Locals in Singapore should be fairly familiar with the Han’s Cafe & Cake House / Hanis Cafe & Bakery brands — these folks can be considered as a heritage brand in the local F&B scene with the founders planting the seeds for the brand in the late 1970s before the opening of the first Han’s Cafe at The Arcade in 1980. Hanis Cafe & Bakery is the halal arm of the Han’s Cafe & Cake House brand, which has made its first appearance in the local F&B scene in 2006. A brand that is recognisable and even one that many Singaporeans had grown up with, it does seem that these folks had decided to provide patrons with a fresh dining experience from what Han’s Cafe & Cake House / Hanis Cafe & Bakery provides. Enter Cookboys; a new concept by these folks that is situated in the basement of i12 Katong — they had taken over the former premises of the now-defunct outlet of Typhoon Cafe there. As opposed to Han’s Cafe & Cake House / Hanis Cafe & Bakery, Cookboys is a full-service dining establishment focusing on British-Hainanese cuisine that brings a sense of nostalgia back to Singapore colonial past — the menu is split into sections dedicated to All-Day Breakfast, Toast & Sandwiches, Western Mains, Hainanese Classics, Wok Delights, Spaghetti, Baked Pasta, Soups, Sides, and Savoury Pies & Salads. It is worth noting that some items off Cookboys menu does seem rather familiar to what is being offered at Han’s Cafe & Cake House / Hanis Cafe & Bakery, while Cookboys also offers a variety of cakes and pies that are often seen around Han’s Cafe & Cake House / Hanis Cafe & Bakery locations as well.

One of the dishes that we do not recall seeing being served up at Han’s Cafe & Cake House / Hanis Cafe & Bakery but is being offered at Cookboys would be the Mussels in White Wine and Garlic Butter. The menu describes the dish to come with Chilean mussels cooked in a white wine and garlic butter-infused broth; it also does come with two (2) slices of sourdough bread on the side as well; the dish is being listed under the Western Mains section of the menu. We were not expecting much out of this dish initially considering the price point and the type of establishment that Cookboys is — with that being said, Cookboys did leave us pretty impressed with the Mussels in White Wine and Garlic Butter. Going for the mussels itself, we did find that the mussels served up at Cookboys were pretty fresh; the flesh being plump and bouncy whilst still coming with quite a fair bit of moisture locked within. The mussels were also cleaned well with no gritty / sandy bits; no doubt that there were a few mussels with shells remained tightly shut that came with the dish, but there was no unpleasant odour or fishiness that came with it. The White Wine and Garlic Butter broth does come zippy, briny, and zingy with a slight garlicky note and savouriness from the garlic butter; all that with bits of chili padi and red onions for an element of crunch and a slight tinge of spiciness that tickles the tastebuds for those whom are tolerable to lighter levels of spiciness. Wasn’t a fan of the sourdough that came along with it though; the sourdough toast felt a little dry and limp compared to the same that are served at artisanal bakeries which we are more exposed to at specialty cafes around.