Our favourite cafe

Like many Singaporean families, we like going to cafes, especially for Saturday brunch. We look up recommendations online and make our rounds to those that sound interesting. However, many of these cafes turn out to be unmemorable, for a few reasons:

1) The coffee served in some of these cafes is weak and insipid or has a nasty acidic aftertaste, like the beans have been over-roasted.

2) Many cafes have very limited food options. Seriously, there's only so many times you can eat poached eggs before it gets really jelak. Quality too, is questionable. More often than not, I attribute a cafe's popularity more to its ambience than its food.

3) Price is a huge factor. I know cafes have to pay rent lah but I balk at having to cough up $16++ for Eggs Benedict or $6 for a latte. By the time you add service charge and GST, you can end up with a bill close to $100 for a family of four. For nothing more than a fancy version of breakfast.

So this post is to share with you the Tan family's favourite cafe to date. This is NOT a paid post. I'm also not related to the owner in any way. I'm spreading the word simply because we love it and all good things should be shared. We started coming here a few years ago and over the years, we've discovered that amidst our cafe hopping, we somehow wind up back here, and the experience has been consistently great. We're like the fickle boyfriend who keeps checking out the new pretty young thing, and eventually realise that the best one is the one he had all along.

The cafe is Oberstrasse on French Road, right behind Lavender MRT station. It's opened by an enterprising young man and is named after the street in Switzerland where he stayed when he was studying there.

The interior is simply decorated but welcoming. You order and pay at the counter, and they serve your food. The menu is typed on A4 paper and the food selection itself takes up 4 sheets. Drinks take up another page and there's one for dessert pies. It's a crazily wide variety of food and we're always amazed at how just two cooks in the kitchen can whip up so many different dishes.

We've met the owner and he told us he's constantly looking at ways to improve the menu and add new items (as if there's not enough choice!) What an enterprising spirit.

You would think that with such a long list of food items, there would be hits and misses, but honestly, we've tried loads of stuff and we haven't found anything we dislike yet. Most of the dishes are seriously delish. We even brought my mother-in-law a couple of times (she's a notoriously fussy eater) and she said the taste reminded her so much of the great English breakfasts she used to have in London.

Here are some of the items we've tried over the past few years:

Norwegian rosti (with smoked salmon) $14.50

Do you know how difficult it is to find good rosti in Singapore? I only know of Marche and the rosti here is better. Crisp on the top, perfectly cooked in the centre and without any oily residue. There are four types of rosti on the menu, just choose your topping.

Mushroom baked rice $9.50

They don't stinge on the cheese so it's a plate full of cheesy, gooey goodness. Again, there are four types of baked rice. Personally, we like the chicken baked rice best.

Grilled cajun chicken with baked potatoes $9.50

According to the owner, this is one of their best sellers. A very tasty option for chicken lovers.

Crabmeat Arrabiata $15

Yes, they serve pasta too! 12 different types, in fact. Their cream sauce pastas are pretty good. This one is loaded with crab meat.

Classic French Toast with berry compote $10.50

I only tried this on my recent visit and I was completely blown away. It is honestly the best French toast I've tried. The combination of berry compote and mascarpone cheese with granola bits elevates this usually boring dish to a whole new level. The portion is huge though - three thick slices, so unless you have a very sweet tooth, I recommend sharing this with someone.

Smoked salmon avocado sandwich $10.50

This is one of Lesley-Anne's favourites - the sandwich is generously filled with chunks of smoked salmon and a hefty spread of avocado. It normally comes with chips and a small salad but she always asks to replace the chips with more salad. They're very flexible that way. Note: you should order this only if you like chewy bread, which is typical of German bread. If you prefer soft pillowy bread, you probably wouldn't like this.

Chicken mushroom pastry pie $10.50

One of the newer additions to the menu. There are two types of pie: chicken and beef. We prefer the chicken as it comes in a creamy white sauce. The beef pie sauce is a tangy tomato base.

BBQ Babyback ribs $18

This is possibly the most expensive item on the menu but you get a long slab of fall-off-the-bone ribs in an addictive BBQ sauce.

Buttermilk waffles with berries $10.50

Comes with butter and maple syrup (the waffle, not the kids). The waffle is light and crisp, not soggy like in some places.

Flat white $4.50

And finally, the coffee! A very decent cup of joe at a very decent price.

We've sampled more food than the above, but I only posted the ones I had pictures of. The poached eggs and big breakfast here are superb, so are the duck confit and molten lava cake. The full menu is available ALL DAY, so you can eat breakfast food for dinner, or dinner food for breakfast, however you wish to define them.

The prices here are truly reasonable, considering the portions and quality, and have I mentioned, all prices are NETT? That's right - no service charge or GST.

Some other plus points:

1) Free wifi (so you can post food pics without using data).
2) Free water (help yourself at a counter).
3) Accessible - it's located a #01-50 Kitchener Complex, which is just behind Lavender MRT station. If you drive, there's coupon parking along the road.

They open every day from 9am to 9pm, except Saturdays when they close slightly earlier at 5pm. I recommend making reservations for lunch as it can get quite crowded. You can book a table online via Facebook.

So support small local businesses and make your way to Oberstrasse! Your tastebuds will thank you.

Zoo-topia

For parents of young kids, the zoo is usually a popular venue for outings. For us, we were Friends of the Zoo, so we were frequent visitors. Then for some reason, when our kids grow up, the zoo shifts away from our radar. It really is a pity, since animal watching is hardly an activity just for children.

Recently, Andre suddenly had a hankering to visit the zoo. We tried to remember when it was we last visited the zoo and figured it must have been at least 8 years ago. Spurred by his enthusiasm, we decided to make a day trip to the far north of the island. Luckily, we had a 1-for-1 coupon for tickets. Honestly, we haven't been there for so long, I had no idea that zoo tickets had become that costly!

Lesley-Anne brought along her camera and tested out her wildlife photography skills.

Prowling cheetahs (behind glass)

Giraffe

Tapir

Hungry otters

It was a little poignant to see Inuka, the 26-year-old polar bear, all alone, after his mother, Sheba, died in 2012. Polar bears in the wild tend to live only up to 10 years old, so Inuka is quite a senior citizen by now. I understand that the zoo will no longer take in any more animals from the Arctic due to concerns raised by animal welfare groups, so do go see Inuka while you still can.

Inuka (behind glass)

Zebras

Croc

The Fragile Forest section is particularly beautiful. The animals are free-roaming so you can see them up close.

Flying fox

"I don't wanna move it, move it. Lemur alone."

Parrots

This monkey was sitting on a stump with her baby, happily minding her own business and letting Lesley-Anne take her photo, when a squirrel jumped right on top of her. Both the photographer and subject were startled and the monkey let out an indignant screech. I guess squirrels are the pesky young brothers in the animal kingdom!

Caterpillar

Mr Toad

Baby meerkat: "I wasn't going to do it, mum! Really!"

Ferret

After lunch, it started pouring at the zoo. We saw this poor pelican at the seal enclosure, totally drenched and shivering.

"Stand guard, they said. Riiight."

Hamadryas baboons

Tree kangaroo

White tiger

This is not a paid post, so it's my true opinion. If you're looking for a fun and meaningful venue for a family outing, we highly recommend the zoo. No matter what ages your kids are, it really is a great way to spend a morning or afternoon. Admission fee: $33 (adult), $22 (children aged 3 to 12), $15 (senior citizens). Get 25% discount if you buy tickets online.

The French connection

Ho ho ho, the Christmas tree is up!

But even before the lights started twinkling, we'd already begun our year-end feasting. Be gone, thy dastardly diet!

It started with a delectable French dinner at our good friends, Isabelle and Joon's place. Isabelle's mum was in town and she'd whipped up some duck confit and gratin. As if that's not decadent enough, she'd also brought foie gras from Paris! Drool...

Our stomachs are indeed fortunate to be beneficiaries of such culinary goodness. When I was looking through my photos, I realised that they were all on the food. No photos of people!

Afternote: Kenneth did have a photo of the food AND the company! Adding it here:

We wanted to return the hospitality so we invited Isabelle and her family over for a popiah party. It was the first time they'd had home-made popiah (for Isabelle's mum, first time any sort of popiah.)

Photos of people at last! Not entirely a glutton at heart...

Passing the wrapping test...

...before showing the hubby how it's done.

Isabelle and I go back more than 10 years. We first met when we were working at SMU, before Andre was born. She's now the owner of the very successful Stand Up Paddling School Singapore which has been making waves (see what I did there?) in the local sports scene. It has been featured extensively in the media. Professional and totally focused on safety - that's what stands her school apart from the rest.

If you've never tried stand up paddling, you've got to! We can't go as often as we'd like to but when my kids love it whenever they get the chance. Paddling at the idyllic Tanjong Beach at Sentosa is a bonus - calm waters and a view to boot. When Lesley-Anne and I were away in Hong Kong in March this year, Andre had a treat of his own.

SUP School even has its own merchandise now. Striking a pose in the cool blue shirts!

I'm so very proud of ma très chère amie. (Not sure if that's the right expression but the sentiment is there ♥)

Yuletide blessings

For many folks, the end of year marks a season of parties and extreme feasting and we are no exception. Christmas tree, sparkling decor, loads of presents and our home was ready. We even had a special visitor this year - Danger Dan!

Then there's the food! Just in anticipation, we try to cut down the day before a party and do a little more exercise. But it's all in vain. No amount of jumping jacks done as an afterthought can withstand the massive onslaught of turkey, ham, etc etc etc. I'm quite certain just thinking about Christmas food makes me move up one waist size. Time to switch to elastic pants.

Plus cake. Always lots of cake. And almost always chocolate. I'm telling you, those feeble situps don't stand a chance. Your brain sends an image of the dessert to your abs which, seeing the futility, surrenders and sags instantaneously.  

But most of all, Christmas is really about the company we keep. Sharing meals with loved ones, especially those we don't get to meet as often as we like - that is what makes the occasion.

Food, family and friends - God has provided for us abundantly over the past year. Hope you had an equally fabulous Christmas season and here's wishing all of you showers of blessings for 2014!