fan; still no like pancakes, haha). Diverse menu; from pasta and soups to sandwiches and all-day brunch, not forgetting a wide selection of both sweet and savoury waffles as well!

The waffles here really rock; golden brown, crispy yet fluffy. Whatever the chef uses in his batter recipe obviously works as the waffles were so ambrosial that just inhaling the scent made me giddy with happiness. We gobbled up the waffles but left the crab mayonnaise untouched, didn’t like that crab sticks were used instead of fresh crab meat. I DIY and found my perfect savoury waffle combi: waffle + smoked salmon + scrambled eggs. Yummy max. Aglio Olio was so-so, had better elsewhere. One look at the salmon and I thought it was overcooked but it was nicely seared, and the eggplant puree was gorgeously smokey! Of course, the unique blue butter was a head turner, heh. It’s a pity that the ice creams used in the desserts are of low quality.. Otherwise, I’d have scored the cinnamon apple waffle an absolute 10. Ended our waffle-ful experience with the specialty dessert, an interesting giant affogato topped with cotton candy, which I believe is a first in Singapore!

Aglio Olio & Mushroom ($12.90+)
spaghetti, mushroom, chilli, garlic, extra virgin olive oil

Scrambled Eggs & Crab Mayo ($12.90+)
waffle, crab mayonnaise, scrambled eggs, salad

Scrambling Eggs ($14.90+)
scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, roasted tomato, mixed greens, toast

Blue Salmon ($15.90+)
seared salmon fillet, Bols blue curacao infused lemon ginger mint tea butter, baked eggplant puree

Vanilla & Cinnamon Apple ($10.90+)
waffle, cinnamon apple, vanilla ice cream

Mayor’s Mischief ($14.90+)
cotton candy, vanilla ice cream, mixed nuts, espresso

Special thanks to Pei Shi for the kind invitation! All the best to you!

The Mayor of Tiny Town
61 Cantonment Road
6222 7089

Read Full Post »

Carpenter and Cook

Sure, it’s a cute little vintage bakery-cafe with a quirky collection of eclectic knick-knacks and I love how beautifully mismatched the different serving plates are, but I feel strangely underwhelmed by Carpenter and Cook after reading all the hype surrounding it.

Only a few pastries and cakes were available when we were there after dinner and no surprise that the signature passionfruit meringue tart, which is the one and only thing I wanted to try, was sold out. Those we tried, I think they were nice. Just “nice”, no “WOW” moment whatsoever, hmm.

Fruit Frangipane Tart ($6.20)

Lemon Cream Tart ($6.20)

Raspberry Peach Mini Bundt ($4)

Pear Almond Cake ($5)

Carpenter and Cook
#01-06, 19 Lorong Kilat
6463 3648

Read Full Post »

Kim’s Family Restaurant

Finally finally finally!

For the past 2 or 3 years, Kim’s Family Restaurant always popped up whenever conversations turn to “I want to go ___________ (fill in the blank) for a meal” or “I’ve been wanting to go to ___________ since forever” etc etc. Never had the chance to really do it (cuz Lorong Kilat is too ulu to the eastie me) until last week!

The raves online about this authentic Korean restaurant are not unfounded. 12 refillable side dishes (skip the bleah kimchi), a huge steaming pot of seafood soup ($40++), one incredibly yummy saba fish ($13++), and the piece de resistance barbecued pork belly ($23++) later, we left Kim’s happy and smelly satisfied!

Kim’s Family Restaurant
#01-06, Kilat Court
17 Lorong Kilat
6465 0535

Read Full Post »

Swee Choon Dim Sum Restaurant

Late night supper usually means calorific ice cream treats for the boy and I. But one day night, we decided to go savoury at Swee Choon Dim Sum Restaurant instead. Opened from 6pm to the next morning, the whole place was packed. Really packed with young and old alike. An eye-opener for me; I didn’t know so many people get hungry so late at night, haha. We even had to get a queue number and waited outside for about 20 mins!

Swee Choon made me feel like I was back in Hong Kong for a moment.. Service was no-nonsense, food was delivered swiftly to our table, and the atmosphere loud and in your face. We ordered the customary dim sum suspects: har kow ($2.20+), chee cheong fan ($1.80+), carrot cake ($1.80+), big meat pau ($1.60+), salted egg yolk custard bun ($3.30+) etc etc.. Highlight had to be the signature mee suah kueh, a deep-fried vermicelli cake that’s about a million times yummier than carrot cake! Prawn-banana fritters ($2.80+) and red bean paste pancake ($4.80+) were also good; hard to go wrong with fried stuff aye? The only thing I didn’t like was a glutinous sesame pumpkin cake ($1.80+) that’s tasteless and chewy, ick.

Swee Choon Dim Sum Restaurant
185/187/189/191 Jalan Besar
62257788

Read Full Post »

Fern & Kiwi

In New Zealand, it’s Lone Star, a successful restaurant chain started in 1988.

In Singapore, it’s Fern & Kiwi, the international offshoot of the Kiwi institution.

Both promise to deliver the best of New Zealand food, wines, booze, music and live entertainment, served in a fun and friendly environment, typical of a laid back Kiwi bar-cum-restaurant. Even the drink we had, Lemon & Paeroa (say “pie-roar”), is uniquely New Zealand, tasting like a lighter version of lemonade.

Let me go straight to my favourite main, salmon fillet on a bed of forgettable spinach risotto was cooked so perfectly, pinkish soft and tender in the middle as I like it. Starters had a few hits and misses; loving both the sweet slow poached pear and smoky (duh) smoked snapper salads and the thinly battered calamari; not so much the kingfish sliders which were too salty and fishy imo, though she who tried the beef/venison cousin found them to be delicious enough to polish off two at one shot!

Desserts were pretty solid, especially the cute mini ice cream cones! I thought those were normal nice-but-meh chocolate mint and pineapple ice creams but oh no no no. The chef is much better than that, haha. I’m not going to be a spoiler.. Go try and be surprised!

Lemon & Paeroa ($5++)

Pizza flatbread, caramelized onions, gruyere cheese, rock salt ($15++)

Sea salt and pepper squid, lemon, sweet soy, coriander and chilli dressing ($16.50++)

New Zealand beef and venison sliders, homemade beetroot relish, toasted garlic brioche buns ($19++)

Background: Cajun kingfish sliders, homemade tartare sauce ($17.50++)

Manuka smoked snapper salad, spinach, rocket, avocado, julienned tomatoes, light lemony vinaigrette ($18.50++)

Slow poached Bartlett pear salad, roasted walnuts, Puhoi blue cheese, rocket, lemon and balsamic vinaigrette ($15++)

New Zealand sea run salmon fillet, spinach risotto, dill and creme fraiche dressing ($38.50++)

Moro bar and kahlua cheesecake, ginger syrup, orange mint salad ($13++)

Trio mini ice cream cones ($14++)

Bite sized chocolate lamingtons, cream centres, chocolate ganache ($12++)

My thanks to Sha from Mutant Communications, for the invitation and being such fun company!

Fern & Kiwi
#01-02/03, The Cannery, Clarke Quay
3E River Valley
6336 2271

Read Full Post »

Waterfall Cafe

Helmed by charming Chef Stephane Cocu, Waterfall Cafe is Shangri-La Hotel’s latest new dining concept. Advocating eating and living well, the restaurant serves healthy yet creative dishes inspired by Mediterranean flavours, using lots of fresh seasonal produce and organic meat and fish from sustainable sources. Very appealing to the health freak in me, haha.

The menu is very extensive and there’s bound to be something for everyone. Generally, I like the starters more than the mains, especially the seared scallops and refreshing salads. No boring ubiquitous soups (think cream of mushrooms, lol) here; both the hot green pea veloute and cold tomato-based gazpacho featured are not commonly found elsewhere. For mains, the most interesting is socca, a popular street food from the South of France. Usually plain and unglamorous, Chef Cocu’s upmarket version is a wonderful crispy pancake made from chickpea flour and topped with colourful roasted vegetables. None of the other mains made much of an impression, as the cod and salmon were sadly overcooked. Desserts are a must, healthy they ain’t though. There’s the safe chocolatey and fruity choices; my personal favourites are the homemade ice creams and the lychee soup, so tangy and mildly sweet, a perfect light ending to a great dinner!

Assorted bread made inhouse; sunflower, sesame, sourdough, pumpkin.

Complimentary gruyere cheese puffs and sticks.

Watermelon, tomatoes, mint, arugula, olives, prawns ($24++)

Baby spinach, sundried tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, figs, chicken ($19++)

Seabass carpaccio, Tasmanian peppers, fennel, orange salad ($16++)

Salmon gravalax, honey mustard dressing, grain bread ($18++)

Seared sea scallops, hazelnut crust, crushed potatoes, port wine jus ($24++)

English pea veloute, brown butter croutons ($10++)

Chilled gazpacho, basil, mozzarella, sea scallops ($16++)

Fettuccine, porcini mushrooms, parma ham, parmesan foam ($28++)

Socca, spicy tomato coulis, roasted vegetables, fresh herb salad, pesto ($21++)

Atlantic cod, barley risotto, pequillo peppers, Vadouvan emulsion ($38++)

Oven baked salmon, green lentils, summer vegetables fricassee, horseradish Chantilly ($28++)

Roasted chicken breast, mushrooms, spinach, roasted figs, hazelnut chicken jus ($28++)

Trio of white, milk, dark chocolate mousse, cacao crumble ($8++)

Lemon curd, flaky sable dough, blueberry, orchid root scented coulis ($10++)

Lychee soup, summer fruits, exotic fruit cube, orange sorbet ($10++)

Coconut cream panna cotta, strawberry confit, brown butter, citrus tuile ($8++)

Warm flourless Valrhona chocolate cake, berry compote, Bourbon vanilla ice cream ($14++)

Tart of the day: fig tart ($12++)

As if those were not enough, we wanted ice cream too!

Homemade ice cream, nothing beats that : )

Special thanks to Margaret and Hatta for the kind invitation and hosting of dinner!

Waterfall Cafe
Garden Wing, Level One, Shangri-La Hotel
22 Orange Grove Road
6213 4138

Read Full Post »

SPRMRKT

SPRMRKT (say “supermarket”) was peacefully quiet on a Saturday afternoon, with more than a couple solo diners popping in and out for a quick meal.

We had our usual comforting dose of smoked salmon and eggs (for what would brunch be without those two?), and in the hope of saving more tummy space for desserts later, we shared a yoghurt trifle too, which could have passed off as a healthy pre-dessert!

For desserts proper, we couldn’t decide between the traditional carrot cake, bread pudding or the mixed berries tart. Ahhhh, how I love a foodie’s dilemma, haha. Went with the latter two since they came highly recommended by the lady at the counter and we left with no regrets at all!

The tart was refreshingly tangy and as light as a tart could be. And the muffin-sized bread pudding was plain wow. Think a fusion of pastry and pudding. Warm eggy centre. Flaky chocolaty top layers. Cold vanilla sauce with fascinating specks of vanilla beans. Can you imagine how good it is?

Smoked Salmon & Eggs ($16)
smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, toasted brioche

Yoghurt Berries Trifle ($10)
greek yoghurt, honey, mixed berries compote, toasted crumble

Mixed Berry Tart ($7)

Bread Pudding & Vanilla Sauce ($6)

SPRMRKT
2 Mccallum Street
6221 2105

Read Full Post »

Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar

Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar has a pretty cool concept; a 3-in-1 bakery/bistro/bar that serves the usual brekkie/brunch suspects, plus sandwiches and hot main courses, along with Belgian-style Grimbergen beers.

Anything with smoked salmon naturally rocks so all attention was on the bread this time. Baked by Head Baker Audrey Tan of Freshly Baked, one of my all-time favourite sandwich joints since a long long time ago, the crispy yet soft wholemeal and raisin walnut toasts were really good, of enough oomph factor to make them the star of the meal, yumsss~

Top down: basket of wholemeal and raisin walnut bread; smoked salmon sandwich on white ciabata with cream cheese and red cabbage ($15); smoked salmon omelette ($19), sans default cream cheese for me : )

Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar
#01-03, Tanglin Post Office
56 Tanglin Road
6835 1128

Read Full Post »

Chock Full Of Beans

Weekend brunch was at Chock Full Of Beans last Sat, a far-flung reach of our little island!

Cozy little cafe, very heartlander-ish, the type of place no one will bat an eyelid if you show up in shorts and singlet (not that you should, of course)~

Simple food, no less delicious with the right company. The rain trapped us in, me with my book (the super hilarious “I Suck at Girls” by Justin Halpern; highly recommended!!!), him with his magazine, and the morning passed us by…

Large cappuccino ($5.50) with cute latte art!

Eggs Atlantic ($13)

poached eggs, smoked salmon, homemade multigrain toast, and my usual hollandaise on the side

Chock full of BIG breakfast ($17)

chicken chipolatas, scrambled eggs, bacon, roasted tomato, baked beans, toast

Chock Full Of Beans
#01-2090, 4 Changi Village Road
6214 8839

Read Full Post »

Nana’s Green Tea

Nana’s Green Tea, can you please please please come to the east??

I truly madly deeply adore your nutty and crispy galettes (buckwheat crepes), loaded with such generous amounts of fresh ingredients but oh dear, JCube is really too far for the eastie me~

Top down, clockwise: hojicha, roasted green tea with soft serve ice cream ($7.40); swordfish and baked onions crepe ($14); matcha float with (too icy, fail) green tea ice cream ($7.90); smoked salmon with ratatouille and egg crepe ($14).

Nana’s Green Tea
#02-19, JCube
2 Jurong East Central 1
6684 4312

Read Full Post »