When all three times were the charm.
Located along the row of shophouses on Bukit Pasoh street, the cafe opened in January this year and since then, I have totalled 3 trips to this bakery cafe to-date with different groups of friends – that says a lot. Priding themselves in the quality of their handcrafted bakes, all bread and pastries here are naturally leavened with sourdough freshly baked in the cafe.
Out of the whole lot I have tried on my visits here, the Sticky Bun ($5) is surprisingly my utmost favorite. Displayed gloriously on the counter as a whole loaf, it was the first thing that caught my eye and settled my first pick. The sticky sweet toffee, mild crunch of walnuts, aromatic hints of cinnamon and soft, pilowy textured sourdough bun made a brilliant pastry that was not cloyingly sweet.
Seeing that it was the last piece behind the glass counter, I also quickly scooped up the Twiced Baked Hazelnut Croissant ($5.50) into my order. It was crisp, with a substantial hazelnut filling.
Other bread and pastries I have had here include the
Vegan Banana Bread ($5) – despite being vegan it was rather moist with a distinct flavor;
Croissant ($4) – unlike the usual croissant since it was made of sourdough. Admittedly, I would have preferred a more buttery, flakier version;
and Palmier ($2.50) – a very crispy, flaky and buttery delight that I wish I had bought home a bag of. I am, however, ashamed to say that I was not acquainted with this French pastry prior my visit.
Apart from the saliva-inducing breads and pastries at the display counter, there is also a proper menu serving sandwiches, build-your-plate dishes and even burgers. Amongst the sandwiches, I had the K Pork Belly ($14) comprising sous-vide pork belly, coffee glaze, garlic chips, kimchi mayo, apples and pears, and the Croque Monsieur ($12) with sauce mornay, smoked ham and gruyere. Both were decent but I preferred the latter for the overflowing, savory layer of gruyere cheese that paired well with the sourdough.
The Glazed Back Bacon Burger ($14) stood out the most to us in the list of burgers. Not failing my expectations, it came with a generous serving of thick slices of back bacon stuffed between two sourdough buns. The bacon was tender enough, not overly salty and made for a satiating dish.
With the menu selections being satisfying yet affordably priced, I guess it was a no wonder that I have recommended the cafe to many. If you’re feeling a little stuffed, prioritise the pastries and cakes and leave the mains to another occasion.
Address: 6 Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore 089820
Opening Hours: Wed to Sat 8.30am – 5pm, Sun 8.30am – 4pm
Don’t end the crab feast without ordering 게장밥 (Fried Crab Roe Rice, KRW2000 each). Generously fried with bits of crab roe and stuffed into a shell, this was a mouth orgasm.
On the side, we had 메밀전 (Buckwheat Pancakes, 8,000KRW), which were savory, earthy and nutty at the same time.
Among the items we had – Chai Café Latte (6,500KRW), Black Bean Macaron (2,500KRW) Egg Tart (3,000KRW), and Gateau Au Chocolat (4,000KRW) – the Portuguese egg tart was so unexpectedly good, I was relieved that my friend and I each bought one for ourselves.
Have you not known about my obsession with all things white? My day-to-day wearables, the places I like to immerse myself in, my photo-editing style of always increasing exposure. For me, it is synonymous to cleanliness, to light, to minimalism. As opposed to the antonymous dirtiness, darkness and clutter. Three words that put my mind to unrest, that sometimes put me in fear.
In consistency with my white obsession, I therefore like daytime – mornings, especially. Mornings where the sun is unobstructed in a cloudless sea, where the most part of my room is naturally lit up through translucent curtains, where light and shadows are juxtaposed appropriately for a photo. Such mornings are days where I gain more drive and inspiration to live more fulfilling-ly (moment of shock as I realise that this word does not exist).
On such mornings, there are a few options:
Recently, one of such mornings was spent at Apartment Coffee. It was my third time at the white-washed, minimally-themed coffee house since its opening in late 2018. On usual afternoons, the space is packed comfortably with customers and conversations spill across everywhere. All the more I have to be pressed to reach as early as possible, best if at 9am when the closed sign is flipped.
Like the previous two visits, I had perched myself on the wooden high stool for the coffee bar counter and called for my usual order of White. I am always fond of the smoothly textured milk + espresso here, though those who prefer very strong and robust flavours may not. One day I will get the filter. Oh, no takeaways here unless you bring your own tumbler.
Whilst waiting for my coffee, I would swoop up my phone and camera for a good round of photo-taking. This time a few people got caught in my photos, for I arrived an hour past 9.
Interior-wise, I dare say this space is my best-loved. The white walls, ceaseless coffee bar, brown wooden stools and tables and large windows put together remind me of Scandinavian design. Due to its location and windows, sunlight enters and leaves, creating brief moments of contrasting light and shadows that I so love to admire.
Despite gloominess from that global health situation which I will not go on to elaborate on, the first quarter of 2020 has seen a pretty fair boom in new cafes in Singapore. This is after a lull in the previous 2 years that had more than slightly depleted my usual excitement in café-hopping.
Opened last November without much fanfare is Double Up Coffee, located along Jalan Klapa in an enclave that houses several other well-known cafes. Just recently, it started to gain attention from social media postings.
Stepping through the glass doors, I was first greeted by the concrete coffee counter, followed by another sitting area furnished with small stools and tables. The minimalist concrete-themed setting was predominant.
Small and simple, the menu is has 3 sections – Business (i.e. coffee), Pleasure (i.e. non-coffee) and Chow (i.e. pastries). Having always been more of an espresso person (vs. filter), I opted for the Spro with Soy Milk ($5.50), while my friend got herself the Iced Spro with Milk ($6). Spro here refers to espresso. Though my soy espresso was a tad limp, I loved the iced espresso with milk for its smoothness and non-acidic aftertaste. I later found out that beans here are sourced from Bearded Bella.
The sole pastry available that day was the Blueberry Crust ($5.50), which I thoroughly enjoyed for its lightness and flakiness.
Rather than a comfortable spot to do “work from home” whilst sipping caffeine, I see this spot as one where I can hold light conversations and, from time to time, empty my mind and daydream.
