Next Door Cafe

One of the things I miss about home is a cosy place within walking distance to have a lazy Sunday morning brunch. Not least of the problems with this idea being that anything 'cosy' in Singapore makes you want to stick your head in the freezer.

We wandered down to Siglap on one of our first weekends in Singapore while looking for somewhere close by for dinner. Although it turned out to be about half an hour's sweaty walk from home, not exactly next-door, the Next Door Cafe has called me back for an evening drink and dinner a couple of times. The Next Door Cafe has a good-sized cider menu, bonus points, as cider is a favourite of mine, and generally gluten free (Westons, sold by Next Door, is labelled GF). They even have Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime Cider, a twist on the apple or pear varieties of cider that I recently discovered back in Sydney and was disappointed to not be able to bring back with me.

The first time I dragged myself down there to try out their brunch, I was shocked to find they didn't have a breakfast menu. They seemed like the kind of place - good coffee, relaxed cafe vibe, even a book swap shelf. Luckily it was a very lazy Sunday brunch mission and by the time I reached the Next Door Cafe they had opened up the lunch menu. The pesto-chicken salad sounded like a good, and probably healthier, alternative to a cooked breakfast. I wasn't disappointed. At both lunch time and dinner time the chef at Next Door Cafe understood 'gluten free' and was able to guide the wait-staff in helping me navigate the menu.

Pesto Chicken Salad, Next Door Cafe, Siglap

http://www.nextdoorcafe.sg/Next_Door_Cafe/Home.html