If you guys remember, I’m not a huge fan of cafes, after having described it as a great way to cut down on your expenses if you stay away from the trend of #cafe-hopping.
Well, here’s a great substitute if you’re unwilling to give up on those hearty brunches altogether.
I first came across Bake_Of thanks to my friend who writes for the Straits Times, when he shared about his latest food find with his Facebook friends under the “Cheap & Good” column.
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| My Breakfast Platter: Scrambled eggs, baked beans, forest mushrooms, baked tomato, turkey bacon, a scone and a cup of milk coffee. |
He described the Big Breakfast platter at Bake_Of as “good value for money” and much more satisfactory compared to “disappointing…brunches in hipster cafes”. Budget Babe immediately got excited, but of course, the inner skeptic in me thought that before I share this with my readers, I had to first head down to the shop in person and check it out for myself.
Suffice to say, I was not disappointed.
Perhaps it was the hour that I went at – I popped by for a quick brunch right after a morning meeting in the CBD, so there was hardly anyone at the food centre when I was there. However, there were a few other customers I spotted at their stall while I was munching away on my food.
The stall is run by a couple, Adrian Goh and Celine Tan, whose culinary backgrounds are in cooked food and pastries respectively. Adrian comes with a wealth of experience as a chef in French and Italian restaurants, and I have to say, the scrambled eggs that he whipped up was among the best I’ve ever had in Singapore.
It (almost) comes close to the famous Australia Dairy Company’s version in Hong Kong, which I was obsessing over a few weeks ago while up there for a business trip.
Their service levels and pride in their work also shone through. Celine recommended me to try their weekly special, which was slightly different from the version my reporter friend tasted previously. Being a hardcore fan of baked beans in my breakfast foods, I asked to change my side salad to baked beans, and Celine was more than happy to oblige.
I opted for the $5.50 set, where it only cost an additional 50 cents for a cup of coffee from their partner, La Kopi. Again, the service I enjoyed from the lady there was excellent, with huge smiles all over and a certain pride in her coffee.
The mushrooms were comparable to those served in “hipster [brunch] cafes”, as Kenneth puts it. My scone had a great combination of being crispy on the outside, yet soft and fluffy on the inside. It was already delicious on its own, but made even better when I paired it with some butter.
The jam was not too bad either, and it wasn’t cloyingly sweet like most other jams you get served with at other places. However, I’m not too big a fan of jams, so I settled for just the butter instead.
I wanted to try their muffins, but was so stuffed after finishing my breakfast platter that I could not take in any more food. Thus, I brought home some selected muffins to try instead.
My assortment included the Lemon Meringue, Double Chocolate, Early Grey Chocolate muffin and a Carrot Cake.
Celine mentioned that her muffins are free from butter (she uses vegetable oil instead) and thus, are a healthier alternative with its lower calories. I saw her taking some freshly-baked muffins out from the oven when I was there, and putting in a new batch to bake. It made me long for a bite.
A few hours later, back at home, I took a bite out of every muffin and thoroughly enjoyed it. While these muffins lack the full-bodied flavour that most butter muffins come with, they make up for it in terms of the crispy baked exterior and soft fluffy insides. The flavours are subtle as they dance on your tastebuds, but my personal favourite was the carrot cake, which was warm and moist, but most importantly, loaded with generous carrot slices in between.
Will I go back? Definitely.
The quality of food for just $5.50 was extremely worth it, and might I say, better than some of the cafes I’ve eaten at. While you don’t get to enjoy the atmosphere or cool air-conditioning in a cafe-setting, the stall owners’ excellent service standards truly go a long way in making you feel at home.
The muffins, each priced at no more than $1.50, are generous in its serving size (comparable to the big ones at Starbucks!) and taste great too.
But the star item is definitely their scrambled eggs. I will go back again just for that.
If you’re interested, you can check them out at Amoy Street Food Centre, #02-111, 7 Maxwell Road. They’re open from 6.30am to 2.30pm on weekdays but are closed on weekends.
Feel free to check out Kenneth Goh’s original review on the Straits Times here too, before you head down.
And just in case you’re wondering, no, this is not a sponsored post.
Hello good and cheap brunches,
goodbye cafes.
Cheers,
Budget Babe
2 comments
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im so gonna try this!
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