Wanting to check them out properly, I have been to OZ Cafe three times. But in all honesty, it was non-intentional. We came a third time because we did not manage to try their food on our second visit.

During our first visit, we came by after having a heavy lunch. Thus, we only tried their coffee and desserts (waffle and cake). On our second visit, although we managed to reach at 10pm sharp, they had already closed their kitchen (They open till 11pm with their kitchen closing at 10pm). And it’s only on our third visit during a weekday afternoon that we managed to try their mains.

And from the menu, we ordered:-

1) Big breakfast, $14 (above) – Served with generous servings of buttered scrambled eggs + streaky bacon strips + large pork frankfurter sausage + specialty jam in a jar + multi-grain toast + mesclun salad mix dressed in home-made honey vinaigrette + home-made toasted almonds + tomato.

2) Salmon platter, $18 (above) – Served with generous servings of buttered scrambled eggs + smoked salmon slices + multi-grain toast + floral honey in a jar + mesclun salad mix dressed in home=made honey vinaigrette + home-made toasted almonds + tomato. The salmon was a tad too salty. But scrambled egg was done in good consistency, being slightly runny.

3) Carrot cake, $5.50 (above) – I was a little shocked when the cake was served messily. I felt they should at least (bother to) clean the plate of the extra frosting. And the cake was disappointing too. It lacked the texture (like crunchy bits) which I preferred my carrot cake to have.

4) Belgian liege waffles, $5 (+ $2, scoop of ice cream) (above) – Came in 2 pieces, we opted for additional ice cream which flavour was vanilla (New Zealand natural). We were a little surprised cause the portion seemed pretty small. But after we re-remembered that the waffles are at $5, we figured it’s reasonable. And the waffles are not too bad. Liege waffles are meant to be dense in texture.

5) Latte, $4.50 (regular) (above) – On our first visit, the coffee was really bad. I did not appreciate the coffee stain on my cup too. However, on our subsequent visits, the coffee was better. Guess it voiced down to who’s the barista that’s behind the coffee machine.

6) Cold chocolate, $4.50 (above) – Make sure this is stirred well before drinking.

OZ Speciality Cafe is a very small cafe. Within the cafe, there’s only counter seats for 5. The rest are alfresco seats which are tables placed outside (of) the cafe, along the corridor. I do recommend dropping by if you are in the area. However, with the limited seating capacity and range of the food menu, I wouldn’t recommend coming into big groups. However, one of the plus point is that they open till late. And that’s good news for me when I need my coffee late into the night, since they are somewhat near to where I stay.

There are the days when I don’t feel like dressing up, yet I still want to go out for brunch. So at times like this, my family and I will head out to cafes that’s nearer to home. Thus, explaining our visit to Habitat Coffee in Thomson.

Parking can be difficult cause the parking lots are limited to what’s in front of the shop houses.

We reached at 10.25am on a Saturday and a queue had already formed outside the cafe. Thankfully, us being early birds, we were able to get a table once they opened for business at 10.30am. However, on my 2nd trip back, I was not so lucky. I had to wait for almost 20 minutes for a table on a(nother) Saturday afternoon (around 3pm) although I was alone.

And from the menu, my family and I ordered:-

1) The shrooms, $12 (above) – Poached eggs & sauteed mushrooms on brioche bread topped with homemade hollandaise sauce. So while this was okie, I felt it was a little expensive being priced at $12.

2) Apple cinnamon pancakes, $10 (above) – Fresh caramelised apples tossed with cinnamon, black raisins & topped with walnuts. I liked these. It’s a personal preference that I like my pancake to be a little sticky such it stick to the top of my mouth.

3) Truffle al funghi, $17 (above) – Creamy truffle wild mushroom pasta with baby spinach. We did find it a little odd when the dish was served ‘pasta in a soup’ style, but my brother finished it up well and clean. A sign that it’s good. However, it was again a tad too expensive at $17.

4) Eggs tomato relish, $15 (+ $2, sausage) (above) – Secret tomato goodness recipe served in a hot plate with two eggs, bacon, baby spinach & country sourdough toast. I chose to have my eggs scrambled instead of poached, and I must admit it’s a very hearty meal. A must try1 I could not stop dipping my bread into the tomato relish. And it was totally redundant of me to order an extra sausage which was totally out of place. Ha.

5) House-made churros, $9 (above) – Crispy soft fried dough fritters coated with cinnamon sugar and served with chef’s warm chocolate ganache. As with the words from their menu, the churros was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Nice.

6) Chocolate, $4.90 (regular) (above) – Hot chocolate looked really impressive but the drink was a little bland.

7) Cappuccino, $4.90 (regular) (above, left)

8) Latte, $4.90 (regular) (above, right)

So while I recommend Habitat Coffee for its wide range of food, do be picky with your selection as I felt some of the dishes were overpriced. And be prepared to queue too. Although Habitat Coffee is not exactly small, the cafe sees a continuous stream of patrons.