What’s For Breakfast? 🥪

What’s For Breakfast? 🥪

Featuring One Man Coffee (Upper Thomson), The Populus Coffee & Food Co., Park Bench Deli, Firebake - Woodfired Bakehouse & Restaurant, YY Kafei Dian, Two Men Bagel House (Royal Square at Novena), Just Dough (Suntec City), #thebackyardbakersHQ (Far East Square), micro bakery | kitchen, Maxi Coffee Bar
Melissa Chee
Melissa Chee

Been a while since we visited The Populus and today I finally decided to get something other than The Populus Scramble 😂

I love greens and this was a really really lovely breakfast with tons of superfoods - broccoli, kale, avocado, baby spinach. All the veggies were extremely fresh and crisp! Very impressed. I added on crab meat for $5, which was a good protein addition to an otherwise carb and fat oriented dish. The mix of greens is tossed in a slight citrus and mild vinaigrette, which was super refreshing! Love the addition of brown rice and puffed rice that added some crunch distinct from the crunch of fresh broccoli. All these were arranged beautifully atop a piece of toasted multigrain, but I didn’t quite enjoy the bread. The multigrain-studded crust was tasty but the bread itself felt doughy in my opinion. Not a deal breaker since I loved the mixed greens though!

I admit I would be hard pressed to pick between this or the Populus Scramble next time I visit. Worth a try for sure if you love greens or are looking for a healthier option!

I was disappointed with the signature BBrulee Kopi Latte and iced teh latte, but thankfully the food here wasn’t a letdown!

Loving the food puns - the curry on sunshine was a delicious take on curry rice with a crispy chicken cutlet. The thin omelette layer atop the rice with fragrant curry leaves was bomb too! I would’ve preferred the curry to be thicker and spicier, but as it was, it went well with the rice, egg and chicken. The potato bits inside are pretty soft and thoroughly soaked up the curry. The fried chicken was quite impressive, the batter is crisp and really tasty.

Apart from that, the savoury sandwiches all look really tasty. Was gonna go for the CFC (crispy fried chicken) but I thought of trying the fish instead since the chicken might be the same as the curry on sunshine’s. I chose the black pepper sauce to go with the BFF fried fish (only saw later on than the recommended sauce was thousand island), but I think it was quite a good match! The black pepper sauce wasn’t particular peppery, but it rounded off the omelette and sandwich well. This wasn’t really Eggdrop / Eggstop -like, as the toast wasn’t as thick and I really like that! The pre-sliced bread was further sliced in half and toasted before the fillings were loaded in. This provided a better proportion of fillings to bread, unlike the korean style egg toasts which tend to have more bread to filling ratio. My only gripe is that the sandwich isn’t that big, and for $6+, that’s pretty expensive compared to the mains being offered!

Visited the new cafe Our Secret Garden Cafe in Bukit Timah Plaza and realised it had actually taken over the previous cafe unit Rise and Grind. The unit is located outside the mall, with a short distance that’s unsheltered so it may be troublesome to walk over if it’s raining. Overall the layout of Our Secret Garden, and even the decor, is almost identical to the previous cafe, so I’m not sure if it’s a change in ownership or just a rebranded eatery.

That said, they have quite an extensive breakfast and brunch menu, which is available till 3pm. Thereafter, the mains and dessert selection take centre stage. Even if it’s just a change in name from Rise and Grind, the whole menu has been revamped and looks way better in my opinion. I was really torn on what to order especially because the pancakes and French toasts looked so delicious, but I ended up ordering the Morning Glory for a healthier brunch. Haha!

The Morning Glory is grilled chicken with bbq sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and fries, but I requested for a side salad instead of fries and they readily obliged. Really enjoyed how tender and juicy the chicken meat was, plus it was very flavourful even without the bbq or cheese sauce. Those grill lines are super on point. Salad veggies are fresh, crisp and green, and they allowed me to change sides without batting a lid, so plus points for that! The cheese sauce was probably meant for fries, but I liked dipping my chicken inside anyway because who doesn’t like cheese? I think this is actually the lighter breakfast option or low-carb version of the Morning Glory Burger available in the mains menu. Would be happy to order this again, or try the other brunch items on the menu.

Of note, Our Secret Garden is currently running a ‘Buy 2 get 1 free main’ promotion at lunch and dinner times, so it’s very much worth dropping by during those times! To add on, they also provided us with a pack of two face masks. Very thoughtful initiative during this period :)

Got this instead of the donuts because they weren’t available till afternoon.

This is just a quick snack or to-go option but it’s not particularly delicious. The puffs weren’t warm, and the fillings weren’t that generous either. I preferred the sardine puff over the curry puff in this case as the taste of the filling was more prominent.

If you’re not in a rush, just skip this and get the Kaya toast as they prepare it pretty quickly anyway.

Finally got to try YY Kafei Dian and I was shocked by the long queue snaking out of the unit at 8.30am. This was actually the queue for the bee hoon and cooked food. There was also a queue for the Kaya toast and drinks but it moved much quicker.

I can see why the Kaya toast here has a following. The thick fluffy buns are grilled so they achieve charred perfection on the outside while retaining incredible fluffiness. The Kaya also isn’t too sweet. The bun comes with a slab of butter in between, but it was unmelted so I scraped it off. The Kaya toast here is seriously addictive and I can see myself returning here for more of these or the donuts (which apparently only come out in the afternoon).

I was a little disappointed with the yuan yang as was too milky for my liking. This overpowered the taste of tea and coffee, which is a shame because I’ve read other reviews saying the coffee is good.

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Serving up affordable and quick breakfasts on the first floor of Republic Plaza is Heybo. They have four different Bao selections and two breakfast bowls for their breakfast menu.

For some reason, their electronic ordering system didn’t respond, and when we placed our order at the cashier counter with the staff, the first one that attended to us seemed to have trouble understanding our order and replying my question on whether they had soy milk available with the coffee.

Anyway, we tried the Impossible Patty Breakfast Bao, which is supposed to be a toasted bao with a mini plant-based patty, Monterey Jack cheese and an egg white frittata. The egg white frittata ended up being a regular fried egg (yolk included), but other than that, everything was delivered as stated on the menu. The impossible patty was delicious as usual, and was a winning combination with the melted cheese slice.

I would definitely order this again, but my priority is to try their BYO bowls!

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A mash up between Kaya toast and a panini bread birthed the Kanini. Sounds somewhat crude, but is perfection taste-wise.

All these Western spins on our local Singaporean favourites could turn out horribly wrong, but Firebake uses their very own milk bun, with Katong Kaya (not made in house but sourced from somewhere in katong), and French butter, and toasts this in a panini press to give this beautiful rendition of kaya toast. I love the crust on this, and I really loved that the Kaya and butter were evenly spread and melted on the panini rather than clumped.

So so so good!

If you’d like to try their breakfasts, make sure to head down on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays which is when they open earlier at 9am for the breakfast/brunch crowd :)

For $3, you get a westernised version of our local favourite - the humble Kaya toast. Farmers and Chefs version comes on ciabatta bread, with quite a generous serving of Kaya spread on top. I liked that the Kaya wasn’t too sweet, and the ciabatta was soft on the inside yet crusty on the outside. Something different, yet not too wildly different to be off putting.

The soft boiled eggs come in the chef’s special sauce, which is slightly salty but I still had to add some of their light-dark sauce blend and pepper.

Very affordable and a good choice for a light breakfast before heading to work in the CBD.

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Back here again for a chill breakfast in a rustic cafe in the middle of the bustling CBD at morning rush hour. While everyone’s rushing to work, I’m here enjoying brunch #suckers #jk 😆

Jokes aside, i was actually in a rush this morning too but wanted to pick up a quick, nice and affordable breakfast before heading to work.

Unfortunately, when I arrived at 8.15am (Farmers and Chefs opens at 8am), I was asked if I was in a rush because the chef was apparently not here yet (?!). The cashier asked if I wanted the Kaya breakfast set as she could prepare that. Anyway, the chef actually did arrive slightly after I’d placed the Kaya breakfast set order and we ended up ordering a Farmers Breakfast to share.

Standard is still consistently good, portion size hasn’t decreased and the variety in this one dish can’t be beat at $10. Do take note that the breakfast promo for a free drink with any Farmer’s Breakfast or Ciabatta sandwich is no longer valid, not that it really matters since $10 is still a good deal for this one dish.

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*Review has been edited for more accuracy in the timings as I was actually rebuffed for this objective review which caused me to look back on the actual time I reached and made payment via PayLah! The content remains the same, but timings have been changed. I sincerely apologise for my initial inaccuracies since I was writing this off the top of my head. I would be happy to provide photographic evidence of the timings if need be.

If you’ve seen my multiple reviews on BUNDT, you’d know I really love their foods and bakes but I had a very disappointing experience today - much like the oxidised blackened smashed avocado that greeted me when I got home with this. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely wasn’t served this way, and the avocado is still a lovely green hue inside.

Knowing that BUNDT has limited menu items, I made sure to place my order the night before at 7.23pm for collection at 12.30pm the following day. I ordered the B.L.A.T, two loaves of banana bread and a peanut butter black cocoa brownie, which received acknowledgement from BUNDT less than an hour later.

It was my first time visiting on a weekend, and I was shocked by the queue when I arrived at 12.10pm. By the time I reached the front, it was approximately 12.28pm (probably earlier, since I have SMS proof from DBS Bank that I made payment at 12.28pm). No matter. I mentioned my order via my Instagram handle, but was told 1) no more B.L.A.T, and 2) brownies have to wait quite long. I was already pretty annoyed but didn’t want to make a fuss so I just agreed to the substitution to mala smoked salmon and the waiting time.

This left a really bad taste in my mouth as they always emphasise placing orders in advance on Instagram and I did exactly that, yet I didn’t get what I had reserved AND had to wait for almost 20 minutes for the brownie although it should have been set aside before my collection time at 12.30pm.

I still like the food, but I need a break from this service for a while - not that BUNDT will seem to miss it at all given their crazed following.

Also note that their loyalty program is not available on weekends.

Farmers and Chefs truly took me by surprise - located right outside the SCO building directly opposite OUE Downtown is this quaint and chill outdoor cafe. It’s simplistic, with very natural wooden and floral decor pieces that are also for sale.

It’s a no frills sort of place, but it’s also arguably one of the cheapest cafes or food joints in the CBD. Where can you get a good sized breakfast in a cafe, much less in the CBD, for $10? The Farmers Breakfast, though priced cheaply, definitely doesn’t scrimp on ingredients or taste. You get scrambled eggs, rosti, Roasted chicken thigh, sautéed mushrooms, tomatoes, focaccia and a side salad all in one dish. The portions aren’t huge, but that’s fine by me as it’s a good size for a satisfying breakfast without breaking the bank. They even have a breakfast promo for dine-ins with this set and the Foccacia Sandwich where you get a free drink (choice of tea or coffee, unfortunately they don’t serve soy milk options here).

Service leaves a lot to be desired as it’s almost non-existent, almost to the point of being unfriendly. Considering that there wasn’t anyone else at the cafe at 8.30am on a Friday morning, I would’ve thought the staff could be nicer. However, with such lovely ambience, convenience, and impossible-to-beat pricing in the city, the service isn’t a deal breaker and I’ll be sure to visit again.

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B.L.A.T stands for bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato and came on toasted raisin bread! This was a later addition to their Instagram menu and I quickly ordered this. Think BLT, but upgraded to an even better form with 1) candied bacon and 2) BUNDT’s signature smashed avocado.

Everything about this sandwich is on point. There’s a mix of sweet and savoury flavours all throughout this sandwich that work like a charm. The candied bacon is not too sweet, plus it’s just crispy enough and easy to bite off and chew. Look at the amount of avocado they give! It’s literally piled on top of both slices of toast and effectively sandwich the lettuce, bacon and tomatoes. I usually don’t like raisins but they work well in the toast to add some juiciness and sweetness to the bread. It’s messy to eat this sandwich especially once the avocado starts spilling out from the base, but everything just falls into the paper bag anyway so it’s okay, you can dig it out later without being judged.

The only gripe I have is that it would’ve been better if served toasty warm, but I guess it’s kinda hard to prepare hot toast quickly given the small space they have and the speed at which they hare to serve.

Always biding my time to my next meal. Everything in between just serves to kill time.

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