Blackbird Cafe @ Cathay

Due to the 3 days of non-stop Chinese food, I decided to have something non-Chinese on the 3rd day of CNY. Chanced upon this cafe, which was not crowded and serves brunch items! (Most cafes don’t serve brunch items on weekdays even though it’s PH) Shall let the pictures do the talking!

I quite like the ambience of the cafe as it’s cosy and conducive for catchups and the service staff did not chase us away despite us ordering just 2 cup of coffee and pancakes. The decor was done up quite tastefully and fits well with the museum concept. *thumbs up*

Flat White, $5.50

Ever since I got hooked onto Papa Palheta’s coffee, I’ve stopped adding sugar to my lattes and would just soak in the aroma of the pure espresso + milk combi. Most lattes’ bitterness were acceptable to me and I relish in the slight bittersweet taste of the coffee. But I must comment that Blackbird’s latte was one of the most bitter one I’ve tasted. It’s not a bad thing, but I prefer a not-so-bitter coffee. A lil sugar does the trick though, so it’s all good.

Buttermilk Pancakes, $10.00

I was a little skeptical about ordering buttermilk pancakes because I had a horrible experience at Five & Dime. However, I haven’t had pancakes for a while, so decided to go ahead to try. It wasn’t dry, which was my consolation because I hate hate dry and flaky pancakes. However, the pancakes lack taste and were a bit flat. You can choose either bacon, caramelized bananas or strawberries with the pancakes but I opt for fresh strawberries as it’s more healthy. For just $10, I believe it’s quite affordable for brunch items in town area!

Rating: 3/5

Although the food we tried were so-so, I would still want to go back to give other brunch items as try! The steak sandwich that the couple next to ours ordered looked divine though, so I’ll definitely make a mental note to order it the next time I’m there. A good location to chill before catching a blockbuster if you happen to be around Cathay area!

Blackbird Cafe
6 Handy Road
The Luxe
Blackbird Cafe FB

Wholemeal buttermilk pancakes with Strawberry

Few weeks ago, I would have snorted at the thought of replacing my all-purpose flour with wholemeal flour for my buttermilk pancakes. That would have sounded so… meh. But ever since I’ve been on this whole-grain, eating clean kinda diet nowadays, I went online to search for recipes for wholemeal pancakes and ta-dah! Here’s my version with buttermilk:

Ingredients (good for 2-3 pax):

3/4 cup wholemeal flour (or 1/4 cup normal plain flour and 2/4 wholemeal flour)
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (you will love it!)
4-5 Korean strawberries (SO FRIGGIN AWESOME)

1. Sift all the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
2. Make a well in the center and using an egg whisk, whisk the egg and milk together.
3. Give it a good whisk (I feel that it makes the pancakes fluffier)
4. Grease the pan slightly. I usually use a soup ladle as a gauge for 1 pancake. Feel free to modify to your own liking!
5. Eat with your favourite fruit, maple syrup or even nutella. I served mine with bacon even.

 

 

 

I feel so healthy after eating them and I don’t deny there’s still a bit of ‘yeast’ taste from the wholemeal flour. If you are really particular about such taste, you can always add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to rid the smell, and it won’t really affect the taste of the pancakes too. Try and let me know if you like it! =)