la barca, la ok-ah

lizzie kept seeing la barca  on her way to work so finally we decided to try it. it was an odd one to find, tucked away in the middle of the goodman arts centre. which in itself is a weird campus.  but a gem too in my opinion.  i love all things art. and was in my glory wandering around checking out all the possible art courses and classes i could attend. if only i didn't have to work all day. oh! the things i could do.

the goodman arts centre is built on the old campus of lasalle arts college, which i think (hope) was built on the old site of an army barracks type building.  it was very 1960's institutional. lots of floors of small doors.  huh.  but la barca was in the middle, a little oasis of white curtains, white lounge chairs and green plants.  i arrived first and sat down in one of the luscious couches outside waiting for everyone else.  i could have sat there all day. but finally when everyone arrived, the waiter suggested we move to a table. we decided to sit outside, under the canopy.

so their brunch menu was pretty good. there wasn't a vegan meal but there were a ton of sides.  i asked the waiter if i could have the potato wedges, the grilled vegetables and the steamed tomatoes together on one plate.  "no, cannot." huh?  why not? i didn't understand, but whatever.  fine.  "you want them all at once?"  yes.  i tried to explain. i am vegan.  i don't eat meat or eggs, so that is what i must do to eat any thing on your menu.  i don't think he understood (or cared).

it was a lovely set up and as we sat down they brought toast for all of us in those lovely little silver triangle things.  very english for an italian restaurant.  laura ordered pancakes.  kathy ordered the full breakfast, eggs sunny side up.  but...."no, cannot. only can have eggs over easy."  huh? why not?  she didn't understand.

but it all became very clear when the food arrived.  i could not put all my sides onto one dish because each side was carefully displayed on a massive plate with drips of oil on top.. very french cafe style. yes.  there were 5 thin strips of grilled zucchini.  and 2 steamed tomatoes and a plate of 4 potato wedges laid out in the the shape of star.  it was a thing of beauty.  and took up half the table.  i subsequently took all vegetables off their gorgeously laid out plates and heaped them on top of the potato wedges.  then asked for ketchup.  (oh i'm a choice guest!)

kathy's over easy which could not be a sunny side up actually was sunny side up. so go figure.  little things.  no big deal.  it was actually, when all the logistics were sorted out, delicious. 

the bathrooms were across the amphitheater area at the bottom of the goodman arts centre. so a fair walk. but somewhat attached.  and probably the walk was good for me. i did it 3 times as i kept getting refills of hot water and we stayed and chatted all afternoon.  about to kill a mockingbird.  why does the singapore school system insist on teaching students to kill a mockingbird? how in the world does it relate to anything in singapore?  1930s, race issues, slavery, rape, and good ol southern american family values. huh.  i thought it was a hard sell to my canadian students.

so la barca. the price was reasonable.  again, i paid the most for my 3 sides as opposed to frankie's massive eggs and sausage and coffee and juice and toast set.  but whatever. who's complaining (me. just once i would like to go to a restaurant that has stuff on the menu that i can eat.  like more then one thing.  i miss vegan restaurants. i would even be happy for a vegetarian option.  i'm just asking for a bit of  love.  just a little)   whatever, it was a lovely brunch. and quiet. we were the only ones there. and the company was great.  so yeah, ok. i was going to say 4 stars. but no, it wasn't ps cafe good. but it wasn't la baci bad.  so 3.5 stars. maybe i'll go back and see if it gets better?

La Barca
90 Goodman Rd, Goodman Arts Centre Blk C
Tel: 6346 5813

psssst! ps cafe. not too bad.

we had seen ps cafe the other times we had gone to dempsey hill, hidden down a long windy path, and it looked delightful, so we were all excited to give it a go.
and we weren't disappointed. it was lovely.  lovely.  as soon as you walk in you are greeted with a row of the most delectable tantalizing cakes you can imagine.  and then massive vases of flowers.  and when i say massive like 6 feet tall.  just gorgeous.  the seating area is lovely with floor to ceiling windows looking out over grass and lush greenness that is singapore.

it was busy when we arrived at 11 and there were 6 of us minus one.  lizzie was out sleeping in and enjoying the peace and quiet after the exodus of laura's bali boy.  and they don't take reservations.  but we only waited about 10 minutes for a table.  ok, the menu was a bit meat heavy and no 'just toast' or home fries or anything.  but i was the only one with ordering issues.  its not really a brunch-y menu, but the usual suspects: pancakes, eggs benedict, eggs and bacon are all there.  i ordered ugh... the green house salad because they didn't even have like a side of veggies or anything.  and i ordered fries.  they were ok.  the green house salad i ordered had blueberries which were delicious but prehaps too many cherry tomatoes.  it was massive, served in a giant bowl.  so even though i didn't finish it, i did eat a fair bit. 

the bathrooms, although quick to get rather icky were attached!  and clever there are actually 2 women's and one men.  ha!  now that is good planning.  and they also have gorgeous floral arrangements. 

yup.  ps cafe had such a nice atmosphere, i have could sat there all day. wait....we did. our waiter was so patient with us even when there was a line up at the door to get in.  but actually, yes we were talking the whole time about stuff.. cause we are girls and we can talk .....ok.. we were also talking about frankie's wacko landlord who is threatening to evict her and keeps making her pay extra saying that she breaks things.. when she can't use the kitchen at all. can you imagine?  she has to go out and buy all her food and then eat out.  she isn't even supposed to eat in her room.  that was the latest stunt her landlord pulled.  just before brunch she knocked on frankie's door (who answered in a towel having just gotten out of the shower) and told her she was kicked out for eating in her room.  because she smelt curry.  frankie had just woken up and had a shower.  and then came for brunch.  no curry. weird.  my roommates drive me crazy at times, and i live in a grungy HBD, but damn, what the hell could it be like?

but we were actually waiting for a dessert menu.  we were dying to try the freakin' amazing desserts.  and i so wanted another cup of tea.  but our waiter never came back.  we waited for hours.  so when she finally did come back we were so tired of waiting and it was going on 3:00 we just asked for the bill.  sigh.

so ps cafe... ooohhh.. not bad.  really not bad.  unless you have to pay for the bill.  and then ouch!  it may just be a  once a month thing.  i paid $50 PLUS for salad, fries and tea.  yup.  $50 PLUS.   all in all, though, i have to say, for location (its in dempsey.. yay!) ambiance, general healthiness of food, service, not too damn bad.  4 stars.

PS Cafe
28B Harding Rd  Singapore 249549
Tel: 9070 8782