The young chef Joseph Yeo, who used to work at Waku Ghin, asked me, “Can I pour you a glass of water first while you’re waiting for your friends?” And he got me water when it was supposed to be self-serviced. This is my favorite kind of chef, humble and helpful.

He also went around, asking patrons how the food was. I told him, the food was good but the portions were small for the price we paid. He explained that they use top quality ingredients and many things were made from scratch. And then he smiled pleasantly, nodded slightly and thank me politely for the feedback. SERIOUSLY, where to find such nice and humble chef?! I WANT TO MARRY HIM.

Four out of five of us ordered either eggs benedict (poached eggs with ham, $14) or eggs florentine (poached eggs with spinach, $14) and added sides of smoked salmon ($4) and mushrooms ($3) which gave bliss. (Should have added on a sausage too.) The poached eggs were done in slightly under poached, with a bit of runny-ness. Hookerlily liked it to be more firm, I loved it the way it was so that the crisp crumpets soaked up the liquid egg. But otherwise, everything was good: the hollandaise sauce had a popular appeal, not too tart, not too jerlat (excessive).

Only one friend ordered the English Breakfast ($25), which comes with eggs (done any style), brioche, kurobuta pork sausage, bacon, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, potatoes, and caramelized onions. She said that she would return.

We also ordered sides. The homemade batter onion rings ($6) were delightful, lightly battered, not oily, and overall better than the curly fries (paprika seasoning, $7) which were too salty.

The desserts by pastry chef Furrene Hoh are a must-eat too. Although the salted caramel brownie was recommended, the bread and butter pudding was equally good, with an almost-char outside, soft and fluffy inside, and sponge-like soaking up the sauce.

There are, however, two areas of improvements. Firstly, as mentioned previously, we all lamented the price of brunch, paying about $30 each. After the chef’s explanation, and looking at the weekend crowd–who wants to come to CBD area on a weekend–the pricing seemed understandable. Secondly, there were carton boxes lining the counter area and it was unsightly. At first I sat around the counter and felt very uncomfortable with the messiness. Like cabin luggage, these boxes needed to be stowed away in a place that customers cannot see. After all, going to a cafe is an experience.

We lingered for hours and felt very comfortable there. We all agreed that the food was nice and will return.

SPR MRKT

2 McCallum St Singapore 069043
T: 6221 2105
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M-F: 8am-9pm
Sat: 9am-4pm

Rating: 3.313/5 stars

Written by A. Nathanael Ho.