Platypus Kitchen Lunch Set Meals

Hweecat meow.

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for the infrequent updates. It has been a hectic two weeks, as I was busy with my school's graduation dinner amongst various food explorations and plans. Now that graduation dinner is over, it's time to get back to blogging! :D

Today, I will be writing about Platypus Kitchen in Bugis Junction, one of my favourite places for value-for-money set lunches. Platypus Kitchen is known for their fresh handmade pasta and gourmet cuisine at more affordable prices. I would leave it to you guys to judge how affordable the ala carte menu is; this post focuses on the Lunch Set menu.

If you would like to try Platypus Kitchen, I would highly recommend their set lunches as these are very value-for-money! Each set lunch (from S$12.90) includes a choice of soup or side salad, a cold beverage and a choice of pasta, risotto or main dish. For mains with premium ingredients (such as crab, prawn, truffles etc.), you'll just need to top up S$0.90 - S$1.90!

Truffle Carbonara Taglitelle with Truffle Overload - Truffle-licious!

The Truffle Carbonara Taglitelle (+S$0.90) (additional top-up of S$3.50 for Truffle Overload) has a thick creamy mushroom taste, with hints of truffle scent. Truffle Overload was literally truffle overload, with generous servings of truffle slices. I paid around S$17.30++ for the Truffle Carbonara Taglitelle set lunch with Truffle Overload, which is a pretty good deal as it costs S$20++ ala carte including Truffle Overload. (:

Truffle Fries topped with nicely-shaved truffles!

I always get excited when the Truffle Fries (S$6.90) is served on the table. Sprinkled with truffle oil and topped with mozzarella cheese and shaved truffles, the truffle fries taste better than ordinary fries as we could detect hints of truffle oil which seeped into the fries. I have not tried truffle fries elsewhere yet, Platypus Kitchen's rendition of truffle fries managed to whet my appetite for more.

Spicy Diablo Crab and Prawn - just enough spice for the kick

I love the presentation of the Spicy Diablo Crab and Prawn (+S$1.90), especially the chunk of crab claw meat piled up on top with chilli garnish! The spicy egg sauce is slightly spicy but not too spicy to overpower the taste of the Egg Tagliolini. I wished the prawns could have been bigger, but with real crab meat extracted from the claws, what can I complain? :P

Black and White, Scallop and Crab - an interesting mess

The Black and White, Scallop and Crab (+S$1.90) is an interesting dish in terms of presentation and taste. The interwoven Egg and Squid Ink Tagliolini look attractively messy with the colour contrast. I like the Squid Ink Tagliolini; it does not cause stains on the mouth and teeth as the squid ink is infused in the pasta. Tossed with crab claw meat, scallop and tomatoes and cooked with white wine consomme, this dish tastes fresh and light on the palette. 

When I visited Platypus Kitchen with Cat on one occasion, Cat ordered this as he was attracted by the scallops and the colours. He loved it. <3

Our set lunches + truffle fries!

What I love about the set lunch is the substantial portions. The pasta dishes we tried are filling on the stomach, and the fruit teas are refreshing with real fruits in the teas. I would recommend asking for dressing on the side for the salad, so that you won't get too much vinaigrette dressing smothered on the salad. 

Overall, Platypus Kitchen is a good place for affordable gourmet lunch within the city area. I highly recommend going there for the value-for-money Lunch Set menu; the set lunch is hearty in portions and the menu is really innovative with the use of premium ingredients. Where else can you get truffles on your pasta (with side dish and drink) for less than S$20! :D

Platypus Kitchen

200 Victoria Street

#03-29

(near Food Junction)

Bugis Junction

Opening Hours:

Daily 12pm - 10pm

The Missing Pan

Hweecat meow.

As mentioned by Cat in the previous post, posts by me tend to be more on the absolute quality based on the price range. For those who are okay with the occasional splurge (around S$10+ minimum per person), do look out for my posts. (:

That being said, I do have a self-imposed budget limit for food. Hence, I prefer my food choices to be value-for-money, hearty and filling in my opinion. Consequently, I do not particularly fancy cafes and/or cafe-hopping.

The 3-step reasoning to why Hweecat does not fancy cafes:

1. If I have to travel all the way for good food, the food better be worth my travelling. (I stay in the North-West region of Singapore, hence travelling is a problem for me.)

2. Food in cafes are usually expensive, so the food quality and quantity better be worth the extra cost.

3. Cafes are usually far away from my home, and are also limited in food choices and/or quantity. Hence, I'm better off eating brunch in places like these:

Welcome to Ya Kun Kaya Toast, where you can get an all-day brunch set with freshly roasted coffee, half-boiled eggs with runny yolk and thin crispy kaya toast for less than S$5. Find a branch within your neighbourhood. Oh, and there's no service charge.

That is, until I stumbled upon The Missing Pan about 2 months ago.

The Missing Pan is located at a shophouse along Bukit Timah Road, with a bakery on the first floor and a brasserie on the second level. I particularly like how convenient it is for me to travel there, as it is near Coronation Plaza and a direct bus trip from my home. What first caught my attention was the delicious-looking cakes and baked goods near the entrance. As it happened to be a hot Wednesday afternoon and the cakes looked tempting, I decided to drop in for my afternoon tea break.

Okay, actually it's coffee break. On the left is my Flat White, and it's coffee, not tea.

For those who would like a value-for-money weekday afternoon coffee break, The Missing Pan has a tea-break offer from 2 - 5pm, during which you can choose a hot coffee of any blend for free with purchase of a slice of cake. On that day, I chose a Flat White (usual price S$5.50) to accompany my Chewy Brownie Cheesecake (usual price S$7.20), and the total bill added up to S$8.40 including 7% GST and service charge! Definitely a pretty good deal, considering that the Chewy Brownie Cheesecake slice is pretty big for the price. :D

Presenting the front view of the Chewy Brownie Cheesecake to show the layers.

The Chewy Brownie Cheesecake consists of two layers: the cheesecake layer, and the chewy brownie base. The cheesecake layer is very dense on its own, hence eating both layers together with a bit of the berries gives a more balanced taste and texture. However, I would have liked my cheesecake to be a bit more moist, as I needed plenty of drinks to go with the cheesecake. The Flat White tastes a bit burnt, but still acceptable for me since I'm not much of a coffee connoisseur. Overall, I had a tummy-satisfying afternoon coffee break. (:

My second visit was with my friend Flower Cat, who recently caught the cafe-hopping craze and

wanted me to introduce her to good cafes. Hence, I suggested to her that we try out the French Toast Salpicon (S$19) that my roomie has been raving about.

Presenting...the French Toast Salpicon! Ta-dah!

(Yes, that's French Toast Salpicon with some fruits missing. Unlucky us. >.<)

The French Toast Salpicon looked like an oversized thick French Toast from the outside, topped with fresh fruits and banana nuggets. Flower Cat tried to cut the French Toast with fork and spoon but failed, so I helped her to cut the French Toast into half...

Mmm......surprise!

...and we found sauteed spinach, chicken and mushrooms stuffed inside the French Toast Salpicon! Sweet and savoury in one dish. (:

One of the best ways to eat the French Toast Salpicon is to tear some of the french toast and eat with the savoury parts, and leave some french toast to eat with fruits. The fresh fruits go very well with the french toast, while the banana nuggets are crispy yet not too oily. Definitely worth a try on a first visit! :D

We also tried the Vanilla Milkshake and the Peanut Butter & Banana Milkshake (S$9 each) and were pleasantly surprised. Flower Cat likes the drink portions, while I love the rich flavours and fresh ingredients in the milkshakes. In short, the milkshakes are worth the price tag.

Flower Cat drinking Vanilla Milkshake and trying to jab at the French Toast Salpicon. :P

As Flower Cat and I were quite full from the French Toast Salpicon and milkshakes, we did not manage to order more food to try. However, as my roomie has been raving about The Missing Pan's 62 Degrees Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon (S$22) for quite some time and Cat loves eggs, I decided to treat him to both the French Toast Salpicon and 62 Degrees Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon.

When the Eggs Benedict was served, the first thing we commented was how the eggs were wobbly and throbbing like eyeballs and (ahem ahem!) boobies. Instead of English muffins, the eggs and smoked salmon in The Missing Pan's rendition of this popular cafe dish were served on slices of bread from the bakery.

Cat vs. wobbly throbbing eggs benedict.

The salmon, which is house-smoked, was really tender and tasted a bit like salmon aburi. Cat usually does not like eating smoked salmon, but he loved the smoked salmon on the Eggs Benedict. The eggs were decent, though we wished the egg yolk could be a tad bit more watery as our egg yolk seemed to be not flowing enough.

For this time, the French Toast Salpicon came with dragonfruit, Cat's favourite fruit. We haven't had luck with the black plate yet, so we might have to try our luck at an earlier timing. Since it was Cat's birthday and I was too lazy to buy a cake, the French Toast Salpicon served as a birthday toast for Cat to cut. :P

French Toast Salpicon, also Cat's birthday toast

We also ordered some fruit sodas, namely the Calamansi Coconut Mint and Lychee & Lemon (S$6 each) to quench our thirst. As we do not like mint, we requested for mint-less sodas. The mint-less sodas turned out to be pretty average, though we are pretty fascinated by the size of the drink glasses.

Sodas vs. 500ml bottle.

To sum it up, The Missing Pan is a trusty place for all-day brunch or cakes and coffee. Although the items in the menu are pricey, the quality and portion of the food and drink items justify the extra costs. It is no wonder that it has become a popular food spot for families and students alike, especially during weekend brunch (Flower Cat and I were lucky to find a table for two on a Sunday afternoon). Hence, it would be best to either make a reservation for weekend brunch, or come by during weekday afternoons for brunch or some cakes and coffee. (:

The Missing Pan

619D Bukit Timah Road

#01/02-01

(near Coronation Plaza)

Nearest MRT: Botanic Gardens

Opening Hours:

Tuesdays - Saturdays 9am - 5pm, 6pm - 9pm

Sundays 9am - 5.45pm

Cat Meow and Han's

Cat meow.

This blog is written by two young cats. There is a tabby cat or just Cat, who likes quantity, and a Hweecat who likes quality. Posts by Cat are likely to be more of really cheap and really plentiful cat food, while those by Hweecat tend to be more on the absolute quality, up budget or otherwise.

Cat will first talk about Han's Cafe. Han's has been my favourite place for cat food since young, simply due to the abundance of eggs especially in their omelettes.

1. The omelette is BIG especially for the cost (S$8.30).

2. Comes with lots of salad and fries (though I personally prefer rice).

3. There is a choice of two fillings (ham, chicken, onion, mushroom, cheese, tomato) for the omelette, all of which are not bad.

It suffices to say that Han's is one of the favourite cat eats of mine of all time. In fact, we just had it for my birthday recently.