PUBLISHED February 17th, 2012 10:56 am | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 03:38 pm
At the weekends we are obsessed with brunch in Singapore. People are constantly asking me where I’d recommend for brunch spots apart from the obvious. But what about breakfast?
OK not that we are wanting to go jumping out of bed at the weekend to fill our faces THAT early but say if you want to have a breakfast meeting during the week, or where to go if your head is pounding from some school night debauchery, or if your day actually permits a leisurely breakfast any day of the week (you lucky thing you)?
Well in one fell swoop Skyve Elementary Bistro and Bar locks all that down by putting breakfast back of the eating map, doubling up for a spot of brunch as well as all day dining – it should be mentioned. And hooray for us because:
a) the breakfast/brunch at Skyve is tasty and very well executed and
b) this is a restaurant with a carefully conceived and consistent concept because literally everything is created around the art of Skyvetronomy (i.e. skyving/skiving off) right down to the presentation of the menus and the setting which pays tribute to the location’s former days as a school. Quite frankly, anything to do with bunking off has my vote!
Nestled in a nook in Novena (the former site of District 10), it’s central enough to be incredibly easy to get to, but it’s setting also makes you forget exactly where you are. Team that up with an interior that fuses elements of furniture reminiscent of your school days and a nod to a bit of the chic, and it makes for a pretty nice place to….well….skyve!
And now for breakfast….or brunch…or whatever you fancy calling it.
Some of you will already know that I am partial to a bit of eggs benny. Hmmm….I think I may have just found my new go-to eggs benny spot. And the reason this dish is so perfect is that it’s vacuum cooked.
For those of you who are not familiar with this culinary technique essentially it’s when the food is sealed in an air-tight pouch and cooked over water at a lower temperature for 50…yes 50! minutes. The result is a perfectly – and I mean PERFECTLY – cooked poached egg.
The Skyve Sous Vide Egg Benedict ($12) served with sourdough bread, grilled portobello mushroom, sweet corn, arugula salad and hollandaise sauce becomes a wonderfully messy breakfast mash up on your plate once you’ve tucked in.
Interesting to note that the vacuum method is the modus operandi of choice for the chef here which explains the consistently good food served up by the team behind the former Table 66.
The Potato Rosti ($12) is a perfect hangover remedy. Though on paper this is a simple dish made with only two ingredients…it’s a tough one to get right and is why I’m not usually a massive fan. I shudder at the times when I’ve had a too-greasy rosti which has a starchy flavour and greasy interior – blurgh!
But hooray! This one was crisp on the outside, soft and squidgy on the inside and served with smoked salmon, tomato and avocado salsa.
Those of you who like your breakfast sandwiched in a….well sandwich, can opt for the Croque Madame ($12) served with a once again perfect sunny side up egg, brioche bread, sliced ham, melted cheddar cheese and tomatoes.
If what you’re hankering after is a good old Classic Breakfast ($18), this won’t fail to dissappoint. Lovely light and fluffy scrambled eggs (but you can choose to have your eggs overeasy, sunny side up, scrambled or poached), served with the best elements of “the works”. You won’t want to miss the mushroom fricassee which has been marinated in a herb-blend for days to give it’s delicious flavour.
Now I often feel like some pancake, but usually after ordering I’ll have my regrets because they either end up being too heavy, too sickly or just too damn overbearing. Cue hot cakes. No they are not another name for pancakes – in fact foodies out there will know they are a different breed altogether – thinner, lighter and smaller. At Skyve they come in the form of Ricotta Hot Cakes ($12).
These little beauties are creamy and light with a perfect combination of sweet and a hint of sour thanks to the ricotta. But the killer here is that they are served with passionfruit butter responsible for a little bit of tartness, along with caramelized almond flakes. These are seriously delicious!
Round things off with a spot of coffee which is rather nice here or my favourite tea of the moment Gryphon….the lemon ginger is a personal fave but quite frankly all of their teas I’ve tasted are lovely and fragrant.
People keep asking me to recommend good spots for breakfast and/or brunch and there is no doubt that I will be adding Skyve to my list of recommendations. Besides that, I can not wait to try their lunch and dinner menus and if the word on the street is anything to go by, I’m expecting they will be just as delicious.