the book cafe, robertson quay

can you believe it’s already the weekend? it’s time for a rest – and almost definitely time to plan for one, if you haven’t already – and this place seems pretty good to cap off this hectic week.

I feel like its name suits this place, as it’s rather fortuitously decked out as a sanctuary to catch up on those eponymous founts of knowledge – or let’s be honest, random laptopping – with the food incidental to the experience.

not that the food is bad, but I just don’t feel like that’s the raison d’etre of this place. to be fair – it’s all pretty decent. my pancakes were just about fluffy enough, with a dash of powdered sugar and sliced fruit; eggs benedict as you’d expect, with flowy yolks and a rather cute addition of a latke; and an unphotographed order of cereal was a rather out-the-box execution of muesli, generic sweetened vanilla yogurt and milk.

so it’s all edible, but not exactly travel-worthy.

the calm of the place is more than worth it though. it’s hidden away in the outskirts of robertson quay (as though our red dot is large enough to quantify for this term), and almost completely rid of any hipsters – money can’t buy that second part these days. it’s not cool so much as cozy, with a smart layout of sofas at the back and traditional table-and-chairs in front, as well as the books and magazines all propped up on shelves everywhere.

get a coffee, and some food – support these people please – and while away your afternoon. it’s like being home, without actually being 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.