Food for Thought at Queen Street

20. 03. 2010

Food for Thought’s slogan of “Good Food for a Good Cause” really sums up the whole philosophy of the cafe. From the placemats to little signs dotted around the place, you can see information about the situation of the underprivileged around the world and what Food for Thought is doing about it. Their new outlet at Queen Street (the new 8Q part of Singapore Art Museum) is so much bigger and brigther than their original outlet at Bugis, and has a lovely vibe going for it.

At Food for Thought they set up this wooden display, filled with quirky cards, vintage household goods (spotted Good Morning towels and vintage thermos flasks amongst other things!), and preloved books which they have given new covers to, all for sale. The best part is, you know that you can buy these reasonably priced items and still have all the profits donated to a good cause. Also, this doubles up as a great piece of decoration for the cafe!

Another quirky part of the cafe design is the hundreds of glass bottles hanging from the ceiling. I absolutely love it, to the extent that I’m keeping it as an idea for future house decorating!

It gets even more intriguing when you read the story about how they mass packed pasta sauce to give to charitable organisations last year so as to collect the bottles for the fixture without wasting the sauce that came inside the bottles! Also, see how some jars have pieces of paper in them? They’re sketches of christmas wishes drawn by children at children’s homes. I don’t think I’ve come across more meaningful lighting.

Now on to the food! The menu has all-day breakfast, sandwiches, salads, pastas and the such. Since all-day breakfasts are always a hit with me, I had the House Works ($12) – scrambled eggs, bacon, toasted brioche, hash brown and roasted tomatoes. I’m absolutely delighted and satisfied with this choice. First, cute little balls of hash brown with a very crispy exterior and nice smooth mashed potato inside. Then, there’s the star of the plate – the toasted brioche with scrambled eggs resting atop. The brioche seems made in house, with its slightly rough and very moist texture. Could eat it on its own. But then add fluffy scrambled eggs to the sweet bread and you’ve got something I can’t get enough of. Bacon and salad were normal, could do without them.

(Because I loved the brioche and scrambled eggs!)

The Char Grilled Vegetables sandwich ($8) with aubergine, red capsicum and zucchini also comes with a side of homemade pickles and a side of sald or fries. I immediately went for the fries when I saw that they gave the fries flavoured salts, like at Everything with Fries, and chose the rosemary garlic.

I think grilled vegetables are really growing on me. Hot, toasted bread with a generous amount of grilled vegetables in it makes for a delicious sandwich with all the olive oil being soaked in by the bread. Though I have to say that this sandwich is pretty small, so it’s more of a snack than a proper meal. And the fries? Exceeded expectations. I am going to state now that I find their seasoning better than those at Everything with Fries, simply because they it’s not just salt, salt and more salt. You can see the rosemary all over the fries, not a powder. And the aroma of the rosemary comes through with you eat the fries. Less artifical, and more real homey taste.

Overall, I love the place, I love its vibe and homey food, plus the knowledge that this is a business with a heart. Definitely will be back.

Posted in { Food, brunch } // Leave a comment

dotinabox.net