We caught a 1-for-1 promo while we were there (hence the crazy amount of caffeine here), but as much as I wanted to love all the drinks we got...I really didn’t.
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𝗜𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗞𝗼𝗽𝗶 𝗖: exceedingly diluted, it basically tasted like my coffee sat there for half an hour. Let me clarify that anyone who’s eaten with me know I take my photos in a couple of seconds — I can’t be bothered with bringing my food to some abrupt corner — so this definitely wasn’t a result of the coffee sitting out for long.
𝗜𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲: tastes almost exactly like bux’s toffee nut latte lol I was shooketh. The syrup’s discernible but not overly sweet, and coffee was very bold and nutty as well so this was a really enjoyable drink.
𝗜𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗮 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲: perhaps it’s cause their syrups aren’t overly sweet, the salt came across reeeeeally strong here — a little too much in fact. I could taste the nutty earthy sorta caramel profile, but I didn’t get much sweetness so this really turned out to be a slightly odd drink.
𝗜𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗞𝗼𝗽𝗶: oooh I actually loved this the most. It tasted like muah chee/sesame paste but kopi-fied. Super nutty and flavourful, and I loved that there was actual grounded sesame seeds in the drink!
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If anything, I found that Coffee Break’s drinks diluted really really quickly, with the Black Sesame flavour being the only exception. Still they’ve got a fab range of drinks and I’d say give em a try anyway; perhaps the hot beverages would fare a lot better.

When Neon Pigeon extended an invite for us to come by for brunch, I took a quick glimpse at the menu and saw a Duck Confit Ramen — and I was sold. Specifically at the “foie gras paitan broth”. Their chef very patiently explained how the duck-based dashi was boiled for 8 days, finished with some homemade chicken tare, then served with mushrooms, spring onions, napa cabbage, and the tare-glazed chicken. Took my first sip of the broth and oooooh was it utterly sinful, creamy, rich, and concentrated. It was SOOOOO good. And most importantly, it came piping hot. The noods were qq and bouncy, shrooms and crisp veggies added a lovely crunch, and the chicken had a great char and caramelisation (though it was a tad dry at parts). Now, this was a fan-fucking-tastic bowl of noodles; but it wasn’t a mindblowing bowl of ramen. At least not in the “omg this is so shiok imma pour it down my throat” sorta way. It lacked a little je ne sais quoi that’d make an insane ramen, but that’s not to say this wasn’t good. Cause it was a bloody good bowl of noodles. I will not come here looking for good ramen, but I’d make a trip for this The Duck Confit (I don’t wanna call it a ramen cause it’s in a league of its own) Ramen-not-ramen.

1-FOR-1 MILKSHAKES TILL 11PM TODAY! Doing y’all a solid here ah #notsponsored please. When I saw Carne’s stories on Monday saying they’re running this promo for their new and improved milkshakes that are “thicker and creamier” (verbatim mind you), I took it as a challenge lol. Cause I pretty much trashed their milkshakes in my previous review (soz guys I know I’m a little brutal). Obviously I went in with only one thought in my head: is it really thicker and creamier, as opposed to the watery diluted shadow of a milkshake I had previously? YES, thank goodness they were. I took a sip right when the milkshake landed in my hands, and it’s deeeefinitely thicker, creamier, and tons better than my previous experience. The flavours are a lot punchier (salted caramel and coffee were my faves, I loved the earthy burnt toffee in the latter), the milkshake smooth and creamy, and I actually went “mmm not bad!” Tbh I’m a huge fan of thickshakes — I like em real thicccc — and if I don’t see a malt option on the menu it’s an immediate 🙅🏻‍♀️ for me; but I’ll give Carne this: if you like the easier to drink more regular not sorethroat-inducing milkshakes, they make a pretty good one. Though I still don’t get the soggy praline topping 🙃

That’s all I gotta say. Well not really, but tl;dr that’s my sentiments towards FANGKO’s Smash Chimken with Rice ($7). I took my first bite, paused, took another, then proceeded to mass text all my indo friends saying “dudes y’all gotta try this it’s some badass shit.” That’s how impressed I was. You can choose your spice level from 0-12 — we got 5, and I’ll tell you it packed a solid kick. Not the my-tongue-is-dead-I’m-tearing sorta spicy, but enough for me to consistently reach for my iced coffee. Now that smashed chicken (basically what I figure to be shredded and re-fried fried chicken): a good ratio of skin to meat so you get crispy charred bits of skin in each bite, and really tender, tasty chicken. It’s simple, nothing ingenious; but it’s very well-executed, super hearty and satisfactory. Suffice to say I went at it after my first bite, not noticing I was nearing my last till it was all gone 🥲

I remember K&K Grape & Ricotta Matcha Brioche ($13+) making waves on my feed when they first opened, and while the combination of fruit + ricotta + toast ain’t revolutionary it did sound rather yummy. So when a friend asked us there for brunch, I knew we’ve got to give that a shot. Let’s start with what I liked: the juicy, plump, skinless grapes were refreshing and an absolute joy to down; and the lavender buds added a wonderful gentle fragrance to the dish, lifting it up without overpowering the other ingredients. I thought the dusting of matcha powder added a nice complexity and balance to the syrupy honey and creamy ricotta as well, though the aesthetically-pleasing-but-unevenly dusting over the honey also meant I got solid bitter clumps in a few bites. I didn’t quite get the crushed pistachios though: they weren’t crunchy enough and didn’t add what I thought’d be a nice toasty, earthy, salty sorta touch. Their brioche also fell a little short for me, neither fluffy nor chewy, sweet nor buttery, and it was also a wee over-toasted so I felt like I was eating a baby wafer with a crunchy exterior and sorta stale insides LOL 🤔

Every time I walk into a bakery I tell myself, “try all the most exciting, different, interesting bakes they’ve got on offer.” But I always cave in to the calling of a croissant. And might I say, Konditori makes an amazing one. Super duper buttery, boasting a crisp exterior with an airy, light and fluffy crumb. Let me tell you: I wanted to just have a couple of bites and keep the remainder for breakfast the next day, but this was so addictive I couldn’t stop and the next thing I knew...it was all gone 🥲 I understand some people are fans of denser chewier croissants, and while I love those too Konditori’s light one is really easy to eat and doesn’t make me feel like my tummy’s all bloated and heavy. Which also means I down them in almost no time at all.

As much as I love my creative dishes, not everyone does and sometimes the best judge of a café is how well they do the classics. What I like about this Kins’ Big Brekkie ($24) is that it really does look like a massive, hearty, tasty breakfast plate — and it tastes like that too. Their scrambled eggs are done rather well and just the way I like em: nice silky folds, creamy from being just slightly underdone, and not overly rich or buttery. Big thumbs up to their shrooms too, which were beautifully browned, well-seasoned and full of umami. Sourdough was nicely buttered and toasted; tomatoes sweet and grilled just right; and the regular processed hashbrowns well, hard to fuck up. I am a little on the fence about their candied bacon, which was very unevenly “candied” — if that makes sense to you. It was more akin to maple-drizzled bacon strips to me, with the top slice receiving more of the syrup bath and the bottom slices like regular (and very crispy) bacon. The sausage also tasted more like those processed English Cumberland ones, without the juicy chunky meat. It is a lil expensive considering the rather straightforward ingredients, but it’s tasty and satisfying and yknow it’s not always that easy to find a brekkie that offers you that — as common as this is.

For some reason every time I see an iced latte with like a really dark, syrupy espresso, I always think “Ooooh how amazing would that be if it were a gula melaka latte.” So when I spied a Gula Melaka Latte on @fangkocoffee’s menu my inner weirdo did a celebratory dance. Verdict: not bad, really not too bad at all! I love that there’s a good bitterness and boldness to the drink, the coffee clear and discernible, with a caramel, nutty sorta sweetness coming through from the palm sugar. I do wish for the earthy, toffee-like flavour of the gula melaka to shine through more; but this is tasty as it is and I’m happy to have at least fulfil my dream of tasting a gula melaka latte.

Burrata-bias aside, what I really appreciate about Zazz Pizza is their crust. Which comes as a huge surprise to the wheat-sensitive me. Their Neapolitan-style ‘za comes with the characteristic raised and puffy edges that are crisp, fluffy, and chewy, with little charred bubbles spread intermittently around. I don’t usually eat my crusts, but with Zazz’s I found myself nibbling at em till I’m like “wait did I finish it all wtf am I gonna choke and die?” That’s how good it was. The base of the pizza was thin as I like em to be, though it does get really soggy as you make your way through it. But really, the cherry on top has to be the burrata 🥲 You can add one to any pizza you order at +$14, which is the best thing ever in my books. I love their Meat Lover ($28) that comes loaded with mozzarella, ham, spicy salami, bacon, sausages, sweet bell peppers, and caramelised onions — lots of cured meats in there, fabulous balance of flavours with those sweet elements.

I’ve always wanted to try Cassia JKT’s canelés, so knowing that Fahrenheit Coffee carries them now meant I was gonna spend a fortune there 🥲 We tried their Kaya, Coffee Butter, and Coffee canelés, and we found none particularly worth mentioning. I’m a big fan of kaya so I really wanted to like that one, but while the flavour was very promising the texture was completely like kueh. I’d even compare it to ambon lol I swear the texture is that similar. This dense, kueh-like underdone texture’s a lot more evident in the Cookie Butter canelé, with the centre completely congealed into a solid custard. I also couldn’t really taste much coffee or cookie butter in the other 2 flavours, and together with the slightly subpar texture we found these completely lacklustre. I noticed Fahrenheit also microwaves these to serve, and that caused the crusts to become a lot soggier; perhaps heating it up in a toaster would be better.

$25 may seem a tad hefty for a classic English breakfast, but take my word when I say it’s worth every buck. You’ve got sourdough toast topped with a creamy 3-egg scramble (idk what eggs go in there I haven’t had a chance to catch Bird since 🙃), sweet roasted tomatoes, juicy and tender homemade sausage patties, bacon strips, creamed mushrooms, and a crisp garden salad. Every component is executed perfectly, each complementing the others while bringing additional layers of nuanced contrast in textures and flavours. It’s straightforward and hearty, and downright delicious. And that’s really all I desire in a good ol’ breakfast plate. They get extra brownie points for a solid salad too: great vinaigrette and crisp veggies that are definitely not just on the plate as an afterthought.

Take this Matcha one: very flavour-forward, the tea discernible while not being overtly bitter (though I personally enjoy the bitterness of Matcha coming through in desserts), balanced out with layers of lightly sweetened whipped cream. I didn’t quite like that the strawberries were sour though. I guess the acidity helps lift up the cake a little, but considering how light the flavours were on the whole I’d much have preferred sweeter, juicier strawberries.