Jones the Grocer

Good morning! (:

It's another bright and beautiful day! I'm currently searching for a brunch/ lunch venue to celebrate our completion of possibly the toughest tasks that we've set out to complete thus far! While searching, I was reminded of our trip to Jones the Grocer (the Mandarin Gallery branch) a couple of weeks ago.

Like the outlet in Dempsey, the Mandarin Gallery outlet was packed with people wanting to have some yummy western breakfast/ brunch/ lunch food.

This table had just been cleared and it awaits its new diners! Seating capacity wise, I feel that both outlets have comparable number of seats but I may be wrong. It's always wise to go early (before 1230) on a weekend to prevent long wait-times for seats!

I think it's the trend to put up some items of the menu (or in the case of Wild Honey, the entire menu) on the chalk board because it provides diners with the ease of perusal. In Jones the Grocer, the chalk board spans the entire length of the kitchen so you have something that looks like this:

However, if you are a a meticulous person or if you prefer to scrutinize the menu before placing an order, fret not - you will be given a nicely-bound menu to help you make your choice.

I'm starting to think that Jeffrey and I are starting to become hot chocolate ($5) fans. We tend to order hot chocolate whenever we feel like we need a warm beverage. The hot chocolate served here is one of the better ones that we have tasted so it's definitely worth trying.

Another favourite breakfast/ brunch drink of ours is orange juice ($5.50). This cup of orange juice is freshly squeezed and the oranges that were used were (presumably) very sweet hence we ended up with a nice, cool short glass of orange juice.

Because I'm still suffering from a muesli high caused by my numerous trips to Cafe Beviamo, I decided to go for Jones Muesli ($9.50) that day. Unlike Beviamo's macadamia muesli which comes in one single cup, Jones Muesli comes in one big bowl, two small bowls and a little jug. Essentially, all the muesli (including gigantic dates, you can see them in the photo!) are poured into the big bowl and you have to do your own mixing-and-matching. You can mix your muesli with yoghurt (small bowl on the left), fruits (small bowl on the right) or milk (in the jug, cut off from the main photo). Personally, I felt that the muesli were a little too dry for my liking. I would have preferred to have more yoghurt becuase I want my muesli to be 'wetter'. Other than that, this is a relatively healthy and filling meal.

Jeffrey ordered the Jones Wagyu Beef Burger ($26.50) which was good apart from the minor fact that his burger resembled an open-face sandwich more than a burger because of the type of bread used. Nevertheless, the wagyu beef patty is well-cooked and the melted cheese is its perfect companion (: This is probably Jeffrey's default option when we dine at Jones.

Finally, we ended off our meal with a chocolate brownie ($6). Personally, I didn't think much of this because I felt that the brownie was too dry and the melted chocolate sauce was extremely oily and thin! I'll definitely try another dessert in future.

Jones is THE place to go for a chilled-out weekday brunch/ lunch and while it may be popular weekend brunch/ lunch venue, you should know that it can get quite noisy at times because of the lively chitterchatter that goes on ceaselessly. Other than that, it's a great place to dine at! (: