Chock Full of Beans

This was a totally random visit. J texted  me in the morning after Church and was like you busy? And so I was like - see you at 4.

We hadn't decided where we wanted to go yet. We thought we'll just decide when we met. So picked her up at 4pm and we chose Changi Village as the destination. She suggested Chock Full of Beans.

Cafe Front

Thank god the parking at Changi Village was not full. I think I would have cried if I had had to parallel park. Surprisingly,  the cafe was just beside the open air carpark. Awesome.

I had already had lunch - thanks to my Grandma insisting I eat her cooking 0_O. Plus it was 4.30pm ish so neither of us were that hungry. So drinks and a snack of sorts was what we were looking for.

The cafe is small and has a 'new kid on the block' charm about it. Not sure how long it has been around though. The interior has unfinished brickwork and timber work. The combination gives the space a 'warm' glow which is inviting and cosy.

Inside Chock Full of Beans

We were able to get bar seats as it was just the two of us. Unfortunately, the sun was in J's eyes and annoyed her a little. Hey, but it made her brown eyes stand out even more !

After a browse through the menu, J had her coffee (a latte) and I went for the Strawberry Banana Milkshake since I wasn't really in the chocolate mood. We also ordered a side of chicken wings. They had quite a few options. Maybe another time, when we're more hungry.

Their Menu

The downside to our experience at Chock Full of Beans was the waiting time. After we were seated, there was a couple that were seated beside us. They ordered after us but had their food served, finished, paid and left and we were still waiting. Hmmmm.

As J was thinking of checking on our order, I saw them bring out my drink. So we patiently waited a little while longer.

My Strawberry Banana Milkshake was different from what I expected. Maybe I was hoping for more strawberries in the drink - a more natural tasting drink - I don't know. What came was really pretty but tasted very artificial and sweet. I'm guessing, they must have used strawberry syrup or something. I probably would not have it again.

Strawberry Banana Milkshake

J's latte, came with some kind of Ultraman art on it ! Super cute ! We were both trying to figure out if it really was Ultraman or something else. Hahaha. The coffee was good. I took a sip. But still not a coffee drinker.

Iced Latte

Ultraman Art ?

The chicken wings came after and they were amazing. They were grilled and not fried. Crispy skin and succulent flesh. As we bit into the chicken, there were clear juices oozing out - good sign. Really really yummy. A thumbs up for this.

Chicken Wings 

I wanted to have dessert but J was toying with the idea of visiting another place in Changi Village. So I jumped on that and skipped dessert.

Oh yeah - we were tired of waiting for our bill, so I went to the cash register to pay.

Two drinks and chicken wings cost us S$21.00+

Chock Full of Beans
Blk 4 Changi Village Road
Singapore 500004
T : 6214 8839

Tues - Fri : 11am to 10pm
Sat - Sun : 9am to 10pm

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.