Necessary Provisions

before i stepped into the cafe today, i honestly only had a very vague notion of having heard the name Necessary Provisions being thrown about before by my chichi coffee drinking friends who spend weekends hunting down the latest and coolest haunts with the best cuppas.

but i heard it again today though when it was suggested by my fellow friend of leisure after a fairly lazy walk around bukit timah, and i was really glad we headed over afterwards.

tucked away in the bowels of Toh Tuck (that's just off Jalan Jurong Kechil, for those as lost i was before i finally made it there), it is a rather unexpected place. almost painfully edgy and cool, it stands out from its charmingly quaint surroundings. i found a provision shop in the row that looked like it never made it out of the 80s. it sells biscuits in the huge square tins and grated coconut from the grating machine sitting at the roadside in front of the shop. but i digress.

while i loved the dark and eclectic design aesthetic (it rhymes!) of the cafe, the really polished and sophisticated display of its goods on the dark wood shelves and tables, it does come across as trying a little too hard, particularly given the super homey feel of its surroundings. food wise, i had the sardine melt while my friend had the beef pastrami sandwich. we both agreed that the sandwiches were hearty, tasty fare and quite satisfying after our morning hike. also fairly good bang for the buck at $9.

what i was slightly disappointed about though, was the coffee. granted that i didn't have a proper coffee but the iced chocolate with a shot of expresso, the end product was a rather sour concoction that didn't quite sit right on the palate. i would like to think that perhaps its just this product that's a bit of a miss and certainly i am intrigued enough by the place to go back again some time to try the coffee proper.

find Necessary Provisions at 21 Eng Kong Terrace, Singapore 598993. it's closed on mondays and first tuesdays of each month mind.

The Brunch Series: House

have you guys been here? it's quite a pretty space.





pretty good cappuccino too.




i was diggin the eggs ben - this one done on a biscuit, with ham shavings, spinach and sundried tomatoes on top served up with a healthy portion of salad. i like the biscuit variation and i also liked the spinach. i thought they could perhaps have done a little bit more with the ham but that's just nitpicking.



i also think they had a rawkin place mat.

but seriously, tau sar pau and teh tarik set for S$8??? even if i were a person who enjoyed pau, i think i'd rather pay a little more and go with their assortment of fries, preferably truffle.

anyhow, House definitely is not bad a place for the Sunday brunch crowd. lovely space, fairly good food and definitely not overcrowded - unlike Jones the next block over. funnily, it was because Jones was overcrowded this morning (and probably every sunday i would imagine) that me and my cousin hiked over to House. i'd been there once before for a baby shower. and while the food was really not bad, the service was, during that one visit, abysmal... but at least we got a discount for that one.

so yes. one of Singapore's best restaurants in 2012 apparently. i would suggest booking before going but even for walk-ins at the sharing table, it was fine.


80 Dempsey Road
Singapore 249672

The Brunch Series: Scones on the Great Ocean Road

 

Sorry it was so good that I only remembered halfway to take a picture for posterity. Find this at Airy's Inlet along the Great Ocean Road, Melbourne. It's at the little cafe right by the light house.

Great weather, best scones on the road and good Melbourne coffee - bliss.

A971 Cafe

not good. not if you're there for drinks and to catch up with a bunch of friends and chill. it felt as though they weren't sure if they wanted to be a pub, club or restaurant and hence tried to be all three.

the drinks, and - while I can't vouch for it as we didn't eat there but at the rather more established Tampopo across the river - apparently the food also suffers the same unfocused fate. fusion with occasionally exciting or promising descriptions, we found that the only real focus they had was this: to deliver your drinks with fairly minimal hints of alcohol save for one cocktail and bottled beers.

you can pass on the Irish Strawberry (unless you're up for a light foamy strawberry milkshake) and definitely the Roppongi Sling unless cherry vodka is quite your thing. cocktails wise, we found that the Strawberry D'light was perhaps the only delight of the night, save that it came only half a champagne glass full.

so yes, not a place that's high up on my list of places to recommend - unless you have a small group of about 15-20 and need a little space inside for a party. the music's really pretty decent but as i said, not quite a club, pub or restaurant.

maybe you all had a better experience there?


A971 Cafe
30 Merchant Road
Riverside Point
Singapore 058282

Miso Snow Fish @ TCC

i just had to post this. this is fab. coupled with an azuki coffee, it absolutely made my last friday.

The Caffe Bar

nestled into the not-so-little cul de sac at one end of Parkway Parade that houses Novo, G2000, Topshop and the likes, The Caffe Bar was a great accidental find for coffee/dessert. accidental because the heavy downpour prevented us from getting to starbucks without getting wet - something i'm really glad for on hindsight.

the apple tart and vanilla bean ice-cream was a chef's recommendation and i agree. it was pretty darn close to fabulous. the pastry is light and flaky, baked immediately upon ordering although it still takes about 15 minutes. the apple filling is not too sweet but retains a very rich apple taste and a tinge of cider-ey sourness complemented by the soaked raisins. the pine nuts aren't too many that you feel you're diving into a bag of nuts in front of the tv and the ice-cream was seriously quite good and was the sweet - and cold - counterpoint to the warm pastry and apple filling.

i love!



and then there is the coffee. see that pretty Viennese Cappunccino in all its whipped-cream and fancy chocolate-dusting glory back there? can't beat the humble flat white which was pretty decent. i really quite liked it actually. i think i've been having so much fancy coffee of late that its really refreshing to go back to the basics.

and how could i forget to mention those absolutely adorable coffee cups? now i know what to get my mum for christmas.