Anyeong! Welcome to Holland Village, the not-so-hidden-anymore hipster enclave in the West side of Singapore. When Noona just arrived at Singapore 9 years ago (omg, time flies!), Noona would always feel amazed whenever someone says that he or she is staying at Holland Village. The hipster enclave of Holland Village was not accessible by the train (a.k.a. MRT) so you could only take either bus or cab if you wanted to go to Holland Village. She still remembered her drinking night at Wala Wala (still around until this day, fyi) for the first time with her audit mates after a tough day in the office.
Fast forward a few years later, Holland Village now has its own MRT station (Circle Line) and there are more and more cafes and restaurants opening up here. Being a full fledged foodie (bye weight-loss plan), Noona has her life goal to complete her foodie adventure in Holland Village. The list will be keep on updated until the mission is completed.
(1) D'GOOD CAFE
D'Good Cafe is a two storeys cafe located at the corner of Holland Village. With the motto such as "Blend and brew the way you like it", D'Good Cafe seems to anchor its menu on the caffeine fix. Ironically Noona has not even tasted their coffee even once. #fakecoffeedrinker
She has, however, tried and tasted D'Good Cafe's healthier drink options, the fruit juices. The apple juice looks a bit different because it's blended in the way a frappucino is. Okay, Noona totally does not get it but that's what the waiter says so be it. It tastes good (and healthy, ahem).
The latest additions to D'Good Cafe are the skillet pancake. On a glance, skillet pancake somehow resembles skinny pizza but instead of pizza dough, the pancake dough is used. The main difference between a skillet pancake and normal pancake is the thickness of the pancake and the texture. Skillet pancake tend to be more wobbly instead of the firm normal pancake. Okay, the cooking time of skillet pancake takes a while, probably around 25 - 30 minutes and that's why Noona has gone into a lecturer mode explaining the difference between skillet and non-skillet pancakes.
Since the pancakes are now here, she will turn back into a hungry Noona now. There are two kind of flavours for the skillet pancake served at D'Good Cafe, savoury and sweet. As usual, the rule of thumb, if there are two of you and you can't decide, just pick one from each flavours. #greedywayoflife
Rock Melon Parma Ham Skillet Pancake -> Not exactly 100% savory pancake because rock melon is after all sweet. Considered one of the skillet pancake which offers lighter pancake because rock melon, parma ham and rocket leaves do not scream on your tastebud when they are consumed. If you'd like cleaner taste, you will love this rock melon parma ham skillet pancake.
Verdict: Won't reorder unless necessary
Tiramisu Skillet Pancake - sweet tooth rejoice because apparently it is possible to use tiramisu cake as a topping to a skillet pancake. This sweet rendition has tiramisu, berries, white sugar and chocolate sauce which surely entertain your sweet craving to the top (fyi, Noona is a tiramisu lover).
Verdict: Love it, re-order potential pretty high
D'Good Cafe is also very popular with its classic Breakfast All Day. On another occassion where Noona could come to the cafe on a Sunday afternoon, 90% of the cafe patrons are having breakfast despite it was already past lunch time.
Omelette on toast -> Egg and toast goes well together and to add "healthier" touch to the toast, salad is slipped in between the omelette and the toast. Comfort brunch item but so-so in taste.
Verdict: Won't reorder unless necessary
Bangers and mash -> also known as sausages and mash, which turns out originated from the Great Britain (cumberland sausages, omo!) instead of German. Beef and pork sausages served on top of mashed potato which later on drenched with onion gravy. The concept is not bad but Noona does not really enjoy the weird taste of beef sausage. Hmm. Not sure if it's only her tastebud though.
Verdict: Never ever order this again
D'Good Cafe location:
(a) 273 Holland Avenue, #02-01/02 Holland Village
-> Nearest MRT: Holland Village (exit B)
-> Opening hours:
Mon to Thurs: 10AM - 10PM
Fri and Sat: 10AM - 11PM
Sun: 10AM - 10PM
(b) 391 Orchard Road, #B1-56 Takashimaya S.C., Ngee Ann City
-> Nearest MRT: Somerset or Orchard (Takashimaya is in between two MRT stations)
-> Opening hours:
Daily 10AM - 10PM
(2) HATCHED
Hatched is located pretty near to the exit B of Holland Village MRT and hence, Noona passes by the cafe pretty often. But it's not until one fine day when the rain was pouring down that Noona finally visited the cafe. Main reason is because there's a sheltered path to Hatched. Tee-hee. The cafe has a lot of egg-inspired toys on display, although not very sure if they allow kids to touch them.
Just like the name of the cafe, Hatched mainly serves egg-based dish. The cafe also serves caffeine fixes and alcoholic drinks. Some of the alcohol selection includes some funky ciders. Thankfully there is no egg in Noona's cider. She has never seen these ciders before, have you guys seen them before? Ciders in Singapore usually costs around 10 SGD-ish. Since a cup of coffee at Starbucks cost 5+ SGD, the price range for ciders sounds reasonable. #lifeisexpensivehere
You cannot escape from the wonderful grip of eggs. So if you are allergic to egg (is there such a thing? Maybe), Hatched is probably not the cafe you want to go for a meal (you can go for the funky ciders though). You can have your eggs poached, boiled, fried into either omelette or sunny-side-up, put inside all kind of carbs from wrap, bread or even, quesadilla.
Rosti Delight -> When Noona visited Hatched, the cafe offered a sunny side up served on garlic rosti with a piece of sausage. Based on Hatched's latest menu, they have slightly changed the menu from sausage to salmon. By the way, what is rosti? If Noona has to explain it in a simple term, rosti is a kind of potato pancake. It is originated from Swiss and usually served in the style of a fritter. Rosti is best eaten with sour cream sauce and apparently taste well with egg too.
Verdict: Quite yummy, may re-order if there's nothing else left on the menu.
Turkey and Egg Wrap -> Grab a bite from dinner buddy's choice of turkey and egg wrap and it kinda tastes like Subway's breakfast wrap, which is ain't bad. But if Noona can get it at cheaper price (Subway's one cost like 5 SGD with a cup of coffee), she would rather eat the cheaper option.
Verdict: Kinda too pricey for the normal taste, will not re-order.
Hatched's location:
267 Holland Avenue, Singapore
(nearest MRT: Holland Village)
Hatched's opening hours:
Tuesday to Sunday: 9AM - 11PM
Monday: Closed
(3) FULL OF LUCK CLUB
Full of Luck Club can be considered the new kid on the block of Holland Village. Not sure what the restaurant is replacing, but it sure adds some fun (and more choices) in the dining scene of Holland Village. In terms of concept, Full of Luck Club is pretty similar to Xiao Ya Tou in Duxton Road because both restaurants offer hipster Asian food in Cantonese setting. For instance, both restaurants have the concept of sharing plates in the menu.
Baos -> What makes Full of Luck Club unique is its baos (buy any 2 for SGD 9.80). We tried the Kung Pao Chicken and Salted Egg Yolk Prawn baos and Noona's only suggestion is to eat them while they are hot.
Verdict: Not bad as long as eaten while still hot.
Chicken and salted fish claypot rice -> Full of Luck Club also offers a selection of claypot rice. While truffle pepper beef sounds enticing, we decided to stick to the more common "chicken and salted fish" claypot rice (SGD 14). Taste average but good enough when you feel like eating claypot rice since Noona seldom sees them anywhere nowadays in Singapore.
Verdict: May come again if feel like having claypot rice.
Full of Luck Club's location:
Holland Village
243 Holland Avenue
Full of Luck Club's opening hours:
11AM - 11PM Daily
(4) SUNDAY FOLKS
If you are looking for a place to chill out while having yummy dessert, you may be interested to check out Sunday Folks. Situated at the quieter Jalan Merah Saga, Sunday Folks is well known amongst the local. A long queue is always guaranteed at its door after dinner time as people looking for a dessert place after enjoying their dinner. Sunday Folks is famous for two items, ice cream and waffles. If you don't know which one to order, you can simply order both by selecting first, the taste of the ice cream and then, the toppings which you'd like to add to the waffles.
Roasted Pistachio Waffles with Chocolate Honeycomb Bomb -> Noona has officially become a fan of Sunday Folks after one bite of this wonderful dessert. Sunday Folks serve great ice cream which taste even better with waffles.
Tips: Add some sauce to your ice cream and waffle to add a finishing touch, hazelnut sauce (which Noona suspects is Nutella) will not disappoint.
Sunday Folks' location:
44 Jalan Merah Saga,
#01-52 Chip Bee Gardens
Holland Village
Sunday Folks' opening hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday to Thursday: 1 - 10PM
Friday: 1 - 11PM
Saturday: 12 - 11PM
Sunday: 12 - 10PM
Note: the list is not exhaustive and will be added as and when Noona has tried something new at Holland Village
