[CLOSED] Grains & Hops Restaurant and Bar

Was here last weekend for staycation and decided to give this place a try before checking in the hotel.

If you are looking for a very quiet place to have your lunch along Orchard Road, probably this is best place to be. The place was empty when I arrived, so you can enjoy your food peacefully.

The healthy grains comes with 2 sticks of deep-fried pork loin skewers which pretty much crispy, they also provide their homemade garlic parmesan sauce with house salad. $20++

grilled miso salmon, teriyaki sauce, multigrain rice & house salad. felt really healthy after eating this. simple yet sumptuous meal. try their marmite chicken pops $12 too! use eatigo for up to 50% off! http://refer.eatigo.com/eati4poo-1v9

I don’t think this one tiny satchet of Dilmah tea (yes yes, I’m an uncultured swine so save your insults, all you tea aficionados!) is worth $5...but the ambience and view more than made up for it! I especially loved the open-concept workspace just adjacent to the dining area - one can opt for casual sofa seats or proper chairs at a long table fully equipped with plugs! Needless to say, the evening spent nursing my tea over 50+ backdated lectures flew by in the blink of an eye!

It’s one of those days where I got more than what I expected 🤤 Wanted a simple treat for my itchy molars to munch on and was presented with this miniature one-plate smorgasbord. There’re so many things going on here I don’t even know where to begin! Ice cream, granola, fresh fruits, a tri-layered block of rice crispy...the colorful varied appearance managed to whet my appetite, that much I can say! Yet, I’m a little ambivalent about the taste...

The many constituents didn’t exactly mesh well together, but it wasn’t bad per se. These were my thoughts in chronological order:
1)”holy moly it’s a peanut lover’s wet dream!!!”
2)”nomnom this is nubbad I guess. Though a lil dry...”
3) “oh gosh this is really dense...ACK I’M CHOKING!!!!”
Thankfully, stuffing a spoonful of ice cream in my mouth dislodged the lump and saved me from an untimely demise!!! So, back to the crispy. Very generous with the chocolate and peanut butter though got a bit “jelak” after a few bites. But it was quite nice to munch on granola and fruits for a different taste! Also, apart from preventing airway blockage, the ice cream (which was drizzled with different syrup strands) itself was pretty refreshing.

Though I’ll probably think twice about ordering this when alone, props to the creative minds behind this original creation, it’s always refreshing to try something apart from the standard cafe fare! 😁👍🏻

Essentially the milkshake equivalent of a particularly sassy rum ball in the embrace of bitter Guinness’ burly, hairy manliness. 4/5
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Could not decide if this should be an Early Fatback (post uploaded in the sleepy morning of a workday) or Fatback Ears Down (alcohol-related post), so went with neither.

Roasted Angus Beef Bowl ($22++)

Chope's 1-for-1 promotion is for this & only this bowl. You might scoff at the beef being on skewers (I've had one too many dry & tough skewered meatz), but they were amazingly tender & I didn't feel like the utensils or my teeth were going to break. The homemade spicy garlic sauce is set to the side so you can adjust how spicy you want it to be. While the garlic taste isn't too strong, the chilli DOES pack a punch (you can see the chilli padi seeds inside), so go easy on your first dip.

Their signature purple sticky rice does not look like much, but somehow with the house salad on the side (quite reminds me of acar aka spicy pickled vegetables), everything was surprisingly harmonious.

I will admit, however, that $22++ for a bowl of this (i.e. without the 1-for-1 promotion) is on the steep side. But then again, this IS in a hotel in the heart of Orchard Road, so...... Shrugs.

💳 Accepts credit cards
🌬 Air-conditioned seats only
🏩 10th floor of YOTEL
📶 Wifi available (YOTEL)
💻 Accepts reservations - I used Chope