Café Hopping

This was the main I enjoyed most out of the three we had. Iberico Duroc pork that was sous-vide then grilled, paired with a mustard and citrus sauce. Sides were pumpkin puree and charred cauliflower. This cut of pork is more fatty, but the appetising sauce balanced it out. The juiciness was well locked in and meat had a good bite.

Thank you Willa, Sam & @riderscafe for having us, and @fatpigdiary for the kind invite! ✨

Riders has monthly specials and one of them for April is this pan-seared European seabass with roasted potatoes and long beans. The seabass sits on a zesty butter-based sauce made with lots of citrusy elements like pineapples and oranges, that nicely helped to bring up the acidity. The fish was decently tender, just found the dish a touch bit oilier.

Thank you Willa, Sam & @riderscafe for having us, and @fatpigdiary for the kind invite! ✨

Quite a homely rendition of Chicken Parmigiana with a side of mashed potato. It’s topped with ham and a generous blanket of parmesan and mozzarella on tomato sauce. Personally found the sauce a touch too sweet for my liking and chicken could be more tender. It was a very filling portion!

Thank you Willa, Sam & @riderscafe for having us, and @fatpigdiary for the kind invite! ✨

Another vegan dish on the menu are these vegan kebabs made with Impossible meat. Texture was tender but would have liked perhaps, a stronger and more distinct char. These are served with a lightly spicy and tangy lemongrass peanut sauce to dip which I liked, as the usual satay peanut sauces are too heavy for me. Found this quite a pricey dish for its portion though.

Thank you Willa, Sam & @riderscafe for having us, and @fatpigdiary for the kind invite! ✨

Riders Cafe’s no unfamiliar name in the cafe scene. They’re one of the OG cafes, best known for hearty brunches in their quaint space tucked away in all the greenery. Came by this time for their dinner that’s available 5pm onwards and enjoyed the different evening ambience.

Started off with this vegan appetiser which I loved! This was very thoughtfully put together. Sweet Japanese squash that was perfectly roasted to a fluffy texture, served with lots of bright toppings - grains, pops of sweet pomegranate, and a refreshing mix of chopped tomatoes, onions, kale, mint and parsley. All these were brought together with their lightly savory house made miso tahini. This was not only fun to have, but was actually of a good substantial portion too.

Thank you Willa, Sam & @riderscafe for having us, and @fatpigdiary for the kind invite! ✨

Pleasantly surprised that this came as a croissant as it was stated as a sandwich / toast on the menu. The croissant came with bacon, a sunny side up, mozzarella and aioli. Though the bacon strips were slightly too salty and tough, the croissant was quite nicely flaky. We preferred this out of the two items we had, but was still pretty average.

Recently did work in this bright and cute little space tucked in Ulu Pandan CC. While we found the food we had were average, the friendly service was fab! This sourdough toast had smashed avocado, cherry tomatoes, feta and a sunny side up, with a side of salad. Was hoping for a creamier smashed avocado topping, as well as a stronger tang on the sourdough.

Started yesterday’s day off with brunch at the new Chū and Co. that’s nestled within Serangoon Gardens Estate, by the team that was from Micro Bakery. They have a cute little outdoor alley space with a menu of fresh bakes, coffees and teas. We came by around early 11am and a number of the popular items (Ricotta Tartine, Mushroom Plate, etc.) were already sold out. Went with these 2 - Avocado Tartine and Salami Focaccia! Found the Avocado Tartine tad pricey for its size, but it was a tasty one with a creamy thick layer of avocado spread atop the slice of sourdough. The cherry tomatoes dressed in balsamic vinaigrette gave a nice pop of tart sweetness.

If you miss their day bakery, you’d be happy to know that from evening on, you can expect gelato from their gelato lab just next door.

📍Chū and Co.
15 Lichfield Road
🕣8.30am to 4.30pm / Sold Out on Fridays to Tuesdays

Pastas here are customisable with bases of aglio olio, cream, tomato, pesto and tom yam ($8.90), and various topping options like seafood ($5), grilled chicken ($5), snapper ($6), mushrooms ($1), smoked duck ($2), etc. We went with the classic agilo olio + seafood combination and understood why it came with a strong recommendation! It was garlicky with a little kick of heat and not at all too oily like some can get. Was impressed by the freshness of the seafood as well. Enjoyed this dish most of our meal.

Thank you @sodcafesg for the kind invite! ✨

Caught up with pri school friends over Micro Bakery’s bakes - finally trying! First time here so we went with the popular ones - House Ricotta Tartine, Grilled Sourdough Flatbread 1 and Nut Butter Toast. Was quite pricey but still a pretty lovely brunch treat. Enjoyed the ricotta tartine most, it had a thick and creamy smooth layer of ricotta on its crusty sourdough. The juicy cherry tomatoes atop also gave a needed pop of sweetness and acidity. Service could be warmer though & make sure to approach one of the staff to get your name on the waiting list for a table if it’s full.

1 of the 5 rice bowls on Bread Yard’s menu - Norwegian Salmon Bowl that came with a bed of brown rice, creamy smashed avocado, broccoli, pramesan, garlic bread stick, cherry tomatoes, baked salmon and a side dip of basil pesto. This was our way of making our brunch a tad bit healthier amongst the cruffins and french toast 😂 Was a decent healthy bowl, though the garlic bread stick wasn’t as crunchy as we thought it would be and didn’t seem to go with the dish as a whole. Salmon was tender. Had this 1 for 1 with Burpple Beyond, and they’ve changed the deal to 20% off mains now.

Can’t get over the brioche sandwiches & super solid (+ huge) cups of hot chocolate from Lowef! Been back a few times to this cozy spot and it always guarantees a satisfying meal with their fluffy, creamy scrambled eggs and perfectly toasted brioche pullman that’s crisp outside and buttery soft inside.

The Eggstatic Set comes with an Eggstatic Brioche ($5.50) that you can top up with several ingredients like Bacon ($2) and Honey Bakes Ham ($1), and coffee/tea/milk/juice, or other drinks with an additional $2. I topped up for a cup of their Cocoa No. 1 hot chocolate that I absolutely enjoyed. It’s just really fab and honest food that you can tell they’ve put lots of love into! Can’t wait to try the other items on the menu.