Tucked away on the second level among the Holland Village shops, Mu Parlour is accessible via a narrow and nondescript staircase. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of entrance, so you really need to be on the lookout to realise there’s a cafe upstairs.
For this reason, Mu Parlour is generally pretty quiet, with customers that are either regulars or via word-of-mouth. It’s an excellent choice if you’re after a relaxed and quiet brunch, and also kid-friendly because the area is very self-contained and the large window offers kids a bit of a birds-eye view of the people below, which keeps them quiet for awhile 😉
I loved their Strawberry milkshake ($7.80). It was creamy and cold, and just the refreshment we needed on a warm day. Bonus points for the cool glass mason mugs they use!
The No. 11 Beef, avocado, bacon, MU secret sauce ($15) was quite the stunner. The black bun (squid ink?) was soft, and the beef patty was perfectly juicy and the richness of the beef really came through. I loved the generous helping of cheese and ‘secret sauce’ and thought the burger was very well executed. I’d get this one again for sure.
Special mention to their fries too – I love how they serve shoestring fries, my favourite! They add a generous scattering of fried garlic and herbs on top of the fries, which elevates them to yummilicious levels.
Last Bite: Mu Parlour offers a quiet and relaxed reprieve from the busyness of Holland Village. Their milkshakes and No. 11 burger comes highly recommended!
Highchairs: Yes Easy access: No (stairs up to second floor) Change tables: No Kids’ menu: No
Mu Parlour
16A Lorong Mambong
Singapore 277677
Phone: 6466 9336
Prices: $$
Hours: Mon – Thu: 11:00 am – 11:00 pm, Fri: 11:00 am – 1:00 am, Sat: 9:00 am – 1:00 am, Sun: 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
My girl friend and I did a quick pop into Craft Bakery Cafe one morning, as they are one of the (very few) cafes that are open on a Monday. What is it with so many cafes being closed on Mondays? Not good for us mummies who brunch…. grrrrr!
So top marks to Craft Bakery Cafe for being open on a Monday! But the downside to dropping in early in the morning when there are very few diners around? A heavy shortage of staff. Or maybe their (one) chef in the kitchen is just incredibly, incredibly s-l-o-w. We waited 45 minutes (!!!!) for two sandwiches to be made, and the scrambled eggs I’d ordered for Carter also took 45 minutes, so he was a total nervous wreck by then from hunger and tiredness. Sigh.
You can choose between a medium or large beverage, so I went for the Large latte ($6.50) as I needed a pick-me-up at 9:30AM in the morning. It was a lovely brew and well made, but was completely stone-cold by the time my food arrived (I drink my coffee with or after my meal), so it didn’t taste as good.
Since the scrambled eggs (a side dish order) arrived 45 minutes after ordering, Carter was a bit of a mess by then. He was starving and polished the whole dish off by himself, in maybe 5 minutes flat.
I was very interested in the sandwich my girl friend ordered, dubbed The Craft ($11.50) – maple candied bacon and apple slaw on waffle grids. It sounded so interesting and is their signature sandwich, so I was eager to see it. It did look odd! But, my girl friend claimed the sweet-and-salty combination worked, and at least it’s unusual and not the same-old-same-old food every other cafe has.
The waffles are not fresh made-to-order though, which is a shame. This means they are slightly on the dry side, though the apple slaw sauce does help to make up for it.
I thoroughly enjoyed my Crispy prawns with herb mayo ($13.90). It is kind of like a po’boy. The bun was fluffy and large, studded with lots of superbly crisp prawns and fresh lettuce. It hit the spot and was sufficient to fill me up for brunch. I would have loved for this to be served with fries as well, though.
The glass display cabinet was looking a little bare, but I assume that’s because we were there early in the morning. Suspiciously, it had some cakes that had just a few slices remaining… which led me to wonder if they were leftovers from the day before (since we were there so early that morning). For that reason, I didn’t order any cakes for dessert, as I was worried the cakes would be dry from being stored overnight.
Last Bite: Craft Bakery Cafe is open on Mondays, which is a real plus. The Crispy prawns sandwich was a hit, and they serve a very decent cuppa. Just brace yourselves for a very long wait for your food if you’re there in the morning!
Highchairs: Yes Easy access: Yes Change tables: No Kids’ menu: No
Craft Bakery Cafe
Holland Village
24A Lorong Mambong
Singapore 277183
Phone: 6467 7710
Prices: $$
Hours: Mon – Sun: 9:00 am – 11:00 pm
Hatched first opened near the Singapore Botanic Gardens, but since you have to walk/drive there from the Gardens, I’d just never made the effort to go despite wanting to check it out. So I was really pleased when they opened in Holland Village a few weeks ago!
They had a full house on a Sunday morning for brunch, though they do have an upper floor that I didn’t see. The staff there are really lovely and friendly, and the food came out promptly. I also really like their small, cartoony menus, with pictures of the food (I’m a visual kinda person).
The industrial-style interior of Hatched
Super cute menu
Chilling out
Trying on Dad’s sunglasses
I immediately got the Iced Latte, a bit of a staple drink for me wherever I go. It came out looking very nice, but was so so so weak! I’m not sure if it’s because they use just 1 shot or if their coffee is just weak, but I basically couldn’t taste any coffee. As Chris put it, “I can taste the plain milk, and plain milk barely has any flavour in the first place!”. Very disappointing.
Iced Latte ($5.50) – too weak for words 🙁
I had the French onion sandwich – caramelised onions and cheese, filled with a juicy steak on ciabatta, served with homemade mash and….. just….. WOW. Ranks right up there with one of the best steak sandwiches I’ve had. The steak was actually fairly thick (many steak sandwiches use super-thin steak that’s almost nonexistent), and so tender! The dish actually looked pretty uninteresting, but it was totally delicious. Massive thumbs up and this is a definite re-order.
French onion sandwich – caramelised onions and cheese, filled with a juicy steak on ciabatta, served with homemade mash ($18)
The Burly Benedict – poached eggs and corned beef on English muffins sounds a bit strange with the corned beef and all, but it worked. I don’t think I’ve had corned beef before, and Mum said that in the old days, some people would eat corned beef at home because it was really cheap yet tasty. I can see why – it’s similar to sausage or spam in taste, and I think it comes in a can as well? Anyway, it’s super tasty!! It gave the whole dish a bit of a kick and was a nice substitute to regular smoked salmon Eggs Benedict (though you can order that traditional version at Hatched as well).
Burly Benedict – poached eggs and corned beef on English muffins
The Sleepover Hatched special – French brioche drizzled with maple syrup, grilled bananas and streaky bacon sounded so good on the menu, and tasted good too. The Brioche was really fat and moist, and the combination with bacon and bananas was really good. Only downsides were, 1) bananas were over ripe so were black on the inside, 2) maple syrup may not have been 100% pure maple syrup but rather the flavoured stuff (not sure, can anyone confirm?). Still, the whole thing was tasty and I enjoyed it 🙂
Sleepover Hatched special – French brioche drizzled with maple syrup, grilled bananas and streaky bacon ($12)
I’d definitely go to Hatched again for their French Onion Sandwich, or to try other items on their menu. Only problem is that since they did such a bad/weak Latte, I’m a bit hesitant to as coffee is a critical part of my brunch 😉 They’re still pretty new though, so I’ll give them some time and go back again in a couple of weeks!
Last Bite: A fun little cafe nestled in the Holland Village area, that’s very cutesy for the kids. Hatched serves up a decent brunch, with very friendly and patient staff.
Highchairs: Yes Easy access: Yes Change tables: No Kids’ menu: No
Hatched
267 Holland Avenue
Singapore 278989
Phone: 6463 0012
Prices: $$$
Hours: Tue-Sun 9am to 11pm
d’Good Cafe has been around for over a year now.. but I’d only recently checked it out for the first time. And now I wish I’d discovered it a whole lot earlier!
Nestled upstairs in the Holland Village area, you have to take the stairs up (super baby-unfriendly) but there is a ‘secret’ lift accessible via the laser clinic next door. So fortunately I managed to get Carter and his stroller up with no fuss.
It’s an adorable cafe, split into 3 levels:
The lovely ‘lawn’. My favourite!!
Aren’t these swings so whimsical and cute?
And upstairs is a little nook, with loads of sunlight streaming in
On the rooftop you have a cute outdoor area. I think I’ll book this for my birthday dinner next month!!
You place your order at the counter inside (no service charge here, whee!) and take your buzzer and find a table. It’s all very fuss free and food and drinks arrive quickly.
The counter. Check out the water dispenser – love complimentary water!
The staff are friendly and service is efficient. I thoroughly enjoyed my Fresh sea prawn aglio olio which came with copious amounts of fried garlic (mmmm) and with lots of prawns. It was pretty perfect a dish, and I would most definitely re-order this again next time. I’m trying to figure out when I can bring Dad here… cos he LOVES this dish and d’Good Cafe’s version is outstanding!
Fresh sea prawn aglio olio ($16)
Eggs Benedict ($13.50)
We tried their famous Maple sea-salt cheesecake and it didn’t disappoint. It’s their signature dish baked by the cafe’s owner each morning, and is usually sold out by noon (!). The cheesecake was fluffy soft and moist, with a mild flavour. What stood out was the tracings of maple syrup, offset with the sharp saltiness of the sea salt. It was pretty delicious 🙂
Maple sea-salt cheesecake
My Iced latte was lovely and no complaints there, though next time I’ll go for a hot latte as I hear their foam art is gorgeous 🙂 My girl friend rated the Iced chocolate as “really really good”.
Iced latte and Iced chocolate
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to d’Good Cafe, and considering it’s pretty close to where I live, I’m definitely going to be back!
Good grief, Carter’s arm is as wide as mine……..
Such a cute pic of bub and pretty mummy!
I tried to get Carter to pose nicely next to the d’Good Cafe sign.. but he kept waving his arms and legs around like a drunken sailor and refused to cooperate.
Last Bite: Gorgeous little cafe with a delicious menu and cute swings for kids to sit on or play. Look for the lift if you go with a stroller in tow.
Highchairs: Yes Easy access: Yes (via the lift) Change tables: No Kids’ menu: No
