I am heavily influenced by Monocle, I believe that Monocle is more than just a media. It is a lifestyle. Given the opportunity to visit the Monocle Cafe in London, as an avid follower, I had the urge to check out the cafe myself.

Nestled in the Marylebone neighbourhood, the Monocle Cafe embraces the classic essence of Monocle - simple, hipster, diversely global and refreshing.



The interior is noticeably narrow. Extra seats are available on the lower ground, however the entire cafe is designed in a minimalist fashion that you won't feel cramped up despite the lack of space. They have a basic menu and a typical range of coffee selections.


On our table, we had chicken katsu sandwich, Scandinavian breakfast, flat white and latte to start our day. Overall the food was great, the coffee was average and the service was acceptably fast. This place is a cafe for everyone. Whether you're with friends for a meet-up or a writer looking for a caffeine fix, it fits those moments you're looking for. And, definitely, it makes every Monocle fans feel at home.


Location:
18, Chiltern Street, London

Opening hours:
Mon-Wed 7am til 7pm
Thu & Fri 7am til 8pm
Sat 8am til 8pm
Sun & Bank holidays 8am til 7pm

Price range:
£3 - £10

Red - Rosella cream, beetroot cake, watermelon, dragon fruit, strawberry

Red, literally invites everything "red" on the plate. This is the mildest dessert of all, that is why it's also the starter. P/S: I never thought beetroot cake is THAT good?! The cake is so fluffy and light like a pink sponge with a hint of beetroot, which is really easy to consume! Surprise, surprise, coming from a person who dislikes beetroot.

Pandanbert - Pandan panna cotta, salak ice, kacang hijau, pear

This idea came from Camembert cheese... The round container is made out of pandan leaves, the panna cotta has a nice pandan aroma and I actually prefer it without the mung bean. The mung bean is overpowering the pandan flavour of the pudding so I thought it's nicer and more refreshing without it. And no there is no cheese in this dessert... 

White Chocolate, Black Heart - Cocoa butter cake, tamarind, kemangi sorbet, injin meringue

This is one confusing plate but it balances really well - a mixture of strong flavours and subtle sourish and anything with meringue hardly disappoints.

Taro Card - Taro Pudding, toasted coconut gelato, jackfruit, soy meringue

The jackfruit cake is lightly torched for the roasted flavour, topped with a scoop of milky coconut ice cream (it's not the regular light coconut ice cream), served with passionfruit for the sourish taste and topped with coconut flakes. A combi between coconut and jackfruit creates a very tropical feel and taste.

The Sugar Refinery - Coconut nectar chantilly, chocolate toblerone, soursop, Balinese meringue

This is also another confusing dish. It has chocolate and it's sour. Creamy, chocolate, and sourish from the soursop sorbet. I really like the meringue, it says Balinese meringue and has this light unique taste...

Gingerbread Man - Sorghum pain d'epice, passion fruit curd, crackjerjack, long pepper

It's basically a different way of serving gingerbread with a texture of a cake. I never like gingerbread to begin with so this is probably my least favourite of all. Don't get me wrong, it's actually very good and that's why I ate more than usual - I usually won't take more than a scoop as I prefer ginger to go with savoury dishes more than desserts!

Ghostface Keller - Doughnut, Reblochon cream, papaya, apple tatin, cocoa nibs

The ghostface was my favourite for the night... It was the one with the most unique taste. The white stuff on the doughnut is cheese. The cheese may have a cream cheese texture but no it tastes nothing as good as cream cheese, it's like eating rotten cream cheese. But if you eat it together with the papaya and apple tatin, the odd taste is covered. It creates whole different taste, it makes this doughnut so heavenly - the combi of sweet, savoury with a creamy touch is there. OMG I could have this all day!!!!!!!

Caramel Tea Brulee - Caramel, black tea, cardamom, sea salt

Very nice brulee texture with a hint of tea, cardamom and salt. I've had foie gras brulee before, I'm sure I can handle this one!

Season 6 Finale - every dish is carefully prepared and they are all too beautiful to eat!!

Menu changes every 6 months...

Don't let the entrance yet to you - it looks like a factory but it's more than just a factory!

Likes: Very creative "fine dining" desserts to substitute a full fledged meal, friendly service, creative cocktails, cocktail pairing available 

Dislikes: I can't think of anything that I do not like here - everything's too fine, from food to friendly service! Perhaps the only downside is the location... You'll have to travel all the way to Ubud for it!

Conveniently located at Orchard Road, in Mandarin Gallery. I couldn't recognise the entire place; we used to go to Mandarin Orchard a lot until MBS popped up. I can barely remember the old Mandarin anymore.. Jeez, I've got to stop relating it what it was a decade ago. 

La Rose (SGD12)

I would definitely come here just for their cakes though. The cakes are more worthy than their brunch plates for sure. The La Rose is filled with chocolate mousse, which is normally something I would avoid as I would choose anything but chocolate. This turned out to be a pleasant surprise, the cake is very smooth and not too sweet for me.

Likes: Love how pretty the cake looks; it looks and tastes good too. 

Dislikes: Will definiteley not have brunch here anymore.

Antoinette  
333A Orchard Rd,
Singapore 238897
+65.6836.9527
Opening Hours
Daily 11am - 10pm
Antoinette's Page
Antoinette on Facebook

Crispy Profiteroles (RM23)

Crispy indeed, stuffed with salted caramel ice cream that melts SUPER fast. You need to be really quick if you want to take photos of it!

Red Wine Poached Pear (RM29)

I came for this - but I think I like the profiteroles more. The pear is definitely perfectly poached with red wine, but I guess it tasted too weird for my likings. It's bitter sweet and one thing for sure, they are not stingy with the wine!

Likes: Very nice place to chill (probably better at night). Desserts are a little pricey but I believe they also deliver quality.

Dislikes: The place itself is a little warm so it was a little uncomfortable to sit any longer, could perhaps work on the air-conditioning...

Foo Foo Fine Desserts' on Facebook

Red Bean (RM5)

We came here after at dining at Goon Wah which turned out to be a mess (expensive meal, terrible service, and we did not want to order more so we left - Goon Wah, not Lean's). Which turned out to be a good choice.

Barley Gingko (RM5.50)

Their tong sui is slightly pricier - you'll notice that you pay only around RM2-3 or so by the street but you're paying a lot more here. It's basically like home cooked tong sui. Barley and gingko came with loads of gingko, so they deliver not just quality, it also fetches the value.

Mak Chuk (RM5)

It's more expensive but I felt it was worth paying for - all tong sui I've tried are all rich and thick. It's not some diluted craap you pay for a cheaper price. I don't normally take Mak Chuk but it was surprisingly good. It was so thick i had to share this bowl, can't finish it by myself.

Chee Cheong Fun (RM6)

After being cheated by Goon Wah, I thought this RM6 noodles was much more worth paying than what we had in Goon Wah.

Likes: A little pricier but it's worth paying for. Plenty of choices

Dislikes: Plenty choices.. but almost every visit they run out of things I want to order, could probably work on that since they provided choices they should have it ready