grub, bishan

I’m adding this to my list of unimpressive brunch places – and this one is rather akin to the experience I had at the fabulous baker boys. both are located in rather beautiful buildings in a park-type environment, both have the same brunch hype going for it, and both didn’t quite live up to potential.

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I came here in a large group of 10, so I think it’s safe to say we traversed most of the menu – and also safe to say that it wouldn’t be far off to say that this review is therefore informed. most of the dishes we had are here – but I’m going to skip the verbose this morning.

the breakfast dishes suffered from a state of mere passableness – that includes their breakfast plates, french toast, and eggs cocotte. that last one, in particular, was also afflicted with a a state also known as rawness. it had to be returned, and even then came back only slightly lukewarmer than at its first appearance.

the better ones were the burgers. a crispy fish burger came as a large fillet sticking out two fluffy buns, and the beef variant was both hefty and juicy – quite a good iteration for a cafe.

have you seen that tiny green pickle at the edge of the board though? it came as a side to the burger, and was really that size. so cute! and so.. weird that their nominal pickle would be so truly nominal.

I forget to give a shout-out to the beef and guinness pie, which prefaces this post – this was a delicious deconstructed do, with braised beef and soft carrots topping a crispy puff of pastry. pretty delicious this one, and probably the best thing on the menu.

I wasn’t excited by any of the deserts either. my sticky date pudding was more like a kueh topped with ice cream; a dense, chewy (almost like an uncooked unrisen cake), mass of starc that can barely pass for cake. I managed a couple of spoonfuls, but that was about it.

the dark chocolate pot was essentially a pot of ganache – nothing wrong with that, of course, but I expected a little more finesse and a slightly more varied texture. that spicy cashew praline was a lightly chilli-spicy sandy, sugary mix – kind of interesting on the menu, but too reminiscent of sugar to eat too much of.

the churros were also a bit dense, though the chocolate and creme anglaise it came with was decent at least. the best churros I’ve had are the disneyland ones – with crisp exteriors and fluffy interiors – and I can’t seem to get to any restaurants or cafes which provide the same.

so.. there’s that. it’s a pretty long walk through the park, and definitely not the easiest place to get to. I suggest getting your GPS on, as we lost our way and it was mad sweltering. I wish it had been a better experience – much like those I’ve seen on reviews when it first opened to large crowds – but what can you do?

Grub
510 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 (Bishan Park 1)
Singapore 569983
tel +65 6459 5743 (no reservations)
$$: twenty-esque