Wild Honey

Read more food reviews at http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.com

We LOVE Wild Honey. They have the BEST eggs in SG. Truly. And contrary to reports, the service here is pretty alright. Professional, warm and enthusastic.

We always hit up the Scotts Square outlet, because they take reservations. And, even if we're unable to get reservations, the counter seats are always available (these aren't up for reservations so as to leave availability for walk-ins).

We had:

1) Portobello Road ($22): aka eggs benedict, was a duo of brioche towers layered with perfectly poached eggs on wilted spinach atop juicy baked portobello, spiced with sweet melted onions and coloured peppers, and a slathering of homemade Hollandaise sauce. I'm usually not a fan of Hollandaise sauces coz I find them too rich and cloying but Wild Honey's rendition is so utterly delicious. It was at the same time smooth, creamy, light and balanced

2) Tunisian ($19) a sizzling skillet pan of shakshouka - eggs fried in a cumin-and-paprika-spiced mix of tomatoes, onions, peppers, and studded with chorizo. Delicately spicy with sweetish elements, this was mouth-wateringly delicious and great soul food for chilly weather. A couple of thick buttery brioche were on hand to wipe up every last drop of the lip-smackingly good sauce while a crisp cucumber-centric Israeli salad cut through the grease and spice with its uplifting freshness

3) English ($24): basically the full works with heavenly scrambled eggs (these managed an incredible fluffiness that wasn't assisted by the heavy taste of cream), back bacon, a chunkily textured Cumberland pork sausage, juicy sauteed mushrooms, Dad's baked beans (enlivened with bacon and chili flakes), breakfast potatoes, grilled vine ripened tomatoes and 2 slices of their signature buttery brioche. Hearty solid stuff

4) Sauteed Shitake and Button Mushrooms ($6): simply seasoned with salt and pepper to leave the focus on the naturally juicy flavour of the fungi, then sprinkled with chives for an uplifting freshness

Visited Wild Honey at Scotts Square because I felt that Wild Honey needed a second chance after an exceptionally bad experience at Mandarin Gallery (p.s. I vow never to return to the MG branch!) The Scotts Square branch is a lot bigger, and the staff goes around to take the orders instead of having it at a counter where people queue and overcrowd it during peak meal times. The decor is two parts quaint and three parts vintage -plush cushioned seats, worn white-painted wooden tables, sets of china on the wall and carpets on the wooden floor.

For lunch, I ordered the Tunisian Breakfast ($19). Wild Honey's all-day-breakfast dining concepts are renowned and has inspired the brunch scene in Singapore while at the same time capturing hearts of fans (as well as converting new ones) with their extensive breakfast selections. They offer pancakes as well as different variations of American breakfasts -Santa Fe, California, New York etc. They also offer Mexican, Tunisian, Greek, English and Caribbean style breakfasts. Exotic, I agree. But do they really live up to their name in offering a spread that is not only authentic but also delectable? I wouldn't be so sure.The Tunisian Breakfast was really much better than I expected. It came in a pan (which was sizzling hot ) filled with chorizo (an Italian sausage), red peppers, two fried eggs, all drenched in a tomatoey stew-like sauce. The taste of the sauce was interesting, it was slightly spicy but also a bit sweet. I suspect that tomatoes were used as a base in this. It was a bit watery for my liking, but when eaten piping hot it was gorgeous! When left to sit for awhile however, the cold seeps into the stew and it starts to taste quite awful, unfortunately. Served with a side of thick toast and Israeli salad, I would say that these complemented the stew very well. The bread was lightly toasted so it was crisp at the edges but fluffy on the inside. I absolutely ADORED the bread. The Israeli salad was basically diced tomatoes and japanese cucumber (a bit ironic, haha!) tossed in olive oil, parsley and some lemon juice. Maybe even a dash of pepper.

Eating this dish as a whole, it's an explosion of flavour on your tongue -sweet, tangy, spicy, savoury. It splashes color on your frontal lobes, a sudden jolt when the flavours fuse. It's an interesting experience that all feels very colorful, but as quickly as the jolt comes, it leaves. There is just not enough to sustain the 'wow' factor. To top it all off, one has to pay at least 20-something for a meal here. A bit on the steep side for a price that does not justify the value of the food, in my opinion!

You'll either love Wild Honey or hate it, depending on what you choose to have as well as your taste preferences. Wild Honey does not season most of their food (especially eggs and mushrooms) if there is ham -this is under the assumption that ham is already salty and they do not want to over-season the food. While I agree that this method helps diners to taste the true flavour of the ingredients, this over-emphasises the raw taste of the ingredients and draws attention to the fact is the food is just...bland. I believe that everything should be seasoned, even if just very lightly. The saltiness of the ham alone is just not enough!

Service here is excellent though, way way better than the Mandarin Gallery branch. It was from the heart, and sincere. They don't hurry through any diners and make sure they will acquiesce to any requests if it is within their means. Courteous and commendable!

ps. Do check the menus before you go over because the SS and MG branch has slight variations in their menu items: for example, the Scotts Square branch offers the Caribbean breakfast.

2013-04-30

SGD 22(Lunch)

Sinful breakfast is always appeared from Wild Honey, especially enjoy their English breakfast which is so satisfying and filling to me. Love the bacons which are fragrant and not too oily. THe scrambled egg is soft and full of the creamyness of the milk. Even the half cut tomato is also pan fried till fragrant. Enjoy it with a cup of the fresh brewed coffee will even make it tastes better. Restaurant is quite and comfortable seats can be found here. Services are equally good and prompt too.

2013-04-06

SGD 25(Other)

Wild Honey is the perfect dining place for couples and for small gathering because of its cozy ambient. The service was alright and lighting was set to an almost romantic level beside the window.

I love their English Breakfast, and I've always been eating that when I dine at Wild Honey.The serving was actually quite big and I always couldn't finish the bacon and sausages, but I will definitely stuff myself with the thick toast, along scramble eggs, mushroom and potato. I love the potato and mushroom so much that I would actually buy extra for it, since the portion is big, I would share with my girlfriends the English Breakfast topping up the extra side.
Though serving is quite big but it's quite costly to fine in here, almost every single dish would require at least $20. Oh well for the awesome food, it's once awhile kind of enjoyment in life.

2012-12-22

SGD 30(Dinner)

My foodie friends have been raving about this particular restaurant - "Wild Honey", for quite some time. As always opened to suggestions for good food, I decided to do brunch with girlfriend on a Saturday afternoon. It was approximately 3pm - the both of us have some troubles waking up from our comfortable nest, but who cares, as brunch in Wild Honey is an all-day affair.It turned out that skipping the peak hours was a good choice, as we were being ushered to our table within minutes. A salt-and-pepper haired caucasian in his mid 40s, who seems to be one of the managing staff, was brimming with enthusiasm and all smiles when handing us the menus and explaining bits and pieces of it that we couldn't comprehend - a plus point for service. Ambience-wise, Wild Honey does not lose out as well. It is cozy and intimate, equipped with trendy wooden furnitures lined with cute cushion covers, all placed across a floor of beautiful kaleidoscopic tiles. Lovely.

Serving time usually takes more than a while, so it is ideal to enjoy a cup of your favourite brew while waiting for the main courses to arrive, which for my case - it is definitely gonna be good ol Cuppucinno (S$6.00) with a dash of cocoa powder. The froth was thick enough for my liking and just able to leave a foamy moustache every time I sipped it. Opposite from yours truly, Girlfriend doesn't drink coffee, but is a lover of good tea. A pot of Lemon Verbena (S$6.00) served with honey was her choice. But again, maybe that what makes us attract - opposites.

Soon enough, our sides arrived. The lightly salted Breakfast Potatoes (S$3.50) was a delight to our empty stomach, while the imported Smoked Sturgeon (S$10.00) was probably one of the best seafood dishes I had. Despite the sheer serving size, every single bit of meat presented was well-seasoned, fresh and tasteful.For the main course, we shared the English Breakfast (S$24.00). Big portions, a good mix of flavours and, playful colours that would brighten anyone's day up - that is how breakfast should be. What more can I ask for with a breakfast like this, which includes slices of brioche, (more) potatoes, streaky bacons, chunky pork sausage, juicy sauteed mushrooms, baked beans, grilled tomato and not to even mention, the basis of breakfast - eggs. No breakfast should be called breakfast without eggs. They are like a compulsary item for breakfast, and for Wild Honey's case, they did it so damn well with their signature fluffy scrambled eggs, that were so full of flavour and eggy goodness.The total bill comes close to $60, but this is money well-spent. Wild Honey is definitely a place that I see myself coming back again. For your information, they do have another branch located at Madarin Gallery (Orchard) as well.

2012-12-29

SGD 30(Breakfast)

Food
Notice that more and more places in Singapore are providing such breakfast menu - it's good as I have more reason to dine out for Weekends breakfast.I always think that their food consist of wild honey deriving from the shop name. It doesnt seem so now after my first try out in Wild Honey. And I cant believe I'm having a breakfast course on my dinner time!

Loves its All Day Breakfast Meal. It has an overwhelming range of breakfast choices on the menu. I was so pampered by choices that I felt abit lost to choose my right meal. Feel like having a taste of each but my appetite arent that big. This place does work towards the business tagline "NO PLACE LIKE HOME".For drinks we had ordered Iced Latte @ $6 and a fruit punch that costs $9. Love the fruit punch especially the fragrance from the melon blended with citrus juice and granny smith apple.Scandinavian @ $26 - Grilled salmon fillet on crisp potato rosti, char grilled asparagus spears and homemade hollandaise sauce. The salmon was drizzled with the hollandaise sauce and was served in a bed of cripsy rosti, under which you will find the asparagus spears. The rich and sweet creamy sauce compliments the scandinavian meal well.The English (one of its signature dish) @ $24 - Consists of Scrambled eggs, back bacon, cumberland pork sausage, sauteed mushrooms, baked beans, breakfast potatoes, grilled vine ripened tomato & signature brioche.Look at the beans! Its big! They called it Dad's bean. The sauce that comes along with it is abit of spicy and tastes closer to sardine.Service
Service is good and prompt! As we had already done our reservation online, the staff just has to take a look at the system and guide us to the seatings.

Ambience
Love it's ambience too, well decorated. The bay windows with the orchard view looks good, the dark wooden furniture with the bright cushions makes the restaurant looks cosy and homely. Best place to relax on a saturday afternoon.

Price
Price is on a high side, however as compared to the breakfast I had at Epicurious, I will still prefer WILD HONEY. By comparing apple to apple, portion is bigger and variety of choices is definitely wider. Taking in consideration of their lease rental, the food I paid is still acceptable and within my comfort meal budget ;).

Recommendation / Tips
Reservations to be done online first in order to secure a seat or we have to queue. I will be back for other meals soon!

2013-02-16

SGD 25(Dinner)

I have never been able to appreciate during fruit smoothie until I have tried the version here at Wild Honey. The rasy berries used in the smoothie are very sweet and refreshing in taste. The smooth ice does not melt easily and blend in really well with the rash berries juices and the fruits. The price is quite high but the quality of it deserves the slightly high price compare to other restaurants.

2013-02-06

SGD 20(Other)

WE HAD BRUNCH AT WILD HONEY @ SCOTT'S SQUARE LEVEL 3
http://www.wildhoney.com.sg/10/index.htm
WHICH SERVE ALL DAY BREAKFAST!
IT WAS FULL HOUSE WHEN WE GOT THERE
PUT OUR NAMES ON THE WAITING LIST
AND WE WAITED FOR 30MINS - 45MINS TO GET A SEATEUROPEAN BREAKFAST $18
WITH TASTY BREAD, BACON, EGG, MUSHROOM!
DAMN NICE
ALTHOUGH I HATE EGG YORKENGLISH BREAKFAST $22
I TELL YOU
THIS IS THE MUST ORDER!
DAMN NICE CAN!
SUPER TOASTED TASTY BREAD! OMG I WONDER WHY THEIR BREAD TASTE SO NICE!
THE EGG OMG!
THUMBS UP!!!!!!!
YOU WILL NEVER REGRET ORDERING THIS!

the menuReservation recommended.
Definitely a good place to have your brunch

2012-03-17

A really nice cozy place! Was really excited to try this place since I've heard and seen numerous reviews about this place. Thankfully, it did not let me down. The lighting was pretty dim, so the picture quality might be a little bad. But the same lighting definitely added a romantic and warm atmosphere to the place!

It was a little confusing to order initially as the menu was not "typical". They named their dishes under different countries and provided a little more details regarding the ingredients used. They also provided an iPad for us to use as a menu, and you can see how the dishes look like before ordering. The staff were pretty helpful as well

They also sold beautiful cupcakes, placed strategically by the cashier area, so I supposed it’s to attract diners while they are paying. If that is so, this tactic definitely worked on me. They were priced at about $5 per piece. A little steep for a cupcake and but I decided to try one strawberry one anyway...and it was fantastic. It was bigger than the other cupcakes sold outside nowadays (e.g. twelve cupcakes) and it tasted superb! I was totally not expecting that and was convinced that I was just buying the cupcake for its looks. The icing cream was smooth and rich, and the most important part is the cake tasted better than the cream in my opinion. And by the way, I’m a cream/icing/topping maniac so I’m always bias to the top part of a cupcake most of the time. So please do try their cupcakes when visiting!

The dishes were pretty great as well. I’ve tried the Scandinavian breakfast (~$24) which is a salmon dish and the English breakfast which I’ve forgotten the price. The food is on a pricey side, but still worth it.And did I mention that they draw cute faces on your lattes?

2012-12-17

SGD 35(Lunch)

We had our Christmas lunch at Wild Honey because my friends and I always wanted to have brunch food and speaking of brunch food Wild Honey has got to be one of places famous for their all-day-breakfast.
When we reached there we had to wait for a while for we didn't make reservations. I thought Wild Honey didn't accept reservations and it seems that this policy only applies to the one at Mandarin Gallery. So remember to make reservations here if you don't like to be kept waiting.

I ordered a french toast with banana, mascarpone cheese and salted caramel. It was really good! The crust of the bread was coated with nuts and when I bit into it, it was sweet and crunchy. Although I'm really not a fan of caramel, this dish really tasted better with caramel. Without caramel, the dish seems to be lacking something. I love this french toast even though it cost me $22.

My friends had Basque which is brioche, prosciutto and scrambled eggs with red peppers and English which consisted of brioche, sausage, tomato, potatoes and scrambled egg. Both dishes were delicious as well. I tasted some components of English and I like it too.

2012-12-25

SGD 22(Lunch)

My friend and I visited Wild Honey to celebrate a friend's birthday. I tried the English breakfast and was pleasantly surprised when it came.

Here is a menu from the restaurant:There was a daily speciality which costs around $25 before service charge and GST.

The FoodThe egg was flowing and tasted superb! It was truly cooked to perfection. The bread was slightly toasted with crispy and slightly burnt edges. The meat wrapping the egg was tender and juicy as well. Do request for jam to go with the bread, as it is free of charge and goes well with the bread.

The Service
A little slow and the queue is quite long at around 10.30am. Do expect to queue up as the restaurant is quite crowded and prepare to wait up to around 30 minutes for the food to be served. However, you can avoid the queue by making reservations early.
The waitresses there are polite and attend to you quickly. However, the food took a long time to arrive and the wait was quite unbearing.

The Ambience
The ambience is good and the seats are comfortable. However, the table sits a maximum of four people and the fifth person has to sit at the table edge and sit on a chair without back rest.

The Price
The food is reasonably priced at around $22 on average. My meal costs around $23 after service charge and GST.

Overall
I enjoy the food a lot and it offers a different taste, as compared to the usual English food. It is slightly on the pricier side, but still cheaper than TWG in general. It is suitable for a birthday celebration, especially if you want to experience quality and original food. However, do be prepared to make reservations to beat the queue!

2012-12-06

SGD 25(Breakfast)

Hung out a few times in this branch as the food here is better.

But i always ended up having either Tunisian or Carribean.

Tunisan - Sizzling pan of shakshouka (tomato, onion, red pepper, chilli), studded with Chorizo sausage, crowned with two fried eggs, signature brioche & Israeli salad - Love the spicy taste & the sausage but dont fancy the bread.

Carribean: Coconut waffles bound with fresh passionfruit creme patisserie, fresh baby bananas & slices of mango, toasted coconut flakes & passionfruit syrup - love the idea of having passionfruit syrup than the usual maple syrup, it was a different touch to the waffles! Am not a coconut fan but the coconut taste in the waffles in rather subtle. Overall, a light breakfast and there's still space in the stomach for desserts.

Parisenne - Their very special take on a Croque Madame - two parcels of stuffed savoury French toast - leg ham, grayere cheese & Dijon mustard, topped with a fried egg sunny side up & a touch of Hollandaise sauce - the dish is sneaky! It look so innocent as the stuffed food are hidden perfectly in it - overall, its a very filling breakfast - Couldnt walk properly after that.

SGD 40(Breakfast)

Please make your reservation earlier if you would like to have indoor seats during lunchtime! We decided to drop by Wild Honey to try their all day breakfast. I ordered the European Style breakfast - two egg benedict wrapped with smoked bacon which comes with some mushrooms and bread under them. It costs about 19.90++ per set. I would say this is really high class dining and the price is kinda steep for such a simple dish. Taste wise, I would say it tasted good but it definitely doesn't warrant the steep price.

2012-06-29

SGD 30(Lunch)

It was a nice place for brunch and hanging out with friends. I brought my friend to try on their all day breakfast. We ordered English breakfast and European breakfast and it was a huge portion for individual and we enjoyed the brunch. English breakfast which consists of scrambled eggs, back bacon, cumberland pork sausages, sauteed mushrooms,Dad's baked beans, breakfast potatoes, grilled wine ripened tomato & signature brioche. I love the taste of the tomato and the scrambled eggs are creamy smooth. The bread is soft and totally filling once you finish a slice of it.
As for the European breakfast, which consists of eggs Benedict with two perfectly poached eggs,sauteed mushrooms, imported Italian prosciutto and home made Hollandaise sauce on signature brioche. Well, the portion looks tiny, the set is actually quite filling. PH finished up the first portion and need to rest a while before can finish up the second one.

For more information, check out my blog post here
http://hazelnutlife.blogspot.sg/2012/04/wild-honey-scotts-square.html

2012-04-29

Brunch on a busy Saturday at Wild Honey's Scotts Square outlet as we didn't fancy standing in line for a table at the Mandarin Gallery store.

Thankfully this outlet takes reservations but do book early as I overheard a wait staff informing a dejected walk in customer that 1 week advance reservations are recommended. And the full house, coupled with a 90 minute per table dining window proves her point.

The place isn't big and certain tables are placed quite close to each other (go for those at the side if possible), which makes for hush conversation. Oh wait, I forgot. The whole place is so noisy that I probably wouldn't be able to hear myself shout. Okay, that's an exaggeration but by golly, it sounded like a marketplace! You can basically throw any notion of a peaceful and relaxing brunch out of the window!Scandinavian - I'm no big fan of salmon and this dish wasn't about to convert me. The grilled fish was pedestrian, if I may say. And the hollandaise sauce atop was just too mild to be of much use. I did like the bed of crisp rosti though.English - I didn't quite take to this dish either as I thought that the scrambled eggs could have been milkier and the bacon, a little less charred at the corner. The potato cubes could have also been a little more crisp instead of coming across as limp and soggy. And the signature brioche left me sorely disappointed. I had envisioned something along the lines of Guy Savoy's Brioche Feuilletée aux Champignons et Truffes (http://www.timelessfacade.com/2009/12/guy-savoy-paris.html) but this was just a dense block of bread which I certainly couldn't appreciate.Caribbean - Greedy us had the "Caribbean" for afters as it seemed like the only dish that qualified as dessert on the menu. As much as I hate to say it, it would have been a pleasant ending to the meal if only there weren't consistency issues. For example, some of the waffles were noticeably darker than the others and some mango slices made me cringe with their sourness. To be fair, I loved the passion fruit syrup/cream and the idea of combining fresh mangoes and bananas with crispy edged waffles. Now if only they worked on their consistency...

I don't know about you, but $82 for a 2 pax brunch in a less than soothing setting coupled with average quality food, does seem quite over the top. I seriously fail to understand the hype. Herd mentality at work, maybe?

See all my pictures at http://www.timelessfacade.com/2012/08/wild-honey.html