Hatched

Date : 23 September 2012

Address: 26 Evans Road (Evans Lodge) 

Website : Hatched 

Opening Hours: Tue - Thurs 8am to 10pm, Fri & Sat 8am to 11pm, Sunday 8am to 10pm, Closed on Mondays  

Nearest MRT: Botanic Gardens 

I have wanted to try this place since last year but never got it because I was lazy to travel all the way to Bukit Timah. On that beauuuuutiful morning, after an exhilarating ride on my uncle's new found love (his harley baby), we stepped into Hatched for some early sunday breakfast. 

I must say the food (And coffee) didn't match up to my expectations one bit, which was a pity. It's a good thing the company i enjoyed made up for the mediocre breakfast. 

Sir Benedict - S$12 for one, S$18 for 2
Poached egg on english muffin, with hollandaise sauce and black forest ham. Served with homemade mash. 

I had high hopes for this one after eavesdropping on the conversation next to me. This lady was proclaiming how badly was craving for this since the day before. 

It was honestly very "meh" to me. The ham was tough and the sauce was bland. The muffin wasn't very fresh either. Everything was "meh" 

Usual Suspect - S$15
Sausages, sunny side ups, toast, baked beans and potatoes. 

 Come on. Let's face it. I could make this and it would turn out the same. 

For 15? It's a real rip off! 

Latte - $5 

 Too milky, could hardly taste coffee in it. Don't really even know if this was coffee. 

Pancakes - $12 

 The pancakes were fluffy and warm ( thank goodness they were ) but other than that, nothing much to rave about. 

I think the point is I feel the hype about this place is highly overrated!! The place looks comfortable and cosy, and the staff are acceptably polite but the food and the coffee??? Way below any standard to rave about. Besides, it's all the way in Bukit Timah. Will I ever be back? No. Not till they've improved their menu. 

I think if this place weren't so "highly recommended" to me, i wouldn't have been so disappointed. If I were to give the place the benefit of the doubt......perhaps I tried the wrong items. Then again, I don't usually like coming back to places with bad lattes haha. 

Try this place if you'd like, let me know if you think differently! 

Preparazzi

Date: 28th July 2012

Address: 29 Boon Tat Street
Opening Hours: 12-2:30pm, 6.30-11pm
Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar/ Raffles Place 

A friend and I were on our way to Vanilla Cafe and arrived there a few minutes before 11am only to be disappointed because the cafe hadn't even opened and they were supposed to be open and ready for guests by 11am. They should probably work on their punctuality because it plays a big part on our impression of them. 

All was well though, because we got the chance to visit Preparazzi instead! 

We were told we had to wait for 20 minutes because the kitchen was just getting ready and so we did. 

I'd known Preparazzi to be a catering business because I once worked part time for them and it was a good experience to watch the behind-the-scenes of catering business - how they prepared the food, how they presented it and ohhh how good the food was! So I was highly anticipating the food to be extraordinary, finger licking good. I guess I expected too much. 

I like the setting of the place though. 

Preparazzi had won this 1400 sq.ft shop space, rent free for a year at the "Ultimate Start-Up Space" competition and now here they are, just after a few months of opening. I like how they have managed to "open" up the space they have by mirroring an entire wall. It effectively makes the place look more spacious than it is. 

Truffle Eggs Ben - S$18 

The supposedly truffle hollandaise sauce they use to drizzle over the poached eggs didn't have a truffle oil taste or smell at all. In fact, it was buttery. Way Too Buttery. I quickly scooped the sauce out of the way after one bite of it. I abhor how bland the sauce was and don't understand how it could go well with the smoked salmon. I'd rather they just drizzled some lemon sauce and be done with it. 

The brioche they baked themselves was good though, nicely textured and fragrant. 

The side salad was dismissible. 

My friend tried the Toad brioche - S$15  

This was simple, kurobuta sausage, 2 sunny side ups on freshly baked brioche, along with asparagus and a really interesting onion gravy dip.

The sauce was sour and sweet and should definitely be taken with the rest of the dish because it would be too sour on its own. 

I guess this was simple enough so neither of us could complain. 

Their food is pricier than average and from what I've tried, it isn't all that worth it. Perhaps they have other speciality dishes I missed out on and I am rather intrigued to try them out. But for now, i don't think i'll re-visit them any time soon. 

Kith Cafe ( Park Mall )

Date: 27 July 2012 

Address: 9 Penang road #01-01E, Park Mall Shopping Centre 

Opening Hours: Daily 8am - 10pm 

Nearest MRT: Dhoby Ghaut 

I have long wanted to visit Kith Cafe but the one at Robertson quay is so tiny and annoying cos you'll most probably have to sit outside where it's hot, stuffy, very hot and very stuffy. 

So when I heard about their new outlet at Park Mall, I made visiting them the first item on my priority list. 

I was so excited that I forgot to take pictures but you can take my word for it and know it's at least twice the size of the Robertson quay one. It probably can sit around 20 people or so inside and a coupla  more outside.

Big Breakfast - S$15 

Everything you'd want for breakfast would be on this plate. It's quite like a classic English Breakfast with eggs, toast, bacon, sausage and mushrooms. Everything was well cooked and the toast was crisp. Can't complain about anything really! 

I thoroughly enjoyed my Sirloin steak sandwich!!! For S$16,  they gave a reasonable sized piece of steak that was tender and easy to bite into. It was as juicy as a steak should be and went pleasantly well with the shaved parmesan, onions and capsicum. 

I can't wait to go back there to try their other items. Service was better than average and the decor was simple and nice! Just a perfect place to chill out with a friend and have some good food! 

Tiong Bahru Bakery

Date : 20 July 2012

Address: 56 Eng Hoon Street

Opening hours: 8am - 8pm, closed on Tuesdays 

Nearest MRT: Tiong Bahru 

There's been so much hype about Tiong Bahru Bakery, most of my friends who visited the place gave squealing recommendations. One even threatened never to speak to me again if I didn't try the chocolate croissant. 

So I did. And I'm sorry to disappoint everyone, but i wasn't impressed! Not one bit. 

I don't know if it was the high expectations I built of it or just a down day for them. Or perhaps I didn't really try the "specialities" but I was really disappointed after my brunch at TBB. 

I stepped into the buzzing eatery that was already crowded before noon and was greeted by a friendly waiter. 

I like the layout of the counter, how it displays the food to make every one of them irresistible. I was only with one friend but we wanted to order everything we saw. It's a good thing I live nearby so I can always go back to try the rest of the food. 

The first item i sank my teeth into was the Lemon Tart - $6 

The crust was harder than I expected it to be and honestly very plain and boring. The lemon pudding on top was sour and sweet and I wonder if they put mandarin oranges in it cos there was an overpowering taste of them. 

I wouldn't have been able to finish one on my own just because it's very sweet and I rather dislike the crust. 

The moment had arrived.

This was the chocolate croissant ( $3.20 ) my friend had so highly recommended. 

I eagerly shoved a piece of it into my mouth and............ my heart sank.

The croissant was soggy and slightly tough, not crispy and fresh. 

Perhaps I had indeed gone on a bad day, but aren't they supposed to be serving good and fresh food all the time? My friend and I exchanged glances and she said " Okay only leh " and I couldn't agree more. 

This was a spontaneous order that we made and boy am i glad we did because it turned out to be the best item we had that morning. The Croque Monsieur ( with ham and cheese ) - $9.50 would be one pastry I would dare to recommend at TBB.

The bread was soft and together with the ham and cheese, each bite was a flavorful one.

"PANNA COTTA!! " I squealed in delight when i saw this among other dessert items. We tried the one with tropical fruits - $6.50 

I prefer the pistachio panna cotta at Saveur's because it's smoother and milkier whereas this one was dry and more starchy.

My brave friend bought the squid ink bread $4++  and regretted her choice almost immediately after having a bite of it. She hadn't tried squid ink pasta before so she had no clue what she was venturing into. However, if you HAVE tried squid ink pasta before and like how it better flavours your food, then perhaps you will fancy this. 

As disappointed as I was, I'll go back and try more of their food. Hopefully the next time, I'll have an improved impression of them. 

The Plain

Date: 12 June 2012

Address: 50 Craig Road

Opening Hours: 7:30am - 7:30pm

Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar

Website: The Plain

I'm trying to visit as many places as I can in the tanjong pagar/duxton/ann siang area and I know "The Plain" is one not to be missed. 

After a short 7 minutes walk from the train station, my friend and I arrive at the cafe, sweaty and hungry. 

The rectangular sized space boasts of high ceilings and a cosy setting. 

The moment we stepped in, welcome greetings met us and a nice friendly waitress sat us down. 

I've heard this was a melbourne-based establishment so I wasn't surprised to see vegemite toast on the menu.  I can't stand vegemite so i limited myself to the items I could try. 

Salami Ciabatta - S$8.90 

This surprised me because there was sweet chilli in it. I'm not sure if i'm all for it, but it didn't taste too bad so i'm not complaining. 

The roma tomatoes were AMAZING. I think the roma tomatoes made what could have been an average ciabatta into a mouth watering one. I would have liked more rocket though. 

Having said that, the beef pastrami ciabatta ( also $8.90 ) paled in comparison.

For some reason, the bread wasn't as crispy and well toasted as the salami one. This one was too hard and almost impossible to bite through. The sundried tomatoes failed to impress after being outshined by the roma tomatoes. Netiher of us finished our half.

 Once again, the roma tomatoes made the Darling's eggs ( S$6.50 ) a tantalizing rendition of poached eggs on sourdough toast. 

Instead of using hollandaise, they use melted cheese. Instead of salmon like the one in Group therapy's poached eggs, they use ham. 

If given a choice, I would combine both cafes' poached eggs to create my idea of perfect poached eggs - a thick slice of sourdough toast with roma tomatoes, a small portion of hollandaise sauce with poached eggs on top, garnished with black pepper.

Our waitress recommended we try the Summer blue iced tea - S$5.50 so we did.

The recipe included Gryphon english breakfast tea with lychees and mint leaves. 

It was refreshing and something new, mixing fruits with tea. 

I've read about how messy the billing system is but we had no problem when we asked for the bill. 

The waitress who attended to us simply told the cashier what we ordered and we were politely told to pay at the counter. I do understand how it can get disorganized if it were a busy day and the waitresses aren't free to cater to each specific order. 

But if they say this is the way the people in Melbourne roll, who are we to criticize? 

All I need is reasonably priced good food, smiles from friendly staff and aircon (Singapore is too humid for me to enjoy my food in alfresco dining areas). 

Group Therapy

Date: 12 June 2012

Address: 49 Duxton Road 

Opening hours: Tues - Thurs: 11am - 6pm , Fri -Sat : 11am - 11pm , Sunday: 9am - 6pm

Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar 

 Having a nice brunch at The Plain with my friend, the Topshopper, we chanced upon the famous Group Therapy. For a weekday, I was surprised at how packed it was, especially when it was already 2pm. 

 We got the dry apple cider to share. (S$12) 

I don't know if it was cos it's "Dry" but i didn't really like it. Tasted too much like beer. I prefer the pear cider I had at Heart of House.

We had planned to only have a drink, but on the table beside us sat an outrageously tempting plate of poached eggs. Having very weak resistance to good looking food, we caved in and ordered a plate. 

For S$15, it was a reasonable portion given it had a generous portion of salmon. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the crispiness of the thick toast. 

I'm still not sure if it was because I was already full from the earlier brunch, or if the sauce was just too much to handle. The thick layer of hollandaise over the surface of everything was overwhelming, i had to scrap scoops of it away before I could stomach a few more bites. 

I think if they gave less sauce it would have been perfect. 

I like the ambience here though, it has a non-pretentious atmosphere and amicable staff. I would definitely want to come back and try the other items on the menu. It's strange that they have paper menus cos it seems abit too damageable and hard to maintain. I hope they don't print tons of it to replace the dirty ones cos that would be highly un-environmentally friendly. 

A queer thing we encounter would be them charging a dollar for ice. 

Many places charge their patrons for water, but charging for ice? That's a first i've seen. 

I don't quite understand the rationale behind that (no ice machine?) but it can be quite a turn off for certain patrons. It almost was for me, if not for the apologetic look on the waitress's face. 

All in all, group therapy cafe is worth a try and i hope to be better impressed the next time I visit.