Suprette @ Jalan Besar

Jalan Besar is fast becoming another Tiong Bahru estate with hippie coffee joints opening up at every other corner. I chanced upon Suprette from Burpple (my food bible) and I was so damn excited to try the lamb shakshuka during their breakfast hours. From the pictures that other Burpplers took, it looked like the baked eggs we had back in Melbourne! And as some of you may know, I'm a total fan of Aussie and ever since we came back from our road trip, we've been trying to find coffee and food here that will make us a lil less 'Aussie-sick'.

Suprette is located at the lobby area of Kam Leng Hotel and I was really intrigued by this retro yet hippie looking hotel! So here's some quick interesting facts on Kam Leng Hotel:

1) It was first set up in 1927 by a mysterious owner and was abandoned in the last 20 years.

2) Reopened as a retro 70-room boutique hotel in 2012. 

3) The flavour of the old Singapore (think of cracks and peeling paint) was retained with the addition of a playful twist to the interiors and branding. 

As I walked into the hotel lobby, I did feel like I was thrown back into the black-and-white TV era. The wooden TV console and the props used to spruce up the area were simple yet homely and I giggled a bit at the retro "leilio" that stood at a corner of the table. 

Ok so back to the food and drinks at Suprette!

"OMG, this taste like Melbourne," we said in unison after the first sip of the coffee. It was that smooth, that light on the tastebuds and that heart-warming. Good job Suprette, your coffee captured our gut and heart already.

To be really honest, I didn't have much expectation of the shakshuka initially so as not to be disappointed if it doesn't bring me back to the days in Melbourne where we sat alfresco-style at the litter cafe along Hardware Street with the hot baked eggs and chai latte to warm our tummies. Suprette's lamb shakshuka, fortunately, was simply wonderful. Crusty baguette dipped into the mixture of feta cheese, spicy tomato sauce, baked eggs and tasty lamb sausages and into the mouth - comfort food for soul and the tummy.

Another food item that we ordered was the Breakfast Set where you get to customise your style of eggs - fried/poached/scrambled with 2 sides. The scrambled eggs brought out the essence of the whole dining place, very honest, down-to-earth and tasty without being over-the-top. I liked that they didn't try too hard to make it too runny or milky and it was a delight from the start to the end. The portobello mushrooms were juicy and very well seasoned though there's nothing much to shout about the chicken chipolatas. It's the kind of meal that leaves you with a satisfied smile because you know you had a darn good meal and you wanna keep it all within yourself for a while. :)

I highly recommend everyone to have brunch on a lazy weekend here at Suprette. The service is prompt and the food is tasty yet humble, just like the whole style of the hotel it is housed in.

Suprette
383 Jalan Besar
(Kam Leng Hotel lobby)
Suprette Website
Suprette FB page
Tel: +65 6298 8962

Thank yous. :)

This blog started off as a place for me to pen down my food hunts to share with my friends and as I post more pictures, review on the food I have tasted, I began to really enjoy that sense of achievement I feel when people tried the food I recommended and love it as much as I did. It doesnt hurt that I treat it as an exercise to improve my style of writing and how I engage readers on my food entries.

Today, this blog has been read 1500 times and although this figure is peanuts to advertisers, famous bloggers who received such view counts every day, it's huge to me. It's a little milestone to me and I truly appreciate it when friends commented that they read my entries and that brunch place I've penned down is next on their list of food places to try! It makes me very happy and I just wanna thank every one of you for checking this space out. :)

There's a few places on my list that I can't wait to try out and recommend to you guys (if they're good)!

Stay tuned.

xx

Chef's Recommendations (literally) at Fremantle

I must admit that I'm a very lucky foodie, because I have an awesome gf who works for a food company, who knows the chef at Fremantle, who recommended us his best creations! We were really in for a treat because everything was technically at 50% off because the company has this ongoing gift vouchers promotion - more details at the end of this.

NZ Salmon ($12)

We started well with the freshest and most generous cuts of salmon sashimi and things start to get even better towards the end of the meal!

Wild King Snapper ($20)

 Stir-fried mushrooms topped with a poached egg ($8)

Oysters ($44 for a dozen)

 Mussels in Spicy White Wine broth ($25)

Whole Lobsters Thermidor ($58)

Chilli King Crabs ($88)

The chili king crabs were ah-mazing! We didn't even need much effort to pry the meat form the shell and the crab meat were very firm and juicy. The chili crab sauce was quite unique with that tinge of sichuan spice. Don't be fooled if you can't taste the fiery pepper, it will hit you once you are done with one king crab leg. 

Another highlight of the night was the oysters - we could literally taste the sea and it didn't take us long before the whole platter was gone! It would be even better if the chef had gone a bit lighter on the salt for the lobsters and the mussels but I must say that the lobsters were so very fresh and succulent. 

There's a 1-for-1 promo for the mojitos from 5-8pm, which is very worth it because the mojitos were refreshing and complimented the wonderful seafood feast perfectly! Also, you may buy the dining vouchers at just $50 for $100 worth of fresh seafood! The other participating merchants include Siam Kitchen, Boston Seafood Shack, Barossa, Sukiya, Bangkok Jam, etc. More details here.

It was an awesome seafood feast with wonderful company by the river and I felt so thankful that I have these girlfriends who are as foodie as me. ;)

Fremantle Seafood Market

3E River Valley Road #01-05/06

(Beside G-Max reverse bungee jump)

Call to reserve: 6337 1838

Fremantle FB page

Fremantle Website

Artichoke Cafe - Not your usual brunch cafe

Really respect their attitude and passion to whip up awesome food for customers without conforming to the norm. Way to go, Artichoke. :)

Coffee was smooth, fragrant and we even takeaway 2 cuppas after our meal.

"dirty fries" with various condiments (pickles, tomatoes, mayo and salsa) is a must to start your stomach.

(in order of appearance)
Soft scrambled eggs with local organic mushrooms + grilled haloumi cheese + za'atar bread/
Bacon & Sweet potato hash - Sunny side-up + Fresh rocket + Turkish toast + bourbon butter/
Mezze Platter - A lil of everything on that day's menu/
Overdoughs' Snickers Tart + Roasted Banana muffin -

Thanks to Doris for the recommendation! Else we will not have walked into this cafe that we passed by so many times before! I love the laid-back atmosphere and the friendly servers who gave really awesome recommendations.

Artichoke Cafe & Bar
161 middle road, Sculpture Square
Tel: 6336 6949

Operating hours: 
Tues to Fri- dinner hours 
Sat- brunch & dinner (close at 4pm and open at 6pm again)
Sun- brunch

Artichoke Cafe & Bar Website

Artichoke Cafe & Bar FB

The Rabbit Stash - private dining boutique

I'm back! :) I hope that you are waiting for some juicy updates because I've got a few places that I highly recommend to you guys!

I need to make a teeny weeny confession- I've never went to a fine dining restaurant and all the dining etiquette skills taught in Poly have been effectively erased from my memory. Hence, I was quite #phail at the usage of the cutlery at this fine dining boutique tucked away at Alexandra Road. I even asked the server if I had been using the wrong cutlery because she had to serve me clean set of the same cutlery after every course! So now I learnt that we need to start using our cutlery from the outside for each course.

This dinner was meant as a surprise for my birthday recently and boy, what a delicious surprise! We ordered the 5-course degustation meal which was so delicious, every course was a treat for my palate.

The smoked eel with mango croissant, granny smith tartare and crunchy radish drizzled with mango sauce was served to whet our appetite for a start.

Lobster Bisque that is not part of the 5-course degustation meal, but delicious nevertheless. It was thick but not too thick to make you feel like it's too much, and you can literally taste the sea with each spoonful.

Even though they serve western food, the chefs are mainly (Singaporean) Chinese and this herbed braised duck was braised for like half a day? It was flavourful and the meat was awesomely tender. I like the braised quail egg too - a nice touch to the dish.

Lightly battered Prawn tempura with Japanese sauce to clear our palate for the next course. The prawn was very crunchy and succulent and the sauce was a perfect complement.

Again, not part of the 5-course meal, but LOOK at the lamb babeh. It screamed JUICY and tender and everything nice. 'Nuff said.

I'm gonna put out an arm and leg to say this, but this black ribeye is the best steak I've ever tasted. You gotta try to know what I'm talking about.

5-Course Degustation Meal - $68++

We ended the course with the classic Tiramisu topped with a birthday candle. :)

I thoroughly enjoyed my meal here because I feel so special and personal with the owners of this cozy restaurant - Donna and Mattew. Donna will actually take the time and effort to introduce and explain about each course to all the customers and her sincerity to dedicate gourmet pleasure in the food is very commendable. They even make a complete change of the menu with every change of season to keep things exciting for the customers! So be sure to eat to your heart's content when you patronize at this place.

This 25-seater private fine dining place is an unpretentious yet classy place for a well-balanced meal that is specially created to entice our taste buds. Just remember to make a reservation first before making your way down!


The Rabbit Stash

354/356 Alexandra Road

#01-07 Alexis

Tel: 98588607
The Rabbit Stash FB page
The Rabbit Stash webpage