CreatureS

A very belated birthday lunch with Stef because we were both overseas when it was her birthday and we were just so swamped with work thereafter. Made a reservation for CreatureS for our Sunday lunch, and we arrived in our Grabcar both looking like we just rolled out of bed. Perfect look for a Sunday!

Located in a little shop house near Little India, the deco inside CreatureS was quaint and interesting. The waiter took us to the second level and we settled down in a table by the window. The second level was empty when we arrived but the crowd grew steadily and it was fully packed when we left.

Crayfish Hokkien Mee ($30). I saw this on TX's instagram and wanted to try it because it looked so good! The noodles were fried in a delicious prawn broth, and the crayfish, prawns and squid were so sweet and fresh. The japanese fish roe was a nice touch, and everything went well with the sambal. 

Garden and Crab Risotto ($34). Risotto in crab broth with crabmeat and salted egg. CreatureS was very generous with the crabmeat but I was a little disappointed with the crab broth that tasted a little bland. Might be because our Crayfish Hokkien Mee came first and our taste buds were already pampered by the rich prawn broth in the hokkien mee that we could not taste the lighter fragrance in the risotto.

Coffee and Manuka Honey Latte.

Ended the meal with a slice of Lychee Martini Cake. The cake was light and the lychee bits were so sweet and refreshing. But I really want to know what that blue tinge at the side was and whether it was just food colouring. 

120 Desker Road

Singapore 209639

62916996

The Masses and Candour Coffee

Heard from TT that the Saveur co-founder opened Masses after we stumbled upon Taste Affairs at Amoy Street Food Centre which was opened by the other co-founder. Have not tried Taste Affairs yet although I always see a snaking long queue at the store which is beside Han Kee Fish Soup.

So TT and I visited Masses the other day to try the food at this new place. I ordered the popular C&C Pasta ($9, $14). I did not realise this when I ordered the pasta, but it turned out that C&C stood for crab and caviar. It was a cold pasta dish and they were very generous with the portion of crab and caviar that came with it.

Now, I have to point out something rather interesting. I saw pictures of the C&C pasta on other food blogs and instagram and the sauce always had an orange hue. It looked like the sauce could have been tomato-based, similar to crab pasta served in other cafes. But look at the picture of the C&C pasta I took. It was clearly not orange. I have no idea where the thick orange colour came from in the pictures of the same dish on other food blogs. Or maybe my C&C pasta was prepared by another chef? Might be the lighting? Or maybe my phone's camera was just odd. I am clueless, but I should point out that I ordered the smaller portion ($9) and I am not sure whether that was the reason. So strange. But it was delicious, orange or not. 

We also ordered the Egg ($9) which came in hot and cold options. We picked the hot one and it really reminded me of the Japanese chawanmushi. It was light and delicious, and I loved the generous portion of ikura.

Ended lunch with a coffee run at Candour Coffee. Hidden gem tucked away along Beach Road. We entered only because someone opened the door and the fragrant coffee beans were too good to miss. Tried their mains with Tx on a Sunday a few weeks later and I will do a separate post on that. 

A very good cup of flat white. Read somewhere that Candour imported their beans from Market Lane Coffee in Melbourne! I really love their mint green cups too, so pretty. 

The Masses

85 Beach Road

62660061

Candour Coffee

41 Beach Rd, Singapore 189680

Open Farm Community

Throwback to Sunday brunch with Stef at Open Farm Community. Been wanting to try it out for the longest time but never got my lazy ass here because Dempsey is just rather far. So glad we took time off on a sunny Sunday morning to grab brunch together at Open Farm!

Love the greenery of the place, but was more thankful that the cafe was air-conditioned. 

Used our Entertainer App so we had 1-for-1 for our mains. 

Risotto:Saffron, choriso, cuttlefish, green peas, ebi. Very interesting combination and definitely a very special risotto. Love the savoury ebi with the fragrant saffron. 

Rigatoni, mushrooms, smoked pancetta, balsamic glaze. Very interesting dish too! Love the chewy rigatoni and the delicious sauce. 

Ended our brunch with coffee but was surprised when the staff came over to tell us that they needed our table as someone else had a reservation, just as our coffee was being served. They were nice about it and told us we could continue sitting outside in the al fresco area but we would have appreciated it if they had informed us that they needed our table before we ordered our coffee. At least we didn't have to sip our hot coffee in the heat outside and could have headed to another cafe in the area.

Still a good place for brunch, as long as you are seated in the air-conditioned area!

130E Minden Road

6471 0306

The Bakehouse by Carpenter & Cook

There are times when Zg and I have no movies we would like to watch, no window shopping we would like to do, and no particular place we would like to visit. Those are the times we would drive to Ikea and roam around randomly, dreaming up the design of our future home. We really enjoyed doing this even before we secured a place of our own, and those were the days when we lamented our BTO queue number (or more accurately the lack thereof), and built castles in the air.

We usually eat at the hawker centre nearby (the charsiew rice and avocado milkshake are extremely yums), or at the atas coffeeshop (also known as Salut Coffeeshop). But one fine day we discovered that the Bakehouse was on the Entertainer App! Hurray to discounted food!

The Bakehouse by Carpenter & Cook was quiet when we entered during dinner time. A few tables were occupied but it was pretty easy to get a table. We settled down and studied the menu (i.e. find out what were the mains that qualified for the one-for-one).

Truffle fries ($8). Good and fragrant. I do prefer thicker fries so this worked for me, but Zg preferred thin fries. But generally, still a good bowl of delicious fries.

Crabmeat Linguine ($22). I am generally very fond of crabmeat pasta and this was a pretty good one. Definitely not as generous as Habitat Coffee in terms of the serving of crabmeat, but still presentable.

Pasta di Mare ($25). The usual seafood pasta which was good too. Fresh seafood, al dente pasta. But I prefer the crabmeat linguine because of... my inherent bias towards crabmeat pasta!

A good place to drop by for a meal after shopping for furniture or household items at Ikea!

321 Alexandra Rd #01-14, 
Alexandra Central Mall, 159971
6250 0040
Monday to Friday: 10 am to 10 pm
Saturday: 9 am to 10 pm
Sunday: 9 am to 9 pm

Tuk Tuk Cha - my favourite Thai milk tea!

Been mad busy with some stuff on the personal side of the house recently so I haven't found the time and energy to blog much. In fact, I am finding it so hard just to post my ultra backdated draft posts these days. Omg need to get my act together.

Anyway so i tried Soi 55 which was so good the first time I tasted it that I convinced myself that it was worth the walk from the office to Golden Shoe for a second cup a few weeks later only to be sorely disappointed. Discovered Tuk Tuk Cha one evening at Suntec City with the boyfriend and we ordered a cup of iced thai milk tea to try. We were instantly hooked! Thick, fragrant milk tea which was not cloyingly sweet and it reminded me of the happy days in Bangkok :):) 

I was afraid it would turn out to be just like Soi 55, an amazing first encounter and a pathetic second so I decided to return another night for yet more thai milk tea. This time I chose to have the hot thai milk tea. The hot drink was certainly thicker, stronger and more fragrant than the iced version, which made it such a perfect perk-me-up. Unfortunately, I had the drink mere hours before bedtime which meant I spent a large part of my night tossing and turning. 

3 Temasek Boulevard Suntec City Tower 3

#02-605A

It's like a small shop in the middle of the pathway, facing a winter wear shop. 

Oriole Coffee and Bar at Capitol Piazza

We decided to catch up over lunch at Oriole Coffee and Bar which was wonderfully peaceful and quiet. My last visit to Oriole was at their Somerset outlet for brunch and I thought I would give their new outlet a try. Ordered the Capellini Crab meat, which was capellini with crab meat served in aglio olio style. The original price of the capellini was $26 but I got it at a discount thanks to the lunch set which came with a coffee. I had my usual flat white which did a perfect job of waking me up after my heavy lunch. The Capellini Crabmeat was good, al dente pasta, lightly tossed in olive oil, and a generous heap of crab meat! I am used to having my crab meat pasta in tomato sauce and this aglio olio styled crab meat pasta was such a refreshing change. Coffee at Oriole was also really good, not too acidic, and just nice for me.

I liked Oriole at Capitol Piazza so much that I returned a few weeks later on a lazy Saturday afternoon for some me time over a cup of flat white and a Milan Kundera. The boyfriend was away for a work trip that weekend and I took the time off to run some errands before settling down in Oriole for my peaceful me time. I enjoyed my afternoon there, mostly because it was quiet and empty, and I did not feel pressured to leave. This is a perfect spot to do some quiet reading on a weekend!

Capitol Piazza

#02-20

63846495

Bao Makers and AEIOU cafe, Lavender

Dinner after work with Stef! Picked Bao Makers from the Entertainer App and met at the cozy little restaurant one night after work. The place was not too crowded on a weekday night even though we came in without reservations. Settled down in a corner table and started flipping through the menu excitedly. 

Truffle fries ($5 as an extra to the bao). I could smell the fragrance of truffle oil from the bowl of truffle fries across the aisle without even looking in that direction. It was really so fragrant! I would highly suggest this as a side to the baos. We also had the house salad ($2) as a side to add some veggies into our meal. 

Chilli Crab Bao ($5.80 each). They were very generous with the crab meat - just look at all the crab meat stuffed into the bao! The weird thing about this dish which we found out pretty soon was the bowl of chilli sauce. The depth of the bowl meant that it was virtually impossible to dip my bao into the chilli sauce. I just cannot fit the bao into the bowl to reach the sauce at the bottom. We resorted to pouring the sauce out of the bowl onto our bao (and dripping it everywhere) and using our fork to smear the sauce evenly on our bao.

Salted Egg Shrimp ($5.80 each). As usual, I love everything salted egg so this was a winner for me! I love the juicy crunchy prawns and that thick savoury salted egg sauce.

We left Bao Makers and headed to AEIOU around the corner. There are loads of cafes in this area and I have tried most of them but I have never tried AEIOU before. It was a very interesting cafe and I totally could not tell that it was a cafe from the exterior. Housed in what looked like a hardware shop, AEIOU was quiet, peaceful and serene when we entered. There was a small cake counter at the front with shelves selling various merchandise. The tables and stools were all different! Some tables were traditional wrought iron tables with a glass top (like this one) and others resembled an old-fashioned sewing machine! Very interesting. We had a tiramisu which was served in a Grey Goose bottle and a pot of green tea. 

Both Bao Makers and AEIOU Cafe are easily accessible from Lavender MRT. 

Was a great evening catching up on life, work, and all sorts of random things in general. Till the next dinner! :)

The Bao Makers

78 Horne Road 

Monday to Friday                    12pm to 10pm

Saturday/Public Holidays        11am to 10pm

Sunday                                     11am to 6pm

Phone: 6291 2330

Aeiou Cafe

111 King George's Ave, 208559

Phone:6291 2698

Blanco Court Fish Soup and Maison Ikkoku

Lunch time with a friend from office many moons ago at the Blanco Court Fish Soup in Luk Yu Eating House. The queue was amazing! I didn't know there was such a popular fish soup stall along Beach Road until that day. The queue was worth it. Thick slices of fresh fish lightly fried in a crispy batter, delicious fried egg and a milky soup base. Now I know why there is a long queue for the fish soup! Coffee time at Maison Ikkoku. Good cup of flat white to beat the food coma after the yummy fish soup. Always a nice lunch chatting with a good friend about random funny stuff and serious stuff and all sorts of things in life.

Two Bakers and The Bravery. Horne Road

I love the Horne Road area for the cluster of cafes which is easily accessible from Lavender Mrt and it definitely helps that I live so close! Tx and I decided to do brunch one Saturday morning long ago and we picked Two Bakers. It had been a long long time since I did brunch with the her! So long that I forgot when was the last time we did brunch oops.

The menu at Two Bakers below. (Update: the menu has since changed).

Tx picked the Truffle Omelette ($15.80) which was truly an explosion of mushrooms, truffle, cheese in an omelette! It tasted so good that I think I will go back and try it one day. I picked Eggs Royale ($14.80) with the usual poached eggs, smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce. It was really good too! Brunch at Two Bakers is really unexpectedly good. I thought they were popular for their desserts but omg, I am so pleasantly surprised that their brunch was also fantastic.

UPDATE: Returned to Two Bakers recently and the menu seemed to have changed or at least it no longer looked like the picture above. The boyfriend and I used the Entertainer app and realised that the brunch items were no longer considered mains so we picked other stuff instead. I had the Lock, Stock and Barrel bagel which came with a sunny side up, hash browns, streaky bacon and a thick juicy portobello mushroom. This was good! The boyfriend picked the Vongole Pasta which was quite bland unfortunately. The cafe was still comfortable, cozy and quiet on a warm Saturday afternoon and I still like the vibe at this place as we sat back and discussed adulthood problems like housing.

Back to my Saturday with Tx. Moved over to The Bravery where I had trouble finding the door (it is the middle pane) and we settled down at the large communal table with our flat white and lavender earl grey. Talked and laughed about life in general, leaning back in our little chairs and giving each other updates on stuff. Also received an awesome early birthday present. A Milan Kundera! Also the same one I commented on when I saw a picture of that book on her Instagram :) Thanks for the gift! Will let you know once I have completed the book. 

To many more brunches in future!

Two Bakers

Address: 88 Horne Rd, 209083

Phone:6293 0329

The Bravery

Address: 66 Horne Rd, 209073

Phone:6225 4387

The Royal Mail and Mad about Sucre

So I turned 27 not so recently and had a delicious birthday dinner with Stef at The Royal Mail followed by desserts at Mad about Sucre. It was a fantastic night with loads of delicious food and desserts, and fantastic company. Thanks for the treat and for all the laughs! I will always remember how you told me about breathing at the meeting hahaha.

UPDATE: Omg, I just found out that the Royal Mail is closed?! Sigh but still, am going to post this to keep this night as part of my memories.

The menu at the Royal Mail below.

Fresh raw oysters as amuse bouche. So juicy and yums.

The Roasted Whole Chicken was a little small (for some reason we were expecting a bigger chicken?) but good. It was a little dry at parts but overall still a nice roasted chicken.

The Miso Black Cod was SO GOOD. Smooth fatty cod with bonito flakes and a light creamy sauce. The Miso Black Cod is a must order! We also had a side of straight cut chips with truffle mayonnaise which was pretty good. 

Took a train to Outram and walked to Keong Saik for Mad about Sucre. This place was so very pretty! Cute little golden trays dangled from the ceiling with colourful cake boxes stacked up high. The display counter was a bright glass case illuminated with white light and dainty little cakes sat in the counter waiting to be picked. The service at Mad about Sucre was flawless. The staff introduced each cake patiently and told us the highlights of each cake. They also had tea pairing so we could have a tea blend for each cake we chose.

We had the Luna de Miel (blood orange, french spring blossom honey and sponge) and the San Domingue (chocolate, rum and biscuit). Luna de Miel was light and sweet with a delicious blood orange layer in the middle. San Dom was heavier and more robust with the thick flavour of chocolate and rum. The tea blend went perfectly well with the cakes!

I truly had a great night :)

The Royal Mail
Ascott Raffles Place Singapore, 2 Finlayson Green
+65 6509 3589 

Mad about Sucre
27 Teo Hong Road
6221 3969

Assembly Ground, The Cathay

It is probably the in thing now to have a cafe attached to your boutique and generally just channeling the hipster vibe everywhere. The hipster vibe was definitely there at the Assembly Ground but sigh, the food was truly not up to scratch. We had the Entertainer App (thank god!) so it was one-for-one for the mains. An obligatory hipster picture of an empty chair hurhur.

Truffle Fries ($12) was probably the only thing at Assembly Ground which I found satisfactory but still not fantastic.

The Grilled Portobello Burger ($20) came with portobello, mushroom jerky, cheese and spiced fries. This was extremely sweet for some reason. I was not expecting a sweet burger and was completely caught off guard.

Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Pasta ($19) in cream sauce. The cream was very heavy yet bland so I had a very bad pasta dish. I was just fighting to keep the pasta down and I gave up after a while. Also, $19 for a few thin slices of smoked salmon and some diced asparagus was really steep. Thank god for the Entertainer App again.

Nope, not returning. Not even if I have the Entertainer App. 

#01-22 The Cathay

2 Handy Road

Creamier, Toa Payoh

Super yummy and fluffy waffles, good ice cream (I had the pistachio which was so fragrant!) and great company! The ice-cream parlour was a little small and crowded, there were limited tables and seats and it felt like everyone was smashed together in that enclosed area. BUT. The fantastic waffles and good ice cream definitely made up for it. I will be back!

128 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh

Commune Cafe and Bistro No 50, Millenia Walk

At Commune Cafe and Bistro with the boyfriend for a cup of latte and a warm fluffy waffle with vanilla ice cream. It was quiet, peaceful, not crowded at all despite being right smack in the city. People were speaking softly, laughing, having a good Saturday. Fragrant smell of coffee drifted along the corridor. We spoke about our week, about random nuggets of information, about how good it would be if we could get the flat. Shared about The Projector because I found a pamphlet on the counter and looked through the movies to be screened in July. I remembered I was wearing my new tee that I bought from Abercrombie and Fitch when we were in New York with my pair of trusty jean shorts. I told him the outfit made me feel young with my aviator shades. We took the train that day because he was not driving and I realised it had been a while since we last took the train on a Saturday for our dates. How different life is without the convenience of going anywhere you want to go, as quickly as you want to go. But we still had a laugh despite the crowded train and the long walk everywhere.

(And I just realised that this draft was done in July and it is already September. I have an immense backlog of drafts to post and I am not getting around to posting them. At all. Ugh.)

Millenia Walk #02-50

63371038

Habitat Coffee and Wafflelicious, Thomson

The boyfriend picked me up one Friday evening after work and we headed to Thomson! Partly because I wanted to try something different on a Friday night instead of the usual shopping centers and partly because I heard lots about Habitat Coffee and Wafflelicious and wanted to try them for myself!

We parked at a public car park nearby and took the short walk to Habitat Coffee. The cafe seems to be staffed by an all-male crew and one of them ushered us to the second level. We took a seat along the wall with a glass panel that overlooked the first floor and I was actually very amused by that seat! We could spy on everybody on the first floor and it was not obvious at all. Or maybe it was obvious but you could not blame us since there was literally nowhere else we could be looking.

Chilli Crab Linguine ($17). So generous with the crab meat, so interesting with the fried man tous at the side, and so al dente was the linguine! This was worth the raves. I do think the sauce was a little too thick and it could have done better with less tomato sauce and a lighter flavour, but this was definitely still good. I will be back for their coffee and truffle fries!

Wafflelicious. For a place which ostensibly is mad about waffles, I was sorely disappointed by the way our chocolate waffle turned out. Hard and overcooked. This definitely went down into the no-go category. Even the boyfriend who likes crispy waffles found this sad. The earl grey ice cream was good though! Very fragrant with small bits of earl grey tea leaves. 

Habitat Coffee

223 Upper Thomson Road

Tue to Fri: 11 am to 1030 pm

Sat and Sun: 1030 am to 1030 pm

64562567

Wafflelicious

Somewhere down the road.