Cafe Grub

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

This beast of a tomahawk is Mildura’s finest and was cooked to perfection – tender, juicy and perfectly seasoned. The sides were no slouches either, with an amazingly tasty and vibrant beetroot tahini and charred padron peppers delivering bags of complementary flavour to accompany the star of the dish.

Note: This tasting portion is twice the size of the regular menu offering.

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

Taste: 3.5/5

My anticipation for this bowl of noodles which I’ve heard so much praise for might have given me unrealistic expectations, for while all the ingredients for success were within, I felt it fell slightly shy of the mark.

Individually, the roast pork, mushroom salad, and Japanese anchovies tasted good, and the phat poached egg was further icing on the cake, but the sauce coating the eggless kolo mee was a little too sweet, and the parsley and mint felt out of place.

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

Taste: 3.5/5

All three were good, however the standout has got to be the Smoky Eggplant. Sweet, smoky and umami rich, I found myself going back for this with bread a multitude of times.

Second in line was the hummus – smooth, luscious and drowned in verdant olive oil. Last but not least, the Avo Pesto intrigued with its unique take on the traditional pesto, with avocado, mint, tamarind and feta combining to form a rich, creamy, yet refreshing dip.

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

Taste: 3.5/5

BURN’s cagel is a cross between a ciabatta and bagel, and it comes across as a chewier and denser ciabatta, which worked well enough for this brunchy sandwich of smoked salmon, lettuce and cucumber. Enjoyable overall, but nothing out of the ordinary and definitely took a backseat to the ace woodfire-cooked dishes.

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

Taste: 3/5

I love freshly grilled sardines and these from Western Australia are just perfect simply seasoned with sea salt, a squeeze of lemon and good olive oil.

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

Taste: 3.5/5

The wood-fired oven driven plates at BURN are all solid, but my favourite from what I've tried so far has to be to smoked crab. Infused with the essence of lychee, mangrove and Jarrah woods, the smoke-kissed stuffed crab is richly earthy yet still retains its natural flavour. Perfect spread on the house-made bread.

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

Taste: 3.5/5

Micro Bakery doesn't just do great bakes, their savoury offerings are pretty good too. This was an excellent rendition of a grilled cheese, with a triple whammy of brie, smoked cheddar and mozzarella oozing out of crispy triangles of charred toast. The addition of sauerkraut and tomato jam is what makes their version stand out from the pack, providing a touch of acid and sweetness to balance out the richness of the cheeses. It's really awesome to have yet another strong addition to the thriving cafe culture in the East Coast.

Taste: 3.5/5

Underpinning the pleasing taste of Parmesan running through the buttery, crumbly scone was the unmistakable onion-y sweetness of scallion, whilst on the side, the whipped butter and berry rhubarb jam came in very handy in mitigating the slight dryness of the otherwise well-made scone.

Micro Bakery & Kitchen
63 E Coast Rd, #01-06, Singapore 428776

Taste: 3.5/5

Baked goods galore at newly opened Micro Bakery at the iconic Red House(formerly occupied by Wang Cafe) and everything we tried so far has been scrumptious. The standout was the Raspberry Blondie($5) – rich, indulgent, and studded with raspberries, macadamia nuts and white chocolate, this cake had the perfect balance of sweetness, tartness and a pleasing hint of saltiness.

As for the Chocolate Zucchini Cake($5), the flavour was good but I found it slightly dry and the little bits of zucchini in it did not add anything. The Brown Butter Pecan Cookie ($3) though, was faultless.

Sakae Sushi hasn’t had the best rep of late but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by their expansive menu which was refreshed since late of last year.

If you’re having sashimi, definitely order the aka ebi - Argentinean red shrimp that are plumper and meatier than their ama ebi cousins, as well tasting impossibly sweet, so much so that you'd think they'd been cured in sugar.

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

<< Tasting portion pictured >>

Taste: 3.5/5