Spagtacular - Newly Opened Fusion Pasta in Clark Quay

I visited Spagtacular with a bunch of friends at the invitation of a friend who just opened his pasta cafe.

Spagtacular takes the spot of the now defunct Babao Desserts. They carry a edgy concept with interesting graffiti wall designs and other artworks as part of their decor.

As of now, Spagtacular is in a soft launch and I give credit to their gradual improvements. I've actually dropped by unannounced during their pre-soft launch and the food back then left me hungry and unsatisfied.

You can imagine how impressed I was with their version 2 dishes on my second visit. Talking to the founders, you will learn that the team is figuring out their way as they run the business. What's note-worthy is how open they are to feedback and the food quality really improved tremendously.

Their full menu isn't out, this visit, the light bites we managed to try were the Mini Har Cheong Gai ($10) and Truffle Fries ($10). Personally, I feel there's very little wrong a competent cafe can go with light bites. The ones at Spagtacular definitely were acceptable. If anything, I hope the final menu has a wider selection.

Spagtacular carries classics like the Traditional Carbonara ($10) and Classic Bolognese ($13). Both were adequately flavoured if you mix well before dining. The pastas were cooked till al dente and taste favours those who like their food very heavy and robust in flavour. It worked very well for me.

Here's a glimpse of some of the menu you would be potentially selecting:

Chilli Crab ($15)

Their chilli crab is really suitable for people who loves their chilli fiery spicy. Among my experience having chilli crab pasta, this is one packs a lot more fire than the usual sweet spicy chilli crab sauce most cafe leans towards. Another thumbs up I noted was the generous portion and ingredients which is considered a big steal at their price point.

Classic Al Funghi ($10)

This pasta is another steal given how value for money it is. Unlike some of the plain pastas where you need to top up cash to add ingredients, this one packs a lot of mushroom and the mushroom creaminess is well infused into the pasta. I predict this dish will be a hit among mushroom lovers.

Mummy's Assam ($15)

The first thing I noticed about the Mummy's Assam is the gigantic slab of fish that comes with the dish. There's no mention of it in the copywriting of the menu and the only indication of it was the small fish graphic on the side. I felt this is selling the dish short. The Mummy's Assam will be another hit among spicy lovers when it's adequately tossed before dining. The flavour packed sauce usually sinks to the bottom. I rarely see assam pastas in Singapore, so this will be one of the dishes I'll order if I want to try something new.

Pasta El Pesto ($10)

I was just mentioning about dishes you only get it plain unless you pay more. This is one of them. The flavouring of good pesto is difficult to achieve but I'm impressed they got the flavours pretty on point. Again, I stress to toss well if not you'll be left feeling unimpressed with the initial bites and craving for more towards the end. This is the kind of awesome meals someone on budget working in CBD would like when they join their friends at cafes. Unless.. your friends are the kind that split the bill equally regardless of what you eat!

The Golden Egg ($12)

My personal favourite for the day is the salted egg pasta with lots of chunky chicken and a fried chicken skin. To begin with, salted egg pastas are difficult to find. To find one where the flavours are so robust is even harder. Yes, the salted egg sauce is so generous every bite sends alarm bells to my cholesterol levels. Food indulgence wise, this is heaven for salted egg lovers. The ingredients are very generous and for $12 in Clark Quay, it makes you wonder how much other cafes are marking up.

As a whole, my second visit to Spagtacular has left me very excited about their full launch. This according to the co-founder is happening next month. I'm so looking forward to their full spectrum of menu given the promising pastas I've tried. Oh visitors can also take group, individual, instagram worthy display pic with their artistic photo wall display. It's designed by art students and even the unpainted corners at the side of some walls are apparently art.

Spagtacular
54 South Bridge Road, 058685

(This is not a sponsored article, I paid for my food!)

10 Most Instagrammable Shots To Take In London

Every trip I make to London, I get questioned why do you like London so much? Essentially, after being like a tourist for the first trip, London resembles Singapore a lot apart from the weather. I compiled 10 instagrammable places you can actually visit to make your holiday less touristy, more differentiated and definitely memorable.

1. Brown Hart Gardens

Brown Hart Gardens is actually a residential estate and there's nothing much you can do there except take this photo. It's one of my favourite photos in my collection because of its picturesque appearance. You know for sure you are in Europe with this postcard-like image. If you are sporting enough, you can convert your photos into post cards and write cute letters to your friends as a souvenir when you return from holiday.

2. Cereal Killer Cafe

This photo was taken before I bought my Olympus PEN 8 that's why the photo quality will look inferior to the rest of the images. Cereal Killer Cafe has beds in their cafe. How often do you find beds in cafes? The cereals at the cafe are worth trying out too. The article on the food is here.

3. Elan Cafe

Elan Cafe has more than one flower wall which you can take cool photos with. This heart shape wall is just one of them. They have one more flower wall inside with 2 seats available with the words "Coffee is the new black" but there'll be a long line to dine at that table. One more thing to note, the food is awesome but the service will make you feel like they want you gone in a hurry. You have been warned! *For a higher chance to dine in peace, go on weekdays especially if you are on holiday.

4. Leake Street Tunnel 

Not sure if you would consider Leake Street Tunnel to be a tourist attraction. As of now, it's still largely under discovered. Leake Street Tunnel is basically an enclosed tunnel with lots of graffiti art on their walls. The artwork is really impressive and nice. You can take poser shots, jump shots or simply admire the extensive artwork that covers the entire tunnel.

5. Little Venice

Walking along little Venice of London (Maida Vale) is truly enjoyable. The view by the riverside with beautiful boats is somewhat therapeutic. Ever since I started to take more interest in photography, the number of nice photos I can take from this little place can be really extensive too. One thing to note, the sun can be rather annoying in the summer especially when you wish to take evening shots and the sun refuse to set.

6. National History Museum 

This is a tourist attraction. I included it in because of the amazing architecture the National History Museum has. The whale fossil hanging from the ceiling has been a talking point between people who have visited this place. It's a classic. I'm not an arts person and I feel this photo can tempt me to come here simply because of its majestic appearance. 

7. Neal's Yard

There's really little you can do at Neal's Yard unless you work at Covent Garden and want to run some errands or grab a quick bite. It's a hidden street amidst the bustling offices in London's working district. Neal's Yard is extremely colourful, hipster and it breathes life into the boring solemn Covent Garden streets. I've got to say though, only make the trip down if you love taking photos.

8. Regent Street

Regent Street is also considered a tourist attraction because it's the Orchard Road of London. It's nevertheless worthy to join my photo collection because the street decoration always changes. I like this particular photo a lot with all the British flags laid out to commemorate events like their National Day, the Queen's Birthday, Prince Harry's Wedding, etc. It wasn't like that when I was here in December where the streets were alight with wonderful Christmas Decorations. 

9. Saint Aymes

The picture says it all. People come here to take beautiful photos for their grams. The purple wisteria decorated at the shop front is a clear winner among cafe-goers. People queue to sit at the front 3 tables outside the cafe and take display photos. The cafe even has to put a time limit for those sitting on these tables. I wrote an article of the food here. *It's best to visit on a weekday afternoon, I managed to grab a table outside without waiting even though I only had an hour to sit. 

10. Sketch

You are staring at probably the most aesthetically pleasing toilet ever. Stepping into the washroom of Sketch, I got somewhat disoriented. It felt like you got transported to some fantasy world dazzled with egg-shaped cubicles and luminated lights. It's really weird to be in a toilet where you can't find the sink but you see chambermaids (with full attire) walking around and lots of people holding up cameras everywhere. Sketch serves fantastic afternoon tea so not to worry, the toilet is really the icing on the cake.  

*I'm still more into food than scenery but I feel it's important to share awesome holiday venues and enjoyable experiences. For a more regular update of my experiences, visit my Instagram.  

Platform 1094 - Singapore's Best Themed Cafe

Whenever we think about thematic cafes in Singapore, Kumoya and Super Heroes cafe comes to my mind. Until recently, these are the two better renditions of themed cafes in Singapore that I've tried. From my own observation, the two common gripes I have with these cafes is either the food quality (premium cafe prices for ordinary substandard food) or the fact that the food isn't sufficiently thematic. 

The visit to Platform 1094 was put off for the longest time due to horror stories of the food quality from friends who have been there. I only decided to take a risk on them because of a friend's birthday and she's a real sucker for Harry Potter. As the name might already given away some hints, Platform 1094 (not Platform 9 3/4), is a wizardry, Harry Potter inspired themed cafe. The founders from Fresh Fruit Labs have proven to be really experts at creating their own version of themed cafes. You can pose for classic Harry Potter Hogwarts robe photos complete with brooms, wands and wizard hats. 

The biggest draw that brought us here was the newly introduced Harry Potter inspired Afternoon Tea set for 2 ($55). The menu includes savouries like bewitching tuna sandwich, potato slyther in bacon with cheddar cheese, avocado salmon weasled with chicken floss on edible magical ladle and turkey bacon quidditch quiche. The sweets menu has rock cake served with cauldron brewed cream cheese dip, owl hootdoo macarons, pumpkin tartlets, rasp-berrypotter & mango-nagail mousse and chocolate frogs. 

The meal even comes with 2 glasses of bubbling green frogs flexi (green tea) and a wand that can change the lights of the accompanying candles when waved. The food is definitely without complaints and thankfully a far cry from the horror stories I've heard. My personal favourite is the owl hootdoo macarons. 

I visited the cafe with 3 very hungry people whose hobby is over-ordering so we also had the opportunity to try some pastas and sides. The crab meat aglio olio $17 was very competently prepared. The pasta had a chilli crab flavoured taste and I enjoyed the tangy spiciness. Definitely above average. 

Another dish we tried was the confit chicken breast with pesto sauce spaghetti ($16). The chicken was tender but a little bit on the dryer side. I found the pesto spaghetti to be decent. 

The truffle fries ($12) was also on point. The truffle aroma and flavour was very distinct, it's probably heaven for those who loves truffle. 

I got to say we had a lot of fun dining at Platform 1094. My Harry Potter fan friend probably had a very memorable birthday. We took lots of dressed up photos, videos of her casting spells with the wand and making the green frogs flexi drink bubble. It's the complete experience a good thematic cafe should have. I'm all for bringing my Harry Potter friends here to impress them. You maximize the experience if you are sporting enough to relive your childhood by dressing up and play. 

Platform 1094

1094 Serangoon Road, S328192