Earlybird Cafe - Fairly New Cafe with Decadent Pancakes

I'm kinda a late bird to this Earlybird Cafe. They opened in mid 2018 and I'm only visiting them now. They caught my eye when they first launched because I'm a sucker for pancakes. Their buttermilk fried chicken pancake looks sinfully delicious. Ironically, I skipped it this visit because my stomach was too small and I wanted to try another pancake.

The side effects of dieting is that your stomach shrinks along with your waistline. So my companion and I decided to share a main then head straight for the dessert. For a main, we decided to try the Tom Yum Prawn ($20) which tastes really satisfying. The Tom Yum carries a tangy sourish flavour which hits all the right notes for me. There's an excessive use of onions which didn't appeal to my picky companion but apart from that personal preference, it's really good! Portion is pretty generous too so I feel pretty thankful that I didn't order the buttermilk fried chicken pancakes.

We picked the Hotcake Bling ($18) as our dessert of choice. It's basically vanilla ice cream on top of a hotcake with lots of candy floss on the side to provide the aesthetics. Blue berries, strawberry slices and walnuts provide the balance to the sweetness. The dessert surprisingly wasn't very sweet. In fact, the ice cream went excellently with the hotcake and candy floss. Having a soft spot for hotcakes, I like this version as it's adequately crispy on the outside and sufficiently fluffy inside. It's not an understatement to say that the brunch meal brightened up my day.

I'd most definitely come back again because I paid with FavePay and now have a $3.80 cashback which I can use at the cafe. The food is awesome and I'm looking forward to the buttermilk fried chicken pancakes on my next visit.

Earlybird Cafe
17 Jalan Pinang, S199149

Cottontail Creamery - Hidden Gem in Serangoon

Cottontail Creamery has been on my radar since early last year. Back then, I've tried their crepes with ice cream and even left feedback on my instagram commenting on how easily their ice cream melted. They caught my attention because they acknowledged my comment and my second visit actually saw an improved effort to cool the crepe before putting the ice cream on it. For some reason, I associated them as an ice cream parlour and didn't take their mains seriously. It's only after one of my friends commented that they serve nice brunch that I made this third visit to check it out.

The Cottontail Big Breakfast ($18.50) came in hearty portion. The menu comprises of home-made Toulouse sausage patty, sunny side-up organic eggs, smashed potato, roasted portebello mushrooms, vine tomato and tomato relish. They got the seasoning and flavours surprisingly on-point. Definitely worth a try.

Next up was this Tuscan Wild Pig Stew with Rigatoni Pasta ($16.50) which also won approval points really quickly. The pig stew is soft, tender and very balanced in their flavours. Eating it will whet your appetite however if you don't have a very big stomach, it might become 'jelat' over time.

The Pulled Pork Quesadilla ($17.50) wins in both appearance and in taste. It caught my attention mainly because of the toasted mozzarella that has crispy edges. Every bite is bursting with flavour and it'll definitely appeal to cheese lovers.

If you are a meatball lover but you don't take beef, you'll know how hard it is to find good meatballs in Singapore to satisfy your cravings. The Swiss Meatballs ($17.50) at Cottontail Creamery might be your solution. It's beef free. The creamy brown mushroom sauce that comes with the dish is richly flavoured and it goes excellently with the meatballs. I find that the mix of fatty and lean meat can be further improved. Nevertheless I was still left pretty much blown away.

For desserts, the crepe with nutella sauce coupled with smoked salted caramel ice cream and Tahitian vanilla is another winner. Granted that their ice cream in general melts pretty quickly, the quality of the ice cream are quite premium. If you like good ice cream with crepe, this is probably your go-to place. If you don't like rushing through your food, you probably will avoid their ice creams.

Summing up my visit, Cottontail Creamery has just achieved top spot in my Serangoon cafe listing. Their mains succeeded in achieving a certain level of food standard that I approve. Desserts carry a certain degree of quality too. While I still gripe about their ice cream because I don't fancy rushing through my food, this is probably the only ice cream on crepe place I'm willing to part my dollars with. It's almost a certainty I'm coming back here again.

Cottontail Creamery
Blk 326, Serangoon Avenue 3, #01-378, S550326

Violet Oon (Ion) - Showcasing Singapore Culinary Treasures

Violet Oon is a household name known for being the Singapore ambassador for local cuisines. The founder whose name is the inspiration behind Violet Oon Singapore, The Restaurant Group, was once named Chef de Mission to lead team Singapore at the Worlds of Flavours Conference and Festival in 2004, 2007 & 2009. The Restaurant Group itself prides its commitment to showcase Singapore food and heritage in the form of Nonya, Chinese, Indian and Malay cuisines.

It is also because of this specialization that I made the decision to bring my mom here for her birthday celebration. I say this because I'm not a big fan of Peranakan, Nonya cuisines where coconut is mainly used in most of the dishes. In fact, I typically steer clear of such food. If not because my mom enjoys local cuisines, I wouldn't have had this Singapore High Tea Set ($58 for 2 pax) experience which I thoroughly enjoyed!

The meal kicked off with a pair of scones served with cream and jam. The pair came with one plain and the other drizzled with gula melaka sauce. While the scones were buttery and crumbly, I felt that its brittle nature made enjoying the scone messy and difficult. Having said that, I like it that the portion was just right because it gave sufficient room for the other dishes.

The first tier of our high tea set came consists of Kuay Pie Tee with julienned bamboo shoots with turnip poached in a prawn bisque, traditionally steamed Yam Cake topped with dried prawn, chinese sausage, dried mushroom, minced pork, five spiced powder and fried shallots and Chilli Crab Tartlet with Quail Egg. I've got to say that the flavours were all on point and they were all easy to eat. The Yam Cake is one of my favourites despite me usually avoiding yam.

The second tier of our high tea set consists of Cream Cheese and Cucumber Openface Sandwich, Egg Salad Tartlet with Pineapple Patcharee, Coronation Chicken on Crispy Wanton Skin and Otak on Belgium Endive. I'd say that the execution of all the items were excellent. Having said that, I felt it'll be perfect if the cream cheese sandwich and egg salad tartlet had been replaced with more localised items. Eating the Otak on Endive and Chicken on Wanton Skin really made me appreciate the genius of the Violet Oon creations. Sometimes you pay a premium for food and have no idea why. I think the creativity on how food can be presented really justifies every cent I pay for this meal.

The third tier is where I sacrifice for my mother because of my dislike for coconut. It consists of a Financier which is an Eurasian moist cake of semolina and ground almonds laced with brandy, Kueh Ko Sui which is a steamed cake made with pandan and coconut infused rice and tapioca flour coated with freshly grated coconut, Kueh Dah Dah which is grated coconut cooked with gula melaka syrup and coconut milk wrapped in a pancake, BuBur Cha Cha Panna Cotta which is coconut panna cotta topped with sweet potato, yam, agar agar, gula melaka syrup and Kueh Lapis which is a multilayered steamed cake. Needless to say, I took an arbitrary bite of most of the food and didn't finish. The Financier and Kueh Lapis were my favourites in this tier but of course I'm biased.

The overall experience dining at Violet Oon (Ion) has been great. Despite not liking nonya food, I enjoyed my time there. It might be interesting to note that the overall dining crowd were relatively sophisticated and you can tell most of them enjoy the finer things in life. There's even a guy who sat next to me who was dressed in plain white t-shirt and FBT shorts with slippers. I reckon his house is walking distance and this is probably his 'Ya Kun'. I guess it's no surprise that Violet Oon (Ion) just got featured on Tatler Singapore days before I visited. So if you want to know how Crazy Rich Asians look like, you might want to have a meal there.

Violet Oon (Ion)
Ion Orchard, #03-28/29, 2 Orchard Turn, S238801

Yin Ji - Guangzhou's popular congee joint in Singapore

As I continue to try overseas food in Singapore, Yin Ji is the latest overseas outpost I'm featuring. I'm assuming they are not only known for their congee and Cantonese fare, their rice rolls should be their main feature considering their Chinese name is 银记肠粉店 (translated to Yin Ji Rice Rolls Stall). This feature is made up of 2 visits, with the first one done way back in May last year. I got too busy with work and travelling and simply forgot about them till my more recent visit.

The "Boat" Congee ($6.50) seen here is a mix of char siew, fried eggs, fish and peanuts. The congee has the smoothness of typical Cantonese fare but lack the sweetness in flavour. To be very honest, I felt a little clueless how to appreciate this rendition of congee because it felt so 'chapalang' (mixed up) that it reminds me of my mom throwing in whatever she could find in the fridge to cook a dish.

The sliced pork congee ($6) perhaps gives the eater less identity crisis. However the richness in flavour is still lacking. Considering how near Guangzhou is to Hong Kong, then the traditional Cantonese standards seems to be open for interpretation.

So partly because of the Congee experience, I stayed away from the restaurant till very recently where I found my favourite Dumpling Noodles ($6.80) in CBD! The Yin Ji's rendition hits all the right notes. Using typical Cantonese noodles similar to those you find at Mak's Noodles, this one managed to get rid of the strange plastic taste which usually puts me off. The broth is also adequately flavourful, with the pork dumplings sufficiently seasoned, in my opinion might even shame some of those Michelin star wonton mee outlets in Singapore.

Yin Ji also introduced some new dishes to its menu this month. One of them is the Salted Pepper Chicken Chop Noodles ($6.80) that is fairly delicious. The chicken is fried till it's really crispy on the outside and fairly tender inside. It might be worth trying if you want something new.

The egg rolls at Yin Ji is the highlight that caught my attention right from the beginning. Having eggs inside the egg roll is something new to me. The Fresh Prawn Egg Rolls ($7.50) did live up to expectations and the eggy rice roll is indeed preferred over the plain ones I usually eat. The sauce used also managed to hit the right notes considering the common assumption that China style cooking is always heavy in the saltiness. All in all, while it might not be out of this world, I felt it was worth my calories.

Would I come back? Honestly, it's a yes and a no. For practical reasons because I work in CBD, I might eat here again due to its fairly decent sitting arrangements and it has air-condition. However, I'm not really impressed with the food except for the Dumpling Noodles. I doubt this will be a place I would choose to impress someone unless I'm craving for dumpling noodles. Haha!

Yin Ji
Far East Square, 133 Amoy Street #01-01 S048775

Camaca - Taiwanese Dessert Cafe staking roots in Singapore

With the growing number of foreign establishments setting up shop in Singapore, Camaca is one of the latest additions. Originally from Taiwan, some of the highlights of Camaca is some of its sugar free desserts as well as its capsule gelatos. In my case, making the trip to Camaca was a case of making up for initial disappointment. My initial plans to assuage my craving for the popular Kaki Fuyong at Ngee Ann Polytechnic was derailed when the stall so happened was closed that day. Given that I've already driven all the way down, I was determined to make my petrol's worth.

The unique highlight of Camaca's gelato is that it comes in a frozen capsule. You pick the capsule you want and they put it through a machine and it comes out as gelato. This form of gelato is both creamy and with sufficient solidness that I like. The Musang King Durian Gelato won plentiful of praises from my dining companion. She was raving non-stop about how much she is enjoying her durian ice cream. For durian lovers, this will be a rather satisfying choice considering the richness in flavour and the creaminess.

I was recommended the Black Sesame Banana Gelato which is really an acquired taste. My willingness to be adventurous with this ice cream started from the very good experience I had at Sadaharu Aoki in Paris where I had black sesame ice cream. It was awesome. While the flavour here isn't as robust, the mixture with bananas is rather unique. As a banana lover, I'm not oppose to this and pretty much enjoyed my gelato too!

Given the good experience, I was motivated to try their other creations. So I ordered the Hazelnut Dacquoise and Rose Dacquoise after my companion graciously agreed to share the calories with me. The Dacquoise pronounced as - 'Duck Coils' is basically a french dessert that is similar to a macaron but taste like a soft nougat. This dessert at Camaca is sugar-free. It's best to serve it cold. For a sugar free dessert, it carries the natural flavours very distinctly and even a person who has a sweet tooth like me have nothing to complain about. Sweetness is just right!

The overall ambiance of Camaca is designed cozy and poised. I would definitely love to come back here with a book, some desserts and coffee simply to chill. It's an awesome place to bring someone here to get to them better too. Looks like they just got a new raving fan in me.

Camaca 
9 King Albert Park, #01-11/01-12, S598332 

BistrOne36 - Cozy Beers and Western Neighbourhood Dining

The residents of Boon Keng have one more popular establishment added to their selection of awesome dining. This establishment occupies the spot previously housing Oh My Tian, the other project founded by the founders of Hatterstreet. It has proven to be hitting the right notes with the Boon Keng faithful.

I was pretty much there with an objective to chill and have some good food. A chillout night would never be complete without beers. On a Tuesday (the day I'm there), they have 2 for 1 Oranjeboom ($20) on offer so it's perfect!

The Torched Tuna Sashimi Salad ($10.90) ordered by my dining companion should rightfully be my dish. She's the regular at the gym and well.. I'm the one trying to slim down. It's tossed well and the seasoning was good. The torched tuna sashimi is also an excellent way to whet your appetite so it's awesome as an appetizer.

My choice of Seafood Aglio Olio ($16.90) is far more ordinary than the salad. Having said that, the flavours were on point. It's those kinda dish that you cannot find fault with but nothing to shout about as well. I guess I was expecting more given that it's a chef's recommendation.

We topped our night off with truffle fries ($8.90) to accompany our meal and beers. I've got to say I might just order this again if I come by to chill and have beers. Taste wise, it met expectations.

For a neighbourhood cafe, this is definitely satisfactory. While the food doesn't have any spectacular 'wow' effect, I left as a happy customer feeling sated by the food and beer. BistrOne36 feels cozy for a 2 to 3 person catch up location and I even overheard some office executives appraising the food on my way to the washroom. There's a good chance I'll be back!

BistrOne36
34 Whampoa West, #01-79, S330034
(Be warned that the GPS might be a little misleading but I have no idea how to help you with this!)

Belle Ville - Popular Wobbly Pancakes from Osaka

The excessive growth in overseas establishments taking root in Singapore has frankly dampened my enthusiasm rather than have me looking forward for more. In a way, I'm considered late in checking out Belle Ville considering they set up shop here mid last year. Hailing from Osaka, the pancakes gained a reputation in Singapore for its wobbly nature.

The Matcha with Rice Ball and Red Bean pancake ($12.20) has a rich matcha azuki taste to it. It's rather overwhelming for my taste buds but it can be due to me not being a matcha fan to begin with. Apart from that, the matcha pancake is rather dry which resulted in my dining companion feeling rather 'jelat' and couldn't finish the pancake despite her best effort trying.

I was rather intrigued by the instagram-worthy wobbly Chocolate and Grilled Banana Pancake ($12.20). It was sufficiently fluffy however the wobbliness seems to be a result of semi-cooking the pancake batter. While the entire pancake was light and very easy to finish, there seems to be a missing satisfaction at the end of the entire meal.

As a whole, I didn't feel very impressed with my overall experience. While I was decently satisfied with my chocolate banana pancake, I have a feeling that this overseas branch is a watered down version of the real deal. I guess, for its price point, we can be more forgiving.

Belle Ville
230 Victoria Street, #01-01B, Bugis Junction, S188024