Hey all,
Our first visit to Time Out’s breakfast of the year, Epicurious, left us feeling slightly frustrated. After a couple months of sampling other breakfast options around town, the timing seemed right to venture back and see if possibly our expectations were too high before, it was a bad day, someone was sick etc…

I have to say, short of one recurring mistake, this time Epicurious was completely redeemed.

This time we went with the breakfast gang so more dishes were ordered and sampled. I think Epicurious is made for this kind of breakfast. If you’re busy talking with friends, joking, laughing enjoying the early morning breeze…the timing of the food is perfect.

Service was notably better this time around as well. Our servers filled our water bottle probably 15 times during the meal, remembered everyone’s orders and placement, and were really on top of things. This was almost a complete 180 from our first visit.

Joe, our “eggs benedict guy”, ordered up his usual….finally an eggs benedict actually served on an english muffin! According to Joe these were the best he’s had in Singapore, and good for him, they’re also about 10-15 SGD less than the other offerings.

Kalpana had the smoked salmon. Good flavor, but if you’re not a huge fan of capers you might steer clear of this one as the flavor can be a bit intense if you’re not expecting the salty punch these little guys carry.

I went with the burrito again. Don’t know why I didn’t venture out. It was the same as last time…not great, but not bad in any way as well. I still wish they’d use a spicier chorizo and have more chunks throughout the burrito….also maybe a zesty cheese in there as well. But then again, I lived in Santa Fe for three years eating green chilli enchiladas for breakfast, green chili cheeseburgers, and even green chili fettuccini Alfredo (won’t be repeating that one)… so maybe my Latin food cravings don’t represent most folks tastes.

Lyan ordered the baked eggs and toast soldiers. The taste of the eggs was good, but the toast soldiers were basically hunks of bread.. Lyan felt a bit let down…he really wanted little soldier formed out of bread

I can’t remember who ordered the pancakes, but they were fluffy and fresh. I think the next time I go I’ll be ordering these guys. They just look like the perfect start to a Sunday.

The only downside to the breakfast was once again the Hobb’s Choice. Surely lightning wouldn’t strike twice…it did. But less so this time. The eggs came out runny the first time. The server promptly took the plate back and within a few short minutes Joanna had perfectly cooked eggs (she prefers fried but not runny).

Coffees, OJ, and Teas were all fresh and fast. The serving of tea comes in a tea press which is a nice touch.

We ordered desserts of brownies and ice creams and various other menu items, but by this point the conversation was rolling, jokes flying across the table, bellies full, cravings for afternoon naps creeping up on us…I just didn’t have it in me to take any more pictures (or maybe I just forgot, but the above sounds better I think).

In the end we left the restaurant full, happy, and with remarkably thicker wallets than from other brunch places. After starter drinks, mains, desserts, finishing coffees, etc we still only came out to about 30 SGD a head. That’s a pretty remarkable deal in Singapore now that we’ve seen some of the other options out there.

Epicurious
#01-02 The Quayside
60 Robertson Quay
Singapore 238252
Telephone:  +65 6734 7720

Note: Breakfast starts at 9am Saturday and Sunday. No reservations for weekend breakfast.

Located a bit outside the more populated sections of Dempsey Hill, PS Cafe feels remote in it’s lush natural surroundings. Thankfully the setting is calm and relaxing because our meal there took quite a bit of time.

Part of that was on us. We came to a restaurant with a solid reputation for Sat/Sun brunches at a peak brunch time, but still… without reservation we had a 45 minute wait for a table (quoted 30). That wasn’t so bad, what was bad was the overall service. We had to wait another 15 minutes or so to order. During our wait for the table we had all but memorized the menu, so could have ordered as soon as we made contact with the seat.

When the food came it was great. I seem to be on an insatiable quest to find the perfect burger in Singapore and PS Cafe’s “Brunch Burger” is one of the best I’ve found so far – as it should be for 29 SGD!. It’s a Wagyu/beef blend burger topped with fried egg, bacon, wilted spinach,  and Camembert cheese on a great bun. The fries that come with it are nice wedges and served with a special aioli sauce that had an essence of lemongrass to it… a really solid meal.

Our visitor from Germany had the eggs benedict. She said they were nicely done, but suffered slightly since the muffin wasn’t toasted.

Stephen and Allexia shared a plate of the PS Big Bacon and Eggs and the Blueberry Pancakes. The fried egg came out cooked wrong but they quickly replaced and nailed it on the second attempt. Bacon was well cooked and not too crispy or too soggy. The pancakes were a bit of a miss though and can easily be skipped.

Joanna went with the PS Breakfast Club Sandwich, I think lured by the Turkish bread. Good sandwich and great baked beans.

PS Cafe has a lovely location, food (minus the pancakes) that’s actually worth the prices asked, and only misses  a complete, enthusiastic recommendation due to the service. If I’m wanting to have a relaxing Saturday brunch with friends I don’t want to break conversation every few minutes as I attempt to flag down an obviously overworked waiter who can’t manage his section. But if you venture out a bit later the crowds were dissipating and I think it would be a great experience.

I will go back (later or earlier) as there’s more to try. None at the table sampled any of the teas from the large tea slection being offered. We also were too full from our generous portions to tackle one of the insanely large slices of cakes and brownies – these things were the size of Stephen King novels!

PS Cafe
28B Harding Road (Dempsey Hill Area)
90708782