New Restaurants, Cafes and Bars: January 2015

Located opposite Eunos MRT Station, this new cafe offers a cosy and comfortable space for your coffee needs. The furniture, cake display and checkered tiles evoke memories of old-fashioned local coffeeshops, adding to the cafe's charm. Aside from their coffee -- currently a house blend of Ethiopian and Columbian coffee, but with single origin to be supplied at a later date -- Jasmine Green Tea Honey, Orange Poppy, and Oreo Cream Cheese flavoured cakes are also available.

Doi Chaang Coffee brings their renown organic and fairtrade coffee to Singapore. "Doi chaang" translates to "Elephant Mountain", so named after the shapes of the hills behind the village in Chiang Rai where the coffee is cultivated. Setting up their flagship outlet at Rochester Mall, this cafe serves a variety of coffee and non-coffee based beverages, as well as a range of mille crepe cakes which come in flavours such as Tiramisu, French Vanilla and Strawberries Yogurt. The Matcha and Azuki Mille Crepe Cake and Ice Doi Chaang are recommended.

If you're bored of the usual brunch items that most cafes serve, then you should totally try the food at The Laneway Market. Joining several new cafes along the Tanjong Katong Road stretch, The Laneway Market offers unusual options such as Nacho Chicken and French Toast layered with Bacon and Baked Beans. For mains, try their Pulled Pork Burger and Gambas (soba topped with roasted sesame infused minced prawn). We hear they have a second storey currently in the works!

Opened as part of Group Therapy Coffee, is Regroup X Scooptherapy, bringing you a full kitchen menu beside an ice-cream parlour serving in-house made scoops. Start off with their new menu addition of pumpkin pancakes that come topped with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. (Of course, no brunch is complete without some smoked salmon in the picture, and that can be added on.) Going in hungry? Then opt for their generous portion of crispy buttermilk fried chicken with sweet potato chunks and a garden salad on the side. Don't forget to end it all off with some butter beer/ burnt caramel/ lemon poppyseed ice cream!

New year, new resolutions, right? If eating healthy - or healthier, is on the list (as is the case for many of us), newly opened Guac & Go can help you with that. Opened by two avocado-lovers excited to spread their love for guac, expect healthy and affordable wraps and salads with a choice of original, mango, or spicy guacamole. What's more, they also serve up delicious cold press juices, smoothies, cold brew coffee, and one of their top-sellers, cashew nut milk.

Already drawing comparisons to the popular Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters, Boufe Boutique Cafe is primed to be the next big thing in the cafe scene. Situated within Phoenix Park in the Tanglin area, Boufe (the word a portmanteau of "boutique" and "cafe") shares a space with a boutique called Ohvola. The usual brunch fare such as Eggs Benedict, Brioche French Toast and Croque Madame are served, but you should really try the Boufe's Big Breakfast or "Triple B". Boufe also serves pastries and offers a dinner menu. Be warned -- given the quality of the food and the killer combination of spaciousness, chic decor and a warm ambience, this place will only become more popular with time.

You can't possibly have too much ice cream in the tropics. Recently opened DanmiSoft brings you milky smooth, organic soft serve ice cream from Korea, with a range of toppings and flavours that include manuka honey, affogato, caramel popcorn and the ever popular honeycomb ($3.90-$5.90). Want to bump up the healthy factor? Ask for an additional topping of Himalayan pink salt, available for all flavours!

Newly opened in Bedok North Ave 2 is ice cream bar, Fatcat. Offering 18 ice cream flavours made from scratch daily, expect to find fresh and exciting flavours like passionfruit sorbet and butter beer, which can come served atop a salted egg charcoal waffle. Besides just dishing out scoops of ice cream, they serve a range of beautifully plated desserts and drinks. A must try is their incredibly refreshing lime mojito sphere, which bursts into an explosion of zesty flavour. For an ice cream bar, what is offered is truly unique, and Fatcat really does set itself apart from all other ice cream parlours out there.

“Eat Less Rice, so that we can Eat More Noodles”? If your reply to that is a confident 'AMEN', you're going to be newly opened I Want My Noodle's biggest fan. Their lovingly handmade, springy egg noodles are already becoming a hit, with their signature Lor Bah Noodle making great first impressions. Besides their Lor Bah Noodle, their prawn noodle and roasted pork noodle are total crowd-pleasers as well!

You no longer have to travel all the way to Thailand to get your dose of coconut ice cream served in a husk. The people over at newly opened Pong can help you with just that. Get their bestseller - coconut gelato and sorbet in a flesh-filled coconut husk and served with a cup of coconut juice. Their coconut gelato is dairy-free and their sorbets made from fresh fruits complement the gelato well. A perfect pick-me-up on a warm day!

Italian bistro and gelateria Chapter 55 (sister to Ice Edge Cafe) has opened up shop in Tiong Bahru, adding to the already extensive list of eateries there. Their fluffy waffles topped with homemade gelato and range of Italian bites and desserts from pastas and pizzas to tiramisus and lava cakes are already drawing in the lunchtime crowd. Their signature gelato waffles ($14-$18.50) may be slightly on the pricey end, but hey - you get what you pay for in quality, with light, fluffy waffles, and rich, flavourful gelato.

Unique up-cycled furniture, mismatched chairs, wooden tables and one-of-a-kind standing lamps give newly opened Aeiou nothing but character. Currently in their soft launch phase and set to officially open on 11 Jan, don't let the lack of a full menu deter you from checking this cafe out pronto. With adorably quaint furniture and an unbelievably laid-back vibe, this is one perfect place to stop by for an iced avocado coffee or simple black brew served in a repurposed vodka bottle. Novelty right there,