Singapore 360 - Day 13: Hog's Breath Cafe Toa Payoh

It was another serendipitous find. It happened one rainy Sunday noon while we were trying to find our way to the Toa Payoh Sports Center to collect the race pack for the upcoming Yellow Ribbon Prison Run. We took the pouring rain as a sign that we should indeed momentarily give up our quest. We had just discovered we had gone full circle while trying to follow a printed map and were buying an umbrella from Guardian — who happens to sell the ugliest umbrellas by the way, which is quite understandable because they're a health and beauty store — when the pangs of hunger hit us.

We didn't allow the rain to dampen our adventurous spirit so the choice of where to eat came down to two options: Hog's Breath Cafe and Sizzler Steak. We have been having Pizza Hut for the longest time and have sampled Crystal Jade at least three times so both quickly made it off our list. We were determined to try something new.

It certainly wasn't the first time that I encountered the name Hog's Breath Cafe. I used to come across the bold written words near the booth of the Sentosa Express in Vivo City, but I had never given it a try. I guess I felt weird about the name and my good imagination didn't help.

But a quick peek at the cafe and their menu changed all that. The interior looked cozy and inviting, with several wooden tables and chairs, a pool table, a huge screen featuring soccer of course, and walls adorned with steel sign plates from the glorious past. To my surprise, I learned it was an Australian steakhouse. I realize now I must have associated its name to the equally or even more popular (at least here in Singapore) Pig's organ soup.

Where to have lunch was decided the moment we had our sneak preview. What to have was the next question to answer.

I had the special of the day, which consisted of steak, fried fish fillet, salad and fries. My companion had the Tex-Mex special consisting of steak, chicken chimichanga, fries and salad. Having read that they slow cook their beef for up to 18 hours, I went for medium rare. I was not to be disappointed. The chimichanga was great too.

Apart from the steel plates, vintage items such as a phonograph and a fire extinguisher also formed part of their decorations. I liked the overall effect — I liked the whole ambiance actually. I guess that forms part of the bill, which ain't cheap.

It should be a good place to wind down on a Friday evening.

We'll certainly drop by every once in a while.

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