Local cafe chain Surrey Hills Grocer will have Melbourne's famous The Pancake Parlour stacks at new outlet

Good news for fans of iconic Melbourne-based pancake chain The Pancake Parlour – you can now order their famous fluffy stacks at homegrown Aussie-style gourmet grocer and cafe chain Surrey Hills Grocer’s newest outlet at The Woodleigh Mall, opening tentatively on the first week of November. 

On top of the Aussie-inspired brunch items that Surrey Hills is known for, the eatery’s menu will offer an exclusive section for Pancake Parlour’s signature pancakes.

PANCAKE PARLOUR’S FIRST OVERSEAS COLLABORATION

“It took me a year to convince them,” said Surrey Hills founder Pang Gek Teng, 34, of her collaboration with Pancake Parlour. This marks the first overseas venture by the family-run Australian business established in 1965, which owns 11 outlets in Melbourne. The chain is known for its buttermilk pancakes served with a wide variety of sweet and savoury toppings.

How did she win them over?

“Sincerity. I sent them photos and write-ups (recounting) my five years of memories of Pancake Parlour,” said the entrepreneur, laughing. 

After all, Pang ran a grain bowl business in Melbourne for five years. While living there, she became a regular customer of the famous pancake house. Due to the pandemic, she had to wind down her food business – which had three outlets at the time – and moved home in 2021. She launched Surrey Hills Grocer in Singapore later in the same year.

Backed by years of experience working with Australian food businesses, Pang immediately thought of approaching the famous pancake chain when planning for the new outlet. “I had to think of ways to attract people from beyond the Woodleigh area to visit and Pancake Parlour came to mind,” she shared.

For now, Surrey Hills Grocer has acquired an exclusive license to offer Pancake Parlour’s stacks at its Woodleigh outlet. “If the pancakes sell well here, we’ll consider a partnership to open (actual) Pancake Parlour outlets in Singapore,” she added.

THEIR CHEFS TRAINED AT PANCAKE PARLOUR’S HEADQUARTERS

The Surrey Hills team sent Lim Wei Kan (right in the picture above) and Chan Chen Hooi (left in the picture above), head chefs from the Woodleigh and Raffles City outlets, to the Pancake Parlour headquarters in Melbourne for two weeks to learn how to make their signature pancakes. 

The cafe now imports Pancake Parlour’s dry buttermilk pancake mix from Melbourne – which is delivered weekly – to whip up the stacks on-site.

THIS IS SURREY HILLS GROCER’S LARGEST OUTLET TO DATE

Tucked away in a quiet corner of The Woodleigh Mall, this outlet will be Surrey Hills’ most spacious one to date. The chain has two other locations at ION Orchard and Raffles City – its first outlet at Upper Jurong Road closed recently after its lease expired.

Spanning 3,600 sq ft, the lifestyle space includes a 90-seat cafe and a grocery section.

The cafe’s decor is inspired by a heritage steam train that runs in Mornington, a town near Melbourne. We’re told the team will be installing a handmade model train that will be chugging around the cafe’s ceiling soon.

Pang, who owns an adorable Chow Chow Husky mix named Hugo, has also made the space pet-friendly, so feel free to bring your fluffy pals along. The grocery shop here will carry Australian pet products like treats and shampoo in a separate section named Furry Hills Pet Grocer.

THE MENU

Just like the other Surrey Hills locations, the menu has a good variety of all-day brunch items, pastas, salads and mains. The pancake section has six items, including both sweet and savoury stacks. According to Pang, the pancake dishes here are “more elevated” to suit the upscale Woodleigh cafe.

This means fancier, restaurant-quality plating and more refined ingredients compared with the humbler diner-style stacks offered at the original Melbourne chain. Naturally, prices are slightly steeper here – a basic stack starts at S$18 versus A$15 (S$13) at a Pancake Parlour outlet in Australia.

PANCAKE PARLOUR CLASSIC STACK, S$18

Though not dreamily thick and airy, the three slim buttermilk pancakes are fairly fluffy and have a pleasant subtle tang from the yeasted batter. They’re also griddled to perfection, with a slightly crisp, golden-brown exterior.

Served with an overzealous scoop of silky Chantilly cream, whipped butter and maple syrup, this is a simple stack that hits the spot.

BACON & EGG STACK, S$22

You can’t go wrong with this ultimate breakfast pairing: Two pancakes, super crispy maple-glazed smoked bacon, two sunny-side-up eggs, house-made Hollandaise sauce and butter.

THE CLASSIC STACK, S$20

Draped with cream, tangy house-made blueberry compote and a quenelle of creamy salted butter, this sweet stack is unapologetically rich and decadent – we recommend sharing it with a friend.

PORK BELLY BENNY, S$28

The pork belly, cooked sous vide and then deep-fried, is incredibly crispy with moist, succulent meat, while the caramel apple puree does its job of cutting through the richness. Jiggly poached eggs on crusty supplier-sourced sourdough complete the hearty, elevated take on Eggs Benedict.

MALA HOTPOT LINGUINE

Spice fiends will be pleased with this al dente pasta tossed in mala sauce and garnished with tiger prawns, deep-fried luncheon meat, quail egg, crispy beancurd puffs and skin.

LAVA WAGYU BURGER, S$32

Despite being drenched in a very rich and creamy house-made cheddar sauce, we could still pick out the wagyu patty’s juicy, full-bodied flavour. This was fun to eat but jelak (overly rich) – definitely meant for sharing.

Surrey Hills Grocer’s Woodleigh outlet opens tentatively on the first week of November. Located at 11 Bidadari Park Drive, #01-52/53, The Woodleigh Mall, Singapore 367803. Open daily 10am to 10pm.

This story was originally published in 8Days.