Brunch at Riders Cafe

So it was my birthday week and I suggested having brunch at Riders Cafe. I've heard good reviews about the place and since it is located in a rather inaccessible location, I thought it would be a good opportunity to make use of the car - whilst I still had it anyway.

Our reservation was at three and we (myself, J and Z) had spent the morning - I'd like to add that it was a really wet morning - at Pasarbella - Singapore's take on an indoor farmers' market meet Marche style concept. It's a pretty interesting place.

Rider's Cafe Singapore

Rider's have their own little parking lot in front of the restaurant. The first thing that comes to mind is the tranquility of the space. No tall concrete buildings. Just vast fields and horses ! Yeap - its actually adjoining a stable. So every now and then don't be surprised to get greeted by a waft of equine aroma. Hahaha.

Wrought Iron Doorway

The entrance doorway looks like intricate wrought iron work. Was too preoccupied with the menu to inspect it closer but it was beautiful. The restaurant is not air-conditioned, yet the high ceiling and open windows allow for easy cross ventilation and thus, successfully creates a cool environment. The decor is simple and the focal point is the open bar/cash register.

Inside Rider's Cafe

Large open windows for cross ventilation

Although, we were on time for our reservation, we still had to wait for our table. We were quite obliging and just continued to look at the menu. Oh my there were so many items on the menu. There was a lunch menu, brunch menu, drinks menu. I couldn't find smoked salmon anywhere so opted for the Oyster Roll. Lurrve oysters. J was going for the Rider's Burger and Z opted for pasta. I also picked out Chicken Tacos for us as a starter to share.

We were then promptly seated and I even saw some horses ! First came our drinks. J had a Boston Iced Tea, Z had a Lemon Fizz and I had a Citrus Crush. I tried all their drinks and they were all good ! Very refreshing and not too sweet. Mmmm good. As we were settling in, Z suddenly decided he wanted to change his meal. So we quickly caught the attention of a wait staff and checked if we could do a swap. Luckily we could, so Z was going to have the Crab Benedict instead.

Our drinks for the day

The food took some time to come but it was reasonable. Wow the spread looked amazing. The Chicken Tacos were not what I had expected. I thought it would be shredded chicken. But out came a whole chunk of it. Despite the difficulty in eating it, the meat was well seasoned and delicious. The red cabbage slaw that it came with was tangy and oh so yummy.

Our food !

J's burger looked decent but I really can't comment on the taste as I don't eat beef. She said it was pretty good. Z commented that his Crab Benedict was ok. The crab could have been fresher and they could have used a bit more.

Rider's Beef Burger

Oyster Roll and Crab Benedict (Background)

My Oyster Roll was gorgeous. Plump deep fried oysters ... (there's a puddle of drool around me now) ... in a slighly toasted brioche. It was soooo yummy ! My only comment was - I was so engrossed by the oysters that I missed the fact that it came with fries. I mean its a brioche roll with fried oysters, do I really need another serving of carb ? Had I noticed it sooner - I would have swapped it for a salad. Sigh. Otherwise tho, the bread was soft and stringy. The gluten in the bread developed fully and so it gave it that stringy texture and pull. Yum ! Slightly toasted on the edges. With a mayonnaise based sauce on top of the oysters. Oh god it was good !

After our meal - (I didn't touch the fries) I was quite full - surprisingly full enough to skip dessert ! We sat there and chatted away and took some photos. Then J and Z had their coffees. I once again mesmerized by the latte art but sadly a non-coffee drinker.

The evening was still young and so we wanted to do something else. The problem is none of us really knew what ! So at a whim, we decided to drive to Dempsey.

We walked around Demspey and stepped into Jones the Grocer. Pretty nice place. Love the high ceilings ! A definite must hit place next time. We were looking for a particular place but it was no longer at Demspey. So then after some more wandering, Z suggested we go to the Pan Pacific for drinks. As we were driving out of Demspey, Z aptly points towards Glenealges and informs us that there is where he came out of his mom's vagina. Oh God ! Z !

The last I'd been to the Pan Pacific was ages ago. Apparently, they had renovated the place and it looks good. We took our seats and both J and Z had a Henrick's Gin and Tonic. I wanted to try something different. So I decided on a drink called Devotion. It supposedly had lychee juice and raspberries. I think that reminded me of Pierre Hermes Ispahan.

Gin and Tonic

The Devotion -_-

The drink came and I took a sip. Oh no ! It tasted like cough syrup ! Both J and Z tried it and concurred. Sadly I was stuck with a cough syrup tasting drink. So we continued our chit chat and the more I drank, the better the drink tasted. Wasn't sure if that was the alcohol kicking in or just that the lychee juice was concentrated at the bottom.

PB Drink

Since I was not 100% happy with my drink, I ordered another. Some peanut butter chocolate concoction. Another disaster. Hahaha ! It tasted like watered chocolate milk with an alcoholic kick. After that second drink - I was getting woooozy. Yup .. not a big drinker. After some more stories, we called it a night.

It was such a wonderful day to spend with friends ! A day forever etched in my memory.

Department of Caffeine (D.O.C)

D.O.C

U and R invited me for brunch one Sunday morning and they suggested Department of Caffeine. It's located at Duxton Hill which is near where they live.

It's a small cafe, possibly able to hold about 20 to 30 people.Once we walked in, the space is rather narrow and we were showed to our table after a few squeezes her and there and 'excuse mes'. The cafe has a very modern industrial design and feel to it. Big entrance door, timber and black steel interiors, polished concrete floor. Strong coffee smell. There is an open coffee station where the barista seemed to be intensely engaged in his craft. The place definitely has character.

The Coffee Station

A quick look through the menu and we decided on the following: U was having salmon quiche, R was having D.O.C Breakfast Platter and I was having Sundried Tomato and Herb Waffles. U ordered coffee and I went for the Elderflower lemonade. You see I don't drink coffee (yeap I'm one of those wierdos that never developed a liking for that bean) and U was worried about the place as it is called the 'Department of CAFFEINE'. Haha, I told her to fret not as I was confident there would be other options for me.

U got her coffee first and it was so pretty. It's such a talent to master coffee art. The leaf on her coffee was perfect.

Coffee Art

Soon after, the food arrived quickly and looked amazing. R got his first and so we told him to start as we wouldn't want the food to turn cold. He had thick toast, with roasted whole tomatoes. meat loaf and scrambled eggs. We received ours a bit later. I managed a bit of U's quiche and it was ok. The salmon taste was a bit too strong for  me and the quiche was actually an item on display. So I felt that it wasn't warm enough.

D.O.C Breakfast Board

My waffle was super light and crispy. Eggs perfectly scrambled and glistening. There was bacon on top and it came with a serving of maple syrup. Once again I love that play between sweet and salty.

Waffles with Scrambled Egg and Bacon

Department of Caffeine is a great place to chill and catch up with family or friends. I haven't had the opportunity to have dinner there. Definitely going on my list.

A messy but yummy brunch 

Department of Caffeine (D.O.C)
15 Duxton Road
Singapore 089481
T : 62233426