Professor Brawn Cafe @ Novena Square

What does it profit a man if he gains the world and loses his soul? - Book of Matthew.

Where in the world would you see such a quote? Well, you would probably see them in books or the Internet but I saw this on the chalkboard in Professor Brawn Café, located on the 2nd level of Novena Square.

This café was opened by family and friends who, besides wanting to provide affordable good food, wanted make a difference to the special needs of the community and others who needed a leg up in the community. I find this very noble and wish that more people can support them in their efforts in helping the society. To know how the name Professor Brawn came about, read here.

The service staffs were very friendly and made us felt at home. They were attentive and responded immediately once we were ready to order after browsing through the menu.

You can treat yourself to a Professor Brawn Special which consist of a hearty soup of the day, Special Black Miso Cod and a choice of coffee/tea or soft drink for just $22.90 or you can select from the list of set meals available.

For dinner, there are 5 different set meals that you can choose from and they come with a main course, soup of the day and their house drink (orange or lime juice). As racking our brains was the last thing we wanted to do, we opted for the set meals.

Our drink of Orange and Lemon came very promptly and so did our soup. The drinks brought back some fond childhood memories. If u share the same childhood as I did where juice concentrates were one big thing, you will know what I mean :)

The soup of the day that was served piping hot was Tomato Soup. It was smooth and had a certain consistency, quite unlike the clear tomato soup (those that looked like minestrone soup) I normally get and was expecting. It tasted kind of like chicken soup infused with tomatoes, with the tomatoes flavour hitting you at the end of every mouthful in a very subtle way.

For my set, I had the Gourmet Sausage with Rosti ($14.90). There were 6 different kinds of sausages that I could choose from, namely, Chicken Bratwurst, Black Pepper Chicken Sausage, Cheesy Chicken Sausage, English Pork Bratwurst, Spicy Italian Pork Sausage and Swiss Cheese Pork Sausage. We shortlisted to the English Pork Bratwurst and Spicy Italian Pork Sausage and I ended up choosing the English Pork Bratwurst as I really missed the Porky whites I had in London!

The rosti was very generous but I wished that it could be crispier. :) The sour cream and salad at the side was great accompaniment to the dish!

The Grilled Chicken with Truffle Sauce ($12.90) was very well prepared too. The portion was generous, the chicken was well marinated and the skin was so crispy that even a non chicken skin lover like me ended up devouring it. :P

The wedges that came with the dish were right at the bottom of the chicken and there cannot be a better place for them! All the excess truffle sauce was soaked up by the wedges. All I can say is you would not be able to get enough of this goodness! ;)

It is difficult to miss the Cafe on the 2nd level of Novena Square with such a lovely ice cream cart and unique chalkboard deco. The next time you are at Novena Square, why not just pop into the cafe and support their good cause?

Professor Brawn Café
#02-78/79 Novena Square,
238 Thomson Road Singapore 307683
http://www.professorbrawn.com/



Rocky Master @ Mapletree Anson

For lunch today, my col suggested going to the newly opened café, Rocky Master, at the new building at Anson road called MapleTree Anson. A casual chat with the friendly staff there revealed that the place has only been opened for a few days, very evident with the congratulatory flowers at the side entrance.

Not knowing what to order, we did a quick scan of the posters in the interior and the food on the neighbouring tables.

One of my col ordered the Black Pepper Chicken Spaghetti ($7.90). The portion appeared very decent and the serving of the black pepper chicken was so generous that it hid the spaghetti. :P She even commented that there was so much chicken that she got sick of eating it! LOL

Another col ordered the Teriyaki Chicken Spaghetti ($7.90). When it was served, I could smell the sweetness of the teriyaki sauce. When my col ate it, he said that it was a little too sweet. Other than that, the food is not bad.

After seeing the food that my cols ordered, I waited in anticipation for mine.

When my Beef Stew Spaghetti ($8.50) finally came, I was quite happy. The beef was chunky and generous, covering the entire surface of the spaghetti. The meal was balanced with some carrots and onions nicely included in the stew. It was served piping hot too. Yummy.. The beef was tender and flavoursome too! One of the staff actually told us that the snappy meals were actually prepared in a factory and delivered to each outlet where they will heat up the food so that they can serve it quickly in order to catch the lunch crowd. Although the food was not prepared in the kitchen, the quality is definitely there. My beef stew spaghetti did draw some envious look from my cols. LOL

We also ordered 2 6”pizzas from the PICKAPIZZA menu to share as we observed a lot of people eating it. It was a long wait for the pizzas as they were prepared at the café. However, the wait was worth it as we were served pizzas that were freshly out from the oven and for that price, value for money.

This is the Mushroom Pizza ($5.50). There were shiitake and button mushrooms, onions, topped with 3 types of cheese-Mozzarella, Cheddar and Parmesan. Yum..

This is the 6” Hawaiian Pizza ($5.50). Again, the ingredients of chicken ham and pineapple are topped with 3 types of cheese. :)

We received a 10% discount for all our food items. We were not told the reason of the discount but gathered that it could be an opening promotion. Overall, this is a nice and affordable air-conditioned place for lunch. There is a wide variety of food you can choose from Pasta to pizza to briyani, sandwich, soup, cakes and pies. You can also chill with a nice cuppa at one of the few sofa chairs available. However, if you are heading there in big groups for lunch, do make a note to go early.

Rocky Master
60 Anson Road
#01-02 MapleTree Anson
Tel: 6224 5220



Photos taken with SE C905 (resolution reduced)

Barcelos@Vivocity

This is the 2nd "official" food tasting session with my team..

Running out of ideas, we decided to hit Vivo City and went to Barcelos on the recommendation of a col. As we went before 12, the restaurant was stil quite empty and it was not difficult to find seats for a big group. But if you go any later, finding seats for more than 6 pax may be a bit difficult.

If you are a chicken lover, you will like the healthy grilled chicken offered there. The menu may be a bit limited for pple wanting more variety. After looking at the menu for ages, most of us decided on getting the lunch promo - 1/4 chicken with a side and free drink - which costs S$10.95. Variety for sides includes chicken soup, fries, corn, spicy wedges (need to add $2 ). I opted for the soup which came as a surprise as it was clear soup and not the creamy ones that you would associate with Western Food. It was pleasantly cleansing and sweet and came with lots of chicken and carrot shreds.

The chicken itself was not too bad. The sauces that came with it were pretty special. It reminded me of Nandos that i had in London and Australia. The peri peri sauce were really spicy for me but my cols find it ok. The tangy lemon sauce was not bad too. Think what differentiate this restaurant is the sauce that is being served. Instead of the usual chilly sauce (they have it too), you get mild peri, peri peri, super peri and tangy lemon. You can buy the sauces from the restaurant too if you really like it.


My chicken soup and drink. You can have free flow of drink if you add an additional $1.

My full meal. The plate is not supposed to be this messy. They mixed up my col and my order and we have to do the swop ourselves hence the "dirty" plate. I had asked for mild peri sauce to go with my chicken but they did it as super peri instead which was my col's order.






My col's Grilled chicken burger meal. Forgot if it was part of the lunch promo too.. but price should not exceed 12.