Not many might have heard of The Punggol Settlement, which is situated at Punggol Point Road not too far away from Punggol Road End. Being part of the Punggol Promenade district, it is a place for F&B and recreational activities at the Punggol Beach area. Amongst the few F&B places opened for business at The Punggol Settlement is Wayne’s Chill-Out, an ice-cream parlour situated at the second level with an al-fresco dining area facing the sea. Apart from ice-cream, they also serve hot food such as Lasagne and Pizza.We were here for an after-meal dessert, so we decided to order a waffle with two scoops of ice-cream ($12.50), which we went for Coconut and Cookies & Cream. Crisp with a moist interior, the waffles were made with a classic batter involving eggs and butter, which was savoury and fragrant. Coconut Ice-Cream was mild, cooling and refreshing; good to have on a hot and humid afternoon, especially with small chunks of coconut flesh within while the Cookies and Cream was chunky with lots of cookie bits to chew on.For more photos and the full review, please visit: https://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/10/15/waynes-chill-out-the-punggol-settlement/

Sandwiched between old-school hardware shops and grocery shops, Ciel Patisserie seems like as if it was a shop that got transported back to the future. Being a patisserie, items such as cakes, tarts and puffs are offered here, with a lone quiche on the menu. Beverages includes coffee and tea.Fuji ($5.20) is a triangular-shaped cake that is made out of green tea mousse and sponge cake, with what seems like a grape compote encased within. The matcha flavour was light and refreshing, from the jelly-like mousse layer all the way down to the airy sponge cake base. The sourish sweetness from the compote inside was also luxurious, adding yet another dimension of taste to the cake.Choux ($3.20) is pretty much self-explanatory; essentially a Choux puff pastry, it looked firm, but was spongy, airy and light. Despite so, the pastry had flavour, which was somewhat salty and bitter. This was great with the subtly sweet vanilla custard, as it created different dimensions of flavour which made it felt similar to a very mild-tasting salted caramel taste. A simple pastry made different that felt rather intriguing, classy and delicious.For more photos and the full review, please visit: https://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/12/11/ciel-patisserie-blk-124-hougang-ave-1/

Recently opened a few months back, Beans & Cream bears a pretty much unique address in the west of Singapore. Located in the quiet neighbourhood of Bukit Gombak, it definitely does not come across as an address that would come up to mind for a cafe. Much like the neighbourhood itself, the interior is simple without much elaborate decorations. Seatings are very much limited here, with only three four-seaters inside and two more four-seaters on the outside.Since it is a place that sells ice-cream and waffles primarily, we had to give the two a try. We coupled Earl Grey and topped up for an additional Rum & Raisin scoop for our waffles ($9.80). The waffles strangely resembled the ones served at Creamier with a variance in their presentation. The Earl Grey was rather aromatic and uplifting, with the fragrance of tea distinct and soothing. Rum & Raisin was deep with the alcoholic touch; a indulging flavour for those who love this flavour. Waffles were decent, and we loved the crispy exterior which was in perfect match with the airy and fluffy interior. The batter was something we thought they could have did better; it was tasty, but it would fared much better if it carried much more fragrance in it.Not missing out the “Bean” in the name, I also ordered a Flat White ($4.00); something which was out of the menu but the staff gladly made when I enquired. Although much of this cafe’s focus is not really on the coffee, its pretty aromatic with earthy notes detected, and was also pretty creamy.For more photos and the full review, please visit: https://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/07/14/beans-cream-blk-347-bukit-batok-street-34/

Located in Punggol, Ah Dong Teh House is pretty hidden considering it cannot be seen from the main road. Ah Dong Teh House might be a Hong Kong Tea Room, but apart from Hong Kong Tea Room usuals like Gong Zai Meen, they also offer local delights such as Laksa and Hor Fun as well.Lately I had been on an adventure to find good Kaya Toasts in Singapore, so I thought it would be good for me to give the Butter Kaya Toast from Ah Dong Teh House a try. Its pretty decent, and ranks up pretty near or even better than Ya Kun. The toast was thick, and Kaya was fresh. Thick slabs of butter was sandwiched in the middle, which makes this simple breakfast treat somewhat sinful. Its somewhat pricey though, given that its $3.90++ ala-carte, and adding coffee and eggs would set you back another $2 more.My dining partner settled for the Sheng Mian ($12.90++). Crispy fried egg noodles served in a thick gravy that was savoury with loads of egg inside, the portion was really generous. Their variant seemed a tad light; something that I liked though my dining partner would have preferred some dark sauce added for a deeper flavour. Most of the seafood were also fresh as well. Not really the best we have tried, but better than average at the very least.I decided to go on the western menu though, since the Cheezy Pork Cutlet ($14.90++) reminded me of Chicken Corden Bleu. Marinated in Cajun spices, it’s savoury flavour and crispy fried batter seemed to remind me of a certain brand of Fried Chicken. Cut open the tender pork cutlet, and the melted cheese oozes out of the cutlet. Its a pity how the spectacular pork cutlet got served with pretty pedestrian fries and salad at the side, which dragged down the quality of the dish a fair bit.We also ordered Kopi ($3.00++), and its pretty decent as well, with sweetness from the evaporated milk which sweetened the coffee adequately. Makes a good couple with the Kaya Butter Toast!For more photos and the full review, please visit: https://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/11/17/ah-dong-teh-house-tebing-lane/

Dutch Colony Coffee had been expanding its operations of the late, having recently moved its roastery to an industrial district out of its stall at Pasarbella and now, its second outlet at Frankel Avenue. I am hardly one who get moved by decor, but this place was just impressive. On the outside, it quite replicated how a cafe in Australia would have looked like, and it continues into the interior. The chandelier and communal table in the middle, the mockup alfresco seating that is covered by the glass roof to shelter patrons away from Singapore’s gruesome heat and the wide aisle in front of the counter all reminds me of interiors of cafes overseas I have seen on Instagram; its as though this place was modeled from Instagram, for Instagram. Food menu features a range of sandwiches and cakes, as well as some plated desserts, and then a variety of coffee that’s pretty much why you would visit this place for.Visiting Dutch Colony Coffee Co with an empty stomach, I decided to go for something light, which made the Portobello Road ($9.00) seemed pretty apt for me. It’s basically a Portobello open-faced sandwich (a fact that I liked even though I failed to read this when I was ordering) with feta cheese, rocket and tomatoes. This took quite a while to arrive though, but I was surprised by how big it actually is when it came; it looked more like a open-faced burger than a sandwich. Took a bite of the toasted bread; crisp, light and fragrant, as though the sourdough bread was just freshly-baked. Then comes the two fat and juicy Portobello patties which were soft yet full-on earthy, with that small touch of savoury from the Feta scattered all over the mushrooms. Tomatoes were zesty and refreshing especially when the juices burst with every cut with the knife. And then comes the rocket that’s drizzled in a flavourful balsamic dressing. If this ain’t food porn, I don’t know what would be.I was also very intrigued by the Banana Bread with Espresso Butter ($4.80), so I ended up getting one after finishing the sandwich. The Banana Bread was not what I expected, but the soft, sweet and fragrant bread with banana bits was still very satisfying, and made more addictive with the crunchy crust on the top after its being heated up. Only thing that needed improvement was the Espresso Butter, which was claimed to be spread atop before serving but did not taste of anything somehow. Maybe I was still thinking of the one I had at Drury Lane a while back …And how could you ever hit Dutch Colony Coffee without trying their coffee? Their Flat White ($4.50) was on the smooth and creamy side, but you could actually taste that nutty and sweet chocolate tones from their Dutch blend as well.For more photos and the full review, please visit: https://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/09/09/dutch-colony-coffee-co-frankel-avenue/