GƆST

In the midst of tests and projects, we had a "short break" from the monotony of school. Today, classes ceased at around 10 am. In spite of upcoming tests in the following week, bestie and I decided to treat ourselves to some good food.

We had much deliberation on where to go as we did not want to waste too much of our precious time on transportation. In the end, we came to an agreement that we shall try out this cafe called GƆST. So we took the MRT from Boon Lay to Tanjong Pagar. 

It was a small-scaled cafe but this did not deter them from serving high quality food. We were relatively impressed by the generous portion of salmon served to us. Thanks to their good service and food, we had an extremely satisfying and good lunch.

Apparently, their food is inspired by the modern Nordic cuisine. We tried their weekday lunch menu, which serves Nordic sandwiches (SGD15). After some contemplation, we tried the smoked salmon sandwich, which is served on a Danish rye bread. It was complemented with honey and apple pickled beetroot, piquant rocket & horseradish cream which added to the flavour.

GƆST

21 McCallum St

Singapore 069047

+65 6634 0922

Boufe Boutique Cafe

We were pondering on where to have our brunch as we woke up late and did not have much appetite. After some pondering and scrolling through long lists of cafes, I suggested to swing by Boufe Boutique Cafe. This cafe has been on my mind for quite some time as I loved places that exudes a minimalist feel and Boufe absolutely hit the nail.

After checking to ensure that their brunch menu was still available (it's from 10 am to 3 pm on weekdays and 10 am to 4 pm on weekends), we set off for the cafe. 

Located in Phoenix Park, Boufe is indeed a cafe away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Despite it being a stone's throw away from Orchard Road, it was still relatively quite and serene. Upon reaching the cafe, we were famished. We ordered the cafe recommended TRIPLE B (SGD21), which is Boufe's Big Breakfast that comprises of a freshly baked buttery croissant served with scrambled eggs, assorted sausages, honey-glazed bacon, sautéed mushrooms and fresh greens. Our next order was also the cafe's recommendation, the Eggs Benedict (SGD16). It was a homemade brioche with honey baked ham, poached eggs, homemade hollandaise sauce and fresh greens. 

We felt that it was a very palatable meal as the food was indeed up to standard and the service was top-notch as well. However, the price might be a little steep as compared to other cafes. 

Boufe Boutique Cafe

308 Tanglin Road, Phoenix Park, 

#01-01, Singapore 247974

+65 6734 7656 

NOM

Situated in Macpherson Community Centre, NOM is indeed a nice cafe away from the hustle and bustle of the city. A nice place to chill out.

We ordered their speciality- salted caramel rainbow cake for SGD8.90 and a cup of latte.

The taste of the cake was unexpected, not too sweet and hard, unlike usual rainbow cakes. The salted caramel cream gave the cake a tinge of salted flavouring enhancing the taste. Relatively impressed. 

We ordered the half & half pizza for SGD17.90. It was quite unique as we were able to choose two different toppings for the pizza. After much contemplation, we chose smoked duck and smoked salmon. The thin crust was crispy and it tasted just right. The toppings were good too. Would be back for more!

  

NOM - Bistro & Bakery 

400 Kallang-Paya Lebar Way

 Macpherson Community Club Level 1

Singapore 379131

+ 65 6747 3839

Bucktile St. Cafe

Amongst stretches of terrace houses in a secluded Clementi lies a cozy cafe- Bucktile St. It was kind of difficult for us to find the cafe as we were not very familiar with the area. However, thanks to our mobile GPS, we managed to locate the cafe. It was distance from the nearest bus stop and we had quite a long walk through Faber Terrace before reaching our destination. We had the chance to admire a picturesque scenery whilst looking for the cafe.

Before we knew it, we have finally reached Bucktile St. Cafe. By that time, we were already famished. Being avid photographers, we suppressed our hunger pangs and took snapshots of the cafe before proceeding in. Figurines and ornaments adorned the cafe and I personally felt that it added to the coziness of the cafe.

We ordered a slice of blue velvet cake, naked earl grey cake and waffles complemented with salted caramel ice cream. 

The blue velvet cake surpassed my expectations. It was unlike any other velvet cake that I have tried. Expected it to be kind of hard and too sweet but turns out it was the total opposite. It had a smooth texture and just enough fragrance. 

As for the naked earl grey cake, I was pretty satisfied with it too. The redolent earl grey cake was accompanied with butter cream between each layer, making it extremely tantalizing. 

Next up was the waffles with salted caramel ice cream. Topped with maple syrup and rainbow sprinkles, it looked extremely delectable. However, it was quite a letdown as the waffles albeit warm, were not as crispy and fragrant as we expected. The ice cream was creamy and not too sweet though. It was a pity that we did not try any drinks from this cafe. I'm pretty sure we would be back to try out more of the items on the menu! 

Bucktile St. Cafe

104 Faber Drive

Singapore 129412

https://www.facebook.com/bucktile.st

Taiwan Day 7

Zhongxiao Fuxing Station (SOGO Department Store) - Taipei Main Station (Wilbeck Cafe)

It's our last day in Taiwan.

Breakfast at hotel before taking the MRT to Zhongxiao Fuxing Station. We wanted to do some last minute shopping at the three SOGO department stores located there. 

After shopping, we proceeded back to Taipei Main Station and stumbled upon this small vintage themed cafe- Wilbeck Cafe. All of us felt that this was the best cafe so far albeit it is smaller than the others in terms of size. Strong aroma wafted throughout the whole cafe and the latte tasted the best for the price of NTD40 for small, NTD60 for medium and NTD 80 for large. Probably a must-try around the area.

Wilbeck Café（威爾貝克手烘咖啡）

https://www.facebook.com/WilbeckOne?fref=ts

Taiwan Day 5

Wu Pao Chun Bakery- Eslite bookstore - Taipei 101 - Nanjing Sanmin

Second breakfast at our hotel. Same buffet spread.

After a good breakfast, we took the MRT to Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall. From there, we took a five to ten minutes walk to Eslite Spectrum. It opens daily from 11am to 10pm. We went there to try the Popular Wu Pao Chun Bakery (吳寶春麥方店 臺北). 

Thankfully, we arrived just when this bakery opens for the day so we did not spend much time queuing. Anytime later, we would have to wait much longer to enter the bakery. 

After purchasing the bread, we took a 10 minute walk to Eslite bookstore before heading to Taipei 101. 

We did not go up to the observatory which cost NTD500 due to misty and rainy weather. Following that, we walked down Xinyi Road and chanced upon Cama Cafe. Ordered a latte for NTD60. It was aromatic and tasted alright for the price.

In the evening, we took the MRT to Nanjing Sanmin Station and took a 5 to 10 minutes walk to Shin Yeh Jiankang Restaurant. It was a self-service Japanese buffet which cost around NTD900 per person with taxes. Extremely impressed by the generous and delectable spread. One of the best restaurants that I have been to. 

Shin Yeh Japanese Buffet Restaurant:

Some of the food that we ate: 

After our dinner, we headed to Chia Te Bakery Co. which was nearby to get some pineapple pastry and sun cakes. It was reasonably priced but the store was quite crowded. After a long day, we headed back to our hotel.

Wu Pao Chun (吳寶春)

No. 88, Yanchang Rd., Sinyi District, Taipei (Eslite Spectrum Songyan Store B2)

台北市信義區菸廠路88號（誠品松菸店B2）

+866 02 6636 5888#1902

http://wupaochun.com.tw/

Cama Cafe (世貿店)

No. 389, Section 4, Xinyi Rd, Xinyi District Taipei City, 110

台北市信義區信義路四段389號

+866 02 2345 1666

http://camacafe.com/

Shin Yeh Jiankang Restaurant (日本料理健康店)

1F, No. 156, Jiankang Rd., Taipei 10586, Taiwan

台北市松山區健康路156號

+866 02 2766 3666

http://www.shinyeh.com.tw/

Chia Te Bakery Co. (佳德糕餅)

No. 88, Section 5, Nanjing East Road, Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 105

105台北市南京東路5段88號

+886 02 8787 8186

http://www.chiate88.com/