Welcome to Tanjong Pagar.

Cafe Mary Grace is one of the cafes that had opened to much anticipation during the year — situated in Tras Street, this would be Cafe Mary Grace’s very first outpost situated outside of the Phillipines. A brand that hails from the Philippines, Cafe Mary Grace has had humble beginnings having been operating within Christmas bazaars since the 1990s; their very first brick-and-mortar store having opened in 2002, while their very first cafe opened its doors in 2006. The interior of the cafe is decked in a country-style design theme; a very welcoming, warm and inviting interior typical to that of a European-style cottage — themed closely to resemble their other locations which are situated in the Philippines despite the constraints in terms of space given how they had taken up a shop unit located in the ground floor of a conserved shophouse. Being a bakery cafe, Cafe Mary Grace is perhaps most notable for their cake, Ensaymada and cheese roll offerings though the menu is segregated into sections dedicated to Our Signatures, Singapore Exclusives, Starters, All Day Brunch and Handcrafted Cakes; beverages are split into categories such as Crafted Drinks, and Specialty Coffee & Tea.

Whilst the All Day Brunch does feature some very classic brunch dishes that can be found at other cafes, Cafe Mary Grace does serve up a few dishes in their All Day Brunch menu that are inspired by Filipino flavours — this will include dishes like the Angus Beef Tapa and the Grilled Chicken Inasal Focaccia. We found ourselves going for the Angus Beef Tapa which is a classic Filipino breakfast dish that is said to feature marinated sirloin strips; it does come with sunny side-up by default, and patrons do get a choice to opt for either garlic rice or rosemary rice for their order — we were recommended by the staff to opt for garlic rice, which is also a classic combination to pair up with Beef Tapa that can also be referred to as the Tapsilog. The garlic rice does come pretty fragrant with a prominent hint of garlic; almost quite akin to Japanese Garlic Fried Rice, and was already pretty good on its own. With that being said, it also does come accompanied with some condiments on the side such as tomato salsa and shreds of mango that adds a bit of tanginess and a refreshing note to the rice that further enhances the flavours of the rice. We were initially a little worried that the Beef Tapa would be a little bit on the drier side; that being said, the Angus Beef Tapa here was tender and easy to chew with no fatty or veiny parts — all that whilst coming with a savoury-sweet note which was especially tasty. There was also no hint of gaminess from the beef that was detected here. Meanwhile, the sunny side-up here features two egg yolks; the egg yolks coming in a molten consistency that eagerly flows as one pokes the yolks with a fork — all that with soft egg whites and without any undesirable stench of overused oil.

One of the best steak places I’ve been to. The picanha and preso are two mains that I highly recommend. Everything I tried here was layered with flavours in every bite, even down to the miso butter I had with the sourdough appetiser. A big thank you to the attentive staff that tended to us the whole evening too!

The cabbage with miso sauce was amazing . These buns as well .

The folks at BreakfastGrill seems to be at it again — having established their presence in the local F&B scene for quite a while with their very first location being their store along East Coast Road, the brand has certainly come a long way within their journey in the F&B scene here. They had subsequently opened a second location at Lorong Kilat in Beauty World — a neighbourhood that is well-affiliated with some of the most prominent cafes in the local F&B scene; they had also since opened a third outlet in the heart of the Central Business District as well. Situated at Guoco Tower, BreakfastGrill takes over the former location of the now-defunct outlet of Imakatsu there. The store features a clean, bright and minimalistic interior that is slightly more simply decked than their Lorong Kilat location; there are a mix of both window-facing seats and typical dining tables and chairs which caters to patrons visiting the establishment alone, in pairs or even in groups of four (4) pax. BreakfastGrill is perhaps best known for their Sammies, though the Guoco Tower outlet does also offer Bowls with customisable bases — there are also light bites, desserts and side dishes offered as well. Beverages available at BreakfastGrill’s Guoco Tower outlet is split into sections dedicated to Coffee and Others.

A visit to BreakfastGrill isn’t a complete one if one skips on their Sammies — having skimmed through the line-up of Sammies which they have to offer, we found ourselves going for the Sunday Cals; the menu describes the Sunday Cals Sammie to come with elements such as that of Egg Salad, Spam, Bacon Bits, American Cheddar and a house-made sour cream onion spread. This was definitely a Sammie that is fit for a comforting weekend brunch; sinking our teeth into the Sunday Cals Sammie, the toasted bread already provides a slight crusty texture on the outside for a bit of crispness. Coming with loads of egg salad, the egg salad is quite similar to that of egg mayonnaise that came with chopped up bits of egg — provides the sandwich with a creamier texture whilst also adding some bite to it. Mixed within would also be bacon bits that seemed to be shredded from actual strips of bacon that added yet another dimension of bite and a savoury note to the egg salad. The spam in between does give the Sammie a meatiness with a saltish-ness that one would typically expect out of cured meat; a slice of American Cheddar comes in the middle for an additional contrast of savouriness, while the house-made sour cream onion spread does help in making the elements in the Sammie gel with the toasted bread.

Word has gotten around that the location of Hvala at 100AM had recently been revamped into one that is called Halo — the Hvala concept that it had replaced being one that was known for serving up decaffeinated specialty coffee options which previously targeted the office workers around the Central Business District. With this revamp, the brand did revamp some parts of its interior to theme it after the Halo branding. Halo does seem to have gotten its name from the popular Filipino dessert names Halo-Halo; the establishment does have an emphasis on serving up specialty matcha as it has been for Hvala as well as Ube (i.e. purple yam) — Ube being one of the elements that is found in Halo-Halo as well. The menu at Halo is split into sections dedicated to Ube, Ube Cloud, Ube Dessert Latte, Tea, Coffee and Tisanes and Yuzu — the only food offerings that Halo offers are listed in the Pastries and Desserts section of the menu.

The description card placed in front of the item in the display fridge containing the various pastries and desserts that Halo has to offer describes the Ube Mochi Tart to come with elements such as Homemade Butterfly Tartshell, Ube Paste, Ube Filling, Mochi and Coconut Chantilly. Digging into the Ube Mochi Tart, the mochi layer does come stretchy and chewy like what one would expect; it wraps around the tart in the same way as what one would usually experience when having items such as that of ice-cream / gelato with mochi skin wrapped around it. Inside, the tart does seem a little bit more like a dessert tart / pie; the tart being filled with Ube Paste and Ube Filling on the top which gives an earthy and slightly sweet note that carries sufficient flavour throughout the tart. The addition of the Coconut Chantilly does seem to help to gel all of the elements together being soft, light and fluffy with a largely neutral flavour profile.

Innovative yet scrumptious dishes, warm and thoughtful service staff, intimate atmosphere. If only it were less expensive…

Innovative yet scrumptious dishes, warm and thoughtful service staff, intimate atmosphere. If only it were less expensive…

Innovative yet scrumptious dishes, warm and thoughtful service staff, intimate atmosphere. If only it were less expensive…

Innovative yet scrumptious dishes, warm and thoughtful service staff, intimate atmosphere. If only it were less expensive…

Shukuu Izakaya was amazing. Had the pork jowl, sashimi and garlic rice, they were all excellent. The sashimi was fresh, the pork jowls were delicious and its really overall satisfying. The kind of meal where you finish and immediately want to come back and try the other dishes

A truly memorable dining experience with impressive use of wood fire cooking, dry ageing and fermentation throughout the meal. We especially loved the in-house Fermented Ginger Spritz and the Huitre de Céline N1 oysters with sake-ponzu jelly and shiso, which were bursting with umami flavours. The Wagyu Tartare was rich and deeply savoury, while the dry-aged Channel Rockfish stood out with its crispy exterior and tender flesh. Also thoroughly enjoyed the Tajima Wagyu Picanha—definitely a restaurant we would gladly return to again.

Had a great izakaya dinner here with a nice variety of Japanese dishes. The Kaki No Sakamushi and Kani Gratin were comforting and satisfying.

We also enjoyed the grilled Surume Ika Yaki, Tochigi Wagyu, bacon asparagus, and a cold Sapporo to go with everything. Overall, a cosy spot with good food and a pleasant dining experience.