Brawn and Brains @ Guillemard Road – Simple Savouries and Bakes Next to a Rockclimbing Gym

We’ve seen a number of bustling cafes and bakeries expand to better accommodate their customers; Brawn and Brains is one of them.

Tucked away in the Old Singapore Badminton Hall on Guillemard Road, the cafe has seen a healthy number of crowds especially on the weekends, when regulars of the rockclimbing gym next door drop by for a well deserved treat. And of course, those who come to enjoy fresh brews and an afternoon in this well-lit space – yay for light hungry Instagrammers like myself!

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The Tuckshop @ Guillemard Road – Now Open For Brunch (Invite)

Ah, the tuckshop – haven of 80-cent bee hoon and Wang Wang biscuits from our primary school days. Who here recalls rushing down to their favourite stall during those precious half-hour recess times? 🙂

Today, it stands for another kind of haven – a bar-cum-cafe tucked away on Guillemard Road. Watering hole by night – and now brunch joint by day, The Tuckshop is now brunching out (ha ha ha) into the cafe scene with an all new weekday and weekend food menu!

With The Tuckshop’s slogan being “All Things Local”, I daresay their brunch selections are dedicated to bringing back the simple, joyous things in life – just like the tuckshops of old. 😉

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[CLOSED] TomorrowFree Kafei @ Irving Place – Taking Singapore’s Food Culture Back to its Traditional Roots (Invite)

Update 20 Jan 2025: TomorrowFree Kafei has closed.

With its decidedly Singlish name and locally-slanted menu, TomorrowFree Kafei stands out from the belt of Western cafes in Irving Place. It’s a known fact that this place has injected Tai Seng with a bit of Singapore’s cafe culture, so why is this family-run eatery choosing to run the other direction with food that most would say “eh my mother can cook leh”?

Owner Steven Oh believes in evoking the fond memories of yesteryears through home-cooked goodness, hence his desire to preserve the cultures and flavours passed down from previous generations – with a few twists of his own.

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(photo credit: Hazel) 

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[CLOSED] AEIOU @ King George’s Avenue

Update June 2020: AEIOU has closed.

There are cafes that serve great food in lacklustre setups, and there are cafes that look oh so Insta-worthy but serve sub-par dishes. AEIOU is one of those rare ones that combine both into one eclectic, delectable mix.

Taking residence in what used to be an antique store, the cafe prides itself on its simplicity and whimsicality, from its unpretentious fare to the downright quirky, re-purposed decor. Kind of like the “organized clutter” we all are so fond of seeing in our homes or office desks. 😉

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[CLOSED] 23 Jumpin @ Irving Place (Sugar)

Update 20 Jan 2025: 23 Jumpin has closed.

Mention Tai Seng and the image conjured is that of industrial estates and droll cafeterias; classic Western fare and all-day brunch hardly factor in this neck of the woods.

And yet, just when every upscale neighbourhood and heartland corner finds itself saturated, along comes The Commerze with its smattering of cafes and salad bars. Thanks to Sugar’s search-by-location function, I chanced upon 23 Jumpin’ and decided to check it out.

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