One of the latest cafes to open in the trendy Duxton Hill area, Group Therapy Cafe is a space tucked away on the 2nd storey of a reconstructed shophouse.

Even though I’ve been to the Duxton Hill area many times, I’ve never noticed them until my friend told me about it. Just in case you are wondering where they are located, the cafe is directly above Etna Italian restaurant on Duxton road.

I fell in love as I stepped inside the cafe. It is one of those places that you would find it impossible not to like. Definitely one of my new favourite cafes in Singapore.

From what I understand, Group Therapy started out mainly as an event space for birthday parties, media launches and corporate workshops, but the cafe business has slowly grown with the help of word-of-mouth recommendations.

The menu changes from time to time, but you can expect comfort food like salad ($15), soup ($11), sandwiches ($14), eggs ($11-15) and desserts ($4.5-8.5). When we were there on a Saturday afternoon, we ordered from their all day breakfast menu to share.

The Poached Eggs ($15) that we had was gorgeous. Stacked on top of an extremely thick and fluffy toast, the poached eggs with salmon came with a generous helping of the hollandaise sauce. It was fantastic!

I was slightly disappointed when I found out that they only serve pancakes (from a special brunch menu) on Sunday. But that feeling was gone with the arrival of the waffles.

Weekends are made of Belgian style waffle ($8.5) with maple syrup and butter.

Group Therapy Cafe at Duxton road does not serve out-of-this-world good food; the menu is simple and unpretentious. They have a very comfortable and relaxing space, and I love the fact that not many people know about them YET.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Group Therapy Cafe
49 Duxton Road #02-01
Tel: +65 6222 2554

Tue to Thu: 11am – 6pm
Fri: 11am – 11pm
Sat: 11am – 11pm
Sun: 9am – 6pm
Closed on Mondays

For more recommendations, read my list of the best cafes in Singapore

If there’s anything that I will not get sick of, it will definitely be eggs. I love eggs! Be it scrambled eggs, poached eggs or sunny side-up, I can have them every day.

I always envisage the idea of a restaurant serving all day brunch. By that, I mean a place which has all day breakfast for not just breakfast, lunch but also dinner – serving nothing but breakfast food.

In the past year, we have seen the entrance of many new brunch places in Singapore. Hatched at Evans Lodge is a restaurant that serves all day breakfast. I went to Hatched during a weekday lunch. Even though it wasn’t very crowded, there was a slight hiccup as the staff forgot to pass my order to the kitchen and we waited for slightly longer than 30 minutes.

Otherwise, the menu is perfect for me. Hatched has all kinds of eggs; boiled, poached, baked, scrambled, fried, and omelette. There were so many different type of eggs on the menu – it took us a while to read through the menu.

And of course, brunch is all about Eggs Benedict. Hollandaise sauce is the key to a good eggs benedict, but the one here could be more buttery. Sir Benedict ($16 for two) however, is no ordinary stuff. Eggs and bacon are the best couple ever, no one can resist the temptation when eggs meet bacon.

Lets have a pancake party!

Soft and fluffy, the Pancake Party ($10 for 3) is the perfect start to a good breakfast. I’ve decided, pancakes are my favorite breakfast food. You know what I’d do? Dip the pancake into the honey syrup, and mix it with the fresh butter cream; this is sheer luxury.

I love the sauteed mushrooms and juicy tomatoes that came together with the Papillote ($12). The sliced smoked salmon of bright red hue was wrapped around the scrambled eggs and presented on top of the toast.

* * *

If you are craving for breakfast food during dinner, Hatched is definitely an ideal place. All day brunch, anyone?

Restaurant Review
Hatched
26 Evans Road
#01-06 Evans Lodge
Tel: +65 6735 0012
Closed on Monday

Brunch is the only reason for waking up early on a Sunday morning.

If you are the type that can never wake up on time for breakfast, there are restaurants like Hatched and Wild Honey serving all day breakfast. I am always excited by the idea of having weekday brunch at Prive, or Jones the Grocer.

All Day Breakfast, All Day Brunch, Sunday Brunch, Breakfast Buffet, Weekday Brunch, Weekend Breakfast. Oops, but I just love typing that.

I love making lists. I’d think all day long about all the possible places, call every single one of them to double-check they are indeed serving brunch and jot down all the information. There’s no need to fret the next time anyone ask me for recommendations of the best brunch places in Singapore.

I hope this list of brunch places in Singapore will help on your hunt for the perfect breakfast. And just in case you are wondering, my all time favourite restaurants for brunch are Riders cafe, Barracks Cafe and Privé bakery café.

Artichoke Cafe & Bar
Sculpture Square
161 Middle Rd
Tel: +65 6336 6949
// Weekend Brunch 11am – 4pm

Bar Bar Black Sheep
86 Robertson Quay
#01-04 Robertson Blue
Tel: +65 6836 9255
Daily: 12pm – 12am (Fri & Sat till 2am)
Weekend Breakfast: 9am – 1pm

Barracks Cafe House Dempsey
8D Dempsey Road
#01-01 to 06 Tanglin Village
Tel: +65 6475 7787
// Weekend Brunch: 11am – 4pm

Bistro Soori
2 Teck Lim Road
Tel: +65 6438 3802
// Sunday Brunch: 11.30 – 3.30pm

Brasserie Les Saveurs
29 Tanglin Road
The St. Regis
Tel: +65 6506 6888
// Sunday Champagne Brunch: 11am – 4pm
$138++ per pax (Non-alcohol Brunch)
$170++ per pax (free flow Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut)

Boomarang
60 Robertson Quay
#01-15 The Quayside
Tel: +65 6738 1077
// Weekend Brunch: 8am – 3 pm

Cafe Epicurious
60 Robertson Quay
#01-02 The Quayside
Tel: +65 6734 7720
Also available at: Rail Mall
// Weekend Brunch: 9am – 2 pm

Cafe Hacienda
13A Dempsey Road
Tel: +65 6476 2922
// Weekday Brunch: 10.30am – 5pm
Weekend Brunch: 8.30am – 5pm

Canopy Garden Dining & Bar
1382 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1
Bishan Park II Singapore
Tel: +65 6556 1533
Weekend Brunch: 8am – 5pm

Carousel
25 Scotts Road
GF Royal Plaza on Scotts
Tel: +65 6589 7799
// Daily Breakfast: 6.30am – 10am ($38++ per pax)

Checkers Deli
581 Orchard Road
Hilton Singapore Hotel
Tel: +65 6730 3392
// Sunday Brunch 12noon – 3pm
$85++ per pax (no alcohol)
$110++ per pax (free flow of wine)
$160++ per pax (free flow champagne)

Choupinette
607 Bukit Timah road #01-01
Tel: +65 6466 0613
// Weekday Brunch 9am – 5pm
Weekend Brunch: 8am – 5pm

Double Bay Restaurant
252 North Bridge Road #01-22A
Raffles City Shopping Centre Singapore
Tel: +65 6334 6530
// Sunday Brunch: 10am – 4pm

eM by the River
1 Nanson Road #01-05
The Gallery Hotel Singapore
Tel: +65 6836 9691
// Weekday All Day Breakfast: 9am to 3pm
Weekend All Day Breakfast: 8am to 3pm

Equinox Restaurant
2 Stamford Road
70F Swissotel The Stamford Singapore
Tel: +65 6431 5669
// Sunday Brunch Buffet $128++
Pink Champagne Brunch Buffet $148++

Flutes at the Fort
21 Lewin Terrace
Fort Canning Park Singapore
Tel: +65 6338 8770
// Saturday Brunch 12noon to 2.30pm
2 course $30++, 3 course $35++

Forty Hands
Blk 78 Yong Siak Street
#01-12 Singapore
Tel: +65 6225 8545
// Weekend Brunch: 8.30am – 6.30pm

Food For Thought Cafe
8 Queen Street Singapore
Tel: +65 6338 9887
// All Day Breakfast 9am to 5.30pm

Freshly Baked by Le Bijoux
57 Killiney Road
#01-01 Singapore
Tel: +65 6735 3298
// Weekday Brunch: 8am – 8pm
Weekend Brunch: 8am – 3pm

Garibaldi Italian Restaurant
36 Purvis Street
#01-02 Talib Centre
Tel: +65 6837 1468
// Sunday Brunch: 12noon – 3pm
$88++ per pax (Free Flow Prosecco brunch)
$58++ per pax (Non Alcoholic brunch)

Global Kitchen
Level 3, Pan Pacific Hotel
7 Raffles Boulevard, Marina Square
Tel: +65 6826 8240
// Weekend Champagne Brunch Buffet
$98++ per adult (with Champagne, wines, cocktails, beers, juices and soft drinks)
$88++ per adult (with wines, cocktails, beers, juices and soft drinks)
$78++ per adult (with juices and soft drinks)

Graze restaurant
38 Martin Road
Tel: +65 6509 1680
// Weekend Brunch: 10am – 4pm

4 Rochester Park
Tel: +65 6775 9000
// Sunday Brunch: 9.30am – 4pm

Greenhouse
7 Raffles Avenue
3/F Ritz-Carlton Millenia
Tel: +65 6434 5288
// Sunday Brunch Buffet 11.30am – 3pm
$158++ (with champagne, red/white wine, fruit juices)

Group Therapy Cafe
49 Duxton Road #02-01
Tel: +65 6222 2554
// All day breakfast

Halia
1 Cluny Road
Singapore Botanic Gardens
Tel: +65 6476 6711
// Weekend Brunch: 9am – 3pm

Hatched Restaurant
26 Evans Road
#01-06 Evans Lodge
Tel: +65 6735 0012
// All Day Brunch: 8am – 10pm (Closed on Mon)

Heart Bistro
390 Orchard Road
#B1-08 Palais Renaissance
Tel: +65 6737 2148
// Weekend Breakfast: 1030am – 1130am

Hummerstons
11 Unity Street
#02-14 Robertson Walk
Tel: +65 6737 8863
// Weekend Brunch: 10am – 4pm

Jones the grocer
9 Dempsey road
#01-12 Tanglin Village
Tel: 6476 1512
Also available at: #04-21/22/23 Mandarin Gallery
// Weekday Brunch: 8.30am – 12noon
Weekend Brunch: 8.30am – 3pm

Kith Cafe
7 Rodyk Street #01-33
Watermark @ Robertson Quay
Tel: +65 6341 9407
// Daily Breakfast: 7am – 6pm

KPO Cafe & Bar
1 Killiney road
Killney Post Office
Tel: +65 6733 3648
// All Day Breakfast: 10.30am – 11.00pm

Ku De Ta Restaurant
10 Bayfront Avenue
Sands SkyPark Tower 3
Marina Bay Sands Hotel
Tel: +65 6688 7688
// Daily Breakfast 7am – 11am $42++/pax

La Villa Italian Restaurant *new*

341 River Valley Road #01-03 Singapore
Tel: +65 6836 5286
// Sunday Brunch: 11.30am to 2.30pm
$65++ per pax Free Flow prosecco

Le Bistrot
2 Stadium Walk
#01-03 Singapore Indoor Stadium
Tel: +65 6447 0018
// Weekend Brunch: 10.30am – 12noon ($28++ per pax)

LeVel33 *new*
8 Marina Boulevard #33-01
Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 1 Singapore
Tel: +65 6834 3133
// Sunday Brunch: 12.30pm – 5.30pm

Maison Ikkoku
20 Kandahar Street
Heritage Centre
Tel: +65 6294 0078
// Weekend All Day Brunch 9am – 7pm

Marmalade Pantry
2 Orchard Turn
#03-22 ION Orchard
Tel: +65 6734 2700
// Weekend Brunch: 10am – 3pm

Marmalade Pantry at the Stables * NEW *
55 Fairways Drive
Tel: +65 6467 9328
// All Day Brunch: 10am – 11pm

Magma German Wine Bistro
2 Bukit Pasoh Road
Tel: +65 6221 0634
// Weekend Brunch 11am – 3pm

Melt The World Cafe
5 Raffles Avenue
4F The Oriental Singapore
Tel: +65 6885 3082
// Sunday Champagne Brunch Buffet: 12noon – 3pm
$98++ per adult (with free flow fruit juices & drinks)
$138++ per adult (with free flow Champagne & wines)

Mezza9
10 Scotts Road
2F Grand Hyatt
Tel: +65 6416 7189
// Sunday Brunch buffet: 11.30am – 2.30pm
$108++ per adult (with free flow fruit juices)
$138++ per adult (with free flow Champagne)

Mezze Bistro Bar
1 Raffles Link
#01-02 CityLink Mall
Tel: +65 6238 1878

Mimo Kitchen & Bar (previously Mimolette Restaurant)
55 Fairways Drive
Tel: +65 6467 7748
// Weekend Brunch 10am – 3pm

OverEasy One Fullerton
1 Fullerton Road
#01-06 One Fullerton
Tel: +65 6423 0701
// All Day Brunch

One Ninety
190 Orchard Boulevard
GF Four Seasons Hotel
Tel: +65 6734 1110
// Sunday Brunch Buffet: 11.45 – 2pm
$88++ per pax (No Alcohol)
$138++ per pax (free flow champagne & cocktail)

One Rochester
1 Rochester Park
Rochester Park
Tel: +65 6773 0070
// Sunday Brunch: 9am – 2.30pm

Oomphatico’s
163 Tanglin Road #01-03
Tanglin Mall Singapore
Tel: +65 6733 9088
// Weekend Brunch 11.30am – 4pm

Pique Nique
#B1-01 Takashimaya Shopping Centre
Ngee Ann City Tower A
391A Orchard Road
Tel: +65 6238 6705
// All day Brunch 10am – 9.30pm

Pamplemousse Bistro
Blk 7 Dempsey Road
#01-04 Singapore
Tel: +65 6475 0080
// Weekend Brunch 11.30am – 2.30pm

Paulaner Brauhaus
9 Raffles Boulevard
#01-01 Millenia Walk
Tel: +65 6883 2572
// Sunday brunch buffet: 11.30am – 2.30pm
$35++ per pax (with free flow soft drinks)
$45++ (with free flow beer)

PS Cafe
390 Orchard Road
#02-09A Palais Renaissance Singapore
Tel: +65 6887 2207
// Weekend Brunch 9.30am – 5pm

Picotin
100 Turf Club Road
Tel: +65 6877 1191
// All Day Breakfast: 8am – 11am

Pierside Kitchen & Bar
1 Fullerton Road
#01-01 One Fullerton
Tel: +65 6438 0400
// Sunday Brunch: 11am – 3pm

Privé bakery café
2 Keppel Bay Vista
GF Marina @ Keppel Bay
Tel: +65 6776 0777
// All Day Breakfast: 9.30am – 5pm

Relish
501 Bukit timah road
#02-01 Cluny court
Tel: +65 6763 1547
// Weekend Brunch: 10.30am – 4pm

Riders Cafe
51 Fairways Drive
Bukit Timah Saddle Club
Tel: +65 6466 9819
// Weekend Brunch: 11am – 2pm

Southcoast
10 Bayfront Ave #L1-85
The Shoppes @ Marina Bay Sands
Tel: +65 6688 7600
// All day breakfast: 8am – 3pm

Senso Ristorante
21 Club street #01-01
Tel: +65 6224 3534
// Sunday Brunch: 11.30am – 3.30pm
$78 ++ $88++ per pax (free flow sparkling wine)

Skyve Elementary Bistro & Bar
10 Windstedt Road
Blk E #01-17
Tel: +65 6225 6690
// Weekday Breakfast: 830am – 10.30am
Weekend Brunch 10am – 4pm

Spruce
320 Tanglin Road
Phoenix Park
Tel: +65 6836 5528
// Weekend Brunch: 8.30am – 2.30pm

Strictly Pancakes
44A Prinsep Street Singapore
Tel: +65 6333 4202
// All Day Pancakes

The Bar & Billard Room
1 Beach Road
Raffles Hotel
Tel: +65 6412 1816
// Sunday Brunch Buffet: 11.30am – 3pm
$148++ per pax (No Alcohol)
$188++ per pax (free flow champagne)

The Dempsey Brasserie
Blk 7 Dempsey Road #01-03
Tel: +65 6473 4500
// Weekend Brunch 10.30am – 3.30pm

The Garden Slug
55 Lorong L Telok Kurau
#01-59/61 Bright Centre
Tel: +65 6346 0504
// All Day Breakfast

The Plains Cafe
50 Craig Road
#01-01 Singapore
Tel: +65 6225 4387
// All Day Breakfast 7.30am – 7.30pm

The Merry Men
86 Robertson Quay #01-02
Robertson Blue Singapore
Tel: +65 6735 9667
// Breakfast available on Sunday & PH

The Tanglin Tree
56 Tanglin Road
#01-01 Tanglin Post Office
Tel: +65 6733 0992
// Weekend Brunch: 8.30am – 4 pm

The White Rabbit
39C Harding Road
Tel: +65 6473 9965
// Weekend Brunch: 11am – 2.30pm

Town Restaurant
1 Fullerton Square
GF Fullerton Hotel
Tel: +65 6877 8128
// Sunday Brunch: 12noon – 3.30pm
$98++ per pax (free flow of juices)
$148++ $155++ per pax (free flow of champagne)

TWG Tea Salon
10 Bayfront Avenue #B2-89
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Singapore
Tel: +65 6535 1837
// Weekend Brunch: 10am – 3pm

Wasabi Bistro
5 Raffles Avenue
4F Mandarin Oriental Singapore
Tel: +65 6885 3091
// Weekend Brunch Buffet: 12noon – 2pm ($58++ per pax)

Wild Honey
333A Orchard Road
#03-02 Mandarin Gallery
Tel: +65 6235 3900
// All Day Brunch 9.30am – 9.30pm

Wild Rocket at Mount Emily
10A Upper Wilkie road
GF Hangout @ Mount Emily
Tel: +65 6339 9448
// Sunday Brunch: 11.30am – 3pm

1 Caramel Dessert Boutique
1 Rochester Park Level 2
Tel: +65 6774 1302
// Weekday All Day Brunch 11.30am – 10.30pm
Weekend Brunch 11.30 – 4pm

1TwentySix
902 East Coast Parkway
Blk E, #01-26 Playground @ Big Splash
Tel: +65 6348 2126
// Sunday Brunch: 11am – 3pm

I will be adding this list to the top of my Delicious page page, if there’s any good places for brunch that I’ve missed out, feel free to let me know and I’ll add on to this list. Please call the restaurant to confirm a reservation before going down.

Your job is to check out all the brunch places and report back here every time you try a new restaurant for brunch. Are we clear on this? Good, get on with it.

Many months ago, a long time before I fall in love with food, I have totally no idea what eggs benedict is, much less heard of hollandaise sauce.

I always remember my first encounter with Eggs benedict, it had a hefty price tag and I wasn’t willing to splurge twenty bucks on two poached eggs, or what I called the most-expensive-eggs-you-ever-eaten.

I immediately regretted it when I saw the heavenly holladaise sauce that was drizzled on top of the gorgeous poached eggs. And ever since then, I went on a brunch-frenzy to make up for what I have been missing out. My goal? To seek all the lovely breakfast food in Singapore

Excluding the ones that I had while I was traveling overseas, it suddenly occurred to me that it was a long time ago since I last had brunch in Singapore. There’s nothing like an all day brunch when you can have breakfast at any time of the day, as and when you crave for it. Cafe Hacienda does not serve all day brunch, but it’s pretty close – they have brunch till late afternoon everyday.

I find the idea of having my breakfast in the afternoon very alluring; sitting down in a chic and cozy cafe, sipping a cup of coffee and tweeting “I’m having brunch while the rest of you are busy at work”.

Credits go to Choupinette of course, it’s a shame that I have not tried eggs benedict and holladaise sauce before that, but it really does not matter now. Although I’m twenty years late, but it’s always better to be late than never. Honestly, I do not understand what’s the big fuss with wild rocket, Yes, it’s pretty, but other than that, it doesn’t really goes down well in the mouth, but maybe it’s just me.

Hacienda’s Eggs Benedict ($13.50) is a replication of Prive’s, I always prefer bacon rather than salmon with poached eggs; there’s nothing like a sinful fried bacon streak to make me go ga-ga.

Memories they say, are the stuff that make our life worth living for. I remember a ferrero rocher cake that I had a year ago, it was definitely one of the best I had. Fast forward to the present, taking a sniff of the cake, I actually felt butterflies inside my stomach.

Please, please let this be good.

I leaned forward cautiously, desperately wanting to get back the moment that I’ve before; I took the dessert with a fork, and carefully placed it into the tip of my tongue. The cake went down, and I refused to acknowledge the ugly truth, so I took another mouthful, and another mouthful, until it was clear that the Hazelnut Praline ($6.80) was really not as good as before.

This was a great disappointment. My friends had warned me that the cake had lost it’s former glory – I refused to believe it until I tasted it myself. The praline base used to be one of the thickest, but now it’s reduced to a mere thin layer which lacked the crunch of the ferrero rocher cake.

* * *

Cafe Hacienda is Prive without the seafront view, but nestled in the greens of Dempsey. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Michel Lu, the dining concept that he brings about is simplicity; a nice cafe that serves delicious comfort food at a reasonable price – but some people just don’t get it. See you there!

Cafe Hacienda
13A Dempsey Road
Tel: 6476 2922
(Opposite PS Cafe)

Cafe Hacienda is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

I’ve a pleasant surprise when Billy asked me after our pigged-out, if I’m interested to visit him in Central coast, and when he mentioned sun, beach, and food – yes of course, I’ll love to!

It took me one and a half hours train ride from Central station to get to Terrigal; a major coastal suburb of Central coast, which is located north of Sydney. Upon arriving there, we went to a cafe patisserie, the fat goose for brunch.

We had no idea that the Grilled lamb fry ($21.50) was actually fried lamb’s liver, until the waitress clarified with us. It was served on creamy mashed potatoes with caramelized onions, and crispy bacon. Having tried pig liver, foie gras (goose liver), and duck pate (liver), I must say the lamb fry has an even gamier taste.

The wharfie ($16.50) had Toulouse sausages served on a seed mustard hush, topped with a gorgeous poached egg and covered with wild rockets. Pity there’s no hollandaise sauce though.

I’m sure, you have a different stomach for desserts, and I hope you will be salivating over the picture of the chocolate tart.

In the heart of Terrigal, there’s a rocky cliff called ‘the Skillion’ which provided an magnificent view of the long stretch of beaches. My dear, this is the place for our retirement in the future.

Sitting by the beach and watch the sun sets by the beautiful ocean, I knew this was going to be one of my best meals in Sydney. And it was. Like what Billy had told me, I’d go as far as saying this is one of the best fish & chips in Central coast!

I was very fortunate to be able to witness the cooking skill of Billy first-hand, he was preparing the Bo Ssam, a Korean cuisine where steamed pork is wrapped in lettuce leaf then accompanied by lots of condiments including kimchi, ssam sauce, for the Sydney Food Blogger picnic. And you wouldn’t know the dedication and effort put into making the dish unless you were there; he’d drizzled the sauce (oil released from the pork) over the meat on the hourly mark, the process repeats for six times , yes, it took six hours of roasting.

Searing hot sauteed mushrooms, crispy bacon, sunny side-up & golden brown toast for breakfast. This was in every way, the perfect breakfast anyone could ask for.

I had a great time in Terrigal, thank you Billy for inviting me to your house!

* * *

The Fat Goose
Shop 3, Killcare Road
Hardys Bay NSW 2257
Tel: 02 4360 1888

Haven Beach Cafe
The Haven
Terrigal NSW 2260
Telephone: (02) 4385 2061

I wanted an adventure, and I wanted something different. Not those dressed-up-to-the-nines fancy dinners in the best restaurants – those are not really my type. There are other factors that will make a great meal, and I was determined to have a memorable time there.

In the twelve days that I was in Australia, you’d not believe the amount of food that went into my stomach; I refused to stand on the weighing scale now – I probably gained an additional five kilos, everyday it was food, more food, and even more food. Besides stuffing myself full with everything that I can grab, and enjoying the magnificent scenaries there, I got to talk with  a lot of backpackers while staying in hostels, and also met up with the amazing Sydney food bloggers – they are definitely the highlights of my trip.

Sydneysiders love Bills, and I love the Sydneysiders for the way they enjoy their breakfast. Bills is a cafe opened by the famous chef Bill Granger, the concept is easy – serve the most gorgeous scrambled eggs and tasty ricotta pancakes in a simple cafe, and voila, you get all the people coming in for breakfast.

‘You have to try the eggs while you are in Australia’, gushed one of my friend a while ago when I told her I’m going to Sydney. Sydneysiders really love their breakfast, on a normal weekday there’s so many places serving brunch. Because of the differences in culture, you can hardly find much places in Singapore that do that but here, you’d thought that the people do not need to work and it seems like they do not have to work when I saw so many of them slowly enjoying a laid-back & causal breakfast at 10am where most people are supposed to be in the office, working.

There was however, no Eggs Benedict at Bills, so I had their popular Scrambled eggs on sour dough ($16) – and it was good! The one sprig of leave in the middle somehow seemed to make the eggs glowed with radiance, and there’s the just-right consistency in the texture and taste of the eggs. The butter slides off the toasted golden-brown sour dough easily, and the scrambled eggs just goes so well with the toast. The portion would probably deceive your mind that you need to order something else as add-ons, but by the time I was done, my stomach was so full that I couldn’t possibly eat anything else, well, maybe except for the delicious-looking ricotta pancakes that everybody is craving about.

‘Come to Sydney for fine restaurants and go to Melbourne to experience the cafe culture.’ I’m not entirely sure on that statement, since there’s dozens of wonderful cafes just in the surry hill/balmain area. One of them is Cafe Nookie at Cleveland street. Technically speaking it is not a cafe since there’s no seats for dining in, customers take away the self-brew coffee from the good hands of owner Ben. Cafe Nookie is more like a coffee-in-the-hole kind of place, and it’s definitely the smallest cafe in Sydney, pretty cool eh?

I walk through the streets of Surry Hills and my heart fluttered with a sort of feeling that I couldn’t quite describe – I’m so in love with this place. There’s plenty of trendy fashionable boutiques, and chic cafes just around every corner. The whole place is so quaint and dainty that it doesn’t seem to be in the city area.

Cafe Ish is exactly like how I will like a cafe to be, white walls with sunlight coming through the windows, serving nice coffee and comfort food. Howard & Teresa brought me here for lunch, and we took some time glancing through the menu before deciding to order Eggs Benedict, Emu damper, & Soft shell crab omelette.

I think the reason why we can embrace cafes freely rather than fine dining restaurants is because deep down inside everyone of us, most people have a dream to open a cafe, someday. A small-ish, causal chic cafe which serves comfort food, a place where people return and chill out all day, a place almost like their own home. It is not difficult to see why Cafe Giulia is immensely popular with the locals, they serve a wide array of food that includes eggs, salad, pasta, sandwich, burgers; comfort food with a reasonable price range. Coffee is another hallmark of a good cafe. Here, they keep it simple to mocha, and ice coffee, with an impressive selection of fresh fruit juices.

This is the first part of my Twelve days in Sydney series, to be continued . . .

Bills
359 Crown Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Tel: (02) 9360 4762

Cafe Giulia
92 Abercrombie Street, Chippendale, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9698 4424
Tuesday to Friday 6.30am – 4.00pm
Saturday and Sunday 8.00am – 3.00pm

Cafe Ish
83 Campbell Street
Surry Hills

Cafe Nookie
268B Cleveland Street, Surry Hills
Tel: 04 0135 6072
Monday – Friday: 7:00 am – 4:00 pm

I’m head over heels like love with brunch. It’s more like the feeling of being able to slowly enjoy a long extended breakfast plus lunch, while watching time slips by. The idea of an all-day brunch place appeals to me – it’s damn sexy.

Of late, I’m always too busy over the weekends that there wasn’t a chance to have my favorite brunch, and so when I found out that KPO Cafe serves all day brunch during my first visit, I casually suggested to my friend, “let’s have brunch for dinner.” Okay, maybe casually is an understatement; it was a desperate attempt to plot and make her believe that instead of having steak and salad, it’s the norm to have eggs and pancakes for dinner.

Now, I think I’m really a crazy person (having ice cream for dinner) when it comes to food; I mean who in the right mind will want to have brunch during dinner ? Not many. I have pitched the idea to some of my friends, but most of them think that I’m joking. Surprisingly, it’s either my scheme works or my friend is just as crazy as me – we had brunch for dinner.

How can any brunch be without Eggs Benedict? It is like what har hau is to dim sum, or how chili crabs will be without the deep-fried mantou. After my first encounter with eggs benedict, I’m hooked. The thick creamy hollandaise sauce that is drizzled on top of the beautifully poached egg – it’s a truly magnificent sight to behold.

KPO’s Egg Benedict ($13) uses bacon streaks instead of ham or salmon, and together with the poached eggs, they sat prettily on a slice of thick white toast. For $13, I was expecting a lot more, and sadly it did not deliver. Oh, there’s only one poached eggs? I turned to my friend with a we-have-to-share-kind-of-look. On second thoughts, it was actually not that bad, the streaky bacon was a hit with poached eggs, I would however prefer to have muffin or baguette, instead of white toast. Anyway, the hollandaise sauce was pretty awesome too – honey, it’s all about the butter.

Do you want to pancake with me?

And yes, if there’s one thing which I absolutely adored (besides eggs benedict) – it will be Pancakes ($6). Like I said before, eating pancakes required some knowledge, to cut the long story short; just dunked the fluffy pancakes into the bowl of syrup, let it soaked and immerse in the essence of the wonderful liquid, and I guarantee: you will be happy boys and girls.

I know, the pancakes here look rather sad, they are certainly not like what I had before, but what to do? When you are a hungry man craving for brunch in the middle of town, there’s not much options. Well to be fair, it’s not expensive to have two pancakes for six dollars, it’s more like the consistency of the pancake; one is over-toast, and the other one pales in comparison.

Anyway, this time round, the first question that they asked was not credit card or cash. Instead, they went one step further, they brought me the bill (when I did not ask for it) immediately after the eggs benedict arrived on my table. And so if you are one who will be disturbed by such “tiny acts”, I suggest you head to somewhere else instead. As for me? I like the place enough to go back the following weekend after my first visit. All right, maybe I’m intoxicated by the happiness of finally having eggs benedict after such a long time that I’m not making sense now. If you like brunch, go here, here or here.

KPO @ Killney post office
1 Killiney road
Killney Post Office
Tel: 6733 3648

A dreamy Sunday out with you, eating nothing but eggs and pancakes. And a glass of that bubbly champagne is just the icing on the cake. I love brunch! I really do. There’s just something about brunch that makes me excited, just the mention of it will be enough to get me on a high.

And how about a buffet brunch? Excellent, you get to eat a bit of everything (not that I’m a big fan of buffet), and free flow of champagne? Swoon!

I can never say no to desserts, you are my weakness. And we couldn’t resist taking photographs at the desserts section first since it’s right in front of the restaurant. All the petite desserts were waving to me, with the alluring cakes winking and making signals for me to step forward.

Do you want a piece of chocolate?

How about a chocolate tree? I’ll pluck the chocolates off and give them all to you. I know you want the bitter one, and you can feed me the sweet one. The chocolates, they were so good!

And there were a few different whole cakes, crepes, selections of bread alongside the mini cakes and petite shooters.

Rows, and rows of them: mustard lox salmon, smoked salmon, Thai smoked salmon, and an assortment of smoked fish platter. I bet you will just stand there all day and finish every slice of them.

Breakfast to me, must consist of eggs benedicts, pancakes, sausages; that sort of stuff. They had poached eggs here, but there wasn’t any hollandaise sauce, and sadly because the breakfast section was prepared beforehand (not on the spot), the eggs, sausages, and hash browns were cold.

But there’s an ala-minute section where the chef prepared eggs-done-in-any-style. Omelettes, sunny sideup, overeasy, you name it, they have it.

And while you are at the same area, the chef will prepared Vol Au Vent on the spot too. There’s Prawn with Brandy Sauce, Duck Confit with Foie Gras, Chicken Ragout with Mushrooms and Ham & Cheese Ragout to choose from. I’ve the duck confit with foie gras, which sort of reminded me of the kueh pie tee; crispy shells with savoury fillings

The array of seafood selection at Global Kitchen consisted of the typical mussels, prawns, scallop, and there’s Alaskan king crabs too! But it was the spoilt-for-choice of oysters that impressed me! The usual buffet line-ups will mostly just have, you know, fresh oysters on a bed of ice. But not here, there’s so many options, this is oysters at their best!

Among all, the fried oyster with bacon wrap was my favourite; I know this might not be the best way to taste the oysters as there probably wouldn’t be “freshness” left since it’s fried, but you know the thing with fried food, it’s always tasty. The saltiness of the bacon greatly enhanced the whole thing, not that you need to “add more flavour” to the oyster anyway. The purist probably couldn’t accept it since this was akin to killing the oyster, but I like it!

I also enjoyed the baked oyster with cheese tremendously. What’s there not to like when oyster marry with cheese? Fans of oysters will most likely gulp down a dozen of them at one shot, but not me. I had enough after having about five different ways of oysters, and there’s a few other ways which I didn’t try!

In buffets, I will always go for the ala minute food – stuff that are cook by chefs on the spot. And the fish & chips were pretty impressive. For one, they had mashed green peas, yes green peas! It totally exudes the “British feel” of a hearty fish & chips.

And can you imagine my excitement when I saw the chef preparing risotto and pastas too? There’s not much ingredients to choose from, you know the typical mushroom, tomato, but there’s no need for fanciful stuff when a plate of simple and comfort risotto/pasta is all I need.

There’s actually a lot more food, main courses like duck breast, salmon, seabass, beef, lamb, pork loin; in short, something to cater to everybody. I didn’t try all of them, just a bit here and there. Camemberu managed to take all the photos of them, so check it out over at her blog!

Free flow of champagne, amazing company with Camemberu, and Aromacookery, we pigged out for three hours ( including one hour for taking photos), this is what I call brunch! My appreciation to Cheryl and Merissa of Pan Pacific Hotel for hostingus for the media tasting session. We did not eat a lot, just a bit of everything, and  yet at the end of it I was feeling sick – over stuffed with food. And we didn’t even try all the things available at the buffet! The champagne brunch is on Sundays from 12.00pm to 3.00pm.

Price:
$98++ per adult (with Champagne, wines, cocktails, beers, juices and soft drinks)
$88++ per adult (with wines, cocktails, beers, juices and soft drinks)
$78++ per adult (with juices and soft drinks)

Global Kitchen
Level 3, Pan Pacific Hotel
7 Raffles Boulevard, Marina Square
Tel: 6826-8240

I’m head over heels, deeply in love. I think about you when I’m having lunch, I miss you during dinner, and I dreamt about you at night. All I want, is you. It becomes a tiny obsession that I can’t stop thinking about it, all day long. Show me the way into your heart. Brunch, I love you.

There’s eggs benedict (RM12.50), eggs fiorentine, eggs with toast, scrambled, over-easy, sunny side-up; all different ways to have your eggs. I will like to have one of each kind please. Muffins or toast beneath the beautiful poached eggs. Salmon or ham to go along? Eating salmon will make your hair grow longer and healthier, while having ham will keep you happy and cheerful the whole day. So how about both? And lots of hollandaise sauce too!

Eating pancakes (RM8) on its own, is a huge challenge; there are just so many ways to do it. Let’s start with syrup shall we? The thin lubricant ones that you can soak the fluffy pancakes in, to absorb all the goodness, or the thick, heavy type that will slowly melt and flow off the warm hotcakes. You can choose to have the butter at room temperature, or take a frozen cube of butter and watch it slowly melt off the golden brown bed.

Me?

I will have honey, lots and lots of honey from my honey, and then I will spread the whole surface with butter. But when there’s no honey, syrup will do nicely too, drenched it with the whole bottle of syrup they provide, and ask for more if it’s not enough!

I must be a lucky man; brunch and my other love, desserts getting along together.

I knew this was it, the place I’ve to go when I came across reading it. Pink Sage is totally my-kind-of-place! And they do burgers too! I was so tempted to order everything from the menu, but I didn’t of course. That’s the perfect excuse for my next visit.

The Pink Sage
12 Jalan Dang Wangi
GF Wisma RA
50100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2693 6000

This is the last part of the four series for my KL feast
Read the first part: I ate, and ate and ate some more here,
the second part: Taste that stays here,
& the third part: Get your hands dirty here.

I have a friend, his name is Jones. He is a grocer, and he ain’t a normal grocer. Gourmet products, that’s right.  All the customers would drop by and waved, “Hello Jones!”. And the kids would peeked around curiously, and oh yes, they had a song which goes something like this;

Jones the grocer, Can we eat it?

Jones the grocer, Yes we can!

Jones the grocer, I want some food!

Jones the grocer, Come and get it!

My latest breakfast-brunch crave brought me to Jones the grocer, because they are one of the few that serves brunch during weekdays (the other few being Prive, Rider’s, and Casa Verde).

Much as I liked having brunch on a lazy Sunday morning, but the idea of having it during a WEEKDAY enthralls me even more! Well the rest of the world rushed off to work, I’m slowly sipping a cup of coffee, having my favourite eggs, and reading the newspaper. You get the idea?

I want breakfast. I want eggs. I want pancakes.

Pancakes we wanted, and Coconut pancakes ($12.5) we got! Sour mango wasn’t exactly what we expected, but it presented a contrast with the syrup, well they called it the palm sugar syrup here. Whatever, all the syrup tasted the same to me, sweet and sweet!

And did you see what I saw? Vanilla beans! Tiny speaks of vanilla beans! I’m not going to go into the story of how excited I’ll become when I saw the beans, but, I’m excited! It was nice having vanilla beans with pancakes, but we did felt that it would be better to have it with butter and syrup for breakfast at least. And oh ya, the pancakes here are one of the thickest-I-ever-came-across.

Jones english breakfast ($20). I’ll like to call it the best-of-everything. Poached eggs, grilled bacon, pork sausages, sautéed mushroom, and even slow roasted tomato for some nutritional balance! What is there not to like?

I can never resist the golden-yellow egg yolk flowing out of the pure egg white: striptease – stop playing with me or I’ll eat you up! I put the poached eggs, bacon, and mushroom on top of the sourdough (the sausage was too huge to fit in on top), and I tried to put everything in one bite.

Well I failed of course, but that’s obviously what I intended to; in this way I could repeat and repeat the same full-mouth-process until I finished the whole thing, and wanting more.

Total bill was $35.75 for the brunch, they had 10% service charge but the 7% GST was already included in the bill. Was it expensive? No, for the mere thought that I was having my breakfast while the rest of the world were busy slogging it out in the office, that’s something priceless.

But for weekday brunch, I’ll prefer Rider’s and Prive if you have your own transport, not that it is easy to get to dempsey either.

Jones the grocer
9 Dempsey road
#01-12 Tanglin Village
Tel: 6476 1512

Pssh, let me tell you my little secret, I love brunch. Gotta! No, it’s a well-known fact that I like to indulge in eating eggs, pancakes and waffles on a lazy morning. The secret I’m sharing – my favourite place, Epicurious at Robertson Quay.

My heart starts to beat faster, my face blushed, and subconsciously, I started to touch my hair. My eyes followed you across the room, you arrived in front of me – like a fairy descending from heaven. I stumbled, not knowing what to say next . . .

Two poached eggs with grilled smoked ham on an English muffin; the best combination you could ever ask for for breakfast.  And we asked for more Hollandaise sauce, dipping everything into it. Oh my, it was so, so good! I-will-always-order-this. Eggs Benedict ($12),

Oh baby! The glorious golden maple syrup slowly flowed off, and I couldn’t wait to lick you. And we asked for more butter; cupid struck. Maple syrup & butter are a perfect match made in heaven. And honey, I forgot to ask for your name last night, Pancakes ($6)? What a lovely name!

Nana dear, I’m so into you. You got that something, what can I do? I tell you what I want, what I really really want. I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really more nutella! Choc-nana sandwich ($5.0)

Opps, I did it again. And we had more eggs. I know, I know. We shouldn’t have. Yet I succumbed to your seduction and was even tempted to go for the baked eggs, and burrito too!

Two scrambled eggs ($6) served with buttered toast, with additional sides of smoked salmon ($1.80) & sausages ($2.50). The potatoes were surprisingly very good! I-am-so-in-love!

***

Total bill was $38.9 for the four items we had for breakfast among the three of us. Having been in the brunch-mood, I must say breakfast at Epicurious Robertson Quay is one of the most satisfying, and affordable among the many places I tried. I-will-go-back-again, for breakfast.

And have you signed up for LIC food outing at Epicurious this coming Sat 2th May?

Epicurious
60 Robertson Quay
#01-02 The Quayside
Tel: 6734 7720

Epicurious Cafe is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

In my dreams, there is this beautiful place, with blue skies and clear sea. I dreamt of having my favourite brunch here with the one I like. We eat to our hearts content, and relax there while the hourglass freeze, just for us.

In my dreams, we have a cup of cappuccino. The aroma of the bean and the wonderful scenery of the place somehow makes the ordinary coffee taste better. And oh yes, there’s a cute cookie to go along with too.

In my dreams, I can never forget the taste of my beloved Eggs Royale ($14). The ever-favourite poached eggs, I just wish we can be together everyday. There is nothing more satisfying in life to have you by my side.  O’ my dear, just the thought of you make me sleep better.

In my dreams, you are always there.

In my dreams, I always envisage places where we will never run out of desserts. I have a sweet tooth you see. I dreamt of meeting the royal Sir-Deli’s, but it was a pleasant surprise with Privé Carrot cake ($6.80)

In my dreams, everything and anything can happen. There are bad dreams, and of course sweet ones like you. I’m glad I can still occasionally dream of you, that is enough. Enter my dreams, and give me a kiss.

***

Privé bakery café is a wonderful place to visit if you haven been there after i posted my previous entry. Well, I couldn’t afford the restaurant main course yet, that’s why you will probably see more of my post on their brunch and desserts, which are affordable and good. See you there!

Privé bakery café
2 Keppel Bay Vista
GF Marina @ Keppel Bay
Tel: 6776 0777

Prive Bakery Cafe is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

Four. I wasted three opportunities before I got to know you. On our brief initial encounter, we brushed past each other as I was going somewhere else. On the subsequent two occasions, I wasn’t fully prepared, not when I’m in running attire. Despite all that, I’m glad we finally met, this time prim and proper, Hello Riders, my name is Brad.

Here is the place where you can look at horsies galloping freely on the greens. Here is the place where you can escape from the hectic city life. Here is the place where you can have brunch at a tranquil and serene environment amidst the lush greeneries. Riders Cafe.

This seat is for us, for horse-grazing.

Nothing beats having morning pancakes ($10) to start off your day. There was berries compote, there was whipped cream, and there was maple syrup on the pancakes of course. Who can resist the smiley pancakes, certainly not me. Well, we should have asked for more butter!

In my dictionary, eggs and brunch are synonymous with each other. A hearty brunch won’t be completed without any Egg Benedicts ($12). Instead of the smoked salmon, we decided to have ham with eggs. And personally, I felt that hams complimented eggs better. I still loved the latter though. Poached eggs, with hams on a toasted muffins, and breakfast potatoes to go along with. This is brunch.

I succumbed to temptation, I love to show pictures of egg ben.

The Riders Breakfast ($13) was supposed to be very reasonable. But we heard the waitress wrongly, so we said we wanted smoked ham, bacon and sausage. All three of them, instead of just choosing one. The damage was $8 more for the two additional sides. Well it’s quite a heartache getting the bill in the aftermaths, to pay the money for 2 tiny sausages and 2 strip of bacons. The money would be more well-spend if we got another dish instead. But this was solely our own mistake, and there’s no denying the breakfast was excellent, all of my favourite. Scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, sausages, beans, potatoes and toast.

Total bill was $56 for three breakfast items, and 1 drink. Well it would be around ten bucks lesser if we had not added the extra sides, so I say brunch at Rider’s is really value and excellent for the superb ambience of the place. But, fairways drive is hardly a place where you will call accessible unless you got transport, or cab.

I will definitely come back again, for brunch, or even for lunch. Their lunch and diner menu looks very affordable too! But another thing to note, I went on a weekday morning, so it was relatively peaceful. If you were to go on a weekend for brunch, the result might not be the same. See you there!

ps: if you had noticed, I had also included my signature See you there! tag for my previous two post on Graze and Patisserie Glace as well. It just so happened I went to four fabulous place within this two weeks!

Riders Cafe
51 Fairways Drive
Bukit Timah Saddle Club
Tel: 6466 9819

Riders Cafe is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

I believe the seventh day of the week, Sunday, is meant for us to relax and enjoy; without any of the problem and stress that come along as part of the package in our life. I believe breakfast, is the most important meal of the day, having a good start will certainly makes thing behind easier. Brunch, at Graze.

I believe in having a good ambience for me to enjoy my food, albeit paying a slightly higher price, everything is worth it when you get to enjoy this scenery while sipping down a cup of tea, and eating your breakfast.

The al fresco at Graze @ Rochester Park was amazing. The picturesque lush surroundings, the tone of the white colonial-style bungalow. Full stop.

I believe your dining companion plays an even vital part in making the meal an enjoyable one. Given good food but eaten with people you disliked, and ordinary food but with people you enjoyed hanging out with. It’s hell lots of difference.

The little white piece which is so common on our table for the first meal of the day, simply bread. Our original intentions were to order the “door stopper” toasts which consisted four slices of white, wholemeal, multi grain, and cinnamon & raisins toast. But luckily, the waiter informed us that they will served complimentary bread. A slice of white, and wholemeal. Like the Gardenia slogan, so good you can even eat it on its own!

And how can any brunch be short of Egg Benedicts ($17). Classic or smoked salmon and spinach, we opted for the latter. The beautiful poached egg and smoked salmon sat on a piece of slightly char toast. The salty taste of the salmon enhanced the flavour of the wonderful poached egg. I’m so hooked on the idea of having brunch every weekend, if only just for the eggs.

The sight of the egg yolk, flowing out like lava erupting from a volcano. Perfect!

The idea of big-breakfast was clearly conceptualise in the cast iron pan ($20). With the best of everything, bratwurst sausages, smoked bacon, mushroom, tomato, country potato, fried eggs, baked beans, and plum chili salsa. They clearly could read my mind, everything was my favourite, and it came sizzling on the hot pan. And oh yes, I forget to mention how good the mushrooms were! While prices might be slightly steep, and the portions didn’t seem that big, let me assured you, the two of us couldn’t finish everything on this pan.

Total bill was $50.61 for brunch. Contrary to what some people might have say about Graze, I found the service from the staff to be good, they were attentive and friendly without being over-disturbing, and even offered to get me a small chair to put my bag after I left it on the floor. The combination of superb ambience, good service, and a lovely brunch meant that even though prices are slightly steep, I will not hesitate to go back again. I want to try the pancakes and waffles the next time round. See you there!

Graze
4 Rochester Park
Tel: 6775 9000
Website here

Graze is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

There used to be four, but with the latest addition of the Canon to the Arsenal, the power balance was tipped back. The current score stands at Canon 2, Olympus 2, Nikon 1. With the figure at a perfect five, there’s a harder fight especially so when somebody countdown five seconds for the shots.

While just like how the different brands have their own strengths; with Canon producing the crisp sharp shots, Nikon edging out with the vibrant colours display, Olympus providing the balance in between, there isn’t a perfect combination. And of course, there are pros and cons of Choupinette. The small capacity of the restaurant made it a great place for a lazy pig-out, but it also meant that the place was packed to the crowd on a busy weekend.

I like how my Nikon produced the perfect blend of colour, to bring out the best in the settings of the restaurant. And surely, the Canon and Olympus camp would protest against that.

Walking by the array of bread, the three of us were attracted by the Pain au chocolat ($2.90). From the memories, warm melting chocolate filled within the crispy bread. But it was not to be, the bread was cold even though the staff helped us warm it up. Chocolate fillings, or rather, the lack of it was the main downfall.

The same problem goes for the Almond Danish ($2.90), the bread wasn’t warm, while we couldn’t expect freshly baked bread to be coming out just for us, it would be a lot better if only the bread was warm.

The chouchou’s set ($22+) from the lunch menu had choices of either one of grilled hot sandwich, lasagna or smoked salmon sandwich, together with a drink and dessert. This was La Moussaka. The fanciful name brought home the impact, otherwise you wouldn’t be seeing this dish here. But, it was a very ordinary one, nothing to shoot about.

The generous slices of smoked salmon from the Le Noé’s sandwich ($22+ from chouchou’s set) was definitely worth the price. Coming in two huge slabs of bread, it could easily filled up two person.

Choupinette’s interpretation of the Madame and Monsieur was an egg, with the latter coming without. Grilled sandwich with a choice of ham, chicken or eggplants with emmenthal cheese & béchamel sauce. Le Croque-Monsieur ($15). Apparently, our Madame was so engrossed with the sandwich that she couldn’t give her comment.

I always wondered what exactly is a quiche ($6 per slice), well i got my answer today, in not one, but two quiche! The lorraine quiche (top picture) is perhaps the most common quiche there is. While I didn’t exactly fancy the spinach quiche, I still prefer my spinach eaten like a vegetable.

Eggs on toast with smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce served all day long. This is for all the lazy bums out there! The Egg Royal’s ($21+) ought to be presented with the most-expensive-eggs-you-ever-eaten honour. I kind of wanted to kick myself for not ordering this, the poached eggs were done perfectly, and the looks alone would give much pleasure.

Another dish which you can’t left out of any brunch menu, Eggs Benedict’s ($20+). Eggs on toast with ham and hollandaise sauce. Well if your stomach isn’t feeling right having smoked salmon for breakfast, eggs with ham are always a safer choice.

It’s kind of heavy eating a burger for breakfast, but hey we are having brunch! For all the carnivores, Le Burger ($18) is just, well a hamburger. The beef patty was slightly overcooked, but it was served with a generous servings of salad, and the fries even came on a separate bowl. But for $18, i thought it was rather on the high side, you can have a gourmet burger at Relish, or maybe a cheaper burger from Hotshots or Smoking frog kitchen might do the job.

On first impression, the Tarte au citron ($5.60) or lemon meringue tart would definitely made a statement with the beautiful burnt and thick layer of meringue. While others took one bite of the tart and refused to touch it any more, i was slowly sampling it since this was my first time trying meringue. The layer of meringue on top was supposed to form a stiff peak but the one here was too thick, and there was also hint of coarse sugar within which was probably due to the improper dissolve of the sugar.

We were contemplating between chocolate or coffee éclair since there was too much desserts with chocolate. But we decided against it since coffee is an acquired taste, and had the Éclair au chocolat ($5). There was a salty after-taste in the éclair which came across as rather weird.

I was eagerly anticipating the Palais Royal ($6.90), for the dark chocolate and crunchy praline. But there wasn’t any crunchy praline to be found. Nonetheless, i still enjoyed the dessert even though some didn’t really like it as they were disappointed by the lack of the crunchy praline.

A very simple custard & raspberry, the Millefeuille framboise ($7). The several layers of puff pastry brought back fond childhood memories of the cake which i had before when i was a kid. It was difficult not to make a mess of it as the cake crumbled easily.

The Tarte aux Pommes ($5.90 a slice, $7.90 for an additional scoop of ice cream) was quintessentially an apple tart with a scoop of normal ice cream. The additional of 2 bucks for the scoop of ice cream was totally not worth the money, but the apple tart was decent. The thin slice of dessert was fulsome with the apple taste.

Vendôme ($6.90) also caught our attention with the three layers of dark, milk and white chocolate. The dessert was more like eating three layers of chocolate mousse, some didn’t like it, but i did.

The macarons ($1.80 each) were a disaster. We had eight of them, four from each chouchou’s set. Choupinette has about 13 flavours of macarons available, we chose chocolate, raspberry, strawberry, peach, passion fruit, orange, pear and hazelnut.

Almost all the macarons had chocolate gauche for fillings, i wouldn’t mind small macarons if they were good, but the one here had an artificial taste to it.

Something was definitely missing but we couldn’t quite make out what. The very artifical colouring of the macarons didn’t appeal to us too. The shells of the macaron crumbled easily and didn’t have the chewy texture a good macaron should have.

Total bill was $193 for 9 of us. Some paid more for their expensive egg brunch, while some paid less for just bread and desserts. But generally, if you are looking to try their brunch or lunch menu, you will probably looking at 20+ per person, and that’s probably excluding desserts. Choupinette has a great base of Caucasians customers, and it isn’t difficult to see why for the cosy and homely decorations of the place. The name of the restaurant, and the French names of the food screams chic. It will probably be better to go on a weekday where there’s less customers if you want to try this place out.

Well, just like how there will never be a perfect DSLR for either Canon, Olympus or Nikon users. Some of you might like Nikon for the design, Canon for its brand, Olympus for its nimbleness, all of us have different preferences. Similarly for Choupinette, while we were disappointed by the desserts, but the eggs on the brunch were exceptional, and you might just like the food there. No matter what, all of us love our DSLR, and the common passion for food. Another dessert enthusiast outing, until the next one!

Check out the rest of the dessert enthusiast entries:
Fen @ sgcake.com
Evan @ bossacafez
Sinny @ Fundamentally-flawed
Vicki @ herlittleblackdress
Elaine @ Divinejoybites

Choupinette (beside coronation plaza)
607 Bukit Timah road #01-01
Tel: 6466 0613