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Ask any parent and they will straight-out tell you that many restaurants in Singapore just don’t get what family-friendly is all about.
Family friendly is not any restaurant with a playground attached to it. Yes, you can enjoy your food in peace while your kids will run wild in the play area but that’s hardly what you’ll call family bonding.
You’ll spend half your time shouting at your kids to get back to the table to eat or you’ll be chasing after them with food.
It is also not about having a kids menu. Yes, it is appreciated at times but to be honest, the best times parents and kids have is bonding over food — and not different food, but the same food.
Having a kids menu just means one food for parents and another for children and that’s just one less thing to talk about when you’re trying to bond with your kids.
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Which is why Slappy Cakes is one of the few eateries which gets it and has proven so popular that they’ve opened up three outlets ever since they first opened at The Grandstand in 2013.
Started in 2009 by Adam Fuderer and some partners in Portland, Oregon, the business was an instant hit and they have since has expanded to Osaka, Maui and Malaysia, in addition to Singapore.
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Making your own pancakes ($8.50) is obviously the big hook.
Hot griddles are built into every table and there are five batter flavours to choose from — buttermilk, wholegrain, chocolate, peanut and pandan ($8.50 for each 236ml bottle).
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The buttermilk is the clear favourite as it’s a good neutral base to put either sweet or savoury toppings.
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There are 28 toppings to choose from — anything from pecan nuts ($2) and lemon curd ($1.50) to gammon ham ($3) and cheddar cheese ($2).
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The inherent taste of the buttermilk batter has a very light milky, buttery flavour with just a hint of salt to boost the added sweetness a bit.
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Butter is free-flow and maple syrup is complementary so you can easily recreate traditional American pancakes in a cinch.
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You can get very creative with pancakes when a darker coloured batter is combined with a lighter one and kids will have lots of fun “drawing” their own designs.
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Search for “slappy cakes” and “pancake art”, you’ll see pictures of all sorts of artful pancake designs.
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The food is the other highlight, but don’t expect anything too innovative or cutting edge. That’s not what you look for when it comes to family meals.
Food is wholesome, hearty American classics given a bit of a modern take. Enough of a twist to keep parents interested, but not too intimidating that kids won’t want to give it a try.
They have a range of American-style breakfast options that include eggs Benedict-style thick toasts, to big breakfast and savoury waffles but the most popular is the Country Fried Chicken ($16).
The dish takes the classic American south staple and adds scrambled eggs, thick toast and roast potatoes. The chicken thigh is used so the meat is more tender and moist and there is enough seasoned fried batter crunch in every bite.
The creamy chicken stock gravy boosts the flavour of the chicken and it’s nice that it isn’t overly rich. Also a nice touch is that there are nice shredded chicken bits mixed in to give it more texture.
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It’s also nice to note that the standard eggs Benedict is given a bit of a makeover. Instead of ham and a muffin, the Slappy Benedict ($16) adds stewed spinach, bacon and sun dried tomato spread on top of a thick toast.
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Come lunchtime, you can order a range of pastas and western staples like steak and fish & chips and everything is sensibly done across the board.
The Bolognese ($13) is executed with a meat sauce that’s not too tomato-y, yet still has a present beef stock flavour and lots of oregano herb flavours.
Unfortunately, fake parmesan-in-a-can cheese is used but you’d expect it at that price point.
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The Mushroom Soup ($5) has real mushroom flavour mixed in with the cream.
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The Smoked Salmon, Watercress and Kale Salad ($16) comes with red radish, pickled onion, pickled daikon and very thick generous slices of smoked salmon. The ginger flower dressing is predominantly oil and sour vinegar notes with the savouriness coming from the smoked fish.
The Pan-Seared Rack of Lamb ($28) — served with herb rice, sautéed vegetables and mint jus — also comes nicely seasoned and with a nice pink middle.
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If you have stomach space, the BBQ Chicken Wings ($15 for six) are also worth ordering. Barbecue sauce is served on the side and while nice, the wings are actually nicer on their own. People who love fried chicken wings from IKEA will recognise the similarity between the two.
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Also note that the prices across the Slappy Cake outlets do vary, especially the one at the Resorts World Sentosa, sometimes by as much as $2 to $3.
In addition, only the outlet at Resorts World Sentosa is halal.
This article was first published on HungryGoWhere and was republished on theAsianparent with permission.
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