Quirky Breakfast Hipster Cafe
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 5
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 6
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $20 per person.
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Joining the ranks of Hipster cafes is Drury Lane Cafe, named after the street in London where the Muffin Man (in the popular nursury rhyme) lives. Not surprisingly then, Drury Lane Cafe offers a variety of promising home baked muffins and pastries, ranging from classics to quirky twists. Drury Lane Cafe is also popular for its all day breakfast / brunch, and artisan coffee.
Ambience at Drury Lane Cafe differs depending on which level you dine in. The first floor is brightly lit by natural sunlight due to the glass panelled entrance, and the decor of coffee bags and wooden crates lend an air of ecological friendliness. But the smell of cooking in the poorly ventilated first floor means you'll walk away with smells on your clothing.
In contrast, the second floor of Drury Lane Cafe is spacious and well ventilated, perfect for cozy, intimate dining. However, the second floor is also dimly lit, almost dark in some areas, save for seats near the windows. Also, some parts are unclean and poorly maintained.
Service at Drury Lane Cafe is decent. Order at the cashier, but food will be served to you, especially if you're at the second floor. Staff are young, mostly students working part time, but friendly, chirpy, polite and helpful.
Food at Drury Lane Cafe revolves around London / Melbourne inspired all day breakfast / brunch, mostly western style items. Classics like the Big Breakfast or Baked Eggs make an appearance, but often with creative names (Cloud 9.4, Big 94, 94 Goes Green) derived from the Drury Lane Cafe address, 94 Tanjong Pagar Road.
Drury Lane Cafe has a small 'specials' menu, which feature 3 or 4 house breakfast creations. The specials menu is changed weekly, and seems to be a platform for the chef to experiment with different combination of breakfast ingredients.
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Hipster touches lend a quirky atmosphere, but the dim interior upstairs is totally unsuitable for a breakfast place.
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| Drury Lane Cafe Seating |
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| Coffee Bag Wall |
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| Boxes And Table |
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| Drury Lane Cafe Table Decor |
Pay As You Wish Muffins! Pay as much, or as little as you wish! (Don't be stingy!) Their water is served in a bottle which reminds me of traditional Chinese medicine bottles...
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| Pay As You Wish Muffins |
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| Water |
The Mocha (SGD $4.50) and Latte (SGD $4.50) here are pretty good, above average in terms of taste. Well balanced strength, with a fragrant aroma, and a slightly thin body. But the Latte art is beautiful and well executed, though their range seems a bit limited.
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| Mocha |
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| Latte 01 |
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| Latte 02 |
Decent Hot Chocolate (SGD $4.50), medium richness and thickness. Also love the chocolate art!
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| Hot Chocolate 01 |
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| Hot Chocolate 02 |
The simple and rustic Smoked Salmon With Mushroom Sandwich (SGD $8) features buttered and sauteed fresh button mushrooms. Glad it's not the canned variety. The smoked salmon seems to be from a packet though. Both pair well with the warm, crisp bread / toast.
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| Smoked Salmon With Mushroom Sandwich 01 |
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| Smoked Salmon With Mushroom Sandwich 02 |
Kaya Toast Eggs Benedict?! Why not? Singaporeans already eat runny soft boiled eggs with kaya toast, so why not pair runny poached eggs with kaya toast instead? The combination is so simple and common sense once you see it, it makes me wonder why no one else has ever tried it before!
The Kaya Toast Eggs Benedict (SGD $11) are a weekly special on the menu, and is not always available. The poached egg complements the sweetness of the kaya, and the crisp toast is perfect for soaking up the runny yolk. I didn't get the addition of the sliced processed cheese on top though, the taste is similar with or without it. Would be better if they used fresh cheese instead.
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| Kaya Toast Eggs Benedict 01 |
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| Kaya Toast Eggs Benedict 02 |
The Candy Bar Pie (SGD $5) is a decadent dessert pastry filled with peanut butter nougat and salted caramel on a graham cracker biscuit crumb crust and topped with chocolate glaze and a salted pretzel. Intensely sweet and nearly impossible to finish by oneself, this is better off shared.
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| Candy Bar Pie 01 |
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| Candy Bar Pie 02 |
Cracked the crust of the Salted Caramel Tart (SGD $5) and watched the sticky sweet caramel and chocolate topping ooze out... A slow, beautiful waterfall of sugary dessert goodness!
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| Salted Caramel Tart 01 |
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| Salted Caramel Tart 02 |
The Carrot Cake (SGD $6) has a soft, sponge cake texture, with rich cream cheese frosting, and bits of carrots within the cake that result in a flavourful and satisfiying dessert.
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| Carrot Cake |
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CONVERSATION