LONDON: Brunch at Lantana

Toasted banana bread with mascarpone, banana custard and salted chocolate crumb   

While my brunch partner and I squeezed into a little wooden table at Lantana between a group of indie hipsters (did I get that right?) and a sweet old couple, I wondered how I was going to snap my food shots with my huge camera without embarrassing us. Then again, it helps to be Asian in Europe. I could easily be classified as an over-enthusiastic tourist. 

I learnt two things from my trip to Lantana. 1. The devil is indeed in the details. 2. A few minutes out in the open can be lethal to a freshly toasted breakfast.  

My toasted banana bread (see first photo) came not only with a healthy dollop of velvety banana custard, but also salted chocolate crumbs. These artfully sprinkled sugary flecks gave each bite a lovely crunch that ever so subtly elevated the whole dish. What distinguishes Lantana from other brunch places isn't its service or interior - both of which have some room for improvement - it is the thoughtfulness that has gone into the planning of each dish. 

Nonetheless, with the slowly decreasing temperatures, I feel the food could have been served steaming hot rather than simply lukewarm. With the kitchen so far from the seating area this can be a difficult task but a plate warmer or heat lamp could go a long way. Eating french toast (see third photo) crisp and fresh from the toaster oven is infinitely more satisfying than eating it after a few minutes out in the open. While I enjoyed the banana bread at Lantana, I couldn't quite appreciate the maple french toast until I heated some of it up in the toaster oven at home and tried it again piping hot and devoid of the veritable sea of maple syrup it had previously been swimming in. 

My advice? Go to Lantana with an empty stomach and a craving for something rich and substantial. 

Corn fritters stacked with streaky bacon, fresh spinach and slow roast tomatoes served with smashed avocado, a poached egg and crème fraiche   

Maple French toast w streaky bacon, grilled banana and toasted pecans    

Lantana Cafe

13 Charlotte Place
Fitzrovia
W1T1SN
020 7637 3347

SINGAPORE: Open Door Policy

Roasted field mushrooms on toasted brioche with truffle puree

The appeal of Open Door Policy is it's location within Tiong Bahru with it's indie-style shops and cafes. It's not fantastically furnished, nor is it very spacious, but the food was a pleasant surprise. I'm crazy for anything with the word "truffle" on it - as long as I see it on a menu, everything else fades away and deep down I know, no matter what other options I may glance at, when the waiter arrives, the first words out of my mouth will be "truffle [insert dish name here], please". 

It's a hit and miss situation really. The chef may add too little truffle oil, or surrounding flavours may overpower the truffle, or a pasta's undercooked texture may distract from the truffle's aroma.  When done right, however, the truffle fuses perfectly with each ingredient's flavour, sinks into each texture and fills your senses with its fruity nuttiness with every mouthful. This is what I tasted in Open Door Policy's mushroom brioche with truffle puree. Mushrooms and spinach are a classic combination, and paired with truffle puree on fluffy soft brioche, the dish struck a delicate balance between simple and decadent. 

 

48 hour braised beef cheek with mochi potatoes, carrot puree & pea tendrils

Open Door Policy's beef cheeks flaked and melted onto the tastebuds like warm honey. I would have definitely roasted the carrots for longer though, so that they would caramelize and soften, before serving. 

One complaint would be that the cushions which pass for chairs (pictured below) shouldn't jut out past the actual wooden platform below them; it means the tables are uncomfortably far from the seat and pulling the tables nearer would make getting out of the seat a hassle. A minor detail but nonetheless makes all the difference to a dining experience. 

Other than that, ODP is the kind of place you can bring a friend to on a lazy afternoon and have coffee (and great tao sar bao) with afterwards at Forty Hands across the road. 

Open Door Policy

19 Yong Siak Street
(Yong Siak View)
Singapore 168650

Tel: +65 6221 9307

SINGAPORE: Group Therapy Cafe

You know how when you're hungry, everything tastes good? Well, I turned up absolutely starving at Group Therapy cafe and for once, my hunger did nothing to sugar coat the food quality. I had been pleasantly surprised by the warm colours and rustic-looking signs and plants that adorned the cafe and I was pleased to see that it was relatively empty at 10.30am so it was massively disappointing that each dish churned out was frustratingly mediocre. 

Some cafes thrive with carefully constructed dishes made by cooks with real passion, and some cafes simply exist to fill a demand as Singapore's cafe culture thrives. Group Therapy cafe undoubtedly belongs in the latter. Its recipes are sorely in need of an update: the avocado and smoked salmon sandwich went down like glue in my throat; the eggs benedict might have looked impressive but the hollandaise sauce was so cloying that I barely noticed the poached egg below. Though the eggs were warm, my sister commented that she'd visited Group Therapy cafe the previous afternoon and they'd served their eggs benedict with cold eggs. 

Group Therapy might have had potential with a certain charm, but atmosphere alone isn't enough to disguise the complete lack of passion or real investment in its food menu. 

BLT croissant plate 

Group Therapy's key lime crumble: a poor excuse for a dessert. 

Group Therapy Cafe

49 Duxton Road

089513