Brunch @ FIX

August 30, 2014 in European (cafe)

Having learnt of a poolside cafe from Burpple, my girlfriends and I were excited to check them out.

Although FIX looked like it’s of walkable distance from Toa Poyah MRT station, my girlfriends and I decided to take a taxi from HDB Hub. And our cab fare came up to a low $6.

Knowing that FIX has a pool view, it was pretty easy locating them within the club. Oh yes, just head towards the swimming pool! But what we were not prepared for was that FIX is a non-air conditioned cafe. Yup! They are an open-concept cafe. But thankfully it was drizzling when we arrived, so the weather was ideally cool for us to chill.

And from the menu, we ordered:-

1) Main + Milkshake set, $14 comprised of:-

(A) Mushroom & feta naanwich (veg) (above) – Otherwise $10 if ordered a-la carte. This was a little tricky and messy to eat, especially with the egg. I actually expected it to be served rolled. But this was really good! Naan was thick and slightly browned on the exterior. Fluffy and chewy on the inside. And yes, we were given nachos too!

(B) Black sesame with brittle milk shake (above) – Otherwise $7.

2) Cake + Drink set, $10 comprised of:-

(A) Donuts (above) – $7 if ordered a-la carte. Donuts were light and fluffy. We left the donuts untouched for a while, and it was good to see no oil stains left on the baking paper. And with 2 options of sauce to choose from, we went with salted egg. Although we managed to try the lemon curd sauce too. Keke. And I must say both sauces were equally good. Salted egg was runny and grainy in texture while lemon curd, which served a good tangy punch, was thick and cloggy.

(B) Iced lemongrass tea (above) – Otherwise $4.

3) Cake + Drink set, $10 comprised of:-

(A) Twice-baked sourcream cheesecake (above) – Otherwise $7. This was not too bad although I did not like the base which was soggy.

(B) Latte (above) – $4.50 if ordered a-la carte.

4) Crispy soy chicken drumlets, $7 (above)

5) Iced mocha, $6 (above)

FIX is a nice place to chill and people watch. It was quite funny cause there was always one person swimming during the 2 hours we were there. Not the same person of course. And so we joked that swimming caused the six-abs person to swell to become fat, and finally aged into an old man. Ha!

So yes, do come and order the sets which are more value for money.

FIX CAFE
31 Ah Hood Road, Home Team NS-JOM, #01-06, Singapore
6256 1484, Website, Facebook
Overall: 6.5
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 6
Mon – Sun : 09:30 – 22:30
Ambience: 7
Value: 7
Service: 6

Brunch @ Wheeler’s Yard

July 7, 2014 in European (cafe)

Wheeler’s Yard definitely sets itself apart from other cafes by being located within an industrial park and is a bicycle cafe. Oh yes, one can buy cycling products and bicycles here. I took a peak at the price tag of the bikes and they are not cheap with price ranging from $1000 to $3000! Although I also have to add that the bicycles are really nice.

Heading down to Wheeler’s Yard can be a little tricky by car or public transport. It’s not really in the North although the nearest MRT station is Toa Poyah. In fact, I got ‘scolded’ by my friend when I told him to drive to Yishun first while looking up the exact location cause Wheeler’s Yard is really located in Balestier. Haha. And yes, parking can be an issue because parking lots are very limited. Very. One most likely have to park along the service road.

Upon entering the premise, we had to make our way to the right as the blue door is non-accessible. (Saw a couple trying to force open the blue shutter, which of course did not barge no matter how hard they tried)


And once we entered, the alfresco seating area was on our right with the indoors seats on the left. We chose to sit indoors for our mains before moving out (to the alfresco area) for desserts and coffee. And I felt it’s an ingenious idea to use bicycles as divider on the long and wide communal tables!

And from the menu, we ordered:-

1) Smoked salmon salad, $14.90 (above) – Mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, smoked salmon slices served with Wheeler’s Yard house dressing. Although most of the ingredients were probably bought off-the-shelf and thrown together, they were very generous with the salmon slices.

2) Spaghetti prawn aglio olio, $20.90 (above) – Succulent sea tiger prawn, garlic, chilli flakes, cherry tomatoes & parsley. My friend really liked this, although the dish was normal for me.

3) Fish & chips, $18.90 (above) – Battered haddock fish fillet served with fries and homemade tartar sauce. I did not really like this dish. The batter was uneven and did not wrap around the fish meat tightly. You know like how there’s (big) air space between the batter and meat? And the meat breaks apart easily when I tried to pick it up with my fork.

4) Apple crumble, $6 (above) – Unfortunately, this was bad too. The crust was too thick and the apple pieces used were small and soft.

5) Hot chocolate, $6 (above, left)

6) Latte, $5 (above, right)

Everything is self serviced. Once orders were placed, we were given the small gadget which beeps when orders are ready to be collected. However, our dishes are not consolidated to allow us to collect everything one time and for all. We had to make many trips. So yes, for 3 mains and 2 cups of drinks, we made 4 trips to the self-collection point. I imagine it can be quite a hassle especially if one is sitting outside, at the alfresco area.

Wheeler’s Yard is definitely a nice place to chill at. I liked the vibe. It’s especially nice to be sitting at the alfresco area with a cup of latte when the weather is cool.

With its large seating capacity, finding an empty table should not be a problem. Bicycle lovers can also easily access Wheeler’s Yard via the park connector.

WHEELER’S YARD
28 Lorong Ampas, Singapore
6254 9128, Facebook
Overall: 6
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 6
Tues – Thur : 10:30 – 22:00
Ambience: 6
Fri – Sat : 10:30 – 23:00
Value: 6
Sun : 10:30 – 22:00
Service: 6
* Closed on Mon