6 Awesome Cafes You Need To Try

I really admire young entrepreneurs who boldly decide to open cafes nowadays.

I feel that the market is as saturated as that of online stores, 

if not more.

The start up capital is also not a small sum and you really have to know your stuff,

know what your customers like and know how to make your cafe appealing on Instagram as well as people's taste buds.

At the same time,

you have to apply for thousands of permits and do SO MUCH planning before your cafe even opens to the public.

I imagine that managing young part timers should be no easy feat too.

Such a tough industry but yet so many people are going into it to hop onto the bandwagon.

Jo and I used to be pretty enthusiastic about hunting for new cafes but after a while,

the food choices at most places didn't impress us and were a total waste of our calories which could be better spent elsewhere.

So now we try to be more discerning and selective about which cafes to visit.

Even then,

some places didn't make us feel like returning for a second visit.

Hahaha.

I've filtered out a few cafes which I really like recently.

These are also places which I've visited more than once or are planning to visit again.

Sharing them on my blog with you so that you can bookmark them and give them a visit some day!

French Toast


Truffle Fries

Dashi Mushroom Risotto

Popped by The Laneway Market after photoshoot the other day with the girls at the office and was pleasantly surprised by the standard of the food there.
Nowadays we try to go to cafes without much expectations.
Hahaha.

I had the French Toast and still crave for it every now and then.
Will definitely order it again the next time I visit because it is THAT good.
I don't even like main courses which are not savoury usually.
The Dashi Mushroom Risotto was highly raved when we read reviews and it didn't disappoint too.

Truffle fries are better than average although I didn't agree with the sprouts - they tasted too green for our liking.
Hahah.

I also really like that this cafe is near to my office.
Just a 10 minutes drive away, so convenient!

The Laneway Market
266 Tanjong Katong Road
S437053 

Truffle Fries


Cauliflower Fritters


Random chio plate


Some yuzu drink

Side note - why do so many cafes nowadays not have their menus readily available online?
:(


Online store owner hard at work


What over ordering looks like


Berry Ricotta Hotcake


Another shot because it lived up well to the hype and how it looks


Squid Ink Tagliatelle


Mantou Sliders

The dishes we ordered at Paddy Hills that day were generally on the saltier side...
Other than the Berry Ricotta Hotcake which was so soooooo good.
Totally not exaggerating because usually my tolerance for salty stuff is quite high.
I would have loved the Squid Ink Tagliatelle if it were slightly less salty, hahah.

The Mantou Sliders were so unbearably salty that we had to send it back to the kitchen.
The bright side was that the wait staff was kind enough to let us void that item.

I think we were just unlucky that day maybe!
At least the wait for the food was not as long as expected.
Would go back again for the super gorgeous Berry Ricotta Hotcake, super chio plates and other exciting sounding items on their menu.

Location is a little bit out of the way though!

Paddy Hills
38 South Buona Vista Road
S118164

This place was an unexpected hit because Old Hen Coffee Bar looked so simple and unassuming.
The menu did not sound tempting to us either and was pretty limited.
But somehow,
we managed to walk away with happy bellies!

Really love love love their cold brew.
The wrap and the burger was not too over the top filling and tasted healthy but with decent flavours.

Old Hen Coffee Bar
88 Rangoon Road
S218374

Please try the Speculoos Tart and Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake if you give My Sister Bakes a visit!
They tasted so good that I cannot stop thinking about it.
This cafe is opened by Esther,
the baker who baked my birthday cakes for the past 2 years.
She definitely puts in a lot of effort in the creation of flavours and making sure that customers' feedback are taken in seriously.
Do support her cafe if you're in the area,
or craving for good cakes/desserts!

It is one of our favourite haunts for #TTRhappyhour because there is also Kin Kin Pan Mee and my favourite Alfero gelato in the area.

*Disclaimer - I'm not paid to include this in my post and also not saying nice things just because I know Esther. Just genuinely really like the cakes they offer!*

My Sister Bakes
81 Macpherson Lane
S360081

Coast Breakfast


Chicken Deck

Another surprise favourite of ours is Coast and Company.
Other than the simple but satisfying fare which they offer,
I really like the ambience and the interior of the cafe.
The exterior of the cafe is also super gorgeous,
which makes us very happy because we can do our OOTDs before hitting the cafe for food!
The Chicken Deck looked a little unappealing because of the green sauce and the chicken which looked a little dry and hard,
but surprisingly the chicken was succulent and well seasoned.

I also like the mint colour coffee cups.

This cafe is also near to our office - another yay!

Coast and Company
54 Siglap Drive
S456176

So far I have yet to try a dish from Sin Lee Foods which left me disappointed!
And I love how their menu offerings stand out very distinctively compared to run of the mill cafes around.
Would definitely recommend the Aburi Broccoli Salad (which makes broccoli eating an enjoyment instead of a dreaded chore), Salted Egg Sweet Potato Fries, Beef and Grains and the Mentaiko Crab Mantou which is a new addition to their menu.

Also,
their swan latte art is damn pretty.
Hehe.

Sin Lee Foods
4 Jalan Bukit Ho Swee
#01-164

Cafes Compiled Part II

It might not be such a good idea for me to be blogging about cafes during my Eat Clean Week...
But a promise is a promise and I am already a day late in doing so.
So...
Here goes!









This is my second visit to Baker & Cook,
but first visit to their Holland Village outlet.

We were admittedly headed to Holland Village for Sunday Folks.
But unfortunately,
we were not aware that Sunday Folks only open from 4pm onwards on weekdays.

So we settled at Baker & Cook instead,
along the same row of shops as Sunday Folks!

The eggs benedict was a miss for us though.
The toast was so hard that we had to chew and tug at it with all our might before we could even detach a bite.
The quiche was average but not memorable.

Twice the disappointment for us because we thought we would be eating soft serve with ice cream that day.
Hahah.

Baker & Cook
44 Jalan Merah Saga
#01-56 Chip Bee Gardens

It's been so long since my visit that I've already forgotten the name of this cafe.
Either that or my memory is failing me at the age of 25.
Hahah.

Hooray for Instagram!

This cafe is called Quarter to Three.
Chanced upon it when I met my friends for dinner at Chicken Up and suggested it for brunch with Jazreel.

Loved the meatballs dish I ordered!
The meatballs are handmade (if I am not wrong) and so, so tender.
Wins Ikea meatballs hands down.

Rainbow cake was not impressive though,
tasted like your run-of-the-mill vanilla cake.
Still prefer NOM's any time!

Quarter to Three
88 Tanjong Pagar

Anthesis is one of my favorite cafes out of all that I have visited.
But sadly,
they closed down a couple of months back.
:(

I don't think I will be blogging about the food much since you would not be able to visit this cafe anymore.
Enjoy the photos!













Anthesis, why you close down???
:(









Visited Bloomsbury Bakers because I saw the speculoos apple crumble tart from IG and it looked SO GOOD.

But I guess luck was not on our side when we visited,
because we got a deconstructed tart in a plastic cup instead of a full tart.
Although it should have tasted the same technically speaking...
But a whole tart would have looked a whole lot nicer!

The lemon meringue tart and strawberry shortcake were not really worthy of mention.

Bloomsbury Bakers
30 Bendemeer Road

The food selection at The Tastemaker Store was really limited.
I think Yoko ordered some curry chicken rice (?) while I ordered a peanut butter cake with an iced matcha latte.
Don't think I will be returning to this cafe again,
but I think the decor looks really nice and rustic.

The Tastemaker Store
Blk 22 Havelock Road
#01-705

Our first successful visit to Sunday Folks!
And it definitely did not disappoint.

We went on a late Friday afternoon and...
THE QUEUE WAS SO FREAKING LONG.

After getting ourselves a queue number,
we had to wait for about 20 minutes before we got our seat.

Another 20 minutes went by before we were served our waffles.
We ordered 2 of the regular waffles (2 slices of waffles) with pistachio soft serve and gula melaka soft serve.
Loved both!!

While I would hesitate about queuing for such a long time again,
these soft serve waffles were definitely worth the hype and rave reviews.


Waffles with ice cream only look good before you start eating,
though.
Hahah.





Made our second visit last week because we were craving for it.
This time round,
we ordered pistachio with their premium sea salt chocolate honeycomb toppings.
SO GOOD.

Guess it will be my regular haunt for ice cream and waffles from now on!

If only the queue can be shorter.
Or maybe they can consider opening another outlet?
Hehe.

Sunday Folks
Chip Bee Gardens #01-52
44 Jalan Merah Saga

Tian Kee & Co is also a cafe which I see myself frequenting every now and then.
Main reason is because it is near to my work place!
Secondly,
they are going to close down in a year or two due to redevelopment of the Dakota Crescent area.

So,
better visit while you still can!

On my second visit,
I tried the eggs benedict (not a fan of their cheese sauce, I prefer the traditional hollandaise!) and their rainbow tofu cheesecake.

The cheesecake was pretty good!
Loved the texture.
And of cos,
the pastel colours make it extremely IG worthy.

Tian Kee & Co
12 Dakota Crescent

I loveeeee Grub.
And especially so because it is really near where I stay.
Plus,
the food hardly ever disappoints.
I think this is my 4th time there already.

Brought my mum there for her birthday lunch recently.

Ordered the sakura ebi pasta for the first time and I think it just made it to my list of must-orders at Grub.
Mentaiko fries goes without saying,
of course.

DAMN.
So hungry just looking at the photos.
Eating clean is so tough.

Grub
510 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1

Okay,
that's all for part II.
Will do up another post once I accumulated more cafes to blog about.
Doubt I will be visiting any this week because am trying to eat clean.

Till then!