Necessary Provisions @ Eng Kong Terrace (Upper Bukit Timah)

It was the morning that we finally did what we said we would do since we got married. Wake up early and view the sunrise regularly! Still can't believe we actually woke up so early and went over the other side of the island so early in the morning! We did and took a lot of photos. I only posted one on the other blog here.

It's also an extremely hungry affair when you get up early. Especially so after the sun rises and the beautiful rays shines on your skin. Only the rays of Vitamin D is not enough!

The wife needs some Vitamin C too. C for Caffeine. We drove to the Marina Bay Public Golf Course because there was an excellent view and someone told us there were nice food too. We were too early it seems, no food in the mornings! We had two cans of soft drink admired the city skyline and checked our Instagram accounts (@keropokman and @kopikosonggirl), FB etc and then decided to leave.....

We remembered Necessary Provisions which is not too far from our home. If you remember Henry's Congressional, they are the same folks behind Necessary Provisions.



If you are familiar with this area, this same shop lot was occupied by Al Ameen. It seems that Al Ameen has been closing down at least 2 of the outlets. Hmm....

Anyway, if you like old rugged places that has been very minimally done up to look chic and sleek, this is one of those places to check out. 



When you enter, a big huge communal table is at the centre. A huge vase with flowers that regularly rearranged is the centre piece. Lilies always give out a nice scent, so it was pleasant as we walked in.

A sizeable collection of food and other magazines are placed on the table. So you can sit and read slowly. Reminds me of Bill's Sydney, a similar concept but still different. A nice adaptation I would say.



Since we were there early, all the cakes and savouries we wanted to try were not available yet. Still being made in the kitchen. You can see on the nice cool rock solid table near the window that it's all empty.



Please just ignore the derrière of the person on the left.
Look at that piece of furniture with a pot of orchid on it instead. Nice ya?

That's where they keep the cutlery. It was the first few days when we visited, so they were still getting the hang of it. I am not sure if we are to self service.



That's the Coffee Machine. The Spirit model by Kees van der Westen. The designer that was designing motorbikes before he started designing coffee machines. Nice piece eh?

I am not a coffee person, but I always think that machines rules, if you get good coffee beans and a trained person to use the machine, you can get good coffee. A techie's view? Don't slam me! OK, you do need a real person who is artistic to do the coffee art. ;-)

They have a monthly menu. With Sambal Fried Rice, Pasta, etc from 6 pm onwards, it's does look delicious on someone's Instagram that I follow.



For that morning, we had French Toast ($5) which was 3 huge and thick slices.
Quite filling to eat all three for a lady, so I had some of the wife's order.



The wife's Vitamin C. A Flat White (8 oz) - $5.

It's her kind of a coffee. She says it's balance mix of coffee and milk. She doesn't like too milky that overwhelms the coffee, not too strong a coffee that overwhelms the milk. She says it's the same coffee that she likes from Henry's Congressional.



I had a Banana Nutella Panini. $5.

Nicely toasted and a fair amount of nutella and bananas inside. Guys should have no problem finishing it. If you are super hungry, you might need another one. But it's carbo, so better not eat too much.



Oh, my hot chocolate $6 also have 'chocolate art'.


A nice cosy place to hang around and grab a quick drink and bite. They have various craft beers here too. I think that's what most folks will have when the sun sets.

An alternative place to go other than Carpenter and Cook (at Lorong Kilat) that has been closed the past week to move their kitchen downstairs. They should be reopening soon, spotted from our walks around this neighbourhood. The Udders at Lorong Kilat has recently been renovated too, to create more seating spaces too.


Necessary Provisions
21 Eng Kong Terrace
Singapore 598993

Tel: +65 9231 7920
Hours: Tue-Thu 10 am - 10 pm / Fri 10 am - 12 am / Sat 9 am - 12 am /Sun 9 am - 6 pm
Web: www.facebook.com/necessaryprovisions

The Orange Thimble @ Tiong Bahru

We have been to the Orange Thimble a few times and we like this place. I just realised we only go there on Saturdays because it's not really near where we live. It's also not that difficult to get a place, just wait a while and people will leave after their coffee or food. [So in return, when you see people come and you have finished your food, leave..... ;-) ]

It's a little artsy place, where you see pieces of art that's used as deco, but it has a price tag on it, so you can buy it if you want. It's an art gallery and cafe in one. It looks more like a cafe to me. Not sure if there's an art gallery upstairs.

When you get in here, it's casual, look for your own place to sit. There's a 'backyard' behind where it is not air-conditioned, and a few 'corners' that you can 'hide' away for a while. We seem to always sit on the long table in front where there is 'air-con' and it's near the food.


Their tea range is from Naturalis range. After a while, you know the various brands that most people source from.  Plus a cute lil sugar biscuit on the sides.


KopiKosongGirl is a coffee person, she says it's ordinary, she likes the atmosphere here. The crowd that comes is the quiet kind. You do not need to speak loudly.


(The nicer coffee KKG says is a few street away, but that place is more noisy)

In our previous visits, we had their big breakfast. It's probably one of the cheaper one around, but we think it's so so especially the sausages. We think because of the price, it's a good deal though.


This more recent visit, we saw the quiche and it tempted us. This was the spinach and tomato quiche. It was quite packed with spinach and somehow it was just tasty.


This was the Raspberry Pie. It was freshly baked so we thought we would try it upon the recommendation from the service staff. We would expect it to be a little sour, a little tart and yet sweet, but it was really really sweet! We find it a bit too sweet for our tastebuds, but for those who like sweet stuff, it's probably your kind of fruit pie.


The Shepherd's Pie. It will take some time to prepare, but it will be worth the wait.

We liked this. The mince below was not too wet, not heavily salted, it had enough spices added that took away the gamey smell of meat. The potato on top was the smooth type. Worth the calories.


This was simply awesome. It seems this has become our personal favourite, we will have it whenever we visit this place. It's the Hazelnut Dacquoise (Rich Valrhona Chocolate & Hazelnut Meringue). It's like having a huge slab or frozen cold nutella with nice rich chocolate added to it. It's very sweet, but because it has chocolate and hazelnut, we like this kind of sweetness. We came once with a friend's little kid and the little girl liked it!

It's a cosy and laid back place. The few times we were there, fellow diners are the more toned down crowd, enjoying their time reading books or swiping their fingers on their gadgets. Despite the so so coffee, KKG says we will be back again for another quiet weekend.

The Orange Thimble 56 Eng Hoon Street #01-68 Singapore 160056 Tel: 6223 8068 Hours: Sun, Tues, Wed, Thurs: 9am - 9.30pm / Fri, Sat: 9am- 11pm / Mon: Closed

Starbucks @ Rochester Park

KopiKosongGirl, sis and I just wanted to sit down and have a drink after dinner.
I remember people talking about this new Starbucks at Rochester Park and I also got invited to an opening that I could not go.

So, we thought we would just pop by on a midweek night.
It's called Starbucks' first destination store in Singapore. It's housed in one of the 'black and white' colonial buildings and there are new items in the menu that's exclusive to the Rochester Park branch.



It's like visiting someone's house!
It's also very quiet. The entire upstairs is for seating.



Took these first 3 photos with my iPhone. (to be more discreet and not disturb others)
A little different compared to the other branch I usually go to.



We were tempted by these cakes, but we had already had dinner earlier.




My favourite drink in Starbucks.
It's long name: Tazo® Green Tea Crème Frappuccino® Blended Beverage.

Some say I should try it with Soy Milk. I tried it and still thinks the milk version taste better than the soy version.




Their new mugs. Seen them used in a few branches now. No more Starbucks wording on it.
I think these mugs look nicer.



We could not resist not ordering nothing to nibble with our 3 drinks.
We had the Chocolate Molten Cake.



Yes, the cake is the light sponge version and not the thick dense cakes.
The melting chocolate was nice.

We were there on a Wednesday night. We like it because it's not noisy, except for a few girls who was laughing away. The rest were students studying and kept quiet. We also saw something we don't usually see. Teenage boy reading a novel alone.

As of 6 Dec, there's no Wifi here. Which is sometimes good, because there wont be hoggers. :-)
One of the nicer Starbucks around.

Starbucks Rochester Park 37 Rochester Park Singapore 138640

Scan QR Code for Address information

Wang Cafe @ Suntec City Mall

My colleague likes to come to Wang Cafe to get her afternoon caffein fix. We termed this place as Wang Jiao. She almost always must have yuan yang xiu dia. We were here to get her usual fix, when we saw that there were introducing lotong. So we said, will come here the next day for lunch.

After you order, you will be given a order number. We happen to get number 7. This is for them to deliver your food.

She decided to have Mee Rebus, which she said was very nice, "nicer than the food court one"- was what she said.

I was wanted to try their lotong. So ordered that.

Both comes with an egg each. Mine was good, although their portion of the rice cake was not enough, only like 2 pieces. But they gave a lot of vege and curry.

Wang Cafe

Suntec City Mall

3 Temasek Boulevard

#03-025

Smile & Selamat Hari Raya

Smile. That's what is says when the mocha I ordered for my sis arrived.



It's actually a McCafe mocha if you are wondering.


To all my muslim readers, a very Blessed Hari Raya.

Dôme @ Dempsey Hill

Last week, a few of our friends (which included our 'gorilla' friend) met for dinner. After dinner we adjourned to Dempsey Hill because 'gorilla' wanted to have Ben & Jerry ice cream there.

When we walked into B&J, we could not find a sitting place there. It was so packed and noisy, because the live band was there.

We decided to walk over to Dome instead. We could get seats for 4 almost immediately and it was quiet. :-)



This branch looks particularly beautiful and stylish! Doesn't it look so English country like?



Anyway, those who could sleep after drinking caffeine ordered their coffee. Those who could not just had to content with water.

We did shared 3 desserts amongst the 4 of us.
The Pecan Pie with Gelato on top.



Tempt you a bit. LOL...




Apple crumble with gelato.



Raspberry Cheesecake.




Have a great week ahead. It's going to be really busy!


Dôme Dempsey Hill
Block 11
#01-18 Dempsey Road
Singapore 249673
Tel : 6476 8748 / Fax : 6474 8498
8am to 11pm (Sun - Thurs & PH)
8am to 1am (Fri, Sat & Eve of PH)

McCafe @ Great World City

After the Nasi Padang lunch yesterday, we j-walked Zion Road (haha...) to cross over to Great World City. We wanted to look for a place for some drinks.

We wanted to go to TCC, but found that it to be under renovation. Next choice was Coffee Bean. It was full and it was mostly 1 person tables. We had 4 people, so we can't share tables anyway. Spinelli was also crowded, so we settled for McCafe.

We made the right choice!

A colleague had a hot chocolate. Yes, it comes with marshmallows too :-)



We also had two slices of cake to share. This chocolate cake is quite nice. Chocolatey, moist and warm. (it was heated for us :-) )



There was also Oreo Cheesecake (with a cute mini oreo above).



The other 3 of us, we had 3 cold drinks. Don't the drinks look so colourful and tempting?
Mango, Vanilla and Chocolate. Hey, if you do a blind test, you might think it's from the "more expensive brands" mentioned earlier.



I mentioned it was a right choice right? You know why? McCafe has such good service!

Halfway through our drinks and cakes, (shall I call her a McCafe Barista,) walked over to us with 4 cups of water. She said, you have ordered some cakes, and your drinks are sweet too. These few cups of water might be what you need.



Wow!!! We were so so impressed! Well done McDonalds!

Not sure if other tables got served, we were served and they just got themselves 4 more repeat customers! Makes us wonder if the other branches of McCafe has staff that is so passionate about their work and customers.

TCC @ Circular Rd - with comfy bean bags too!

The other day, a group of our bsf friends went to makan makan. Wanted to go to Ricotti, but that place so packed, so we ended up at TCC at Circular Road. Very cool place, the upstairs they have low tables and bean bags. We were very busy playing the card game Phase 10.


I think this is TCC Royal Crumble. Lychee stuffed with yam, deep fried.



Oven Baked Marinated Chicken with garlic pasta.



Dunno the name of this. sorry



Also dunno who ate this, and what's the name. I only took photos. We were so busy playing Phase 10!



This is Marinated Beef Skewer, my partner for Phase 10 ate it :-)



This is Beef Mozza-Tofu. This is what I ate. Quite yummy. Beef and Silken Tofu in sukiyaki sauce at the bottom, covered with Mozzarella Cheese.



As usual, no face photos, to keep the privacy of my friends. Here's where we sat.
We had like quite a big group, and TCC was kind enough to give us this place.

Lovely bean bags and low tables. We also ordered lots of drinks. Did not take the photos. I tell you Phase 10 is so so addictive.



(psst anyone know where in Singapore can we get Phase 10?)

Geek Terminal : Coffee from the Heart

Are you a coffee lover, or are you a caffeine addict? Think about it.

Introducing Danny, one of the rare certified barista in Singapore. He makes coffee from the heart. Though I am not a coffee drinker, but I learned quite a bit from him just by his explanation while making a cup of espresso. He's one of the partners of Geek Terminal.



If you want to know more, go over for a cuppa. Just like the crowd of people that was there last nite, you might just taste your best coffee!

OK. Back to photo blogging.

This is "Coda di topo" or "mouse tail" in Italian. The flow out is determine by the coarseness of the grind and also the flow of water. Barista can take a look and know if other barista has done all the basics correct.



The espresso, which is approx 20 ml. (If I heard correctly.)
Correction: 30ml. (thank Danny for the correction)



Next it is to froth the milk for top up the espresso. In some places, you see a thermometer in it, but for an expert barista like him, he knows exactly when the desired shine and thickness of the frothy foam is achieved. (see his hands acting as a thermometer, and his eyes on the milk)

Doing it correctly, it should start with cold fresh milk and milk should not be heated beyond 70 C. When milk is heated or steamed, the lactose or 'milk sugar' becomes more soluble and the perceived sweetness also increases. It's one reason why if the froth is done properly, you do not need to add sugar to your espresso.



The frothed milk is mixed with the espresso.



The next few picture shows you the 'coffee art', where you get the designs on top of the coffee.






If you realise, the way he pours the milk into the cup, the design appears!
* See the chope chope section below for more pictures of it.. *



Our barista is drawing ping.sg for the group of us that was there.











Turn the cup facing us, there you go. ping.sg espresso.




ok. the chope chope section.
before i go... let me show you another set of coffee art.

Look at this expert do it! The patterns appears by the way he pours the froth milk!







Cool ya, the last swipe of the pour creates the palm like design.

Hope you enjoyed today's post.