An impromptu visit with Mom took place on a Saturday. When we arrived at the cafe, I pushed opened the door, my eyes were turned to the chandelier. At the entrance, was the first section where the counter and 2 tables were place.

The second section, after another glass door was a spacious dinning area, very much with an English interior design theme. But somehow, I feel that something is lacking in the design. I couldn’t nail the missing element. Anyway …

At The Queen’s Cat Cafe, it has an opened kitchen for diners to admire the action in the kitchen.

As mom always prefer tea, we ordered a pot of tea for sharing. We decided to go for the Strawberry Fine Tea. It has a sweet fruity Strawberry fragrance. And surprising, it went pretty well with the cakes and pastries we have.

On The Queen’s Cats Cafe menu were 2 afternoon tea set and various All Day Brunch, mainly English affairs and Pastries and Cakes. As always, I am greedy. I will order something that will allow me to try as many items as I could. Without doubt, I went for the Royal Afternoon Tea Set as it has more variety than the Classic Afternoon Tea Set.

It was served in 3 tiers. The bottom being the sandwiches, then scones and on top was the pastries and cakes.

The sandwiches were made fresh. On the plate were 3 types of sandwiches, 2 each. There were tuna, pretty normal; egg mayonaise with cress, reminded me very much of the one we have in London previously and finally the chicken sandwich, too salty. I was disappointed that no smoked salmon sandwich was on the plate.

Scone is always my favourite part of the afternoon tea. We were served Sultana and Plain Scones. It was accompanied with only a Fruit Jam. No lemon curd and no clotted cream as per the menu. I was quite disappointed. But as always, I asked for the clotted cream. I didn’t realize lemon curd was stated on the menu till I write the post.

The last tier consisting of a Victoria Sponge Cake, very crumbly; brownie, chocolaty but too sweet, passionfruit tart, we like this best and 2 macarons, chocolate for mom and ispanhan (I thought it was) for me. We like least the Spong Cake was we don’t really enjoy cakes which such crumbly texture. Our favourite was the Passion Fruit Tart.

I thought the macaron was pretty outstanding. It has almost all the perfect elements. I like the cream. I could savour the rose, the berry and the lychee too. Except for the sweetness, a little too sweet.

NAHMJ Verdict

The cakes and pastries offered at The Queen’s Cats Cafe were considerably delish. If the sweetness level could be reduced, it would be perfect.

For a start, The Queen’s Cats Cafe, in our opinion, was fine.

The Queen’s Cats Cafe

8 Lorong Mambong Singapore 277674
+65 9655 8474

Website: http://www.thequeenscats.com.sg/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheQueensCats/

Menu: http://www.thequeenscats.com.sg/pages/our-menu

Opening Hours

Daily  1030 to 2300

Getting There

By MRT:

• Circle line – Holldand Village

By Bus:

• alight at Blk 12 or at Holland Village MRT station along Holland Avenue   48, 61, 95, 106, 970

• alight at or opposite Holland Village along Holland Road   7, 61, 75, 77, 95, 165, 970

Rating: /10

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We didn’t manage to make a reservation as a result we walked in and got only bar seats. When seated, we were promptly handed the menu. I noted a list of brunch items a good selection of both cold and hot starters. But when left me a great impression was the Mains and Grills as both were mainly very meaty dishes, that was my take away. Not a bad thing for the carnivores. Luckily, there were a number of salad options too.

Shortly after we have done with our order, we were served a welcome drink each. It was a blend of beetroot, tomato, lemon, radish and carrot. I didn’t like it at all. I find it like medicine. Next came the basket of bread with a hefty slab of butter.

Among the list of both Hot and Cold Starters, we chose Seared scallops, carrot purée, treacle cured bacon, apple, celery cress. The other choices include Alaskan crab, prawns, soup, chicken wings and salmon, sea bass, beef brisket and more … Back the the scallops, a beautifully decorated plate and we tasted freshness.

I wasn’t keen to indulge in meat that day so went for Risotto with céps mushroom, roasted butternut squash, aged parmesan. It thought it was decent with no surprises. But I didn’t like the alkaline after taste that linger a little in the mouth.

Dingley Dell pork chop 10oz was a huge piece of meat to me. It didn’t seem to me that the meat was heavily marinated, instead only with pepper and salt. The piece of meat was of its natural taste.

Chocolate fondant with salted caramel and mint chocolate chip ice cream was one of our dessert choice. We are never able to resist the charm of chocolate.

No disappointment, since the chocolate lava in the cake was chocolaty and it flows.

I chose Blueberry Bakewell tart with crème fraiche Ice-cream. I wasn’t impressed with the tart.

I have a cappuccino to accompany the dessert. A medium to full body, low acidity with nutty, caramel and dark chocolate flavour notes. Just the way I enjoyed my coffee.

Tropical Mix was a concoction of Orange, Pineapple, Mango, Strawberry, Blood Orange, Kiwi, Pear, Honey. A refreshing drink for the sweltering Singapore weather.

NAHMJ Verdict

The price tag of the food were costly. Our meal for 2, including the taxes and service charge came to $181.26. Decent food with a high price to pay. At least the service was very professional and prompt.

Bread Street Kitchen Singapore

2 Bayfront Avenue, Level L1-81, The Shoppes @ Marina Bay Sands, Singapore 018972
Tel: +65 6688 5665

Website: https://www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com/bread-street-kitchen-singapore/

Menu: http://www.marinabaysands.com/restaurants/celebrity-chefs/bread-street-kitchen.html

Opening Hours 

Restaurant:

Monday – Wednesday  1130 to 2200; Thursday – Friday  1130 to 0000; Saturday  1100 to 0000; Sunday  1100 to 2200

Bar:

Sunday – Thursday  1130 to 0100; Friday  1130 to 0200; Saturday  1100 to 0200

Getting There

By MRT:

• Circle Line and Downtown Line – Bayfront station

By Bus:

• alight at Marina Bay Sand MICE or at Marina Bay Sand Hotel along Bayfront Ave   97, 97e, 106, 133, NR1, NR6

Rating: 7.5/10

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I am always very skeptical about restaurants owned by celebrity chef as I don’t have good experiences in such restaurant. So when my friend asked me out to try them, I was a little reluctant. Anyway, I still went along. I told myself to have an open mind.

It has been quite sometimes since I last visited Ann Siang Hill. It has become a very happening place, with the entire stretch of road cordon off  and the restaurants placed the tables and chairs along the road. Lots of people gathered at the various bars and restaurants to feast and drink.

Now, back to Oxwell & Co. It is located on the second floor of the No. 5 shophouse of Ann Siang Hill.

With first floor occupied by the bar.

We sat by the window.

Oxwell & Co, unlike Gordon Ramsay, who is into fine dining, serves a range of modern british fare. It has a rather complicated menu, in my view, which I could hardly comprehend. I couldn’t imagine how the food would be like from the menu. Anyway, we went along with our gut feel.

We were informed by the crew that it was Fish and Chips day. So sounded like Fish & Chips is a must.

After ordering, sourdough was served. I never like sourdough but I still tried a piece. The bread was pretty good but it has a crust that was as hard as stone. My friend enjoyed it.

Our starter was Duck Breast with Orange Marmalade and Yellow Frizee. The duck breast tasted rather its natural taste with not much marinate but nevertheless, we still considered it pretty good. As it has a strong duck meat taste.

Crisp Pork Belly, Squid, Thai Basil, Chorizo and Pea Emulsion was disappointing. The meat was very much tasteless, bland and so is the sauce.

The Fish and Chips was much better though. We like the fish and chips. The batter was crispy and we could taste the fish. Both my friend and I were wondering why do they like peas so much? Both dishes contain the peas. Interestingly, both of us share the same dislike. We don’t like the peas. It was left untouched.

Our thoughts?

The food served in Oxwell & Co was very much left in its natural food taste, so it did not wow us. We thought they could have done a much better job. Maybe … it is very much the British fare indeed. In short, if you like food with stronger flavours and not in its natural taste, Oxwell & Co is not for you. On the last note, I would love to see more flavourful food from Oxwell & Co.

Oxwell & Co

5 Ann Siang Road Singapore 069688
Tel: +65 6438 3984

Website: http://www.oxwellandco.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/OxwellCo

Opening Hours

Tuesdays – Saturdays 1000 till late; Closed on Mondays and Sundays

Getting There

By MRT:

• Downtown line – Telok Ayer station or Northeast line – Chinatown station

By Bus:

• alight opposite PWC Building   186, 970

• alight opposite Sri Mariamman Temple   61, 166, 197

• alight opposite Hong Lim Complex   51, 63, 80, 124, 174, 174e, 186, 851, 961, 970

Rating: 6.5/10

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The soft-spoken lady boss explained as their Hainanese Forefathers came from Hainan to Singapore was working for the British as cooks so that was how they associated British with Hainan and British Hainan was borned.

British Hainan is a family run business by a family of five members; the dad, mom and three siblings, two sisters and a brother who is the youngest. The eldest sister head the kitchen. The rest serve in the restaurant. The family members are warm and very friendly. They make us feel very much at home.

The design of the restaurant, the main dining room, is very homely. Lots of vintage ornaments, antiques were used to decorate the room. The dining tables and chairs were mixed and matched, just like most of the older generations’ home.

Vanessa, one of the sisters, pointed out to us that the cone-like item is a fire extinguisher, we wouldn’t have known.

The cups they used are so retro. I am not a retro ir vintage fan but am loving it.

We ordered the Portobello Mushroom, Oxtail Stew, Dijon Mustard Pork Chop and Apple Crumbles with Vanilla Ice Cream as dessert. The food is yummy.

The food served in British Hainan are British and Hainanese inspired food. Their signature dishes are the Oxtail Stew, IPA Chicken, Fish & Chips and Bangers and Marsh.

We enjoyed our time at British Hainan; great food, homely comfy ambience, great hospitality with warm and friendly service. The family members are very chatty too. My friend love the place and have already decided to bring some of her friends over. As for me, certainly, I will return. This restaurant is good for a family gathering as they have a large time or for some small celebration in the cosy restaurant, very much like home.

By the way, many of the ornaments are for sales. Check with the boss for the price if you fall in love with any of the pieces. These are the boss’s private collection.

British Hainan
75 Carpmael Rd Singapore 429812
Tel: +65 6336 8122

FB: https://www.facebook.com/British.Hainan

Opening Hours

Monday, Wednesday – Saturday 1130 to 2200; Sunday 1800 to 2200; Closed on Tuesdays

Getting There

By Bus: alight before joo chiat place along Tembeling Road – 33

Getting there by Taxi is the most convenient if you don’t drive.

Rating: 8.5/10

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