Jimmy Monkey Cafe & Bar

Sundays should officially be reserved for brunch in everyone's schedule. Brunch is like the only reason to get out of bed for and its probably one of the things I live for hahaha

So this time, The Star and I headed to One North Residences. Our second time coming here, first being for Simply Shiok the icecream parlour. When I first came to One North about 2 years ago, I fell in love with the serenity of the place. It's a wonder how it's so quiet and peaceful when it's actually pretty near the main road. I thought to myself that I'll like to stay here someday, then.


Haha isn't it wonderful? It's convenient yet so surreal.

Our destination :



Unique name isn't it? Read on to find out more!

When I was taking a picture of the signboard, the lady boss greeted us warmly and ushered us into the cafe. Can I tell you guys again how much I love nice and friendly and warm people like her? She's one of the reasons why I adore Jimmy Monkey so much.


Once we sat down, a service crew member headed straight over and handed us menus and told us to order at the counter once we're ready. Efficiency, checked.


As The Star and I like unique and quirky settings/things, we totally dig the double storey interior


The tiffany blue cupboards and almost tiffany blue cups. I really like tiffany blue.


While The Star was ordering at the counter, I was busy snapping pictures and being fascinated by the amount of effort they put into designing the interior of Jimmy Monkey. This was when, the lady boss came over to me and asked if it was my first time there. SHE WAS SO FRIENDLY LET ME REPEAT HAHAHA SORRY BUT I REALLY LIKE SUCH SWEET PEOPLE. She asked if I could see the toilet upstairs and I looked up and I was like huh what toilet.. And she told me to walk towards the book shelves a little more and look up. And so I did...


LOOK ITS A TOILET BOWL!!! Hahahaha so cute

After The Star was done with ordering, we headed back to our seats when the lady boss came and sat with us. I've no idea why I didn't ask for her name, now I have to keep calling her the lady boss hahaha. Okay so anyway she gave us a brief history of Jimmy Monkey.

Basically, the cafe is opened by the lady boss and her hubby(Mike) who's from Melbourne. He's an avid coffee lover and it was his dream to open something. So when they had the opportunity to, they seized it. They loved what this place had to offer, the double storey interior and the location and so this was where Jimmy Monkey Cafe was born. She added that her husband was like me, he's always taking pictures of cool stuff and had a huge collection of photos and when they were thinking of the design for Jimmy Monkey, they got alot of their inspiration from the photos. I must say that their ideas are so fantastically brilliant. It's a pity that they didn't get the sliding ladder or the tree in the middle of the cafe. But the cafe is still sooo lovely.

Anyway, got any clue how the name Jimmy Monkey came about? Wanna make a guess? Haha

The couple was brainstorming for a name for their cafe and they were heading down the coffee trail, initially wanting to name the cafe something related to coffee. However the boss suddenly said "Why don't we name it Jimmy Monkey?" Jimmy is the name of the monkey that Mike has since he was a baby. His mummy named it Jimmy and that's how Jimmy Monkey came about! Really cute origin I must say haha. And I really appreciate how the lady boss took time to hold a conversation with us and to even tell us the history of the cafe. Such a sweet lady


That's Jimmy Monkey. He lives in the cafe now haha


The Star : Eh I ordered beer, it's famous
Me: HUH?!?! Now what time why you want to drink beer

Turns out that I'm a retard for saying that because it's water inside. HAHAHA bet the people next to us were secretly laughing at me..




Full cooked breakfast - $18
2 eggs any style, toasted ciabatta + two sides (leg ham, bacon, sausages, grilled tomato, sage cream mushrooms, smoked salmon, wilted baby spinach, spicy buttered baked beans)

Available only on weekends


The butter, smoked salmon and leg ham was a killer combination. IT WAS SO HEAVENLY
The only downside was that the poached eggs were a little overcooked. Oh and may I add that we didn't have to wait for long before our food arrived Efficiency, double checked.


Matt's monster ham and cheese toastie -$12

When I read monster, I wasn't expecting the portion to be SO huge. When the dish arrived, The Star and I stared at each other with our eyes wide open and I was like "you'll definitely have to finish it for me" Hahaha twelve bucks for this. Really? I'll pay $15 even for it.


The cheese wasn't any normal cheese. I have no idea what cheese it is but it's just really good. And ham and cheese is a combination that will never ever go wrong. I for one, am a ham and cheese lover. I used to eat ham and cheese toast for breakfast every morning before school. The leg ham is so awesome, it's so chewy and savory and the cheese is so yummy. The most gratifying ham and cheese toast EVER. The toast had poppy seeds and sesame in them and they definitely aren't the usual plain toasts that you'll get elsewhere.


The chocolate banana muffin. Can I please rave about how good this muffin is. This is undoubtedly one of the best muffins in Singapore. We all know how well banana and chocolate go together but this muffin has taken it to a whole new level. With every bite you take into this perfectly warmed muffin, the softness and goodness will capture your heart. Definitely one of my favourite muffins ever.

JIMMY MONKEY IS OFFICIALLY MY FAVOURITE BRUNCH PLACE!! Love the place, love the food, love the muffin, love the lady boss, love the location.

Oh yes, they're famous for their coffee but we didn't feel like having coffee that morning so we missed out on one of their specialties. Their coffee machine is the first of its kind in Singapore, so please coffee lovers, you definitely have to try their coffee.

ANOTHER PLUS POINT OF JIMMY MONKEY on top of their endless list of good points is that they don't charge you the 10% service charge! How awesome is that?? And they open till 4pm for brunch on weekends. Totally the place for me and all you lazy sloths haha. Oh and you can park for free by the roadside. Ding ding another positive point! Haha


Jimmy Monkey is highly recommended!! Although I'll hate for it to get too crowded..

But how can I not share such an amazing place?


9 one-north gateway
#01-51 one-north residences
Singapore 138643

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Love, The Sun

Sun's rating of Jimmy Monkey : 9/10

Pek Kio Market & its Highlight : Wah Kee Big Prawn Noodles

Because a friend said that our blog is a failure because all the food is too expensive, we're gonna do a few posts on hawker places to please him.. HERE YOU GO CHOX.
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The Star and I have heard about the Pek Kio Market big prawn noodles but we never really planned to try it. One day, The Star, his family and I went to visit his cousin at KK hospital because she just had a pair of beautiful twin girls. So while The Star and I were driving back, we saw a signboard "PEK KIO MARKET" and we were like OH OH OH and we drove there. Hahaha

First thing we did was to search for the prawn noodles. They usually cease operations at 2 pm. When we got there it was 2.15pm already but we decided to try our luck. I was pretty sure we wouldn't get to try the prawn noodles. The auntie told us that they ran out of their famous big prawns and yellow noodles so the best that they can do is to get us a bowl of $5 prawn noodles with small prawns and other types of noodles. We were more than thankful! They're really nice to prepare another bowl for us! YAY








After taking a few sips of the soup, the prawn noodles made its way steadily to the top of my prawn noodles list. It beats Adam Road's and Zion's or anywhere elses' HANDS DOWN. The soup was so savoury. The taste of prawns was really strong and you just can't get enough of the soup. Even though we didn't have the yellow mee (yellow mee is the best noodles because they absorb the soup) but the soup and the fresh prawns more than made up for it.

Another thing about Wah Kee that we love is the Auntie and Uncle that run the stall. They took time to talk to us and told us about the history of their stall. Uncle Wah Kee has been selling prawn noodles for 60 years, can you imagine that. 60 years. He told us about how he gets his fresh prawns and how people usually snap up the big prawns even though they cost $15. The auntie and uncle are really damn nice and we were really thankful that they made us the prawn noodles despite having closed for the day. And they also gave us their namecard and told us to call before we come next time round to ensure that we get the big prawns! Haha awfully nice people.


We also wanted to try the famous Good Spice carrot cake but they were closed. ):
So we got this plate of carrot cake from another stall which wasn't really good. As you can see from the picture, it was like a giant piece of egg with the kueh by the side.




And we just had to get this. It's like a necessity hahah

Half boiled eggs. Everyone loves half boiled eggs right? Haha

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So The Star and I were determined to go back there to try the $15 prawn noodles. Here come's a chance! We were at ICA one morning and we decided to go for breakfast at Pek Kio Market. BIG PRAWN NOODLES HERE WE COME! I was damn excited hahaha


Here are the big prawns. THEY ARE REALLY HUGE. The prawns were so succulent and fresh, coupled with the yellow mee and soup, it was definitely one of the best breakfasts I've ever had! And undoubtedly, the best prawn noodles I've ever tasted! Newspaper clippings are all over their stall. That's how famous they are. Uncle Wah Kee came to talk to us again and asked if the prawns were big enough hahaha of course they were!!

We managed to try the Good Spice carrot cake this time round. I had to queue a good 10 minutes for it even though the market wasn't very crowded that morning. The prices are probably the best you can find in Singapore. A plate of delicious carrot cake for $2? It's no wonder that the queue was so long! The stall is operated by an old uncle who's really aged so do support him and try out his famous carrot cake!

Pek Kio Market seems to have quite a few other stalls worth trying. The chicken rice stall had a really really long queue and even though we wanted to try, we were too lazy to battle the queue. Maybe next time.

Time for you to try Wah Kee Big Prawn Noodles and Good Spice Carrot Cake if you haven't done so!!

Pek Kio Market
41 Cambridge Rd

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Love, The Sun

Sun's rating of Wah Kee Prawn Noodles : 9/10
Sun's rating of Good Spice Carrot Cake : 8/10

Smitten Coffee and Tea Bar

After a satisfying lunch at Hummerstons, we took a slow walk to Smitten. I've always liked Robertson Quay. I've been there at night mostly and only a couple of times in the day. This time round, the afternoon breeze and tranquility refreshed my love for the place. There were still many people around but somehow, Robertson Quay just seemed more attractive and beautiful that day. So peaceful and serene. And The Star couldn't stop talking about how he wants to stay there next time hahaha.

Smitten, they are indeed daymakers. Well, they definitely made mine.




I like how Smitten looks


The cement tables, lightbulbs, walls and the hanging sacks hints of olden days. Simple yet inviting.




Cute cuppycakes


Macarons from Artisan Sweets








Iced Latte. Their coffee is pretty impressive but as coffee connoisseurs will probably say, good quality coffee is meant to be drank warm. Haha but it was still pretty good. The coffee was really strong and unique.


Hot chocolate! This is definitely one of the better hot chocolate I've tasted so far! The sad thing about it was it wasn't warm enough when it came to me.




Jars that look like flasks used in chemistry labs! Look at that twirly long metal thingy. It's actually a double headed fork and spoon and the wooden carrier is so cute and quirky! We love cute things like that haha.

Smitten does not have main courses or any sort of "proper" food now. They have macarons, cupcakes and cakes to go with your coffee, tea or chocolate. I think it's really impressive for them to run successfully on just these few items. But again, with such good quality coffee, it's no wonder that they're an attraction. Anyway, they will be launching their food menu soon! Can't wait to go back and try what they have to offer!

I like the feel of the cafe. Pretty chill. Although they do not have many seats indoors, they do have a couple of tables and chairs outdoors. And I feel that the long cement tables kind of makes it difficult for bigger groups to interact. It was okay for us because there were just two of us but if you have a bigger group, there's only one big table that yall can sit around indoors. The outdoor tables are round so they might be more ideal for groups of 3-5.

Anyhows, Smitten is a must to visit if you're a fervent coffee or tea lover!

Smitten yet? 

The Quayside

60 Robertson Quay

#01-11

Love, The Sun

Sun's rating of Smitten : 8/10

Hummerstons

Since we started our food hunt, the sun and i have visited quite a few places and my list of places-to-go has lost its initial novelty and excitement. To freshen up and inject new blood to my list, i researched and added around 15 new places one fine night. I must say i'm really impressed at singapore's food scene. There are constantly new and interesting places popping up that boast both good atmosphere and good food. I've dug through links after links and webpages after webpages and i'm sure that that is only the tip of the iceberg i have scraped. So our food hunt journey must continue to discover more!

school has started for us (actually its just me , cos the sun doesn't go for her class) and we havent really had the chance to visit any where new and exciting in recent times. So i was really looking forward to the new brunch place that we were going that day. Hummerstons! Upon seeing the interior through photos online, i knew the sun is going to like this place.

Hummerstons is a relatively new restaurant opened by the ex-executive chef of P.s. cafe. It is tucked in a quiet corner on the 2nd level of robertson walk. I like the tranquil and quaint feeling that the area gives. So near the city and yet excluded from all the bustling commotion.

the centre piece of the restaurant, the bar.

the interior is well designed and warm yellow lights set the tone for the entire restaurant. It was really pretty on the inside with re-upholstered chairs and table imported from bali and texturised white bricked walls.

eggs benedict

hummerstons breakfast

The eggs benedict and the hummerstons breakfast were decent. Not too bad but nothing fantastic as well. Have to say their poached eggs were alittle over cooked for my liking. But in such a nice place, we weren't too concerned by the food and were busy snapping photos and soaking up the atmosphere.

cute gardening pail acting as cutlery holder

main dining area

coffee tables and chairs

when we were there, there were a couple of people sipping their coffee and nibbling on cakes whilst reading a book. The coffee tables and chairs there were perfect for some afternoon reading, but sadly both the sun and i arent avid bookworms.

hummerstons' menu

Hummerstons is one of the nicest place around for a weekend brunch. The food is decent, the place is beautiful, the price is not overly expensive and location is good. Best of all it is not crowded which is one of my criteria for having a good lovely saturday brunch. We were there for brunch but apparently their dinner menu is their specialty and they have pretty good desserts. I supposed the place would be even lovelier after dusk.

The Hummerstons

11 unity street, Robertson Walk

#02-14

Tue - Fri: 12nn - 12am
Sat - Sun: 10am - 12am

★ ★ rating of the place: 9/10

★ ★ rating of the food: 7.5/10

love,

★ ★