My Halal Fork n Spoon

In the heart of the famous Arab Street (in vicinity of Bugis) in Singapore, lies a wonderful alfresco cafe that serves awesome burgers, creative and delicious mocktails. While some of my friends love the cakes, especially the rainbow cake (I have never tried them because I am not a fan of cakes - but hey if you are and you think their cakes are wonderful - or not, please add on a the comments section), I absolutely loooove their burgers and drinks. [Update: They have a new more comfortable outlet at Our Tampines Hub! what a beautiful time to live in the East! :D]

I have personally been there several times, and I have been lucky to get seats each time. It gets pretty crowded over weekends and meal times. Throughout 2014 to 2015, the cafe has expanded, and that is a good sign. Oh do take note that there is no halal certification because the owner is a muslim (see their website and humble beginnings here). They got good service too (staff are friendly and kinda hipster)!

You got to try the mojitos and creative drinks like the bushramint. pricey, but it is really good and refreshing and I must say it is worth the price.

I did not really fancy the hot drink options. I tried the mocha sometime back in early 2014 and.. it was not nice in my opinion. Hopefully they have improved on their hot drinks now, but I did not want to try it again as I am afraid to get disappointed (but if you have tried it and liked it, let me know and I probably will try it again). [Update: I have tried it again in 2018 at the Tampines outlet, and it was again a bit too sweet for my liking. So, no]

They have an okay selection of desserts. I hope they can come up with more interesting options in future. According to most reviews (see list below), you may want to try the rainbow cakes too.

It is priced like most cafes but I say, it is worth the price. Especially when you have the option to share with a fellow friend. :) full menu can be found on their website. It is quite popular, hence the crowd, so you cannot really chill there too long without feeling guilty.

My ratings:

Overall: 8/10

- great place to chill with good food, drinks and a mosque around the corner!

Read other reviews / information on I Am.. at:

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There was a alot of talk about Sarah's the Pancake Cafe when it first opened in 2014 at the new East Village Mall. So I was one of those who really wanted to try! i am not a fan of pancakes but I am a fan of cafes and all day breakfast. On their door, it is mentioned that the last order was 930pm, the first time I was there it was 925pm and they were already closing. They politely turned me away. Oh wells I guess it was not my luck that day.

So I was there again, this time on a Sunday afternoon. It was crowded and seems popular. There were the savoury and the dessert options - which was a good thing to find and it was halal, so I was sooo excited.

I was a little disappointed with the dessert options as I was not able to decide on any. I am quite fussy, and I could not find a single dessert option without anything that I did not like. I hated the fact that I could not choose my own toppings and the options for toppings are fixed.

So I went to savoury options, I was pretty hungry so was looking forward to smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on pancakes called the Benedict (I mean you cant go wrong with such an option). Was soooo happy to know that they serve hollandaise sauce too!! but in the end I was quite disappointed.. the salmon was wayyy too dryyy (cant they tell the texture??) and the hollandaise sauce was too buttery-eggy for me. the pancakes were decent - light and fluffy though.

At first I thought maybe I tried too many nice smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce overseas, but after alot of thinking, I decided, no, this was bad.

Throughout the time  I was there, there was a strong smell and abit of smoke from the kitchen. My experience was not that good. The pasta my friend bought was not too good either (I refuse to take a photo of that). I really dont understand why there is really a crowd, probably the dessert options are better (I read that the fusion pancakes of chendol and pancakes are good - so you can try that), but I dont think I am going again soon, unless someone tells me otherwise. Hope they improve their savoury options soon to match their prices, and I am hoping that it was just my order that they did not do well on.

If you wish to try, check out their Facebook here.

Overall: 4/10

- its okay, ill go elsewhere

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For you ignorant souls out there, there are VERY VERY few halal-certified established cafes in Singapore. And coffee bean made history by becoming Halal-certified in the past few years. (other cafes include Cafe Galilee in national libraries, and hmm, is that it?).

My ratings:

Overall: 9.5/10
- try it or regret it

Read other reviews / information on Coffee Bean (Yogurt) at:

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[updated - 2015: outlet is no longer at Eastpoint Mall]. Find them at Joo Chiat or Changi City Point - see location at end of post]

If you are an eastie, Eastpoint is definitely one of the malls that you will definitely should head to should you want to look for alot of Halal-certified places. There are more places, and delicious ones especially to look out for.

This time we surveyed Istanbul Gourmet. Located at the first floor of the mall in Simei. The mall is located just next to Simei MRT station. You won't miss it if you can read this blog. Haha.

It is a small food place, barely bigger than a typical dessert place. Hence I think it is more apt to be called cafe rather than a restaurant. As it is pretty small, the place is quite hard to find, you have to open your eyes wide enough to see it. The eating area is extremely limited, with only 3-4 round outdoor tables that can accommodate 3-4 persons each, and a bar-like indoor seating area. The ambiance indoor, due to the bar-like seats, seems like a flashback to the good'ol 70s-80s.

However due to the limited seating space and the crowd at peak hours (ie lunch and dinner times), you will find ourselves easily disappointed if you come in a group. Even a couple may require some waiting time if you do not wish to share your seating place with others.

Serving Mediterranean (Middle Eastern and Turkish food) like kebabs and garlic rice, injected with local flavours such as laksa, Istanbul Gourmet is arguably most exotic in the eastern heartland of Singapore.

Service is average, and acceptable. no complains :)

Although the menu is not very vast, as with the size of the cafe, the menu contains enough variety that will ensure that one will definitely be able to make a decent choice. Plus, the serving is highly generous!

We managed to try these after waiting for a few minutes for empty seats.

Chicken with Mediterranean rice (pardon me, i forgot what is the name of the dish). 

Very filling! Looks good eh!

I have also tasted the Fish n Chips and other dishes as well. Not too bad. Like I said, it is something different in the east!

Expect to pay about $4-$15 per pax for a full meal.

p.s. Good news for those of you who are internet savvy. Istanbul Gourmet is on Four Square!

[update - 2015: they now have their own website and they are also on Facebook here]

My ratings:

Overall: 7/10

- you have got to try it!

Read other reviews / information on Istanbul Gourmet at:

Find it at (updated 2015):