While this Department specializing in Brunch, also known as the Department of Caffeine, takes reservation, I was not as fortunate. I attempted the calls periodically as I know how it can be an ass waiting in line for a brunch spot, no less a popular recent addition to the busy Duxton area. However, not only did no one pick up the countless calls I made, it was the same too, even when I got through just seconds after the line was engaged (meaning someone would had been by the phone but refused to pick up). Pretty frustrating and ridiculous.So I went anyway, since if there is a place that has no lack of Brunch Cafes, it’d be Duxton. Stepping into the cafe struck me immediately, that we were in for a trouble. It was a narrow stretch down, very echoed, busy and noisy. It is a pity it was nowhere near a relaxed spot for a catchup – talking about ambience alone. We went on the waiting list, and was told a second in line. Naturally we thought it wouldn’t be too long a wait and headed off to a bookstore next shop, Littered with Books (thank god it’s a fanciful book store and kept us engaged for quite some time).After at least a 90 minutes wait, I was getting impatient and thought I had given them the wrong contact number. I walked back to find out that they have been slotting in the people who have already made their reservations beforehand. To a certain extent, I really think that is the right thing to do. But c’mon, I verily believe that it can be done in moderation. Taking reservations is fine but you need to reserve some seats for walk-in guests don’t you?The service was alright, don’t get me wrong. It’s just the reservations system they primarily need to work on. So if you are in a big group, it’s in your best interest to avoid coming here. Just so you know, I was only in a group of 3.Cafe Latte ($5): I’m no coffee expert, but it was pretty good I could smell the fragrance of the coffee bean. Drinking it sugarless was also a pleasure as it wasn’t the most bitter cup of coffee. I thoroughly enjoyed this cup of Five Senses Coffee, Australia, because I did not have to spoil the taste with sugar.Express Breakfast ($12): As the name would already have suggested, it isn’t the heartiest brunch you can get. But it sure is the warmest and most comfortable. Savor on every tear of the Banana Bread when it’s first served, warm. I don’t usually like anything banana except the fruit itself, but this, was not too overpowering. It complemented the freshly baked fluffy, fragile and warm bread perfectly. The granola with yoghurt was another well-executed bowl of breakfast treat. Though it sounds simple, the ingredients used matters. Nothing of the sour, dry, rough and boring kind here. Definitely a must-try if you would like a light meal.DOC Breakfast Platter ($18.50): 5 items here. Let’s break it down. (1) Scrambled Eggs suited my palate to the nearest. Slightly fluffy and creamy, balanced saltiness. (2) Bacon wrapped Meatloaf, the piece sandwiched between the Brioche and the Eggs, was uniquely delectable. It was surprisingly not too salty, comes in a generous portion and basically serves as an extra depth to the entire bite. (3) Toasted Brioche however, pulled the rating of the dish down. It was over toasted and turned out tough. If it was a fluffy, slightly charred thick piece of Brioche, it’d have been a perfect match. (4) Cheese Boccocini, though hidden by the main highlight, was also orgasmically indulgent. Though served breaded, this cheese still remains soft and has its flavors well retained. A fork can effortlessly sink through the Boccocini. (5) Confit tomato. Ain’t no big fan of tomatoes, but hey, this deserves a try. It’s like a Molten Lava Cake of tomatoes. Sweet and soft.63º Eggs with Dressed Smoked Salmon ($18.50): Newly minted just earlier this month, I don’t believe there would be a time this eggs would fail to have runny yolks, due to its promised precision. In this scenario, the Toasted Brioche was fine thanks to its flowy and watery counterparts of runny egg yolk and lemon and dill sauce. The sauce was slightly too sour for me, sometimes covering the taste of the others. But otherwise, the smoked salmon was fine and it was happy moments seeing the dish cooked to perfection.Buttermilk Waffles with Butter Rum Bananas and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream ($13.50): Probably the most photogenic item on the menu of Department of Caffeine, I can vouch that it is not just a vase. It doesn’t only look good, it actually tastes good as well – in fact one of the best I’ve had. Complete with airy and adequately flavored (buttermilk) waffles with crispy edges, and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Not a big fan of the butter rum bananas but hey, it doesn’t taste as bad either. I’d recommend a try at any one of their Waffles options. Just do remember that when they say, for instance, Sundried Tomato and Herbs Waffle, it means those items are in the batter itself, you will not see them with your naked eyes.

For its sheer good and unpretentious food, I would recommend this place. However, I would also specifically caution its reservation system and its ambience crisis.

Note #1: Brunch is served on weekend.

Note #2: Prices stated are nett. No GST and service charge.

You’ve had a long day. You’re spent, famished. Your stomach had growled embarrassingly audibly in front of your mates a minute ago and you feel your hunger fit coming around. You arrived at your dinner place, savouring the moment when your order is finally placed in front of you. You take your first bite.

Your food was meh.

You come out of the restaurant with a filled stomach but what is more uncomfortable than a stomach after an overly stuffed meal is the feeling of disappointing food (especially when you were that hungry). You know what I’m talking about, we’ve all been there at some point or another.Luckily for those of us who always have another stomach reserved exclusively for dessert, you can forget about that disappointing dinner and make you feel like your night has just started all over again like only a good dessert place can: Wimbly Lu Chocolate Café Singapore.Iced Chocolate with Baileys ($10.50+): Let me tell you, this cup of iced beverage here ain’t not a bimbo. Not only does it look as pretty as a vase, it also has an attitude and flavor strong enough to knock you out (not in the alcohol sense). It was proportionately blended such that you can effortlessly distinguish its distinctively flavors. I say an all-worthy drink to get for a little more oomph and depth to your after-dinner.Root Beer Cake ($6+): It looks like a brownie but when you put it in your mouth, the rush of root beer greets you refreshingly. It felt like root beer in solid form but not to the extent of overpowering of the flavour. Have it with a scoop of the accompanying vanilla ice-cream and feel that wondrous, sinful mix of magic in your mouth. If you like root beer, you’ll like this.Molten Lava Cake ($6+): You know how Adele said during her 2011 performance at The Royal Albert Hall that for each of her album, she has that “one song that moved me…so that I have the confidence to let people that I don’t know listen to my music”? If you’ve seen that top-class performance a dozen times on DVD you’ll know. Anyway, for me, Wimbly Lu’s Molten Lava Cake is the dessert to Adele’s Someone Like You for her record 21. It is the dessert I will get people to try if I bring them there.

Marvelous balance of being the right amount of crunch on the outside and moisture of the lava flowing out as you pry it open, the chocolate taste really thick and good in your mouth. Be sure to take the care in having this while it is still warm and not leave it to the last if you order a lot of dishes and it serves everything at one go. Don’t waste no divine stuff.Waffle with Ice Cream ($8.50+): One of the lightest and airiest you’ll have of a waffle. I like that parts of the waffle were nearly charred to give that subtle burnt taste to the otherwise mundane waffle. Not too bad a course to order and share it amongst your friends. Though I wouldn’t suggest hoarding this as there are a lot more deserving options the Café has to offer.Hazelnut Butterscotch Bar ($4.50+): Apparently another famed dish here at Wimbly Lu, save for the abovementioned Waffle. Our verdict? Chunky and considerably sizable, it is worth the $4.50 spent. Every crunchy bite of it was a complementary mix of nuts, stickiness and sweetness. The generous portion of nuts were spot on in counterpoising the sweetness.Cosy interior decked with origami pieces and fairy lights hanging above you while you are seated along the brick wall, this place puts you in the right mood for conversations. Tucked serenely away in the estates of Lorong Chuan, Wimbly Lu is a hidden sanctuary where even though you may need some luck and effort to find a parking lot nearby or a train + bus ride + a short walk to get to, it is definitely worth all that effort. Also, isn’t it always nice to take a stroll under the moonlight after a good meal with lovely company to end your evening?

Note #1: Reservations are welcome 2 hours in advance (if tables are still available) except Fridays & Saturdays evenings.

Note #2: No GST charge.

If primitive and vintage are your kind of thing, the Carpenter has it all covered.
If a fuss free pastries-dining experience is your cuppa’ tea, the Cook has it all attended.

From drooling at the antiques, to the confections, to the cutesy pieces of china, you are basically kept busy. Carpenter and Cook is an unpretentious patisserie that only sells whatever is on display. Nothing of the Eggs or other hot dishes sorts. So if you are not angmoh-fied enough to fill your stomachs with pastries, you’re better off somewhere else.What’s safe about this cafe, after making such a long-ass trip to Upper (Ulu) Bukit Timah for a brunch / tea here, is that all its items are at least of a passable standard. They are entirely made and produced in-house for its freshness. Of the 5 pastries I had, the Chocolate Chip Scone, Almond Croissant and Valrhona Sea Salt Caramel Tart are to-orders. I heard their Quiche isn’t too bad as well, if you’re looking for a heartier meal.

(Look at those plates, damn it. Those plates are for ‘hires’ for photoshoots.)No those fingers are surely not mine.
I’m telling you, that Fresh Mint Tea might seem the most bland and unassuming hot beverage ever, but boy is it rejuvenating, with it almost feeling restorative. Definitely one to go with the sweets. The most charming amongst the liquids (I’m referring to the creepy but adorable heart shape-faced smiley) however, tasted the most ordinary. I didn’t quite like (and it’s just about the thing I didn’t like at Carpenter and Cook) how the chocolate tasted artificial.

No GST and Service Charge here. Also here, you place your order at the counter, take a seat with the pastries and wait to be served with the drinks. Reservations are taken for groups of 6 and above on a weekday, while they only entertain walk-ins on a weekend. Parking can be a chore here though. But without a car, it’s kind of a pain to get here. So, you make the call.

Nantsuttei Ramen is one of many Ramen establishments that have made a name in Singapore. I’ve heard and read many raving reviews about it, and I was more than eager to give it a slurp myself. Parked at a corner of Millenia Walk, PARCO Marina Bay, no one would know its existent if the words did not get out.Who would have known you would be lectured before a meal right. Read through the notes and you’ll realize you might have been eating Ramen the wrong way all this while. Thankfully, not only is a lecturer not present, its tutorial is also an easy and joyous one – eating.Chashu-Men ($16++): Unfortunately, with or without the hype, Nantsuttei’s style of Ramen is completely not my cup of tea. The broth comes as a little too thick in flavors and taste, making it super cloying and an uphill challenge trying to finish it up. Its simmered pork meets the norm standard.The noodles, though relatively thin, was rather soggy for me. It isn’t firm enough to feel the bite of noodles. So, both the texture and the softness of the noodles are not to my liking, unfortunately.

I guess ‘taste is subjective’ is the best example here. I don’t see myself ever going back.

When they say this Paradise Group restaurant has a grand alluring ambience, they mean it. Just before dusk, photo-taking was still manageable, thankfully. Decked with both warm and luxurious colors of brown and majestic golden, the restaurant emphasizes its cuisine as Northern and Southern Chinese food. It is also most known for its famed 8 pieces of Xiao Long Bao, advised to be eaten in sequence.Paradise Dynasty, unlike many other Chinese Restaurants, only offers (refillable) Pu Er Tea ($1.20++). What is a Chinese meal without a pot (or two) of brewed tea right. We went for it without hesitation. Don’t expect much though, the tea was a let down as the flavors did not quite escape the tea leaves used. It was relatively bland.Mixed Dumpling (8 pieces) ($14.60++): Considering the hype (with hype comes inflation of prices) and the ingredients present in some of the Xiao Long Bao, I thought it was fairly priced. It is recommended to eat in sequence so as to tickle your taste bud from the lightest to heaviest flavored ones: Original, Ginseng, Foie Gras, Black Truffle, Cheesy, Crab Roe, Garlic, Sze Chuan. If you are the more choosy eater and would rather zoom into a specific one, I highly recommend you go for its Black Truffle and the Sze Chuan Xiao Long Bao. They are both piquant and mouth-watering, leaving you wanting more.Cold Salted Duck Slice ($8.80++): Duck breast, duck slices, especially when they are made as an appetizer, I wouldn’t let it slip my grasp. This would do better with just a slightly stronger flavor. Otherwise, it’s ordinary.Shanghai Pork Bun (3 pieces) ($4.50++): I don’t usually eat Pork Buns like this, but I was pleasantly surprised with their rendition. The bun is comparatively thin, fluffy and soft, thus not stealing the limelight of the pork. Further, its lightly charred bottom gives more dimension to the dish.Drunken Chicken ($8.80++): With it coming with a strong liquor-flavored meat, you wouldn’t feel like you are being shortchanged. Good quality and adequate deep flavor.Braised Pork Belly ($14.80++): I’m glad the sauce took a step back and did not add the saltiness to the already salted Pork Belly. The chunks of meat were pretty easy to bite off. Fatty portion doesn’t feel all too sinful for me. But of course I’m not one who cares. I can drink some oil as well.Shanghai Fried Rice ($10.80++): About 5 – 6 small bowls makes up the mother plate. It’s a staple worth ordering. Fragrant and considerably intense in flavors. I’d pay a little more for this than to choke on plain rice.Poached Slice Fish (Szechuan Style) ($20.80++): In simple, it’s dunked in mala sauce. If you aren’t familiar with this well-known local sauce, it’s one that is oily, spicy and numbing – all at the same time. And you ought to be aware that they aren’t reserved at all. It really is, oily, spicy and numbing. But I loved it. The fishes were poached to perfection – soft but still with volume and bite. Generous portion, enough to feed 4.Sautéed French Beans with Minced Pork ($11.80++): It isn’t all too bad, but I felt it was rather salty; nothing to scream about.Stir-fried Slice Beef ($18++): No, after stir-frying with the chinese ingredients, it doesn’t have any remaining gamey taste. The slices were thick enough to feel a bite, and that didn’t hinder the tenderness of it. Very enjoyable to semi-chew on them, but not of must-order standard.

As with restaurants of similar cuisines, when dishes start coming, they come like non-stop hits. Service was prompt, though nothing on a personal level. A more than decent Chinese Restaurant I would recommend. I had thought it’d be pricier than this. Guess it’s our gain. Be sure to head there earlier if you do not wish to queue. Plus, everyone has to be present before you’re allowed in.v

Note #1: Bills are to be paid at the Counter near the entrance.