Would usually avoid ordering Roast Chicken in cafes/restaurants because they can end up being overcooked and dry, but I enjoyed their Half Seasalt Caramel Roast Chicken! Felt that the basics were done right, with the meat tender and well-seasoned underneath the crispy skin. I know Seasalt Caramel sounded more like an ice cream flavour LOL but the sweet-savoury sticky glaze made the dish less one-dimensional! 🍗
🍝 Also enjoyed the Chuncky Beef Bolognese, which features thick chunks of stewed beef in a tangy tomato sauce. The chuck meat was slow-cooked until tender with no gamey taste, and the tomato base didn't taste like those factory-made ones. If you're craving beef but find minced beef in the usual bolognese pasta unsatisfying, this is the dish to get!
Cross between coconut pudding and souffle, this was a really interesting one! Came piping hot, and paired well with the icecream! A nice hot and cold combination that kind of reminds of bread pudding.
This was indeed molten, although the choc taste could be richer! This one was closer to Hershey's choc kind of taste.
Picked 2 sides - Mashed Potato, Garden Green to pair, and the mashed potato was actly not bad! Slightly buttery with some potato chunks, and the beef was really soft to cut with just a fork. Sauce was enjoyable too.
200g Wagyu Striploin Fillet, which was decent although slightly chewy at some parts. Fries were crispy when served!
Located at SAFRA Mount Faber near the Swimming Pool, @oldhabitssg has a nice vintage, old school look and feels which lets you take a trip down memory lane!
Portobello Mushroom Pesto (Vegetarian) ($16.90++)
Steamed Portobello, Spaghetti in Handmade Pesto Sauce - you get a huge Portobello mushroom, and pesto flavour was pretty strong, although would reco eating this quick as it'd get slightly clumpy after awhile.
Flavorful & rich chunky mushroom soup with strong truffle taste; 1 of the better mushroom soup I've tasted..
Smooth cheese cake with very soft centre similar to raw cheese cake; smoky & not too sweet; good for sharing..
Stew beef in tangy tomato sauce; meat is very tender & no beefy taste; opted for mashed potatoes which is smooth & garden salad which aids in balancing out the taste; well-executed dish worth a try..
Pasta tossed in spicy belacan chilli paste in aglio olio style; noodles are slightly overcooked; belacan chilli taste is quite mild; opted for medium rare pan-seared salmon which is fresh & not fishy; good to try..
Pan-seared tuna to medium rare; fresh & not fishy; sesame crust add some crunch to it; with sesame sauce at the side which well-complement the dish; opted for butter rice which is fragrant, not mushy or overly buttery; & coleslaw which aids in balancing out the taste; well-executed dish worth a try..
[✨VINTAGE CAFE✨] Located at the foot of Mt Faber, Old Habits is a retro-style cafe serving interesting fusion dishes. Decorated with vintage items including vinyl records, typewriters, and many more! ☎️
These vintage decorations are also available for sale, so you can bring these back home as a keepsake of the good old times 🎟
🌟 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝘂𝗻𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗸 ($𝟭𝟵.𝟱𝟬)
Coated with sesame, the top selling item is hard to find elsewhere. The sesame crust acted as a good contrast to the juicy and soft texture of the tuna steak. We chose fries and salad as sides to go along with this! 🐟
Overall, this spot is a unique space with value-for-money options and mains starting from only $9.90 💸 Staff was friendly and the vintage cafe is condusive for work/study too.
📸 Full review on Instagram (@myfoodframes)!
Tried the pan-seared salmon ($16.90) with spaghetti tossed in spicy belachan chilli paste, aglio olio style 🍝 We opted for less spicy but we could already start to feel the burn. Definitely for the spicy lovers!🔥
If you are visiting on weekdays, you can also try their affordable set lunch (main + drink) starting from $11 😎
Take a trip down memory lane at Old Habits!
Experience dining here with a very unique vintage ambience! Old school decor everywhere at all corners of the cafe! Brings back so many childhood memories!
Besides the nice cafe ambience, the staff were friendly, and best of all the food was GOOD! 👍🏻
Featured here are the following items:
🍄Truffle mushroom soup ($6.50): Very strong truffle oil taste! With some sliced mushrooms and mushroom bits! Super good!
🐥Sea Salt Caramel Roasted Chicken (half) ($17.50): Very tender juicy chicken, with a very interesting homemade sauce glaze! You get to choose two sides - We got mashed potatoes which was savoury and creamy, and fries which was well seasoned with chilli powder and crispy crunchy!
🐟Simply Salmon ($16.90): It was quite interesting that for this salmon, you get to choose whether you want your salmon medium well done or well done all cooked! Cater to all you picky eaters (like me :P)! Since there was a choice, i got for the all cooked choice! The pan seared salmon skin was SOO crispy! The best salmon skin ever! The spaghetti’s sauce was a homemade belachan chilli, and it was SOO tasty! Best “spicy aglio olio” ever! (Btw, the chilli level can be customised too, and we picked normal spicy!)
🌴Old habit coconut kueh ($9.90): To end off the meal, I recommend to get this! Super interesting coconut bread butter pudding that is served warm, and is souffle like and also like a soft tapioca kueh, with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream!
📍Check them out at 2 Telok Blangah Way SAFRA Mt Faber #01-04 S098803
The pasta that came with this was actually pretty spicy! We picked "Less Spicy", and I'd say the spice level is slightly higher than expected considering we picked "less". For spice lovers who want a good spice kick, go for the regular/ more!
Add-on: Truffle Mushroom Soup (+$4.50) to Tuna Steak
Mushroom soup was pretty thick with some small mushroom bits, making it pretty comforting to have!
Choice of 2 sides: French fries & Garden greens
Honestly quite interesting because it's my first time trying a tuna steak? Also because it's my first time so I'm not sure what to expect/ what to compare to but I think it's an interesting dish overall.
We visited Old Habits last weekend, a cafe located at SAFRA Mount Faber. Upon stepping into the cafe, we were instantly transported back to a bygone era, with wall-to-wall displays of items from the past. From typewriters, gramophones, vinyl records to vintage toys and more, there’ll definitely be something here that will tickle your nostalgic bone (even the dining tables are repurposed from old sewing machines!). There are many cool spots for lifestyle shots too!
As for the food, we ordered their Half Seasalt Caramel Roast Chicken, Wagyu Beef Carbonara and Popcorn Chicken. We felt the food was pretty decent overall; our favourite dish was the Seasalt Caramel Roast Chicken, where the tender chicken meat paired well with the homemade seasalt caramel sauce!
The next time you’re in the area and looking for a cool retro place to chill at with your friends or family, I’d certainly recommend a visit to this place!
