Wish list - Cafés

Nothing compares to a handmade confection picked up at a homey bakery, better yet, while you're doing good at the same time. As part of giving back to the community, youths with disabilities from Rainbow Centre go on attachment with Out of the Cake Box, who help to nurture their talents in baking. Freshly baked daily, you should order the Takoh Belle ($50 for whole cake /$6.50 per slice). It's a delectable baked cheesecake that is infused with fresh pandan extract, topped with a frothy sweet corn mousse and a sturdy coconut custard. There's a lot going on, but thankfully the flavours are well-balanced, never overwhelming and it all comes together beautifully — just be sure to get every layer of the cake in a forkful! Pro tip: Keep your eyes peeled for their elusive Mango Sticky Rice ($48.80 for whole cake / $6 per slice) that is only available when Thai honey mangoes are in season!
Avg price: $10 per person
Photo by Burppler Hilary See

Why have I ever thought that the pairing Thai milk tea and coconut would be weird?! Having the Thai Tea Twister atop a frozen husk, I enjoyed the pleasant combination of sweet coconut and the slight milk tea fragrance that brings a distinctive as well as lingering aftertaste of the tropics. With slices of coconut flesh at the side, the soft-serve could be a little icy in texture but definitely a refreshing treat after lunch. And if you are not a fan of Thai milk tea just go for the Soft Snow - rich coconut soft-serve in cups or coconut husk that is good too.

The TuckShop recently has launched their new menus for brunch & lunch, giving a thumbs up with the food selection that was offered during the tastemakers eat up!

Hands down to their brunch menu as my personal fav was The TuckShop Breakfast for Champions 🙌🏻.

Thanks @burpple & @thetuckshop for the exclusive invite!

Joining the eateries in Bukit Timah Plaza's new extension, Rise & Grind Coffee Co. offers both indoor and alfresco seating and serves coffee, brunch fare and a small selection of mains. With few cafes in this area, this is certainly a welcome addition. For brunch, go for the super photogenic and delightfully tasty Ocean's Thirteen ($17) — smoked salmon, poached eggs, asparagus, brioche toast, beetroot yogurt and yuzu hollandaise sauce. Massive trending points for having both beetroot and yuzu in one dish, and making it work well too! For lunch or dinner, go for the more substantial Shakshouka ($16) — lamb merguez sausage, baked egg in tomato sauce, feta cheese with wholemeal pita — or the Tom Yum Pasta ($16).

Fans of Monocle would be delighted to know that a brand new Monocle Cafe and retail store just set up shop in Holland Village. Located in the very residential Jalan Kelabu Asap, you can look forward to enjoying a great cuppa brewed with La Marzocco beans from New Zealand’s Allpress, and flip through copies of Monocle in their outdoor garden space. It's easy to miss, but for chill vibes and one of the best long blacks (according to Burppler Eileen Ong), it'll be beneficial to keep your eyes very peeled.

If you're bored of the usual brunch items that most cafes serve, then you should totally try the food at The Laneway Market. Joining several new cafes along the Tanjong Katong Road stretch, The Laneway Market offers unusual options such as Nacho Chicken and French Toast layered with Bacon and Baked Beans. For mains, try their Pulled Pork Burger and Gambas (soba topped with roasted sesame infused minced prawn). We hear they have a second storey currently in the works!

Taking over after Au Jardin at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Corner House channels its excitement by ushering in a new era of what Chef Jason Tan calls "gastro-botanic" cuisine. Surrounded by the gardens, Corner House places strong emphasis on seasonal produce and herbs. Order the free-range chicken with surf & turf sauce, and don't miss their impeccably presented cocoa pebble dessert, it might help you better understand why gastro-botanic was coined!

Whoever said you can only get good pasta at fancy Italian restaurants has not yet discovered the food at Ah Bong's Italian. Located in a humble coffeeshop in Tiong Bahru Estate, this stall serves up some mean Italian pasta - for just $6! For some perfect comfort food, get the Slow Cooked Pork Ragu, Ah Bong's Birthday Pasta (spaghetti served with broccoli cheese sauce and bacon) or Ah Bong’s Mac & Cheese with truffle oil. End off your meal with some unique crème brûlée - with flavours extending to earl grey, triple espresso, and Thai milk tea. Their incredibly satisfying, extremely affordable and regularly changing menu will keep you coming back!

With the third wave coffee movement happening all around Singapore, cafe food had somewhat turned repetitive and tiring for almost everyone is selling the same stuff. Not OTG Coffee however; this Serangoon cafe not only serves ice-cream and waffles, but also serve pretty decent toasts that feels pretty homely yet satisfying despite its simple execution. Still hungry? Grab a cake which is baked in-house for a dessert; the Sugee Cake especially is a hard find these days especially with such quality. Their coffee is also pretty robust for a non-hipster joint. Pretty homely space and food with sincere service that I would like to be back again for.

Opened with supper-goers in mind, GRUB Noodle Bar caters to the late-eaters and the ever-hungry by serving comforting bowls of beef noodles (from $12), Assam laksa ($13) and more with no MSG or artificial flavours. Also order the Hokkaido Scallop Tataki ($15) - fresh scallops torched with a mustard glaze and mandarin orange pieces, to share! Open from 7pm - 12.30am, this is really the perfect place for late dinners after work. Oh and yes, these are the same guys behind GRUB and FIX.

And All Things Delicious is Tolido's Espresso Nook's newest neighbour, which offers a wide variety for halal-certified bakes such as Gula-Melaka Scones, Brownies and Galettes. The baker insists on using unprocessed ingredients such as unsalted butter organic ingredients so as to make their bakes taste more "natural" and it shows; clean yet flavourful treats indeed. They also share their shop space with Fictive Fingers that does pretty decent handprinted textile designs, if anyone is interested.

Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked bread. The Dough Shoppe understands that, and focuses on offering delicious, handmade artisan bread alongside a menu of various sandwiches and all-day breakfast items. The sister cafe of Le Bijoux, The Dough Shoppe boasts a larger menu with more variety. Their set lunch satisfies with the soup of the day, a salad/ sandwich made with their lovely selection of breads, and a cup of coffee/ soft drink, which can be made even more complete with a tangy lemon drizzle cake for dessert.