Cafe Grub

The most popular cafe in Bedok Reservoir draws in the crowds with unpretentious, hearty food at pocket-friendly prices.

The eggs are poached to wobbly, runny perfection and lightly coated in a well-balanced, none too rich hollandaise, served on a bed of tender, moreish pulled pork, that while overly sweet was still enjoyable.

Taste: 3/5

My friend couldn't recommend this highly enough and I was already intrigued by the name so it was a no-brainer when it came to ordering this. Headily potent coffee adulterated with milk steeped in the essence donuts? Why yes please. The donut flavour isn't obvious right off the bat, but gets steadily pronounced the more you drink from it, lending the sweet, distinctive flavour of one of my favourite junkfoods to a quite dessert-like beverage.

Taste: 3.5/5

All the makings of an excellent quiche can be found here – short, buttery crust encasing a soft eggy-tasting custard riddled with sweet corn and shimeiji mushroom. What made this stand out was the subtle undercurrent of heat and flavour from chilli running throughout the tart.

Taste: 3.5/5

I’m torn as to what I think about Mother Dough’s almond croissant. On one hand it’s fantastically flaky, buttery and brimming with the nutty fragrance of almond and frangipane paste. On the other, I’m a purist when it comes to croissants, and this was verging on dense and just a little burnt. Either way, it’s still an enjoyable pastry.

Taste: 3.5/5

The initial distaste at the overwhelming smell of truffle oil when we first entered the restaurant gave way to nods of approval once we tasted the dishes. The thick slices of smoked duck were supple and fatty, and the pasta perfectly al dente, but what impressed most was the well-balanced cream sauce spiked with a zing of chilli padi.

Taste: 3.5/5

Top marks for presentation – a cheese coated beef patty encircled by a gorgeous parmesan tuille sat on a tangle of pasta. There was even an onsen egg hiding underneath. I admit I ordered this dish solely based on its appearance, and while it was tasty enough, a couple of things threw me off. The patty was too heavily spiced and that detracted from the natural flavour of the beef, and the parmesan tuille was quite tough and chewy. Overall, still worth a try.

Taste: 3/5

Very healthy and not too shabby in the flavour department either, the avocado-slathered ciabatta is topped with grilled portobello mushroom, feta, and pea shoots. At $16, the poached eggs really shouldn’t be add-ons though.

Taste: 3/5

Hardly a hint of sesame in the sesame mayo, and the fried chicken fillets looked(and tasted) like they came out of the freezer section of the supermarket. Also the service here is terrible. They mixed up our order and other customers' orders as well. Why is this $16 again?

Taste: 2.5/5

Fork-tender wagyu in a saucy mix of vegetables and potatoes, but it lacked flavour and was just a little too watery. The puff pastry was slightly doughy as well, but I’d pick this over the other mains for its competitive price point and relative quality.

Taste: 3/5

The vast majority of carbonaras found in Singapore cafes are far from authentic, and Wildseed’s is about as basic(in the American pejorative sense of the word) and expensive as you can get. Drowned in a cloying mass of truffle cream sauce, I was not able to have anymore after a few forkfuls. Thankfully I didn’t finish it, otherwise I’d be full on misery. Come for the cakes and coffee, but please skip the mains.

Taste: 2.5/5

Pav Khialani’s(of Sideways and The Hangar) latest venture at Club Street continues his penchant for great Australian produce cooked simply but executed well.

The Mildura lamb comes all the way from his friend’s farm and is done justice by his team – tender, packed with smoky flavour and crusted with beautiful char.

It’s served with a refreshing home-made feta and sumac couscous salad, crispy kale and creamy tahini.
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Thanks @burpple for the invite and @burnclubst for the hospitality!

Taste: 3.5/5

With the wood-fired oven doing wonders to these roasted vegetables served with a creamy cow and goat curd burrata. The intense cooking heat lent a smoky char and brought out the natural sweetness of the zucchini, squash and padron peppers. Yummo!

Thanks @burpple for the invite and @burnclubst for the hospitality!

Taste: 3.5/5