like a boomerang

having pretty much exhausted my choices (and my wallet) at dempsey, i went back to google to search once again for brunch. but this time i got smart. you see i think the best place i have ever had brunch (well besides the cafes in paris... oohh i love paris)  was in australia.  serious. amazing brunch/breakfast places.  with get this - fresh vegetables and fruit served on the plate!  and vegetarian options. what are they thinking?  i know!  so there was this place i remember looking awesomely cool on the riverside near clarke quay.. i had seen it during one of my midnight romantic strolls with graham.. who am i?  i know!  you are thinking that my life sounds like a movie, am i right?  well.. um.. no.. you see, sad thing is i wish graham was half as cool as he is in my dreams.  and that he wasn't still recovering from a painful divorce (him being the one kicked out of his house and wishing he could get his wife, child and life back.)  damn.  ever notice the ones you want are hard to get and only want to use and abuse you... and the ones you get.. are the ones you don't want.. the needy, overly romantic, clingy type?  sigh...

anyways. brunch. on the river.  booyah!  or.. more to the point, boomerang. what a great place! and.. wait for it... i could order directly from the menu.. completely.. again wait.. vegan choice! i was so excited.  i know it won't seem awesome to you... but to me.. so exciting.  i ordered the avocado toast.. which essentially is two thick chunks of wheat toast with slices of avocado and grilled tomatoes on the side.  and what i did was order a side of beans and hash browns. and then i put the beans over the toast, then the avocado then the tomato.... and damn!  good!  fresh!  yum!  to add, i ordered a soy cappuccino   ok the others? they ordered equally awesome - non vegan meals - buttermilk pancakes, the 'bondi' (poached eggs and spinach on toast) and 'the ashes' (big fry up, sausage, bacon, eggs, toast...yada, yada)....AND ... all the meals were served at the same time.  after AFTER the drinks.  i actually had time to chat and sip my cappuccino till it was finished and then booyah!  there arrived my meal.  perfection.  damn aussies.  they have the sun, the surf and now impeccable timing. what next?

and the chatter.. um.. well.. it flowed just as smoothly as the aussie service.  maybe because the restaurant itself is this clever inside/outside type set up with a roof but with open walls overlooking the very posh area of robertson quay.  lovely to just sit and people watch.  so gossip.. well...claire is moving to dubai. what?  she just got here. yep.. and she's pregnant again.. with girl number two. lizzie is over the moon with a german businessman we met (she dragged home) at an internations event (our first.. sadly not our last).  i was bemoaning the very gorgeous eygptian man i met (but didn't drag home) at the same said internations event who was sporadically texting me.. and i was trying my best to play coy wishing he was even as slightly as interested and head over heels in love with me as graham... and then.. there is kathy who just got propositioned to take on a HOD position at a very posh school in Singapore for 3 times her now very VERY adequate salary..... apparently education is big business in singapore.

so boomerang.  awesome.  awesome. awe.some.  and to add to its already awesome status, the bill arrived. what?  reasonable.  i walked out of my new favourite place in singapore full, refreshed and relaxed with my wallet only $25.00 lighter.  and so like a true boomerang (which coincidentally  i actually own having bought one and been taught how to correctly throw it in maroubra (near sydney) by a genuine aboriginal boomerang craftsman.  yup. no biggie) i will definitely return.  4.5 stars.  seriously, in singapore i am not sure it can get better.... but a girl can still hope.

Boomerang Bar and Bistro
Robertson Quay at the Quayside 60 Robertson Quay
Tel: 6738 1077

ps. (cafe) i love you.

and back to ps cafe. cause it was an easy choice.

and.....this time it wasn't me and the brunch ladies... it was just me and a guy; the guy i'm seeing graham. and we sat outside, but in the shade and it was fantastic. i didn't want dumb salad and fries again, so i thought i would try to do what i got so used to doing in new york. (i just came back from 2 weeks in brooklyn. holla!!) you see what i could do in new york (brooklyn) was just tell the waiter that i was vegan and that i wanted a mash of potatoes and vegetables. they were so damn good in new york (brooklyn) that they let me even list the vegetables that i wanted to add.  actually, where i stayed (in my sister's guest room) there was a true blue.. or is it green vegan restaurant s'nice (that's the name.. but it's true.. it is nice..) right down the street.  can you say heaven?  seriously fantastic.  i am dreaming right now of their soy chai lattes and vegan brownies ... oh and their awesome urban vibe.. and non humid air.......... sigh....

but this waiter surprised me. "oh, you are vegan? well we can do a portobello burger for you?  or we have a pasta with tomato sauce."

"what?" i was completely flummoxed, "but that's not on the menu."

"no, we write it on the board as vegetarian or vegan options."

"OMG! i love you!" no i didn't say that.  but i thought it.  alot.

so i ordered that; the mushroom burger and a cappuccino with soy milk......and it was fantastic! seriously.  fresh tomatoes and rocket salad with a thick slab of mushroom. yay! a party in my mouth.  i didn't eat it all, not because i didn't want to. but because i was also talking the whole time. cause when i'm happy i can't shut up. and finally in singapore at brunch i was happy.

and then my happiness doubled because this time we ordered dessert: carrot cake... and another cappuccino...
just cause it was a beautiful day sitting in the shade, chatting with a guy...

we split the bill. i know, he's supposed to pay. but he always pays. and why not? the bloody tab came to $126 and no one ordered any alcohol. what the?  but, as graham suggested, if we broke it down by hour, then we essentially paid about $20 an hour to sit there in the cool shade, surrounded by lush greenery and relax and chat and be.

ahh.. happiness. awesome today.  5 stars.....minus the cost, less would be better, but whatever, it was a splurge... ok fine 4.5 stars.  no less.

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

the barracks or house or who cares.....

this was a weird one.  everyone i've talked to in singapore told me this was the place for brunch. especially for their world famous sliders.  which essentially are small pork burgers with steamed buns.  which was not something i would order. ever.  so yeah.. 

i called the day before and it was quite hard to actually nail down the name of this place.  its listed as the barracks or house or i'm not really sure.  i called a few numbers before i could finally make a reservation.  and then, really did it matter?  there were loads of empty seats when we arrived.

it was just me, lizzie and laura for this morning's feast.  laura didn't order pancakes, cause why would you? 7 layer pancakes - 7 layers of fluffy butter pancakes with hidden gems and spreads like nutella, green raisins, dried apricots, maple syrup,  hazelnuts and pistachios. ok, maybe they sounded good, but not like brunch good, more like dessert good.  so instead she ordered  the very berry stuffed french toast  she's vegetarian, so i love going for brunch with her. it doesn't make me stand out as the only freak in the group.  lizzie ordered the asparagus and poached eggs  from the 'good for the heart' menu .  and me?  huh.  i ordered the macadamia crusted pumpkin with argula salad.  actually it was very nice to be able to order something off the menu that was pretty much vegan.  it only had some weird cream sauce thing on top...so i didn't have to call out the chef and get him to whip me up a special dish. since it was just salad...and our brunches usually last for hours i thought i might be hungry so ordered taro chips on the side.

the service was odd.  i think its a singaporean thing, where different meals come out at different times, and apparently it takes an hour to make a cappuccino. ok, in reality it was more like 45 minutes to make 2 cappuccinos.  lucky for me i had ordered english breakfast tea. the taro chips came right away and we all dug in.  but then, ugh.  waaaay too much oil  i'm not sure if it was the tea or the chips.. but i was nauseous. i never get nauseous in the morning.  especially when i am eating.  and no,  it was not morning sickness, so don't even ask.  it went away after i stopped eating the chips and had a few bites of lizzie's dry toast.

the macadamia encrusted salad i ordered was bland. essentially it was a massive slice of baked pumpkin covered in a weird mayonnaise wannabe sauce on one side and a rocket salad on the other.  ok, the salad was ok.  really, how can you screw up rocket with oil and lemon?

laura and lizze were patient; as patient as one can be waiting an hour (right, 45 minutes) for a cappuccino.  but they didn't finish their meals either and we didn't  stay for dessert which sucks because they have warm chocolate toffee cake on the menu which in my mind must be a delectable mix of hot lava cake and warm sticky toffee pudding.. two of my most favourite things on earth.. mmm....

maybe i should have been worried when i went to the bathrooms.  actually, maybe not.  the bathrooms are pretty damn cool with quotes and poems and stuff on the walls.  and they are clean.  and they are attached to the building.. .what?  but.. but...what respectable restaurant titles their bathrooms 'pussy cat' and 'rooster' ladies and men's respectively?  guess it could have been worse.  they could have called the men's 'cockadoodledo'... or just right to the point.. 'cock'.  but the real story of the day was that a) i'm seeing someone new and b) laura has invited her boy from bali to visit her for two weeks.  what?  i know!  which one of those is hardest to believe?!?!  oh and c) lizzie was not impressed at all about either... mwha....

one thing i'll say, dempsey hill is the shit.  its a really cool little village. and it makes one (me) wish she still had her car.  but its an easy taxi ride from holland village. and worth it just to wander round the furniture shops after eatings, dreaming of furnishing that massive old colonial house with hand carved teak chairs and gorgeous silk throws by the riverside that one (me) will have one imminent day.  dempsey hill, i think was made for sunday brunch.  and the barracks did serve me my tea, early, and really, there are not that many things better whilst living in hot humid singapore than a cup of hot tea in sub zero air conditioning on a sunday morning.  so, not a complete fail. so 2.5 stars. 

Dempsey House
80 dempsey road
tel 64757787

baci....blah....

Life is simple and beautiful.
Be grateful for what you have.
Want little.
How to be happy?
Find something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
Even little things count.
A strong hot coffee and sweet biscuit will help start the day right.
When the sun shines, be happy for the light.
When it rains, be happy for the earth.
Love and respect the people around you.
Be kind to yourself.
If it's time to eat, enjoy every bite.
If it's time to work, enjoy every effort.
Every single moment of life is precious, so be there in the moment.
Your presence is beautiful.
- Love and kisses, from Baci.

baci re-creates an authentic italian experience, serving quality Italian coffee and fresh, café-style food in a neighbourhood setting inspired by European coffee culture, where people relax, share, and enjoy each other’s company. together with highly experienced chefs, baci’s deliciously unique recipes are inspired by italian classics, using only natural, fresh ingredients. it also strives to avoid adding any artificial additives such as colours, flavours and sweeteners...... which is what the menus said..... AND.... which looked fantastic!  seriously.  it was such a quaint little cafe.. you could literally taste the cappuccino on your lips when you walked in. clean, italian, white, crisp and empty.  a perfect place for sunday morning brunch.  and because it was so lovely italianio i decided to go a bit loco and bruschetta.  cappuccino and bruschetta.  are you kidding me?  i was drooling with the possibility of the deliciousness of my breakfast (not to mention the insane chocolate lava cakes on the menu for desert)  and then laura ordered pancakes.  DOH!  no pancakes.  what the? what?  pancakes were right their written in lovely italian script on their special 11-2 brunch menu, and it was just past 11 on sunday morning but they were out of pancakes.
"out of pancakes?  how can that be?  can your chef not cook some more?" i asked.
"no," the waitress said.
"i don't understand," i said.
"we are out of flour," she said.
"huh." i said, completely perplexed.  a restaurant at 11:00 am on a sunday morning with a special brunch menu....out of flour?!?!?
there was no making of any sense out of that one.  and laura could not be made to order anything else.  not that i blame her.  when one's heart is set on a lovely description of banana pancakes, fluffy and light with real maple syrup on the side, its hard to settle for scrambled egg on toast.  which would explain why the restaurant was empty.  on a sunday morning.  just past 11.
so we got up and left.

we wandered around 112 katong looking for someplace, somewhere else, for breakfast... and finally settled on a random restaurant, chinese wannabe western, where i had to order pasta because there was no brunch menu, no toast, no vegetables, no recognizable anything. well, maybe there was something but at the time kathy had just told me that whitney houston had just been found dead and my brain was in shock.  i mean, what? how?  why?  my heart is broken.  what a waste.  what a sad sad waste. 

ha!  baci you suck.  you and your lame flour.
1 star (for the possibility)

 Baci Italian Cafe
#01-07  112 Katong    112, East Coast Road
 Tel: 6636 3544