White Dog Cafe, Vivocity

My friend Guitarboy and I chanced upon this quaint sounding cafe while looking for a lunch place at Vivocity. The White Dog Cafe boasts spectacular views over the waterfront. We were lucky enough to secure seats that directly face Sentosa (at the expense of being distracted by staff walking in and out of the door to the balcony). I ordered the Classic Beef Burger with an Iced Chocolate; Guitarboy decided on the Aglio Olio with bacon and extra mushrooms.

The Classic Beef Burger (a White Dog Signature Dish) was a 'The Works' style burger. I couldn't fit it into my mouth! Definitely a burger that requires cutting up. Or if you're the barbarian type, both your little pinkies need to be extended a full 90 degrees in order to successfully perform the Burger Hold.   

The beef patty was the BEST PART of the burger. Succulent, handmade, tender - all the things a proper beef patty should be. The bun was definitely fresh as well. Unfortunately, the vegetables in the beef burger didn't seem to be fresh. This problem was easily solved though! Also - I'm a fan of oozy eggs. Poached, Sunny side up, Oozy scrambled eggs - <3. This egg didn't ooze. At All. :(

Fries: Normal chunky cut potato goodness. However, they were slightly cool when the dish arrived. Dislike! The fries also lacked seasoning of any sort (although some might take this as a plus since they can salt & pepper the fries as they wish). 

Salad was served with a dollop of Thousand Island - nothing special although the vegetables were definitely fresher than the veggies in the burger. 

The Iced Chocolate was frothy... and sweet. REAL sweet. And it's not a rich sort of sweet that you get at Max Brenner's. My blood sugar definitely hiked even higher than normal because of this ... not worth it! 

All in all, I would think that there are many other establishments to visit and eat at if you're at Vivocity. As it is, I doubt I will be paying White Dog Cafe a second visit. 

Recommended for: Large Groups, Chill Out

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White Dog Cafe
1 Harbourfront Walk
#02-131/132 VivoCity
S(098585)
Tel: 6376 9970

Opening Hours
Daily: 11.30 AM - 9.45 PM

The Royals Cafe, Siglap

The Royals Cafe has occupied its spot along the cafe strip of Upper East Coast Road for a number of years now. I've had the opportunity to visit a couple of times, but since I haven't had a meal there for a while I decided to have dinner there today (and blog about their famous Nyonya Mee Siam at the same time). Mee Siam is a favorite dish of mine - I can eat it for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner. Almost every place I've eaten at interprets Mee Siam in different ways. I prefer mine swimming in spicy gravy with just a touch of lemongrass and lime! How about you?

What Style of Mee Siam do you prefer?

 The Royals Cafe was quiet when I arrived at 7.30PM (it was a Monday, after all). Normally, the atmosphere is quiet noisy as it tends to be a popular spot for students in the afternoons and families on the weekends. For dinner, I ordered the Mee Siam ($4.90) and Ice Latte ($3.50). The Ice Latte arrived first (pictured below). For $3.50, it wasn't bad indeed! I suspect that I would have enjoyed it, if I hadn't gotten a dodgy straw (it had a hole along the side somewhere, which made it impossible to properly drink the beverage). Instead of bothering the wait staff, I simply inverted the straw - voila! Except I ended up getting foam on my fingers and realized (to my disgruntlement), that the wait staff hadn't provided paper napkins yet.

The Mee Siam arrived around 10 minutes later, with the cutlery and paper napkins (finally!). I unceremoniously dumped the entire plate of chilli provided into the bowl and stirred it into the soup. Unfortunately for me (!!!), no lime was provided /sadface/. The vermicelli was cooked to a nice consistency with a little springiness left to the noodles. The gravy was flavorsome and thicker than usual - I found it to be less spicy than the version offered in most kopitiams. In fact, the thickness of the gravy fell somewhere in between the normal Mee Rebus and Mee Siam gravy (in my opinion). I would have liked it to be more spicy, but other than that, I had no complaints really. Tau Pok, Hard Boiled egg and prawns also featured as part of the dish (strangely enough, the prawns didn't seem out of place). 

I wouldn't call this place a fave hangout - but hey, if you're looking for cheap eats with air con and nice dessert, you definitely have to stop by The Royals Cafe. Other than the Mee Siam, The Royals Cafe in Siglap also serves mini pies, gelato and other baked treats. I've tried a few other items on their menu (both asian and western) - and to be honest, I probably wouldn't repeat the experience. The Mee Siam was definitely good, but their other dishes were quite a let down - for some strange reason, they reminded me of Secondary School Canteen Food.

Definitely try their cakes! My brother is a fan of their Chocolate Banana & I adore the Chocolate Mint slice. A favorite amongst regular customers is the Dark Chocolate Truffle, which simply melts in the mouth, leaving behind a slightly bitter yet refreshing chocolate taste on the palate. My brother ordered their 1.5 KG Chocolate Banana Cake for his birthday and on another occasion, my friend ordered the 1.5 KG Dark Chocolate Truffle for a small celebration - each time, no leftovers remained! I daresay I will be returning for their sweet treats :)

Recommended for: Family, Large Groups, Chill Out


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The Royals Cafe
19 Upper East Coast Road
Crescendo Building
(beside Jalan Tua Kong)
Tel: 6445 6457

Opening Hours
Daily: 7.30 AM - 11 PM