New Restaurants, Cafes And Bars: November 2014

With so many frozen yoghurt and soft serve parlours popping up this month, wouldn't it be great to have BOTH options under the same roof? Well then, you'd be thrilled to know that Honeycomb can help you with that. Located in the former space of Stateland Cafe, this place offers 5 flavours of milk soft serve/ froyo ($6-$7), all topped with real honeycomb and liquid honey served in an adorable syringe. Be it soft serve or froyo, caramel/ matcha/ apple & cinnamon all sound pretty darn good.

Newly opened Japanese bakery Asanoya specialises in delicious gourmet breads and pastries. Located in Wilby Central, their Singapore flagship store has gotten us all excited over their Japanese-European fusions. Their signature Karuizawa breads are divine, and include flavours like blueberry and matcha with white chocolate. Other must-trys are the maple walnut pretzel made with homemade maple butter, the apple caramel cube/ cube loaves and earl grey tea bread. But really, you could just close your eyes, pick something, and it'd be pretty great.

Located near Tai Seng MRT station, 23 Jumpin joins the party of cafes in the East, offering affordable menu items great for brunch. Their simple and minimalistic decor creates a cool space to chill over some eggs benedict, bangers and mash, duck confit, and burgers. For dessert, try Jumpin's Orginal Cotta - their innovative take on the classic panna cotta, with a dark chocolate base and a generous sprinkle of peanuts to top it off.

Newly opened British-inspired cafe Hyde & Co. has brought the English obsession with crumpets to Singapore. You don't find many places serving up these classic tea time treats, but at Hyde, expect a sizeable range of griddle cake topping options - eggs/ potatoes/ mushrooms, bacon/ ham/ smoked salmon, homemade spreads/ fruits. When in doubt, go for the Lady Hyde, their take on the classic Croque Madame, with house special hebi hiam for a more local flavour. For the sweet tooth, try their Gula Gula; gula melaka-oozing crumpets sprinkled with coconut. Don't forget to order that pot of tea! ;)

Taking over Liberty Coffee's old space at Rangoon Road is new frozen yoghurt bar, The Cold Pantry. With a handful of froyo stores setting up shop lately, this place sets itself apart by offering not just unique flavours of froyo, but with unique topping combinations as well. Case in point - their thai milk tea froyo with homemade honeycomb, and their Movie-Date yoghurt cup which comes topped with popcorn, banana and chocolate sauce, with a cheese nacho base. How's that for unique!

Newly opened in Lorong Kilat is Revelry, a chill and casual cafe specialising in savoury waffles. Tired of the usual ice cream pairings with waffles? Then this is just the place for you! Menu items include waffles topped with crispy fried chicken, eggs royale & smoked salmon, prawn & cheese, and even otah & kai lan. They also offer a selection of cheesecakes cakes supplied by Cat and The Fiddle and serve coffee made with Allpress Espresso blends.

Popular Australian pie chain, Pie Face, has finally shown its face in Singapore! A favourite all over Australia, this pie shop doesn't just warm the tummy with delicious hot savoury pies, but also warms the heart with their adorable pie faces (being true to its name). All-time favourites include the chicken & mushroom pie and the chunky steak pie. They're definitely known for their meaty pies, but if you prefer the sweet stuff, they also offer sweet mousse tarts in 8 flavours including green tea, butterscotch and raspberry.

The Saveur group has delved into affordable French fine dining with its latest food venture - Saveur Art. Located in ION Orchard, Saveur Art serves impeccably plated dishes with French finesse. Start with the egg confit & truffle ($12, $18 to add freshly shaved truffle) or chestnut veloute ($10), then go for the mangalica pork two ways ($22) or poached Maine lobster ($29 for half, $49 for whole) and end off with their chocolate and pistachio dessert ($13). You don't have to wait for a special occasion to dine at Saveur Art, 2-/ 3-course lunches are reasonably priced at $29 and $37 respectively.

Flavour Flings is a brand new heartland cafe located in Hougang, bringing hearty brunch servings to residents and everyone else in the area. Recycled-wood furnishings give this place a very laid-back vibe, perfect for casual brunch affairs. Menu items include eggs done in a variety of ways - poached/ baked/ fried, pastas as well as pancakes. Tastemaker Raine Liu recommends Marie's Baked Eggs; 'tomato based eggs with mushrooms and spinach and cheese which went well with the toasted sour dough bread.'

Sync Korean Tapas Bar is the first of its kind in Singapore. Cozily located within the Serangoon Garden estate, this brand new Korean tapas bar is out to impress. Offering many small dishes of Korean-inspired favourites including toppoki, mandu and dak kang jung (sweet & spicy fried chicken) and more substantial dishes like dak garbi (a version of paella), Sync Korean Tapas Bar is perfect for group gatherings over great tapas and signature soju cocktails. Don't leave without first ordering their unique misugaru lava cake (made from traditional Korean multi-grain powder)!

Durian Creme Brulee. Salted Egg Fries. These are all the reasons you need to pay The Quarters a much-needed visit. Located in Icon Village at Enggor Street, they take inspiration from local Asian flavours to create exciting and unique mod-sin (Modern Singapore) dishes. A sucker for salted-egg-yoke anything will HAVE to order the crispy fries with salted egg yolk dip, and of course, don't leave without first trying their signature durian creme brulee - with smooth, creamy Mao Shan Wang durian custard that's so, so satisfying.

Have YOU braved the Honey Creme queue? Known for their milky and smooth soft serve ice cream with novel toppings, this Taiwanese brand's soft serve with honeycomb is a popular choice, as is the cotton candy and caramel popcorn. Coffee-lovers can opt for the organic cotton candy affogato and watch a magical display of hot-espresso-on-cotton-candy action unfold. It might be wise to wait till the queues shorten a little, unless you have some time to spare!