Serangoon Gardens

Here's my mini-review of all the cafes in Serangoon Gardens, where I live. It is a place where the old and the new integrate with each other. Coffeeshops amidst al fresco cafes and wine cellars, retro joints and karaoke lounges amidst tribal shops and gelate counters. Man, what a place! Oh, it can get a little 'sian' because I've been living there since 1979 but it's the atmosphere that gets to me. Even a friend who moved to Yishun feels the same way too. My personal preference is Cafe Cartel for its food.

Cafe Cartel is known for its food but can get a tad too noisy due to its roaring business. It is really an offspring of the one in New York. There is al-fresco dining here due to its large space and location at the "Mini Holland Village". Oh man, the food here is awesome but eating there too often can make the food seem 'sian' after a while.

I recommend the Supreme Platter, consisting of different varieties of fried snacks, to be shared with at least a friend. It has Country Chicken Nuggets, Calamari, Cheese Munchers, waffle potatoes and crab claws. It is served with Tartare Sauce and Wasabi Mayonnaise, which is always a hit. Those with a weakness for fried food must try to resist it or at least ask for less oil. It would be good if there were Scallops too. The potatoes are not as good compared to the rest of the items. You can order the individual items on their own too. The Calamari comes with Scallops as a combo.

The main courses are huge, more for male eaters. There is usually a set dinner based on them. The salads don't seem to make much of an impression. There're lasagnes, pastas and macaronis too. There's a huge piece of melted browned cheese on top of the macaronis, good for cheese-lovers. The pastas are fantastic. I recommend the Teriyaki Beef Pasta, with streaks of beef, peppers and the pasta swimming in teriyaki gravy. I also recommend the Pasta Marinara, with prawns, calms and squid on pasta in a tomato-based sauce. This is awesome! Even someone who does not like Italian food gave this the thumbs-up! The Pepper Fish Pasta is good too, with substantial pieces of fish though a tad too dry. The Pan-fried Linguine is another item to try though I don't really like the way the chicken is done. The Carbonara Pasta is good as well but it would be good to ask for less cream. This is applicable to the Ham and Mushroom Pasta as well.

As for desserts, the waffles are "oishi!" and the brownies are big. I recommend the Tropical Zest drink, which is a blend of orange and mango with ice. It is "woo wee!" esp good for Vitamin C intake. The Spider Drinks are not really worth the price, I feel. There are set lunches on a daily basis, with pasta included as one of the courses. There are breakfast sets too, perfect for a lazy Sunday morning. It closes at 1am on Saturdays, which suits nightowls with rumbling stomachs just fine.

Ice Cube is the newbie on the block but is small and serves more of desserts and drinks. I recommend the Calamari Rings and the exotic flavours of ice-cream. It opens at 1pm and closes in the wee hours of the morning. The desserts are varied and original too.

CBTL is obviously known for its coffee lattes but there are fruit teas and non-coffee drinks too. A variation of Cafe Cartel's Tropical Zest is the Sunrise drink. It is orange blended with milk. The wonderful thing about CBTL is the kids' sizes offered when you order drinks. There is food here too. The cakes are worth taking a second or even a third look at. The chewy cookies are big and tasty as well. I recommend the Chinese Chicken Salad, which is big chunks of lean chicken served with vegetables cut into bite-size pieces, topped with a delectable plum sauce and 'pok zai', the crackers served with Yu Sang at Chinese New Year. It is filling and can make a meal. There are low-carbo items too, which are basically sandwich fillings actually. They may appear simple but are good for the health-conscious and are delicious too. The linguine is good too, with tomato-based sauce. You can order it plain like this or add chicken. The prices of the pastas are much cheaper than Cafe Cartel's. Here, it is below $10 as compared to Cafe Cartel's above $10 prices. It can get crowded and noisy though.