Dog-Friendly Eatery - Sun Ray Cafe

I have been busy enjoying “mummyhood” recently but this time to a different kind – a dog. LOL We recently adopted Jaime, a Singapore Special (local mutt) and my days are a whirlwind of activities. J is a rescue dog which was picked up from Jurong Island where she spent the first few months of her life at. Life on the street is definitely not easy and she came to us very timid. It is still the case whenever we bring her out. Exposure is important and we are bringing her out very frequently to get her de-sensitized to the outside world with the sound, sights, smells etc.

So that started our hunt for places that are dog friendly which includes eateries. Ah B Café was the first one we went to but I did not take any photos then as we were more concerned with her; she was absolutely petrified then and froze under the table. So a review of that cafe is in order. :)

Sun Ray Café came with recommendations from a friend. From a quick google map search, I found out that it is off Serangoon Gardens. The café is separated into 2 sections with one half seconded for pets. 

As we visited the café on New Year’s Eve, the café was offering a Christmas Menu which goes right into the New Year. 

 

However, the café was also serving its usual set lunch offers which I listed below, lifted from its website:

1 FOR 1 Set Lunch $28.00 NETT

except weekend and public holidays, opening till 3 pm: 2 soup of the days, 2 brunch/mains/pasta $17.00 and below, 2 non-alcoholic drinks $5.00 and below (top up available)

2 FOR 1 Set Lunch $42.00 NETT

except weekend and public holidays, opening till 3 pm: 3 soup of the days, 3 brunch/mains/pasta $17.00 and below, 3 non-alcoholic drinks $5.00 and below (top up available)

The selection of the main course can be anything from the brunch / mains / pasta menu which basically offers quite a wide range. Dumpling and the hubs then chose Rosemary Chicken while I had my eye on the Prawn Risotto (though I really wanted to try the Duck Confit too but well, will leave that for the next visit!). 

:: The Food

Soups

For our soups, the kiddo and the hubs topped up for the Forest Mushroom soup while I tried their Soup of the Day which was Tomato Basil soup (as below). The soups were tasty and the Tomato Basil was surprisingly good; it was sweet with a dash citrus and not too watery. The croutons were beautifully toasted and were flavourful. 

The Forest Mushroom soup was hearty without being too "rich". The dash of truffle oil added a nice dimension to this soup. 

While the soups were yummy, we faced a small "glitch" here. They arrived AFTER my main course was served and this was also not picked up by the staff. I spoke to the waiter on this and was told that the soup was not ready as they prepare them in a big batch. 

Mains

My risotto was a pretty looking dish with a skewer of translucent prawns lying on the bed of rice. The colours were appealing and inviting with the mix of vegetables and butternut pumpkin. The rice was cooked well and not over done and was tasty with the white wine sauce. My only thoughts were that the dish was a tad "cool" and the portion was a bit small for me.  

 (My pretty looking risotto complimented by a nice balance of greens, tomato and sliced red radish.) 
  

 (The skewer of  translucent prawns) 

The hubs and kid's rosemary chicken had mixed reviews. The roast chicken legs came on a bed of mash potato and broccoli. The chicken was charred on the outside and the meat was quite moist on the inside. On the whole, it was quite delicious with the infusion of rosemary but the kid found hers a tad too charred where the smell and the taste were a bit over-powering. The mash potato was well liked by both and the kiddo had no problem polishing it off. :p 

(The plating for the Rosemary Chicken was presented well too)

The set also came with a selection of drinks. We ordered Ice Latte and Ice Honey Lemon. Our Honey Lemon drink was not too diluted so that was good. The Ice Latte which the hubs ordered was flavourful (the café apparently roast their own beans in small batches) though he found it a bit acidic. 

J, being quite timid still, was hiding all the way under the table so we decided to doggy bag (all pun intended! Haha) her food (and hence, I do not have photos of her here.). I did not see the dish until we got home and frankly, I was a tad disappointed. 

We ordered Homemade Chicken Ball which was described on the website as chicken ball (100 gm), parsley, vegetables and sweet potatoes. The vegetables, as shown in the photo below, were a mix of sliced carrots and long beans. However, as you can see from the photo, they were limp and overly-cooked with the carrots looking shriveled up.

The Chicken Ball was a mix of chicken meat and rice (the latter not mentioned in the menu) and the rice looked to have been cooked then left out for some time as it was really dry. I did try a bit of the dish and it was quite flavourful though I feel that the item, listed as $10, was pricey.  

:: What we liked about Sun Ray Café:

The café though a tad run down, was cozy with its eclectic mix of tables and chairs. The set lunches were value-for-money as overall, they were tasty. The staff were also quite friendly. I ran out of parking coupon after an hour and the café stocks them so that was indeed helpful. 

:: What I think could have been done better:

The café looks like it is understaffed as the service was a bit slow that afternoon and we had to wait a while for the food too. If the soup had been served earlier and before the mains, then perhaps the wait would feel shorter. 

I was naturally disappointed with J's food because looking at the overall (human) food standard, I thought that they definitely could do better. 

:: Other things to note:

The café offers only street parking (parallel too!) so this may be a challenge for some. That afternoon when we were there, some dogs of the other patrons were left running around freely and the "neighbours" seated next to us had these off leash too. 

The 2 dogs were naturally excited and they were started standing on their hind legs at various tables. At one point, I had to quickly pull back Dumpling's finished plate as there were chicken bones on the plate which one of the dogs, a Japanese Spitz, almost succeeded in reaching for!

So, if your dogs are the dominating kind / will resource-guard their food, then you may need to be a tad mindful of this. :) 

Overall, the café had a nice quaint charm and the lunch, enjoyable. I will head back there (hopefully) soon, to try the Duck Confit. :)  

About Sun Ray Café

79 Brighton Crescent Singapore 559218

Email: happy@sunray.sg
Facebook: SunRayCafeSG

Instagram: sun_ray_cafe    

Operating Hours Mon - Tue: 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Wed - Thu: 11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Fri: 11:00 am - 12:00 am
Sat: 10:00 am - 12:00 am
Sun:10:00 am - 11:00 pm

• Disclaimer: This is neither a sponsored post nor were we compensated for it. All opinions expressed are entirely ours. 

If you have enjoyed this post, please follow me on my Facebook Page where I share my parenting thoughts (both to the kiddo and my furkid, food photos (be prepared for tons of them!), early shout outs for giveaways and interact with you, my readers! You can also follow me on Pinterest and Instagram!