A joint operations between Pacamara Coffee Roasters and the now-defunct OZ Specialty Coffee, Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters opened to much hype at Upper Thomson Road roughly a week after OZ Specialty Coffee was closed. There were three items in the Mains menu; a burger, Chicken Schnitzel and a Miso-Glazed Salmon ($22) even though I had always bore the impression that cafes don’t really execute fish well. How wrong was I; not only the salmon was fresh and flaky, it was also well-seasoned with Miso so it had a nice amount of saltiness. I am glad they had included the Salmon skin in the slab; crisp and smokey it was. Sitting atop an Apple and Fennel salad, it was crunchy and refreshing, along with a fruit puree at the side for a punch. Pretty worth its price.There were a variety of all-day breakfast items available; from pancakes to the full works. We opted for a Truffle Benedict ($18), and it was in fact one of the most memorable Benedict that I ever had. Ridding of the garden salad for wilted spinaches seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper was a wise choice; the vegetables seemed part of the Benedict rather than a side as it complimented beautifully with the main star. Poached eggs were perfect; soft and runny, topped off with a creamy and slight tangy Hollandaise Sauce. Add the two slabs of thick, quality ham, this was sheer luxury for breakfast.Coffee goes by sizes here. The 5 Oz White ($5) is the balance if you want something creamy yet not wanting to sacrifice on tasting the fruity and nutty notes in the signature Roadster blend. They also do Steampunk mod coffee here; the only other place that serves is Dutch Colony Coffee at Frankel Avenue.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/10/22/pacamara-boutique-coffee-roasters-upper-thomson-road/

Yet another ice-cream parlour just found its way here. Twenty Grammes is a new ice-cream parlour that was into its second day of operations when we made our way there. Apart from a variety of ice-cream flavours offered here, they also offer tea and coffee for beverages, as well as cakes (from Ply Baked Goods) and pies (from Windowsill Pies) here.Decided to skip on the cakes and pies because I had tried them before, so we went straight for a waffle with ice-cream ($9.50). I had a go with a few non-chocolate flavours such as the Affogato (Coffee flavoured ice-cream with Vanilla) as well as the Honey-Scotch, but we settled for the Macademia. Their ice-cream was creamy and smooth, even being slightly sticky as well, and the Macademia flavour was reasonably sweet with specks of Macademia nuts thrown in for a crunch. Waffles were a wee bit on the dense side, and they use the classic egg and butter batter here. Was not particularly crisp, but was slight fluffy and rather decent actually.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/10/23/twenty-grammes-north-bridge-road/

Situated along Changi Road, Collective Brewers pretty inaccessible if you are one who prefers travelling on MRT, but its actually not too far from the nearest bus stop. A simplistic space, its quite easy to miss as its pretty much camouflaged by the eateries around it. Currently in the soft launch phase, it serves only coffee, and payment is by tip basis.They do have espresso-based coffees, but I was in for their Cold Brew (Tip Basis; I paid $6) instead. On the day of the visit, they were using blends from Common Man Coffee Roasters which are known for its fruity punch due to its heavy body. What I experienced from their Cold Brew was slightly different; while the flavour seems to be fully extracted from the beans, I cannot deny on how smooth and comforting it is. Basically, it still packs that fruity punch, but its not at all overwhelming. That nutty finish also left not much aftertaste behind, which I thought was rather well-executed.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/10/31/collective-brewers-changi-road/

Despite being a heartland cafe, Flavour Flings seemed to have nothing short of other cafes situated in town when it comes to its interior fittings. Walk in the glass door and you would be greeted by a concave flooring that is filled up by pebbles with wood planks to step on. Cemented walls had textural designs, and the plain walls were made alive with paintings of people. It just gives us a refreshing environment, especially when these days everyone seemed to be jumping up on the industrial-themed bandwagon. The menu is pretty varied here, ranging from poached eggs, baked eggs, omelettes to pasta and pancakes. There are also a number of plated desserts to indulge in as well.My dining partner decided to go for The Awesome One ($11); pancakes with salted caramel, bananas and walnuts. Drenched in a generous serving of Salted Caramel, the pancakes absorbed that sweet-salty goodness that was in perfect ratio; not too sweet, but not too salty as well. There was also a crisp consistency around the edges of the Pancakes, though it was a tad thin and we actually expected a stack of three instead of two for its price. My dining partner still found it filling though; the bananas seemed to have done the trick there.Settling for my baked eggs craving, I went for the Atlantic Shirlled Eggs ($16); essentially baked eggs in cream sauce with smoked salmon and spinach, served with toast alongside. The toast had a crisp skin, and when coupled with a portion of the Atlantic Shirlled Eggs were comforting; simple yet delightful. The cream sauce was able to give the eggs sufficient savouriness, though sometimes it gets overwhelming with the smoked salmon. Appreciated the spinach added though; it provided a good break in between when it gets slightly too overpowering.My dining partner and I decided to go with the Creme Brulee ($7) for dessert. This was pretty impressive; a crackling melted sugar layer on the top that cracks with a knock of a spoon that reveals sweet, eggy goodness within. Their version seemed to trump even those from hotel buffets which I have tried lately that seemed to had uninspiring liquid sugar seated atop the custard layer.For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/11/01/flavour-flings-blk-121-hougang-ave-1/

Situated doors away from My Awesome Cafe is Pantler, a new patisserie that had just recently opened to much hype along Telok Ayer Street in the Central Business District. Largely focusing on cakes, pastries and savouries such as Danishes, it is not just about desserts here; Pantler has also a couple of bakes meant to satisfy the lunch crowd whom may be looking for a light bite. I was actually spoilt for choice there because everything looked so good!I was being recommended the Peppered Tuna Cube which was fresh out-of-the-oven, but decided to go against it after noticing those cut skin-on potatoes on the Potato Cheese Danish ($3.00). Admittedly it was good, but being left on display in the open marred this pastry a little; the Danish became a wee bit limp and dry losing its original buttery, fluffy touch while the melted cheese was a bit stiff. Potatoes were really fresh, but I personally thought it would be really delicious if it was served hot out-of-the-oven.Choux Creme ($5.50) was also recommended. I was expecting a puff pastry that was slightly salty, but it came with yet another surprise. This one felt a bit similar to Christmas ladyfingers in both taste and texture, and generously loaded with fresh and smooth Vanilla custard cream. This is one luxurious dessert that ladies would definitely be fond with.If you had seen Pantler’s Facebook page or Instagram, you would have found these Pate de Fruits ($3.50 for 3) familiar. These are flavoured fruit jellies; think of those you get in the supermarket in packs but way fresher because they are made in-house. They come in a variety of flavours, and comes in bundles of threes. I picked the Pineapple, Peach and Passionfruit and Blackcurrant flavours. Found the Peach & Passionfruit flavour rather unique; the subtle sweetness of peach and tartness of Passionfruit fused together seemed like a exquisite combination, while the Blackcurrant was pretty decent for sweet-tooths. Texture-wise, the jellies are a bit more solid than expected; maybe slightly firmer compared to a grape so do not expect these to be chewy. Despite that, it is definitely worth the try!Apparently I realized I missed trying their cakes, so I added a Matcha Azuki Pound Cake ($3) for takeaway as well. Unlike what I was expecting, this was surprisingly moist, but of the right density. It focused more on the Pound Cake; being more buttery with a light touch of matcha rather than being overwhelmingly bitter. Azuki brought in that earthy flavour at the bottom; pretty classy as well. For non-green tea fans, there are also several flavours to choose from, so you could perhaps find one that you fancy!For more photos and the full review, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/pantler-telok-ayer-street/