Weekend brunch – Saturday or Sunday, can’t remember which. Since this is a newish branch, in the largely pointless Palais Renaissance mall, we figured we’d return to PS as we haven’t been to an outlet for a while, having settled on Graze as our default brunch of choice.

I had the eggs and bacon, the wife had eggs Benedict. Wife seemed happy. My meal was delicious. The poached eggs were just right, the toasted bread added the right amount of carbs and the chorizo sausage was very good. I even ate the grilled tomato. The bacon, while a rather peculiar thin-strip design is certainly both tasty and crispy.

The service was fine going on good. For once, my usual complaint about everything being brought at seemingly random intervals doesn’t apply. Both the drinks then the food turned up as if they had both been ordered at the same time. Which they had, of course.

It’s fair to say that coincidence of customer meals would normally automatically elevate the service at PS Café into about the top ten percent of Singapore restaurants. The reason it doesn’t was because my food was anywhere between cold (asparagus) to tepid (grilled tomato). The wife’s was piping hot. I appreciate the effort on the timing of the delivery, guys, but you’re treating the symptom not the cause. As I understand it – I’m not a chef de cuisine or even a half-competent cook so maybe I am deluding myself – the food should be ready at the same time. Not hanging about going cold so it can be served at the same time. At least you’ve recognized the issue, though. And unlike Alcoholics Anonymous, it’s not even a six-step program to recovery – it’s a one-step program: 1. cook food in organized fashion. 2. Er, that’s it.

The setting is very nice – apart from about thirty seconds where is sounded like someone below the balcony area was beating the cack out of a Geely, or something equally cheap and tinny. Happily, the Assaulter of Geelys left off his Symphony in Morris Minor soon after he had begun and calm returned.

There were some pretty impressive looking cakes on display on the way in, which I would have loved to try but I’d already exceeded my saturated fat quota for the week. Might just go next time I’m shopping on OR and need a break, though.

Wanting brunch in a quiet comforting space, we approached PS Café Palais with trepidation – our previous encounters at Paragon and Dempsey were nightmares of insipid food and appalling service standards. A case of this chain getting too popular for their own good perhaps.

They annoyingly don’t take reservations for weekend brunch, but we were fortunate enough to land a nice outdoor table on the patio. Which is really the highlight of this place; it’s testament to their designers that such a tranquil haven can be found in bustling Orchard Road. Service is far more polite than at Dempsey, but still elusive as ever and getting your orders taken etc can be a pain even though there are 3-4 staff crowding the computer terminals just five feet away.

Huevos Rancheros (daily special) was a classy interpretation of the dish. The scrambled eggs (with peppers and tomatoes, among other things) were neatly wrapped in a corn tortilla, slathered in sour cream and guacamole, with a spicy chorizo sausage to top it off. Pure breakfast comfort food.

Trio of Welsh Rarebit – three slices of toast with different toppings. The Crab was by far the best, brimming with rich crab flavor. Spinach was ok, though a bit “green” tasting. The chef manages to imbue each topping with its own character that complements and contrasts nicely with the other two, which keeps the dish interesting despite its simplicity. Another hit.

The side of fries we ordered was almost worth the $10 charged – we stuffed our faces with potato (and the two lovely homemade dips) and yet managed to finish only half the portion.

Lemony Ginger cheesecake – still pales in comparison to the richer Hyatt candied ginger one, but the citrus gives it a nice kick.

Final thoughts – prices slightly too high for comfort, service a bit lacking, but redeemed by great food and ambience.

I was transported to another era so it seems :) i love the ambience and the air of this place. Was there on a Friday afternoon and most of the customers that day were females . It just has this good tai tai air to it. I was there with my girl friends. Desserts were good, though slightly alittle pricey. Nonetheless, they are delicious. We shared two cakes--blackout chocolate cake and lemon ginger cake..both yummy enough to tempt any sweet tooth lover. Drinks were resonably priced with tea in a pot at $5 . The smoothies are a tad ex..a whopping $11..which i think one can easily get at half the price else where..but i guess the ambience comes with a price tag.

someone reviewed that no photo taking allowed..but we have no problem with that at all. We were snapping away..

one thing ..if you are sitted at the patio..be ready to wait for the service staff to serve you. we had to wait for awhile b4 we were served and they were more attentive to those indoors.

I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into PS cafe in Palais Renaissance. I was expecting something boring like Marmalade Pantry downstairs but instead found my self in an airy and lush space reminiscent of the PS at Dempsey. This will be a perfect place for lunch or tea after some vigorous shopping on Orchard Rd.

Food is pretty much the same as all the PS cafes. I wanted something light so I ordered a Japanese noodle salad, which had a really nice dressing. One of my friends ordered a crab tart that looked quite nice but came out with a chipped edge that looked like someone took a bite out of it. Another friend ordered some fried chicken (the largest portion among the three of us) but barely touched it.

For dessert we shared a door-stopper chocolate cake, recommended by our waiter, and a non-descript cake with some crunchy (but turned soggy) bits on top. the doorstopper cake was rich and good, but the other one was a no-no.

I always have a bone to pick about the services in restaurants here and this time it's no exception. We sat on the patio and the waiters were always hiding behind their computer terminal without EVER looking up. Twice we had to get up from our seat and go over to their computer terminal ourselves to order something. There were only 3 or 4 tables on the patio and at least two waiters so they are no busy. The waiters are all very friendly, but they just need to be trained to pay more attention to their customers instead of whatever is capturing their attentions on the computer screen.

My friend really wanted to try PS Cafe at Palais so we met up for lunch at 1pm on a Saturday. The entrance to the restaurant was inviting with a dark wood counter opening into a white, high ceiling, and airy room where the tables were. I was asked if I had a reservation even though the room was pretty empty, but I learnt that there was also a terrace that was quite crowded.

Service was good with attentive waitstaff. The food menu was relatively limited and price differentials weren't that much, so whether you ordered a burger or salad main, it was only a few bucks different. I don't know if they had a kids menu, but the main menu didn't look like it had interesting things for kids.

Our orders came pretty quick. My friend ordered the brunch special, an omelette with chorizo sausage, spinach and salsa on the side accompanied with two pieces of bread. I tried my friend's omelette and even eating the edge of it was tasty, even though the filling was all in the middle. I had the Big Nihon, an Asian-inspired salad of soba, cucumber, carrots, edamame and sesame seeds with miso-marinated salmon sashimi and tossed with a soy-based dressing. The salmon was fresh, very tasty and had an unusual lingering taste. We were both very satisfied with our meals.

The only complaints we had was the value. The omelette was $22 and the salad was $24. For the portion size and the relatively simple ingredients, it was overpriced. It certainly won't be enough for a guy because us two girls finished everything on the plate. If they had notched down the prices by about $5-7 each, this place would probably be a regular hangout because the ambience was conducive to talking and staying. Although we didn't get to try the desserts, the cakes looked delicious and decadent. We did have loose-leaf tea and they were priced relatively reasonably for a place like that. We got a pot each at $5 each.

On the whole, it feels like the perfect place for a lazy Saturday or Sunday to relax and chit chat. We were told they have a high tea menu too that starts after 3pm. Would I come back? Probably, but it won't be anytime too soon. Maybe when I feel like splurging.

Oh, and sorry no pics. They apparently have a no-photo taking policy.