One-Ninety Bar @ Four Seasons Hotel Singapore - Introduces Garden Café's New Daytime Offerings

One-Ninety Bar at Four Seasons Hotel Singapore recently introduced Garden Café’s new daytime offerings, featuring hand-crafted pastries, sandwiches, wholesome mains and sweet treats, available for dine-in or takeaway. Conceived as an alfresco terrace extension of One-Ninety Bar, Garden Café offers both indoor and outdoor seating, inviting diners into a close-to-nature setting. The new menu is served daily from 11am to 6pm, bringing a more intimate and cosy café ambience to the space. The display counter features a lineup of freshly baked viennoiserie, including butter croissants, pain au chocolat, and almond croissants, alongside a rotating selection of seasonal sweet treats.

Open-Faced Chicken Cordon Bleu 4/5

The main menu ranges from light bites to more hearty options, including an Express selection of dishes designed for a quicker lunch. We tried the Open-Faced Chicken Cordon Bleu ($24) and Maccheroni al Formaggio ($28). While these are intended as express items, both are surprisingly indulgent. The Open-Faced Chicken Cordon Bleu features Cotto ham sandwiched between two pleasingly tender, lightly crusted chicken cutlets, with melted Fontina binding everything together. The mesclun salad on the side, however, seemed more like an afterthought.

Maccheroni al Formaggio 4/5

Maccheroni al Formaggio offered an interesting take on Mac & Cheese. The macaroni was well baked and creamy, with a blend of artisanal cheeses that balanced sweet and savoury notes. Eating it together with the soft pumpkin helped to cut through the richness of the cheese. I think switching to a starchier, denser variety of pumpkin would have worked even better, adding more flavour and texture than the current one, which was somewhat watery and fibrous.

English Breakfast Royale Sandwich 3.5/5

From the All-Day Brunch, the English Breakfast Royale Sandwich ($26) brings together all the elements of a big breakfast. The muffins are slathered with mashed avocado, then stacked with sautéed mushrooms, a pork sausage patty, and gorgeous farm eggs, before being crowned with crispy bacon.

Singapore Chilli Crab Omelette 4.5/5

The Singapore Chilli Crab Omelette ($32) impressed me even more, with a tantalisingly chubby, fluffy omelette topped with a meaty chilli crab sauce. The sauce carried a good amount of heat, which complemented the buttery omelette nicely.

Vanilla French Toast 4.8/5

It’s been a while since I last had a French toast as well done as the Vanilla French Toast ($18). The toast had an almost spongy texture, which I adored, with caramelised, buttery edges adding a lovely contrast.

Signature Salmon Poke Bowl 5/5

Power Bowls offer lighter and more nourishing alternatives, and we tried the Signature Salmon Poke Bowl ($24). It comes with soy-marinated salmon, multigrain rice, shimeji mushrooms, pickled daikon, shredded red cabbage, wakame and avocado, topped with an onsen egg and truffle miso to bring everything together. The pearly multigrain rice brought a beautiful nutty, wheaty flavour to each mouthful, while the savoury miso sauce, accented with truffle, made the bowl addictive. They also offer a range of sandwiches to choose from.

Prawn Aglio Olio Sandwich 4.5/5

The Prawn Aglio Olio Sandwich ($18) was flavoursome, with chunky prawns and sweet, smoky roasted bell peppers, alongside pickled red onion, cucumber and tomato for added freshness.

Strawberry Financier 4/5

Tiramisù Classico 4/5

For desserts, we tried the Valrhona Dark Chocolate Mousse ($16), Pandan Kaya Cake ($14), Citrus Petite Gâteau ($14), Strawberry Financier ($14), and Tiramisù Classico ($16). The latter was undisputedly the crowd favourite. The tin brought together espresso-soaked ladyfingers, mascarpone cream and cocoa, with just the right amount of sweetness. I’m not usually a fan of entremets, so another favourite was the Strawberry Financier. The financier itself was delicious, and the combination of luscious Chantilly cream and strawberries on top elevated the decadence.

Pandan Espresso Martini

To complement the menu, we also offer a curated selection of signature beverages with a Singapore touch. Highlights include the Kopi Cream, Peanut Butter and Black Sesame Lattes, Grapefruit Tonic Espresso and Pandan Espresso Martini ($20).

The Garden Café at One-Ninety Bar
Mon-Sun: 11 am - 6 pm

For more information or to make a dining reservation, call (65) 6831 7653, WhatsApp (65) 9455 3466 or email dining.singapore@fourseasons.com.

Photos and words by Si An. A homebody who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, the smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food.


One-Ninety Bar
Four Seasons Hotel Singapore
190 Orchard Boulevard
Singapore 248646
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Nearest MRT: Orchard (NS Line, TE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 6pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Orchard MRT station. Take Exit 11. Walk straight down Orchard Boulevard Road. Walk to the destination. Journey time is about 6 minutes. [Map]

Chin Mee Chin @ Nex - The 101-Year-Old Confectionery Ventures Beyond Katong

After more than a century in Katong, Chin Mee Chin has finally ventured beyond its East Coast home with a new outlet at NEX. Founded in 1925, the heritage confectionery is best known for its old-school bakes, kaya toast and traditional kopi, served against its unmistakably nostalgic backdrop.

Ham & Cheese Danish 2.8/5

Choux au Craquelin

Kaya Custard & Dark Chocolate Choux au Craquelin 2.8/5

Among the new and outlet-exclusive offerings are the Ham & Cheese Danish ($3.60) and Choux au Craquelin, available in Kaya Custard ($3) and Dark Chocolate ($3). Unfortunately, neither really impressed us. The Danish was served at room temperature and was rather hard, and given its small size, I didn’t find it particularly worth the price. The Choux au Craquelin fared slightly better, although the cream filling tasted somewhat artificial to me. Between the two flavours, I preferred the Kaya Custard over the Dark Chocolate. On the plus side, both were thankfully not overly sweet.

Smashed Fried Chicken w Housemade Sambal Sandwich 3.5/5

They also offer a selection of ready-to-eat sandwiches, and we tried the Smashed Fried Chicken with Housemade Sambal ($8.80). The portion is decent, with soft bread and well-seasoned fried chicken, but the sandwich doesn’t quite hold everything together—be prepared for a slightly messy meal. I was hoping for a stronger kick from the housemade sambal as its flavour was rather faint, but the nicely seasoned fried chicken helped make up for it.

Kaya Toast 4/5

The best thing we tried was, unsurprisingly, one of Chin Mee Chin’s classics — the Kaya Toast ($2.80 à la carte). Its signature kaya has that familiar slightly curdled appearance and is generously spread over a soft, round bun with a slab of butter. Unlike at the original outlet, the buns here are not charcoal-toasted. In fact, the ones we had barely seemed toasted at all, which was a little disappointing. Still, the combination of soft bun, kaya and butter remains comforting and nostalgic, and this is easily the one item I would return for.

Kaya Cloud Kopi 3.5/5

We also tried two outlet-exclusive drinks. The Kaya Cloud Kopi ($5.50) comes topped with a creamy foam carrying a subtle kaya flavour. It reminded us of Starbucks’ recent National Day creation, though once the foam mixes into the kopi, the kaya flavour becomes almost indistinguishable.

Roselle Cucumber Tea 1/5

The Roselle Cucumber Tea ($4.50), unfortunately, was the weakest item of the meal. It tasted predominantly like cucumber-infused water and didn’t leave much of an impression. I’d stick to Chin Mee Chin’s regular local-style kopi or teh instead.

The 26-seat self-service cafe gives Chin Mee Chin’s nostalgic identity a more contemporary interpretation. It features familiar details from the original outlet, with an open bakery display and a visible coffee counter.

Being inside NEX makes Chin Mee Chin much more accessible for those who don’t often make the trip to Katong, although the limited seating means the outlet can get very busy. The new and exclusive items were a mixed bag for us, with some needing a little more refinement.

Photos and words by Jaslyn. An avid cook who lives to eat and travel for food. Note: This is an invited tasting.

Chin Mee Chin
NEX
23 Serangoon Central
B2-60/61
Singapore 556083
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Nearest MRT: Serangoon (CC, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 8am - 930pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Serangoon MRT Station. Take Exit B, G or H. Walk to the destination. Journey time is about 3 minutes. [Map]