Apart from the Tiong Bahru café enclave, Tanjong Pagar has been another one lately with so many cafés around! Just down the lane opposite Cake Spade, Drury Lane is yet another of those hipster places in a shophouse.

We were just full from our high tea snacks over at SPR.MKT, but decided to pop by after checking out their Facebook and got tempted by their candy bar pie.

Candy Bar Pie ($5)Looking at this and think of peanut butter nougat, salted caramel and chocolate tart base, how can anyone with a sweet tooth resist this sinful indulgence? Rich with a strong taste of peanut butter, it was a sticky chewy sweetness with caramel, paired with a moist chocolate crust, perfect for the sweet tooth cravings.

Do be prepared with a glass of water by the side though, as a few mouthfuls can get you jelat easily, with the overwhelming rich flavours involved. It would have been perfect if the saltish part of the salted caramel came through stronger to strike a balance, as it got a tad toooo sweet for us after a while. Great for the peanut butter lover, a richer rendition of the snickers bar for that quick sugar rush over coffee session!

Banana Bread with Espresso Butter ($2.50)A look at the dark crusts and a whiff of the espresso was half a battle won. Moist and soft slice of banana bread, it went perfectly well with the espresso butter. We loved the strong yet not overpowering espresso taste in it, and just a subtle banana flavour in the bread. Have a taste of the crust that’s slightly charred, perfecto! A good combination, don’t expect a strong banana taste in the bread (though I would personally prefer that), and it would have been better if the bread was warmer for serving!Distinctive red door to recognise!Pretty no-fuss menuSelection of dessertsSandwiches and pay-as-you-wish-muffinsFirst floor seating areaSecond floor seating areaWe almost missed out on these bottles of water, so remember to help yourselves before getting seated, especially if you're getting desserts!

Few of those cafes that got us thinking that we’ll be back, we’re already missing the banana bread and would want a shot at their baked eggs that sounds like the perfect start to any day! Oh, and for those looking to find a quiet space to work/study, they've got free wifi for you to tap on! More reasons to visit them I guess!

Craving for some high tea treats before heading to town, we decided to explore the Tanjong Pagar cafes that have been long overdue on our list.

Off we went to this rather odd sounding café near Amoy Street Food Centre, for those who’re wondering, it’s simply Supermarket, less the vowels and jazzed up with a lil’ of that cool factor. It’s pretty easy to have missed it without a very visible signboard at its entrance. In fact, I’d continued walking upon seeing it from opposite, thinking it was some travel-related business in it, until tmcy stopped us to take a closer look.

A chic and arty layout with some daily utensils, cooking crockeries for sale and art installation pieces, it was very much a lifestyle café, perfect for the slow afternoon or lazy weekends.

Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce ($6)This looked too tempting on the display that we had to give it a shot. Served slightly warm with the vanilla sauce on the side, it helped to keep it crisp on the top as you drizzle the sauce yourself. We loved the surprise mini chocolate crossiants on top, leaving us with flaky crispy pastry flakes for the contrast with soft pudding on the inside. We like how it wasn’t too sweet, and bonus was when you ate it with the chocolate crossiants in one mouthful! We would have preferred it warmer though everything else managed to satisfy our palate pretty well!

Truffle Fries with Kelp & Parmesan ($12)Just as I’ve been searching for good truffle fries, I’ve just been introduced to one of the best in town (though pretty pricey!) It looked promising when we were greeted with a strong fragrance of truffle, and served with shoestring fries, instead of fat fries where it tends to be harder to absorb the flavour.

You know how some truffle fries are simply lightly sprinkled with truffle oil on top that it just tastes like normal fries beyond the first layer? And some that are just too overwhelming that it gets jelat after a while? (which my friend calls it the ‘petroleum taste’) Well, this had neither of those. Every single fry was doused with truffle that was subtle yet addictive, and we loved how there were real truffle bits served in it. It wasn’t overpowering, and it remained crisp right down to the last fry standing! Forget the super big pile at P.S Café, forget the popular one at Au Chocolat, this is the one to come to when you’re unwilling to settle for just any truffle fries. A satisfying one, at least for me, this is my top choice so far! (but if you’ve come across any other good ones, please share with us!)Exterior of SPR.MKT, with several seats outside for alfresco diningDaily menuOn the inside!We loved the blackboard school-ish feeling to this!We haven’t tried the mains to determine the overall standards, though the sides selection were good enough to bring us back for a second time. Be sure to try the truffle fries on your visit!

A yearly affair with the mooncakes, we were pretty sick of the usuals we got at the annual Taka fair. A trip to Toast Box got us in touch with BreadTalk Group’s latest addition – Thye Moh Chan. Tapping on the strategic locations of Toast Box, where they were promoting Thye Moh Chan’s mooncake vouchers for sale, we decided to give it a shot since my parents had enjoyed the tau sah piah we bought back earlier.A familiar name with the older generation especially the tau sah piah lovers, it prides itself upon handmade pastries even till today. We got ourselves a box of 4 different flavours for $24.80/box, packed on the spot for us.

Teochew Double Delight 潮州双拼饼As Teochews, this traditional pastry we’ve had from young was a hit with us! A layer of red bean paste and another layer of winter melon mixed with melon seeds, white sesame, glutinous rice flour, and bits of dried orange peel to give a refreshing taste to the sweetness. Well complemented with buttery fluffy pastry flakes, we loved how it wasn’t too sweet nor too oily, yet bringing out the fragrance of the butter pastry.

Sweet Tau Sah Piah (Single Yolk) 甜豆沙 (单黄)This is a classic for me, always preferring the sweet to the salty when it comes to tau sah piah, the opposite from my family. Simple yet done well, the lotus paste was smooth yet not leaving traces of excessive oil used in the mixing. I typically pick out the salted egg yolk but this was lain at the bottom forming a layer of it, making it impossible to remove. Eating it together with the sweet paste, it was a pleasant combination with a slight salted twist to the otherwise jelat sweetness. Paired with the light buttery flakes, this left me contented with my simple piece.

Salty Tau Sah Piah (Single Yolk) 咸豆沙 (单黄)I’m never a fan of this as I’ve always found it too salty and grainy for my liking. This, however, managed to pacify me with its moderate taste. Salted and well complemented with the fluffy skin, eating this can be quite a mess with the green bean bits falling apart anytime. Best way to eat it? Pop the whole thing into your mouth and slowly savour the saltiness coming through with the fragrance of the skin. Delish in a mouthful!

Yuan Yang 鸳鸯This was the highlight for all of us, with fried shallots, white sesame, spicy pork floss, savoury mung bean paste and salted egg yolk. Incorporating the signature floss that we’re all so familiar with from BreadTalk, it sounded kinda odd initially but it went down surprisingly well! Interesting combination, I loved how the sweetness of the floss complemented the salted egg yolk and mung bean paste well, so that it wasn’t overpowering and added a slight spicy touch to it. The varying textures also went very well, exciting your tastebuds with different touch every mouthful! This was so good we couldn’t get enough of it!A different take on mooncakes, some might argue that it’s just a bigger version of tau sah piah, and a lot more pricey. There’s no denial on that, we thought it was quite a smart move to ride on the wave and package it as ‘mooncakes’. Unconventional yet satisfied our palates well enough!

Specializing in Thai cuisine, Folks Collective is located along Nankin Row at China Square Central. I have a particular liking for this area for despite the renovations and modern touches, it managed to retain the heritage aspect of the vicinity and rather than outshining Chinatown, which is a stone's throw away, this area of eateries plays a complementing effect.Folks Collective is a place which allows all the good folks to gather over shared meals and shared memories. Stepping in for the first time, we were not quite sure what to expect with a bar at the front and heritage memorabilia and decorations lining the walls and the most part of the restaurant.When we were shown to our table and finally presented with the menu did I realize that this is a Thai restaurant. You might have noticed that the setting had a mix of vintage touch yet jazzed up with strokes of contemporary fashion which resulted in a fusion cross-over.

They have a happy hour till 9pm where selected beers (Heineken and Tiger) were offered at one-for-one but moving on, the food was crucial for we were starving by now! We were divided on what to choose so we figured the best bet was to leave it to the experts to advise us and we based our orders on their recommendations.

Tom Yam Poteak (Seafood, Kaffir Lime, Sweet Basil and Lemon Grass) (S$8.90/++)You usually do not leave a Thai restaurant without trying their tom yum soup and on this occasion, it was a no brainer appetizer to tease our tastebuds. Innocent looking it might seem, but the soup packed a great deal of flavours, albeit strong too. The last bowl of good tom yam tried was at Ah Loy Thai and while this rendition was not as spicy, it sure was savoury. While the flavours were bold, it was also subdued in a pleasant fashion, making it enjoyable as a whole.

Do not be fooled by this petite bowl for it packed a great deal of seafood in there, with prawns, fish fillet and squid, topped with sliced red onions, dried chilli and coriander to enhance its flavours. The amount of seafood in there sure was generous and while we waited for our mains, this tom yam did its trick in titillating our senses!Before you mistaken these cups to be some Royalty decorations, these were actually cups for our plain iced water. Instead of serving them in the usual glasses, we were given these petite cups and the iced water was refillable too.

Grilled Pork Neck (with dried chili dip) (S$7.90/++)With limited stomach space, we had to strike out one of the recommended dishes and between the two, the lady recommended the grilled pork neck. While we loved the marinade of the protein, it however seemed to have spent a little too much time on the grill, leaving it slightly over-cooked. The meat was unfortunately considerably stiff.

That being said, the dried chilli dip was a winner and coupled with the marinade of the pork, it won us over easily. We would have enjoyed the dish a lot better if the protein was cooked perfectly. The dip was spicy yet not to the extent of having you scurrying for water to wash it down.

While we enjoyed a more value-for-money dish and did not mind the generous serving portion, the elongated plate seemed unable to keep the sliced pork neck on the plate and had pieces of it protruding outwards and almost touching the table. Perhaps an improvement to the cutlery would do the trick?

Overall, I thought that it was a good dish in terms of flavours and taste but let down by the technique and to a certain extent, the presentation.

Pad Thai Goong (flat noodle, banana prawns and tamarind dressing) (S$8.90/++)Surprisingly, the best plate of pad thai tried so far was in UK in a humble little city at Leicestershire. Unfortunately it closed down a few years ago and since then, I had been on the search for a good enough pad thai for me to return to consistently.

I loved everything about this rendition. The various ingredients and elements were checked, top down from the crushed roasted peanuts, dried chilli flakes, crunchy fresh bean sprouts, stir-fried noodles and that wedge of lime to sum it up neatly with a subtle touch of acidity.

The flavours were spot-on and there were elements of sweetness, sourness, savouriness and a hint of spiciness and the soft noodles were complemented with the crunchy bean sprouts and gritty crushed nuts. It was good enough for me to consider ordering another plate!

Ice Cream Kati (coconut ice cream, traditional toppings and glutinous rice) (S$4.90/++)If there is one reason I need to return to Folks Collective, it would have to be for this. The dessert menu looked simple but any foodies would know this undying need and desire to end off a savoury meal with a sweet offering, so we asked for recommendations for just one MUST-TRY dessert.

This was a homemade ice cream and no, it is nowhere close to your commercial ones. The coconut ice cream had a strong scent and taste and it was fresh and gave a clean and refreshing slate. There was a harmonious balance in terms of textures with the sticky glutinous rice as the base, then the smooth ice cream and all the crunchy toppings. The sweetness was enough to please one's palate and not overly done and overall the combination with the slushy coconut ice cream won both us over completely.Different parts of the restaurant had different themes and sets of furniture so throughout our dinner, we seemed to always keep finding some new aspects and elements to learn about. There was the vintage perspective, the modern takeaway and even an old-school gramophone to give the setting a spiced up shuffle.

The hospitality offered by the waiting staffs was immaculate and they were attentive to our requests though at times it seemed a little hard to catch their attention with the briskness of their business. We were greeted upon arrival and thanked with wide smiles on our departure. I also noticed that when a table of diners had left, they would clean the table almost immediately with antiseptic spray and cleaning fluid.

It was in general an enjoyable dinner with a nice ambiance for a reunion with friends matched by good customer service and quality Thai food. If anything, I would surely return one of these days for their Pad Thai and the memorable coconut ice cream dessert!

For full review and more photos, please visit http://www.makeyourcaloriescount.com/2013/09/sg-folks-collective-let-all-good-folks.html

Egg Tart (S$1.50/pc)Surely one of our top picks now in Singapore. We heard people before us were buying by the dozens and were wondering if it was as good as it sounded. We enjoyed the flaky pastry which was buttery yet not overly greasy from the butter used. The taste of the custard egg yolk also suited our palate. Not tasting overly sweet, it was rich and had a nice fragrance to it.

Red Bean Roll (S$1.50/pc)We liked the delicate touch to this simple pastry. Between the wraps and rolls was the mildly sweet red bean paste which we particularly enjoyed as the sweetness was enough to pleasure and not satiate.

Pork Siew Bao (S$1.50/pc)The pork siew bao tasted pretty similar to the usual char siew sou though the pork here was finely minced and diced so you could barely taste the meat. We loved the pastry though as it was almost melt-in-your-mouth soft. Apart from being a fragrant pastry, the filling was mildly savoury and sweet.