We rejected the media invite to The Summerhouse, under the group 1-Group, preferring to pay an anonymous visit for a honest review. At the corner of The Summerhouse is Wildseed Cafe.
As you can see from the photo above, Wildseed Cafe occupies a very small corner of the huge colonial house at Seletar.
Side note: 1-Group is really smart in their marketing tactics. They open their eateries in colonial houses. The cafes are just there to showcase that these faraway destination locations are great for wedding venues. They are really earning money from hosting weddings in these big houses, whereas the cafes are just their marketing gambit. Also: these cafes act as children’s playgrounds, so they attract families too. Smart. (Warning: many kids at the outdoor seating so when you make a reservation, sit indoor.)
Although the cafe is cramp, there is a small florist and flowers make people happy, that is, people who are not allergic to pollen. The menu has the usual french toast and breakfast plate but they also have some unique items like atas kaya toast ($8, that’s really the name on the menu), grilled sea bass fillet (their signature, $26), and kelong prawn and scallop pizza ($21).
They get their coffee beans from Nomad the Gallant Coffee Roaster, which is a funny name, having two nouns like a person with two first names. The long black ($5) has a sour and bitter flavour, like local kopitiam coffee, but with floral, vanilla endnotes. The Wildflower Latte has a meringue that tastes like artificial candy.
The curly fries taste like McD’s but the burger is good. The pulled pork is a tad gamy but the combination of bacon, cream cheese, horseradish, pickled charred cucumber, mustard, and coleslaw goes really fantastic together. They balance each other with some smokiness, and sourness, and sweetness.
The crust is indecisive; it’s thin but doughy. However, like the pulled pork burger, while individual elements may be flawed, the combination work fantastically. The free range eggs, bacon, and Mangalita sausage in cream sauce taste like Sunday morning. Very good.
Their waffle, however, is less than impressive. It’s crispy thoroughly whereas good waffles should be crispy outside and fluffy within. You have to build your own waffle here: choose a soft-serve flavour and then choose the combination of topping. Their topping: peanut butter and black cherry jam don’t match.
On the whole, the food here is not bad but I feel like this cafe is secondary only to their wedding business because the counter (Korean?) lady seemed impatient; and the contrast between the grey open kitchen and the cafe space feels a certain cognitive dissonance. We spent $60 for two persons.
Menu
Wildseed Cafe
3 Park Lane, Singapore 798387
M – F : 9am – 6pm
Sat, Sun & PH: 8.30am – 6pm
t: +65 9643 9116
Food: 6.5/10
Price: 6/10
Decor / ambience: 6.5/10
Service: 5.5/10
You may be interested in…
–Grand Jeté Cafe, Ngee Ann City: Japanese-Western Cafe, an Oasis Away from the Crowd
–Twenty Eight Cafe, Selegie: Handsome Coffee Shop with a Simple Menu
–The Coffee Academics, Scotts Square: In Collaboration with Saucy, a New “Umami Up” Brunch Menu
–Japan Rail Cafe, Tanjong Pagar Centre: Summer Specials from Different Prefectures in Japan
Written by Dr. A. Nathanael Ho.
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