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Sunday, September 9, 2012

Restaurant review: Hatched - Singapore

Update: Hatched is permanently closed

Hatched@Holland Village

I've said it before - eggs have to be one of my most favorite ingredients in the food world. I love eggs so much that I can eat them at any time of the day, everyday! 

Hatched is an egg-inspired, all-day breakfast restaurant. The humble egg is subjected to many different forms of cooking here - boiling, poaching, baking, scrambling, frying and more. For someone like me whose favorite meal of the day is breakfast (given a choice, I'd have breakfast for dinner too) and is a major egg fanatic, a restaurant that features this kind of menu and theme is really hard to pass up. It is an (EGG)citing prospect.

Hatched in Singapore has two branches - one in Holland Village and one on Evan's road. Since I've been to both, I've divided my review into two segments based on the individual branch.

Hatched@Holland Village

The first time, I went with a group of friends for brunch on a Friday. I liked the exterior of the restaurant with its floor to ceiling length glass window with yellow criss-cross bars snaking across the surface. The restaurant is medium-sized and has minimalistic but quirky interiors. On the day we happened to go, the place was pretty crowded. The menu card was creative and has a good selection of 'Egg-xotic' dishes.

The menu

Interesting designs

We ordered the - Eggs Benedict (Sir Benedict and Smoked Royale), Bird's Nest, Sunnies on a Pig and a Designer Omelette. Among these dishes, I ordered the 'Bird's nest' which came with two eggs drizzled with a pesto sauce placed on top of a toast with grilled eggplant and zucchini sandwiched between and served with sautéed potatoes and caramelized onions. Although it was not the most attractive looking plate of food, I thought it tasted pretty good.

'Bird's Nest'
1
The Eggs Benedict looked pleasing to the eye and had several interesting components to it (the salad, mashed potatoes) but my friends who ordered it said that the flavor was a bit of a let down. They expected more from the hollandaise sauce. Another friend felt that the smoked salmon in the Smoked Royale was quite salty.

Sir Benedict

Smoked Royale
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The well presented Sunnies on a Pig and the Designer Omelette were wolfed down by two others without complaint but I thought the omelette looked very plain and it was in desperate need of some color/salad to make it look more appetizing. Don't you think so?

Sunnies on a Pig

Designer Omelette

The next time I went to Hatched@HV, it was with a girlfriend. I ordered the Tortilla Espanola, an open-faced Spanish omelette filled with bell peppers, onions and potatoes. It was a gigantic serving which frightened me initially but I was able to finish it. I presume they used preserved jalapeños which was a little too sour for my liking but otherwise the dish was alright.

Tortilla Espanola
1
My friend didn't want to order anything because she wasn't remotely hungry but on my insistence she ordered the muesli with blueberries, green apple and lychee yogurt. I guess this is the only non-egg item available on the menu. I sampled it and it was pretty good.

Muesli with lychee yoghurt

Overall, my friends and I have had a good time at the Holland Village outlet so in all probability, we will be back.

Hatched@Evans Road

I visited the branch on Evan's road with hubby dearest for Sunday brunch. The best feeling on a weekend is when you wake up late and don't have to head to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Hatched@Evans road is at Evans Lodge and the first thought that came to my mind when I reached the venue was that the restaurant wouldn't be crowded since it seemed so off the beaten track. How wrong I was! We reached at about 10am and there was only one table left.

Hatched@Evan's road

I was a bit disappointed that we couldn't sit inside the restaurant because all the tables there had been taken. Sitting outside doesn't really feel like you are at Hatched at all. The waitress was pleasant and she got us the menu. I was expecting the quirky menus that I had seen at Holland Village but the menu here was just a double-sided laminated sheet. I may be wrong but it seemed to me as if the food options here are limited when compared to the branch at Holland Village.

The menu

I ordered the Popeye's Salute which had half an English muffin topped with wilted spinach, poached egg, hollandaise sauce and served with mash and salad. The egg was perfectly poached. Overall, it was nice but I felt it was a little bland. I didn't care much for the salad because the leaves were bitter and they didn't have enough dressing. I was in fact quite relieved when the fan (which was pointed directly at my plate) blew some of it away 😝

Popeye's Salute

My husband ordered the Designer Omelette with half a dozen toppings, mash and baked beans. As I said before, it looked quite unremarkable but my hubby was pleased with it. I had a bit of it and it was indeed delicious.

The Designer Omelette again

The last two times I was at Hatched@HV, I wanted to try one of the sweet egg dishes but I was too full to order anything else. This time we ordered the F.T.P to share which consisted of brioche french toast with peaches, walnuts and maple syrup, dusted with powdered sugar. It was really good and we polished it off within minutes.

F.T.P

Hatched: Eggs in all shapes and forms!

The decor of the restaurant is quirky and the ambience is casual/relaxed. Peak time generally translates to big crowds. The  food is decent (although presentation can be improved), portion-sizes acceptable and the service is satisfactory. The prices are mid range though it might seem a tad expensive for breakfast. You would probably end up spending about 15-30$ per person.

Hatched is a good place to go with a group of friends or a companion for coffee and a lazy breakfast/brunch. When it comes to the outlets, I personally prefer the one at Holland Village. 


My rating for this restaurant is (and I'm being generous here),




Hatched
267 Holland Ave
Singapore 278989
Tel: +65 64630012
Opening hours: Tue - Sun: 9am to 11pm

26 Evans Road
#01-06 Evans Lodge
Singapore 259367
Tel: +65 6735 0012
Opening hours: Tue - Sun: 8am to 6pm



Cheers,
Megha



This is not an invited or sponsored review. The comments and opinions in this post are solely my own.



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