We’ve been on a bit of a hiatus recently. Between birthday parties, a trip to Perth, and Chinese New Year shennanigans, it’s been a really busy past few weeks!!

But, we hope to get back in the swing of things ASAP 🙂

It’s with great delight that I bring to you The Missing Pan, a gorgeous cafe that opened just three months ago. Located next to Coronation Plaza along Bukit Timah Road, the cafe has me ecstatic because THEY OPEN AT 9AM!! I do love my breakfasts, and rarely do I find cafes that are open this early (if you know of any more, please give me a holler).

When we stepped in, we were a bit confused as the place was tiny. Turns out that that’s just their first/entry level, which showcases their freshly-baked breads and pretty cakes. We were ushered into a lift and brought up to Level 2, where the sit-down area was.

The soft grey, tan and turquoise colour palette of the cafe had me swooning. Doesn’t it look so pretty and relaxing?

Their menu is, surprisingly, pretty extensive. And WOW, it also looks pretty spectacular. You will not find the standard brunch dishes here, but unique twists to regular dishes as well as new ones. The menu itself will take you a good few minutes to pore through!

I was pleased to see that they had a kids menu, which looked really enticing:

We kicked off with a rich Latte ($5.50) and a giant-sized Lychee and lemon mint homemade soda ($6):

And this is my favourite dish, their 62 degree eggs benedict with smoked salmon ($22). The Missing Pan’s rendition is absolutely superb, and very different to regular Eggs Benedict dishes I’ve had in other cafes. Served on homemade sourdough, the free range eggs were slow-cooked at 62 degrees, resulting in an extremely creamy egg with a molten gooey egg yolk – it was absolutely luscious.

The smoked salmon was like nothing I’ve ever had. Normally, smoked salmon is sliced thin, and very salty. You know, just the regular stuff. Their smoked salmon was FAT chunks of salmon, that was meltingly tender – almost like a sous vide salmon. It was nowhere near as salty as regular smoked salmon, so the delightful creaminess and sweetness of the fish came through.

Frankly, I thought this dish was outstanding and would get it again.

The Over Hangover (chicken schnitzel, bacon, sunny-side up egg on sourdough and bacon vinaigrette) ($19), I hear, is recommended for hearty eaters. And they’d be right – this will fill you right up. Using the same home-baked sourdough bread, the mountain of eggs, bacon, chicken and salad greens impresses when it arrives.. not to mention the tumble of crisp fries next to it.

At first, we thought the chicken would be dry and tough because the crumbed exterior was so dark. However, once we tried it, we realised the chicken was so succulent and juicy on the inside! It was actually perfectly cooked.

Two thumbs up for this dish, especially if you prefer your brunch to be fried 😉

I personally found the Rosemary rosti stack with bacon, sunny-side up egg, tomato, grilled zucchini salad ($16) to be least interesting. The potato rosti was cooked perfectly and the egg was delicious, but I just found the dish a bit boring because it’s just a whole lot of potato. Perhaps it would have been even better served with some of their fat chunks of smoked salmon, just to create variety?

That said, this is a winner if you’re on a bit of a carb fix.

I adored the Brownie bite, which was going at $2 a pop. The brownie was rich and fudgey, and I loved how it was encased in chocolate.

The BYO (homemade orange yogurt ice cream, raspberry jelly, macerated strawberries, basil, chocolate crisp) ($14) didn’t interest me, as I’m not a fan of any type of fruit-based dessert. But, the large chocolate crisps on top were delicious!!

 
 
Last Bite: The Missing Pan has only been open for a few months, but nails their unique menu. The food is excellent, as is the service and ambience. Plus, it’s open at 9AM for breakfast!
 
Highchairs: Yes
Easy access: Yes
Change tables: No
Kids’ menu: Yes

The Missing Pan
619D Bukit Timah Road
Singapore 269724
Phone: 6466 4377
Prices: $$
Hours: Tue – Sun: 9:00 am – 10:00 pm
 
 

Located among a small row of shophouses along the Bukit Timah highway, Choupinette is always surprisingly busy with diners despite the non-central location. Owned by a French lady, it offers a limited but well executed menu that is pretty reasonably priced.

On top of that, they have a wall dedicated to showcasing their daily freshly-baked breads and pastries – it’s pretty hard to stop at one!

Our kids tore apart their Brioche and were very pleased with it.

Their best value are their Brunch sets. I opted for the Eggs Royale with fruit juice and hot drink ($23). It’s decently priced considering it comes with two full-sized drinks.

The eggs are poached to perfection – with the yolk creamy and goey inside. Only problem? We suspected they poach their eggs in water laced with (a lot of) vinegar, then don’t do a good job of draining the water off. The result: the bread soaked the water and gave an extremely sharp vinegar taste and smell. It dissipates quickly once you start chewing, but just something to note if you can’t stand the smell of vinegar.

My coffee was rich and smooth, and I really enjoyed it. So I was really dismayed when my hand hit the saucer accidentally and sent half my coffee spilling into my main meal!!

The orange juice was pulpy and not too sweet, and Carter enjoyed it (he drank the whole thing).

I adored their Beignet on a stick. Fluffy donut balls dusted in fine sugar, they were simple but very well done. I’d get this one again anytime!

 
 
Last Bite: Choupinette offers a well-priced brunch menu, and their wall of freshly-baked breads and pastries are a hit.
 
Highchairs: Yes
Easy access: No (a few stairs up to the restaurant)
Change tables: No
Kids’ menu: No

Choupinette
607 Bukit Timah Rd #01-01
Singapore 269708
Phone: 6466 0613
Prices: $$
Hours:
Tue – Thu: 09:00 – 20:00
Fri: 09:00 – 22:00
Sat: 08:00 – 22:00
Sun: 08:00 – 18:00
Closed: Mon
 
 

Make-your-own-pancakes, you say?

Why can’t I just mix the batter by myself and make it in my own kitchen?

Good point. You absolutely can. But what’s the fun in that?! 

So that’s what you’re paying for at Slappy Cakes – a whole lotta fun. The large tables have flat grills that work impressively well. They require no oil, and are totally flat, so any lousy cook can make a yummy pancake with little chance of creating a disaster. And this is what makes it extremely kid-friendly – our 2 year old and 4 year old could easily squeeze the batter out and even flip the pancakes by themselves! And boy, what fun they had 🙂

Brought to Singapore by the Tung Lok Group, the premise is simple:

Step 1: Pick your batter – Buttermilk/Whole Grain/Chocolate/Zucchini/Peanut Butter ($8 per bottle)

Step 2: Pick your fixings- they start from $1.50

Step 3: Pick your toppings – ranging from $1.50-$3.00.

One bottle of pancake batter will actually fill the average person right up. Some reviews online say each bottle will feed “2-3 people”. I have no idea who they’re referring to, but probably half-starving, super skinny people. One bottle is NOT enough for 2-3 people, it’s enough for 1 person with a normal appetite.

The fixings and toppings are a range of sweet and savory. It’s hard to narrow down! You’ll feel compelled to order everything 😉 Fair warning though – the portion sizes are phenomenally tiny. I’d expected double the portion. It’s enough for one person but nowhere near enough to share with more – so that was disappointing.

So off we went!

We did mostly round pancakes because when you have kids jumping around, and everyone is hungry, it was kind of the easiest to whack out. Not the most exciting, but it worked 😉

The Buttermilk pancake batter is superb, by the way. It had a beautiful buttery flavour and was a delight to eat.

This was my favourite ‘creation’ – Buttermilk pancakes, with grilled ham and Brie cheese (baked into the pancake)!

We did make a couple of cute shapes, and it’s easy to because the bottles come with a small nozzle. The kids were highly excited by the shapes, and made all their requests 😉

Oh! They also have other brunch-type items on the menu. Here, we have Roasted mushrooms caramelized red onions, spnach and crispy bacon scrambled with eggs and topped with cheddar cheese. Served with breakfast potatoes and toast ($15). It was served with sour dough and breakfast potatoes. It was good, and helped fill the kids up a little (I didn’t want them to eat just pancakes for a meal).

This is the Peanut butter batter, with homemade chocolate-hazelnut and bananas. It was kickass.

And this is the Chocolate batter with bananas. The chocolate flavour was dense and really came through, but is a bit much if you’re having the whole bottle to yourself!

Last Bite: Have a blast making cute (and delicious) pancake designs at Slappy Cakes. The kids will love joining in on the fun!

Highchairs: Yes
Easy access: Yes
Change tables: Yes (in the mall)
Kids’ menu: No

Slappy Cakes
The Grandstand, #01-20/21
200 Turf Club Road
Singapore 287994
Phone: 6465 1814
Prices: $$
Hours: Mon – Fri: 10:00 am – 9:30 pm, Sat – Sun: 8:00 am – 9:30 pm

I must’ve driven past My Little Spanish Place at least a hundred times in the past two years in Singapore, but never noticed it. It’s located right next to Coronation Plaza, along a row of shophouses. I’m glad that I discovered it on the Singapore Restaurant Week list, or we’d have never realised this little gem existed.

It’s cozy and the atmosphere is warm when you walk in. They pride themselves on serving authentic Spanish home-style food, with an extensive menu to choose from.

At centre stage is their Jamon Bar. Legs of ham are flown in from Spain, and represent their gourmet charcuterie. It was both impressive and kind of scary to see!

Their Cafe con Leche/Spanish Latte is basically a standard latte, brewed using Spanish beans. It was very mild and quite milky.

I was delighted with our appetizers. Both were incredibly kid friendly!! Our kids slurped it all up with gusto 🙂

The Meatballs in tomato sauce were very well cooked, with soft meatballs and a rich tomato gravy that wasn’t too salty. Bread was provided for mopping up the extra gravy.

The Chicken soup with angel hair pasta would probably be a bit bland and boring for the grown ups, but our kids loved it. In particular, the chickpeas were really soft and we could mush everything down with a fork and spoon it all into waiting mouths.

Apologies for the horrifically poor picture, which belies the fact that this dish was delicious. This is their Fried fresh chorizo with eggs and toasted country bread and the star is, of course, the chorizo. It was cooked to perfection – little juicy chunks that were charred just-right, and packed a real tasty punch. It was paired very well with our creamy scrambled eggs.

We were also pleased with the Jamon, serrano, menchego, with eggs on toasted country bread. The Spanish ham is sliced to order from their Jamon Bar, and the thin slivers are laid carefully on the bread, then topped with two fried eggs. It’s a lovely combination and the portion size was sufficient.

I personally am not a fan of creme caramel desserts so the Creme catalana didn’t excite me. It’s a lemon and orange infused custard dessert with a crunchy burnt caramel crust, and Chris loved it. Hunter wasn’t impressed. Carter gobbled it all up.

I guess we were 50/50 😉

I felt right at home with the warm service at My Little Spanish Place, and I appreciated how food arrived swiftly and was well executed. It does seem like we were at a Spanish friend’s place, and the kids obviously enjoyed themselves as they had zero fussiness and were on top behaviour throughout.

 
 
Last Bite: My Little Spanish Place impresses with its home-style Spanish cuisine and warm ambience. Chorizo and jamon are the stars of their menu, though our kids really rated their appetizers.
 
Highchairs: Yes
Easy access: Yes
Change tables: No
Kids’ menu: No

My Little Spanish Place
619 Bukit Timah Road
Singapore 269720
Phone: 6463 2810
Prices: $$$
Hours: Mon: 6:30 pm – 11:00 pm, Fri: 6:30 pm – 11:00 pm, Sat – Sun: 9:30 am – 3:00 pm, 6:30 pm – 11:00 pm
 
 

Nook has a really kitschy but alluring offering of make-your-own pancakes. It’s a simple concept, but executed oh so well!

Why can’t I just make my own pancake batter and do it at home?, you ask.

Well technically you can. But here, you get that large iron plate smack bang in the middle of the table so everyone can have a go easily (instead of you sweating over a skillet in your kitchen trying to churn out the pancakes for the hungry folk sitting at the table). And, best of all, the pancake batter comes in squeezy bottles that make it SO MUCH FUN! And yes, you can just pour your batter into these bottles at home too, but who can be bothered to wash them out afterwards?

And of course, kids love the place.

Hunter was fascinated and delighted with the whole concept. He didn’t make his own pancakes – a combination of him not liking being around “hot” things for fear of hurting himself, and also because he was very happy just eating our creations. But, he loved watching us and was filled with glee every time a pancake was plonked onto his plate.

We got 1 buttermilk and 1 dark chocolate, which makes enough pancakes for 2 people, despite the bottles looking deceptively small. You also get to choose your sides, which you can see here. We picked banana slices and oreos.

And off you go!

The hardest part is getting the heat right. First, it was too hot, then too cold, then finally it was just right. So we wasted probably about 1/4 of the pancake batter just trying to figure it out. A bit annoying.

That said, the pancake batter is excellent. Fluffy and moist, with lovely flavour. We loved them. And Hunter certainly did.. he ate so many I got a bit worried he might pop!!!

PROMISE NOT TO LAUGH at my creations below.

I know I am not creative and a crap artist, so hence the demented-looking pancakes. Hey, Hunter appreciated them!

We also ordered the Truffle me up – thick buttered brioche toast with eggs, ham and cheddar cheese and drizzled with truffle oil. Boy, this was really good. Simple ingredients but they melded together beautifully. The brioche was buttery soft and fluffy, and the ingredients were so tasty combined with the scent of truffle oil. Deeeelish.

And because my brain totally short-circuits when I see the words red velvet, I simply had to get the Red velvet pancakes. This is a must-order IMHO. Frankly, it looks helluva lot more appetizing than my DIY creations, and it was tasty to boot. Moist and lovely, with a cream cheese filling. Excellent.

This place is an absolute hit with kids, and it’s still fun to go with gfs. You can make silly pancakes and see who’s the best artist. Except don’t compare with me please 😉

My only beef is the location – it’s in a bit of a random place so we have to head home straight afterwards since there’s nothing else to do there…

 
 
Last Bite: Nook DIY House of Pancakes guarantees a fun time for kids (and big kids too).
 
Highchairs: Yes
Easy access: Yes
Change tables: No
Kids’ menu: No

Nook DIY House of Pancakes
21 Lorong Kilat #01-03
Singapore 598123
Phone: 6466 1811
Prices: $$$
Hours: Mon – Fri: 12:00 pm – 10:00 pm, Sat – Sun: 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
 
This food review was first published at Beverly’s Adventures!
 

I’ve only been to Marmalade Pantry at The Stables once before, since it’s in a bit of a stand-alone random location, and I’m normally at their branch in ION mall. The difference is that the branch at The Stables is more of a proper sit-down restaurant, has a wider menu, and has a nice outdoor area if you don’t mind sitting in the heat. The service here is really nice, and the staff were a great help since Chris and I were juggling 2 kids (you have to walk up/down a set of stairs to get in).

Going out with 2 kids under 2 can get really manic, starting from just trying to leave the house! But we managed to get ourselves together and lucked out because Carter slept through the whole thing and Hunter was pretty well-behaved. Whew.

I absolutely love the drinks at Marmalade Pantry, though they are stupendously expensive. Really wish they would be reasonable about their prices! One of my faves is their Iced latte, and also their Strawberry milkshake. The latter is a deliciously creamy blend of strawberries and vanilla ice cream.. utterly decadent but so worth it 🙂

Their rendition of Spaghetti carbonara is one of the best I’ve had in Singapore. The sauce is creamy but not too sticky/rich, and it comes with a perfectly poached egg perched on top. One poke of the fork and all the creamy yolk drizzles into the pasta.. OH SO GOOOOOOD!!!! And, as you can see in the photo below, Hunter was dead eager to get his lil hands on the pasta, and he loved it too 😉

The Steak sandwich comes with 2 pieces of steak, pretty impressive! The steak was tender and juicy, and pretty spot-on for a fab steak sandwich. I didn’t like the wasabi mayo that came with it, but that’s just personal preference because I’m a bit of a wuss and can’t handle spice or chilli.

The Egg breakfast looked very colourful and fun, but seemed pretty standard. Then again, I didn’t try any of it so I can’t quite comment on how good it was. I suppose it was nice enough for a good brunch place? The portion size was pretty impressive to boot.

The Crabmeat linguini is actually the only dish I’ve ever ordered every time I’ve been to Marmalade Pantry previously. It’s always excellent. The portion of pasta is sufficient to fill my belly, and the amount crabmeat is really generous. Be wary though – their version is pretty spicy, so if you don’t like it so, just ask them for less or no spice.

We decided that our brunch is not completely without dessert, though the boys weren’t that eager for it 😉 I really enjoyed the Bananas and berries hotcakes, which came out looking so pretty. They were stacked in a tower thanks to slices of bananas… and Hunter’s eyes went WIDE when the dish appeared at our table. The hotcakes were fluffy and the fruit were a nice addition. A must-order if you’re a pancake fan!

My girl friend decided to get the Caramelised pear and salted caramel bread pudding to share with the table. I was a bit “EHHH??” when she picked it, because it was something I’d never think of ordering. It was a bit strange in terms of texture and taste.. almost like a wet sponge cake? It was also wrapped in some sort of filo pastry I think. But despite thinking it was a bit of a strange dish, it was actually good 🙂 The boys also thought it was way better than the Hotcakes. It was a unique creation which is always nice to see in a restaurant!

I really like this branch of Marmalade Pantry because it seems quieter and somewhat more child-friendly. It just feels more chill since it’s a standalone restaurant, compared to the other branch in ION mall. That said, it’s always good to eat in a mall, because then there’s something to do afterwards.. whereas when we come here, we pretty much go home straight after 😉

Last Bite: Marmalade Pantry is the place du jour for a chill brunch with family and friends. They aren’t cheap, but do serve up delicious food.

Highchairs: Yes
Easy access: Yes (albeit with a handful of steps you need to go up)
Change tables: No
Kids’ menu: No

Marmalade Pantry
55 Fairways Drive
Singapore 286846
Phone: 6467 7748
Prices: $$$$$
Hours: Tue-Fri 3pm-10pm, Sat-Sun 10am-11pm

This food review was first published at Beverly’s Adventures!

I’d heard about Choupinette via a couple of girl friends and was keen to check it out, but it took me a couple of months to get there because it’s in a bit of a random location. It’s not in a shopping mall (always my favoured place to dine, because I can push Hunter around in his stroller afterwards whilst he naps), and not even in the middle of the city. I’m glad we finally made our way there though, because I really enjoyed it!

It was pretty packed on a Sunday afternoon, so I’d recommend going on a weekday if you can, or early on a weekend. The staff, however, were really friendly and prompt, which made for a great experience. I liked the vintage-feel of the decor and wood furniture, and the casual vibe of the place.

The menu isn’t huge, but it does the job and we thoroughly enjoyed the food. Not cheap, but not expensive either. The Eggs Royale set was priced at $21 and came with Eggs on toast with smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce, with a hot beverage and juice.

The Hot chocolate came out in a large cup and was lovely and creamy – I liked it, though Chris found it merely ‘alright’. The Pineapple juice was more disappointing to me, as it was basically the carton/cordial type, and nothing to shout about. At least they gave free flow of complimentary chilled water 😉

The Eggs on toast with smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce was awesome. Yes, it IS simple as you can see in the photo, but they do the eggs perfectly. It’s not easy to get perfectly-done poached eggs in Singapore for some reason, so I was impressed with Choupinette’s. Beautifully creamy and runny, without being undercooked. The smoked salmon was lovely and fresh, and brought a nice punch of flavour to the creamy eggs and bread. Tops!

The Croque Madame wasn’t exactly on the cheap side at $18, but at least it was superb! 2 thin slices of bread sandwiching lashings of ham and bechamel sauce, and grilled with a sunny side-up egg on top. The sandwich was really tasty without being overly salty, and the fried egg was luscious. Will definitely order this one again!

The Palais Royale is a dense chocolate mousse that’s rich and creamy, with a very full-bodied chocolate flavour. It’s fab. The base has some crispy hazelnut(?) bits in it and is the perfect accompaniment to the smooth mousse.

We also got the Chocolate-covered donut which was fantastic – creamy, good quality chocolate on a soft doughy donut. I normally don’t like these things because they taste really synthetic or overly sweet, but this was lovely.

The Marmalade donut was the same donut base but shaped in a ball, dusted with sugar and with a squirt of jam inside. I thought it was alright, but hard for me to compare as I normally don’t order this.

And, of course, I got the Chocolate croissant ($2.90). I simply cannot resist these and always get them at every cafe that has these babies 😉 It was fluffy, buttery, and lovely.

I’d go back to Choupinette for sure. Lovely food, great service, and an all-round good experience. Just wish they were in the middle of Orchard Road!

Last Bite: A lovely French cafe serving tasty cuisine, that’s casual and cheerful. It gets pretty packed, so go early.

Highchairs: Yes
Easy access: Yes
Change tables: No
Kids’ menu: No

Choupinette
607 Bukit Timah Rd #01-01
Singapore 269708
Phone: 6466 0613
Prices: $$$
Hours: Tue-Sat: 8am-8pm, Sun: 8am-6pm

This food review was first published at Beverly’s Adventures!