Cafe Review: Hidden Finds- Hummerstons

I used to think of Robertson Quay as the second Clarke Quay- back when Double O was occupying the corner space. The association wasn't a good one. Getting hit by army boys on their book out nights? -Shudders- And not to mention SPGs in skanky dresses and slutty heels preying on the expats? Eeew! Plus all those rowdy drunks from the nearby bars and pubs? Definitely not a place i wanna hang out at night.

I was surprised to find that the area has changed in the recent year (or at least i only discovered its change this year). Every place deserves a second chance right? That's when i realized that there are a lot of interesting restaurants providing a variety of cuisines such as Japanese, German, Italian, French etc. One of my favorites is Chikuwa-tei, which is along Mohd Sultan road. Ippudo Tao has also moved into the vicinity. Brasserie Wolf does good French food (had a tasting during Restaurant Week) and Brussel Sprouts is a must go for the sweet Belgian mussels. Oh and Laurent Bernard for their chocolate desserts. This is merely the tip of the iceberg. I reckon it would take me a good part of the year just reviewing every restaurant there!

The night and the day scene is quite different. I very much enjoy the laid back vibe in the lazy afternoons. Time seems to come to a standstill while you sip your tea and revel in the moment of peace and serenity. Now repeat after me, OHHMMmmm...

I chanced upon Hummerstons sometime in July, shortly after they opened. I was searching for a tea place one sleepy Sunday. Their banner caught my eye, only because they serve Papa Palheta's coffee. So i decided to give it a shot. I had a hard time trying to find the place and finally located it in a hidden corner on the 2nd floor. 

First impression- it felt like PS cafe. And it jolly well be because it was founded by former head chef of PS cafe, Bouk. Black and white interior checked. Huge chalkboard checked. Casual and comfort dining checked. Open kitchen concept checked. Sounds like a rip off? It certainly isn't. Now read on. 

What sets Hummerstons apart from PS cafe is the food. There is some hint of Latin America, a dash of Mediterranean and a sprinkle of Asian cuisine in the American dishes. Does that sound interesting, confusing or what? One example is the Smoked duck quesadilla ($26) which drew its inspiration from Mexican cuisine. I have yet to try this dish but it is one of their signature items. 

One of their most popular items is poutine. It is a Canadian dish of skin-on, hand cut fries (fried the kettle way) with lots of thick gravy. You can choose from a variety of add ons such as Monstreal (best seller, $19) which is topped with roasted mushrooms, pan-seared foie gras and grated Emmental cheese. What's there not to love right?? By now you would have figured that foie gras is one of my favorite dishes. Heh. Anyway I tried their Hangover Poutine on my first visit.

This is perfect hangover food. I have died and gone to fried, greasy, salty heaven (in the good way). This is no wonder my ass is the size it is. :( Anyway, this comes with sliced juicy sausages, mushrooms and poached egg with some cheese and lotsa gravy. I would have asked for more gravy if i didn't feel the bum spreading across my seat. :((

After introducing this hidden gem to my gf (who is also another skinny fat girl), we headed down for lunch soon after. And this time round, we had the foie gras profiteroles! The profiterole has to be one of the better ones around and the poofy/airy texture absolutely complemented the creamy foie gras. We were tempted to order another serving of this (it only comes in 2 pieces) but our liver was screaming for help. This is a MUST-TRY. Comes highly recommended.

Ordered the fish tacos for our main. Nice crunchy hard taco. As you know, i'm not a fish fan so i don't have much to say about this. The fish was succulent and not too dry, definitely not the hawker sorta fish and chip fillet. However, i felt that it may be a bit bland. Then again, i love savory food so this may be just right for you guys. Ms. Z thought it was fine though. 2 tacos, huge ass servings. I was stuffed by the end of it.

My stomach was stretched beyond its limits by then and we asked for recommendations of a 'lighter' dessert. My belief is that there is always space for desserts, no matter how full you are :) To my surprise, the server suggested the pumpkin cheesecake and he insisted that it's light. Verdict- it was really filling. Nothing light about it, other than the taste of the cheese. How can pumpkin, which packs in lotsa carbs, and cheese be a light combination right? I guess i wasn't in the right mind by the end of my mains so we just went ahead with it.  

It is a huge slab of cake and a thick graham based (tt was quite good). I was expecting it to be more cheesy (thank god it's not). The texture is dense but not in the typical NY cheesecake way but it maintains more of the pumpkin consistency. It's interesting but not my idea of a cheesecake. Then again, i'm picky when it comes to cheesecakes. Z thought it was good and she is also a picky desserts person. This comes highly recommended by I-S magazine too so it must be something. 

I asked them about their tea menu having seen it being mentioned on HGW and hence a 3rd visit was planned (within the same week in fact). However, the tea set was more than disappointing and we obviously gave them feedback on the dishes. The chef was still experimenting with the food but we were told that they will be scraping tea altogether. Wise choice i would say. My advice to any restaurant is to stick to what they do best and make it better. (Read about my thoughts on that here.)

To redeem themselves, we had a port wine fruit cake on the house and oh boy this is lovely! Fresh fruits and nuts soaked in port and then mixed into the cake batter resulting in a moist and dense texture. This is my dream fruit cake. I was secretly picking out the raisins and berries from the cake because they were so good! The choice of port is also a refreshing one because rum usually goes with raisin (maybe it's just another of my weird associations) but this went together perfectly.

I just headed back to Hummerstons with another gf for brunch. Hummerstons does a weekend brunch from 10-4pm, which is perfect for the lazy birds who want to sleep in on the weekends. You still get your worms here don't worry. V had the eggs benny (she likes the hollandaise sauce) and i had the Breakfast Tostada- very mexican with the tomato salsa and tacos. I like that the tacos are really crunchy even after soaking up all that salsa and juice from the eggs. Eggs were fine. Sausages were stellar as usual. For $16, i was thoroughly satisfied.

So yes, Hummerstons goes into my top list for chill out restaurants/cafes. They have a bar here as well so you can get drinks any time of the day. My choice of poison- Moscato. I only take sweet/dessert wines. 

Fingers crossed H wouldn't become too crowded for me. Please be considerate dear readers, do not go rushing to this place right now. Best if you guys can organize a timetable or something and do leave a slot on Sundays afternoons for me. :)

Hummerstons
11 Unity Street #02-14, Robertson Walk, Singapore
Tel: +65 6737 8863
Tue- Fri:12pm- Midnight
Sat: 10am - 2am 
Sun:10am - Midnight