MY TOP 5 CAFE DISCOVERIES (FEB-MARCH, 2019), SINGAPORE

'Concrete jungle where dreams are made of..', I know this isn't New York I'm talking about but it just seems to ring true for Singapore as much. Maybe replace concrete jungle with man made tropical jungle? I love Singapore and if you're an old reader, you have probably read my listicle on what to do in Singapore here and a little shoot that I did at The National Art Gallery of Singapore here. (If you're new, now is a good time as any to check out the above hyperlinks.) 
For a compulsory eater and instagrammer like me, a country that thrives on people's urges to eat out and drink out is ideal. I could go to Singapore every month and still not run out of new cafes and restaurants to try. Whether the shelf life of these cafes is even as much as the attention span of the viewers who find them on instagram, is a question for another day. For now, I'm quite set to take you through my top five cafe recommendations from Singapore (ranked and rated on a scale of 10 on the parameters of the food/drinks of course and very importantly, the 'grammability)

• BEARDED BELLA: Find it here. Somewhere between my love for pastels and a need for good coffee is the perfect cafe that is pretty, pink and whips up the finest freaking french toast. (10 points to Gryffindor for that alliteration). At an address that sounds as chic as the cafe, this place finds itself at the top of the list of cafes I discovered last month in Singapore and would 10/10 go back to for cute interiors (and exteriors), brilliant brunch food and a mean piccolo (in the CUTEST take away paper cup). 

          Food/drinks: 9/10

          Insta factor 10/10

• MERCI MARCEL: Find it here. If you are already judging me (and my brunch partner extraordinaire, my sister) for our french toast and avocado toast circa 2019 millennial-ish food choices, then wait till you get to the end of the list. It simply cannot be helped. The taste buds want what the taste buds want. This beautiful french cafe located in the hipster locale of Tiong Bahru faired surprisingly well on my list thanks to its al fresco dining option with the perfect amount of greenery and wooden patio furniture. The french toast had a nice crunch to it thanks to the addition of the almond flakes and the avocado toast and poached eggs were pretty yum (especially the bread) too.

          Food/drinks: 8/10

          Insta factor: 9/10

• COFFEE ACADEMICS: Find it here. Sometimes it's the flukes that land you in the cutest places (complete with neon signage et al). Scott's Square, one of the hippest shopping spots in Singapore is also home to this chill yet very cute in its details cafe. I also discovered that it's a chain that originated in HongKong. If the name wasn't a dead giveaway, they take their coffee seriously and my sister and I found ourselves (very conveniently, if I might add) seated right under the neon signage with the floral centre piece et al. I had this latte with agave pepper and it was particularly yum and our millennial (only in sensibility, not in age) selves also found ourselves ordering the passion fruit 'cruffin' (Croissant+Muffin, YEP it's a thing.) which was a pretty darn good combination of both its mama and papa.

          Food/drinks: 8/10

          Insta factor: 8/10

• SYMMETRY: Find it here. Symmetry comes with an automatic debit of cool brownie points thanks to its Australian sensibility. Again, the al fresco dining option automatically won my heart (hello, beautiful Singaporean architecture that involves colourful windows). We went quite crazy and ordered ourselves (beat it!) an avocado toast with truffled mushrooms (YAAAAAAS) (also, note the sarcasm) and a stack of pancakes (that I wouldn't reminisce much about, to be honest). The addition of the banana ice cream was cool but the pancake itself was forgettable. Our fresh juices came in cute Tiki style glasses (don't quite know how that fits in the vibe but we loved it none the less). 

          Food/drinks: 7/10

          Insta factor: 8/10

• PS. CAFE: Find it here. Some good things in life need refresher courses. If you read my first article about things to do in Singapore, you would have found my deep founded love for the PS. Cafe chains somewhere (all over) in there. So it seemed sort of unfair to let this one sit out this piece since the food quality and the general vibe of the cafe seems to be steadily consistent over the years. We went to the one on Harding Road and the larger than life floral centre pieces (and literally nothing else for decor) seemed to still hold its charm over me. It also helps that the menu is extremely elaborate and you can almost go wrong with nothing.

          Food/drinks: 9/10

          Insta factor: 7/10

Share the love with that one friend who is clueless about where to eat and is heading to Singapore. Or even if he/she knows, I promise I know better. My questionable brand of humour aside, I hope you enjoyed the piece. Don't forget to comment below if you have other suggestions and with your thoughts of course.

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