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For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/sun-ray-cafe-a-ray-of-happiness-for-singapore-pet-lovers/singaporePet lovers all around Singapore can now rejoice with yet another premium cafe to spend quality time with their beloved animals and fellow pet lovers over casual meals and coffee. Located at 79 Brighton Crescents Serangoon Gardens, the café is wonderful hideaway from city clattery, overcrowded spaces and hurried pace of life.Established in Decem
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For full write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/foodie-food/sun-ray-cafe-a-ray-of-happiness-for-singapore-pet-lovers/singapore

Pet lovers all around Singapore can now rejoice with yet another premium cafe to spend quality time with their beloved animals and fellow pet lovers over casual meals and coffee. Located at 79 Brighton Crescents Serangoon Gardens, the café is wonderful hideaway from city clattery, overcrowded spaces and hurried pace of life.

Established in December 2010 singlehandedly by Dave Lim, this cozy pet friendly café has consistently enjoyed write ups and mentions from Straits Times, 联合早报 (Lian He Zao Bao), 8-Days, i-Weekly, CHIC magazines and 9tro magazines. If you drive, you are likely to have also heard praises of their cuisines on popular radio stations such as 938 Live, Symphony 924 and Love 972 FM.

The award of ‘Best Loved Prawn Pasta’ by CozyCot - online magazine offering articles about beauty, fashion and woman lifestyle was a further testimony of the café dedication to great taste and value for its customers. North-easterners and pet owners from all over Singapore adore Sun Ray Café all day breakfast especially during the lazy weekends.

But if you woke late (like the few of us), you can opt for brunch instead. We started our meal with 4 exotic beers. Can you believe we actually started sampling 4 exotic beers on an empty stomach. Tsk tsk. Here's a quick introduction to the drinks:

Taiwan Lychee Beer ($11) offers a sweet lychee taste, with a good overall mouth feel and a clean after taste. Sun Ray Café also offers Taiwan Honeydew-Melon Beer which is a sweet honeydew melon flavoured beer with hints of cane sugar and flowers.

Fruli Strawberry Beer ($11) is a unique blend of white beer and strawberry juice. The strong zest of the beer was well balanced by the sweet and refreshing taste of strawberry

Swedish Rekordelig Cider ($12) is an ever popular cider made from Swedish spring water by a family-owned brewery. Available in 2 lovely flavours Pear as well as Strawberry and Lime.

Japanese Craft Beer Hitachino Nest White Ale ($12) also known as Japanese "Owl" Beer is a multi-award winning beer with hint of coriander, nutmeg and orange peel.

For starters, we had the popular Sun Salad ($8) which consist of Baby romain lettuce, tossed with caesar dressing (mayonnaise, anchovy, garlic, lemon juice) and tomato XL, crispy bacon (pork) served with soft boiled egg crusted with cornflakes. The presentation was deliberately to reflect that of a rising sun over the horizon. Crisp lettuce together with its refreshing dressing made this an excellence appetizer. What impressed me most was that the soft boiled egg within the deep fried cornflake crust still contained a runny egg yolk - not an easy feat to master.

Asparagus & Bacon ($11) was up next. These U.S. asparagus were poached in salted water before being wrapped in pork bacon to be served with poached eggs and orange hollandaise sauce (clarified butter with egg yolk, orange zest & orange juice). The pork bacon was a sinful delicacy. It went perfect with the runny eggs and orange hollandaise sauce.

True to its name, Minute Steak & Eggs ($18) tender beef loin was only grilled for a minute before it was served with crashed baby potato, baked cherry tomato, rosemary herb, garlic and olive oil.

Poached Salmon Fillet ($22) consist of a thick & succulent salmon fillet with its skin off. Poached for 4 minutes in soya milk, it was served with U.S. Asparagus, with lemon juice, butter and cream.

Cumin Crusted Lamb Rack ($26) was crusted with dijon mustard and cumin baked for 15 minutes to achieve medium rare texture. Served with Ratatouille created out from courgette, red, yellow, green capsicum, garlic, onion, bay leaves, tomato paste, tomato whole, red wine, rosemary and lamb juice. This is a must order for lamb lovers.

Our final main was Yorkshire Pork Racks ($22). The pork rack was grilled for 10 minutes, finished in oven for 4-5 minutes before its served with sweet potato, mushroom and apple cider sauce. Yorkshire Pork is a famous breed of white swine that boost of just the right amount of lean meat & fats for an unforgettable bite.

We ended off the meal with delicious Double Chocolate and Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream. We strongly recommend the Matcha Green Tea flavour. It commands a strong taste of Premium Japanese Green Tea which is quite difficult to find even at well known Japanese restaurants.

Jessie's darling dog did not go hungry while we were sampling the chef's cuisine. We ordered a portion of Lamb Meat Ball ($6) for her.

While we were sipping our post meal coffee, Chef Derrar Hassane (Head Chef at Sun Ray Cafe) came in to check on his guest. Besides sharing with us the preparation work behind the entrées, the bubbly chef also share with us his adventurous past of perfecting his European style culinary skills at different countries. Notably, and as recent as 5 years ago, he has served as the Head Chef for 10 Downing Street (UK ‘Istana’). Leading a team of 8 chefs, he prepared dishes for the UK Cabinet as well as for state banquets up to 800 covers. That’s indeed food fit for kings and queens! Two years ago, he served as the Executive Chef in L’Opera in Piccolo Hotel at Bukit Bintang, KL Malaysia where he led a kitchen brigade of 27 chefs, with up to 800 daily covers.

Patrons were thrilled with coffee on the house a week before we came. It was a special treat for all to celebrate the completion of Specialty Coffee Association of Europe* (SCAE) Barista Course by 4 of Sun Ray Café staffs.

You should come visit Sun Ray Café from now till 31 December 2012 and enjoy 10% discount by simply being their Facebook Fan. Do remember to check out their Fan Page time to time to get updates on their latest offerings and promotions!
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(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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DETAILED RATING
Taste
Decor
Service
Hygiene
Value
Date of Visit
2012-11-24
Spending Per Head
$30 (Lunch)
Recommended Dishes
  • Sun Salad
  • Asparagus & Bacon
  • Minute Steak & Eggs
  • Poached Salmon Fillet
  • Cumin Crusted Lamb Rack
  • Yorkshire Pork Racks
Level4
2012-07-02 36 views
Woke up early for a hearty breakfast nearby my place. I had the American set breakfast to start with. It basically consist of scramble egg, bread toast, wedges, sausages, bacon and a handful of green vegetables salad. The portion was pretty huge for my own consumption. I like the scramble egg and added a little pepper and salt to taste. The bacon was a little too salty but munching it together with the bread toast smells perfect! All in all, it was great!
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Woke up early for a hearty breakfast nearby my place. I had the American set breakfast to start with. It basically consist of scramble egg, bread toast, wedges, sausages, bacon and a handful of green vegetables salad. The portion was pretty huge for my own consumption. I like the scramble egg and added a little pepper and salt to taste. The bacon was a little too salty but munching it together with the bread toast smells perfect! All in all, it was great!
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2011-06-08 9 views
I jogged past the place, and decided to try it out with a cousin after dinner at Chomp Chomp, instead of going to our frequent dessert haunts near Chomp Chomp.The cafe is secluded yet assessible, being located right at a junction of serangoon gardens way and brighton crescent (where it is located). I was surprised to find that it is actually quite spacious, with 2 units of different themes, one of which has a atas looking private room plus a chandelier. We were told it is pets' friendly too.The
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I jogged past the place, and decided to try it out with a cousin after dinner at Chomp Chomp, instead of going to our frequent dessert haunts near Chomp Chomp.

The cafe is secluded yet assessible, being located right at a junction of serangoon gardens way and brighton crescent (where it is located). I was surprised to find that it is actually quite spacious, with 2 units of different themes, one of which has a atas looking private room plus a chandelier. We were told it is pets' friendly too.

The lady boss strongly recommended the Tiramisu in a glass and a chocolate cake called the 'awesome cake'. Tirasmisu was soft, fragrant and had strong mix of coffee espresso and alcohol smell and taste. We were surprised to find out upon our enquiry that it is not made with hard liqour like the usual Rum or Kahlua. Instead, it is made using a wine (cant recall the name). She shared with us that it is how traditional Tiramisu was made. The chocolate powder topping further provided a bitter balance to the sweet dessert. It was enjoyable and unique.

The awesome cake sounds funny when we first heard its name. It almost seems like a direct reference and competition to the awfully chocolate cake which used to be operating a few shops down (they have stopped operating for a while). And awesome indeed. Not a disappointment at all. It is moist on the inside and has a strong chocolate flavour given by the rich outer coating. Quite ugly in appearance but awesome and sinful in taste. We ordered a second piece to satiate our cravings for its awesome taste.

Lady boss proudly told us that both desserts are made by themselves.

They sell Marble Slab ice creams. But that would be for the next visit.

Nice place, quiet and friendly ambience. Not sure whether it would turn noisy and crowded in future due to increased business owing from their good dessert. But we have indeed found another secret hideout away from the craze in Chomp Chomp area, at least from now.

Btw, parking is free and right in front of the shop.


(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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DETAILED RATING
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Date of Visit
2011-06-06
Spending Per Head
$8 (Supper)
(Non-member)
0
0
2011-03-10 5 views
Was on my way to Serangoon Gardens for dinner with my family and saw this new brightly lit café. Decided to try out this new place instead. There are quite a few selections of soup, appetizers, mains and pastas. The prices of the food look pretty reasonable for this area though.We ordered the 3 soups which they served – the essence of button mushroom ($4), pumpkin with leek ($4) and clam chowder ($5). The mushroom soup is very tasty, and you can taste mushrooms in every mouthful, unlike those to
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Was on my way to Serangoon Gardens for dinner with my family and saw this new brightly lit café. Decided to try out this new place instead.

There are quite a few selections of soup, appetizers, mains and pastas. The prices of the food look pretty reasonable for this area though.

We ordered the 3 soups which they served – the essence of button mushroom ($4), pumpkin with leek ($4) and clam chowder ($5). The mushroom soup is very tasty, and you can taste mushrooms in every mouthful, unlike those too creamy ones which I dislike. Pumpkin soup is deliciously sweet and there’s a slight tinge of leek taste which enhances the sweetness even more. Clam chowder is also well liked coz of the generous amount clams and potatoes. Yummy!!

We also ordered some appetizers to share. The Asparagus & Bacon roll ($6) was so good that we ordered a second serving. Simply delicious!!
Even my brother who is a strictly non-veg person had 2 pieces of that. The asparagus is just nice - not too soft, not too hard and coupled with the bacon’s saltiness, this dish is perfect. We also had a Vegetable Quesadilla ($5) which my mum adores! The vegetables are wrapped in a tortilla and being baked with lots of cheese toppings. The melted cheese coated the vegetables nicely enough to make a good snack.

We ordered 4 mains – Lamb Racks ($15.90), Sun Ray’s Catch (12.90), Grilled steak ($19.90) and Seafood Marinara Pasta ($11.90). Dad’s lamb racks come prettily stacked in a pile and served with mint sauce. Though I am not a huge lamb fan, I thought this lamb is very tasty and tender, without the lamb smell which I am very afraid of. Mum’s sun ray’s catch is sea bass served with orange sauce. Fish is well marinated and the accompanying mashed potatoes are of just the right saltiness. Brother’s grilled steak is accompanied by Jack Daniel’s mushroom sauce which simply brings out the sweetness of the steak which is done to the just the correct doneness. Being a pasta fan, I was delighted with my pasta order. The al dente spaghetti comes with very generous amount of seafood – clams, prawns, squid etc, and the tangy marinara sauce makes this dish even more palatable.

For desserts, we ordered the tiramisu cake ($5.50), which is nice. We also had 3 scoops of marble slab ice-cream ($6.50) to share. Nothing to write about the ice-cream, coz we all know how good this brand of ice-cream is.

On the way out, I saw that they have private rooms next door too. Just nice for a bunch of friends chilling out over drinks since there’s quite a good selection of wine. Definitely be coming back soon!!

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(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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DETAILED RATING
Taste
Decor
Service
Hygiene
Value
Date of Visit
2011-03-07
Spending Per Head
$25 (Dinner)
Recommended Dishes
  • Pumpkin Soup
  • Asparagus & Bacon roll
  • Grilled Steak
  • Sun Ray's Catch
  • Lamb Racks
  • Seafood Marinara Pasta
(Non-member)
0
0
Saw it on the way home, so decided to try it out. It was overly bright, and had very weird seating. Either armchairs that were too low or stools which were too hard.Looking at the menu, it's a western food joint and the waiter boasts of its freshly made soups.I tried the pumpkin soup, the vegetable lasagne and the chicken bacon roulade, and a hot chocolate.The pumpkin soup was ok, it really just tastes of mashed pumpkin with water and oil. not much stock taste. And not salty enough. It wasn't sm
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Saw it on the way home, so decided to try it out. It was overly bright, and had very weird seating. Either armchairs that were too low or stools which were too hard.

Looking at the menu, it's a western food joint and the waiter boasts of its freshly made soups.

I tried the pumpkin soup, the vegetable lasagne and the chicken bacon roulade, and a hot chocolate.

The pumpkin soup was ok, it really just tastes of mashed pumpkin with water and oil. not much stock taste. And not salty enough. It wasn't smooth, and didn't have the correct texture for a soup. Disappointed.

The chicken bacon roulade was ok, looks exactly like a chicken wrapped with bacon, but this was too salty. either not enough chicken or too much bacon but the mix required it to be eaten with the mashed potato, which was disppointing again. Instead of mixing in milk or butter into the mash, there was water. so it was watery. On the upside the mango salad served in 4 piles on the square plate was pretty tasty.

But the shock of the evening was certainly the vegetable lasagne. It was pretty downright awful. Apart from a mozzarella cheese top, nothing in it was worth eating. It was filled with carrots! It just does not go. I was expecting italian vegetables like eggplant at least but no. Crunchy grated carrots, very little tomato sauce, overcooked pasta sheets and something in it was sour. I was hungry and hate to waste food so made myself finish it but I shouldn't have.

The hot chocolate was good though.
(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
Post
DETAILED RATING
Taste
Decor
Service
Hygiene
Value
Date of Visit
2011-01-24
Spending Per Head
$20 (Dinner)