Mia Eats: East Coast Commune at Marine Cove

-credits to East Coast Commune-

Yes, a new cafe has finally popped up at Marine Cove! 

-credits to East Coast Commune-

Marine Cove at East Coast Park is usually where I end my morning jogs every Sunday (I've ventured on towards Parkland Green just a handful of times), so I actually knew that a new cafe is coming while they're still in the midst of construction. Haha, but I just didn't drop by the very first Sunday they opened. 

Anyhow, I still dropped by the following week (or was it 2 weeks?) after their official opening for a quick breakfast with the HB after my Sunday jog. They're open at 9am and the HB actually reached the cafe at around 840am (he doesn't jog with me) to find himself 3rd in line. And by the time I arrived at somewhere around 850am, there were about 7 groups of patrons waiting in line already. 

Like, WHUTT?

I know, with the current COVID19 situation, it's always better to make a reservation at any eatery you plan to go, regardless of how unpopular they've always been. But here at ECC, they do not accept reservations on weekends, so.... just queue, lor. 

Perhaps due to COVID19, the table arrangement at the spacious cafe is rather spaced out, hence seating capacity may be compromised, which explains the queue 

Iced Latte

The coffee, although not stellar, was still pretty okay. But I'm a little miffed that they do not serve their lattes with a stirrer. I'm all for no plastic straws, but hey I wanna mix my espresso shot with the milk thoroughly before I drink, too! There's also no sugar syrup served alongside my coffee. I typically do not add sugar to my coffee, but it was cheatday and I wouldn't mind to have some sweet coffee once in a while. 

Oh well, perhaps they expect patrons to specifically request for both the stirrer and sugar syrup, or perhaps the HB has declined their offer to serve the coffee with sugar, I can't be sure. 

Fried Chicken & Corn Waffles

You know, I wanted to visit the cafe for their sourdough waffles. But then I got distracted by "Fried Chicken & Waffles" and failed to realise that the fried chicken is served with CORN waffles instead. I can't be sure if the base of the waffle is still sourdough or not, (can hardly taste any distinctive difference) but there's definitely bits of corn kernels tucked away inside the waffle, which was quite unnecessary for me. While both the HB and I love a good waffle that's TOTALLY CRISP on the outside and fluffy on the inside, ECC's corn waffles are soft and moist throughout. Oh well, taste wise it's still pretty good; but texture wise it's not my jam. 

It didn't help that their chef chose to serve the sides of spicy picked daikon directly on top of the waffle, which made that half of the waffle soaked through with the pickled juice and all soggy and semi-disintegrated. 

The fried chicken was also just normal, at best. Nothing fancy with their marinate flavour, nor exceptionally tender and juicy. 

And the verdict is, I will probably still want to revisit, just it's just to try out the sourdough waffles, as I've not seen one anywhere else (yet). But if you're asking if I will return for their coffee and fried chicken & waffles, I guess you should know my answer...

East Coast Commune is located at 1000 ECP, Marine Cove #01-03.

For more information, visit their website

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Mia Eats: Kumoya Singapore Themed Pop Up Cafes (Honest Review)

 From Miffy, to Snoopy, Care Bears, Tokidoki, Sesame Streets, We Bare Bears and very recently, Rilakkuma and Gudetama X Bad Badtz Maru. 

The plethora of different themed pop up cafes at Kumoya Singapore, how many have you gone for? 

How many should you go for? 

After having gone for 3 of their different themes (and 4 times, in total), I guess my answer to the question above is probably, ONE. Just once, if you're planning to visit just for the food. Well, at the very least, for my personal experiences with Miffy, We Bare Bears and GudetamaXBad Badtz Maru, I came to realise that they've adopted a 换汤不换药 (changing name without changing content) approach to their menus. 

Anyhow, let's see how the latest Gudetama X Bad Badtz Maru theme at their Jalan Klapa branch looks like! (Previous We Bare Bears and Miffy ones were lost/deleted as they're too long ago...). 

Unlike the other two themes I've visited, this time round they've local-fied the characters, simply by making them "speak" Singlish. 

While I have to say, "sian" is indeed very apt for Gudetama....

Perhaps "mai kancheong" would also be a better fit for Gudetama too? 

I have to say, out of 3 of the 4 times I've visited Kumoya, I've eaten the same dish that has taken on the appearance of a different cartoon character. And that's the steamed bun (mantou) burger with fries and side salad. 

And I have to say, the We Bare Bears and Miffy (not pictured) ones were slightly cuter as they're white and looks so much more squishy and fluffy. 

The taste of the mantou burgers were alright, pretty tasty, to be honest. But effectively, they're all seriously lacking in quality proteins (the meat fillet/patty they give in between the buns were MISERABLE, my palm size at best) and just out to fill you up with cheap carbohydrates (the WBB ones even had yet another smaller, PLAIN steam bun as a side. Can you believe it?!). 

Likewise for J's "breakfast platter" at the Gudetama X Bad Badtz Maru theme, her platter came with TWO thick toasts (rather well toasted, though) along with a tiny dish of scrambled eggs, two strips of rolled up bacon and a small/medium sausage. 

The HB went for pasta for both of my visits with him (WBB & Miffy). There's pasta available on their menu for all 3 themes I've visited, and frankly speaking I won't order them. Well, they're definitely decent plates of pasta, but by now we all should know that Kumoya is charging a "premium" price for the sheer IG-worthy cuteness of their dish plating/decor. But the cuteness and IG-worthiness of their pastas always pales in comparison to the other dishes available on their menu. This is also the reason why I'm always getting their mantou burgers whenever I visit, they're easily the cutest and most IG-worthy mains on their menu. 

And face it, if you're dropping by Kumoya, you're most probably #eatingforinsta, yes? No judgement here. 

And if you're visiting Kumoya, you absolutely MUST get their desserts/fancy drinks because they're always #toocutetoeat <3

This time round, we ordered their chocoball dessert, which is a white chocolate (coloured yellow, duh!) shell with a rojak of sweet treats hidden inside. Brownies, oreo cookies, butter cookies, marshmallows, diced fruits, fruit loops and a generous dollop of whipped cream welcomed us when we broke Gudetama's head with the small mallet that came along with the dessert. This is DEFINITELY meant for sharing, as it is SOOOOO CLOYINGLY SWEET. If only they can dye dark chocolate yellow to introduce some pleasant bitterness to cut into the overall sweetness; or perhaps just do a Bad Badtz Maru version of it to allow for a dark chocolate ball instead. J and I easily took twice as long to finish this 1 dessert together, compared to the time we took to finish our individual mains. Our chit-chatting aside, the surfeiting sweetness of this dessert just makes you need to stop for a rest, for the jerlakness to wear off, before you can get back to it again. 

For both WBB and Miffy, HB and I went for their fancy waffles as our dessert. And I shan't deny that I really loved them! Their waffles, although not exactly the best waffles I've ever eaten, were still crisp on the outside and fluffy in the middle, with a slightly sweetness to it. Likewise, for the chocolate ball, it's still meant for sharing though, looking at the ridiculous amount of sweet treats they pile on top of the waffle. 

So my final verdict, will I go back to Kumoya again? Hmm, who knows?! Maybe they'll launch a Disney collaboration next (hardcore Disney fan here!) and I'll definitely be dropping by again!

But to revisit for the actual food, nope. Why? Because you don't eat the same thing twice when doing it for the gram. 

Till then,

Mia Foo

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[Media Tasting] Nuevo Cafe SG

Located at the first level of an industrial building near SingPost Centre, Nuevo is an unassuming cafe set up by KitchenHub, a commercial kitchen equipment specialist, in April 2016 right next to their showroom in Eunos Avenue 3 with the intention to create and celebrate casual hearty food to share with the masses. 

We were there at a rather off-peak time of 4pm (to 6pm) and the cafe was still pretty packed! They very humbly attributed the crowd to the church located in the same building, but I later found out that it's really the quality of their food that counts. 

For a casual cafe establishment, Nuevo boasts a pretty impressive menu at extremely affordable pricing, and with a variety of food selections that differs slightly for weekdays and weekend. 

Their kitchen is located away from the cafe seating, right at the other end across the showroom. 

And over here, you can find the legendary acclaimed Josper Oven Grill. 

An oven and charcoal grill combined into one, Josper Grill simplifies the usual two step process of grilling our meat before finishing them off in the oven into one. This supposedly not only shorten the time taken for thick cuts of meat to be cooked, but also create wonderfully cooked meat that's tender and succulent on the inside. 

And here's the main highlight of the day, FOOD! Oh, glorious food! Nuevo Cafe has prepared a selection of their newly launched menu and signature dishes from both the weekday and weekend menu for the day. 

A rather impressive spread, eh? But thank goodness Nuevo has very thoughtfully portioned out the dishes into food-tasting friendly serving sizes so that none of our stomachs burst that day. 

But before that let's touch on their signature drink, the Iced Earl Grey Tea. 

Sweetened with honey instead of table sugar, the ice cubes that they've used for the drink are actually frozen cubes of the earl grey tea itself, hence you will never have the disappointing moment of realising that your tea has turned into plain water when all the ice cubes has melted after being left on the table for too long. 

One brownie point for the effort! 

And here's some of the dishes we've tried for the day that made a lasting impression on me. 

Potato Mochi

Mashed potato with mochi, camembert cheese & topped with teriyaki glaze

I friggin' love this appetizer, OMG. These are so good! Nuevo has simply taken 3 of my favourite food, potato, mochi and cheese and mashed them together into this delicious golden nugget that's deep fried till crispy on the outside but soft, gooey-chewy on the inside and bursting with oozing Camembert cheese. 

As a serious carb-monster, I could actually see myself ordering two servings of this and having them as my main, I'm not joking. 

Mentaiko Carbonara 

Linguine in mentaiko cream sauce with bacon, tobikko, parmesan and onsen egg

This is like an upgraded carbonara, packed full of flavour not only from mentaiko, but the addition of bacon, parmesan and tobikko also added a lot more savoury flavour to the pasta. Might be on the too-salty side if you always prefer a milder flavour. I mean, when you see bacon, tobikko and parmesan together, you should know the savoury factor is going to pack a punch. 

Kakuni Pork Rice Bowl

Japanese braised pork belly on pearl rice and served with pickled radish, pistachio furikake and onsen egg

I'm hardly a fan of pork, much less to say pork belly (hate the fats!) unless it's roasted and with crackling skin but this kakuni pork is so good! It didn't even taste like pork, to be honest. The meat was so tender and juicy, it was almost like the fats and lean meat layers has been cooked to melt into each other. The braising sauce also gave the pork so much flavour, you could really call this addictive. 

There's absolutely nothing to dislike about the pearl rice, which obviously tasted premium (yes, after working p/t in both Edo sushi & Genki sushi during my university years, I've learnt that not all Japanese pearl rice are made the same...), but I did have some tiny issue with the pistachio furikake, which had some really tough-crunchy bits here and there that hurt my sensitive teeth. 

But it's not you, it's me. I just need to take better care of my poor, weak teeth. 

Yakiniku Wagyu Rice Bowl

If you're still not sold for the kakuni pork and prefer beef, Nuevo also has a yakiniku wagyu rice bowl to satisfy your tastebuds. Look at how pink and juicy the wagyu slices are, they're literally glistening. 

Baked Salmon

Salmon fillet with miso butter sauce, served with mashed sweet potato and mesclun salad

Though tasty, I personally felt that the baked salmon was a tad dry but it could be due to the chef cutting the fish into smaller portions before cooking the fish, instead of cooking the fish as per usual serving size before cutting it up into smaller portions. 

But what's truly intriguing for this dish was the mashed (purple) sweet potato! Although I personally do love sweet potatoes, but the purple ones are always my least favourite as they always have this distinctive earthy soil taste. But Nuevo has not only managed to get rid of that unpleasant earthy taste, but made it taste exactly like a normal mashed potato, the usual rich and creamy texture and all. What magic is this?! 

Burnt Chicken

Chicken thigh in honey glaze, with shoestring fries and coleslaw

Taste wise, it is pretty standard, a savoury marinate with hint of sweetness from the honey glaze. But despite being "burnt", the insides of the meat remains extremely tender and succulent while the charred bits on the outside added a lot more depth to the flavour. 

Oh man, thank you, Josper Grill. 

And now, to their weekend brunch menu!

Croque Madame

Brioche with honey ham, parmesan, mozzarella, cheddar and mentaiko bechamel sauce, topped with fried eggs and served with mesclun salad, grilled tomato, duchess potato and pistachio furikake

I know, it seems huge, but I'm sure my greedy self can easily polish the plate clean (on my cheatday, of course!) because who doesn't like some thick, fluffy & buttery brioche toast with ham and a mixture of THREE yummy cheeses? And those duchess potatoes are so damn good (for a potato-lover like yours truly). It's probably piped mash potato that's deep fried, so the outsides were crisp while the insides were light and fluffy. <3 

Nuevo Breakfast

Brioche toast with cheese sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs and Japanese mushrooms, served with mesclun salad, grilled tomato, duchess potato and pistachio furikake

A huge, hearty platter of all things yummy, this is definitely the go-to choice for the starving. You can't go wrong with brioche, juicy cheese sausage, bacon and creamy scrambled eggs together on a plate. Having it looking so instagram-worthy just adds more brownie points to it.  

For fellow coffee addicts out there, you'll be glad to know that Nuevo does a pretty decent Flat White too! But those funky looking bubbles on the surface was due to me leaving it standing on the table for a little too long. Heh! 

Nuevo Cafe SG is located at 115 Eunos Ave 3, #01-01
for more information, visit their website HERE

Till then,
Mia Foo

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Mia's Review: Velvet Confectionery [Media Invite]

Over the weekend, I was really glad to be stuffed with nothing else but cakes, along with my blogger-buddies, Janel, OYHZ and Andrea over at Velvet Confectionery.

 Located at Watermark Condominium, near Kith Cafe, it's a pretty simple looking, 'no gimmicks' kind of bakery cafe that can give you a river view with pretty simple alfresco seatings. 

But I do agree that the nearby construction works and buildings are a big distraction to a potentially awesome chillax weekend, sipping a cup of coffee 'by the river'. 

With minimal decorations to the cafe, patrons are directly shown the best of what they've got to offer upon stepping into the cafe. Their selection of cakes for the day!

But of course, they do serve pretty good coffees, tea and even some sparkling sodas to quench your thirst on a hot day.

Floral Berry & Passionfruit Sparkling Soda

It's a pity the cute straw didn't work out very well, as it kind of melted down in the drink for it's actually a layer of paper wrapped over plastic.

The icy soda was truly a saviour in the unforgivably hot weather and the taste is actually very light and with just a slight sweetness of the berries flavour and with a hint of floral. 

And... here comes the cakes!

Nutella Cheesecake

This definitely has to be my favourite of the lot with it's soft, creamy texture of nutella flavoured cheesecake seated on top of a generously thick later of cookie crumbs based that tasted just like the oh-so-yummy caramalised biscuits. 

Plus, there's even a Ferrero Rocher to up the omph-factor. Can you imagine that?

Carrot Cake

One of their best sellers, this carrot cake is truly of a monstrous serving size! Not a fan of carrot cakes at all, because I believe they're savoury (Andrea did mentioned she has tried a carrot cake elsewhere that's more savoury than sweet too), this carrot cake did kind of surprised me for they're pretty sweet! Stuffed full of carrot bits, raisins and chopped walnut, this will indeed be a popular choice for those who love a sweet carrot cake!

Red Velvet Brownie

A layer of densely packed, moist and slightly chewy brownie with an equally thick cream cheese layer with beautiful red velvet swirls that's chocolatey and yet not overly sweet. A good choice for those cream cheese and red velvet lovers out there. 

Lemon Olive Oil Yoghurt Loaf

Baked without any butter, but substituted with olive oil and yoghurt, this is indeed their more diet-friendly choice for those ladies who's keeping a tight watch on their waistline and yet is losing a battle against their sweets-craving. The omission of butter has given this cake loaf a pretty dense and moist-crumbly texture while it's taste is very lemony, light and not too sweet.

And that's not all, for we also have some cute cupcakes!

Devilish Chocolate Cupcake

I had this with a cup of coffee (they have pretty good coffee too) the previous time I visited and it was a true comfort to my pretty bad (and rushed) day at work earlier. I mean, chocolate and coffee, how can this combination not lift up your mood, huh? 

The cake can be pretty dense when it's just served straight out of the fridge, so do leave it sitting around for a while before digging in. The chocolate cake is actually pretty light in taste by itself but makes a good match when paired up with the rich chocolatey frosting. 

 Blue Velvet Cupcake

This is just like a red velvet cupcake, made blue. Just like the chocolate cupcake, the cake itself taste really light while the cream cheese frosting packed in all the sweetness you'll need for a cupcake. 

Well, kind of sick of looking at a red velvet cake, why not have them blue instead? 

And just a behind the scene shot....

Oyhz came without the mother of my Samsung NX Mini (her big, pink samsung camera) and had to use her trusted iPhone to snap pictures instead. 

For the month of July, Velvet Confectionery will be giving a promotion for all my lovely readers out there. All you have to do is to follow them on Instagram (@velvetconfectionery) and quote "MollyMia" to enjoy your choice of cake with a cup of hot coffee (latte or cappuccino) or hot tea for just $10 on weekdays. 

Velvet Confectionery is located at 7 Rodyk Street, #01-30 Watermark @ Robertson Quay

Opens 1030am - 630pm (Closed on Tuesdays)

For more information, visit their Facebook HERE

Till then,

Mia Foo

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