Pause

Pause (Oxford Dictionaries Online): interrupt action or speech briefly , a temporary stop in action or speech

Pause (Merriam Webster Online): a break in a verse; temporary inaction especially as caused by uncertainty

Pause (Foodsmiths @thewordfood): Cool new coffee place at Bukit Merah (also both definitions from Oxford and Merriam-Webster, in relation to my writing on this site)

So Singapore is building up a cool little coffee culture (not to the extent of Melbourne of course), and we are beginning to have quite a few little indie coffee joints popping up at the most random of places. Amongst others, Papa Pahleta at Bt Timah Road, Forty Hands at Tiong Bahru, and the newest find we picked up this weekend, Pause, at Jalan Kilang.

Pause is housed in a very cool townhouse-like building in the midst of a whole bunch of commercial warehouses. It shares the 4000-odd square feet space, known as Dominic Khoo 28 Fevrier, with not just Dominic Khoo’s photo gallery, but also Kelvin Seah, a bespoke tailor, and Ed. Et. Al., a bespoke shoe maker run by Edwin Neo.

At the counter, where you order your wonderful coffee, a little handout reads “Let’s Pause, for a little special something”. And that’s true. We paused, and took in the special little gallery cum retail space, cum cafe, and were sold.

The coffee at Pause is great (although perhaps not the greatest). The effort the barista took, however, in painstakingly putting together a bunny (squeal go the foodsmiths) motif on the foam, was worth the visit.

We didn’t get to try any food on our little afternoon sojourn, but the owner (or manager – sorry didn’t get his name this afternoon), said that they do do food items, just not today. Ah well. But no matter, because we’ll be back!

For people who don’t drink coffee, there are a number of iced teas available (and they even sell aged ginger tea, which apparently helps a windy tummy, if you get the, ahem, drift).

And for those who just want to see a little interesting something, head down to Dominic Khoo 28 Fevrier (yes it’s a mouthful), just to see the chairs (from flexible love) and partitions (from molo design), which are totally made of recycled cardboard. The pictures below give you a sense of the place, and we’re sure you’ll be sold once you visit it. So Pause, and take in a little special something.

Dominic Khoo’s 28th Février

Add: 5 Jalan Kilang,

Tel: +65 63664642

Mon – Sun:9:00 am-10:00 pm

Max Brenner Chocolate Bar

After watching The Prince of Persia yesterday(quick review: lots of blood and gore and violence, but Jake looks far too contemporary to be in this drama. Still, decent CGI effects, with a few laugh-out-loud moments), we ventured to the first floor at VivoCity in search of ice-cream and desserts in general. VivoCity appears to have changed quite a bit, there’s now Fruit Paradise on the Queen and Mangosteen section, and where Godiva used to stand, another chocolate miracle in the form of Max Brenner Chocolate Bar. Excited by the sight of another Max Brenner(the other branch being at Esplanade), we settled down comfortably and ordered chocolate sauce coated waffles, with chocolate sauce, two scoops of ice-cream; vanilla and chocolate. The actual name of the waffles now escapes me, but there’s a more healthy version called Tutti Frutti waffles, which come with blueberries and bananas(and might make you feel slightly more healthy with the amount of fruits ). I also ordered a Mocha Frappe, that comes served in their signature Alice cup – a ceramic cup with a long slender metal straw.

The Mocha Frappe was delish – not too sweet, with the right proportions of espresso and chocolate. The waffles however, though it looked delish, wasn’t quite as tasty. For one, the waffles seemed a little too dry for our liking- and lacked that buttery flavour that tasty waffles usually have. I found myself coating the waffle with more chocolate sauce in an attempt to make it more tasty. The other thing I wasn’t wild about was the caramelised hazelnuts- they tasted like popcorn on top of the waffles. Imagine popcorn coated in chocolate sauce on top of waffles!

Still, a good place to sit around and chat- it’s quiet and laid back and perfect for a weekend night out on the town (unless you’re like me, and prefer the Orchard stretch as truly Town.)

The Canopy @ Aramsa

Nestled in the lush greenery of Bishan Park, the Canopy @ Aramsa is a nice place to have a relaxing afternoon drink or a late weekend breakfast. On my 2 separate visits there (both for weekend breakfasts), the restaurant was not overly crowded, so it was a pleasure not having to raise your voice to hear what your companion had to say.

On my previous visit there, I sampled the Eggs Benedict. While I can’t quite recall how the dish was presented (and I can’t seem to find any pictures of that meal), what did leave an impression was the hollandaise sauce. Now I’m not a connoisseur of hollandaise sauce, but I’ve tried to make it and I do know how difficult it is to put together a good one. The hollandaise sauce that accompanied the Eggs Benedict served at the Canopy was slightly tangy, with a rich and buttery flavour to the sauce. This certainly did not come out of a catering service pack, and I remember being surprised by the smoothness of the sauce. It certainly left an impression on me and this was one of the reasons that got me visiting the restaurant again.

My recent visit there allowed me to try out the juices offered by the Canopy. For those who are not familiar with the Canopy, it’s run by the Aramsa Spa people, so there is a slight focus on healthy living (minus the eggs benedict) on it’s menu (the Canopy’s sister restaurant, Green Room, serves vegetarian cuisine). I had the Strawberry Orange Nectar, while my partner had the Refresh Juice (a blend of strawberries and red apple). Unfortunately, both juices did not do the job for either of us. For me, the Strawberry Orange Nectar was icy (it was meant to be a smoothie, but one could taste the un-crushed ice pellets swirling around in one’s mouth) while the Refresh Juice was slightly on the bland side (as was the Strawberry Orange Nectar). For the price we were paying for the drinks, I’d say these were not worth the order.

For food items, my partner chose the simple dish of Toast with Butter and Preserves. Surprisingly, the multigrain bread served had a nice texture to it, while the white bread had a decent crust that was toasted to a good crispness. What we didn’t like about the dish were the preserves that accompanied the bread. The jam and marmalade both came in mini foil tubs (not unlike what you get with airline food), and the preserves both did not do the bread any justice. The 3 slices of (artisan) bread accompanied with uninspired jam and marmalade set us back S$7, which to us, was a tad on the high side.

The other dish that we sampled that day was the Sweet Corn Fritter. I liked the concept behind the dish – this seemed to be like a pancake with loads of sweet corn piled inside the batter. The sweet corn was, as the name suggests, sweet. The batter, however, was a little too dense for me and didn’t have that fluffiness that a pancake usually has. Of course, I may be wrong about the chef’s inspiration behind the dish, but I do think that if he had used a regular pancake batter and mixed in the sweet corn he usually uses, it would have made for a better dish. Accompanying the healthy fritter (it’s really not a fritter in the sense of goreng pisang (or banana fritters)), were very crispy rashers of bacon and fresh spinach. The saltiness and crispiness from the bacon provided a perfect complement to the sweet corn.

Nice quiet places are sometimes hard to come by, and the Canopy at Aramsa is one of those places. My 2 experiences at the Canopy left me reasonably satisfied with the food, and the quietness of the surroundings provided a welcome reprieve from the busy and bustling city that is Singapore. If you happen to be in the area and are looking for a nice quiet place to spend a lazy weekend afternoon, do consider dropping by at the Canopy at Aramsa for a cup of coffee.

Canopy Garden Dining & Bar
Bishan Park II
1382 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1
6556 1533

Spruce

With the luxury of time, on weekend mornings, I often like to visit new places – even more so, for brunch. Brunch, that gap in time between breakfast and lunch -perfect just after sleeping in longer on a Saturday after Friday night, but not quite as filling as lunch. This leaves you plenty of time(and excuse) to have a heavy tea later in the afternoon. Brunch also seems to be a novelty these days – many places offer Sunday champagne brunches with eggs and toast, eggs benedict and the like. On one such weekend, feeling particularly uninspired, we drove to Spruce at Tanglin Road after reading so much about it.

Spruce is housed in a restored quaint cottage, with a low ceiling and a lovely al fresco area. The internal set up of the place is fairly spare- white walls, quiet tranquil surroundings. I think sitting outside is prettier than inside – the playground is located just beside the restaurant on a slightly elevated slope. It’s also incredibly crowded though, so you need a fair amount of patience to wait for a table.

The first dish we ordered was The Spruce Burger with Handcut chips and Bacon.

While the chips were double cooked to perfection, crisp on the outside, and soft on the inside, the burger itself was more of a let-down. While the cheese and toppings could not be faulted, the real test of a good burger lies in two things: the patty and the bun. Between the bun and the patty, I felt the latter was more of a let down. The patty was too dry for my liking, lacking that moisture or juiciness that a really good patty should have. Test of a good patty? Biting into it, you have the taste of the raw beef juice oozing out slightly, such that the patty is dense enough without being dry.

We were however, pleasantly surprised by the next dish: Tagliatelle with Kurobuta Bolognese, Chilli and Fresh Basil.

The tagliatelle was al dente and fresh – what was excellent about the execution of the dish was really in the sauce- unlike the meatballs in District 10(earlier reviewed), this meat sauce had chunks of kurobuta in a thick meaty sauce. While it was more salty than necessary, the blend of fresh chilli and basil as well as the meat sauce made for a very delicious pasta.

One of the things I quite liked about the brunch at Spruce were the refreshing drinks they had- fresh lemonade with mint, and normal lemonade.

A word of caution, though: I have to say that the service at Spruce could be improved- it was hard to get the attention of the servers, and when they were seating us, or giving us the bill, there was hardly any acknowledgment from the staff at all. Everything was perfunctory and didn’t leave a good impression. I got the distinct impression that they were harried and couldn’t care less – not a good idea in a steadily growing market of brunch places.

Quick Bites at Overeasy

After work drinks are often the norm in the industry i work in, just to loosen up after a long day’s work. a couple of beers and a few snacks just to get your night started. In the Raffles Place area, one up and coming location to do this (to avoid the crowds at boat quay) is Overeasy. Part of the same group of f&b establishments as the White Rabbit and Loof, Overeasy serves a small menu of appetisers, mains and desserts, as well as a section on snacks. The snacks, as you might imagine, are the most popular of the items on the menu (aside from the drinks that is) since they make for a good bite / snack when having a couple of drinks with friends.

On our visit here, we had the cheesesteak sliders (i.e. mini cheeseburgers),  beerbattered john dory with malt vinegar aioli, tortilla chips with both guacamole & pork sausage cheese dip, mac n cheese as well as the truffled fries. Unfortunately, lighting was too dark and all i got were shots of the sliders and the fries so these are all you’ll get to see.

the sliders were pretty good, though nothing fancy. A small slab of steak in between a nicely toasted burger bun, and slathered in a cheese sauce. the truffled fries were nice and crisp, but sadly, only the top layer seemed to have the luxury of having truffle oil sprinkled over them. When one neared the bottom of the plate, not even a whiff of the truffle aroma was to be found. The beer battered fish was surprisingly good, though again, nothing fancy. The batter fluffed up nicely, and the fish inside was as expected, tender and flakey. The mouthful of mac n cheese that i sampled equally was pretty good, although, at the back of my mind, i had expected something like that found in the white rabbit (sorry, my bad!!!). final taste of the evening were the tortilla chips – surprisingly flat, and the pork sausage dip tasted closer to tuna melt (in fact, i’d only found out that it was pork sausage when i came home to look for the menu online!) Guacamole lacked the creaminess of the avocado that i was looking for, perhaps a few not-as-ripe avocadoes in there?

Overall a decent experience, and at least we found a table easily and the crowd wasn’t all that bad on an evening where boat quay was already jampacked. one thing to note though – service was slightly on the slow side, many of the drinks didn’t arrive for some time (and it hadn’t even gotten crowded at that point!) otherwise, i didn’t quite get the rude service complained of in the posts on hungrygowhere, though i might just be lucky on this visit!