5 Little Monkeys Cafe @ PICO Creative Centre

When I heard about the 5 Little Monkeys Cafe, my first thought is that it is another hipster cafe serving the usual mircowave heat up food and supplier sourced cakes and pastries. I am glad that my curiosity just like the monkeys, brought me to the cafe located on the eleventh floor of an office building in Lavender. Taking up the whole floor on the eleventh level, the cafe is huge and spacious, with a great unblock city view.

Gourmet Hamburger 3.5/5

The menu at 5 Little Monkeys Cafe is quite extensive, offering items from Western Delights to Peranakan cuisine. We started with the Gourmet Hamburger ($11.80) with fries and salad from the Western Delights menu. It was quite a good burger which was moist and juicy. There are other western fares such as pizzas, sandwiches and wraps on the menu too.

Kueh Pie Tee 3/5

For some small bites, we had the Kueh Pie Tee ($3.8 for 3pc / $6 for 5pc). I felt that the pie tee cups was a bit too thick in textures, not allowing me to appreciate the spicy and sweet mixture of thinly sliced vegetables and prawn.

Sambal Prawn with Petai 4/5

The surprise discovery at 5 Little Monkeys Cafe is their Peranakan dishes. The Sambal Prawn with Petai ($6.50) comes with a good spicy kick, well coated around the sweetness of the crunchy prawns.

Beef Rendang 4.2/5

The scrumptious Beef Rendang ($10,80) was one of my favourite among the dishes I tried. The succulent beef cooked in a rich and aromatic rempah is bursting with the robust flavour with every bite of it.

Chap Chye 4/5

There are many interpretation of the Chap Chye ($5) and I would say the version by Chef Goh is unlike what I have eaten before. The mixed vegetable stew is cooked to a crunchy instead of softness. It also is not as sweet as most chap chye elsewhere.

Fish Maw Soup 3.8/5

I really appreciate the effort of the chef in the Fish Maw Soup ($10.80). He made the effort to stuffed the fish maw with minced chicken meat. The soup was clear with mild sweetness of the cabbage. Chef also added a dash of Chinese wine to bring up the flavour.

Assam Fish Head Curry 4.5/5

The highlight of the night has to be the Assam Fish Head Curry ($35). I could not resist ordering a plate of rice to soak up the delicious curry that has a mix of spiciness, tanginess and creaminess. The huge fish head is good to serve 3 to 4 pax. As only limited quantities is available each day, it is best to pre-order it. Do also allow 20-30 minutes of waiting time.

I personally think 5 Little Monkeys Cafe is a hidden gem serving good Peranakan cuisine, especially the Assam Fish Head Curry. Furthermore, who would expect to find a cafe on the eleventh floor of an office building. I am glad that my curiosity brought me to discover this little gem in Lavender.


5 Little Monkeys Cafe
PICO Creative Centre
20 Kallang Avenue
#11-00
Singapore 339411
Tel: +65 85339168
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Lavender (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu: 930am - 6pm
Fri: 930am - 10pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Lavender MRT station.Take Exit B. Walk to junction of Lavender Street and Kallang Road. Cross the road and continue on Kallang Road. Walk to destination. Journey times about 10 minutes. [Map]

MEATliquor SIN @ Duxton Road

MeatLiquor SIN, one of the most talked about burger joints in town, just launched a rather unusual Saturday Brunch - Hours of free flow of burgers and tons of booze, with a DJ cutting tracks to wake the usual sleepy town of Duxton Hill on a weekend afternoon. They called it EATs, BEATs & TREATs, an alternative that set to baffle your plan for a Saturday meal. So are you going to have a Brunch, lunch, or an early dinner?

The debut was held just last Saturday. We tend to sleep in on Saturdays, so starting the brunch at 1pm is more than welcome. I wasn't the only one who arrived promptly, or, feeling hungry to be specific. A handful was already queuing at the entrance. Apparently, a big group was trying to make their payment in cash. It doesn't come cheap, at $90++ per pax.

A very straight forward menu. Sides, burgers, and alcohol, with a couple of add ons if you are willing to top up some cash. Judging by the orders round me, their buffalo wings and sambas fries are very very popular. I recommend their Gunpowder Shrimps and Mac n Cheese. The shrimps were very succulent, with a layer of crispy batter. Mac and cheese is actually fried cheese sticks, but it's by far one of the better ones. Best to have it hot, when the gluely cheese oozes out real quick. If I'm not wrong, Camembert cheese is used. (I was so excited that I forgot to take the cheese in action!). Do remember to ask for their blue cheese dips, one of the best ever! It doesn't just go well with all the finger bites, pouring it over my burger also gives me a really delicious 'blue cheese burger'.

4 burgers to choose from, either chicken or beef. HDB Chicken Tower, Parma Chicken, Dead Hippie and Bacon Cheese. The chicken fillet is served the same way in both chicken burgers. What makes the difference is its accompaniment and sauce. One is with hash brown, which I thought is quite delectable, the other is parma ham. As for the beef, Bacon cheese is self explanatory. Dead hippie has a slightly twist to it, with the beef patty being halved, and comes with a special mayonnaise. Somehow, I prefer this among all. It seems juicer, and the mayonnaise reacts well with the smoky sweet patty.

Overall, very hearty burgers with solid patties. I wish the buns could be airier. Theirs are kind of too dense for me. Their Sherbets are slightly watered down, best options are properly still their craft and bottled beers.

The finale to this whole Saturday afternoon is not just the Treats given to us in a canvas bag but their Neh Neh Pop ice creams! Out of the 4 flavours, I tried three - milo dinosaur, strawberry pockie and Bahkula, which is my favourite. Spiked with crunchy pretzels, every bite is a combustion of taste and texture - the bittersweet dark chocolate coating, the sweet creamy vanilla core and the savoury pretzels, it is simply heavenly! Their strawberry pockie is also quite decadent- vanilla ice cream with huge strawberry swirls, coated with white chocolate. So yummy!

Little did I expect myself to leave after 4pm. So did every of the customers I assume. Although weekends are meant to go slow, but I wish the waiting time for the food could be shorter. When the full crowd settled it, it could take almost half an hour for our next order to reach our table. So what I suggest it, the moment you have settled down, you should go straight into ordering all the food that you want, and maybe start placing your next order when you are almost done. Bear in mind that the ordering stops at 4pm.

I was somewhat exhausted by the time I walked out of the place, with all the shouting over the loud music and the food coma setting in. However, I could see that whoever were here, and still there by the time I left, have enjoyed themselves. With the amount of food that you are going to take, I'm sure it will provide you with all the energy that you need for your weekend. That, I don't think your usual eggs benedict is anywhere near.

EATs, BEATs & TREATs dates until the end of the year are:
- Saturday 14th November (1pm - 5pm)
- Saturday 12th December (1pm - 5pm)

Photograph and Written By Si An. A girl who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food.



MEATliquor SIN
99 Duxton Road
Singapore 089543
Tel: +65 62215343
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pager (EW Line), Outram (EW Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Wed: 5pm - 12midnight
Thu-Fri: 5pm - 2am
Sat: 5pm - 3am
(Closed on Sun)

Direction:
1) Alight at Tanjong Pagar MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to Orchid Hotel. Cross Tanjong Pagar Road and walk to Craig Road. Walk along Craig Road and turn right onto Duxton Road. Walk along Duxton Road to destination. Journey time about 20 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Outram MRT station. Take Exit H. Walk straight along New Bridge Road to Kreta Ayer Road. Turn right onto Kreta Ayer Road and walk to the end. Cross the road and turn left onto Neil Road. From Neil Road walk to Duxton Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 23  minutes. [Map]