Prive: Brunch by the Bay!

Another Sunday, another lazy-wake-up day. Sleeping is such a luxury these days that I would give almost anything just to catch more wink. Well almost. Brunch is so not in the list! Rise and shine to Prive!









Ultimate Breakfast ($17.00)

The grandest that they could offer! Toast, baked beans, tomatoes, greens, bacon strips, beef sausage and your choice of egges. Fresh stuffs that will surely satisfy the greedy you!



Eggs Benedict(Bacon), Eggs Royale(Salmon) ($13.50 for both)

A favourite for many, I guess people really loved poached eggs and their runny yorks! The hollaindaise sauce was a little dry, but still good when eaten with warm muffins and balanced the saltiness of bacon and salmon. Not much faults here!


Fluffy Pancakes ($13.50)




Total bill for 4 was $73.30 after taxes. Admittedly, the food wasn't exactly mind-blowing, but with its chill-laxing ambience and excellent view, it was relatively affordable compared to other brunch places. Now don't bother the taxi uncle anymore and take a nice stroll back across the bridge!

Halia: Brunch in The Greens!

What do you do on a Sunday morning? Wake up late, free from work, and looking forward to a sumptuous brunch treat. Thats exactly what I like to do! Along with 17 like-minded foodies!



Located at Botanic Gardens, Halia became our choice of January gathering as all of us had not been here before. Built with wooden planks and matching furnishing, the restaurant resembled a posh kampong house amidst lush greenery, tweetering birds and running squrrels. While they do have indoor dining, that would be rather wasteful of the closer-to-nature alfresco seatings!


Halia Infusion ($9.00)

I took their house specialty for a morning cuppa, which was a blend of coffee with sun-dried ginger and wild mountain honey. The spicy taste of ginger was distinct yet not overpowering, while the honey probably added sweetness to the coffee without any notable flavour. I felt that it was a nice change from the usual morning brews, but the price would have deterred me from ordering it again.



Poached Egg with Back Bacon (top, $16.00) or Ocean Trout (Bottom, $24.00)

Most of us went with this two choices while there is also a vegetarian option ($14.00) available. Served with roasted mushrooms, spinach and tomato, it was a wonderful combination when eaten together with the toast, dipped in the runny york! My shot didn't bring justice to the trout as it was really much thicker on the other side! There were some comments that the Hollandaise sauce was too sour for their liking, something for them to improve on?


Kurobuta Pork and Portobello Mushroom Burger

Now this one gathered some rather extreme opinions. Phoebe and Zaylene was thoroughly disappointed, comparing it to Farmland or Ramly patties. Jia Yi and I, on the other hand, thought that it was pretty good! For me, I felt that it was great to have an alternative to beef, as the apple aioli sauce went well with the tender texture of the patty and the portobello mushroom shining with juicy earthy flavour. Taste really is subjective!


Cinnamon French Toast ($14.00)

Harris had this for his main, and he said that while it was rather enjoyable at first, the toast soon became a one big mixture of sweetness overdose and weak cinnamon taste.


Cappuccino Dunkin' Pit ($10.00)

Sadly, the general comment for this was that it was much better in look than in taste. The layer of white turned out to be whipped cream instead of ice cream, making one feel stuffed after a few mouthful.

With plenty of brunch options around, Halia wasn't exceptionally memorable for their food. But with laid-back nature settings and most importantly for me, the company I had that morning, taste really became secondary!

Old Hong Kong: Dim Sum For The New Year!

Where would you go for dim sum? The consistent, convenient and affordable Crystal Jade had always been my favourite choice, with a good bowl of congee and basket of Siew Mai for comfort Sunday brunch. But I think Old Hong Kong had just opened up a new option for me!



I think many had visited their 24hour cafe at Katong, but this branch at Square2 specialised in dim sum during lunch and tea, while serving up stir fries at night. The shopping centre was rather sleepy for New Year Day, but when I turned around the corner leading to the restaurant, it was packed beyond expectations!



Appetising Snack ($1.00), Iced Milk Tea ($2.80)

The staffs were speedy and well-trained, overhearing quite a number of them conversing in Cantonese. Unlike most places serving salted peanuts as table snack, they had a more local varient with long bean, ikan bilis and dried beancurd.

As I usually judged a so-called Hong Kong restaurant by the standard of its milk tea, the one here had its own pros and cons. At first impression, it was rather fragrant and had a solid good flavour to it. However, the aftertaste was bad, leaving a dry, scaley feel when you rub your tongue against the roof of your mouth. This, according to a milk tea expert (aka mom), was not the fault of technique, but due to leaving the tea leaves boiled for way too long.



Siew Mai ($4.20), Char Siew Bun ($3.20)

I ordered pretty standard things when it came to dim sum, but for me its the normal stuffs that kept me happy when done well. The inclusion of abalone clam in the Siew Mai might be gimicky, but I actually liked how it tasted overall, with a solid texture of minced pork and prawn.

The other one was definitely A grade. Soft fluffy exterior with juicy sweet barbecued pork, one of the best I had in ages!



Pan Fried Flour Roll with XO Chilli ($3.80), Shrimp Roll with Cheese ($3.80)

Flour rolls were usually steamed and wrapped with prawns, scallops or char siew. But another way to eat it was to pan fried with XO chilli sauce. More savoury than fiery, it was a good one for me!

The shrimp roll looked interesting on menu, but taste-wise the cheese could be a bit more heavier, while I had to complement the generous amount of shrimps used in each roll.



Deep-fried Yam Dumpling ($3.20), Mini Egg Tart ($2.80)

Another well-done snack, the dumpling was piping hot and stuffed full of savoury yam and minced meat. The egg tart however, paled in comparison to Crystal Jade, with a diluted custard center and a crust just not flaky enough.



Chinese Pancake with Diced Scallop ($6.00), Steamed Rice with Chicken and Chinese Sauasage ($6.00)

The pancake was a mistake made on impulse. I had an impression that it would be the crispy prata-like type, but instead it was lumpy and tasteless, with the scallops hardly able to save it.

Still feeling hungry? Go for the rice selections! Fragrantly steamed and eaten with a dash of soy sauce, it will fill you up with satisfaction!

Bill for two was $40.20 after taxes, and that was a lot of food! Not exactly a Crystal Jade replacement, Old Hong Kong did have dishes to my liking, but there were some that could be further improved or avoided during my next trip!

Casuarina Curry:

I had always fancied a prata breakfast. Plain ol Indian pancake, yet so tasty and addictive. Spending 1.5 year at Seletar Camp, it was sad that the famous one at Jalan Kayu just didn’t live up to its name anymore. Fortunately, there’s still Casuarina!



Located near Upper Pierce Reservoir, Casuarina Curry could be a little hard to reach, but you would be surprised by the crowd on a Sunday morning. It had been quite awhile since I last visited and they had renovated the place quite neatly. Cleaner, bigger and air-conditioned, not a bad place to eat flattened dough!


Kosong

The simplest but still most popular of them all, the one here was hot and fluffy, has that little elasticity when you pull them apart, yet still retaining a crispy texture on the surface. With curry or sugar? Heck, it even tasted good on its own!


Sweet Prata

I actually wanted to have a prata bomb, a variant that used double the dough in a single piece with hidden melted sugary butter. Alas, they did not serve it here but the guy suggested an alternative, one that came with egg and condensed milk within. Thin and elongated, the combination of sticky sweet taste and eggy aroma was quite an interesting one.


Curry Mutton

I gotta have this everytime I come! Served in bite-sized cubes, it was tender and well-marinated with a good proportion of lean meat and tendon. The sauce was also thicker and richer than the standard ones, which went even better with pratas. Made for the mutton lovers!

Sad to say, the drinks here were really not up to standard. Teh Tarik and Chino were either too bland or sweet, should really put in more effort to complement their good stuffs. Somehow, its getting harder to get a decent piece of prata and Casuarina wasn’t really that tempting to drag myself down with a long bus ride every week. Anyone knows of a good one that is easily accessible?