Brunch @ The Coffee Daily

August 20, 2014 in European (cafe)

It’s always a good trend that cafés are sprouting out in areas that’s not Tiong Bahru, Bugis, Telok Ayer or Tanjong Pagar. Too far from where I usually am lah. It’s better news when I learn it’s near home. Haha! =)

Instead of heading to Serangoon Garden for Chomp Chomp, my girlfriend and I were off to The Coffee Daily. And although we reached at 8pm, we were able to enjoy the same dishes as (what’s offered for) brunch thanks to all-day breakfast! Yeah.


For alfresco, there’s a long, high communal table at the front half of the shop unit. Enter through the entrance and be greeted by the counter where cakes and ice creams are displayed. This is also where our orders were being taken. Walk further in for more (indoors) seating area.

And from the menu, we ordered:-

1) Wild mushroom soup, $6.90 (above)

2) Laksa lasagna, $9 (above) – My girlfriend and I decided to try this as we haven’t quite heard of laksa lasagna. It’s interesting how they managed to capture the essence of laksa. Minced meat was also layered in between the pasta. However, the top few layers had tough pasta edges. I initially thought it was because they over-microwaved our dish, but a quick google check showed that this happened because there was insufficient filling to cover the noodles.

3) Home-made waffles, $4.50 (+ $3.20, ice cream) (above) – This was okie, although our choice of ice cream flavour did not go well with the waffle.

4) Molten lava chocolate cake, $7.90 (+ $4, single scoop ice cream) (above) – A good lava chocolate cake is one which chocolate oozes out from within when sliced. And I am glad this was one of the good ones. Sponge was acceptable, being neither dry nor moist.

5) Apple crumble, $6.50 (above) – This was somehow disappointing.

6) Latte, $5 (above)

So while The Coffee Daily provides a cosy and relaxing environment to spend a lazy afternoon (or even night) away, I wouldn’t recommend making a special trip to the Northeast just to check them out.

The Coffee Daily walks us down the memory lane by maintaining the original design of the shophouse (think foldable metal gate, patterned window grill, etc) and using vintage furniture. However, despite all of that, I felt as though I was coming into a normal café. Not much thought was given to the entire assembly. Items felt like they were just put together?

Besides the laksa lasagne (which was also not exactly perfect), most of the dishes offered at The Coffee Daily can be easily found in most cafes. The only good thing about The Coffee Daily is that they open till late. Yes, 10.30pm. So for those who are in the area and need a late quick fix of caffeine, do drop by. Otherwise, I am pretty sure there’re other cafes in Serangoon that fare better.

THE COFFEE DAILY
75 Brighton Crescent, Serangoon Garden Estate, Singapore
6284 8894, Facebook
Overall: 6
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 6
Mon – Fri : 12:00 – 22:30
Ambience: 6
Sat – Sun : 09:30 – 22:30
Value: 6
Service: 6 

Brunch @ Sunday Market

August 18, 2014 in European (cafe)

Having checked out Sunday Market with my junior in end July 14 and liking the ambience, I suggested to my other group of friends to have our next meet up at Sunday Market. And I am glad my JC clique liked the place too!

For my second visit to Sunday Market, we tried to make reservation as we were a big group of 6. However, we were informed that they do not take reservation on weekends. And Sunday Market has definitely become more popular. When I first came in late July 14 at 4pm, my junior and I came to a half-filled café. However, in mid August 14, the café was running at full house at 4pm! And 4pm is supposedly to be the non-peak timing. But their increased popularity doesn’t surprise since Sunday Market makes an ideal place for brunching.

After we were seated, the staff assisted to bring cups of (room temperature) water to our table although the water was self-serviced. Most cafes require patrons to order at the counter. But at Sunday Market, the staff came up to the respective tables to take orders.

And from the menu, we ordered:-


1) Skinny wings & truffle fries, $6.90 (above) – Wing sticks marinated in house spices, deep fried till crispy and shoestring fries tossed in truffle oil. With aioli & Thai chilli sauce. This was okie. Wings are probably called skinny wings because instead of each wing having 2 bones, the wing was further separated into 2 such that each piece has 1 bone instead. Made eating hassle free. Fries wise, it tasted like normal fries as I could barely taste / smell the truffle.

2) Sirloin rendang toast, $15.90 (above) – Chunks of striploin beef simmered in ‘rendang’ gravy with crispy buttered brioche.

3) French toasts with BBQ chicken, $12.90 (above) – Fried eggs served with green onions & cilantro toast, grilled BBQ chicken thigh, mixed cress & sriracha sauce. This is almost like 2 different dishes, but served on the same plate. I enjoyed the thick, juicy slab of chicken meat separately from the sweet brioche french toast. It was also a nice, thoughtful touch that the chicken was sliced into bite-able strips.


4) Pulled duck sandwich, $13.90 (above) – Shredded duck leg with creamy slaw, orange brown sauce & crispy duck skin. This was nice! Shredded duck meat was tender and juicy, while the vegetables added a good crunch to the entire ensemble. The (fluffy brioche) bread to meat ratio was a little too much for me, although my junior thought otherwise.

5) Smoked salmon & cheese ice cream waffle, $14.90 (above) – Mixed cress, smoked salmon, avocado & cheese ice cream. Cheese ice cream sounded interesting but this dish was just normal. The waffle was done to a beautiful brown, but was lacking in taste and texture.

6) Crispy duck leg confit, $17.90 (above) – Fried baby potatoes, chopped salad & orange brown sauce. Ours came a little overcooked as a substantial amount of the meat was dry. A pity as we really liked how the remaining tender bits went with the yummy sauce.

7) Seafood aglio olio, $14.90 (above) – Mixed seafood in chili oil, seafood broth, garlic, chili, crispy fish flakes & chopped parsley. With spaghetti pasta. This was really good! I especially like the crispy fish flakes which added a different texture element to the spaghetti dish. My Our only grip is that the portion was pretty small! Amount of pasta given was two-third of a normal serving.


8) Chocolate chip pancakes, $9.90 (above) – Sweet pancakes with baked banana, topped with warm nutella maple sauce. 2 layers of thin but fluffy pancakes. I was surprised to find torched sugar layer placed on top of the bananas. Nice effort.


9) Bangkok toast, $10.90 (above) – Cinnamon thick sweet brioche toast with matcha green tea custard, served with Thai milk tea ice cream. This was really good. Custardy french toast that’s slightly liquid in the centre. Not sure if it’s intentional or accidentally undercooked. Hmm… But this is a must try! Be careful if you are having this with a cup of latte. I accidentally picked up the glass of milk tea ice cream, and almost drank it instead of my cafe latte cause the same glass cup was used. Ha.

10) Café latte, $5 (above)

11) Milk tea Thai, $7 (above) – This is sweeter than our normal tea. Even sweeter than our bubble (pearl milk) tea!

I like the creativity displayed in the dishes offered by Sunday Market. I will definitely recommend checking this place out at least once. Parking wise, fret not as there’re coupon parking lots in front of the stretch of shophouses.

SUNDAY MARKET
22 Lim Tua Tow Road, Singapore
6287 8880, Website, Facebook
Overall: 6
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 7
Mon – Fri : 13:00 – 22:00
Ambience: 6
Sat – Sun : 11:00 – 23:00
Value: 6
Service: 6 

Dinner @ Cacio E Pepe

September 16, 2010 in Italian


Dish #1: Carpaccio Di Pesce Spada


Dish #2: Pizza al Prosciutto (Parma Ham)


Dish #3: Ravioli with Truffle Sauce (Not on menu)


Dish #4: Rack of Lamb


Dish #5: Rum Lava Cake

And I am so glad my girlfriend and I were not put off by the slight inaccessibility of the place. The food was simply yummy! If I really had to choose, I would say my favourites were Ravioli with Truffle Sauce and Rack of Lamb! =)

I am thinking of making a trip back cause apparently, their signatures dishes are Spaghetti Alle Vongole and Risotto Pescatore which we din manage to try! Roar.

CACIO E PEPE RESTAURANT
4 Rochdale Road, Singapore
(65) 62811905

Food:
Service:
They were polite. When our three main courses were served, the lady advised us to start on our ravioli as it’s better to consume it warm!
Ambience:
The decor is very simple. White, grey walls with the shop front being a huge glass.

Must Try: Ravioli with Truffle Sauce, Rack of Lamb, Rum Lava Cake