Carpenter & Cook has a pretty unfortunate location for most (it’s far out west) but since I do live far out west, I consider it a pretty brilliant location! 😉 That said, I do reckon it’s worth the trip because you’ll find few (no?) cafes like it in Singapore.

Look at the cafe, in all it’s beautiful vintage charm:

Most of the vintage decor and furniture in the cafe is up for sale, but they don’t come cheap. Personally, I love poking around their lovely cookies-in-a-bag and homemade jam (which are delicious!).

They don’t do any freshly-cooked hot food, which is a bit odd and a huge shame. To compensate, they offer a (pretty impressive) selection of pastries, tarts, and desserts. Everything is displayed by the counter, which is fantastic for a visual order-er such as myself. I feel like I’m spoiled for choice!

Some of their beverages are served in these gorgeous old-school mugs. I LOVE them. Complimentary water is offered – huge props to them for this!

Their coffee comes in a tiny mug, but is deliciously creamy.

The Croissant is a total STAR. Flaky layers of pastry, with a buttery fluffy inside. Carter gobbled this right up!

I personally love the Almond croissant, which I’d recommend if you feel like something sweet. It’s a regular croissant draped in a crisp almond ‘cap’, and scattered with almond flakes. Delicious.

Their Quiche was a startlingly tiny slice for the price, I’d expected double the portion size. It’s enough for a petite snack, but is not sufficient (by FAR) if you’re thinking of having this dish as a main meal. That’s a shame, because the quiche is delicious, especially that buttery crumbly crust.

Ahhh their Sea salt and caramel chocolate tart, which is famous by now. I’ve had it almost ten times, and it’s consistently good. It’s small for what you pay, but at least it’s done perfectly!

Their Brownie pales in comparison to the chocolate tart (above). It’s nice, but nothing to shout about. In fact, I’ve actually completely forgotten what this tasted like..

Standing near the entrance of Carpenter & Cook, isn’t the interior just lovely?!

 
Last Bite: Carpenter & Cook serves up absolutely delicious pastries, tarts and desserts, albeit on the tiny side. But it’s the gorgeous vintage interior that truly charms us!
 
Highchairs: Yes
Easy access: Yes
Change tables: No
Kids’ menu: No

Carpenter & Cook
19 Lorong Kilat #01-06
Singapore 598120
Phone: 6463 3648
Prices: $$
Hours:
Tue – Sat: 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sun: 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
 
 

I’ve been to The Marmalade Pantry at the stables a couple of times, but never had a chance to write a review. I’m not sure why I never got round to it, because it’s a fantastic place for the family! The car park area is outdoors (the restaurant is in a standalone building) so be prepared for a super-heated car afterwards, but at least in the meantime, you’ll be dining in cool comfort indoors (though there are outdoor tables).

I’ve always loved The Marmalade Pantry for their drinks – they are consistently good. I personally find the Strawberry shake with ice cream ($9) is heart-stoppingly expensive (hey, it can get me THREE meals at the hawker centre!) but damn it is good. And at least it’s served in a large glass. It’s thick, full of ice cream, loads of flavour, and has fresh strawberries. The kids LOVE this shake, so this is always a must-order for us.

And their Iced Latte ($9) is always a winner. If I remember correctly, the menu said it had ice cream in it, but I also don’t -recall ours having any on this particular day, apart from lots of ice to chill the coffee-poured-on-top-of-milk combination. It’s a delight to have this chilled drink, though, on a hot and lazy weekend. Just a shame about the price!

Hunter and Carter share a Scrambled eggs with sausages and toast soldiers ($12), from the kids menu. The polish half off each, and are still hungry. So I realise that the portion size is pretty small for a kid and very young children can order one meal each. The eggs are done well, and the sausage is tasty, so I’m just happy they’ve gobbled it all up.

I’m impressed with the Steak sandwich with wasabi mayonnaise, caramelized onions and rocket ($24) and how it is presented. Laid out on a large platter, this is an EXCELLENT dish for a hearty eater – you won’t be disappointed. Even if the steak and large bun doesn’t fill you, there’s a tumble of (absolutely delicious) sweet potato fries that will.

The Spaghetti carbonara with soft-cooked egg, bacon bits and parsley ($24) is freaking awesome. It always is, every single time. The sauce is beautifully creamy, the bacon bits are charred perfectly, and that wonderful poached egg…. ooh!! This dish is a winner if you’re into more-ish creamy foods.

After you’ve had your meal, the kids can stretch their legs at the horse stables right outside. The grass is green, the great outdoors does such good thing for kids, and we are all happy. The kids are delighted to check out the horses up-close!

 
A bit of a photo dump, but I just adore these photos my girl friend took of the kids! Sorry for the photo spam! 😛

 
Last Bite: Marmalade Pantry do killer (but expensive) drinks, and delicious mains. But what we love most is checking out the horses afterwards!
 
Highchairs: Yes
Easy access: Yes
Change tables: No
Kids’ menu: Yes

Marmalade Pantry
55 Fairways Dr
Singapore 286846
Phone: 6467 7748
Prices: $$$
Hours:
Tue – Fri: 15:00 – 23:00
Sat – Sun: 10:00 – 23:00
 
 

I’ve been to Violet Oon’s Kitchen a couple of times previously, but this was our first time there during Restaurant Week. The black-and-white bistro features signature Nyona food with a slight fusion twist, making the restaurant a very unique find in Singapore.

The kids were particularly pleased with the paper tablemats, which I could flip over and they could draw to their hearts content on.

The appetizer trio was beautifully presented, and was very very petite but pretty adorable. The Ngo Hiang was crispy on the outside but moist on the inside, and it was basically like a Chinese sausage. The Nasi Kuning had a lovely coconut flavour and was tinged bright yellow, however the rice was slightly on the hard side so the kids had a bit of trouble swallowing it! My piece of Beef Rendang was ATROCIOUS and inedible – it was simply one piece of gristle/chewy tendon and zero meat. When I pointed this out to the server, he was nonplussed and just said “Oh ok”, without doing anything about it.

A restaurant should always empower staff to fix problems and mistakes swiftly and positively.

I adored the Meatless meatball pasta. Yeah, you heard that right – they’re meatless meatballs!! And yet, they’re DELICIOUS. Made with walnuts and parmesan, these balls are fat and moist and just divine. This is the 3rd time I’ve had this dish, and I love it every time.

Their signature Vio’s shepherds pie arrives piping hot in a small pot. The potato is creamy and very buttery, and the meat inside is extremely tender though highly over-salted. 50% less salt and this dish would have been perfect. Wonderful comfort food on a rainy day 🙂

The Dry laksa features a coconut-based reduction and packs a real taste-punch! If you like laksa, you’ll like this. It’s spicy and sour and comes with fat prawns. Unfortunately for me, it also came with bean sprouts..

Their desserts are massive! The Bread and butter pudding with whiskey sauce needs to be shared between two people or you’ll overload on your carbs 😉 It’s a fat chunk of moist pudding, sitting in a pool of whiskey sauce that is pretty potent!

The Pulot hitam with vanilla ice cream was pretty overwhelming, as it came in a large deep dish with a giant scoop of ice cream. It’s sure to delight a dessert lover because it will fill you right up! I really enjoyed this – the plainness of the black rice went very well with the sweetness of the ice cream, and the hot and cold temperatures worked. I also like to tell myself that this is healthier than many other desserts out there…

 
Last Bite: Violet Oon’s Kitchen features traditional Nyonya food with a fusion twist, in a lovely bistro that’s comfortable and not too crowded. Be warned: their desserts are huge!
 
Highchairs: Yes
Easy access: Yes
Change tables: No
Kids’ menu: No

Violet Oon’s Kitchen
881 Bukit Timah Road
Singapore 279893
Phone: 6468 5430
Prices: $$$
Hours:
Tue – Thu: 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
Fri: 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Sat: 9:30 am – 11:00 pm
Sun: 9:30 am – 10:00 pm