roosevelt’s diner & bar, outram park

pretty good brunch place – with enough classics and twists to be interesting in its class – and rather conveniently located next to the mrt, which is a lovely characteristic that must not be overlooked (in a market full of eating establishments that pride themselves on inaccessibility).

so I came here when there were barely any reviews out there on this place (not that that matters, as by the time I publish this – there are bound to be many, many more) – and in singapore, that in itself is a feat – on a leap of faith, really; so it was rather a pleasant surprise that we enjoyed our meal.

kith cafe, park mall

I have to say, I was all prepared to give this place a rather meh sort of review and leave it at that, but bernie-the-hungry-bunny has just given it a thumbs up (after a first thumbs-down review), and so I’m willing to give it a more forgiving second-verdict-pending prognosis for now.

traditional vietnamese rice puffs, mekong delta

these are some proper traditional rice crispies – before viewing this demonstration, I never realised that the traditional goodies made of rice pops were quintessential rice crispy treats, but they really are. made of freshly harvested rice grains popped by stirring through hot charcoal granules, there are sifted and then folded through caramel before being cut into rectangles.

the sifting removes the husk that pops off the exploded rice grains, and the cooks work very quickly with hot caramel so it doesn’t harden before the rice puffs get added.

they are poured into traditional wooden moulds as above, which ingeniously have grooves to make neatand consistent cuts. made with different variations such as sesame and coconut, and even noodles instead of rice – I really like this version – there are packed into clear plastic bags and sealed to be sold in the city and overseas.

it’s an old-school treat that’s been overshadowed by the prevalence of marshmallow-rice-treats, and one well – worth revisiting. you might just realize, as I have, that the oldie is a true goldie.

toasty coconutty granola

just to preface this post: cereal is a guilty pleasure of mine. I get weak at the knees when restaurants offer granola or any toasted-grain-with-nuts-and-fruit equivalent, I can get through a box of cereal in an entire day (I miss those days of cheap and abounding cereal in london) and there is nothing I like better than a bowl of thick oatmeal with peanut butter and some dried fruit – despite all my eating, that’s the dish for me.

but cereal is incredibly expensive in singapore, and I don’t mean those frosted-honeyed-coloured-coated-flakes-for-kids that come with a toy in a box – I’m talking about proper cereal: good granola with fruit, swiss-style muesli and hot cereal mixes. I’ve found that the most economical way to still get my fill is to load up on oatmeal (see above), but sometimes I just want to do something special, which brings me to this recipe. I chanced upon this one while looking for something that was easy on the oil – you’d be surprised at the sheer amount included in many recipes out there – and that would be easily adaptable to what I had at home.

boomarang bistro & bar, robertson quay

decentish brunch in the expatriate enclave that is robertson quay. venturing forth on a sunday morning for brunch makes you feel like you’re in europe on a sweltering day, rather than singapore. I have to say that I do sort of enjoy this aspect though – it brings back vaunted memories of being in london on a summer’s day, and expatriates do know how to have a good time on our tiny island (probably more than most of us do). they lug about their strollers, with toddlers in tow scootering about and creating a ruckus – all of which, for me, create a relaxing sort of atmosphere.

boomarang is a huge restaurant, and its size even more impressive in light of the fact that it is a brunch joint, which locally generally means a tiny squashed place with few tables, and though its size meant that service was intermittent, and the food was by no means groundbreaking, it is decent enough to warrant it remaining on my places-to-brunch-list.