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

in the pantry....where the marmalade is sweet.

now that, is what i call a damn fine brunch.  the marmalade pantry at the stables was suggested by claire.  a damn fine good call. ok, if we are being honest, yes, at first we were skeptical.  since we had no idea where in the hell the stables were.  we: kathy, lizzie, laura and isabella are from the east end of singapore.  claire is from the west.  she had heard from a friend of a friend.  and we all know how good her last friend's angelic suggestion was.  anyhoo....

we: kathy, lizzie, laura and isabella met at the botanical garden mrt and shared a taxi to 'the stables' on the edge of the reservoir.  our cabbie was sufficiently confused by us. he had no idea why anyone would want to head out to the stables, especially on a damp sunday morning. but then we were ang mo (foreigners), so maybe we'd like to see the horses. he drove us along fairways green drive very slowly, pointing at all the happy grazing horses we passed on the way (3).  there were lessons to we could take, just for foreigners to learn how to ride all the old retired horses.  yay! our lucky day.  yeah we weren't taking lessons.

the restaurant was nestled right beside the stables. i had made reservations for inside, but when we got there we decided to sit outside under the fanned canopy.  it was a brilliant decision. during our 3 hour brunch, it was sunny, it was windy, it rained, and it was not once, hot.  a totally delightful day! you know really nothing can compare to sitting outside in the middle of a city surrounded by lush tropical greenery, overlooking empty lush fields, listening to the rain pitter patter on the canopy over your head.  at one time, it rained so hard, we couldn't see anything, just a grey mist. we could have been in scotland overlooking the moors and not even known it.  so refreshing!

i ordered a falfael wrap, again, a delightful surprise being able to order something from the menu.  it was bland.  but whatev's. there was ketchup.  i am not sure i will ever find a good 'vegan' dish here in singapore.  at least it was edible. the tea was delightful, served with its very own tea pot (love that!)  my fellow brunchers however, looked to have made much better choices.  clair got her beloved eggs benedict, which she said was divine. kathy and isabella got the breakfast: eggs, bacon and toast and of course laura got the pancakes.  and then we all got the cupcakes. yay!  really, how could you not.  they were set up inside on a giant table just daring you to order them.  ok. mine was a fail.  it was called chocolate extreme and i just couldn't pass it up.  i didn't see it on the table but i thought.. if they looked that good.. just imagine!  i had visions of a mountain of chocolate icing, with a warm melted lava center, maybe a few chocolate chips to add crunch and then a drizzle of chocolate syrup over the whole thing. yup. imagine disappointment.  dry and flaky and not that chocolately.. and no icing.  isabella got the red velvet with gorgeous cream cheese icing and i almost cried in jealously. (i'm not joking. it looked fackin' awesome)

but whatever.. i had two packets of raw sugar in my tea. who needs chocolate anyways? this brunch our conversation was rather interesting. we spent alot of time talking about how sometimes it can be rather unfair (in a fantastically good way) to be blonde in a foreign country. isabella has a phd in esl education.  she also has short brown hair and could barely get a job in japan, so i cannot begrudge her a good cupcake now and then, especially since i have only a uni diploma, long blonde hair and have been hired way too many times, in all parts of asia solely based on my photo (hair colour/skin colour). 

there is a marmalade pantry in orchard ion.  and we almost went there instead, but since then i have walked past said restaurant. and to be honest, ugh. its in the middle of a mall. with people (like me) walking by and looking at you.  its not that the marmalade pantry has that good food, the food was ok.  but what makes it such a freakin' delight (and what justifies the rather expensive prices) is the ambiance.  when one lives and works everyday in the saturated, crowded, noisy, chaotic concrete jungle that is singapore, a moment (or 3 hours) in a green horse stable-y heaven is divine.  DIVINE!   4 1/2 stars.

The Marmalade Pantry at the Stables
55 Fairways Dr  Singapore 286846

Tel: 6467 7748

wild honey... that's not so wild.

 this wasn't a brunch thing, more like a lunch thing, just me and laura.  but wild honey serves all day breakfast.  and its a popular little joint.   a bit hard to find on the third floor of mandarin gallery on orchard.  not as hard to find as the washrooms though.  NOT included with the restaurant but in the mall, down the hall, and around the corner, and then down another hall.

i was excited to go to wild honey.  their website is awesome.  it just makes you drool. their restaurant is nice... but small... there was only two of us, so we fit nicely at our table.  but as i looked around the restaurant it was hard to picture where all 5 of us brunch ladies would sit and how long would we have to wait for a table on a sunday morning... and then there was the attitude.  you know the one when you walk into a louis vitton store or a a tiffany's. a hush in the air, a slight shift in the eyes as you are upraised, a small tilt to the head as you majestically led to your table.. yeah..a bit pretentious for me.  i mean its breakfast for god's sake. 

after we were most graciously shown to our table, because we were so lucky that they had space for us...we had to go up to the cash register to order.  why? there were servers milling all around.  why is it so difficult for them to take orders?  maybe they were trying to go for a new york deli style.  which would have been cool and fitting, considering the menus were written with chalk paint on a large blackboard but then why have servers show us to our seats?

the manager or owner or head honcho was there to take our orders.  a chef from new mexico. which was cool to talk to the chef. who showed us through his suped up menu on the ipad with lovely professionally done photos.  but damn.. can i say confusing?  and odd.  i know he created the dishes so he's all proud of them, but he was so, almost difficult, when i asked for the californian without eggs. he was almost insulted because then the vegetables wouldn't stay together as well. i'm well aware of what eggs will or will not do for a dish.  but i am also aware that i am the customer and a vegan and i don't want eggs.  same for laura, she ordered the mexican without ..... and he wasn't happy about that.  so then you have to pay straight away. which made life totally difficult when i ordered a cappuccino later.  and can i say fack me?  that's one expensive breakfast. over $50.00 for two dishes?

and as the owner/manager/head honcho spent an eternity taking us through every menu item on the ipad a line formed behind us.  a long line.  of hungry customers.  who had to go through the same spiel after us.  with growling stomachs.  odd.  just give me a damn menu at my table and be done with it.

the food, was fantastic.  even without eggs.  it was really well done.  the bread on the californian was lovely.  toasted to perfection. soft inside, crispy outside.  and on each table is a small dish of real sea salt, like the big chunky kind, that really gives you a good kick of salt for your sprinkle.

so me and laura had lots to talk about, she having just returned from weeks of touring bali and being romanced by the balinese and me just having returned from a week in yoygakarta and not being romanced at all.  not true.  i am/was being romanced by a lovely singaporean local who is burning up my whatsapp daily.  he's smart, handsome, and makes me laugh.  he's also only separated from his wife and a lawyer.  hence my dilemma.  not sure what makes him harder to trust; the separation from his wife or that he's a lawyer.

after about 2 hours of in-depth conversation, laura has advised me to not think too much about it and just enjoy it.  huh.  easier said than done to a virgo.  i think too much about what i'm going to eat (no. really?  cause i only write a blog about the food i eat, nothing OCD about that).

so wild honey.  huh.  an enigma.  either a deli or an expensive restaurant?  what are you?  cappuccinos are

divine. even with soy milk.  food was delicious.  restaurant set up is odd. ordering is a nightmare.  prices are way too high, even if your address is on orchard street.  its breakfast for god's sake!  so yeah 3.5 stars.  provided you do NOT go on a sunday.. and before the crowd.... cause there's no reservations... what?

Wild Honey
Mandarin Gallery   333a Orchard Road  3rd floor
TEL: 6235 3900