What better way to spend a Wednesday afternoon than to take a nice long never-ending drive to the other end of Singapore for lunch. Well the plan was to check out Table Manners at Changi City Point (which was a serious maze to get to) but they were already closed for lunch by the time we got there. So we headed to Eggs & Berries next door!

It's a pretty place, all pink and brightly lit. The chairs reminded me of candy canes and my friend really wanted to take them home. But I guess what really set Eggs & Berries apart was their extensive menu and how affordable everything was.

We had the Pan Seared Smoked Chicken & Eggs ($10.70), a hearty portion of chicken, rosti, tomato, baked beans, salad, poached eggs and 3 mini buttermilk pancakes on the side. A good balance of savory and sweet in one meal. The poached eggs were nicely done but there wasn't much to shout about for the rest of the food. But hey no complains since the meal was pretty much a steal at $10.70 and definitely filling, especially after an hour's drive.

Pan Seared Smoked Chicken & Eggs ($10.70)

We also tried the Spicy Lamb Sausage & Eggs ($11.70) which was pretty similar, with the eggs scrambled and the sausage replacing the chicken. The pancakes were served with mini jars of chocolate, maple and strawberry syrup. I had quite a bit of fun mixing the syrups up.

Spicy Lamb Sausage & Eggs ($11.70)

Eggs & Berries is a casual place to hang out for a decent affordable meal. While it isn't the best all day breakfast place around, it does serve some pretty damn good eggs. But for someone who lives on the other side of Singapore, I'd probably head to Hatched for some eggs instead!


Eggs & Berries

So we popped by Arbite for a quick dessert indulgence. Indie cafes with quirky names like Wimbly Lu and Arbite seem to be quite the trend these days. Spent a good few minutes entertaining myself (and annoying Dee) with "We're going to Arbite for Arrrrr(Our) Bite" - I'd like to believe my sense of humor is acquired.

Dee had her obvious choice of dessert or rather what she'd say was the "best of both worlds" in one - Gula Meleka Tiramisu ($8.00). Topped with berries and served in a cute glass, this light and fluffy dessert was made up of a rich layer of gula meleka mascarpone and a dense base of sponge fingers that were soaked in liquor and coffee. Just the right consistency and sweetness, this dessert is definitely one of the better tiramisus we've tasted!

Gula Melaka Tiramisu ($8.00)

I settled for the Fruit Terrine ($7.00)! Layers of berries, bananas, citrus segments held together by a passion fruit jelly served with a delicious scoop of classic Vanilla ice cream. It was a light and refreshing alternative to the usual calorie-heavy desserts.

Fruit Terrine ($7.00)

I liked Arbite, white washed walls with random Lego bricks, unpretentious food and friendly waiters - it's a great place for a casual mid afternoon hang out. Even though we're not big fans of cakes for dessert, Arbite's famous My Wife's Chocolate Cake is one thing on the menu we'd wanna share when we're back again for brunch!




Arbite 
66 Serangoon Garden Way
Singapore 555962
Tel:+65 6287 0430

Opening Hours: Tues - Fri: 11:30AM - 10:30PM, Sat - Sun: 11:00AM - 10:30PM
(Closed on Mondays)

Turned out we had some time to kill before Ang Lee's Life of Pi and as usual, we popped by the nearest cafe to laze around for a bit with some breakfast for lunch (cause saying brunch just isn't as fun). The service was probably as long as the movie. Okay I kid. But hey it was pretty slow that day, could be a busy weekday afternoon.

I've always found the interior and deco of Pique Nique to be a tad quirky - the brick walls, the hanging lights, mismatched furniture and the tiny jar of soil found on each table. The outlet at JCube is much bigger and cosier. So we decided to go with the Farmer's Omelette ($12.80) and the Eggs Ben for Dee - she's in a poached eggs phase.

Farmer's Omelette ($12.80)

The presentation of my three egg omelette could have been improved, but that was made up for once I cut through it to reveal a hidden gem of bacon, sausage, potatoes, mushroom, onions and tomatoes! I was pretty satisfied.

Eggs Benedict ($12.00)

As for Dee, she's easily contented with her Eggs Benedict ($12.00) as long as the eggs are cooked to perfection: yolk is runny and oozes all over and soaks the English muffin underneath. Runny egg yolks - check! While Prive remains close to her heart on the Eggs Benedict chart, these weren't too far from the top. The steamed ham was pretty bland though, nothing special.

Hot Iron Waffle with Maple Syrup ($11.80)

The best part of Pique Nique? Hot Iron Waffle with Maple Syrup ($11.80). Made upon order, this was warm and crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. The homemade vanilla ice cream was a perfect complement and delicious on it's own - creamy and silky smooth, you could even see the vanilla pods! I've been there thrice, just for the waffle, yes it's that good.




Pique Nique's a pretty nice place to head to for some after meal dessert, their cupcakes and coloured macarons are a definite visual treat and their waffles are easily one of the best we've had!


Pique Nique
#B1-01 Takashimaya Shopping Centre
Ngee Ann City Tower A
391A Orchard Road
Tel: +65 6238 6705

What better restaurant to find at the mezzanine level of Grand Hyatt hotel, than Mezza9 itself! The place offers an interesting upscale dining experience in an otherwise casual and laid back ambience. We chose the Set Dinner ($79.90), which allowed us to customize our menu from their array of international cuisines.

Complimentary bread with tomato dip

For starters, we were each served a warm Blue Swimmer Crab Cake with Remoudale sauce (similar to Tartare sauce). These balls, in the style of cutlets, were breaded and fried to give a crispy coat that was an absolute delight to bite into. Evidently I was too engrossed in them that I missed a shot of their signature appetizer. A great start to dinner, I secretly wished they'd serve us a second round!

Along with the crab cakes, we had Smoked Scottish Salmon which was beautifully garnished with chopped egg, herbs and sour cream. This dish was not only aesthetically pleasing, but tasted good too.

Smoked Scottish Salmon

From the Japanese cuisine, we ordered 8 skewers of Assorted Yakitori which included Beef, Chicken-leek, Chicken meat ball, Chicken wing, Pork-belly onion, Tomato-bacon, Sword fish-chilli and Smelt fish. These were marinated in Yakitori sauce, a type of sweetened soy sauce, which perfectly complemented the grilled meat. My favourite was the good ol' chicken meat ball, which were of decent sizes and seasoned generously with pepper.

Assorted Yakitori

For the main course, we had Wok fried rice with shrimp, Hong Kong kai lan, Steamed Seabass fillets with ginger paste and orange peel, and Wok fried chicken with cashew nuts and dried chillies. The chicken was similar to the dry chilli chicken preparation from a hawker center, except sadly this one had more dried chillies than the meat itself. And what's a fusion cuisine without lamb rack! So we ordered some Char-grilled lamb rack with buttered asparagus and parmesan. The meat was done medium-rare and had too much fat for my liking.

Steamed Seabass fillets

And now to the best part of dinner - the desserts! I was seriously spoilt for choice, but my favourite was the Vanilla & Praline Mille-feuille topped with assorted berries. This popular French dessert was made up of alternating layers of puff pastry and whipped cream, and when tasted, a silky smooth custard and a burst of berry flavours pushed all the right buttons for me.

Vanilla & Praline Mille-feuille

The Chocolate Fondant with coffee sauce is a match made in heaven for real chocolate lovers. With a thin crust-like chocolate outer coat and a soft centre of rich molten chocolate, this warm dessert was sure to send off enough endorphins to keep me happy for the night.

Chocolate Fondant

Next in line to tingle my tastebuds was the Granny Smith Apple Crumble with custard sauce and Tahitian Vanilla bean ice cream. The apple pie which was served in a ramekin had a delicate cinammon crust in the shape of a dome, and the custard sauce was served separately in a shot glass. Unfortunately, the dessert had me embarrassingly licking the sweet custard off the spoon to neutralize the taste of the sour apple crumble.

Granny Smith Apple Crumble

Banana & Passionfruit Crêpe

AND THERE'S MORE. Mango, raspberry and chocolate Sorbets, for the reduced guilt pleasures in life. Served elegantly in a martini glass, the sorbets came with a cripsy chocolate coated wafer in between them; well I guess they have their ways in just throwing in extra calories. The flavoured sorbets were refreshing and a perfect wrap to the feast.

Sorbet

With its dim lights and lovely setting, Mezza9 is the place you'd wanna bring your date to impress, though be prepared to keep your wallets full to maximize the experience here. I wouldn't mind going back again (with Su this time) to savour their famed cakes over a cosy afternoon tea!