Ms Skinnyfat

A Food & Travel Blog from Singapore

Cafe Review: Hidden Finds- Five & Dime

By Saturday, March 03, 2012 , , , , , , , ,

Brunch recommendations for the weekend! Five & Dime is a new eatery that has popped up in the River Valley area at the most unexpected spot next to some Chinese association or temple of sorts. When i looked at the address, i thought it would be located nearer to Robertson/Mohd Sultan but it's farther down nearer to the residential area. 

The concept of Five & Dime is a modern take on the 60′s diner experience without being saturated in nostalgia or overly trend based. The black and white, wood and tile combination is a classic look that would withstand the fickle mindedness of the consumers and movements in the design field. The space is pretty small, be sure to make a reservation (it was crowded when we got there on a Sunday afternoon).

It's surprisingly comfortable at the counter area (we sat there while waiting for a table) and it gave me a good view of the coffee and cocktail making (wasn't impressed with that). I'm too used to the third wave coffee and i kinda expect yummy coffee with pretty coffee art and unyielding foam. Spoilt by circumstances, not by default. :P Recognised the bartender from Drink Culture, which does a good cocktail anytime. Suppose this is a selling point of F&D, wonderful idea to get high for brunch. :)
Coffee is served with the old school candy snacks. I used to separate the sugar from the biscuits and ate them by their colours. It's a cheap snack, the quality is pretty lousy in fact but people like it because it's pretty? If you wanna be picky, they are just being really cheapskate.
Brunch is served from 10am to 2.30pm (kitchen closes at 2) and there is a selection of 9 mains- 4 breakfast dishes (eggs benny, eggs flor, french toast and pancakes), 2 sandwiches, 2 pasta and the regular F&C. Not a lot to choose from but a fair mix of breakfast foods and heavier lunch items. We had the Eggs Benny ($16)- Poached Eggs with seared beef and the Mentaiko Pasta ($22)- a spaghetti in creamy mentaiko sauce with chicken yakitori.
Apparently, the Eggs Benny is one of the hot items here. It is served with seared beef instead of the usual ham or smoked salmon. I wouldn't say it's a better choice though as the beef is pretty bland. The hollandaise sauce was too tasteless for me, it lacks the creaminess of the butter as well as the mild tang of lemon juice. On the other hand, the brioche was overwhelmingly buttery and that contributed to the sogginess of the texture. It wasn't wet but it was a huge lump to chew on. Not a fan of the bread. The texture is just not right. Bread should be somewhat airy and this is nothing like that. It's not bad tasting, it's just a weird texture and contradicts my understanding of what a brioche should be.

S was raving about the special salad dressing which we couldn't put a finger to the individual ingredients. I'm sure there's sesame sauce in there and maybe the Vietnamese fish sauce too. Regardless, it was refreshing.
The Mentaiko Pasta was absolutely heavenly. I felt like i was floating in a pink sea with dolphins swimming around me (only because i don't like the idea of fishes coming too close). The pink cream sauce was light and extremely fragrant. The slight sweetness of the Mentaiko kept me going mouth after mouth. This is what i would call a delicate dish. You will get what i mean when you taste it. The simplicity of the condiments use on the yakitori brought out the natural flavors of the meat (it was just salt and pepper and maybe a little spice). The dish was faultless. I finished this in 12 minutes.
A meal is never complete without some coffee. The mocha here is very chocolaty and sweet. It's almost like having a hot chocolate with a shot of espresso. Sadly, the salted caramel cupcake was sold out. Maybe another time. Enjoy your weekend!

Five & Dime
297 River Valley Road
Weekdays: 6pm - 12am, last orders 930pm, drinks till closing
Weekends: 10am - 3pm (brunch), 3pm - 6pm (tea), 6pm - 12am (dinner + drinks)
Closed Tues

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About the Author

C is a tiny food and travel blogger with a voracious appetite for life, a demanding eater who is on a perpetual holiday. expect her to intensify hunger pangs and exacerbate wunderlust. #MsSkinnyfat # TravelerinTransit

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4 comments

  1. AlexisCheong.comSaturday, March 03, 2012

    i see you've changed ur blog layout! nice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. CMonday, March 26, 2012

    Haha yeah, the other one was too dull!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousThursday, May 03, 2012

    Tried Five and Dime for coffee. Everything was wrong, from the service to the coffee. The coffee came cold, had to send it back and came back luke warm. The muffin i ordered was split in half and toasted dry to the bone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CSaturday, May 05, 2012

      That bad? i know the coffee isn't fantastic but i heard the cupcakes are good. Hmm..

      Delete

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