The Orange Thimble, Eng Hoon Street

The Orange Thimble stands as one of the many cafes located around Thiong Bahru. Known for its coffee and some of their desserts, the cafe is simplistic with a no frills menu at affordable prices.  

 



Long Black

The English $11.50

The English ($11.50), comprises of 2 eggs (sunny side up), pork sausage,streaky bacon, sauteed mushrooms, roasted tomatoes and home-made baked beans served with 2 slices of toast. A very basic big breakfast dish, and we liked the decent portion.



The Orange Thimble Egg Mayo (Veg)
$8.50

 The Orange Thimble Egg Mayo (Veg), was Egg mayo mixed in a special spice blend, crunchy watercress and tomato served with wholemeal bread ($8.50). The sandwich was rather large in portion, and shaped in a adorable heart-shaped fashion. The egg mayo was well seasoned and I liked the concept of including wholemeal bread on the menu.



Miss Portobella (Veg)
$7.50

Miss Portobella (Veg), was Portobello mushroom baked in honey and balsamic vinegar sauce, topped with melted cheese and caramelized onions and garlic served with wholemeal roll ($7.50). The mushroom was well marinated and lusciously topped with melted cheese. Simple, but satisfying.

I wouldn't be back specially for the food. Despite the limited menu, the simple and affordable breakfast dishes that makes The Orange Thimble a good place to hang out for brunch.

The Orange Thimble

56 Eng Hoon Street

#01-68

The Mayor of Tiny Town, Cantonment Road

The Mayor of Tiny Town is a cosy cafe located along Cantonment Road. It was pouring heavily in the afternoon when we were there and we were glad to seek relief from the rain in the warm cafe.

 



Teriyaki Chicken with Mashed Potato
$14.90 with drink

The weekend special was the Teriyaki Chicken with Mashed Potato. We loved the dish. The teriyaki chicken was flavoursome and tender, presented on a creamy bed of mashed potato.


Blue Salmon
$15.90

The Blue Salmon was Seared salmon fillet with Bols blue curacao infused lemon ginger mint tea butter on baked eggplant puree with mixed greens. The dish particularly outstanding despite the interesting description and intriguing flavored butter. The baked eggplant puree was rather tasteless and tasted rather odd with the salmon. The portion could have been bigger and the flavours, stronger.



Iced Latte



Long Black

Still, nothing beats a warm cup of coffee on a rainy afternoon.

The Mayor of Tiny Town

61 Cantonment Road

Tel: 62227089

 

Tsujiri Tea House, 100 Tras Street

We made a trip down to the 152-year old tea house, Tsujiri Tea House, established in Kyoto Japan by Riemon Tsuji, specialising in green tea drinks and desserts.

The cake counter was almost bare and understandably so because the store only features O-maccha Chiffon Cake ($4.2) and O-maccha Roll cake ($4.50).



O-maccha Roll cake
$4.50

 We made a beeline for the O-maccha roll cake, served with a dollop of of whipped cream and red bean. The roll was average, it became a little too overwhelmingly sweet after a few bites into the cake.

We were spoilt for choice with the other choices as the menu spans a wonderful variety of various green tea combinations. With some recommendations from the staff, we proceeded with Tsujiri Shaved Ice (O-maccha), comprising of layers of matcha flavoured shaved ice and matcha ice cream, topped with chestnut, mochi balls and red bean paste. We loved the bitter-sweet matcha ice cream which was filled with green tea goodness.




Tsujiri Shaved Ice (O-maccha)
$7.80



O-maccha Milk Ice Blended
$5.50/M, $6.50/L

O-maccha Milk Ice Blended ($5.50/M, $6.50/L) had a beautiful combination of matcha, milk and ice, presenting a rich yet refreshing drink for the afternoon.

Never too much green tea, we'd love to be back for the other items on the menu.


Tsujiri Tea House
100 AM, 100 Tras Street,
#01-14B
Singapore

1-Twenty Six, East Coast Parkway

We managed to secure a seat during restaurant week at 1-Twenty Six on a weekday night. The place was rather empty when we arrived at around 7pm. We fell in love with the lovely ambience with seats facing the sea and a live band playing in the background. It was pretty awesome, if you ask me.

 



Indoor seating



Warmed bread basket



Taste of salmon

The Taste of Salmon trio comprised of Salmon tartare, homemade cured salmon and TWG tea confit salmon, accompanied with a petit salad. I loved the TWG salmon- its soft pink exterior was fork-tender and gentle on the palates, although its name raised a brow because we could not quite make out the TWG flavour.



 Salmon tartare

 

The salmon tartare was served in an accent piece nestled beneath a layer of foam, a refreshing change from the other two components. We enjoyed how the fish was tastefully presented in three different ways and it was definitely a delightful way to begin the meal.



Beef carpaccio

Beef carpaccio comprises of thinly sliced 200 day grain fed Black Angus beef tenderloin, honey mustard dressing, and argugula salad. The sight of the flesh red slices made me hesitate a little, but I have to say that it was a good satisfying salad with quality slices of meat that went well with the accompaniments.



Sea bream

The pan-seared sea bream fillet was served with cauliflower puree and porcini cream sauce. As much as I loved the rich velvet mushroom cream sauce, the fish was rather dry and hard. It is a pity because the sauce and the cauliflower puree was excellent.



Duck breast

 

The Magret duck breast, was roasted rare and served with crushed potatoes, baked polenta, ratatouille and red currant jus. We were rather impressed with the well-excution of the dish- the duck breast was nicely roasted revealing a handsomely browned exterior and a tender juicy rare centre. I thought red currant jus was quite a clever pairing to the red meat.



Coconut mousse, rhum jelly, pineapple rum sorbet

 

We tried both desserts available on the menu, the first was a trio of Coconut mousse and rhum jelly cake served with pineapple rum sorbet. I thought the cake was overly mushy and the flavours were almost non-existent. The pineapple rum sorbet, on the other hand, was quite refreshing.

 

Tiramisu

The Tiramisu presented itself in a rather deconstructed manner, but I enjoyed the crisp espresso croton and rich macadamia ice cream that provided the creamy Tiramisu with quite a lovely finish.

A charming place for dinner, we loved the place.

1-Twenty Six

902E East Coast Parkway

#01-26 Playground @ Big Splash

Tel: 66816464

Group Therapy Cafe, Duxton Hill

 

My second time at the cosy cafe, Group Therapy remains a comfortable place for a casual brunch. They changed some of the items on the menu, which was a pity because I wanted to have a go at the Beef stew, only to realise that it has been taken off the menu.

 

They have four all day Breakfast dishes, namely Organic granola & museli bowl with yoghurt and fruits ($11), Poached eggs on Thick toast with salmon  ($15), Sunny side up on thick toast with parma ham ($16), and Belgian style waffle with Maple syrup ($9).



Poached eggs
Thick toast with smoked salmon, gruyere, hollandaise
$15

The Poached eggs on thick toast was accompanied with smoked salmon, gruyere, and hollandaise sauce. The slab of thick toast was generously slabbed with a huge dollop of hollandaise sauce that completely covered the poached eggs, creating a mess of oozing egg yolks, soft egg whites, and sauce. The bread was well soaked with the goodness and I thought it was pretty awesome.



Chicken and Mushroom pie
$14

The Chicken and Mushroom pie was stuffed with chicken chunks and white button mushrooms in gravy sauce, and baked in shortcrut butter pastry. I did not get to try this but it was reportedly good.

 

Baked Chilli Crab Pie
$16

The Baked Chilli Crab Pie comprises of chunks of crab claw meat cooked in Chilli crab sauce, baked in a sweet shortcrust butter pastry. I loved the how the chilli crab complemented the buttery pastry and the dish remains my favorite on the list.

The menu is rather limited but decent enough for a casual brunch date.

Group Therapy Cafe

49 Duxton Hill

#02-01

Tel: 62222554

 

PODI, Paragon Orchard

We ventured to the newly opened restaurant, Podi, at Paragon for high tea on a Saturday afternoon when we had some time to kill before dinner.  

 

Open concept restaurant

Cakes counter

The cakes selection was not extensive but decent with some interesting selections such as their whoopie pies and some of the cakes like the Rose Dragon lifht cheesecake.



Cinnamon Spiced Cake with Honey & Toasted Hazelnut Frosting

$12/slice or $15 with ice cream

We opted for Cinnamon Spiced Cake with Honey & Toasted Hazelnut Frosting and almond cappuccino ice cream because I wanted something more sponge-cake based than cream-based. The dessert was very rich with its strong flavours of spices and generous serving of nuts. The cake was topped with buttery biscuit crumbs instead of your usual cream frosting. The chef pulled it off well because the cake could have been very dry if the sponge cake was not moist enough. It was interesting but I found it a little too overwhelming as the flavors were very strong. Perhaps a lighter flavoured ice cream, like Vanilla bean, would have complemented the cake better.

Other items on the food menu include dishes such as Seared chilled grass-fed NZ rib eye steak ($32), Lean chicken fillets ($24), Tamarind chilli prawns with brown rice ($26), and Grilled sea bass with brown rice ($26). Breakfast dishes, available from 8am to 12pm, features a smaller selection with items such as Herb omelette wrap with grilled chicken ($20), Poached eggs with spinach on toast ($22), and Black forest pancakes ($17).


Podi, The Food Orchard

290 Orchard Road

#01-20A Paragon

Tel: 68875303

Kith Cafe, Park Mall

With its second outlet conveniently located at Park Mall, you don't have to grapple with the hassle of getting to its first outlet at Rodyk Street. It was fairly crowded on a Saturday morning when we arrived, so do make reservations if you do not want to wait.

 

Indoor seating



Outdoor seating



Iced Latte

No better way to start the meal with a glass of Iced Latte in a hot Saturday afternoon.



Grilled Chicken Salad
$14

The Grilled Chicken Salad comrpises of grilled chicken, wild rocket, green apple, chery tomato, pinenuts and topped with vinaigrette dressing. I had requested for the dressing to be served at the side. The chicken was left over chicken and was tough to chew. I thought the pinenuts were too sparse and the salad components were not assembled in the correct proportions to deliver a balanced flavor- there was too much wild rocket and too little of everything else.




Spaghetti, King Prawn, garlic, chilli, cherry tomato
$19

A daily special on the menu, the King Prawn Spaghetti was flavorsome with its al dente pasta and juicy king prawns. Not the best that we've had, but still satisfying.

I think I still like their breakfast dishes better. It's a fabulous place to chill if you are waiting for your movie to start and you have time to spare.

Kith Cafe
Park Mall
9 Penang Road, Singapore
#01-01E
Tel: +65 6338 8611

K Ki, Ann Siang Hill

K Ki has been on my to-go list since about two years ago when I've read about their desserts online. We finally made our way there on a Saturday afternoon after a hearty brunch session.

 





 

The store was featuring adorable paintings of rabbits on the wall, an exhibition by Yusuke Shimura.

 



The Little Drom Store

I love the assortment of items displayed at The Little Drom Store, painting a psychedelic array of colours that livens the place up.

 

 

The store is shared between K ki and The Little Drom Store, and I was a little suprised at how small the store was. There was only a counter with about 11 types of sliced cakes and a drinks menu. Being our first time there, the staff was very helpful and explained the components in each cake so that we could decide on what we wanted.

 

The Little Red Riding Hood
$9

Our first pick was The Little Red Riding Hood, which comprises of 70% dark Valrhona chocolate mousse cake with a raspberry centre. I thought it was rich yet light and smooth at the same time. This would sit well with chocolate fans. 

Emily
$9

Our second pick was Emily, a champagne mousse cake with a strawberry centre. I was intrigued by its description but disappointed with the actual taste. I felt that the flavours did not really blend well together, leaving a slightly odd after taste on the palates. The mousse was overly soft, which was something I did not really enjoy as well as it felt like I was only having flavored whipped cream.

 



 

A nice place to chill out, but perhaps only once just for the experience. The items failed to impress, perhaps due to the high expectations that were pegged to the place.  

 

 

K Ki

7 Ann Siang Hill
#01-00
Tel: 62256650

 

 

Wrap & Roll, The Star Vista

The Star Vista has recently opened with a string of bustling new eateries, and Wrap & Roll is one of the restaurants on the list. Singapore has seen an increase in the number of Vietnamese eateries in recent years and I was excited to visit the place, being a fan of Vietnamese food. 





The placemat contains instructions that guides you on how to make your own wrap. The table contained a quadruple compartment condiment dish which was definitely under utilised with only two condiments set on every table.



Gỏi ngo sen
Lotus Shoot Salad with Prawns

We ordered a Gỏi ngo sen, Lotus Shoot Salad with Prawns to start our meal. The portion was dismally small, but the salad was wonderfully appetizing with its tangy sweet and sour sauce that gave the assortment of vegetables and prawns a boost in its flavours. You could stack the salad onto the prawn crackers and consume them like tapas, but we had them separately and it worked for us too.

Phở bò xào

The Phở bò xào, Stir Fried ‘Pho’ Noodles with Beef was delish. The rice noodles were large white sheets that were used to for some of the rice rolls, and the texture was a quite different from your usual kway tiao as they were softer and tended to clump together, which worked well when stif-fried with the beef sauce. I would have preferred the beef to be more thinly sliced as some pieces were a little touch, but I enjoyed the additional dose of vegetables thrown in.


Bò cuộn lá lốt

The Bò cuộn lá lốt, Gilled Beef in Vine Leaves is another dish that you must try. The minced beef is neatly wrapped in vine leaves and the dish is served with an assortment of mint leaves, cabbage, star fruit, vermicelli, sauce, and sheets of rice rolls. We had fun putting our own rolls together, although it got a little messy when we piled too much into a roll.


Rolls to wrap the beef



Sauce to dip the rolls

The beef roll was good on its own. The beef was juicy and nicely grilled to give a hearty robust flavour. Definitely something that I would order again.

The menu is rather limited and the portions are rather small, but it's a good place if you want to get a light bite, the food is pretty good.


Wrap & Roll
1 Vista Exchange Green
#B1-11 The Star Vista
Tel: 66944111