July 2013

Every time E-main and I go out for a hunt for food around Singapore, we always hit some bump along the way, like Five & Dime closing too early, ordering just macarons at Jones the Grocer to escape the shame of sitting down before we saw the overpriced dinner menu (it's a sad story hahaha). This time around it was avoiding the rain on a gloomy day in the-most-inaccessible-place-to-be-if-it-rains, Carpenter & Cook!


There's an Alice in Wonderland / vintage theme going on in here, which is not the newest concept I've heard of, but it's done very well, which is probably why it has gotten so much hype! Prettiness always gets points, of course, but first, we must try the substance!


So much stuff to choose! A friendly service staff introduces us to literally everything, but we eventually go with one sweet and one savory piece.


The Passionfruit Meringue Tart ($6.50++) is definitely one of the classics, and a really pretty piece. The price was pretty steep - you could probably get a larger, more filling cake elsewhere, but we definitely had to try it at least once. It was a little disappointing, to say the least. Firstly, we both agreed that it was a little too sour, secondly, the tart was way too stiff, so in order to eat the meringue, we had to use a lot of strength to cut it, which resulted in the plate looking like a crime scene of lemon curd and bits of tart. Hmm. The Cook's Amazing Quiche ($7.00++), was decent but not terribly memorable. Also at the size they served us, not of great value (I don't mind paying if the food is good).


And because it was raining and we were stuck there, we go for seconds! The Lemon Cream Tart ($6.50++) is the not as pretty cousin of the Passionfruit Meringue Tart, but I preferred it more because the taste wasn't so sharp, but still an equally tough battle to cut and eat.

So it's 12AM in the middle of the night and when the munchies creep up on me, I can always look at pictures of yummy food I've eaten before to make it better. No, really, it makes it worse. But here is my lunch visit to Five & Dime! One thing you should know about Five & Dime is that it has different menus for Lunch and Dinner. I was a little disappointed because I was looking forward to their much talked about Braised Pork Belly on warm soba and their Mac & Cheese, but that's in their dinner menu! At least the pictures look really nice because it's in the day.

 
We ordered the Shrimp Gratin ($12.00++) to share as a starter! It's definitely much too small to be a meal on it's own, but I had to satisfy that mac and cheese craving I had. It's decent, with big lumps of shrimp inside the gooey cheese. But personally it didn't match up to what I was expecting for the mac and cheese!


Dad and Justin both ordered the Katsu Curry Rice ($18.00++). Mmm it looks good! According to them, the chicken service is light and not overly fried and greasy.


I had the Eggs Benny ($16.00++), but to be honest, I've had better eggs benny. Still thinking of the one at the Fabulous Baker Boy though, and at half the price! Also, I don't know if it's me, but I'm personally not a fan of eating potatoes for brunch, it's a bit too heavy. Anyone feel the same way?


All in all, I feel like I should come back to Five & Dime again, but this time for their dinner menu for the full experience. I feel like their lunch menu didn't quite match up to the hype over the place! However, on the plus side, there's free parking for all Five & Dime customers! The entrance is the red gate right next to it, can you see? :) Also a tip if you're visiting for lunch, they stop serving it at 2:30pm! It says it's until 5:00pm on their website, but I came here around 2:30pm with E-main previously and we were unceremoniously turned away for lunch :(

So lesson learnt from all this? THE INTERNET LIES.

Five & Dime
297 River Valley Road
Singapore 238338

I'm all over the place these days - one second I'm really happy with the way my life is going and another second I want to turn my stuffed toy dragon upside down and shake it hard till something falls off. You get what i mean. Life has been uneventful but busy, which is fine by me but bad for you readers of my blog because I don't have much to say other than old food posts and mini gatherings with close friends. Do keep reading this space, I promise it will get more interesting.