The Lokal Part 2 | ThumbsForFood



Hello everyone! We wrote a brief post on The Lokal previously. We did not have the chance to try out the brunch items, so we just had to head back again to have brunch.

 



We headed there on a Saturday afternoon and we had to wait a while for a table for 6. The place was, as usual, bustling with the strong aroma of coffee in the background.

 

Grilled Sausages with homemade sauerkraut, sautéed potatos, fried egg and onion jam $23. I love the onion jam as it goes well with the savoury sausages. This is definitely a dish to order if you love good sausages. What makes the dish stand out is the wonderful sides that compliments the main character.

Plate of smoked mackerel & salmon, pickles and pita bread $22. If you are looking for something unique, this is the dish for you. I have never had smoked mackerel before and even the smoked salmon tasted different because they actually smoke it (Is that the right term?) themselves. I like it that both the mackerel and salmon are not too salty as well!

Salad of roasted pumpkin, French beans, quinoa, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, beetroot, house vinagarette $16. This has got to be my favourite dish at The Lokal. To be honest, I am not a salad fan but I love pumpkins and anything related to pumpkins. There are so many ingredients in the salad that every mouth was full of surprise. A dish for the health-conscious!

Breakfast burger with pork belly, broken omelette, spinach and chilli jam $23. I was quite disappointed when the pork belly came in a fried form. I find this dish pretty ordinary and probably wouldn't order this dish on my next visit.

Roast beef on rye, caramelised onions, watercress and grain mustard crème fraiche $19. The beef was soft but I do not like rye bread in general, so this is definitely not my top choice!

Overall, I had a pleasant experience at The Lokal. I really like the décor and ambience of the café; reminded me of my Melbourne days! The prices are on the steep side though but I would definitely revisit if there's no queue!

Have a good week ahead!

The Lokal
136 Neil Road Singapore 088865
Tel: +65 6423 9918

Cheers,
Z

Fix Cafe | ThumbsForFood

The main factor that motivated me to travel all the way down to Toa Payoh (and walked 15-20 mins from the mrt station) was really because of the Liu Sha Donuts ($7.0). I love all kinds of food with liu sha (golden custard)! The liu sha dipping is served hot and the best thing about the dip is that it is not too sweet. As compared to liu sha bao, this is good for people who are more 'health-conscious' because it is not oily at all! But to be honest, this is actually a very simple dessert: donuts with a side dipping. I feel that the donuts were a little overpriced.

Since I'm started on desserts, I shall continue with another sweet item that I tried on my visit there. We had the Strawberry Pistachio Rose Tart ($7.0). I like that it is not too sweet and heavy; a good choice for dessert after a full meal.

My friend had the breakfast set ($12.0) which came with a drink. The breakfast set is pretty simple but I guess the price makes it value for money!

I decided to try their Chicken Tikka Naanwich ($10.0) since it is one of their specialties. This naanwich concept is something unique to Fix Cafe so I guess it is worth a try! I was pretty stuck between the Beef and Kimchi Naanwich and the Chicken Tikka Naanwich so I decided to ask the staff and he said go for the latter and so I did.

The marinated chicken went well with the achar (pickled vegetables). Pretty interesting dish at a cafe! Would definitely try their Beef and Kimchi Naanwich the next time.

nachos that came with the naanwich

latte

Overall, I had a satisfying brunch at Fix Cafe. The prices of the main course were very reasonable. For all the food we had, each of us only paid around $20. Located in Home Team NS at Balestier, it is not exactly the most accessible cafe but if you feel like heading to somewhere with a different (outdoor and overlooking the pool) ambience, Fix Cafe is definitely the place for you!

Fix Cafe
31 Ah Hood Rd
#01-06,HomeTeam NS-JOM Clubhouse


Cheers,
Z

The Little Prince Creamery | ThumbsForFood

The Little Prince Creamery is opened by the same people behind the Little Prince Cafe at Somme Road. The Little Prince Cafe at Somme Road is no longer around so for people who wants to visit the cafe, please head over to the newly opened cafe at Toa Payoh.

The cafe is about 10-15 minutes walk from Toa Payoh mrt station. You can also take a bus over from Toa Payoh.

I love the drawings in the cafe. By the name of the cafe, you will know that the theme revolves around The Little Prince. The owner of the cafe actually collects The Little Prince books from all around the world, so if you are a fan of the classic novel, you should definitely pay a visit to this cosy little cafe. Did I mention, the drawings are all done by the owner herself?

The cafe sells both sweet and savory items. I had the Waffles with 2 scoops of ice-cream ($9.30). My 2 flavours were the Earl Grey Latte and the Dark Chocolate Flavour (I cannot remember the exact name of the ice-cream). Their matcha ice-cream is another of my favourite as the green tea taste was so strong!

If you are in the area and looking for a cosy cafe to chill and have some desserts, The Little Prince Creamery is a good choice!

Looking for other cafes to go to? Read our review on Les Patisseries at Toa Payoh here!

The Little Prince Creamery
Blk 47 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh
#01-134
S310047

Opening Hours:
Mon-Thurs, Sun - 1200-2200
Fri-Sat - 1200-2300

Cheers,
Z

Les Patisseries | ThumbsForFood

With the influx of new cafes in Singapore, it can get a bit tough to decide where to go head to next this weekend. I decided on Les Patisseries today as I have heard many positive reviews about this newly opened bakery cafe.

The cafe is quite accessible, only a 5 minutes walk away from Toa Payoh mrt station. We almost missed the cafe as the name of the cafe was not on the sign. So, be alert!

Les Patisseries means "pastries" in French, so I was pretty excited to try the pastries and bakes that they offer. However, I was rather disappointed to see that they did not have much choices available. I went at around 1230 in the afternoon so I guess that the bakes could not have been sold out right?

I decided to try the Dulcey Hazelnut Tart ($7.0) and the French Apple Tart ($5.0). My favourite would definitely be the Dulcey Hazelnut Tart. I have tried many tarts at other cafes and this may be one of the best tarts I have ever had in town. The tart is not too hard and the dulcey ganache was soft, sticky and not overly sweet.

The French Apple Tart is a safe choice for people who wants to go for something simple. One good point about both tarts is that they are not too sweet. I could finish one whole tart by myself easily.

I also had a Flat White ($4.5) while my friend had a Iced Mocha ($6.5). Heard that they use the Pacamara blends for their coffee. I did not like my cup of coffee as I felt that it was a little too foamy and light.

My friend had the Salmon Brunch Set. There are limited choices for the savory food items so if you are a picky eater, don't expect much from their brunch menu. But I wouldn't mind having this simple brunch set occasionally. What could possibly go wrong with smoked salmon, avocado and scrambled eggs?

This bakery cafe reminds me of The Bakery Chef at Bukit Merah. For now, I would definitely prefer The Bakery Chef to Les Patisseries but I wouldn't mind going back to the latter to try more of their bakes!

Les Patisseries
Blk 186 Toa Payoh Central
#01-428
S310186

Opening Hours:
Daily 1000 to 2200

Till then,
Z

The Tastemaker Store | ThumbsForFood

The Tastemaker Store is quite a recent addition to Singapore's cafe scene. It is actually walking distance to Sin Lee Foods, that we introduced in our previous post. 

Business was quite brisk on a weekday afternoon. The interior of Tastemaker is kept simple with soft furnishings of potted plants placed around the shop as well as hanging from the ceiling. It felt comfortable and seems like a good place for doing work as it was well lit.

Interior of Tastemaker

Interior of cafe

They have various bakes from Maple & Market that is displayed in the glass display near the counter. We did not try the bakes that day as we wanted to try their more unique dishes. We think that perhaps they should add a corner for a free iced water dispenser. We always appreciate cafe s that serve free water.

Bakes from Maple & Market

We ordered their Lemon Curd with Clotted Cream on Muffin Buns ($3). It was really unique as we have not seen this in other cafes. The lemon wasn't too sweet nor sour, in fact it was in perfect balance. It was served with half boiled eggs. We dipped the muffin buns into the half boiled egg and it was quite a refreshing combination. 

Lemon Curd with clotted cream toast

The eggs were not exactly half-boiled that day. But, we kind of like it because the yolk was in a nicely curded form. 

Eggs

 For drinks, we chose the Matcha Latte. It wasn't out of the world but, quite a comfortable companion for food.

Matcha Latte

The must-try dish is perhaps the Yam Cake ($3.80). Again, this is not commonly found in other cafes. Yam cake is a local dish. It is served with chilli that was adequately spicy and had the kick! The yam cake was really chunky with filling of salted egg, yam and seems like some pieces of luncheon. It is quite filling of you eat the whole slice on your own.

Yam Cake

Overall, we find the Tastemaker Store sells quite unique food that is affordable and suitable for the general public. It's unpretentious, simple and hassle-free. 

The Tastemaker Store

Blk 22 Havelock Road#01-705 Singapore 160022 

Opening Hours: 9am – 9pm Daily

Exterior

Cheers, Y

Sin Lee Foods | ThumbsForFood

Sin Lee Foods opened its door in the Bukit Ho Swee neighbourhood. The cafe's exterior was eye-catching with it's traditional old-school signboard coupled with modern black framed entrance. It really stood out in contrast with its surroundings. 

Entrance of cafe

The indoor seating capacity of Sin Lee is quite limited. We really like the raw, industrial feeling of the bricked walls and concrete floors. The wooden furniture, black furnishing and warm filament bulbs complement by creating a warm and cozy touch to the whole cafe.

Interior of the cafe

Interior of the cafe

We tried the Flat white which was very aromatic and smooth. The cafe art looked kind of abstract though. The prices of the drinks were quite standard cafe prices ranging from about $5.50 onwards. They have iced versions for those who prefer something cold.

Flat White

We tried the Raspberry Lemonade as well. It was a fizzy version and the raspberry flavour was syrup. I would love it better if they had used fresh raspberries instead. Nevertheless, it was a refreshing drink. Well, I guess, I will probably stick to iced coffee in future.

Raspberry Lemonade

Boneless Fried Chicken with Cheddar Waffle was our choice for the afternoon. As it was for our tea break, we decided to share the main. The chicken was really juicy and tender. The batter was not too thick and complemented with the chicken well. We loved the texture of the waffle, which we hypothesised was due to the addition of cheddar. 

We felt the price was a little steep though, priced at $21.90. I personally preferred the waffles on its own rather than eating it with the melted butter maple syrup.

Fried Chicken and Waffle

 As we were there on a weekday afternoon, there weren't many patrons. However, we would expect there to be a crowd on weekends. They have alfresco outdoor seating area that could accommodate more people. I guess on these days when the weather is so sweltering hot, I would prefer to sit indoors.

Overall, we feel that the price of food in Sin Lee is quite steep. The food quality is good but, we are still undecided whether it is worth the price.

Outdoors Dining Area

Do look out for more of our posts on other new cafes! 

Sin Lee Foods

Blk 4 Jalan Bukit Ho Swee

#01-164

Singapore 162004

6377 3170

Opening hours: 

Tues-Sun 10am-9pm

Cheers, 

Y

The Lokal | Thumbsforfood

The Lokal is a newly opened cafe in June, located on Neil Road. When you step into the Lokal, the whole vibe, music and feeling of the cafe makes one feel like you're in Australia. Even the staff's greeting was "How's it going?" instead of the usual "Hello". 

Interior of cafe

To order your food, you can just proceed to the counter. The staff were very friendly and patient in recommending us their signature desserts and drinks. Food and drinks will be served to your table after ordering.

Drink and Service Counter

We were there on a weekend afternoon, after brunch hours when they were on their first few weeks of opening. Hence, it wasn't very packed. The kitchen was kind of open concept, where patrons can see the chefs cooking up dishes in the kitchen. There is also a bar top in front of the kitchen where patrons can sit and chat with the friendly chefs at work. 

Kitchen

As we were there that day for only drinks and desserts, we did not try their much raved about brunch menu. 

Some of my friends chose their bottled drinks, ginger ale and lemmy lemonade ($4 each). They were quite refreshing and suitable for a hot day.

Refreshing drinks

For those who prefer some beer to cool down, Lokal serves up draft beer. If I'm not mistaken, a pint goes for about $10-12.

Draft beer

Granny Smith Apple Juice ($6), is good for those who prefer something healthier. They have other freshly squeezed juices like orange juices, watermelon and grapefruit as well. It was really quite sour and I could tell that there wasn't any sugar syrup added in it. 

We did not try their coffee but, their coffee are from Sarnies and seems to be of quite good standard. Would love to try it next time!

Granny Smith Apple Juice

We actually ordered the Banana Bread and Berries Crumble but, was given the Sticky Date Pudding on the house as they took quite sometime to prepare the desserts. Well, it was worth the wait!

The desserts were served hot and we could smell them from our seats as they came out of the oven. First up was sticky date pudding, served with caramel and some ice-cream. I really like hot desserts actually because they warm the tummy and goes really well with ice-cream.  Wonder how they do up the sticky date pudding so well!

Sticky date pudding

The banana cake was topped with fresh caramelised banana and served with some vanilla ice-cream It was really good as well. It wasn't too sweet and complemented very well with the banana toppings on it. Will definitely order this again!

Banana Cake 

The Apple and Berries Crumble really had generous serving of berries. It was really quite sour actually and we felt it will be better with more crumble to balance off the sourness of the berries. We celebrated our friend's birthday there and they kindly wrote Happy Bday in chocolate. Such thoughtfulness!

Apple and Berries Crumble

Overall, we really enjoyed the desserts there. We would love to come back here again to try out their brunch menus and burgers! 

The Lokal
136 Neil Road Singapore 088865
Tel: +65 6423 9918
Opening Hours:
Monday to Fridays: 8am-6pm
Weekends: 10am-4pm

Cheers,
Y