Club St Social

I had walked past Club St Social many times before actually going in, and had wondered if it had anything to do with Pollen Street Social in London. I don't have the answer to that, but after having lunch there once, I'm convinced that they serve a great lunch. The problem, however, is that it comes at a rather high price which I'm not willing to pay on even a monthly basis. The lunch I had set me back $50, coffee included. However I went there at a pretty stressful time, and so was happy to pay that sort of money as a form of escapism. Now that I'm thinking a bit more rationally, I'd say that the food was good but not really worth that amount.

We started with the octopus, artichoke and potato salad ($18). I love octopus, so this was fabulous. The dressing was quite mild, and the octopus was very tender.

The grilled ribeye panini ($28) was fantastic. Let's say that the only other steak sandwich that comes remotely close is the Mortons steak sandwich...which comes free with martinis but that's another story altogether.

Pan seared lobster, avocado and yuzu mayo ($28) - expensive but oh so good, with thick meaty lobster pieces and creamy avocado and yuzu mayo sauce.

I really like how they've done the interior, with a super high ceiling and lots of natural light. A great place for lunching alone at the bar.

5 Gemmill Lane, off Club Street
Tel: +65 6225 5043
www.clubstreetsocial.com

Kaffe Krema

Kaffe Krema at International Plaza serves the best toasted sandwiches in town that I know of. It's a small joint housed in a tiny space near the building entrance, and every time I've gone there I've always crossed my fingers that there'll be seats available (I don't think there's much point in ordering a toasted sandwich to go and then letting it get soggy in a brown bag). There's seats available for about 10 people at any one time, and there's probably about an equal number of people in the queue concurrently.

The lady to the left in black is Kat/Cat (sp?). She's the lady boss of the place, and also makes all the sandwiches. She runs the place with Alfie (not pictured) who makes the coffees, salads, dishes out the soups and most importantly, takes the money. Some of the things she says are ROTF hilarious. In this picture below, she's probably scolding the poor chap for not being able to decide what to eat.

They have a refrigerated case out in front containing all the sandwich fillings as well as salads. They have quite a good variety of sandwiches - roast beef, ham and cheese, tuna melt, grilled vegetables, corn beef and hash, BLT, smoked salmon, rosemary chicken and just about any other standard sarnie that you could think of. The sandwiches range from $5 to $7.50 depending on what you choose to add.

Their shop is pretty small but somehow they manage to serve quite a lot of stuff. The salads are around $6 and are quite good as well. My personal favourite is the nuts and cheese salad. They also have homemade soup ($3 for a small bowl, $5 for a large one). The sandwiches are freshly made to order and toasted in the 2 toasters just behind Kat.

My smoked salmon sandwich ($7.50) with cream cheese, lettuce, capers and avocado on ciabatta.

Eating Companion No.1's grilled vegetable sandwich ($5) containing aubergines, carrots, zucchini and onions.

Eating Companion No. 2's chicken bacon sandwich on multigrain bread. Not sure how much it cost.

Alfie makes great coffees and if you're a regular, he remembers exactly how you like your coffee. Perfect every time! This cafe latte was $3.50.

Some time back in 2007, I was majorly depressed with work, fed up with what I was doing and wondering how to get out of the rut (or jail) that I was in. I was sitting miserably at the counter when Kat started talking to me. I will always remember her advice: she started making sandwiches because she was passionate about them, and as long as she was passionate about it, she would always make good sandwiches. So the solution was to find something I was passionate about doing, and to do it.

I've had a brief reprieve these 2 years, but this wonderful posting is almost over. Planning for March 2011 to do what I really feel passionate about : )

Kaffe Krema

International Plaza

#01-16

Tel: 6220 0105

Open weekdays for breakfast and lunch