Food For Thought @ National Museum of Singapore

Was there to visit the museum so had brunch at the restaurant in there. Actually, should have done the reverse order. Ought to have bought the tickets first to the museum then have lunch because the paid tickets entitled one to 10% discount off ala-carte items.

Got seated pretty quickly as the place was fairly relaxed during that weekend of visit.

alfresco seats

ice water

Was in the mood for some scrambled eggs and coffee so got myself the "House Works" while my friend ordered the baby back ribs. Both food portions were generous.

House Works (scrambled eggs, butter brioche, bacon, salad and hash browns) @$15+

Honeyed Hoisin Sauce Braised Baby Back Ribs @$25+

Requested for some jam to go along with the brioche. Liked the sweet and savoury combination for brioche with scrambled eggs and bacon. Yums.

strawberry jam

The hash browns were lovely oblongs of golden brown. Salad leaves were limp but the dressing was good. It was a very filling breakfast.

Friend loved his ribs as well. Suitably tender though not fall-off-the-bone kind.

Food For Thought

Address: 93 Stamford Road #01-04/05, National Museum of Singapore, Singapore 178897
Website: http://www.foodforthought.com.sg/
Reservation: https://www.chope.co/singapore-restaurants/categories/restaurant/food-for-thought-national-museum 
Business Hours:
Mon-Sat & PH Eve: 10am-10pm
Sun & PH: 10am-9pm

Montana Singapore @ POMO Selegie

The walk from Plaza Singapura to POMO took about 8 minutes. At POMO, take the escalator up till you see The Clan restaurant. Montana is nearby The Clan and a dance studio. I think I had been here before but that space was occupied by another restaurant previously. The trip to Montana was for an invited tasting session with fellow bloggers.

interior

Liked the decor of the place. Dark colours with nice lightings. However, the space could get quite warm since the air from outside flows freely into the cafe and vice-versa. At such a times, a cold drink was very much needed. Montana's cold brew is served in a beaker, pretty much like those found in chemical lab.

On that night, we were privileged to be one of the first few to try their new yuzu infused coconut cold brew. This brew was created for those whom dislike the strong taste of coffee and prefers something that's lighter and more fruity.

Yuzu infused Coconut Cold Brew @$6.50+

let's have a shot at this

Would say that the taste was interesting. There was a strong presence of yuzu flavour, a sourish aftertaste and a light undertone of coffee. Three components that one could taste quite distinctly.

Flat White 7oz @$5+

On a hot night, my choice drink was the Cold Shaken Mocha. Satisfying.

Cold Shaken Mocha @$5+

For food, they do a variation of savoury waffles as well as sweet desserts waffles. You might have already seen/tasted/heard about their black velvet waffles. Was getting hungry, so savoury waffles were very much welcomed!

Jalapeno Mac & Cheese Waffle @$12+

The Jalapeno Mac & Cheese Waffle is the Montana original signature waffle. The jalapeno mac & cheese were embedded inside the waffle or what they termed as 'waffle-ised'. Soft waffle, slight pickled tang from the jalapeno and lovely tomato relish to dip. Yums.

the insides

Next, the one and only, Assam Crab Waffle. Sounded exotic, right? Definitely must be eaten with the thick sauce. Tasting the sauce alone, I thought it was quite close to the thousand island variant. Piled some of those crab meat, diced cucumber and pineapple onto the waffle, add a dollop of that sauce and indeed, the assam laksa flavour became more apparent. Thought it was Penang assam laksa, but this was revealed to be incorrect as the dish was inspired by the Kedah laksa. Aiya, same same but different.

Assam Crab Waffle @$18+

The Korean wave has been inflicted onto waffle as well. Ever tried Bulgogi Beef Waffle? It was pretty interesting as inside the waffle, there was gochujang rice as well. Carb on carb?! Beef was tender as it was done sous vide style. The menu stated bonito flakes, but I don't think there was any on the version that we had.

Bulgogi Beef Waffle @$16+

Then came the pastas. The Vodka Crab Penne and the Truffle Oil Spaghetti. The shredded crab meat in the penne was enjoyable but the penne was a tad too al-dente for me.

Vodka Crab Penne @$16+

Truffle Oil Spaghetti with mushrooms, sunny side up Egg @$16+

Personally, am more inclined towards the truffle oil spaghetti. The noodle strands were well coated with creaminess and perfumed with truffle oil. The mushroom flavour was just lovely.

After which, a sampling from South Bronx was brought up.

it's South Bronx, yo

Surprised? Well, Montana connects two other spaces; Fabulous + Dough (inner section of Montana, opening this weekend) and South Bronx Burgers located at Level 1. Fancy having doughnuts or burgers with your coffee? Well, soon you can.

South Bronx Burgers: Southern Chicken Wings with BBQ sauce @$8+, Mac Deli Burger @$16+ and Original Rump Shaker @$16+

The wings were fried to a deep brown and crispy skins. However, perhaps it had enjoyed a tad too long of its oil bath in the fryer, resulting in slightly tougher meat.

The burger patties were homemade with its own house ratio of meat and fats. The soft potato buns were baked in-house as well. The burgers were served with triple fries consisting of shoestring, crinkle and spiral.

homemade beef patty

How about drinks and you don't mean the coffee nor tea kind? Oh why, I thought you'd never ask! Actually, Montana has Australian beer in its menu.

Yenda IPA and Yenda Pale

Or, explore the variety of craft beers downstairs at South Bronx. Beer price ranges from $11+ to $13+.

Belgian, Spanish and Japanese

Opened two bottles to try. The Kinshachi Nagoya Red Miso Lager and the Pater Lieven Bruin Belgian Ale. Miso beer tasted similar to Kilkenny. Smooth and with that metallic tang, slightly bitter finish. The Belgian Ale looked dark like a stout but tasted light and malty. Personal preference to the Belgian beer.

Red Miso Lager

Belgian Ale

Ended with some doughnuts. Presented hot from the ovens of Fabulous + Dough. Fairly large sized doughnuts that are roughly the size of a man's fist. Tried the Dark Chocolate with Apple Cider Salted Caramel, Green Tea Yuzu and Apple Berry with Cream Cheese. The Green Tea doughnut was the sweetest of the lot. Preferred the Dark Chocolate doughnut for its just-nice sweetness.

Dark Chocolate Caramel @$5.50+

Apple Berry with Cream Cheese @$5.50+

sweets

Thank you Montana for having us, the friendly crew for taking care of us and Jen for the invite.

Montana Singapore

Location: #01-04, POMO, 1 Selegie Rd, 188306

Contact: +65 98331790

Badoque Cafe @ 298 Bedok Road

We had a mission to accomplish. That particular mission was a quest to sample the Tomahawk at Badoque that's located near Simpang Bedok. Heard many good things about this cafe from Ivan and it sure piqued our interest! Getting to Badoque is not difficult, just that it was really far for a westie. Took the train to Tanah Merah and then head towards the bus stop across the station and take bus #9. Stop at opposite of Bedok Marketplace and walk for about 5 minutes to reach the cafe.

inside the cafe

Badoque has both indoor and outdoor seats. It was kinda windy and hot on our day of visit, so we opted for the cooler but darker (in terms of lighting) indoor dining. Unfortunately for us, the Tomahawk remained elusive as it is only available after 3pm.

For lunch, there are still quite a number of selections to choose from, so we ordered two ribs, a fish & chips and some fiery chicken wings to try. Was warned that the wings are so spicy that the Chef, himself had difficulty in handling. Ok, bring it on!

But, in any case, we still ordered plenty of ice blended drinks in preparation to douse the 'fire' on our tongues when necessary.

(from left to right) ice lemon tea ($5.50+), frangipani ($8.50+), mojito ($8.50+) and salted caramel ($8.50+)

Liked the Frangipani the most. Made of soda, blood orange and lemonade. Such a pretty shade of reddish pink. Sweet and refreshing. The Salted Caramel tasted like milk, mostly.

One could already smell the 'kepak bing bing' before it actually reached the table! The aromatically pungent and enticing smell of belachan, plus look at the amount of chili seeds... No joke.

Kepak Bing Bing @$12.50+

do you dare?

The spices hit fast and lingered for quite a bit. Taking sips of the ice blended frangipani was actually, not a good idea because it felt even spicier after that. Keke! But pretty shioks though.

When the beef ribs arrived, it most certainly elicited some "oohs" and "aahs". A humongous and thick slab of ribs. It was really my first time in seeing such a big portion of any ribs.

Badoque Ribs @$36++

The Badoque Ribs were indeed tender and fall-off-the-bones type and served with BBQ sauce. Tangy and appetising. Liked the green beans and potatoes.

We also tried the Iga Bakar, which was the Indonesian styled beef ribs. More ribs? Yeah! It was as if we were on a meatatarian rampage. Similarly, the serving was huge and meant to be shared amongst two pax. Loved the savoury sweet sauce and the rice was so good. And that achar too. All tasted good. Yummy!

Iga Bakar @$36++

really lovely achar, so it deserved a shot on its own

If you're not into beef, no worries. The Flounder Fish and Chippies is worth ordering. Two large slabs of thinly battered and expertly fried till crisp and golden. The fish flesh was soft and tasty. It was good.

Flounder Fish & Chippies @$24++

Two guys and three ladies shared the above meal and drinks. I think the food could feed another person easily and all of us would still ended up feeling quite full.

Paid about $29 per pax each. Thank you fellow foodies for sharing the calories and Ivan for organizing!

Service staff were friendly, price was reasonable and food portion was generous. Recommended and value for money.