Foodography: A Singapore Food Blog

Opened by three brothers who wish to serve up coffee and simple comfort food is 3 months old Old Hen Coffee Bar. They first gained attention from the cafe hoppers because of their special cold brew. My main agenda when I visited was to see for myself how good it was too. Before I move on to that, I thought the aesthetics of this well-lit space deserves a mention. Though the pairing of wooden tables with light blue walls is slowly turning into a cliche, the decor was kept simple enough for that extra touch of minimalism. The honorable mention goes to their hanging lights made of junkyard materials – they are truly eco-friendly, and pleasing to the eye at the same time.

Let’s just say it is rather meaningless to drop by this place without getting your hands on a bottle of their specialty cold brew. The White Cold Brew ($6.5) I had was superbly creamy. The lower levels of caffeine and its acidity may put off some caffeine lovers but I was very well satisfied with this milky version. With that said, this can be a good try even for non-coffee drinkers. Besides coffee, the Valrhona Chocolate ($5 for hot, $6 for iced), Matcha Latte ($5 for hot, $6 for iced) and Iced Thai Milk Tea ($5) seem like interesting choices – will be back for more!

The food menu written on the chalkboards is generally limited to simple dishes. The Smoked Salmon & Apple Toast ($8.5) comprised mainly smoked salmon and apple with raisins, cucumbers and cream cheese. The apple and smoked salmon combination, though refreshing, might be starting to bore me out. Perhaps I will go for their Butter Chicken ($9.5) or Crab Coleslaw Toast ($8.5) next time.

Don’t judge me, but I’m into this waffle fad for sure. Previous reviews were doubtful of their Homemade Waffles ($9) but they seemed to have improved when I tried them. This time, the berry compote which used to be the topping was replaced by greek yogurt, apple compote and salted caramel sauce. The new pairing definitely added value to the shabbier berry compote. The waffles were slightly burnt but crispy on the exterior, and not too dry at all.

For desserts, they have cakes like Red Velvet outsourced from bakery Creme Couture, but I decided to skip them and go for the Panna Cotta ($5) which is made in-house instead. Made of 3 layers – caramel popcorn, chocolate and vanilla panna cotta, it was quite interesting but a pity that it was a tad too sweet for me to fully enjoy it.

Some say this is “yet another new cafe”. However their sincerity in serving specialty coffee is obvious and is what draws customers the most. Perhaps a more comprehensive, unique food menu can be that step to instant fame. After all, cafe hoppers do want the best of both novelty food and coffee.
88 Rangoon Road

#01-03

Mondays, Wednesdays to Fridays 12pm – 12am

Saturdays & Sundays 10am – 10pm