Whimbly Whimbly Whimbly Lu!

That sounds like a nursery rhyme doesn't it? Well, it isn't... In fact, it's a new joint for desserts and coffee at Jalan Riang... Jalan Riang, where's that? Tucked away from the main road, Whimbly Lu is located around Bartley area (nearer to NEX). The lions suggested going there for Sunday brunch and desserts. Actually Fat Cat Cafe was supposed to be featured as well but the lions finished the food before any photos could be taken. Optimistic as a smart lion could be, now there is more space for Whimbly Lu's review.

What! We are going to Whimbly Lu??!!

A new kid on the block, Whimbly Lu serves a variety of chocolaty desserts, they also serve brunch items such as eggs benedict and big breakfast. Whimbly Lu exudes a rustic and homely ambience and the glass ceilings gives the place an airy, laid-back vibe.

After admiring the area, the lions got to ordering. Black-out cake, eclairs, chocolate macarons, rocky road, Eton Mess and long black coffee were agreed upon. Surprisingly their coffee was good, very smooth and even-bodied without the strong acidity. Did not expect a dessert place to serve rather good coffee. The rocky road, chocolate macarons and eclairs all exceeded expectations. Full of colourful ingredients, the rocky road is the dessert to start off especially if you love nuts and marshmallows. The cream in the eclairs was light and smooth and on the other side of the spectrum, the chocolate macarons were delightfully chewy and rich. The main star among all was the Eton Mess, which was touted as Prince William's favorite dessert. A strawberry-flavored dessert, it was a nice combination of ice cream and an ample helping of crunchy, sticky meringue. Being dessert lovers, Socks and Mittens seemed to take a liking to that very well....

Signing off the chocolate way

Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum

All in all, it was a sublime experience, whiling your time away drinking a good cuppa and enjoying a menagerie of sweet things.

Here is our review

Coffee quality: 7.5 pawprints out of 10 

Food quality: 8 pawprints out of 10
Ambience: 7 pawprints out of 10 

Specials that you should try: Long black coffee, Eton Mess, Choco Macaron, Rocky Road

For those who are interested in going there, here is the address

Whimbly Lu

15-2 Jalan Riang Singapore 358987

Tel: 62891489

Precious Child of Casuarina Road

Raining, wet, cold, hungry and not wanting to go to places that were packed with tons of people....those were the feelings of Cute Cute the lion during one Sunday dinner. Then came one of the toughest questions to answer.... what's for dinner? After cracking their feline heads, Cuchi and Cute Cute thought of one of their old hidden Japanese joints - Tamago (meaning precious child in Japanese). Lion had not been there for some time and reminisced about the home cooked meals that he had there. Let's go then!

A nice little Japanese casual joint situated at Casuarina Road, Tamako was overshadowed by Casuarina Prata but they had a good following too. The lions were joined by Kermit and lots of food were ordered. Onigiri, oyakodon, potato salad, stir-fried squid rings, saba shio and fried beef were the spread of the day.  The potato salad had the right consistency in texture and was a refresging appetiser. Onigiri, oyakodon and the rest all tasted very home-cooked. The beef was done in a way that was not Japanese and not really Chinese either, rather fusion instead.

Salmon Onigiri

Oyakodon

Saba Shio

The Saba Shio was also good deal as it only cost $8 for quite a huge slab. Cats will love it. Ultimately, what was a good dinner without  dessert. Cuchi always love the specialty dessert here which is the Yakult Sundae. Scoops of vanilla ice cream followed by drowning them in your choice of yakult flavors. Seems like Kermit being sweet-toothed himself also took to the sundae after watching Cuchi eat it.

Wow.... Yakult Sundae....

A lovely cosy ambience, not too overcrowded, tasty food.... what's the last? Reasonable price for the food! Although the lions ordered quite a fair bit, they only had to pay 5 carebears (which converts to $50) In addition, they had also added grilled items to their menu! Little wonder that the lions will be back here for a meal again!

Here is our review for Tamako

Price of food: Expect to spend about $15 per person

Food quality: 7.5 pawprints out of 10
Ambience: 7.5 pawprints out of 10

Specials that you should try: Potato Salad, Saba Shio, Curry Rice (Lions tried that last time)
 
For those who are interested in going there, here is the address

Tamako Meal

128 Casuarina Road, Singapore

Tel: 6553 4128

Savoring Saveur...

Joo Chiat Area, one of Singapore's more authentic chill out areas for food and drinks. Home to some of the popular food in Singapore like Katong Laksa, it is also home to many other coffee joints and quirky food joints. The lions were wandering around that area when Singa noticed a goose on one of the stall signboards. It was not about a stall selling roast goose but Saveur! A little French joint, which serves your traditional French fare, Saveur had been in operation early this year and became more and more popular in Singapore. On top of that, it was set up by Singaporeans! Nothing like supporting our home guys!

Stall front of Saveur

After waiting for a short while for seats, the lions got to ordering food. Angel hair with Kombu, foie gras, duck confit and beef bourguignon were ordered by Cuchi. Cuchi was a bit surprised when she was told that waiting time was 40 minutes. Having some time to spare, the lions waited, at least they were sitting beside the road and watched vehicles and people walked past as they gazed and waited.

Angel hair with kombu

Foie Gras on Lentil

The appetisers came first and they were wolfed down ferociously. The angel hair with kombu (a cold dish) looked plain but it was very tasty. A very good appetiser to start your taste buds working. The foie gras came thinly-sliced but it was just nice for one lion. Wasn't the best foie gras in Singapore but at $7.50, it was a good deal especially if one had not tried foie gras before.

Beef bourguignon

Duck Confit at only $8.90!

Finally the main courses came.The beef bourguignon was tender but it was not fantastic, the star was the duck confit. One complete duck leg laid on top of mashed potatoes graced with mushrooms and tangerine slices. One taste of the duck confit, you could tell that the duck was marinated long enough. Skin of the duck was also crispy. All in all, it was a nice French meal for the lions and at a grand total of $35.00 for four items (which was reasonable), it had some hits and misses.

Here is our review for Saveur

Price of food: Expect to spend about $15 per person for a full meal

Food quality: 8.5 pawprints out of 10
Ambience: 6 pawprints out of 10 (It is located in a coffee shop)

Specials that you should try: Duck Confit, Angel hair with kombu
 
For those who are interested in going there, here is the address

Saveur

Ali Baba Eating House, Foodstall No 3
125 East Coast Road, Singapore 428810

Tel: 91250124

A Historical Place for Gelato..... And surprisingly Coffee!

Wanting to go to a chill out area where it is rather authentic, Cute Cute and Cuchi flew down to Arab Street to have a little nip. After an uneventful and ordinary dinner, Cuchi desired ice cream to sooth her throat. (Women and their desserts!) The lions were about to head to an ice creamery when both of them noticed something! Quietly tucked upstairs above an Indian Muslim eatery at Bussorah Street was this little gelato ice creamery, Gelato Di Posto Storico. (I believe it translates as The Historical Place of Gelato) Cuchi saw the word Gelato while Cute Cute saw the word Expresso.

Headed upstairs and were surprised by the cafe's cosiness. One would have a feeling of homeliness here. The owner and staff were also very friendly which added to the feeling. While Cuchi ordered her gelato (Pistachio flavor), lion looked through the brightly lit coffee list. Hmm.... Mafioso.... What's that? Thinking that it was a drink associated with the mafia, it was ordered. (Heh!) According to the owner and staff, Mafioso is an expresso topped with a huge amount of cream.

A very nutty pistachio gelato! I like!

Help! Mew Mew crept up on the Mafioso!

The expresso was nice and smooth, plus the cream was a high quality cream which was very silky. Surprisingly they were a good combination, as on one hand, the expresso was strong and the cream was light but nicely sweetened. The gelato was also good, very nutty with a strong taste of pistachio. Could tell that the gelato was home made due to the taste and the fact that the owner was grinding something and pouring it into a huge pot which should be used for making gelato.

Nostalgic games to play while having your coffee / gelato

All in all, it was a pleasant experience, should you find yourself surrounded by a lot of people and the noise and dust from cars and people gets to you at Arab Street, you could pop upstairs and enjoy the coffee and ice cream while you look down upon the busy street and just smile..........

Here is our review

Price of coffee: Range between $3 to $5.50 depending on type

Coffee quality: 8 pawprints out of 10 

Ambience: 8 pawprints out of 10

Specials that you should try: Mafioso, Gelato

 

For those who are interested in going there, here is the address and website

Gelato Di Posto Storico

20A Baghdad Street, Singapore 199659

Tel: 63966466

 

What? Only 6 oz of coffee?

A lovely day to start another coffee adventure.... Cute Cute and Cuchi decided to check out new places in Telok Ayer and Shenton Way area since Lion has spotted some new caffeine joints there. One of the more prominent coffee cafe is 6 oz expresso bar. Located at the junction of Cecil St and Maccullum St, it can be seen easily when one pass by there.

Long black and flat white were ordered by Cuchi. Unfortunately for Cuchi, she received quite a bad service from the service staff there. Think she was snapped at by a dye blonde service staff there. Pushing that aside, we tried the coffee. The long black was not bad, not the best but not the worst either. The flat white was a bit of a let down as Cuchi cannot really taste the coffee.

However, all is not lost there. Apparently 6 oz expresso bar does sell sandwiches and eggs benedict at a very reasonable price. Recall seeing the price of eggs benedict at $7 plus. Surprisingly though, their coffee is at a volume of 6 oz..... hmm I always thought coffee will be serve in 8 oz volume?

Here is our review

Price of coffee: Range between $4 to $6 depending on type

Coffee quality: 6.5 pawprints out of 10 

Ambience: 7 pawprints out of 10

For those who are interested in going there, here is the address and website

6 oz Expresso Bar

20 McCallum St #01-K1 Singapore 069046

Tel: 6509 6602

Mmmm...Carrot finger licking good!

Carrot fingers...? What's that? Well that came to my mind as I passed this hawker stall during lunch at Fengshan Hawker Centre in Bedok. In order to quench my curiosity, I approached the stall only to be greeted by 2 very friendly auntie stall owners.

Only $2 for a packet of carrot fingers, the price of this item was very reasonable. This stall also sells curry puffs, samosas and other finger bites. When you are waiting for the items to be packed, you cannot help but notice the carrot fingers being laid out to be cooked - home-made goodness.

Carrot sticks

The carrot sticks are lovely with an old school, home-made taste. Seems like this stall has a little following as someone before me was ordering a few packets to be taken to a bbq party! Of course, I cannot help but take a picture of one of the residents at Fengshan who was having a good rub.

For those who are interested in going there, here is the address

Fengshan Hawker Centre

Blk 85 Bedok North Street 4 Singapore 460085

DNA of a good cuppa

Biopolis, a hub for research and development and located at One-North Buona Vista area. Known for international biomedical research and also..................coffee? Cute Cute the lion read about long black cafe in biopolis on the papers and was wondering when he should go down to have a taste of the coffee..... Mmmmm.... Lion began to daydream then suddenly, lion's phone rang. (Yes, lion owns a phone as he has a business to take care of: farming care bears) Well, what did you know, it is Mr No Time and Ms Any Time! As Mr No Time was around NUH, they were wondering if lion was free for coffee. Just in the nick of time as Lion's caffeine level was low. Although Ms Any Time wanted coffee but she does not know whether there's any good coffee joint around that area. Immediately, long black cafe sprung into mind. A meeting time was set and the lions and a little kitten name Mew Mew flew down to Biopolis.

For those who are not familiar with biopolis and are driving, go to the entrance of carpark A, head down to basement 2 and drive to the pillars which is showing Centros. That's the building where Long Black Cafe is situated. Ms Any Time and Mr No Time were rather amazed by the cafes and restaurants here. We ordered long black coffee (what else?), flat white and Cuchi's fav - bruschetta. The long black is the most inexpensive in all the cafes that I have visited. At $2.80+, it is a real steal. Using their own blend of beans, the long black was smooth with a slight hint of acidity at the end which was not lingering. The strength of the coffee was strong but not overpowering and of course, the temperature of the coffee was just right. Kudos to the barista for this! The flat white was pleasantly done and the milk was frothed well.

Flat white

Mew Mew's first shot at coffee modeling

Bruschetta

The bruschetta was good too according to Ms Any Time and Cuchi. Women and their bruschetta! A lovely area to chill out with friends, long black cafe's choice of music was also very soothing and nice, very suitable to relax.

Here is our review

Price of coffee: Range between $2.80 to $5.00 depending on type (There's a service charge of 10%)
Coffee quality: 8.5 pawprints out of 10 

Food quality: We only tried the bruschetta so we cannot really gauge the quality. But we will be back to try their other food like cakes and pasta.
Ambience: 8.5 pawprints out of 10 

Specials that you should try: Long black coffee

For those who are interested in going there, here is the address and website

Long Black Cafe

20 Biopolis Way, Centros Block,

Singapore 138668

Tel: 6478 9945

http://www.longblack.com.sg

Liliputan Adventures at Tiny's Cafe

Mandai Estate? Woodlands road? These road names does not seem to have any link to great food places but the lions managed to sniff one out around that area - Tiny's Cafe. Always wanting to do a review on this little (now huge and modern) zichar place, we finally did after visiting the place with Cuchi's family members. Knowing that Cuchi's dad likes cheap and good food, and Cuchi's brother, Kermit, likes crabs, we decided to bring them to Tiny's Cafe. Situated in the old picket and rail warehouse at Mandai Estate, it is a rather difficult to find but the boss of Tiny's Cafe (I believe he is called Amos) has set up a huge crab sign overlooking woodlands road thus you cannot miss it.

A rustic interior with wrought iron chairs and toasted brown tiles

It's a mini museum as well!

Unbeknownst to all, the dumb waiter in the middle can actually rotate by itself

Tiny's Cafe has a lovely rustic but yet modern ambience. The exterior of Tiny's Cafe looks mundane, like one of those industrial building or warehouses around it but once you step in, it's a different feel altogether. We later found out that the owner of Tiny's also owns the furniture shop on top of the cafe. However, as the lions' stomachs were crying, food has to be ordered before exploring further.

Stir fried vegetable with dragon mince (It's just pork floss ok.....)

Marmite Pork Ribs

Salted egg crab

Initially when we first came to Tiny's Cafe, we thought it would be the normal zichar fare. We were surprised that they offer Devil's Curry and Captain's Curry alongside other Portuguese-influenced zichar. Salted egg crab, stir-fried kailan with dragon mince, fried chicken wings, devil's curry, marmite pork ribs and cai poh omelette were the orders of the day. Unfortunately before I could whip up the camera for a shot, the devil's curry, fried chicken wings and cai poh omelette were decimated. The fried chicken wings were crispy and had been marinated well before they were fried. The stir-fried kailan with dragon mince caught our attention with its name. Deep fried seaweed was placed on top of the vegetables followed by a sprinkling of the dragon mince (meat floss). Devil's curry was definitely unique, spicy like our local curry with a hint of sourness in it. Most of the salted egg crab was devoured by Kermit when it came. Unlike some of its peers, this version of salted egg crab is dry and not creamy. The meaty succulent crab was outstanding.

As I mentioned earlier, there is a furniture shop above Tiny's - Watershapes. Selling mainly designer furniture, it is well worth a look.

Here is our review for Tiny's Cafe

Price of food: Zichar pricing

Food quality: 8.5 pawprints out of 10
Ambience: 8 pawprints out of 10

Specials that you should try: Salted egg crab, kailan with dragon mince, eurasian fried rice/noodles, devil's curry
 
Tiny's Cafe is a good place for a family outing as they can accommodate a huge number of people (Yes they have a single table for 15 people. Check the above photo) Plus parking is free. Do check out the stage that they have if you've got any parties or events.  

For those who are interested in going there, here is the address and website

 Tiny's Cafe and Lounge

566 Woodlands Road, Mandai Estate,

Waterbridge Building, Singapore 728697

Tel: 6362 1223