Sun Ray Café in Serangoon serves tasty and affordable food for people and their furry best friends.
Finding a place to have some good food in Singapore isn’t difficult. We’re known internationally for our food after all, buttressed by being a melting pot of various cultures and ethnicities. The real challenge is finding a place that does not only serve good food, but is “companion” friendly as well.
Hidden in the bustling food scene that is the Serangoon neighbourhood, lies Sun Ray Café. I’ll be honest. The lacklustre facade of this place didn’t come off as welcoming. The paint was faded, everything looked really old and overall didn’t look too enticing. Fortunately, I was looking for a place to take a break and have a drink before making my way back home with my dog, Suki.
However, I was surprised to find that its appearance belied a certain charm within. Furnished with wooden chairs and tables, this simple yet elegant design paired with the strong aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans, set off a calm, relaxing ambience.
Most pet-friendly cafés in Singapore adopt an alfresco dining concept, with customers dining indoors and customers with pets, dining out. What makes Sun Ray café great is the fact that they accommodate to both groups, allowing everyone to dine indoors, in the comfort of air-conditioning and away from the scorching hot weather.
Unlike the usual run-of-the-mill food selections from typical cafés, Sun Ray boasts a wide selection of choices for every customer and pet. That’s right, there’s a menu for you to choose a dish for your pet as well! Revolving around a western, fine-dining concept, dishes you’d expect to see on the menu would include lamb shanks, steak and pasta.
I ordered the 1 for 1 set lunch, which included 2 soups, 2 brunch/mains/pasta and 2 non-alcoholic drinks ($28), and a meal for Suki!
Food for Fur Kids
From dog cakes, to cream cheese salmon rolls, the menu has an extensive selection of 4 meat bases, Chicken, Beef, Salmon and Deer. The food prices for pets are fairly affordable, ranging from $3 – $25. Unfortunately, I was a bit short on cash,
Unfortunately, I was a bit short on cash, hence I decided to get the “middle range” food for Suki. Beef minced meat with parsley ($6), low damage, extremely high satisfaction for her. Suki finished her food almost as soon as it came.
Entrée: Lemongrass Butternut Pumpkin Soup with Pumpkin Seeds
Lemongrass in soup?! This might sound a bit funky, but the soup of the day actually tasted quite delightful. Choice of ingredients were somewhat unorthodox, what with pairing lemongrass and pumpkin but it worked out and gave the soup the best of both worlds. A strong, alluring scent of butternut pumpkin and the mild spice that lemongrass provides in the aftertaste. A surprisingly savoury dish. 8.5/10
Main: Saffron Butter Prawn Risotto and Seafood Chilli Crab Pasta
Risotto is not a simple dish to prepare and more often than not, the risottos I’ve tried are either too crunchy or too soft. To my delight, this was the first risotto dish I’ve tried that did not disappoint. The rice was al dente, perfectly cooked and fragrant. The base of the risotto was made with a blend of white wine, cream and butternut pumpkin. Unfortunately, this struck me as a lack of flavour because the distinct taste of each ingredient didn’t come through as strong. 7.5/10
The base of the risotto was made with a blend of white wine, cream and butternut pumpkin. Unfortunately, this struck me as a lack of flavour because the distinct taste of each ingredient didn’t come through as strong. 7.5/10
Chilli crab is an all-time favourite. The best part about it? The sauce. You can mix it with rice, bread, deep fried buns and it will still be amazing. Unfortunately, mixing it with pasta, didn’t really work out too well. Like the risotto, the pasta was cooked al dente. What didn’t work for me was the base of the pasta, chilli crab sauce. Mixed with strong flavours from fresh black mussels and tiger prawns, the flavour of the base was a bit too overwhelming and I found it a little bit too sweet for my liking. 6.5/10
Like the risotto, the pasta was cooked al dente. What didn’t work for me was the base of the pasta, chilli crab sauce. Mixed with strong flavours from fresh black mussels and tiger prawns, the flavour of the base was a bit too overwhelming and I found it a little bit too sweet for my liking. 6.5/10
Overall
With or without a pet, this place is a great place to dine with your friends and family. The food is affordable and the ingredients are fresh. A home away from home.
My only complaint is the slightly slow service of their staff and the inaccessibility of the place. Unless you live in the area, going to Sun Ray café may be a bit of a hassle as this place can only be accessed by bus or car.
In conclusion, I would rate this place a good 7.5/10
Sun Ray Café
Address: 79 Brighton Crescent Singapore, 559218
Opening Hours:
Mon – Tue: 6pm – 11pm
Wed – Thu: 11am – 11pm
Fri: 11am – 12am
Sat: 10am – 12am
Sun: 10am – 11pm
