Review: Bell’s Cottage Cafe

Following the likes of Ciel Patisserie, Shrove Tuesday and Creamier, comes Bell’s Cottage at Clementi. This cafe is nestled in the heart of the HDB flats, a good 10 minutes walk away from the MRT station, much to the joy for the Westies!

The Place
When I first encountered Bell’s Cottage, its white washed exterior and outdoor seating reminded me a lot of Ciel Patisserie. Both of which exuding a breath of fresh air into the usual rows of hardware stores and coffee shops along the void deck. Living up to its name, the cafe looks just like a cottage on the exterior. When you step into this little cafe, you would probably feel a gush of the feeling at home and the urge to simply plonk your butts down on to one of their seats. It’s no wonder why they call themselves a cottage.   A vey small and cosy interior, but definitely not a place for you to chill if it gets crowded, because I thought I was in a market when a party of 4 simply sat and talked over lunch.

The Food
Bell’s Cottage do not have much offerings. I guess their focus is mainly on their ice cream and desserts, although there are also savory mains on the menu.  Their mains go by a mix-and-match concept, with you choosing the type of bread you want, as well as, your fillings.  Just for this review, I decided on getting a Plain Jane Burger ($2.80), because it sounded the most interesting of all, and there were only 3 choices of filings on the day of my visit: egg mayo, tuna and ham. Evidently, I went for the tuna (+$1.80). I finally got what they meant when they named it the Plain Jane burger, because, it’s just a burger, really. A plain jane kinda burger. Buns were well-toasted, and the tuna filling was generous. However, I thought the honey that was being drizzled across the plate was just out of the place with the entire dish, palate wise, and even aesthetically.

A simple meal you could get if you’re going for something light for lunch. Otherwise, you could always head over to the number of coffee shops around the area to get your lunch fix, and swing by here for desserts.  Cottage Special (butter bun with gelato and churros, $9.80): A pretty value for money dessert I would say. And all my favorites on a plate. BREAD. ICE CEAM. CHURROS. I thought the idea of serving churros was pretty smart, because not many cafes serve churros, even though there are so many churro fans out there. I went for their charcoal bun, with the latte machiaato gelato. I guess Bell’s Cottage has made themselves relatable with this little black burger with gelato and a side of churros. A unique combination and presentation of this impressive dish. The charcoal buns were toasted perfectly, to the point that they are crisp and a little fluffy at the same time. I couldn’t finish my Plain Jane burger, but this ice cream burger got me going mouthfuls after mouthfuls cause it was simply so good and addictive.

However, if Bell’s Cottage Cafe intends to specialize in desserts and gelatos, they should probably expand their flavors of gelatos, as well as experiment with the flavors of their gelato, if it is handmade. Because my scoop of Latte Machiaato got my blood glucose levels shooting up to the stars.

The churros, even though, were a great addition to this dish, was however disappointing. Despite being crisp on the outside, it was overly “doughy” on the inside. The cinnamon powder was also an overkill, causing the side of the churros to become massively bitter, so much so that the gelato could not save my palate from the overpowering bitterness.

Closing Remarks

Despite the hits and misses, this new kid on (under) the block definitely has the potential to be one of the up and rising cafes in Singapore. I cannot emphasize how much I thought the idea of having an ice cream burger with churros is such an ingenious one. However, they do have a lot to work on, in terms of the flavors and on expanding the variety of their mains, if they intend to venture into serving savory items on their menu. But as cafe owners, it’s always not so good to be a jack of all trades and a master of none in this competitive cafe industry in Singapore.

Bell’s Cottage Cafe is a joy to have in the Clementi estate to get one’s dessert fix. However, it requires a little more work from this little hidden gem before I would recommend you to make a special trip down to this little cafe for their Cottage Special.

How to get there?

354 Clementi Avenue 2
#01-233

Opening Hours

Mon – Thu: 12:00 – 21:00
Fri – Sat: 12:00 – 22:00
Sun: 12:00 – 21:00

Review: Sin Lee Foods

Sin Lee foods, is one place that pops up on my Instagram feed almost on a daily basis. I’ve first been drawn to this place when I saw a post on their signature Salted Egg Sweet Potato Fries. A marriage of 2 of my favorite foods, and that just looks and sounds like heaven to me. Another plus point was that, they have one of the most photogenic foods amongst the cafes in Singapore. It was DEFINITELY my calling to pay this place a visit, so much so that I visited them THRICE.

It’s quite funny how the first visit was linked to the second. The boy intended to surprise me for dinner by bringing me to Sin Lee on a Sunday night, but as usual, his surprise failed. Apparently he was being cheated about the opening hours online, and Sin Lee was actually closed by 6pm on Sundays, much to our dismay. The second visit happened when I randomly helped the boy to rant about our wasted trip to Sin Lee, and we accidentally won the signature One and Only Waffle with Fried Chicken from Shaun (@shauniee) and the owner of Sin Lee, Sean (@battermaker). We immediately marked our calendars, and decided to head down for our Christmas Lunchner! Well.. The third, was the most interesting one of all. Sin Lee was where a group of friends and I decided to hold our Instameet at, because we thought the new menu was coming out!

The Place
 Just like many of the hipster cafes these days, Sin Lee rocked the retro look with their old school signboard right at their entrance. Apparently, Sin Lee used to be a coffee shop here in the void deck of Bukit Ho Swee (7-10 mins walk away from Tiong Bahru MRT) that used to sell Prawn noodles and such. The current cafe retained the charm left over by this now defunct kopitiam, by keeping its name and signboard, which I thought was pretty cool.

The seating capacity of the cafe is sufficient on any regular day, but definitely not enough for a weekend lunch crowd. They have limited dine-in tables, an “al fresco” dining area, and on a crazy day, they even have to expand their premises to the chess tables nearby.

To cater the bustling weekend crowd, reservations can be made through Chope SG. Be warned that you might not be able to get the indoor seating even if you make a reservation though!

In my opinion, I think the ratio of their seating capacity to efficiency and kitchen size may be a little skewed to their disfavor. The semi open kitchen concept seemed too small to be able to have more hands to help before the law of diminishing returns set in. As a result, this has caused a number of patrons to complain about the waiting time for their food during their weekend peak.
 By the way, I took a picture of this as soon as I reached to make sure that I conveyed the right opening hours to you guys.

The Food

Alright enough talk about the place, let’s look at what they have to offer!

 “At Sin Lee Foods, we don’t and we won’t serve Egg Benedict but we sure do serve awesome food and beverages. Take a leap of faith and be a convert.”

Indeed. I am so sick of all the brunch menus in cafes, with their ultimate breakfasts and eggs benedict and what not. Sin Lee’s menu was definitely refreshing and exciting to look at, only if you covered up the prices.

On our first visit, we got ourselves The One and Only (waffles with fried chicken), Aburi Broccoli Salad and of course, the Salted Egg Sweet Potato Fries. We also tried out their Malted Pie Crust Shake. Malted Pie Crust Shake ($9): this is made up of pie crust and malted milk. We didn’t quite enjoy this rendition of the shake, probably because we weren’t too huge of a fan of malted drinks like horlicks. I guess I got too excited when I saw that the shake has pie crust, and forgot to take the malted aspect of the shake into consideration. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who don’t really like malted drinks, because it was pretty difficult to finish!  The One and Only: Sin Lee Fried Chicken and Waffles ($21.90): I guess what they meant when they said “The One and Only” was the fact that they are the one and only $22 waffle in Singapore. When you decide to brand a particular dish as your signature dish, I guess it should either be 1) unique or 2) damn finger lickin’ good. Yet this dish fell short in both aspects. I even thought the mini waffle and fried chicken bites from The Boiler tasted better than this.  The serving of the chicken was huge. However, taste wise, it was just average, perhaps a little lacking of flavors in my opinion. I thought the dish was made better by drizzling the melted maple butter over the waffles and chicken. The sweet and savory combination saved this dish a little, because having both of which individually was not too impressive. Then again, I’ve seen people commenting about how they did not like the maple butter, so please do it with discretion.   Salted Egg Sweet Potato Fries ($12): Twice fried sweet potato fries, house made salted duck’s egg sauce, with crispy curry leaves. Like I said, this dish sounded just like a dish made in heaven. What perfect combination of both of my favorite ingredients. As the salted egg yolk fries from Leban left such a deep impression on my palate, I had relatively high expectations for this dish, because I prefer sweet potato fries to normal fries any day!
During my first visit, I was rather disappointed with how this dish turned out. The dissonance from reality and expectations was so great that I did not dare to pass any comment on this dish. I expected a lot more. The bowl of fries was surprisingly boring. The salted egg sauce was present in texture but not any where in its flavor. The sweet potato fries were not able to take up the sauce well, that it just felt like I was having a sweet potato fries dish on its own. Hence I vowed to try it on my second visit because I believe such a heavenly combination deserves a second chance. Alas, it once again, failed to impress me, as well as my dining buddies.
 Aburi Broccoli Salad ($12): Smoky thorched broccoli florets, white balsamic, papadum, and red sugar. What. What kind of combination is that? Honestly, if I hadn’t seen the raving reviews on this dish on instagram, it would definitely be something that I would overlook. This particular dish, was mind-blowingly excellent. I don’t know how Sean does it, but it somehow had a different flavor in every mouthful, teasing my palate. A definite MUST-ORDER if you decide to head to Sin Lee. The downside to this, is its hefty price tag of $12. Well… this is indeed an amazing rendition of broccoli, $12… I’ll let it slip.

On my third visit, it was an apprehensive one, since it was my first instameet. I am just glad that it turned out WAYYYYY better than expected, and these guys are pretty cool and FUNNY.
 Food instagrammers/bloggers/up and coming super stars at work. Look at everyone in the background just judging them.. If you guys are interested in following more foodies in Singapore, here are their instagram accounts: @benjamintheun, @huilingishungry, @lancetaey and @stormscape.

Since Lance and I are HUGE fans of bananas, we managed to convince the rest to order some Banana Beignets. We also got the sweet potato fries, ABURI BROCCOLI SALAD, Truffle Pops, and Rice and Grains  to share amongst us.  Benene Beignets ($9.50): Cake battered bananas served with condensed milk and freshly grated parmesan. I thought these tasted pretty good, because I loved how the warm banana filling within the cake batter just oozed into my mouth. Having fried banana is definitely a refreshing experience for me. However, my counterparts were not too impressed with this dish, as it was rather average to them, and they thought that this was just an overpriced version of goring pisang, which I have unfortunately not tried it in my entire life. Hence I was in no position to judge at all. But $9.50 for bananas… I think I’m going bananas paying off that bill.  Truffle Pops ($12): Creamy mushroom and truffle duxelle balls fried to glory, served with house made basil dressing and parmesan. This dish sounded really good to us, because mushrooms and truffle.
Sadly this dish was overly salty, and there was almost an absence of the taste of truffle. It definitely did not make an impact on me, because right now… I do not have any impression of having this dish, or even, remember how it actually taste like.   Beef and Grains ($24): Seared marbled stripling, wet orzo “rice”, fried and runny free range hen egg, sweet sour ginger and I don’t know what are the rest of the ingredients. This dish, to me, is yet another MUST ORDER! The wet orzo “rice” was so, very addictive. Being someone who doesn’t take much rice, I couldn’t stop myself from going mouthfuls after mouthfuls of this orzo rice. Besides, this is a perfect example of East meets West, as Sean explained to us that he used black bean sauce, which is usually used for Chinese dishes on this plate of steak and orzo, a generally Western dish. What a fusion, and what a culinary genius this man is.

Closing Remarks

Frankly, I am still very impressed with what Sin Lee has to offer. They definitely do stand out from the rest of the cafes with their dishes, together with the ingenious play in the ingredients used in each dish. Every combination is evidently well thought out, even though not as well-executed in some. Despite the misses and disappointment, I believe the efforts of Sean and Co. should be applauded, and the courage to stray away from the norm deserves a standing ovation.

However, like any food establishments, there bound to be hits and misses, and I think with such solid foundation, Sin Lee just has to be more receptive towards the feedback from its patrons and put some work into improving the subtle blemishes. I am confident of the improvement in the standards and taste of their food, however, price-wise, definitely needs some revision; a common sentiment amongst every patron. Despite the no GST and service charge claim, it is quite evident that the additional charges have been taken into account in its pricing.

Sin Lee would be worth the visit for you if you’re looking for something different from the usual brunch and cafe fare. Be warned that you may have to starve yourself for the week to save up for this sumptuous meal though. Or get a tailor because you may burn a hole in your pocket. 

How to get there? 

4 Jalan Bukit Ho Swee
Singapore 162004

Opening Hours 

Review: Rabbit Owl Depot

When Rabbit Owl Depot opened its doors, they immediately shot to fame with its distinct snow flake waffles served on its black clay (? not porcelain) plate. Being a skeptic of waffles, I’ve always wondered what was so good about their waffles and how different were they from their counterparts.

Well.. Let us see.

The Place
The ice cream parlor is situated right opposite the National Library at Bras Brasah, on North Bridge Road. Since it’s an ice cream parlor, I guess they aren’t expecting people to spend much time there, and hence the small space. The place was really cramped and crowded when we arrived at about 5pm, which made it really uncomfortable to enjoy our food, because of the noise levels in the rather enclosed place. One thing I was impressed with this little ice cream parlor was the theme of its design. Look! The counter is a container! And they are called Rabbit Owl DEPOT. How clever! Am I the only smart one who noticed this? HAHAHA! Kidding. So here’s the boy photobombing my picture of the place unintentionally cause it was so cramped in there!

The Food

They have a wide array of ice cream flavors, and the only one that caught my eye was their new creation: The Speculoos ice cream. Can’t remember what they named it, but it’s basically just speculoos flavored ice cream. And so, we got that to go with our ice cream. I was honestly not really impressed with the variety of ice cream there, probably because of me and my weird preference for ice cream, like I’ve explained here.Besides ice cream and waffles, they do offer coffee too, and wifi! A great place to hang out and get some work done, IF you don’t feel pressurized by the crowd in the cafe.
 If you are a fan of the speculoos spread, you would definitely love this. For those who are not aware, speculoos is actually caramelized cookies, which have recently made a hit with its rendition of a spread. The ice cream version of this tasted exactly like the cookies and spread, or even better, because it was less sweet. I have always complained about how sweet the speculoos biscuit could get, but this was actually pretty well-balanced.
This is by far my favorite quote. Hahaha! How did the waffles fare? I thought these were one of the better ones I’ve had, and they definitely lived up to expectations. The waffles were the right amount of crisp and fluffy. They went perfectly well with the ice cream, I even wished that there was more for me to savour after finishing one of these waffles. This is pretty rare because I am totally not a ice cream waffle person.

A downside was its price, however. We paid $10.50 for this plate of waffles, which I thought was rather overpriced. It didn’t exactly cross my mind that they were pricey, until the boy pointed out that we usually paid only $8+ for double scoop ice creams on waffle, like that of Shrove Tuesday. Hmm.. Then again, it might just be the location and hence, the steeper price tag.

Closing Remarks

I am overall very impressed with the waffle I’ve had here. The speculoos rendition of ice cream was also very well done, and I sincerely wish that such a quality could be maintained for the rest of the flavors. The downside of my experience was probably the crowd, and the rather impersonal service that we received from the server. I’m pretty sure no one loves to be served by a grouchy face on a pleasant Sunday afternoon, so.. I think they might want to take note of this. Otherwise, I would recommend Rabbit Owl Depot to all fans of waffles, and this might just be the to-go place for your after meal desserts if you’re in the area!

How to get there?

420 North Bridge Road
#01-06
Singapore 188727

Opening Hours

Daily; 12pm – 10pm.

P.s. Look! I got featured on iWeekly! Haolian! But thanks @benjamintheun for the heads up! 😀 Made me so excited for a good 5 minutes this morning!

Review: Cafe Pal

It has been a hectic start to 2015, with the incessant trainings, and thesis deadlines. I haven’t been able to sit down to just do my reviews like before, and I am really thankful to have just some time to myself this afternoon, right before my game and training afterwards.

Most of the people who know me will know that I am a HUGE fan of thai food, more specifically, Tom Yum Soup. My love for this sour and spicy dish knows no bounds, and this is not an exaggeration. I actually had Tom Yum fish soup for dinner every weekday for an entire year when I was in J1.

So, any Thai eatery in Singapore would immediately capture my attention. I have heard A LOT about Cafe Pal, not for their food though, but for their pretty bottles of milk tea. Hence, this has always been on my to-go list for the longest while, yet I never quite made it there because of its location.

The Sunday that we decided to visit the Singapore’s first Cat Museum was an awesome opportunity for us to finally pop by Cafe Pal for a visit, and that’s what we did.

The Place

Situated at Middle Road, Cafe Pal does not stand out from the rest of its counterparts on the particular stretch of shops. When we first walked in, we were being greeted by a rather narrow walkway, with a bar counter on the left, and seats on the right. The aisle would then expand to a relatively large space to fit diners in large groups. They apparently have a second level too, which was used to host a private event on the day of our visit.

I expected the place to be pretty crowded on a Sunday afternoon, but to my surprise, there was only a group of diners beside us in the very quiet eatery, which was kinda nice.

The Food

Cafe Pal’s menu is not what I would call extensive, but it’s substantial I guess. They have value for money set meals, which are available on all day, on weekends as well. 
Take-Away only menu:

One tip for you if you ever intend on coming here for a meal, it’s best for you to order your milk teas to-go, than to have it in the cafe itself, because it costs much lesser to have it in a bottle, without much compromise in the quantity. It is $5.80 for a Thai milk tea with 2 add-ons if you were to have it there, while it will only cost you $4 to take it away in their pretty bottles. By the way, you can’t have your bottled Milk teas in house. They are strictly for take aways only.

Scanning through the menu, we pretty much got the usual Thai dishes. We didn’t go for the set meals because we were intending to get their Milk Tea to-go. Hence, I went for the Tom Yum Noodles and the boy chose Phad Thai, ala carte. We also ordered the Thai Style Otah and Mini Toast with Kaya Dip for our appetizers.

 Mini Toast and Kaya Dip ($4++): Thai style Kaya dip is used over here, that’s why it looks a little greener than usual. But they taste pretty good as well, not too sweet, and pretty well-balanced I would say.   Here’s a close up of the crispy toast, which is basically just slices of toasted bread, sprinkled with some icing sugar. $4 is a little… Overpriced for the kind of ingredients used here, but well.. If you haven’t tried Thai Style Kaya, then maybe you should give this a go. Nothing really special. It tastes just like the normal kaya but less sweet, which I found it to be surprising because Thai food tends to be a little heavy handed on their flavoring, and SUGAR.
 Thai Style Otah ($8++): The only gripe I had with this dish when it was first served to us was, WHY IS IT PRESENTED SO WEIRDLY. Why only 5, instead of 6? If they intended to serve 5, shouldn’t they be served in a circular platter or something, for presentation sake?
-End of OCD rant.-
 Taste wise, I thought this tasted just like the Mackerel Otah from Muar, the one I love! But towards the end, there was this distinct lemongrass-ish after taste, that resembled that of tom yum. There are also chunks of seafood hidden within the otah too! A pretty good starter dish that I would recommend you to order.

  Phad Thai ($9++): Honestly this was not bad of a dish at all. BUT, once you’ve tasted the authentic Phad Thai from the road side stalls in Thailand, nothing here ever comes close!
A rather generous portion of seafood in the Phad Thai. I thought it lacked a little bit of the sweetness that most Phad Thai have, but overall a pretty good dish!

  Tom Yum Soup ($9++): I thought this was pretty special because it was served with a side of deep fried wantons. Wantons and tom yum, that’s a first for me. The ingredients used in this dish were fresh and good. Generous servings as well. However, I thought that the soup base was a little too mild. It wasn’t tangy or spicy enough to electrify my tastebuds. A good dish if you can’t take spicy food very well. For me, I’ve had better at Thai Express. 

Before we left, we certainly had to get their bottled milk teas. The boy had the Thai milk tea with sago and pearls, while I had the Moo Moo Island with Pearls.
The thai milk tea was surprisingly not as sweet as I expected it to be, and that was definitely a plus in my books. The toppings were generous as well. This would definitely be something I would come here specially to get the next time I’m in the vicinity, especially so if I’m going for a movie or something!
 Moo Moo Island consisted of green tea, milk, coconut and coconut flesh. I thought this was a rather exotic combination, and the ingredients really went well together. A generous portion of coconut flesh with every sip, and I was pretty impressed by the fact that the taste of green tea did not get drowned out by the coconut. You could actually taste both at the same time. A pretty refreshing drink for the hot weather I would say.

Closing Remarks

Overall, I enjoyed my visit to Cafe Pal. To be frank, I don’t think making a trip down here for your Thai food fix would do any good, because the standards of the food are rather average. The dishes are rather muted in my opinion, which does not exactly go with how the Thais play with the flavors on their food. I would very much recommend the all-time favorite Nakhon Kitchen to fix that craving of yours. However, if you’ve always wanted to try their bottled drinks, I would highly recommend them to you, because they are pretty much refreshing change from the usual drinks you can get out of Thai eateries. Not forgetting the fact that, they are pretty affordable too!

How to get there?

01-00
43 Middle Road
Singapore 188952

Opening Hours

Daily, 12:00pm – 9:00pm

A first look at Lion City Kitty: The Cat Museum, Muses & Mansion

This post contains a rather complete rundown of Singapore’s first ever cat museum. Is it worth the entry fee of $9? Read and decide for yourselves! Lion City Kitty: The Cat Museum, Muses and Mansion officially opens on 9 January 2015.

I’m usually not the museum kind of person. In fact, I’m a museum’s worst nightmare because I love to touch everything in sight. Yet, this time I made a reservation for the sneak preview to Singapore’s first cat museum without any hesitation after I saw an article on it, because they had REAL CATS available for us to play with in the museum (pretty much like a cat cafe), and most of all, my boy is a ailurophile (this was one of the cool things I’ve learnt from my visit to the cat museum), i.e. a cat lover.

So, we paid Lion City Kitty a visit on its last day of its sneak preview on Sunday (28/12/2014). Do not expect anything much, like a large scale museum, such as that of the ArtScience museum, or Asian Civilization museum, with fancy entrances and an entire building dedicated just for them. This was pretty much what I envisioned before visiting the museum, and well.. I was very surprised when we arrived.

Nestled along Purvis Street, a few doors away from the ever popular French restuarant, Saveur, lies a flight of stairs in a random hole in the wall.
 We would have totally missed the entrance to the museum if not of this little poster. Besides, even after seeing it, we were still pretty unsure if we should climb up the flight of stairs because it seems rather unorthodox to have such an entrance to a museum, according to the schema of our past visits to other museums on school excursions and what not.  So, here’s the entrance, which we only decided to climb after being warmly welcomed by the greeter from the museum.
Quotes like these about cats can be seen all around the museum, and this was just one of the many we spotted on our way up.

When you reach the top of the flight of stairs, it is a really small space, where the staff from the museum would require you to remove your shoes to put them in the lockers provided. Do remember to prepare either a new $1 coin or old 50 cent coin for you to operate the lockers. The coins are fully refundable after you are done with the use. The removal of shoes is to ensure cleanliness and hygiene to keep the environment clean for the cats in the museum.

After removing your shoes, you would be led into a rather narrow path into the museum, where posters of cats are put up, and you would then arrive at the counter where you will have to pay the entrance fee of $9 per pax.
Some infographics about how to interact with cats before you enter the museum.

Here’s the map as an overview to the cosy cat museum:

Level 2: The Museum

Here, you would be introduced by the staff to the museum, as well as to the various artworks of felines and cats by artists, which are up for sale. Interesting stories about cats and their owners are also put up for your reading interest. For example, 
The art pieces and photographs which are up for sale!
There are also nuggets of interesting facts available interspersed amongst the art pieces.
Cute kitty soft toys are also put on display, such as cosplaying cats in Elsa’s outfit and these cutie pies.   That is about it for the 2nd level. As you proceed to the 3rd level, it is where all the community cats are being housed. These are cats that have been selected by the Cat Welfare Society to put up for adoption. This level is designed to allow people to socialize with these cats so that it is easy to find a match between the potential adopters and the little felines!

Level 3: The Muses Gallery

This level is set up to match the social mission of the museum to educate and encourage people to adopt cats, instead of buying them. It also exhibits posters that trace cat’s lineage throughout the Singapore history, from the Japanese occupation, colonial times and to the present day. They even have a huge map of Singapore, where cat owners are encouraged to pin a photo of their cats on their location of residence. They also have bite sized info on the various cat species found on that level!

Here’s a look at some of the cats on the 3rd level! From our experience from the various visits to the cat cafes at BKK and the one in Singapore, the time which we visited them at about 3pm, was their napping time because cats are nocturnal! Hence, some of the cats there were all fast asleep, or have that annoyed look because we woke them up specially to get a picture of them. Hahaha!
 This cat was sleeping like a sleeping beauty because LOOK AT THAT. I would love to sleep forever on that furry mat too. This is the entirely black cat which I couldn’t quite catch it in color because it just looks like its silhouette.
Sleepy handsome cat.

Level 4: The Mansion

The Mansion houses the resident cats, including Harry, the cross-eyed cat, who happens to be the mascot of the museum because of its special appearance. Here, there are 9 cats who were rescued and have their background stories blown up on posters hanging on the walls of the museum on this level.
This level has all the toys and scratching posts, as well as cat nips, every cat in the world could ask for. There’s no wonder why it’s called The Mansion. Here’s a look at the resident kitties!

 Here’s Harry who was sleeping soundly when we approached him. We didn’t realize it was Harry until he opened his eyes and we got the most pleasant surprise of our lives to find that he’s actually Harry and REALLY REALLY CROSS EYED. I’m so thankful that he woke up and held his pose for a good 10s, before snuggling back to sleep.
 Angie, the Mainecoon, looking so pretty with her leopard prints.  This is Brad, the resident grumpy cat who weighs a hefty 8kg, and sleeps whenever and where ever he wants.

And I guess we were lucky to have caught Georgie humping on Julia right in front of a crowd. Animal instincts right on point. Hahaha!

It is unfortunate that we were unable to get pictures of all the cats, nor have the chance to play with all of them because they were either fast asleep or there were just too many people surrounding them in a small area. We just had to wait around for the crowd to clear before playing with some of them, or head down to visit the cats at the Muses before heading up to the Mansion, or vice versa.

It was nevertheless a great experience at the Cat Museum, and I have never had such great fun visiting a museum. Paying just a mere fee of $9 to play with these cats, and to learn more about cats and their history was definitely worth the time and the money. This place is the perfect place for cat lovers to visit and hang out. Even for the non cat lovers, this museum may very well just change your opinion of cats! A word of caution though, it may get really crowded when it opens officially, and that may hamper your experience, a teeny bit. 

Just thought this fun fact from the museum would be the perfect ending to this purr-fect experience that we’ve had at the museum. It’s just so difficult to pass up on the chance to use the word purr-fect eh? 

How to get there?

8 Purvis Street
#02-02
Singapore 188587

Opening Hours (from 9 January 2015)

Friday to Sunday, 2pm to 9 pm

Entrance fee: S$9 (free for kids aged 6 & below)
Payment mode: Cash only

Review: Burger Vs. Wings + Bar

I paid my first visit to Burger Vs. Wings + Bar (BWB) much earlier this year because of their TYSON PEANUT BUTTER BURGER. One does not simply miss such peanut butter goodness, and the person who brought me here on my virgin visit would not be too happy to read this right now, but I stand by my vow that I would marry a jar of peanut butter. 

I recently made my second visit back to BWB because I wanted try out the other items on the menu so that I can give a more comprehensive review. Such dedication. Sadly on both visits, the picture quality of the food and the place were a little below average because of the lighting in this restaurant bar, or I need someone to sponsor me with a new phone.

The Place

I have been hearing about BWB since its opening, however I never seem to see it around whenever I was in Orchard Central. It is only when the boy brought me here, I finally understood why. Located at the exclusive rooftop garden of Orchard Central on the 11th floor, BWB is away from all the hustle and bustle at OC, making it a good place for a gathering.What differentiates BWB from the rest of its counterparts, as it’s apparent from its name, is the boxing theme, which predominates the design of the restaurant. They even have television screens showing boxing matches, together with a couple of punching bags hanging from the ceiling in the establishment. The place is rather dark, because of its brick walls, and black furniture, which makes it the worst place for photography, but a pretty good ambience to dine in.
 As they are oddly named, Burger Vs. Wings PLUS Bar, we would infer that they specialize in burgers and wings, and they do not only serve alcohol. BWB occupies an extensive area on the rooftop garden, including their very own alfresco bar! So now we know where the + Bar comes from.
When you enter the restaurant, you would be able to see a huge tapas bar and an open concept kitchen occupying most of the space in the indoor seating area. For a small amount of top-up to your mains, this tapas bar caters a free flow buffet of appetizers, ranging from salads, prawn crackers, meat balls, beef pie, sous vide eggs, as well as desserts, including cakes, jellies and ice creams.

Let’s see how BWB puts up a fight with its counterparts, in terms of their offerings.

The Food
I did not manage to get my hands on their regular menu on my most recent visit, and this menu would give you a rough idea of what they serve, as well as its price-range.

I’ve had tried their burgers, wings and pizzas from my 2 visits, and I guess that’s 3 out of 4 of their main offerings. On my first visit, we ordered their signature Tyson Peanut Butter Burger ($21.90+), and a Pulled Pork Burger with Poached Egg ($19.90+), as well as a top up of $7.90+ each for the tapas and dessert buffet. Do note that the tapas buffet costs $4.90+ during lunch, and $7.90+ for dinner!
THE TYSON PEANUT BUTTER BURGER ($21.90+): Served between 2 soft and fluffy brioche buns, is the medium Angus beef, a slice of bacon, lettuce, and the spread of CRUNCHY PEANUT BUTTER. What a beautiful mess.  This is the cross section of the burger. Definitely messy to eat, but the first time I bit into this burger, it was like the dream wedding that I never had. The marriage of flavors with the seemingly weird combination was PERFECT. The taste of peanut butter was strong, but not overpowering. Even though pb tend to be pretty dry, the juices from the medium rare beef gave the much needed moisture. Besides the brioche buns were toasted to crisp perfection.  If there was a definition of a perfect burger, this Tyson burger would definitely be it.
Okok, one last look before we go.. LOOK AT THIS BABY.I got so excited with my own burger that I could not be bothered to snap many pictures of the boy’s pulled pork burger. I especially loved this burger because of the poached egg served atop of the pulled pork. Great presentation, and great flavors too! The pulled pork was moist, and tasty, it’s basically everything you can ask for in a pulled pork burger. The downside however, was that you could only have the egg in one mouthful, because it would be a HUGE mess for you to burst the yolk and it would be pretty difficult to savor the burger.

On my second visit, I went for their equally popular ringside wings and pizza. The mother and I went for the highly recommended Cajun BBQ Wings ($15.90+), Seafood Lovers Pizza ($18.50+), and a top up of $3.80+ for sweet potato fries, as well as the tapas buffet for $4.90+ each. As we were there at about 2.30pm, we were not able to enjoy the tapas buffet much because they close the buffet at 3pm. Here’s what you can expect from the tapas buffet.

 Apple salad, cous cous, potato salad. They have the soup of the day, which was Cream of Mushroom on that day. It tasted just like the powdered ones, not too impressive. I say, the only thing you go for from the tapas buffet is THIS.
Onsen egg with ponzu sauce
My mum kept asking for more of this, because it is so good!
And we had our desserts before mains. I was pretty sad because this means no ice cream for us. ): Well, the cakes kinda made up for it, because of its variety, and they taste not too bad too!

 Here comes our mains, and I had to stomach about 70% of this because my mum likes to order more than she likes to eat.  These sweet potato fries were a add on to the mains for just $3.80, and I thought it was pretty good value as the serving was quite decent for that price. These sweet potato fries were crisp and were quite a lot better than the ones I’ve had previously. I would recommend this as a side!
 Here are our Cajun BBQ Wings ($15.90+): Not that impressive. The serving was pretty stingy for its price, scrawny wings glazed with cajun bbq sauce, I don’t get the hype over its overpriced wings because it tasted like any other. If you’re sharing this, one portion of this is enough for 2 people to share as a starter!
We decided to go for their pizzas because we were both craving for something different from our usual fare. Hence we went for the seafood pizza, which was surprisingly impressive. I mean, one does not simply go to a place that brands themselves as Burger
vs Wings for their… pizzas, right? We thought this pizza was impressive because of its thin crispy crust, which does not fill you up as much and as fast as the traditional pizzas do. The combination of their tomato sauce and melted cheese, together with the medley of seafood friends, like prawns, mussels and calamari just went down together perfectly. I know such a combination is a norm in a seafood pizza, but I just can’t seem to put a finger to why this stands out amongst the rest of the seafood pizza I’ve had, even the one from Peperoni’s. It was so good, I could probably devour it all on my own.

Closing Remarks

I think BWB could easily deal a one-two punch to their opponents to knock them out in the ring. Even though I was not very impressed with their specialty wings, I guess I am not one who knows how to appreciate chicken wings, because they all really, taste the same to me. BWB has impressed me with the burgers and pizza, and that is definitely enough for me to crown them as champions in this arena of American Style food.

Besides, the design of the restaurant was on point. Classy and cosy, just a perfect place for a date or a gathering for large groups of friends. Its tapas bar is also one of the reasons why I think BWB could knock out their opponents. A great value for money concept for its diners, albeit some sub-standard quality of food, but of course everything has its hits and misses.

BWB is definitely a place I would recommend for your next primary school or secondary school gathering, otherwise it is also good for some after work drinks.

No service charge. 

Review: Bee Kee Truffle Wanton Noodles

We’ve heard of truffle fries, truffle pasta, truffle risotto.. Seriously, what’s there not to love about truffle? When we think about truffle, we often think of western dishes. But, have you ever heard of TRUFFLE WANTON NOODLES?

Bee Kee has outdone themselves this time by bringing the definition of fusion to an unparalleled level. A marriage of one of Singapore’s most popular Chinese hawker food, and one of the more atas ingredient used in Western dishes these days to give an elevated flavor. Such an ingenious idea, but how did it fare in reality?

The Place

Situated in the unassuming Chuen Kee Kopitiam, a stone throw away from Serangoon MRT station (Lorong Lew Lian), Bee Kee would just be one of those stalls if you didn’t know that they serve up truffle wanton noodles. There is really nothing that stands out about the shop front, or nothing on their menu that states that they have indeed such en exotic dish up their sleeves.

From my research before dropping by to visit them, they didn’t want to place this dish on its signage because they do not want to scare off their potential customers who are looking for an original wanton noodle experience, with the relatively high price tag of $6. As you can see, they also serve a variety of other noodles and dishes, just like any other wanton noodles stall! Hence, we got a little worried that we were at the wrong stall until we saw this little notice just in front of their cash register! Hallelujah! Truffle noodles! How exciting!

The Food

2 plates of truffle wanton noodles for us, without a doubt! And the boy had added a portion of braised pork to his wanton noodles as well!
This plate costs us $6, which I thought was pretty reasonable because they were very generous with the ingredients! FLAME-TORCHED Char siew, fried wantons and the usual wantons added to the truffle-sprayed noodles. We saw them using a spray bottle to coat the noodles with truffle oil, and I guess that makes the noodles less hard and clumpy, as compared to the usual wanton noodles I’ve had in the past. I’m not a fan of wanton noodles, so I might have the misconception that all wanton noodles are hard and clumpy.
And I’m pretty sure you are waiting for my verdict on its taste. I actually enjoyed having this plate of wanton noodles, not because of the hint of truffle scent coated on the noodles, but by the texture of the noodles. It was springy and slippery, just the way I love my noodles to be cooked, al dente. The truffle taste was mild, yet apparent with every bite. The sides of char siew and wanton were also pretty enjoyable. I especially liked the fried wanton, probably because they kinda soaked up a little of the truffle oil, and tasted like truffle infused wantons. Hey another concept for them! I thought that this plate of truffle wanton noodles was actually just decent, nothing much to shout about, but definitely a refreshing way of tasting the same old wanton noodles we’ve had since young. Oh, and the braised pork was pretty soft and slide off the bone good too!  Being huge eaters like us, one plate of wanton noodles, where got enough? Hence we ordered our favorite bowl of Chili Oil Wanton ($5?).  This bowl of chili oil wanton noodles were also just average, although I very much enjoyed the bit of vinegar they added to the chili oil. However, the wantons could do better without too much of the skin, and more fillings!   

Closing Remarks

It’s a pretty good concept for Bee Kee to come up with such an idea to include truffle oil into their noodles to probably appeal to the younger crowd. I’m not too sure if the older generation would like this plate of wanton noodles, as the taste of truffle is pretty much an acquired taste. Besides, $6 may be a little too much to charge for a plate of noodles, comparatively.

I would return for their wanton noodles, because their noodles are really one of the better ones that I’ve had, and the ingredients added to the noodles were also pretty generous, in my opinion. I would encourage you guys to pay Bee Kee a visit if you’re looking for a new wanton noodle experience. Otherwise, it’s a good place to get your usual wanton noodle fix too! Take note of their opening hours though, as they are only opened from 7:30am to 2:30pm, and are closed during dinner!

How to get there?

2 Lorong Lew Lian
Chuen Kee Restaurant
Singapore 531002

New outlet at 50 Market Street, #03-01! 

Opening Hours

Tues – Sun: 7:30am to 2:30pm
Closed on Mondays

Review: Platypus Kitchen

Ever since the opening of Pince and Pints, the existence of lobster rolls came into my attention. However, with the never ending list of cafes for me to visit, my plans to have my virgin go at lobster rolls have always been overshadowed by my cafehopping intentions. I have heard about Platypus many a times, and got a little confused about their offerings as the Platypus group has 6 subsidiaries under its wing. (Not too sure if it’s the right term to use but whatevs, because I ain’t a business student, even though I took MKT1003X before.) 

They have the well-known Platypus Lobster Shack, which is probably the most well-known amongst the 6. Platypus Test Kitchen, that serves up pasta at Raffles Place; Gourmet 2 go, a modern organic food bar; Platypus Family Kitchen, which focuses on family-oriented meals like set lunches and kids meals. I have actually been to 2 of the 6, the first being Platypus Food Bar, which is conveniently situated in the Science faculty of NUS and they serve super kickass salads for ridiculously affordable prices; think 2 proteins, pasta with leaves and corn for just $5.50. I would probably do up a post on them right after this, but now, Platypus Kitchen. 

The Place

I chose to visit Platypus Kitchen because it is conveniently located at Bugis Junction, and they serve up the BEST dishes of the Platypus group, i.e. handmade pastas and the popular selection of lobster rolls. Despite of its convenient location, we actually had a hard time searching for them, as they were located in a relatively secluded corner of the mall, away from the other food establishments.

Located just beside Amore Fitness, Platypus Kitchen occupies a huge space at the corner of the mall. Its dim lighting, spacious interior, and its exclusivity makes it a perfect place for a date or a casual meet up with friends.

 With that many tables, I am pretty sure you won’t have to wait for too long to be seated even during the peak hours. However, there are always 2 sides to everything. While its spaciousness may be a blessing, it is also a pit for its downfall, as it is extremely difficult to get the attention of its servers especially since all of them tend to be gathered at the bar and chatting amongst themselves. I am not the only one who had this problem because the several reviews I’ve read before paying them a visit also noted the similar situation.
Here’s my retarded lunch partner, who was apparently enjoying herself a lot with the wait because she just found out how to use Instagram. Oh no..
And this is a 50+ year old woman being very excited with the $35 Hello Kitty calculator I bought for her. This meh calculator costs $35, more expensive than a scientific calculator, yes?

The Food

 Here is the menu, and the set lunch promotion, which I thought was very affordable. Set lunch menu is only available on weekdays, 12-4pm.

Both of us ordered the Platypus Lobster Roll, which needs a $4 top up, but it’s worth it anyway. The set lunch include, the lobster roll, iced lemon tea and an appetizer of either salad or pumpkin soup. We chose one of each of the appetizer for the sake of variety, even though none of which appealed to us.

 The above features the 2 appetizers. The pumpkin soup was a little weirdly sweet, pretty much like a pumpkin, but we didn’t take it too well.  On top of our lobster roll, I also ordered a starter Crustacean Bowl ($19++), as I have seen raving reviews about this dish. Apparently, Platypus lobster shack only serve up to 10 bowls a day.  This Crustacean bowl consisted of uni creme, butter poached lobster, japonica rice, honey ponzu, caviar, char-grilled cheddar cheese, sesame and chervil. Not too sure of 90% of the ingredients in here, but all we know was that, this dish, despite of its costly price tag, blew our tastebuds away.
 The lobster was fresh, and the taste of grilled cheese and caviar went down perfectly. Both of us immediately regretted our decision of getting just a starter bowl of this, and its price suddenly became just a number. It tasted so good, it really doesn’t matter how much this cost.
 This is the Platypus Lobster Roll, which consists of butter poached lobster meat, roasted-garlic mayonnaise, chives and seasalt, served with a side of salad and TRUFFLE FRIES. There were CHUNKS of lobster meat in this. The buttered bun was so good that I was taken aback when my mum actually finished the entire roll, as she’s the kind of person who would eat all the fillings of a bun and leave the bun aside. She was so mindblown by the lobster roll goodness that she stuffed everything into her mouth. Hahaha! However, the truffle fries lacked of the taste of truffle, despite of its aroma, which was a little disappointing.

For its usual price tag of ($23.90), I would think that this dish is really worth its price. Fresh chunks of lobster, together with mild tasting truffle fries, it’s a pretty decent price to pay for a little indulgence. 

Closing Remarks

I would say that Platypus Kitchen has made true of its words of “making quality food affordable”, because both of us were really impressed with the quality of food served to us here. It has been a while since I was so impressed with all the offerings I have picked in a single seating, and I would highly recommend Platypus kitchen to anyone who is looking for a satisfactory meal in the vicinity. However, as this was my first time trying a lobster roll, my review on the taste of this dish may be a little biased, or may set your standards for this place a little too high. The crustacean bowl, on the other hand, was indeed a must order when you’re there. Everything in the dish was carefully thought through and the combination of their tastes was right on point.

Despite this being my first time having lobsters, Platypus kitchen has definitely set the bar high for my subsequent lobster-related meals.

How to get there?

Bugis Junction
200 Victoria Street
#03-29 Bugis Junction
Singapore 188021

Beside Amare Fitness.

Opening Hours

Daily
12noon — 10pm

Review: LeBan HK Cafe @ Jalan LeBan

Alright, alright, I shall stop being selfish and start sharing with the world about my favorite supper spot, besides Swee Choon, of course. I first heard of this place about 2 years ago, when i came across of a picture of their salted egg yolk fries, and have been dying to visit them ever since. However, I never had a chance and luck to until recently because they are located in a rather ulu part of Thomson, which is away from all the hustle and bustle are where all the cafes are sprouting up at.

In fact, I’ve made 2 attempts to visit them before I actually set foot into this cafe. My first attempt made was on the night of the Eve of Chinese New Year. My family and I were desperately looking for places to go for a late night dinner at about 10 or 11, and we decided to try our luck at LeBan, and they were expectedly closed. The second attempt was made by the boy to bring me there because I’ve mentioned it so many times, but he brought me to the mainstream Upp. Thomson area instead. So we went to Habitat in the end.

The Place

LeBan HK Cafe is aptly named because it is in fact located on Jalan LeBan, on the other direction of the longgggg stretch of Upper Thomson Road. You would be able to spot it when you are there because of its conspicuous signboard, which also boasts of a late opening hour of until 2am! I do not have pictures of the place itself, but they have adequate seats, and like most chinese restaurants, not much emphasis is placed on the design of the place. What matter most to them is the quality of food, and I absolutely concur.

The Food

I have not been to many Hong Kong cafes in Singapore or even in Hong Kong, despite being there for 4 times. I am not sure of what HK cafes serve, but LeBan offers a rather wide array of food, ranging from smaller bites like the condensed milk bun, toasts, finger food like their salted egg yolk fries, and Asian favorites like noodles and fried rice. They also serve more local food like curry chicken, as well as westernized dishes such as salads, pastas and chicken cutlet. Their menu can be found here! The prices here are also pretty wallet-friendly with most of the dishes priced at less than $10, and they also have set lunches which look value for money, and on our previous visit, they also have a all-day promotion of 1 for 1 mains!

Pardon the not-so-nice picture because I don’t put in as much time and effort to take pictures at that time. HAHA! These are the condensed milk buns, which I LOVED. I am actually drawn to anything bread, with BUTTER. These buns were crisp and buttery, yet at the same time fluffy. I could just eat them all day.  This is the best French Toast I’ve had, even though i’ve been to so many cafes and tried their french toast. This was the first time I was actually close to tears when I took my first bite into the toast. Crisp on the outside, pillowy on the inside, the melted butter and maple syrup added the best combination of sweet and savory into the dish. And guess what, I had the greatest surprise of my life when I found out that there was actually PEANUT BUTTER spread in between each of these glorious cubes of carbohydrates. The ice cream served on the side just made everything 10x better. A definite MUST ORDER when you are here.

And in the background, we also ordered a cup of iced yuan yang, which was good as well, and a chicken chop!  I got the French Toast on my second visit as well, because it’s seriously something you’ve got to order when you are there. I want it in my mouth NOW.
 This was the dish in the one for one promotion. The boy got this chicken or was it pork cutlet, and a bowl of curry chicken. Both of which were surprisingly good, and we were pretty impressed.  THE salted egg yolk fries. We ordered the MONSTER version which could probably feed up to 3-4 pax. But be warned that once you start, you won’t be able to stop even though it may get a little jelat after a while, hence we both cleaned up this entire plate of fries on top of our meals. Entrenched within these strands of fries were little salted egg yolk which you can just pick up and eat, which I thought was quite an idea because I love the powdery feeling the salted egg yolk gives. These fries were buttery and tasted so, so, so good!
We saw that they had fried ice cream on their menu, and I pestered the boy to get it, because I’ve never had fried ice cream in my life before. We picked the chocolate flavored ice cream, and when I tried it, I thought the vanilla version would have had been better. To those who have never tried this before, it’s not a must for you to try it because this is basically just fried dough wrapped around some really cheap tasting ice cream, served with chocolate sprinkles. Don’t waste your calories, and your macros on these. Save the carb count for another serving of French Toast or salted egg yolk fries!

Closing Remarks

LeBan is definitely one of my favorite places for supper, even though I’ve only been there twice before. All of its offerings were up to our expectations, and the food there is also very affordable too! The downside is probably its location, as it can get quite inaccessible without your own transport especially if you are going there for supper. Moreover, there place is rather secluded with not many shops of interest nearby, or other cafes, which may be pretty out of the way for cafehoppers.

However, if you do have your own transport, and are craving for some good and affordable supper after a movie or work, LeBan is definitely a place worth considering. Besides, they have such a wide range of food, and I’m sure everyone would be able to find something that suits their tastebuds, and satisfy their cravings!

How to get there?

LeBan HK Café
No.2 Jalan Leban
Upper Thomson
Singapore 577547
Tel: +65 6257 8801
Near Sembawang Hills Food Centre

Opening Hours

12pm – 2am, daily

No GST or Service Charge!

Review: One Man Coffee

One Man Coffee has been on the top of my To-Visit list for the longest while, but I’ve never got to it because of their early closing hours of 6pm, and during my internship, I just wasn’t able to visit them over the weekdays! Thus, I vowed to pay them a visit at the end of my internship and incidentally, I saw that they were participating in Giving Tuesday, and I reserved the visit to here on the very Tuesday, 2 Dec. 

Of course, before stuffing our faces with the carbs, we’ve got to work for our food. We got to One Man Coffee on our bicycles, and, the cafe was packed to the brim!!

The Place

I only found out the day before we visited One Man Coffee that they actually share the same place as Crust. I’ve always seen Crust on my visits to Habitat Coffee, but have always wondered why I have never seen One Man Coffee in the area before, and now I know why.
Pardon the reflection, but there you go, One Man Coffee uses this space from 9am to 5pm, and after which Crust takes over its operations from 5pm onwards.

The cafe was simply furnished, with 2 counters, one belonging to One Man, and at the back of the cafe, Crust’s. They have a nice antique-looking cabinet which they have their cake displays, as well as pastries from BAO and some keepcups, the reusable coffee mug!

One thing I don’t really fancy is the fact that the cafe can get rather noisy, as it is an enclosed space. Besides, the seats are placed very close to each other which might get a little troublesome getting in and out of your seat, as well as having a conversation.

The Food

One Man Coffee has one of the simplest menu I’ve seen so far.     With just 10 items on their menu, their offerings were concise, yet precise. Catering to just the folks who love their carbs and brunch food! I’m complaining about the fact that they are lacking of some protein in their menu. Only their Big Brekkie and, probably gashouse eggs, have some form of protein in it, and meat lovers like the boy and I were just so deprived. Then again, I was here specially for their FRENCH TOAST, so it doesn’t really matter what they have on their menu!

We ordered a French Toast with Caramelized Banana, Salted Caramel and Cream, and a Gashouse eggs with Bacon Jam, as well as a cup of Iced Chocolate and Mocha!Our drinks, which I did not manage to get a good picture of because of the packed tables, and uneven sunlight. The iced chocolate was a little too rich for our liking, while I thought they hit the right spot with the Iced Mocha, the right amounts of chocolate and coffee. One of the better iced mochas I have had!  THE Brioche French Toast with Caramelised Bananas with Salted Caramel and Cream ($10)! You have no idea how excited I was when this dish arrived in my face. And I could not stop snapping pictures of it because it looked SO good and pretty. The brioche was soft and fluffy. Ah, the thought of it just makes me crave for another serving right now. I forgot about its description and actually thought that the brown looking sauce on its left was chocolate, and when I dipped my toast with it, my eyes just lit up in excitement, because this salted caramel sauce was just out of the world. Mind blowing. The combination of salted caramel, fluffy brioche and the bananas were just like an explosion of tastes in my mouth. This is the epitome of perfection. However, I thought that the cream was a little on the thick and foamy side, not very impressed with it, but the salted caramel just makes everything 100x better.  It’s really no wonder why there’s so many people raving over this dish. It’s definitely not overrated, and probably the best french toast I’ve had so far!

Gashouse Eggs ($10), which is basically a brioche toast with an egg cracked in the middle, together with melted cheese on its sides. It’s a pity that we didn’t cut from the middle to let the yolk ooze out for picture taking purposes, but it’s amazing how One Man Coffee could make such a simple sounding dish, taste so amazing that I vowed to order this all to myself on the next visit. The savory addition of the bacon jam was a pretty good complement to this dish too. Ah.. 

Closing Remarks

My wish of visiting One Man Coffee has finally come true and it definitely did not disappoint. Both of the items we ordered were really out of this world! Moreover, the prices on its menu are one of the more affordable options you can have in a cafe. Even though their offerings may be simple-sounding, I’m impressed by how they are able to elevate the taste of their items to make them taste better than they sound.

I would definitely recommend One Man Coffee to everyone for a visit. However, the downside is the fact that their menu may be a little limited, and they only offer rather breakfast-y items, that may not be exactly filling, or meet one’s macros needs for the meal. Nevertheless, it is worth the visit! If you’re afraid that you may not be full from the offerings, you can always eat at some where else and come here to grab a French Toast as a dessert (you can add an ice cream for $3!), for the perfect end to your meal!

How to get there?

215R Upper Thomson Road, 574349
Same stretch as Habitat Coffee

Opening Hours

Monday to Sunday  9:00am to 5:00pm