Mint Café

Meet my personal 5-star rated café, the only one to date. MINT is more than just a café, in fact it’s a Café-Restaurant-Wine bar in the basement of a 5-storey building that houses the World’s first purpose-built museum for toys. This contemporary building was designed by well-known Singapore architectural firm SCDA Architects. MINT (Moment of Imagination & Nostalgia with Toys), opened in Singapore in May 2006. The museum showcases an extensive collection of vintage & collectors’ toys from the mid-19th century to mid-20th century. You’ll see toys like Peter Rabbit, Felix the Cat and a James Bond board game amongst many others.

What’s really unique about this place is that they offer a variety of dining options accompanied by a delectable menu. MINT caters for Corporate Events, Birthday Celebrations, Wedding Anniversaries etc. including complimentary entry to the Museum. For holidays like Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve & other special occasions, all 4 floors of the Museum will be opened for dining among the toys.

I had dinner there with my best friend B earlier because the building piqued my interest when I passed by on Tuesday. The interior of the building was FMAZING. You’ll need to descend a flight of stairs to reach what you see in the picture above. Frankly speaking, their seating capacity is limited to what you see here plus a lil bit more. But that further enhances the quaint dining experience you’ll experience. We got the opportunity to have a chat with Chef Ronson Lim and their Manager Marcus, who gave us a complimentary tour of the 3rd floor of their museum AND 30% off our total bill.

I’ve got fifteen 30% discount passes valid for multiple visits UP FOR GRABS so ask me!

They’ve also got Set Lunches ($13.80) that include a Soup-of-the-Day, Main course, Beverage & Cake-of-the-Day.
Main course options are – Chicken Lasagna, Beer Battered Fish & Chips, Primavera Sandwich, Spaghetti Bolognaise, Beef Stew Spaghetti & Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Dinner consisted of the Seafood Arrabiata ($16) [****.] as shown here. I strongly resisted the urge to order my pasta favourite so that I can be unbiased as a food reviewer. Good thing I did too, because it was 1 of the best arrabiattas I’ve tried so far. The arrabiatta sauce was light & it tasted nothing like canned tomato puree, and the fresh seafood included mussels+prawns+squid+fish. I must say that the natural flavour of the prawns was not lost despite it being dressed with arrabitta sauce.

Ben ordered the Penne Al Funghi ($16) [***], which he found good because the cream sauce wasn’t overly rich. However he felt that the penne tasted a lil plain. I had a taste of it and I liked how the cream sauce slid down my throat without me feeling jelak- malay for squeamish after consumption of excessively oily/rich food. It also complemented the mushrooms well.

Then came dessert…drum roll please.

Chef Ronson Lim shared with us that although they do create their own desserts, some of their desserts are outsourced from Les Amis, 1 of Singapore’s Top French Restaurants. This is due to constraints like their kitchen size. But fret not, dessert was a gastronomical affair.

On your right is the Missisippi Mudpie ($5.80) [****]which is from Les Amis. There was nothing ‘muddy’ about it surprisingly, since it didn’t ooze chocolate from its pores. On the contrary, it had a cheesecake-like biscuit base with a layer of hardened dark chocolate, topped off with chocolate meringue (crisp & chewy chocolate rich in cocoa) and complete with vanilla whipped cream on the side.

B‘s Pecan Pie ($5.80) [***] was 1 of Mint’s dessert creations. He had a hard time deciding between this and their Nutella Pie, but a pretty waitress persuaded him otherwise. For many, this Pecan Pie will taste familiar…it’s got a slight local flavour to it but you won’t be able to place it. We couldn’t place it until we asked Ronson, but I shall not tell you what it is..taste it for yourself & let me know. Although I do not have a penchant for nuts & such, I found the pie delightful.

//All prices are subjected to ++

The I-wanna-know[s]:

Food – 8.5/10
Price – $$ to $$$
Service – 9.5/10
Ambience – 9.5/10
Accessibility – 8/10
/you might wanna call beforehand in case they’re booked for functions.

Legend:
[$]-cheap like peanuts: ($10 & below/person)
[$$]-average Jane ($15-$25/person)
[$$$]-you might wanna tke tht card out..($30-$60/person)
[$$$$]-extremely exorbitant ($70 & above/person)
[* to *****] – rating(s) for individual dishes

Tel: +65 6339 6266
Address: 26 Seah Street, Singapore 188382

Opening hours:
MINT Museum Opening hours / 9.30am to 6.30pm daily
MINT Café Opening hours / 9.30am to 10.30pm daily

Getting there:
Take the MRT to City Hall Station (NS25/EW13) and walk towards Raffles Hotel or Bras Basah Complex. The Museum is next to Raffles Hotel and opposite Bras Basah Complex.