Buona Vista is a little far-flung for those who do not reside in the West. The whole vicinity  is well-known for its educational institutes and facilities as well as high-technology research industries.

However, this buzzy part of Singapore happens to be a budding café precinct that is home to a handful of bistros and cafes and is an up-and-coming hipster neighbourhood that is worth exploring.

Whether you are looking for a scrumptious brunch fare or an artisanal cup of coffee, here are 9 Bistros and Coffee Spots in Buona Vista To Explore.

#1 AWFULLY CHOCOLATE

As the name of the café suggests, Awfully Chocolate specialises in rich and decadent chocolate cakes. The wide range of chocolate confections and pastries here is impressive and the price points are pretty reasonable. For a 6-inch All Chocolate Cake, you only need to pay S$34.

Awfully Chocolate
1 Vista Exchange Green
#02-18 The Star Vista
Singapore 138617
Tel: +6694 4805
Daily: 10am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Buona Vista

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Photo Credit: victoinette

#2 BODACIOUS BAR & BISTRO

Decorated in an industrial style, Bodacious Bar & Bistro whips up a delicious line up of breakfast and comfort food. If you do not have the time for a hearty breakfast, this cosy bistro is also a great spot for a quick morning brew against a vastly green view.

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Bodacious Bar & Bistro
70 Biopolis St
Singapore 138547
Tel: +65 6778 9585
Mon to Fri: 11am – 10pm
Sat: 10am –10pm
(Closed on Sundays)
Nearest Station: Buona Vista

#3 CEDELE BAKERY KITCHEN

At Cedele Bakery Kitchen, you can expect a comprehensive menu with choices ranging from all-day breakfast, lunch and dinner items. There is also a takeaway section for the bakery—perfect for those who are in a hurry.

Cedele Bakery Kitchen
1 Vista Exchange Green
#01-19 The Star Vista
Singapore 138617
Tel: +65 6734 0763
Mon to Fri: 10am – 9.30pm
Sat and Sun: 9am – 9.30pm
Nearest Station: Buona Vista

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Photo Credit: randymionho

#4 JIMMY MONKEY CAFÉ & BAR

If you are on a quest to find good coffee in Singapore, you should definitely drop by Jimmy Monkey Cafe & Bar—an Australian-style cafe at One-North Residences. On their menu, you can find savoury and sweet bites such as Smoked Salmon Spaghetti, Truffle Potato Fries, French Toast with Maple Syrup and many more.

Jimmy Monkey Café & Bar
9 One-north Gateway
#01-51 One-North Residences
Singapore 138643
Tel: +65 6777 8470
Daily: 8am – 6pm
Nearest Station: Buona Vista

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Photo Credit: monkicafeholland

#5 MONKI CAFÉ

A stone’s throw away from Buona Vista MRT station, Monki Café is a newly-opened Taiwan-Western fusion café that offers savoury set meals and a wide selection of shaved ice desserts. Seasonal dishes are added weekly so there is always something new to look forward to.

Monki Café
43 Holland Drive
#01-41 Singapore 270043
Tel: +65 6258 8112
Tue to Sun: 10am – 10pm
(Closed on Mondays)
Nearest Station: Buona Vista

Photo Credit: rochestercafesg

#6 ROCHESTER CAFÉ

Calling all sweet tooths! Rochester Café is a new dessert café tucked away in Rochester Mall. The lovely dining establishment offers a delightful variety of layered cakes, ice cream, waffles and a decent range of hot beverages to pair with your sweet treats.

Rochester Café
35 Rochester Drive
#01-08 Rochester Mall
Singapore 138639
Tel: +65 9842 5821
Daily: 8am – 7pm
Nearest Station: Buona Vista

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Photo Credit: littlenuggetpaws

#7 SIXTY40

Located at Rochester Mall, Sixty40 operates as a café in the day and transforms into a casual bar at night. The gastrobar boasts a laid-back ambience, which makes it a great spot to hang out with your mates.

The best part? There are dart machines to keep you entertained!

Sixty40
35 Rochester Drive
#01-05 Rochester Mall
Singapore 138639
Tel: +65 6684 9028
Mon – Thur: 11.30am – 12am
Fri: 11.30am – 1am
Sun: 4pm – 12am
Nearest Station: Buona Vista

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#8 SWEE LEE SOCIAL CLUB

Music instrument institution Swee Lee is a home-grown brand and tucked inside the store is Swee Lee Social Club, a café where patrons can gather over a cup of coffee and light bites.

In addition to their stellar coffee, Swee Lee Social Club also carries juices and sweet treats such as Waffle & Co. (S$10) and Sweet toast (S$7).

Swee Lee Social Club
1 Vista Exchange Green
#01-01-07/10 The Star Vista
Singapore 138617
Tel: +65 6334 7703
Daily: 10am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Buona Vista

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Photo Credit: thelawncafe

#9 THE LAWN

Tucked away in the lush greenery of Biopolis, The Lawn is a cosy café which specialises in salad and grills. You can customise your own meal by filling up a simple form and ticking off various combinations.

Featuring 12 tantalising grills, 30 toppings and various dressings, diners are spoilt for choice.

The Lawn
31 Biopolis Way
#01-07 Nanos
Singapore 138669
Tel: +65 6478 9739
Mon to Fri: 10.30am – 9pm
Sun: 10.30am – 4pm
(Closed on Saturdays)
Nearest Station: Buona Vista

On a mission to bring diners the world on a single plate, Coalesce—a new casual family-friendly restaurant nestled on the third floor of NTU Alumni House—serves up cosmopolitan dishes inspired by various international cuisines but with Singaporean cuisine at the heart of each creation.

And for those working in the Buona Vista area, you would be pleased to know that Coalesce has a S$8.80++ Weekday Power Lunch set which comes with a soup of a day, main course and a drink.

Diners can choose from 6 different main courses to enjoy with Coalesce’s Weekday Power Lunch Set (S$8.80++), which includes mains such as the Spicy Balacan Seafood Linguine Pasta, Asian Chicken Ragout and Al Fungi Mushroom Aglio Olio Linguine Pasta.

With a top-up of S$2, diners can enjoy rice bowls such as the Aburi Miso Cured Salmon Rice Bowl, Grilled Pork Belly with Ajitsuke Egg and Roasted Pork Belly Rice Bowl with Ajitsuke Egg.

Do note that Coalesce only serves 10 sets of each rice bowl every day.

One of the highly recommended dishes that we try with Coalesce’s S$8.80++ lunch set was the Spicy Balacan Seafood Linguine Pasta. As Belacan—shrimp paste made from a fermentation of tiny shrimp marinated with salt—is a condiment typically incorporated in curries, sauces or in stir-fry vegetables, we admit that we had our doubts as to its performance as a pasta sauce.

Well, did it work? Although the pasta was tasty, we felt that it lacked the rich and aromatic prawn flavours that we would usually identify with Belacan. Otherwise, we were served a good portion of pasta and seafood—albeit only squid and prawns—which justified the S$8.80++ price tag.

The other dish that we tried was the Roasted Pork Belly Rice Bowl with Ajitsuke Egg (S$10.80++). We liked that Coalesce kept the presentation simple yet elegant but were slightly disappointed with the execution of the roasted pork belly. Aside from having a crispy skin, the pork belly pieces were tough and were not seasoned sufficiently. We also felt that the Ajitsuke Egg and rice left much to be desired.

Coalesce
11 Slim Barracks Rise, #03-01,
Singapore 138664
Tel: +65 9186 0685
Mon to Thu: 11.30am – 12am
Fri: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5.30pm – 1am
Sat: 11.30am – 1am
Sun: 11.30am – 12am
Nearest Station: Buona Vista

If you are an avid Instagram user, you might have seen insanely photogenic dishes of Paddy Hills taking the platform by storm. This Australian-inspired cafe by day and tapas bar by night prides itself in its choice of location by being away from crowd, so that diners can indulge in the food comfortably without the hubbubs of the city.

And by the way, if you recall, this unit used to be a part of many of our childhoods. It was where the former Lim Seng Lee Braised Duck used to be at.

Not only does Paddy Hills whip up gorgeously plated mains, you can also step outside to the famous doodle wall to capture your #ootd moments.

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With its spacious seating and a coffee bar planted in the middle of the cafe, you will be sure to catch a glimpse of the barista in action. The coffee here are hand-brewed using Tiong Hoe Specialty Coffee Beans.

For squid ink lovers, you have to try their Squid Ink Tagliatelle (S$24) that is served with pan seared scallops, and rice puffs for an added crunch. The ikura and tobikko added a creative texture to the tangy pasta with a resounding burst of flavours.

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Alas, the widely acclaimed Berry Ricotta Hotcakes (S$19)! This beauty won our hearts with its crisp texture and crumbly batter, topped with an assortment of berries, mascarpone and flower petals. It was like a garden served on a plate; insanely gorgeous. Maple syrup was also tucked in between the batter to keep the pancakes moist.

Paddy Hills
38 South Buona Vista Road
Singapore 118164
Tel: +65 6479 0800
Daily: 8:30am – 10pm
Nearest MRT: Har Par Villa

For more recommendations, read our guide to the best cafes in the West of Singapore.

About the writer:
Cassandra is a staff writer for ladyironchef. During her free time, she fuels her passion for fashion through shopping and indulges in all things food. She loves anything egg related and is always ready for a cafe-hopping adventure.

New indie cafes are sprouting everywhere, and if you are on a quest to find good coffee in Singapore, you should definitely drop by Jimmy Monkey Cafe & Bar, an Australian-style Cafe at One-North Residences.

The owner of the place Michael, is from Australia, and after living here for the past ten years, he decided to go on a journey to bring the Melbourne coffee experience to Singapore.

Since taste is subjective, it’s hard to say if Jimmy Monkey has the best coffee in town, but one thing is for sure: they are very passionate about coffee – you can feel free to chat with Michael to discuss about the beverage.

On the food side, you can find French toast with maple syrup, breakfast sandwich, home made toasted muesli with yogurt on the lunch menu; truffle potato fries, rib eye steak sandwich, smoked salmon spaghetti, and beer battered fish & chips on the dinner menu. During weekends, they also have big breakfast, and eggs benedict for brunch.

Jimmy Monkey Cafe & Bar
9 One-North Gateway
#01-51 One-North Residences
Tel: +65 6777 8470
Sun to Thu: 8.30am – 8.30pm
Fri & Sat: 8.30am – 10.30pm

Duck — Brad’s preferred choice of meat.

That’s the best way to describe my love for duck. While I’m a big fan of kurobuta pork, and there are many people who always rave about the marbling of the wagyu beef; I find it harder to say no to duck meat.

Many friends have told me about the famous braised duck rice at Lim Seng Lee Duck Rice Eating House, which is located right at the end of the winding South Buona Vista road. It’s kind of difficult to remember the name ‘Lim Seng Lee’, so my friends always call it the Pasir Panjang Duck Rice.

I have to admit that I seldom eat the Teochew braised duck, and I blame everything on the roasted duck. Every time I step inside a hawker center, I will tell myself to have braised duck rice, but somehow my head will always turn back and ogle at the roasted duck. It’s kinda, sorta, almost impossible to resist roasted duck, especially the drumstick. So you see, it isn’t my fault that I hardly have braised duck rice.

The braised duck meat at Lim Seng Lee appeared to be very ordinary, but in a good way. It was tender, smooth and very pleasing to the palate — I can eat this for lunch everyday!

There’s just something comforting about having braised duck meat with a bowl of porridge and an egg. It makes me feel better already! Among the places that I tried before, Lim Seng Lee Duck Rice Eating House definitely serves one of the best braised duck rice in Singapore.

Do you prefer braised duck or roast duck? And all my fellow duck lovers, please tell me where can I find the best Braised duck in Singapore?

Hawker Food Review
Lim Seng Lee Duck Rice Eating House
38 South Buona Vista Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6475 9908