It’s funny how Grub is a mere 10 to 15-minutes walk from home, yet I haven’t checked them out all this while. Oops.

So when my girlfriends wanted to meet, we decided to drop by for brunch since all of us happened to be staying in the North. We value convenience cause we are a big group with children. My girlfriends who have since become Moms prefer not to travel far, you see. o_O

We called to make reservation for Saturday, but were told that they don’t take reservation on weekends.

As such, we arrived at 11.30am in hope that we will beat the crowd. But the café was already packed! And I noticed Grub was patronised by big groups. Ie, families. Not too surprising since families would head over for brunch due to the convenience as Grub is nestled within a park and located in a heartland area.

With that, we waited for almost 30 minutes for a table that’s big enough for us. Which wasn’t too ideal when the weather was hot and we had 3 kids. But it was nice that the staff allowed the little ones to wait inside the air-conditioned café when a table for 2 became available halfway through our long wait.

And from the brunch menu, we ordered:-

1) Fried chicken wings, $9 (above) – With salted egg yolk sauce, curry leaves. This was pretty interesting and good. I was licking the sauce off my fingers. Keke.

2) Mentaiko fries, $9 (above) – Mentaiko aioli, nori seaweed.

3) Mushroom and cheese quesadilla, $8 (above) – Cheddar, mozzarella, mushroom, jalapeno sauce. I seriously loved this! The mushroom within was sautéed nicely, and the whole combination of melted cheeses, mushroom and tortilla was wonderful. A must try.

4) Smoked salmon salad, $8 (above) – Smoked salmon, mandarin orange, spicy yuzu dressing. I was disappointed with this. Ever since I started preparing my own salads (to bring to work), I expect better from cafes. And this was something which I could easily pull off at home. Grub should at least improve on the plating. No? Though I have to say they were pretty generous with the serving of smoked salmon.

5) French toast, $12 (above) – Garlic thyme pork sausage, strawberries, sour cream, mape syrup. I am still not a fan of mixing my sweet with savoury. But this was ordered because we came in a big group, and the great thing about coming in big group is that one get to try almost everything on the menu. Haha. The French toast wasn’t that bad, but I would have preferred it without the sausage and sour cream, and with more fresh strawberries.

6) Grilled chicken burger, $12 (above) – Teriyaki glazed chicken thigh, enoki fritter, mayo.

7) Grub cheeseburger, $12 (above) – 100% freshly minced beef patty, monterey jack cheese.

8) Crispy fish burger, $14 (above) – Crumbed fish fillet, remoulade.

9) Grub breakfast set, $15 (above) – Grilled focaccia, scrambled eggs, mushroom, side salad. With a coffee/tea/homemade or canned drink. There are 2 flavours to choose from for the sausage, and my friend went with chicken cheese instead of garlic thyme pork.

10) Churros, $9 (above) – Dark chocolate, tangy creme anglaise. This was pretty good. Fried to perfection such that churro was crunchy on the outside, yet moist and light on the inside. It was a little over-coated with sugar, but that’s fine cause one can just ‘tap’ the sugar off. Haha. And the dipping sauces were good. A must try.

11) Lemon meringue tart, $5.50 (above)

12) Latte, $4.50 (above)

Will I recommend Grub? Well… Yes. Cause one, Grub is one of the few cafes that offers a nice view with it overlooking the pond. Two, it’s centrally located in Ang Mo Kio. You know… Not tucked in the furthest corner of Singapore.

But cause they are always packed (Oh yes, I noticed the café is even bustling with people in the evening when I go for my jogs at Bishan Park on weekends), do expect staff to be slightly overwhelmed. Getting their attention can be a little tricky. Unless one doesn’t mind heading down on weekday. Which I managed to, once. My friend had their crab pasta from their lunch menu.

To get to Grub, one would need to take the bus or drive. Unless one doesn’t mind a long walk; A 20 to 25 minutes walk from Ang Mo Kio MRT station. But of course, taking the taxi is another option!