THE FABULOUS BAKER BOY
Renovated, Revamped and Rocking
Move over, Wild Honey, there’s a New Kid on the Brunch Block. Well, technically, The Fabulous Baker Boy (TFBB) opened in 2013 when it was instantly bombarded with public backlash for lack of air conditioning, the no-reservations rule and the blasphemy of not serving an All Day Breakfast! Well, all that has changed now, so let’s try this again.
Move over Wild Honey, there’s a New and IMPROVED Kid on the Brunch Block!
Since we hadn’t made any reservations, we were told our wait time would be approximately thirty minutes (Type A guests who plan to make advance reservations can disregard the previous line). We decided to make the most of it by ordering coffee and parking ourselves on a couple of delightfully-pink lounge chairs outside. As my friend and I sipped our well-roasted flat whites, our children busied themselves with an impromptu game of tag on the large patch of grass at the foothills of Fort Canning Park, enclosed by a well thought-out barrier, keeping the mad traffic of River Valley Road at bay.
Enough with the polite chatter about the child-friendly environment, let’s get on with what we’re really here to discuss: the food.
TFBB Champion Breakfast should be renamed TFBB Champion And Its Entire Team Breakfast, considering it consists of 2 poached eggs on a generous slab of toasted brioche, roasted rosemary potatoes, mushrooms, sage-chicken sausage, a crispy strip of bacon and the kitchen sink, of course. Loved, loved, did I mention, LOVED the beef bacon. I could have had an entire plate of it. I could also have had a heart attack. But, what a way to go!
The next dish clearly adhered to the less-is-more philosophy. Ju’s Prawn Pasta, named after the owner and fabulous baker boy himself, Juwanda, was a savory mixture of lightly sautéed tiger prawns, egg papardelle, a little cream and a dash of some paprika-like seasoning. No explosive fireworks here but simple flavors, nicely cooked.
The Cream of Mushroom Soup was refreshingly non-creamy and while the Chicken and Leek Pot Pie held true to its roots, the Asian palate might find it a tad bit bland.
And now let’s come to the grand finale of mains, the Beef BBQ Grilled Cheese; a triple grilled sandwich filled with a smokey BBQ beef brisket. It’s like all your childhood comfort foods had a cheesy, gooey, rave party in your mouth. Partner that with the Garlic Fries, topped with Truffle Aioli and you’ll be sitting in a food coma with a goofy grin on your face.
Coming back to the children – there’s no hard and fast kids’ menu but young ones will be very content with more than a few of the options available, including the Croque Monsieur; a well planned mess of chicken ham, cheese and butter or the Parmesan Fish Goujons, which is French for fish nuggets (or what I imagine fish nuggets would sound like in French).
With a name like The Fabulous Baker Boy, you would think the baked goods are the highlight of the show – nope, not so much the case here. We ordered the Valrhorna Chocolate Cake and the Nutty Monkey, and whilst both of them tasted good, they were more crumbly than moist. “More like tea cakes, than dessert cakes,” according to my friend.
Bacon, Beef Brisket, Garlic Fries, tea, coffee, cakes, air conditioning. They’ve got it all. (Vegetarians take note of their Pancakes section).
Icing on the crumbly cake: All the meat is halal!
The Fabulous Baker Boy
The Foothills, 70 River Valley Road #01-15 Singapore 179037
(at Fort Canning, opposite Liang Court, 10-15min walk from Clarke Quay MRT)
Phone: +65 6694 8336
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Tues-Thurs), 11am-11pm (Fri-Sat), 9am-5pm (Sun), Closed Mon
Brunch/Lunch till 2:30pm, Tea till 4:30pm, Dinner till 9pm, Closed from 4:30-6pm Daily
Pricing: Moderate
Having received her Bachelor of Art in Journalism and Politics from New York University in 2004, Ayesha Azhar worked for an immigration law firm before moving to Singapore in 2008. Here, along with her full-time role of mother to 2 very energetic daughters, she volunteered with United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). Ayesha has extensive editorial experience, having interned at several lifestyle magazines while in university, and worked as Editor of the UNIFEM newsletter from 2009 to 2011.
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