Most would probably notice from my recent instagram posts that I’m making the conscious effort to eat clean. Although I got to admit it can be a struggle cause I love my deep fried food. Haha. So when I got to learn about Open Farm Community, I was pretty excited to check them out.

A collaboration between The Spa Esprit Group, celebrity chef Ryan Clift and award-winning food garden specialist Edible Garden City, Open Farm Community sets out to be a farm-to-table restaurant.

And to say they are a restaurant… Isn’t quite accurate. Almost 70% of the area was dedicated to non-restaurant stuff. One would think sane businessmen would want to maximize the land and get as much returns as they possibly can. But at Open Farm Community, they were different in the sense that space was allowed for a big outdoors recreation space (table tennis table and playground) and farm!

Taken from their website, Open Farm Community aims to bring to life the impact of urban farming in Singapore. And in doing so, to strengthen our understanding and respect for food and its origins. In addition to promoting balanced living and education through farming workshops, events and activities.

My girlfriends assisted to make reservation since it was going to be an outing to celebrate my birthday! Keke. We decided to go for their brunch which was from 11am to 3pm. But what took my girlfriend by surprise was that she had to leave her credit card details as $50 would be charged for no show. So one may wish to take note!

And thankfully, Open Farm Community is located at the lower half of Dempsey Hill. So people like me who take public transport (bus) would not need to walk (too) far up from the main road. Keke.

And from the brunch menu (pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), we ordered:-

1) Seared tuna, $26 (above) – With green papaya & jicama salad, fresh coconut & dashi vinegar.

2) Potato rosti, $28 (above) – Scrambled eggs, sliced pork sausages, creme fraiche & red onion brown jus. It’s a little odd that this was called ‘potato rosti’ cause the rosti only made up 20% of the dish.

  

3) Eggs benedict, $24 (above) – With poached chicken, spinach, semi-dried tomatoes, sourdough & green curry hollandaise sauce. Give this a skip. We were expecting a more generous serving. The (可怜) girlfriend’s husband who ordered this was still hungry despite having it all for himself.

4) Truffle scrambled organic egg, $24 (above) – With shimeji mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, baby spinach & sourdough.

5) Buttermilk pancake, $22 (above) – With creme patisserie, poached strawberries & ice cream.

6) Mud crab spaghettoni, $28 (above) – With Thai curry sauce, crunchy yellow squash, coconut, crispy shallot, Thai basil. Said to be homemade pasta, the noodles were thick and chewy. Not too bad, though the portion was a little on the small side.

7) Roasted baby chicken, $28 (above) – Braised leeks with hazelnut butter & wild watercress salad.

8) Lemon tart with basil ice-cream, $17 (above) – Of the 2 desserts we ordered, this was my favourite. Although we ‘destroyed’ it when we tried to slice through; The entire ensemble collapsed under our fork as we couldn’t ‘break’ the top layer successfully. Haha!

9) Hot & cold chocolate cake with chocolate sorbet & mint, $17 (above) – And yes, a candle added for the birthday girl (me).

10) Virgin mojito, $12 (above) – Apple juice, soda, mint, lime. Somehow, this tasted very much like lemonade. Ha!

11) Latte, $5.50 (above)

We certainly enjoyed the ambience of Open Farm Community. There was a certain class about the place, yet one wouldn’t feel out-of-place if one was too casually donned or very dressed up. However, food wise… Well, let’s say the portion could be bigger. Much bigger. It was pretty expensive.

Service was great! Staff were friendly and had a good sense of humour. You know how most staff would just take orders and leave? The staff at Open Farm Community made the effort to be personal as they engaged conversations with patrons, yet without being too intrusive. We made a booking for 6. So while waiting for the rest to arrive, the punctual ones decided to order drinks first. After taking our order, the staff joked and asked, “Would you like a group picture? You could also send to your (latecomer) friends.” Haha.

And have I mentioned how much I love their plates? For real. (^^lll) Keke.