It was one of those crazy and spontaneous moments when I decided to take leave to join my colleague (who has long planned for and had applied her leave) to chill our afternoon away at a cafe. Ha. And since we both had plans for the evening and that our evening activities were taking place in the East, I did a quick search for a cafe that’s in the East.

So that’s how my colleague and I decided on South Union Park.

I have actually learnt about South Union Park a few weeks back. Another group of friends had wanted to check them out, but cause we were living in the North and West, we gave it a miss. So I was glad I finally got the opportunity to visit! =)

And since my colleague and I came on a weekday, we almost had the entire place to ourselves. Ha.

And from the menu, we ordered:-

  

1) Fried chicken, $11 (above) – With corn bread, honey butter. This was good! The pieces of chicken were fried with its skin on. And it was crisp on the exterior, and moist and juicy on the inside. Superb! I didn’t touch the honey butter cause the chicken was good on its own. =) I (also) asked my colleague for her opinion about pairing the corn bread muffin with the chicken. Though the corn muffin was good, I felt the two were different items to be enjoyed separately. Maybe they are fans of Kenny Rogers Roasters?

2) Crabcakes, $12 (above) – Remoulade. This was good! We were expecting bite-sized pieces since it was an appetiser, so we were surprised when it was presented in one big piece. A cake, literally. Ha. And this was definitely best consumed when it was served piping hot. When I sliced through it with my fork, I could hear the evident crackling sound.

3) Mussels, $18 (above) – South Australian mussels, chorizo broth. Since I don’t take beef, I enquired about the chorizo and got to learn that it was pork chorizo. But what we didn’t expect was that these chorizo were made in house. Wow! And one must definitely dip their freshly baked brioche into the broth. So good. Although the brioche served to us was a little too grilled.

4) Duck confit (homemade) pasta, $19 (above) – Tagliatelle, sautéed spinach, hazelnut cream. Not surprising, but the pasta at South Union Park is handmade too. Because I prepare my own meals, I truly appreciate handmade food. Especially items like bread, noodles, etc which most people fail to recognise the amount of effort that’s put into creating these because they are easily available. And the pasta was great.

5) Poached salmon, $20 (above) – Mediterranean cous cous, onion salad.

6) Apple crumble, $10 (above) – Butterscotch, yoghurt, vanilla ice cream.

  

7) Passionfruit soufflé, $13 (above)

8) Latte, $4.50 (above)

It was through enquiring about the chorizo that we learnt from one of the chef (who served our dish as the sole waiting staff was busy taking order) that they make everything from scratch with exception of the ice cream and fries. Wow. I really like and respect them for taking pride in hand-making everything.

Location wise, they are a 8-12 minutes walk from Kembangan MRT station. As my colleague and I met at 1pm, the walk from the MRT station to the café was a sunny affair. As South Union Park occupied a shophouse unit which was located within a private estate, there was no shelter to shade us from the blazing sun.

And I can’t emphasize enough how I love it when cafés are not fully occupied. Which is one reason why I don’t mind taking leave just to chill at a café. If work permits too. Ha. The interior of the cafe wasn’t exactly designed to wow, but it was cozy enough for my colleague and I to spend our entire afternoon where I settled both my lunch and dinner there. Haha. However, make sure one comes with a fully charged laptop as they do not have any power point except for one right at the entrance.

Did I enjoy my leave spent at South Union Park? I certainly did. However, after having tried almost everything on the menu in this one trip, I hope they would update their menu with significantly more new dishes soon for me to return!