Opened by the team behind The Brewing Ground in Joo Chiat, RIANG is a new casual dining concept along Jalan Riang, in the Serangoon neighbourhood which doles out brunch, larger mains, coffee and cocktails. It officially opens to the public today (2 Nov 2022).

RIANG is taking over the space by the former Babba (which is also by The Brewing Ground). This came as as a surprise as the now-defunct Peranankan cafe & restaurant only opened in late Feb this year, and it seems too soon to forgot a new concept like that.

Well, maybe the Peranankan concept didn’t work out and the owners have more exciting plans for RIANG.

From brunch classics, larger mains and all-day desserts, RIANG’s extensive menu has something for everyone.

You can come here for brunch and coffee in the day and communal-style sharing plates with cocktails in the evening.

Some of RIANG’s signatures include the Ultimate Breakfast Burger (S$20), Homemade Quiche (S$10) and Crab Mayo Croissant (S$18) from the brunch menu, and the Hot-Fried Chicken Burger (S$17) and Potato & Leek Croquette Burger (S$16) in the lunch menu.

Another thing to look forward to is RIANG’s all-day dessert menu, which features plated desserts by the in-house pastry team.

Photos credit: RIANG

RIANG
15-9 Jalan Riang
Singapore 358987
Mondays to Fridays: 9 am to 9.30 pm
Saturdays to Sundays: 8 am to 9.30 pm

Read our guide to cafes in Serangoon neighbourhood.

Wimbly Lu Chocolate Cafe is a dessert place located in the residential area at Jalan Riang. Part of Wimbly Lu’s charm is that from the moment you walk in, it strikes you as a quaint, whimsical kind of place. It is ideal for whiling away a few hours with friends.

From the menu, you can tell that Wimbly Lu’s forte lies in desserts. While the savoury menu ($3.50 – $13) only includes several options such as Tuna Cheese Melt, Lasagna and Baked Rice with Chicken and Mushroom, the dessert department ($3 – $8.50) has many more choices like Brownie, Eclair, Orange Flourless Cake, Hazelnut Butterscotch Bar, Molten Lava Cake, Root Beer Cake, Waffles and Tiramisu.

The most popular choices are the Waffles and Root Beer Cake with vanilla ice cream. Both are absolute must-tries.

Wimbly Lu has the best Waffles ($8.50 with a scoop of ice cream) in town. I have had it on several occasions and I am impressed by its consistency – it is always crisp on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. My only gripe is the tiny portion of the ice-cream. It would be great if they gave a bigger scoop of the delicious homemade salted caramel ice cream.

The Root Beer Cake ($6) with vanilla ice cream is also a winner. Combining root beer and cake is a brilliant idea and it makes me wonder why nobody had thought of doing it earlier. It has a distinctive root beer flavour and when paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, there is only one word to describe it – heavenly.

My partner thought that their pancakes ($7.50 with a scoop of ice cream) were run-of-the-mill, but I felt that it was pretty decent. That said, I’d probably not order it again as the waffle was so much better.

Chocolate lovers should not leave without trying Wimbly Lu’s Molten Lava Cake ($6) – another exceptional dessert. At just $6, it is one of the cheaper chocolate lava cake around, and offers great value.

There were a couple of misses too, though, such as a pedestrian Sticky Date Pudding and a very disappointing Bread and Butter Pudding which we left untouched after a spoonful or two.

We could not agree on the Chocolate Creme Brulee ($5). For me, it was slightly too dense for a creme brulee while my partner has been craving for it since we had it a while back because she likes how the slight bitterness of the chocolate blended so well with the otherwise predictable sweet dessert.

Potent on first look, and in fact a bit threatening, but it was quite a false alarm. The Blackout Cake ($6) disappointed us quite a bit with its moist (or lack of) body, and our impression of a chocolate cake really should be richer. Still, if you do not mind a simple slice of sweetness, this should suffice.

Wimbly Lu has become our favourite to-go place for desserts, we go there all the time and so far, we have tried almost all the items on the menu. We love the cosy and intimate atmosphere, and the fact that all the desserts are so reasonably-priced. While some of the desserts did not impress, the waffle and root beer cake are reasons enough for us to return time and again.

Wimbly Lu Chocolate Cafe
15-2 Jalan Riang
Tel: +65 6289 1489
Tue to Fri: 1pm – 10.30pm
Sat & Sun: 9am – 11pm

For more recommendation, please read my post on Best Desserts in Singapore