brunch 🍳

Snagged a 1 for 1 using Shopback! This bowl ($10) comprises sourdough topped with mashed avocado. The toast was too dense but the spread was great!! Lightly flavoured and very generous with its portion. Accompanied it with sautéed mushrooms, mixed bean salad and egg cocette. A highlight was the salsa verde - a tangy tomato sauce with a spicy kick!

Am surprised that so little has been said about Grain Traders’ breakfast options - snagged two bowls for the price of one ($10) using Shopback! Picked sourdough for my base but was disappointed to find it very dense and hard (not at all airy, and a lot more like rye). Paired it with house made ricotta cheese and vegan avo hollandaise! Also had broccoli kale spinach (little bit strange for breakfast oops) and scrambled eggs. Super worthwhile for its price but I could probably have done better with my selection of ingredients!

Am really pleased that the updated BB deal includes the all-day breakfast selection! This hearty breakfast set ($25++) features a large spread. The sourdough was crisp and light, pairing well with the dense sausage and salty prosciutto ham. It also came with baked beans, sautéed mushrooms and eggs (of your choice) flavoured with truffle! Plus points for the addition of halloumi cheese, which definitely ups its flavour profile :-)

Am still on the hunt for a decent shakshuka! This had a regular tomato base, slightly tangy. I don’t usually like to mix my eggs in, but did so for this and was happy to find that the sauce was then thicker and more flavourful! Enjoyed the slices of chorizo that added texture, but was disappointed that the bread was more a baguette than sourdough.

Was pleasantly surprised to find that TMBH had refreshed their menu recently! We tried the Winner ($12) on a seeded bagel. Found the hash brown to be a little heavy given the density of the bagel, but really loved the texture added by the seeds. The sunny side egg was well cooked and look at the cheese pull! The cheddar here was super satisfying hehe. Also liked that the chicken sausage lent variation in texture, just the right amount of saltiness and even a slight tinge of spice to amp up the flavour! Was looking forward to the mustard (which drew me to this dish) but I couldn’t taste any at all. Preferred this to the Hammer and I’ll definitely be back for more!

Was pleasantly surprised to find that TMBH had refreshed their menu recently! We tried the Hammer ($10) on a seeded bagel. It was a huuuge portion of smooth creamy scrambled eggs! Would have preferred the taste of scallions to be stronger. The bacon was toasted to crisp and added just the right amount of saltiness. The cheddar seemed to have been overwhelmed by the other components cause I couldn’t tell that there was cheese at all :-( also added tomatoes (+$1), which lent slight sweetness and acidity to cut through the rest of the dish. All in all a hearty meal and worthy indulgence to celebrate the end of a long work week!

The Strange Breakfast ($18.5++) features toasted brioche with bacon & sausage, mesclun & grilled tomatoes on a vine, garlic baby potatoes & spiced baked beans. We opted for our eggs to be scrambled. Definitely everything you’d expect in a breakfast platter! Appreciated the variety of items included and that quality ingredients were used, but found the portion too small. All in all - I’m not quite sure what the hype around Strangers’ Reunion is about. They offer a twist on the usual brunch food but the execution is lacking, especially given the high price point.

This baked eggs dish ($14.90++) doesn’t quite hit the mark. Would expect a rendition of shakshouka to be thick and rich, but this came across more as pasta sauce - the tomato sauce didn’t hold well and it lacked the oomph from spices. They were, however, generous with the sweet peppers and tomatoes! Ciabatta also seemed more baguette :-(

Managed to catch brunch here, and what perfect time for eggs benedict! This smoked salmon rendition ($17++) came atop a slice of sourdough and plenty of hollandaise sauce. Unfortunately, the yolks were cooked solid and the vegetables bitter. The smoked salmon was perhaps the highlight of a rather lacklustre dish in general!