Relish by Wildrocket

Relish. Defined by Google as great enjoyment, or to enjoy greatly. Interesting name to another nice little cafe here in Serangoon. One of the few places that I frequent within walking distance of my house, Relish is not quite the typical Cafe. The look and feel of the place (which I'll touch on in awhile) definitely seems like a trendy place to get your coffee and chill but there's quite a bit more to this place.

What sets Relish apart from your standard Starbucks' or other Coffee houses, is that apart from a good selection of drinks, they actually specialise in burgers and a few other staple foods you would normally find in full fledged restaurants. I suppose judging by the trend here in Singapore this is where Cafes in general are heading. A fusion of coffee houses of old and proper sit down meals.

The one I've been to is located in myVillage at Serangoon Gardens, a mini mall of sorts which houses a few other interesting shops. When you step in to Relish, you're greeted by a minimalist open space approach with white washed walls which seem the trend du jour. The decor is very easy on the eye, wide open spaces with a lot of natural light from the floor to ceiling glass windows and spartan single tone furniture. It's in almost direct contrast to the established Coffee houses which traditionally have lots of dark wood and dark colours to evoke that sense of cosiness. I'm not saying this place is not comfortable, but it's definitely a different type.


Moving on to the food, there are definitely some interesting burgers on the menu. One I tried was the chilli soft shell crab burger. I have to say this is the first time I've ever even heard of something like this and interesting is definitely the ideal word. The crab itself wasn't the best I've eaten but the chilli sauce was great. Very different. I've also tried their green curry seafood, which I must say was very good. A little spicy for some perhaps but I enjoyed it.

As usual, I had a Latte and it was decent. Nothing to write home about but good enough to satisfy my caffeine fix. One thing I would touch on is the opening hours of the place. On weekdays, the lunch seating times are only from 12pm to 3pm. I'm not sure about elsewhere but here this seems to be the norm which is a bit of a down point seeing as it's not so suitable for brunch. I do believe the hours are longer on weekends. Just to quickly touch on the pricing, it's not cheap but I would say you will get what you pay for. Expect the standard 20 - 30 dollars for your meal which I found totally appropriate.

Rycommendation: Good burgers, good environment, pretty good coffee. There's something for everyone for a quiet meal outside the city centre. Worth a visit.

Relish Gardens 
1 Maju Avenue, #02-07
My Village, Serangoon Garden. 
Singapore 556679

Relish by Wild Rocket
501, Bukit Timah Road
#02-01, Cluny Court.
Singapore 259760

http://www.wildrocket.com.sg/relish.htm

Chillax Massage Cafe

Welcome to the first of my eatery reviews, the aptly named Chillax Massage Cafe. Coffee, the staple of many a diet, when paired with good food and a comfortable environment, is everything one could ask for on a slow afternoon. One of those afternoons when you just want to catch up on the news alone. In my quest to see what works and what does not, I will definitely be visiting quite a few Cafes.

Chillax definitely fulfils 3 out of 3 of those requirements. It is a Cafe paired with a Massage service (no, not the type you are thinking of) located at Serangoon Garden Way, which conveniently, is within walking distance from where I live. I've yet to try the massage but in the F&B department, they serve up your usual range of coffees and teas, a surprisingly decent range of food, desserts and quite a large selection of beers.

As I'm not a beer drinker, I went for the standard Latte and tried out the Flat Pizza, which uses a tortilla base topped with seafood and onions. Whilst both are not something that I would put on a list of 100 things to eat before you die, the pizza was solid. Perfect for a late lunch, being a proper meal but still light with relatively fresh seafood and a thin base. The latte wasn't out of this world, a little light for my tastes and a little too much froth, but I enjoyed it. It isn't the cheapest place around, coming in at $28 total, but in terms of bang for buck I felt it was alright.

Like I stated above though, it's not only all about what I put into my mouth that determines if I like a place or not. The third factor is environment and this is where I feel Chillax excels. True to it's name it's a comfortable place to relax. Soft indie music, barren walls and lots of wood (albeit cheap by the looks of it), is usually a safe bet when it comes to cafes and it works here as well. Not to mention the availability of free wi-fi.

All in all, I'll definitely be paying Chillax more visits in the future. It's just a nice place to chill, and the service is pretty good with friendly attentive staff. Can't ask for much for when looking for a nice neighbourhood cafe. That's where it is a paradox for me though. I love going to cafes where you don't have to fight for your place and you can take your time without a queue forming giving you dirty looks for not vacating your table quick enough. But, inevitably when a good place becomes known, people will start to frequent it. Just take a look at any of the trendier cafes at Orchard or any Starbucks for a rough idea. Which is what makes discovering these places out of the city hotspots vital to me. Not sure if "quiet" will be such a good description to the owner though. That all said, the Serangoon area is quite a sleepy little neighbourhood so all should be well.

Rycommendation: If you're in the area drop by the place, it's a cool little place worth checking out. I'll hopefully try out their massages soon and see if that adds to the experience.

Chillax Cafe

28 Maju Ave, Singapore 556698

Phone: +65 6244 5529
https://www.facebook.com/chillaxsg