PSA: Pancake Parlour is now in Singapore! And it’s all thanks to Surrey Hills Grocer, who’ve brought the famous Melburnian pancakes in, so we don’t have to fly all the way Down Under to enjoy some of their pancakes. These pancakes, available on a limited menu, can only be found at Surrey Hills’ latest outlet in The Woodleigh Mall—opening tomorrow, 4 November!
There are five pancake options on the menu, starting with Surrey Hills’ Pancake Parlour Classic Stack ($18++). This is served with vanilla creme Chantilly, whipped butter, and maple syrup, which comes on the side.
The pancake mix is flown in fresh from Melbourne each week, and the Surrey Hill chefs specially spent half a month in Australia to master the art of frying them.
These pancakes are for those of us who like the old-school buttermilk-made stuff: buttery, fluffy, and slightly dense. Purists will appreciate how well they go with the light, whipped butter and maple syrup.
For a fruity, sweeter alternative, check out The Signature Pancake ($20++), doused in a seasonal fruit compote. Fresh berries and a sea salt butterscotch sauce accompany this.
Personally, I’m a greater fan of the classic stack and find the butterscotch sauce lost amidst the sweet compote, but if jam and pancakes are your jam, pick this one.
Besides sweet pancakes, the line-up features savoury options as well: we tried Fried Chicken Pancake ($26++), which landed on the table in spectacular fashion, and wow’s from my colleague and me, not least because of the shaved parmesan crowning the chicken.
If you’re a fried chicken and waffles sort of person, you’ll want to give Surrey Hills’ fried chicken with Pancake Parlour’s pancakes a shot. But the standout on this dish was definitely the fried chicken—an ultra-thick, whole buttermilk-fried chicken leg. This could do with more thorough marination, but wow, the crust on this was insanely on point and tasty, plus it stayed crispy for a long, long time.
Brownie points also go to Surrey Hills for the perfect deep-fry on this chicken—extra juicy and just the slightest bit of pink on the inside.
What I love about dining at Surrey Hills is how every outlet has different spins on their dishes. Instead of your usual Eggs Benedict, this Woodleigh outlet serves Pork Belly Benny ($28++), with the spotlight stolen by a massive slab of sous-vide, then deep-fried, pork belly.
Before we move onto the headlining pork belly, there are the eggs to contend with: molten, gold-orange yolks from Nuyolk eggs, dressed with a house-made hollandaise that’s also darker yellow than your average.
We were slightly shook by the thick layers of fat in the pork belly, which cut beautifully, and even with just a fork. The team is working on sourcing pork belly with more meat, and less fat, however, so don’t let it put you off. In spite of our initial hesitation, we were floored by the flavour of the meat, and the melt-in-your-mouth fat. Don’t expect a crackling like with siew yoke—rather, it’s a paper-thin layer of crackle all over that’s ASMR-worthy when it’s fresh and hot.
We were strongly recommended to try their Lava Wagyu Burger ($32++), and it did not disappoint. Fair warning: this is not for you if you don’t like cheese, because it comes in a skillet of melted cheddar.
I loved the fluffy AF brioche bun it came in, and the dripping mess of the fat Wagyu patty within, its butteriness accentuated by the lava cheese—imbued with a master stock for extra savouriness. It’s jelak, but oh, so decadent.
Other Surrey Hills outlets feature kimchi and carbonara udon on the menu—at the Woodleigh Mall, it’s Matcha Udon ($26++). I’ve tried matcha shabu shabu before, so savoury matcha dishes aren’t foreign to me, but my colleague was apprehensive.
Chewy udon is cooked in a white wine matcha cream sauce, which made it much less cloying than a carbonara, with the added earthy bitter touch from green tea. Then, you get smoky and salty from the addition of smoked pork belly chunks.
A halved Ajitama egg, Korean seaweed, and shaved parmesan complete this dish. On the first bite, we did wish for the subtle matcha bitterness to be more pronounced, but when we came back to the udon later, we thought it seemed balanced enough.
I’d tried Surrey Hills’ mentaiko tater tots at Raffles City and loved them. The Woodleigh edition is Tom Yum Tater Tots ($19++), drizzled with spicy and sour, house-made tom yum mayonnaise, tom yum powder, and deep-fried, chiffonaded kaffir lime leaves.
Sweet-toothed friends, you’ll want to check out the Brown Sugar Chocolate Skookie ($24++). This brown sugar, chocolate, and macadamia nut cookie in a skillet is topped with marshmallows, torched a la S’mores, house-made Tasmanian milk vanilla ice cream, raspberry marmalade, and a warm chocolate sauce.
I am not a fan of sweet stuff, so it was an instant toothache when I bit into this ultra-sugary dessert. The ice cream was great though, and the skookie, AKA skillet cookie, which I would have preferred without all the other bits.
Don’t miss the specialty drinks here too! First up, Iced Pistachio Latte ($9++), topped with house-made pistachio cream, and a rim of crushed nuts. I wish the pistachio cream were less sweet and more nutty—but they may be tweaking this further.
For a luxe take on an iced flat white, go for Butter Cream Dirty Latte ($7.50), made with a double ristretto, frothed milk, and house-made buttercream.
Surrey Hills Grocer Woodleigh Mall takes a bit of hunting down if it’s your first time to the Woodleigh Mall. You’ll have to head up to the first floor, and look for signs directing you outside the building to Heritage Walk. Once you step in, however, it’s like you’ve been transported to the Puffing Billy Railway in Dandenong, Melbourne.
A sprawling mural of the steam train by local artist Jaxton JX covers one of the walls, while an upcoming, custom-made train set is due to chug on a track around the ceiling soon.
The mall sits directly above Woodleigh MRT Station, which is great news for North-East siders. The cafe is also Surrey Hills’ biggest yet, seating 90 diners at maximum capacity! There’s more great news: this cafe is also pet-friendly, and will soon introduce a furry friends menu, plus a section of the grocer dedicated to our four-legged companions.
NGL, the prices at Surrey Hills Grocer are steep. But you’re guaranteed to leave here full, satisfied, and with a stomach filled with quality food. Costly though it may be, it will work out to less if you’re up for sharing—and the portions are definitely healthy enough to split with friends and family. I love how every single Surrey Hills Grocer store has a differentiated menu, so whichever outlet you decide to visit, you’re guaranteed to have new spins on familiar favourites.
If you’re a cafe lover, we’ve got you covered with a bucket list of best cafes in Singapore that you ought to visit. In case you missed it, the Ralph Lauren Cafe is now open in Singapore!
Address: 11 Bidadari Park Drive, #01-52/53, the Woodleigh Mall, Singapore 367803
Opening hours: Daily 10am to 10pm
Website
Surrey Hills Grocer Woodleigh Mall is not a halal-certified eatery
Photos taken by Chew Yi En.
This was a media tasting at Surrey Hills Grocer Woodleigh Mall.
Summary
Pros
– Generous portions
– Excellent food
Cons
– Skookie was too sweet
– Prices are steep
Recommended dishes: Fried Chicken Pancake ($26), Lava Wagyu Burger ($32), Pork Belly Benny ($28)
Opening hours: Daily 10am to 10pm
Address: 11 Bidadari Park Drive, #01-52/53, The Woodleigh Mall, Singapore 367803