Riders Cafe

We had been meaning to drop by Riders Cafe for the longest time but somehow never managed to get to it until one overcast Saturday morning when we decided to go off the beaten track.

Located at the Bukit Timah Saddle Club in a charming colonial style building, Riders Cafe boasts great ventilation and views of a field and horses (sometimes - not to mention the smells too). Which is great if the weather is cooling (not too common in Singapore though) and you enjoy dining alfresco. The place is a constant buzz so reservations are advisable (I witnessed a few people being turned away without one).

Fried Chicken BLT - The chicken patty was well marinated with spices and came across as mildly sweet but not too dry. Topped with coleslaw, rather weak kimchi mayonnaise and sandwiched between two rather insipid buns. Still palatable though.

Riders Burger - I opted for the works; added mushrooms, bacon rashers and an egg. The Angus beef patty had bits of fat in it which made for a nice chewy texture. However the bovine flavours were a little muted and the bacon, a little limp. I liked the smooth creaminess the egg yolk provided though; a sort of gooey glue that brought everything together. Buns needed more butter and time on the grill in my humble opinion. Decent burger overall but no great shakes.

Death By Chocolate Cake - This was very sinful and oh so good (I'm definitely biased). A luscious slice of moist chocolate cake slathered with mildly viscous chocolate sauce and served with a scoop of ice cream. Watch out for the sweetness overload though.

Salted Caramel Brioche - Salted caramel brioche topped with a scoop of vanilla (not vanilla bean) ice cream and honeycomb. I liked the flavours; salty yet sweet. Unfortunately the brioche was rather inconsistent in texture - some were crisp while others came across as limp and stodgy. A bigger scoop of ice cream would also have been appreciated as towards the end, the brioche got a little too salty and there was no ice cream left to "dilute" it. Still a decent dessert nonetheless.

Our bill came up to ~$74 for 2 burgers and 2 desserts which isn't too expensive but food quality in general hovered a notch above average at best and service, though proficient enough, didn't seem quite friendly. The place is nice but given Singapore's humid weather most of the time, ambience alone isn't a big enough draw for me to return.

See all my pictures here.

Four. I wasted three opportunities before I got to know you. On our brief initial encounter, we brushed past each other as I was going somewhere else. On the subsequent two occasions, I wasn’t fully prepared, not when I’m in running attire. Despite all that, I’m glad we finally met, this time prim and proper, Hello Riders, my name is Brad.

Here is the place where you can look at horsies galloping freely on the greens. Here is the place where you can escape from the hectic city life. Here is the place where you can have brunch at a tranquil and serene environment amidst the lush greeneries. Riders Cafe.

Nothing beats having morning pancakes ($10) to start off your day. There was berries compote, there was whipped cream, and there was maple syrup on the pancakes of course. Who can resist the smiley pancakes, certainly not me. Well, we should have asked for more butter!

In my dictionary, eggs and brunch are synonymous with each other. A hearty brunch won’t be completed without any Egg Benedicts ($12). Instead of the smoked salmon, we decided to have ham with eggs. And personally, I felt that hams complimented eggs better. I still loved the latter though. Poached eggs, with hams on a toasted muffins, and breakfast potatoes to go along with. This is brunch.

The Riders Breakfast ($13) was supposed to be very reasonable. But we heard the waitress wrongly, so we said we wanted smoked ham, bacon and sausage. All three of them, instead of just choosing one. The damage was $8 more for the two additional sides. Well it’s quite a heartache getting the bill in the aftermaths, to pay the money for 2 tiny sausages and 2 strip of bacons. The money would be more well-spend if we got another dish instead. But this was solely our own mistake, and there’s no denying the breakfast was excellent, all of my favourite. Scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, sausages, beans, potatoes and toast.

Total bill was $56 for three breakfast items, and 1 drink. Well it would be around ten bucks lesser if we had not added the extra sides, so I say brunch at Rider’s is really value and excellent for the superb ambience of the place. But, fairways drive is hardly a place where you will call accessible unless you got transport, or cab.

I will definitely come back again, for brunch, or even for lunch. Their lunch and diner menu looks very affordable too! But another thing to note, I went on a weekday morning, so it was relatively peaceful. If you were to go on a weekend for brunch, the result might not be the same. See you there!

ps: if you had noticed, I had also included my signature See you there! tag for my previous two post on Graze and Patisserie Glace as well. It just so happened I went to four fabulous place within this two weeks!

You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!