Posts Tagged ‘Food Focussed Cafes’

Paddy Hills

April 18th, 2015 365days2play

Paddy Hills is one of those cafes which serves full-fledged meals, as opposed to just pastries and coffee. With so many cafes in Singapore, more than 200 (?), gone are the days where a simple eggs benedict or an all day breakfast fry up will suffice. To have staying power in this fickle cafe scene, the focus is very much back on the quality and repertoire of the menu. Have your food Instagram friendly, but let that not be the only factor. Certainly for me at least, I would not have made the journey across from the Eastern end of Singapore to the West, if not for the promise of a unique experience. Food focussed Cafes, that’s what we need more of now, and that’s where you can bring your parents without them asking you “so where’s the food”?

Paddy Hills Lunch Menu

I must say Paddy Hills boasts a very interesting menu. There were so many items on the menu that I wanted to try, although being an egg fan, I did wish that they could have included their sous vide egg into more of the dishes. I’m not one for mixing sweets with savoury though. I did so very much want to try the Orange Ricotta Pillows, but what’s a coconut ice cream doing in the midst of it?

Paddy Hills - The Maze $22 (3)

The Maze $22 – Creamy mash, lamb meatballs, cauliflower fritters, polenta chips, crumbled manchego & sous vide egg.

I ordered this, mainly because of the creamy mash, cauliflower fritters and sous vide egg. And they were so good and filling enough that I didn’t even touch a single lamb meatball! The creamy mash retained bits of textural chunks and had truffle oil or essence infused into it. The cauliflower fritters were delightfully crunchy and sweet. And the sous vide egg….wonderfully tender, almost like eating clouds. If you’re wondering, 5 lamb meatballs are currently sitting in my freezer, waiting for the day when I will thaw them out. 2 meatballs were consumed by my mother and the Partner that day. Not bad, for the price of 1 brunch I get two meals out of it!

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Oh Deli (Cafe) at East Coast Road

November 6th, 2014 365days2play

Oh Deli is one of those places I simply have to recommend as it seems to be off the radar of most cafe hoppers, even though the food served is really value for money. The reason it is off the radar is because Oh Deli has been around for years. It’s not one of those new cafes that have popped up in recent times that people keep instagramming about. In fact, the 1st and foremost business, as the name suggests, is the deli business.

As the story goes, a bunch of sisters, having lived in Australia for a number of years, found good meats to be lacking in Singapore, and hence started this business. It was probably in recent times (more than a year back), that Oh Deli ventured into the cafe business. And because they have the adjoining meat business, the cafe boasts a really value for money menu. You will find that the sandwiches and brunch items are very generously laden with ingredients, and reasonably priced, if not cheaper than usual. In fact, I almost hope that this remains a secret, because as it is, they have already increased their pricing slightly this year as compared to last, although the pricing still remains very attractive.

Oh Deli - Chicken Avocado Sandwich $7 (1)

 Chicken Avocado Sandwich $7

Check out this power packed chicken sandwich filled with chicken slices, avocadoes, bacon slices and lettuce on a multi grain bread. Only $7. Where can you beat that? We almost fell off our chairs when this mountainous pile arrived!

Oh Deli - Choice of 2 gourmet sausages $12.90

Choice of 2 gourmet sausages $12.90

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Roosevelt Cafe at Outram – CLOSED

October 24th, 2014 365days2play

Previously, it was quaint and delightful to be able to chance upon new cafes located in off the beaten path locations, the more hidden, the better. But sometimes, you just want a cafe conveniently and centrally located for days when you just can’t be bothered to travel so far. One such cafe comes to mind, Roosevelt Cafe situated at Dorset Residences Hotel, just outside the Outram MRT station exit (NE Line). The location is quite hard to beat, but in the several times that I’ve been there, it’s never seen a full crowd, which is a pity in my opinion.

Roosevelt Cafe (2)

Well the fact that Roosevelt cafe is not on most cafe hopper’s radar, is also the reason why I love being able to spend quiet afternoons at Roosevelt, sipping my cuppa without having to worry about knocking into the neighbouring diner’s elbow, or having someone breathe down my back in the hopes that I’d vacate the seat faster. I like the tasteful decor at Roosevelt too. It has a bit of a motoring theme, but thankfully no more of that nostalgic old school decor, which frankly is getting so common it’s almost irritating.

I also like it that Roosevelt’s menu is quite wide, with choices ranging from various permutations of eggs benedict, to waffles, to pastas, sandwiches and mains. I don’t know about you but it sucks whenever I encounter a cafe with like only 2 items on the menu.

Roosevelt Cafe - Ham and Triple Cheese Waffles with smoked ham, mozarella, cheddar and parmesan $14 (2)

Ham and Triple Cheese Waffles with smoked ham, mozarella, cheddar and parmesan $14

Roosevelt has a nice lunch deal going on where if you get the sandwiches or the mains, the coffee is on the house. It’s not just the black coffee, but also all the coffees in their menu such as lattes and cappucinos, without any additional cost. So for something like $12, you could get lunch and coffee, quite a decent deal I must say.

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The Lokal – Aussie Inspired Cafe

July 23rd, 2014 365days2play

The Lokal - (2)

The Lokal is one of those cafes where one look at it and you know it’s just going to stay crowded for many weeks to come. Located in the Duxton area, there are a surprising number of Caucasian types that were at the cafe when we were there. I guess it’s because the chef is from Sydney. Having opened not that long ago, the news does travel fast doesn’t it?

Food is definitely the highlight here, as compared to those cafes where you feel two or three food dishes have been put in the menu just so that they can say that they serve food. In fact, The Lokal can even be thought of more as a casual restaurant serving good coffee, rather than a cafe, as brunch items are definitely not a highlight here.That’s because the chef owner Darren Farr was one of the founding chefs at Tetsuya in Sydney. Yes, the Tetsuya owned by Tetsuya Wakuda who also owns Waku Ghin in Singapore. Read more about Darren Farr here.

When we were there on a Sunday, they had their brunch menu out. But it’s nothing like what the other cafes are dishing out, aka eggs benedict, all day breakfast and the likes. There is not a poached egg dish to be found on the main menu, although you can get it if you customise your own breakfast. This, I highly advise you NOT TO, because eggs are just NOT The Lokal’s speciality.

The Lokal's Brunch Menu

See this menu, it does not have an eggs based dish in the main section, and for good reason. Try the items such as the Toasted banana bread which I heard was fantastic, or the plate of smoked salmon, as it is smoked in house!

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My Awesome Cafe

May 14th, 2014 365days2play

Took the day off on Monday and decided to go cafe hopping with the Partner and my mother. I realise it was a hilariously botched up attempt, definition-wise, because in the entire afternoon that we were out, the combined total of caffeinated drinks we consumed was a grand total of ONE! And it wasn’t even a deliberately ordered coffee, it was one that came with the meal that we ordered. But then again, cafe hopping is whatever you want it to be, and we had a swell time (while my colleagues were hard at work in the office).

Our first stop was to My Awesome Cafe. As two out of three of us are very fussy with our food (not going to mention who), I had to make sure that the cafe we were going to had a broad menu. Can’t be going to the cafes that only serve mainly cakes and pastries, and My Awesome Cafe fits the bill. Love it when I am in the CBD area on a weekday, it’s actually a lovely place to be, if you don’t have to be stuck in one of the offices nearby. Many hole in the wall eateries, thanks to the history of the area. Also, many of the cafes and eateries here are closed during the weekend, so your best bet is to come on a weekday.

My Awesome Cafe (5)

This used to be Chung Hwa Free Clinic. Clinic is long gone but the new owners decided to keep the facade. Wonder if URA has stipulated it to be so?

I partly chose My Awesome Cafe because I wanted to see what the fuss was. You may have heard of horror stories of really bad service here, but when we were there, the service rendered by the cute young waiters was positive. They were friendly and looked happy to be working there. And I suppose since we were there around 2pm which is after the peak period, they didn’t look frenzied like what you often see on the weekends.

You can get salads, sandwiches and filled croissants here. The only eggs you’ll find are scrambled eggs or boiled eggs, so don’t be expecting eggs benedicts here. I hadn’t had scrambled eggs in a fairly long time because they are quite often either a hit or a miss for me, so I prefer sunny-side-up or poached. I was almost going to order the duck rillette sandwich but I decided to give the scrambled egg, Parma ham and cheese croissant a try.

My Awesome Cafe - Scrambled Eggs, Parma Ham and Cheese Croissant $9.50 (3)

Scrambled Eggs, Parma Ham and Cheese Croissant $9.50

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