Always Be Batter

For those whom have been looking at what we had been posting in recent times, it is likely that one would have seen our post some time back about a new Always Be Batter that has since been operating for a couple of months at Kovan. For those whom are unaware, Always Be Batter is a new establishment that had taken over the former premise of the now-defunct Two Cranes at Blk 211 Hougang Street 21 — a known hipster neighbourhood that is also home to some other notable establishments such as Tachinomiya, Claypot Valley, #3, an outlet of Nakhon Kitchen and the iconic Tam Chiak Kopitiam. Not delving much into the details of Always Be Batter since we had done so extensively in our previous post, but Always Be Batter has always centred their offerings around their waffles and croffles. It is in recent times that it seems like the folks at Always Be Batter had strayed into offerings of savoury food that is outside of their typical emphasis on waffles — this includes items that are listed on their “Hambagudon” and “The asian delights” sections on their menu.

It was actually from a post that is posted by Always Abe Better on their social media that we got to know about their offering of the Nasi Lemak — the Nasi Lemak is an item that can be found on their “The asian delights” section of the menu, and is being described on the menu to consist of elements such as homemade breaded cutlet, sunny side up egg, coconut rice, house-made Nasi Lemak chilli, ikan bilis and cucumbers. One obvious thing where one can feel the amount of effort placed in the creation of the dish was in the way that it is being plated; banana leaves being folded into a shape of a bowl to contain the Nasi Lemak within. What really caught our attention enough to have us revisit Always Be Batter for the Nasi Lemak however was the execution of their coconut rice; staying true to their waffle-centric roots, the coconut-rice does look like they have went through the waffle press, coming four pieces with a shape that closely resembles that of Liege waffles. The coconut rice does exude a light pandan-esque fragrance like what one would expect out of a proper Nasi Lemak dish; that being said the texture of the rice is being further enhanced with crisp and slightly chewy mouthfeel considering how it has been pressed in the waffle machine before being served. The breaded chicken cutlet was also rather tasty; brined for sufficient flavour whilst being tender and juicy, the breaded chicken cutlet also did not feel in any way greasy, with its deep-fried, golden brown batter being pretty crisp as well.

The sunny side-up comes void of any undesirable stench of overused oil; also comes with a molten, runny yolk that would be a crowd pleaser, while the Ikan Bilis were sufficiently crisp. Where it came to the house-made Nasi Lemak chili, this also came with a predominantly sweet that ended with a deep and earthier finishing note; something which we do expect from the typical Nasi Lemak chili out there. Truth to be told, the Nasi Lemak at Always Be Batter might sound like a rather basic offering on paper; that being said, we do enjoy the slight twist that they had given to their rendition of the Nasi Lemak — the use of the waffle machine in the preparation process of the dish being something we had not quite seen in other variants of the Nasi Lemak before. Aside from that, one could tell that Always Be Batter has placed quite a fair bit of emphasis in serving their food that is made from scratch; elements like the breaded chicken cutlet and the Nasi Lemak chili being items that could have came from supplied sources but are being painstakingly made with love to ensure patrons do get the very best that they have to offer — something that is also known from the waffle creations that Always Be Batter serves up. At $8.50, the Nasi Lemak at Always Be Batter is quite good value for money considering the effort and thought placed into the dish; one that is worth the go for those curious about their execution of the coconut rice especially!

Just so happened to be hanging around Kovan and found out that Two Cranes that was operating in the area for quite some time is since become history — that being said, the space had become home to a new cafe since. The new cafe is named Always Be Batter; quite a bit of positive naming in there; they had claimed to be a new cafe based on what the staff had informed us, though they do seem to have quite a large number of followers on their Instagram account particularly for an establishment of its age. Given how fast the transition between the two establishments are, it is needless to say that Always Be Batter had used much of what Two Cranes had left behind when they had vacated the space — it is rather evident that most of the furniture and fittings have been retained, and the same can also be said about the facade which only saw minor repainting works. Despite that being said, Always Be Batter had placed a bit of effort in creating the space theirs; there is a theme of toy bricks where one can find throughout the entire space as part of the decor. The staff had introduced the cafe to be of one they have an emphasis on waffles, serving patrons both savoury and sweet variants of waffles. Beverages offered at Always Be Batter includes a line-up named Our Barista’s Creation that features some special concoctions as well as a special beverage for the month, espresso-based specialty coffee, cold brew coffee, tea / iced tea and drinking chocolate.

Considering how we have headed down to Always Be Batter during a weekday evening, we were hoping to give their savoury waffles a go considering how we needed to have dinner. The list of savoury waffles offered at Always Be Batter is rather limited during the soft launch phase which we made our visit during; there were only three (3) savoury waffles on the menu — the Salmon I Love, Smokin’ Hot Aburi Duck, and Mr Pumpin’ Plant. We went for the Salmon I Love since the composition of the item was the least peculiar of the lot here — the dish being described on the menu to come with elements such as smoked salmon, rose lychee, and their “batter waffle”. As much as the naming convention of the dish goes here, we really liked how the Salmon I Love is — seemingly a wordplay on “someone I love” which sounds kind of cute anyway. All waffles are made-to-order and orders are placed via a online POS system to be scanned via a QR code; the online POS system also takes cashless payments directly from there after ordering as well. Considering the made-to-order nature of the waffles here; there was some waiting time for our Salmon I Love to be served up — that being said, 40 minutes from ordering did feel a little bit on the long side. We weren’t bearing very high expectations from the start — the actual presentation was actually better than the photos on the online POS system though it does look rather expectation to say the least. That being said, the impressions started to change as we went for a morsel of the waffle.

It seems that the folks at Always Be Batter had created a waffle batter that is made to specially cater to their savoury waffle offerings — the waffle itself carries a crisp yet firm bite; not too dense, but it is certainly not the airy, light waffle that some establishments would serve up either with its considerable heft. It also manages to retain that texture despite it being left on the table for some times Amidst the buttermilk fragrance of the waffles, there is also a slight hint of cheese that provides a savoury note that makes it quite a good base to pair with savoury toppings over it — the folks revealed to us that they had apparently used a mix of cheeses in their waffle batter to achieve this result. The concept of the Salmon I Love seems to stem from a Lox Bagel; this is considering the use of dill, capers and cream cheese — all of which are elements that are not being mentioned in the menu’s description of the dish. Some might find the amount of cream cheese served with the dish a little jelak, but we thought that there was at least enough to go with the entire waffle — it also helps to gel the smoked salmon above with the savoury waffle beneath being sufficiently dense and smooth with just a bit of tang to it. The smoked salmon slices were fresh and came with just a slight hint of saltish-ness for flavour — all that with the capers and dill providing some tang and a herb-y note that makes it quite a satisfying breakfast-y affair. The inclusion of rose lychee was a bit remote; the rose being more of the petals that did not really add on to dish, while the lychee was a good-to-have but otherwise did not do much to the elements apart from the sweetness that it brings on its own.

During our visit to Always Be Batter, we had also tried the Lychee Cold Brew Foam; this is essentially black cold brew coffee served with a lychee-infused moustache foam / macchiato cap / cream foam that one would usually find as an add-on at bubble tea-centric establishments. The coffee here comes with light body and a fruity flavour profile; matched well with the creaminess of the lychee-infused cream foam that was also sufficient my dense to provide a rich, creamy and fruity note — all that whilst being topped with two lychees above. The savoury waffles at Always Be Batter are priced at $16.90 to $19.90, while the sweet waffles (including the Waffle with Gelato offerings) are priced from $12.90 to $19.90; there is also a “Build a Batter Waffle” for kids that is shaped like a stick man which is priced at $12. We really weren’t expecting much out of Always Be Batter; that being said, it does seem that the establishment is serious in what they do — no doubt a lot of the character in its space is “borrowed” from the tenants that used to occupy the space, but we could definitely see a lot of heart placed into the creation of their dishes. The Salmon I Love was a beautifully designed dish — no doubt a safe combination, but one that is almost flawlessly executed; the Lychee Cold Brew Foam is a more adventurous item that achieved much of the same result as well. Apart from some of the teething issues such as the waiting times for the food, Always Be Batter seems to be on the right track; whether or not if they have to expand out of their waffle-centric focus to appeal to the residents around the area — only time will tell. Still, a spot that cafe-hoppers should probably add to the list of cafes to check out!