Brunching Cafés

I remember K&K Grape & Ricotta Matcha Brioche ($13+) making waves on my feed when they first opened, and while the combination of fruit + ricotta + toast ain’t revolutionary it did sound rather yummy. So when a friend asked us there for brunch, I knew we’ve got to give that a shot. Let’s start with what I liked: the juicy, plump, skinless grapes were refreshing and an absolute joy to down; and the lavender buds added a wonderful gentle fragrance to the dish, lifting it up without overpowering the other ingredients. I thought the dusting of matcha powder added a nice complexity and balance to the syrupy honey and creamy ricotta as well, though the aesthetically-pleasing-but-unevenly dusting over the honey also meant I got solid bitter clumps in a few bites. I didn’t quite get the crushed pistachios though: they weren’t crunchy enough and didn’t add what I thought’d be a nice toasty, earthy, salty sorta touch. Their brioche also fell a little short for me, neither fluffy nor chewy, sweet nor buttery, and it was also a wee over-toasted so I felt like I was eating a baby wafer with a crunchy exterior and sorta stale insides LOL 🤔

Did I think this CB&J (Cashew Butter and Jam y’all what were you thinking) would be good? Yes I did; if y’all followed my #occupyboredom escapades, I made a roasted grapes and sausage dish. Did I think this CB&J would be THIS CRAZILY good though? Nuh-ope. Let me break it down for you. You’re looking at plump and juicy grapes, roasted down beautifully till all those natural sugars turn concentrated and syrupy and oh-so-good. Have those precious gems piled up above a bed of creamy homemade cashew butter, over a thick slice of toasted brioche, then go around the plate with some honey, thyme, and coarse sea salt. That, my friends, is the lowdown on this CB&J. I like that the cashew butter’s not completely creamy so there’s still a little texture there, and it’s also unsalted so that coarse sea salt really adds a fabulous pop in every bite.

It’s a no-brainer pick really for fans of this oozy, gooey , creamy cheese. You’ve got here house-baked country bread, topped with a decadent blanket of stracciatella di bufala (the soft filling of curd and cream basically), assorted tomatoes, prosciutto, and merula olive oil. You don’t need me to break it down for you to tell how much quality ingredients go into this dish.
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The house-baked bread, for one, was stunning: great nutty flavour, soft with a slight bite without being overly chewy. Liberally buttered and toasted, it was the perfect canvas for these light and fresh ingredients. Then you’ve got that wonderful cheese (a star on its own), a variety of tomatoes (some lightly torched, I swear I saw a couple of cherry toms), and little slivers of prosciutto for your hit of salt. It’s a really simple dish, but one that has so much attention paid to its components. I especially enjoyed what I believe to be reduced/aged balsamic, which added hints of slightly syrupy sweetness here and there; as well as the light, fruity olive oil pulling the elements together.

They do a rendition of this in every of their other cafe since Atlas, and it has never been altered or taken out of any menu; that says a lot in itself I believe. It’s hard not to like this simple yet satisfying bowl of Miso-Nori Salmon Soba, with its perfect onsen egg, tender poached salmon, tasty miso-nori butter, and pickle-like warm shimeji mushrooms. A very reliable lunch pick when I feel super uninspired.

A little birdie told me Bread & Hearth makes the best scones ever, so I made it a point to give it a go...and here’s what I think: I wouldn’t call it The Best, but it definitely has the potential to be a super solid one. Breaking past the golden-brown crunchy exterior brings us to a fairly flaky and light pastry, that’s very mildly sweetened and speckled with earthy raisins. All that’s great flavour-wise, but I felt it was lacking that buttery fragrance and epic flaky texture you get from a freshly baked pastry — if yknow what I mean. Perhaps it’s because the pastry’s been sitting out there for quite a bit, only kissing the toaster for a minute before being served, it was a tad stale.

I loved their Off The Bone on my first visit, but when the big boss said to try the Salami & Potatoes which is his new favourite...I did, and it’s now my new favourite too. I’m going to skip on describing the texture of the galette cause I’ve raved about it so much I don’t wanna bore you, so onto the fillings. I loved how balanced and earthy this combination was: you’ve got the soft and naturally sweet roasted potatoes, stuffed with brie and a perfectly oozy egg, then topped with slices of crispy, toasted salami carefully folded in a rosette 🥰 It’s great cause the salami + brie combo’s definitely not as salty as the ham + gruyere + cheddar one — not that the latter’s too salty it’s still super delish — so the earthiness of those roasted potatoes really get a chance to shine. And of course we all know how well rich runny yolks go with potatoes 😉

The thing I really love about Gather, is how they offer simple and fuss-free products, choosing to not over-complicate things and, instead, pay the utmost attention to the little details and quality. You see this literally in every corner of their store: from the interior design, dinnerware, the goods they carry; to the personable service, impeccable coffee and food.
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Take their Burnt Caramel crêpe: it’s classic combination of sweet and salty, caramel and butter (no fucking nutella thank god), really simple stuff; but what sets them apart is the quality of the produce and flavours. They use a sparing but sufficient knob of Bordier butter (ie the best butter, quoting Google here it’s not just my opinion), and drizzles just the right amount of burnt caramel for that touch of nutty, slightly bitter sweet element. Every ingredient is perfectly balanced and has a role to play in this dish. It’s just, so elegant.

The sweet, mellow, soft roasted pears worked so well with the generous amount of crispy bacon and creamy ricotta, and when you put all that yumminess on a really good slice of bread — serious toast heaven. What I found to be an especially great touch, was the fried sage leaves liberally sprinkled over. It adds such a surprisingly earthy, savoury, and wonderfully herbaceous note to the toast, completely elevating it imho. What I didn’t really like though, was how sweet the caramelised onions were. They would’ve been fine in dishes without other sweet elements, but here, together with the roasted pears, it made the entire dish a little too sweet for me.

I mean first off the ciabatta’s GREAT. Super fluffy and airy dough, and a crust that’s got just the right amount of crisp (read: doesn’t shred up the roof of my mouth). They’re really generous with the smashed avo as well, which, very surprisingly, works superbly well with the soft, earthy nori. Then you’ve got the nicely salted crispy baked kale chips, and a generous squeeze of lime to pull it all together. So good 🥰 Psst the iced chocolate in the background was the weirdest I’ve had though. Way too much vanilla in there that just threw it all off balance.

There’s a special place in my heart for savoury crêpes (aka galettes), and sweet ones too, that have never really been fulfilled in Singapore simply cause there isn’t a demand. Well friends, thanks to Vincent (of Ronin and Punch) we now have one *cues standing ovation*. Cutting to the chase, we tried their Bolognese ($18) and Off The Bone ($18), both of which left me immensely satisfied. Unlike the traditional French galettes, Gather precariously flips the crepe over instead of simply folding it in on four sides, resulting in a griddle-kissed, wonderfully golden, and lovingly crispy crepe — all while ensuring the yolk remains gloriously oozy. The Bolognese had a rich and tasty filling which, when combined with the runny egg, melted cheeses, and crispy crepe, made it surprisingly like a light-tasting lasagne. The Off The Bone comes with ham, gruyere, cheddar and egg, as the perfect take on the classic breakfast combo. I don’t wanna go on and on, but really it was amazing. The cheeses were meaty and stringy, egg was cooked just right (even the whites were soft), and boy they spread the ingredients out so well I promise you would not have a bite of just the plain ol’ crepe.

Cause they’ll only be opening their doors next Sunday (22 Oct)! This dessert and coffee concept from Korea’s taking the space of what used to be Cocoa Colony at 313, bringing us a new chi chi spot complete with adorable cutlery and display pieces (no seriously the kleptomaniac in me was hard to reign in). Walk in and you’ll see a glass case of cute entremets and cakes that are really quite hard to resist. We tried the Rose, Yuzu Mango, New York Cheesecake, and Matcha; of those I’d say hit the cheesecake. It’s simple yet comforting, flavour and texture absolutely on point. The entremets were very decent and tasty, though a tad pricey at $8+ each.

As with every Crab Cake Benedict, the star's usually the crab cake which, I'm glad to say, The Bird totally nailed. It's a sizable patty of ONLY tightly packed crab meat and chives (no fillers here!): perfect when the plump chunks of crab taste absolutely sweet and fresh. But what's especially impressive about this dish is every element plays a role, and is holds equal weight in the success of the dish. Southerner's quintessential fried green tomato as the base here helps lend a lovely crunch to the dish, as well as some acidity to cut through the richness of the yolk. Same goes for their burnt lemon hollandaise: a bit of smokiness, a hit of citrus, and just enough butter and cream to hold everything together.