I have discovered another new upmarket eaterie cum breakfast place here in Singapore where (a) you can buy some FRESH produce here AND (b) meet lots of interesting + classy people from all over the world. Welcome to Jones, The Grocer Restaurant.
There are currently 2 outlets here in Singapore: One at Dempsey Hill and the other outlet is located inside the posh Mandarin Gallery. So this is the branch/outlet where we had our late brunch last Sunday, highly recommended to me by my awesome expatriate Mexican colleague cum BFF.
Be warned - both outlets are perpetually crowded! The expat crowds come here to shop and dine. I bumped into Americans, Australians and some European expats here…..and a handful of hip Japanese who spoke excellent English (they must have studied abroad because most Japanese I have met thus far, struggle in speaking good English. Oh, and that accent of theirs is so difficult to understand too! However, I had no problems understanding these Japanese who were seated in the table next to ours). There are quite a few locals here too. The bourgeois type, of course. This should give you a rough idea what kind of crowd frequent this place ;-)
So, this is what we had for our delightful brunch!
First up: For soup, I had Potato and Leek Soup. And because it was the Soup of the Day, it cost S$11.50 per bowl. Otherwise, expect to pay approximately S$15.00 for a bowl of soup! I told you this eaterie wasn’t cheap. And…oh my, it was such a huge bowl that I absolutely could not finish it on my own! Thank goodness I had the foresight to tell my friend NOT to order another bowl but that we could both share the soup. It was really super thick and rich.
For our appetisers, we ordered the house’s speciality i.e. Potato Wedges dipped in some awesome creamy sauce. We asked the waitress what type of sauce it was. She told us but somehow, both my friend and I just couldn’t grasp what she was saying. It’s her bad pronunciation. So there, I am sorry if I can’t share the name of the secret sauce with you, my dear readers. The next time when I come back to Jones The Grocers, I’ll be sure to ask the servers to SPELL it out for me.
Now, for our main course, I had the Full English Breakfast with Scrambled Eggs (S$22.00 per dish) whilst my friend had the Full English Breakfast with 2 Eggs cooked Sunny Side up (also S$22.00 per dish). My friend absolutely loved it whilst I felt mine was just so-so. Let’s just say that I have tasted better ones ;-) Maybe the next time when I come, I’ll try their Egg Benedict (S$20.00).
To polish off the meal, I had a large cup of Long Black Coffee (S$6.50). It was really thick and good, exactly what I like. My friend had a large cup of Latte (also S$6.50).
If I ever come here again, it’s because I want to meet and rub shoulders with the other like-minded expats living in Singapore. Wait, no wonder my Mexican colleague & BFF loves this place! She’s an expat! Seriously, the food here is dang overpriced.Our total bill for brunch came to S$78.00!
Food Rating: 4/5/p>
Address:
Jones the Grocer (at Mandarin Gallery)
333A Orchard Road #04-21/23
Mandarin Gallery Singapore
Tel: +65 6836 6372
Jones the Grocer (at Dempsey Hill)
Block 9 #01-12 Dempsey Road
Dempsey Hill
Singapore 247697
Tel: +65 6476 1512
For info, the branch at Dempsey Hill is near to all the major embassies e.g. the US Embassy, The outlet at Mandarin Gallery is right smack in posh Orchard Road. Take your pick, baby.
