The cafe is housed within a typical two-storey Colonial house which is in black and white. Even though nothing much was done to the interior since it only has mainly cemented floor and whitewashed wall, it is the combination of furniture that magnified the look.

At DW Workshop, it is a cafe cum workshop and at the same time a retail. First let’s explore its cafe. Dinning area are available at both level 1 and 2. Al Fresco dinning is also available.

It seems like a trend for cafe to grow their own herbs and spice. We spotted these at DW Workshop as well.

At DW Workshop, various menu are available at different timing. Wake up to breakfast for scones, muffins, bread and granola. For lunch, expect the trendy and yet healthy Lunch Bowl. The menu rotates daily. Comes dinner, it is all about communal dinning where each dish is designed to share by 2 or more. The communal dinning menu is also at weekend, in addition to the devoted weekend brunch menu.

My first visit to DW Workshop was for lunch. There are various Mains, both hot and cold sides and “rice” to choose from. The Mains choices differ from Monday to Friday.

My choice for Main was the Grilled Beef. It was far too tough for me to chew till I am able to swallow them. I succumbed to the beef eventually.

I got 2 hot sides, the wild mushroom sauteed with persillade and pumpkin puree. I was surprise that they chose to mashed the pumpkin instead of serving it in cube.

My only cold side was the Spinach Goat Cheese Salad and I enjoyed this the most.

Our second visit was on a weekend to try out their Weekend Brunch.  On the menu were 3 savoury dishes, Our Signature Potato Rosti ($21), Crab Salad Croissant ($24) and Ground Beef Plate ($22). The remaining items served were mainly Breakfast food. As such, we selected the first 2 dishes as our brunch choices.

Our Signature Potato Rosti ($21) was pretty decent. A pity we took a little too long to take our perfect photo shot as such it is never delicious when cold.

None of us enjoyed the Crab Salad Croissant ($24) as we didn’t prefer the pungent seafood flavour emitting from the crab. Personally, I didn’t find the crunchy granny smith complemented the crab.

As for drinks, DW Workshop offers a range of cold pressed ($9) such as Summer Watermelon and Strawberry Mint that was refreshing. There are 5 other selections.

Others include concoction such as Summer Hibiscus ($7.50) and sparkling soda, Gingerella Ginger Ale ($6.90).

At DW Workshop, they have either Drip coffee ($9) or Stove Brew ($9) via Moka Pot.

Instead of preparing the drip coffee by hand, it is by the Poursteady Machine. The machine can pour a maximum of 5 cups in tandem and at a shorter time compared making it by the barista.

The workshop will take over the dinning area at level 2 whenever there is classes.

The workshop varied every 3 months. Currently, folding paper jewellery and making concrete lamp workshop are available.

It is also a retail with watches and many other items on sales.

None is cheap.

NAHMJ Verdict

NAHMJ likes the concept of DW Workshop whereby they offer food, retail and handicraft sessions. But since none of which are wallet friendly, we supposed they have a specific target group. Lastly, we thought there are rooms for improvement for their food.

DW Workshop

41 Rochester Drive, Singapore 138582
Tel: +65 6659 0879

Website: http://www.dwworkshop.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/DW.WORKSHOP.PTE.LTD/

Opening Hours

Daily  0930 to 2230

Getting There

By MRT:

• Circle line or East-West line – Buona Vista station

By Bus:

• alight at or opposite Buona Vista station or after Anglo Chinese Junior College   74, 91, 92 95, 191, 196, 198, 200

Rating: 6.5/10

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The entire space of Fart Tartz @ Fook Hai Building is whitish with lots of artificial flowers and greens decorating various part of the cafe. Interestingly, there is a mezza level in the ground floor space. And the cafe is facing the back of Parkroyal on Pickering.

We heard a lot of good things about Fart Tartz, hence we felt thrilled to try some of their signature dishes.

Our first Main was the Chilled Prawn Angel Hair ($11.90). After the first mouth, our response was tasty. It didn’t disappoint. The sauce that was tossed on the pasta was similar to terriyaki with sesame oil. It was genius to add shredded cucumber to provide the additional texture of crunch. Furthermore, the cucumber added a refreshing tone to the dish. It is perfect if it is lightly spicy.

On our second visit, we tried the Fusion Olio ($11.90). Despite it isn’t recommended on the menu, we went ahead to try. This is more suitable for the light palate since there isn’t any strong tasting sauce. It is the shallot that added fragrance to the dish and the mushroom does help a little. We find the pasta a little under cooked.

The Goldie Salted Egg Chix Grilled Flatbread Burger ($15.90) is with both love and hate. Fortunately, more hits than miss. We love the salted egg sauce as it is slanted to the savoury. We love the flatbread as it tasted like compressed roti prata. We love the amount of greens as it came as a stack. It was the fried chicken pieces which disappoint. The batter was too dense and soggy. Hence it lacks of the crispy factor. Should they improve the batter, it would score higher with us.

At Fart Tartz, they served a comprehensive drink list. It is almost like you named it they have it except lacking in the Matcha Latte. We tried one of refreshing Icy-blend, Lychee Lemongrass Freeze ($8 for small). Strong canned lychee flavour with subtle lemongrass fragrance.

My Mom as usual got the Hot Chocolate ($5.50) which she loves it.

Cappuccino ($5.50) was one of our drink order. The cuppa was nutty, low acidity and full body.

Fart Tartz @ Fook Hai Buidling offers an array of non-bake dessert. Flower-Potted Mud Cake ($5.50) with wide range of flavours were available with Nutelle Oreo and Cookie Butter as the recommended. We chose the latter. Our conclusion, it was typical cookie butter.

2 bloggers highly recommended me the Chocolate Lava Cake ($11.90) which turned out a little disappointing. Somehow there was flaw in the entirety which I couldn’t pinpoint. When I tried individual element, it tasted perfect. Anyway … maybe high expectation result in some disappoint. As such, we ate the components individually. After all, we did enjoy the dessert.

NAHMJ Verdict

It is better to stick to the recommended dishes at Fart Tartz @ Fook Hai Building. Since we have not tried the Singapore Expo outlet, we couldn’t compare or comment.

Based on our 2 visits to Fart Tartz @ Fook Hai Building, we felt that there are some room for improvement for their food. But we like the concept of dinning in a garden.

Fart Tartz @ Fook Hai Building

150 South Bridge Road #01-16, Fook Hai Building,  Singapore 058727
Tel: +65 493 2977 / 9772 9780

Website: http://farttartz.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/farttartz/

Opening Hours

Daily  1000 to 2200

Getting There

By MRT:

• North-East line or Downtown line – Chinatown station

By Bus:

• alight at Hong Lim Park along Upper Pickering Street   186, 970

• alight at Chinatown Point along New Bridge Road   2, 12, 33, 54, 143, 147, 190, CT8, CT18

• alight at People’s Park Centre along Eu Tong Sen Road   54, 124, 145, 147, 166, 190, 851

• alight at Hong Lim Complex along Upper Cross Street   51, 63, 124, 174, 174e, 186, 851, 961, 961C, 970

• alight at People’s Park Complex along Upper Cross Street   143, CT8, CT18

• alight opp Hong Lim Park along Eu Tong Sen Road   2, 12, 33, 51, 61, 63, 80, 174, 174e, 197, 961, 961C

Rating: 7.5/10

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We have not been to the Patissez at Manuka of Canberra. As such we can’t make any comparison to the ambience and the food. But purely based only on our experience at this very cafe.

The cafe is kept simple with wooden tables and chairs. Interestingly, Patissez Singapore did not offer any communal tables at this cafe. It has a turquoise colour scheme which cheer-up the ambience.

Since Freakshake ($16) is what they are good at, let’s dive into it at once. At Patissez Singapore, they are offering 4 Freakshake. First the Pretzella, a Nutella shake. I like the combination of nutella with pretzel. This was tried on our first visit, the ice was a little coarse.

On our subsequent second visit, we tried 2 Freakshake. First was the Muddy Pat, a chocolate shake which tasted like milo. Personally, I felt disappointed as I was expecting chocolate taste and not milo. While the rest find it all right.

Followed by the Mint Condition, a Mint chocolate shake. Those who like Mint would like this. I like the drink and the cookies. A pity the green cream that sandwiched between the cookies isn’t mint ice cream. Otherwise it is perfect.

Lastly, the Sneaky Freak, Peanut butter shake or what they termed as Snickers inspired which we yet to try. Among the 3 we tried, I like the Pretzella best.

Interestingly, they don’t serve the Mango shake in Singapore but was on the menu in Canberra.

At Patissez Singapore, Donuts ($3.80) with 3 flavours were served; Raspberry Cheese, Nutella and Salted Caramel. We tried only the first 2 which like the freakshake weren’t as sweet as they look. But the filling was too meager. Personally, I find the donut texture a little too rough and dense too.

Food is also offered at Patissez Singapore with All day Brekkie, Burgers and Patissez special. We went for the Cheeky Beef ($22). The dish consist of slow cooked beef with black eyed beans in tomato sauce. And the parmesan does the perfect trick to improve the flavour further. By the side are slices of sour dough with kale pesto and butter. It was yummy.

NAHMJ Verdict

The shake in general is not overly sugary. Should you have low tolerance to sweetness, you will surely find shake sweet. At NAHMJ, we find the sweetness level acceptable and enjoyed them. It seems they have improved the coarseness of the ice since our first visit. We think there are still room to tweak the recipe to suit the local tastebud.

One more good news, Patissez is also in Malaysia!

Patissez Singapore

118 Holland Avenue #01-06, Singapore 278997
Tel: +65 6262 3616

FB: https://www.facebook.com/PatissezSG/?fref=ts

Opening Hours

Monday – Wednesday  1000 to 1800 (kitchen closes at 1600); Thursday – Friday  1000 to 2200 (kitchen closes from 1600 to 1800); Saturday to Sunday  0900 to 2200 (kitchen closes from 1600 to 1800)

Getting There

By MRT:

• Circle line – Holldand Village

By Bus:

• alight at Blk 12 or at Holland Village MRT station along Holland Avenue   48, 61, 95, 106, 970

• alight at or opposite Holland Village along Holland Road   7, 61, 75, 77, 95, 165, 970

Rating: 7.5/10

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At this very session, Adrian the Head Barista of Joe & Dough walked me through the process for a sound understanding of the end to end for making a good cup of espresso.

Joe & Dough Coffee Appreciation Session

Coffee Blend

At Joe & Dough, they use a quattro blend consisting of Ethiopia, Colombia, Brazil and Sumatra. The reason for doing so is that they wanted to create a cuppa whereby it suit majority of coffee drinkers. Since some prefer it nutty, while others more acidity and so on. According to Adrian, the characteristics of Colombian is chocolaty, Brazil is nutty, Ethiopia is fruity while Sumatra is with spice hint. As such the blend will create a more balance and rounded cup where each and everyone get to savour their preferred flavour note.

Joe & Dough house blend was named Joe 1914 as it is inspired by Josephus Daniel who banned alcohol on board in 1941. As a result the navy men consumed coffee and named their coffee as “mugs of Joe”.

Joe & Dough uses a local roastery based in Singapore to roast their beans. This ensure freshness of their coffee bean supply.

Brewing Espresso

Grinding

Once we have the coffee bean, first step to the cup of cuppa is to grind the coffee beans to powder form. This must be just about to prepare the espresso. Otherwise will lose the coffee flavour.

Tamping

Next, it tamping. This step is to compress the coffee powder and ensure that it is leveled. Barista has to stand adjacent to the table holding the tamper like a door knob with thumb free. Lower the tamper with arms shaped as a 7, using the body weight to compress the coffee powder.

Extracting

Proceed with extraction of coffee. The espresso is extracted at 9 bar of pressure with water passing through to extract the coffee. The changes changes from dark brown to golden brown and finally yellow.

Once done, you will notice the golden brown layer known as a crema. This is an indication that freshly ground coffee was used. This is unique to the espresso based coffee. You won’t notice this in drip coffee. Based on the explanation from the Head Barista, as gas is produce in coffee after roasting, together with the pressure and water, the gas is gathered and crema is formed.

Steaming

Parallelly while extracting the coffee, proceed with steaming milk. The proceed is described as ariation or stretching. The objective of this process is to create micro foam. The milk must remain fluid and not stiff. An the milk is also likely to be reflective.

Purged the steam to avoid moisture. Then lower the wand about 1 cm into the milk and to the side. Pull the trigger to start steaming to 62ºC to 65ºC. Per Adrian, if you could only touch the side of the pitcher for only 3s, that is about the right temperate.

And if lots of big bubbles appear on the surface, stamp the pitcher on the table a few times.

Latte Art

Lastly, is the most interesting step among all, pouring latte art.

My task was to pour a circle and I successfully completed the training. According to Adrian, for a beginner, it was well done. Based on his experience, lots of his barista who went through training by him, couldn’t get the circle at first attempt. To get the first heart, most required to pour about 200 cups.

Besides create latte art via the pouring method, the other is inkling. Barista will use a sharp pointer with milk as the ink to draw on the surface.

NAHMJ Verdict

Each and every step has to be done with precision and with speed to avoid customer waiting for too long. We see that it isn’t easy to be a barista. It takes long training and hardwork to as good as Adrian.

Lastly, NAHMJ would like to take the opportunity to thank all barista out there painstakingly pouring cups after cups of cuppa. At the same time, we would like to thank Joe & Dough and Adrian for showing us the knowledge. After the Joe & Dough Coffee Appreciation Session, we appreciate our cup of joe better.

Joe & Dough @ Leisure Park Kallang

5 Stadium Walk #01-12 Singapore 397693
Tel: +65 6348 2848

Website: http://www.joeanddough.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Joendough/?fref=ts

Opening Hours

Daily  0800 to 2200

Getting There

By MRT:

• Circle line – Stadium

By Bus:

• alight at Singapore Indoor Stadium along Stadium Crescent   11

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This Peranakan cafe is located within the building that is part of part of Thiam Hock Keng temple complex. It is sharing the same building with the Singapore first Musical Box Museum and Peranakan Tiles gallery.

Each and every element within the cafe has Peranakan influence. The tables and chairs reminds me of my maternal grandparents former house. At Chong Wen Ge Cafe, there are both indoor and outdoor. With outdoor dinning in a pavilion. We thought this is an unique selling point at Chong Wen Ge.

Menu in Chong Wen Ge is atypical. Diners won’t find the standard cafe food such as Egg Ben and so on. Instead, diners are greeted with Peranakan fare. Some of the Mains available are Nonya Curry Chicken ($9.80), Nonya Laksa ($8.80), Nonya Mee Siam ($6.80) and more. The only not so Peranakan dish is Udon Mushroom Soup ($6.80).

Satay Bee Hoon ($8.80), an extremely rare find, especially for a cafe was on the menu. Right away, without doubt, this is our must order. We like the lightly sweetish and yet highly fragrant peanut sauce. The dish is coupled with abundant ingredients such as thin pork slices, pig livers, kang kong, tau pau, and cuttlefish topped the surface of the dish. Instead of using cockles, fresh clams was provided. My only complaint about the dish was the bee hoon was not well drained after blanching. Hence it diluted the sauce a little.

We highly encourage diners to leave some stomach space for the Nonya Kueh. Ondeh Ondeh is the most popular kueh at the cafe as it is sold out daily. Kueh Dadar is equally popular. Others selection includes Kueh Lapis, Kueh Salat, Kueh Koo and many more. Prices for the Nonya Kueh are either $1.50 per piece of $5 for 4 pieces.

A range of drinks such as traditional Kopi and Teh and also the commonly found Gourmet Tea and Espresso Coffee termed as Gourmet Coffee on the menu. Other Kopitiam drinks such as Lime Juice, Water Chestnut, Sour Plum, Rose Syrup, Bandung and Orange; all available at $1.80 each.

Last but not least, including the 2 signature drinks, the Teh-C Special ($5.50) and Peranakan Green ($5.50). The Peranakan Green is a fizzy melon soda with crunchy cucumber which we didn’t enjoy. It tasted very much like coloured soda with artificial flavouring. Pretty disappointing and was expensive.

NAHMJ Verdict

We perceive well of Chong Wen Ge Cafe. We like the food, the ambience, the concept.

In short, almost entirely even though there are some room for improvement in the food. We pretty sure in no time, the cafe shall be filled. Henceforth, do make your way their soon to uncover this gem.

Chong Wen Ge Cafe

168 Telok Ayer St Singapore 068619
Tel: +65 8688 3028

FB: https://www.facebook.com/chongwengecafe/

Menu: https://www.facebook.com/download/preview/1608743889439796

Opening Hours

Monday – Friday  0730 to  1800;  Saturday – Sunday  0900 to 1800

Getting There

By MRT:

• East-West line – Raffles Place station

• Downtown line – Telok Ayer station

By Bus:

• opposite GB Building along Cecil Street   57, 131, 167, 186, 700, 970, 971E (nearest bus stop to Telok Ayer Road)

• after Capital Tower along Robinson Road   10, 10e, 70, 75, 97, 100, 107, 128, 130, 162, 196, 196e

• at UIC Building along Shenton Way   10, 10e, 57, 70, 75, 97, 97e, 100, 106, 107, 128, 130, 131, 162, 186, 196, 196e

Rating: 8/10

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Again, I went to explore the Queen’s Cats Revamped Menu with my Mom since we went together the first time. We surprised to find some pleasant ones.

Queen’s Cats is started by a husband and wife. The husband is a chef. They started this cafe in hopes that it will be a platform to spread their love for food.

We also notice some changes to the space. There are some painting hung on the wall to beautify the cafe. Somehow, I feel that the painting didn’t match the interior style of the cafe.

Queen’s Cats Revamped Menu

Since we have a high tea set the last time, for comparison purpose we ordered the Royal High Tea Set this round too. The 3 Tiers Royal High Tea Set is at $49.90. Great for sharing among 2 to 3 guests.

This round we decided to pair the set with Queen Anne Tea by Fortnum & Mason ($12.90 for ala carte order). This blend was created in 1907, their bicentenary year. The blend comprises of Assam and Ceylon teas produces a strong and yet smooth tea.

Like their original high tea set, this improved version consists of three tiers of sandwiches, cakes and pastries. The addition is the Mushroom Cappuccino which came as a total surprise.

The top tier consists of mainly savoury pastries of scones, quiches and Mini Chicken Pesto. I was glad that the scones were accompanied with jam and clotted cream, but there is room for improvement for the scones. We like the Mini Chicken Pesto best as we have not seen this in other cafe, as such it was something unique that attracted our attention. Savoury with hint of sweetness in the waffle as such there was a nice balance. Pesto was savoured and paired off well with the tiny diced pepper. Lastly, the quiches, we are neutral to it.

On the plate of sweets, there are Red Velvet Cake, Earl Grey Cake and Macarons (Lemon, Vanilla and Chocolate). Among the 3 macaron flavours, we must give the Vanilla Macaron a mentioned. It was an excellent one with striking vanilla sense, while the lemon macaron was lacking of the zest. Lastly, the chocolate it was as expected. The earl grey scent was totally missing in the Earl Grey Cake. It was the most disappointing item after the Lemon Macaron.

There were 3 types of sandwiches available; Smoked Salmon, Egg and Tuna. Our favourite was the Egg Sandwich. We thought the little trick of adding the herb (the green stuff) in the egg was wise as it enhances the flavour.

Our top favourite in the high tea set is the Mushroom Cappuccino. This is absolutely our top favuorite because the soup was silky and smooth among the mushroom bites. Furthermore, it was a flavourful one with just the right amount of truffle oil enough for the tastebud and tongue.

NAHMJ Verdict

We did enjoy the revamped High Tea Set. We thought the variety is good and is an improvement to the one Queen’s Cats had started with, though we thought there are still room for improvement for some of their items.

Queen’s Cats

8 Lorong Mambong Singapore 277674
+65 9655 8474

Website: http://www.thequeenscats.com.sg/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheQueensCats/

Opening Hours

Sunday – Thursday  0800 to 2200; Friday – Saturday  0800 to 2300

Getting There

By MRT:

• Circle line – Holldand Village

By Bus:

• alight at Blk 12 or at Holland Village MRT station along Holland Avenue   48, 61, 95, 106, 970

• alight at or opposite Holland Village along Holland Road   7, 61, 75, 77, 95, 165, 970

Rating: 7.5/10

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For those who are not familar with Roosevelt’s and its location. It is located at the ground floor of Dorsett Residences with Outram Park NEL MRT station at its doorstep. It is managed by the same group as Montana Singapore and South Bronx.

Roosevelt’s Diner and Bar Revamped Menu 2016

I was skeptical about Roosevelt’s Diner and Bar Revamped Menu 2016 as I have heard lots of negative feedback from both food and lifestyle bloggers for their previous menu even though I like the food served at Montana and South Bronx. One lifestyle blogger even turned me down when I asked him to join me at Roosevelt’s for dinner. After trying these dishes on Roosevelt’s Diner and Bar Revamped Menu 2016, I have my conclusion formed. Good or bad … read on …

We beginning our meal with an appetiser for sharing, the Pan Seared Hokkaido Scallops ($24). The pan seared scallops were sat on yuzu mustard ricotta with seaweed brown butter and toasted hazelnuts. Though on the menu it mentioned tobiko, it was missing on our plate. Neither was truly impressed by it, we were neutral. Personally, I would describe it as different. I suppose the combination of yuzu mustard ricotta though unique, may not completely agree with all.

The remaining selection for Appertisers are Roasted Beet Ricotta Salad ($23), Shiitake Sesame Salmon Salad ($16), Caesar Salad ($17) and Truffle Scrambled Egg Waffles ($18)

Our first Main was from the highly recommended dish of the Seafood section, Squid Ink Fish and Chips ($26). When this dish was served, I admit that I got a shocked of my life. It looks like a burnt piece of fish. It tasted so much better than its look. The best part was the batter remained crispy after quite a long while as we took quite some time to take our food photo. And the batter didn’t have the pungent seafood flavour while the Sea Bass was fresh, we could savour the sweetness of the sea.

The 2 other selections under the Seafood section are Salmon Steak With Asparagus ($25) and Truffle Seafood Casserole ($35).

Next is a hot favourite among our diners, the Chicken Confit With Truffle Potato Foam ($26). 2 out of 3 diners selected this as their fave. I am not one of them. My is the Squid Ink Fish and Chips. Whoever like Truffle will be smitten by it as the Truffle scent was available as smell and taste. And it wasn’t overwhelming.

The other available Poultry option is the Southern Fried Chicken ($23).

Our last Main for the night is the BBQ Baby Back Ribs ($26). This is the other signature Main at Roosevelt’s Diner and Bar Revamped Menu 2016. It was well seasoned with a light BBQ Sauce. It would be perfect if the ribs are tender.

For alternatives, diners could opt for Teddy’s Bacon Cheeseburger ($23) and Umami Burger ($24). There is also a section of Pasta but we didn’t manage to try any. Available selections are Scallop and Tiger Prawn Linguine ($32), Beef Cheek Pappardelle ($28) and Truffle Bacon Mac and Cheese ($22).

Finally dessert time, there are 5 selections; Beer Battered Banana ($14), Apple Berry Crumble ($12), Chocolate Fudge Cake ($12), Churros Waffle ($12) and Salted Caramel Waffle ($14). We chose neither as we were recommended a newly created Waffle which is off the menu for now, a unique waffle with Strawberry, compressed Watermelon with mint and choya, Balsamic Vinegar Honey and Rose bud ricotta. OMG! We couldn’t imagine using balsamic vingear, mint and choya on waffle. This was so unexpected. We didn’t think that it turned out so unexpectionally excellent.

NAHMJ Verdict

For those who turned down my invitation, you should be regretting after seeing this post. There are some excellent dishes. NAHMJ would highly recommend the Chicken Confit With Truffle Potato Foam to the truffle fan. If you like fish and chips, go for the Squid Ink Fish and Chips and lastly don’t missed out on the newly created waffle.

Roosevelt’s Diner and Bar

331 New Bridge Road #01-02, Singapore 088764
Tel: +65 6538 3518

Website: http://www.roosevelts.com.sg
FB: https://www.facebook.com/rooseveltsdinerbar/?fref=ts

Opening Hours

Monday – Thursday  1100 to 2300; Friday  1100 to 0000; Saturday  0830 to 0000; Sunday  0830 to 2300

Getting There

By MRT:

• Northeast line or East West line – Outram Park station. Exit H, turn right.

By Bus:

• alight opposite Pearl’s Centre along New Bridge Road   2, 12, 33, 54, 63, 124, 143, 147, 190, 851, 961, 970, CT8, CT18, CT28

• alight at Pearl’s Centre along Eu Tong Sen Road   54, 124, 143, 147, 166, 190, 851, 970, CT8, CT18, CT28

Rating: 7.5/10

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The cafe is located next to MoCA, Museum of Contemporary Arts. The area is relatively vast and lushy serene greens filled the air. For those who enjoy Contemporary Arts could kill two birds in one stone.

I was very excited to spot the works of Jiang Shuo. I have a soft spot for her Red Guard sculpture which has an adorable round head, faceless but yet has a wide open mouth. The figurine looks cute and there is a sense of mockery in each of them. Mainly contributed by them carrying a modern item such as the Coca Cola or the Mobile Phone and it is in red that stresses the mockery and even reflects irony.

Jiang Shuo is born in 1958 in Beijing. She studied sculpture at the Central Academy of Arts and Design, which is now under Tsinghua University. She is the first female sculptor in China, completed her master degree in 1985 and started her career in teaching sculpture at the Central Academy until 1989 Jiang, with her husband Wu Shaoxiang, emigrated to Austria and worked at their joint studio there.

MoCA Cafe is also very considerate by providing mosquito repellent to guests. I thought this was a nice gesture.

The kitchen section of the cafe is led by Chef Nelson Wong who has vast experiences in the F&B industry. Some of the big names he worked for previously are Grand Hyatt and Forlino.

At MoCA Cafe, beside the regular Ala Carte Menu, Chef Nelson crafts new dishes using freshest seasonal ingredients as well.

After ordering is completed, the complimentary bread and Indonesian crackers were served swiftly. Butter were accompanied. There are 3 types of bread; Olive Focaccia, Ciabata (I think it was) and Walnut bread.

We were highly recommended the fresh Basil and Mint drink. These 2 ingredients were available at their backyard. The drink was concentrated, bold and robust in flavour. I am sure it may appear to some as overwhelming.

We teed off the meal with Calamari ($16). We noted the tentacles of the squid on the plate which is rare. We felt the squids were fresh and we adore the light and thin batter that was coated on the squid. And the crispiness was still retained even after quite a long while.

As the White Asparagus was in season, the restaurant has created a special using this seasonal vegetable. The white asparagus is braised with chicken stock and then it is cooked in a butter sauce. The result is … the white asparagus is tender and has soaked the essence of the ingredients.

The other seasonal ingredients in the month of June was Chanterelles Mushroom. Hence the Fettucine Chanterelles was created. The fettucine is soft and al dente to the bite with a light cream sauce as base. One could savour the natural flavours of the ingredients. With this characteristics, diners who have rich palate will find it as much as bland. All except one diners didn’t enjoy this dish as she enjoys only rich flavoured food.

The same is true about the Angel Hair Crabmeat ($22) in aglio olio style. It is lightly flavoured with natural taste of the ingredients. In fact, typical of Italian cuisine. The pasta is pretty chewy, most of us find it acceptable except for one, the same diner who didn’t appreciate the first pasta dish. I suppose preference play a large part influencing the decision of like and dislike.

We are neutral to the Mediterranean Sea Bass ($26). The Sea Bass is certainly fresh. It is again about preference here.

Our last dish stole the heart of our diners of the night. This amazing Wagyu Oxtail Soup ($26) is a comfort food great for all occasion. The soup is flavourful and full of vegetable sweetness to enhance the taste profile. Each and very piece of oxtail was tender and melt in the mouth. It wasn’t gamy at all.

We finished off our meal with a sweet ending by having 2 desserts, the Apple Crumble and Panna Cotta ($9). Both were equally good. Though both has room for improvement. I find the apple crumble a little too sweet and the pastry was too dense though most wasn’t bother by this. While the Panna Cotta need an increase though of vanilla flavour.

NAHMJ Verdict

MoCA Cafe is one of the handful cafe with Arts display around it. And as it has my favourite sculpture by Jiang Shuo, I suppose there is a basis factor involved.

Nonetheless, there are a handful of delish dishes worth going after for beside the arty farty ambience.

MoCA Cafe

27A Loewen Road, Singapore 248839
Tel: +65 6509 4730

Website: http://www.mocacafe.com.sg/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/mocacafeatloewen/?fref=ts

Opening Hours

Monday – Friday  1130 to 1430, 1800 to 2200; Saturday – Sunday  0900 to 1430, 1800 to 2200

Getting There

By Bus:

• alight at or opp Bontanic Gardens along Napier Road   7, 75, 77, 105, 106, 123, 174

Rating: 8/10

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Pompompurin is one of the many Sanrio cute characters. He is a Golden Retriever dog who loves to collect shoes, has a talent for napping and loves his mama’s Caramel Pudding.

The space of Pompompurin Cafe isn’t huge. It is decorated like a garden with lots of traces of Pompompurin. The most attractive part of the cafe is at the centre of the cafe where Pompompurin and friends are at. There are 4 “Tomodachi House” (Friends House) with each a Pompompurin’s friends; Bagel the Squirrel, Coconut the Monkey, Mint the Frog and Macaroon the Golden Retriever. These are found on the left of the cafe when facing from the cafe.

It is interesting that the cafe serves desserts before the Main. I was quite shock when I saw my dessert order served first. It isn’t a bad move, just unusual. We don’t mind having Mains after desserts after all.

At Pompompurin Cafe, there isn’t much food selection. It is limited to 6 Mains and 5 desserts. Among the 11 items, 4 were recommended. And if you like to take home a souvenir after dinning at Pompompurin Cafe, look out for the dishes with a mug. There are 3 dishes you could choose; Bagel’s Special Pancake Tower, Spaghetti Napolitana and Mushrooom & Bacon Carbonara.

Each month, there are 2 special available, a Main and a dessert.

We opted for the Spaghetti Napolitana ($26.99). This is one of the 3 dishes with the Pompompurin mug that diners could take home as souvenir. The tomato based pasta wasn’t interesting at all. It tasted very normal with mainly pepperoni flavours. My Mom felt she could cook better than these.

The second Main we got for sharing is the Pompompurin’s Beef Stroganoff ($18.99). The rice is shaped into Pompompurin’s head. This dish is more flavourful and tasty than our first. At the minimum, we could savour the beef flavour. In the gravy, there were extremely thin slices of beef and a beef patty shaped into Pompompurin’s signature beret.

We felt the desserts and drinks fare better than the Mains. My Mango Juice ($11.99) was filled with mango pieces and of course goodness. The only dessert we ordered is the Pompompurin’s Mango Parfait ($18.99). We like the totality of the taste profile.

After having the desserts, we thought it makes sense for Pompompurin Cafe to serve the diners desserts first since the desserts tasted better. It will leave a good first impression. LOL!

At Pompompurin, how could we forget to take photos with Pompompurin? There is my Mom with the adorable mascots. I did take some too. It is up at my Instagram account @nahmj. Hop over for them.

Finally, there are more Pompompurin merchandise on sales. While making payment for your meal, do browse them and diners could make purchase for these lovely merchandise too.

NAHMJ Verdict

We felt the food at Pompompurin Cafe was extremely average and it is expensive. Our damage for the above was $91 which included GST and service charge.

It is the cute Pompompurin and friends that stood out. We love them. If I ever return, it is not for the food but for the cuteness of the cafe. A pity no takeaway and no reservation are available at Pompompurin Cafe, at least that is the case for now.

Pompompurin Cafe

181 Orchard Road #04-08, Orchard Central, Singapore 238896
Tel: +65 6509 8672

FB: https://www.facebook.com/Pompompurincafesg

Opening Hours

Daily  1100 to 2230 (Last order at 2200)

Getting There

By MRT:

• North South line – Somerset station

By Bus:

• alight at Somerset Station along Somerset Road   7. 14, 14e, 16, 36, 65, 77, 106, 111, 123, 124, 128, 143, 162, 162M, 167, 171, 174, 175, 190, 700, 700A, 971E

• alight at Midpoint Orchard along Orchard Road   7, 14, 14e, 16, 65, 106, 111, 123, 175, 502

• alight opposite Mandarin Orchard along Orchard Road   36, 77, 124, 143, 162, 162M, 167, 171, 174, 190, 518, 700, 700A

Rating: 6.5/10

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The theme of the cafe is reflected in its name. As such you would be seeing lots of orchid placed around the cafe. And the most prominent are the 2 Hello Kitty mascots; one standing, the other seated.

We were surprised to find quite some good varieties among the Main and Snack. In addition, the platings of the food were so attractive. Each has a Hello Kitty image on the plate. This is certainly great news for Hello Kitty fans all over the world.

We have a snack Halo Nachos ($15.90). We like the ingredients on the “Nacho”. There were lots of cheese both the hard one and the sauce. Together with olives and jalapeno and cherry tomato, these spiced up the dish. The “nachos” didn’t seems to be the real nachos. It looked like some sort of deep-fried spring roll skin.

We went for 2 desserts. The first being The Hide and Seek ($16.90). A pandan panna cotta with a pipette of gula melaka, vanilla ice cream by the side and with some fruits. The centre of attraction is the Hello Kitty White Chocolate. It seems to me in this dish they used some artificial colourings and flavourings. We like the silky texture of the Panna Cotta though.

Among the items we ordered, we enjoyed The Cat In Paradise ($18.50) most. We could savour the mango due to the real mango bites found in the pudding. It is accompanied with a scoop of Hazelnut gelato, crumbles, fruits and also the Hello Kitty White Chocolate.

NAHMJ Verdict

It came as a surprise that the food served at the Hello Kitty Orchid Garden cafe isn’t as bad as we thought it might be. Overall, it is legit.

I want to re-visit for the Mains.

Hello Kitty Orchid Garden

65 Airport Boulevard, #01-22, Changi Airport Terminal 3 Building, Singapore 819663
Tel: +65 6241 6127

FB: https://www.facebook.com/HelloKittyCafeSingapore/?fref=ts

Opening Hours

24 x 7

Closed for maintenance between 0200 and 0600 on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month. Last orders at 0115.

Getting There

By MRT:

• East West line – Changi Airport station

By Bus:

• alight at Changi Airport PTB3   24, 27, 34, 36, 53, 858

Rating: 7/10

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