ÁTIPICO | ROOM #15

The opening of New Bahru has certainly seen some waves in the local F&B scene during its initial phase of opening — New Bahru is after all home to several locally born and bred names that have enjoyed varying success in their own right even before setting up shop within New Bahru; such establishments would include the likes of The Coconut Club, One Prawn Co., Artichoke, San Shu Gong Chao Yue, Dearborn, One Fattened Calf, PPP Coffee etc.; just to name a few. ÁTIPICO | ROOM #15 might be a lesser known name in the local F&B scene — these folks didn’t previously exist as a dining establishment, though ÁTIPICO is quite a familiar name in the local private dining scene. In fact, we have previously been exposed to a few of ÁTIPICO’s offerings through some pop-ups that they have set up during events previously. ÁTIPICO | ROOM #15 is situated in between Odem and the outlet of The Coconut Club that is located there — they should be relatively easy to find; the shop facade is being painted in a shade of red, while the interior of the shop comes decked in a rustic and industrial yet modern design theme. The decor features elements coming in a raw wooden accent matched with metallic furniture and fittings — all that tastefully matched with stone surfaces; the indoor dining tables featuring tables configured to accommodate to those dining in pairs as well as for groups up to four (4) pax. The food menu at ÁTIPICO | ROOM #15 is split into sections dedicated to All Day, Lunch, Sweets and Bakery — it is worth noting that items listed on the Lunch section of the menu are available on Tuesday to Sunday, while some items listed on the All Day section of the menu are available are only available on Saturday and Sunday. Beverages available at ÁTIPICO | ROOM #15 would include espresso-based specialty coffee, cold-pressed juices, and tea that is sourced from Dammann Freres — this is apart from the alcoholic beverages such as the various wines and beer that they have to offer.

One of the dishes that had caught our attention whilst skimming through the list of dishes that they have to offer in their Lunch menu would be that of the Pumpkin Ravioli. The Pumpkin Ravioli stood out to us considering how we have been quite into raviolis and other handmade pastas for quite a while ever since our visit to South Union Park years ago; we also found the composition of the Pumpkin Ravioli here to be pretty similar to what we have previously had at South Union Park back then that creates a very deep impression with us that we couldn’t forget. The menu describes the Pumpkin Ravioli to come with elements such as roasted pumpkin, toasted hazelnuts, sage butter and smoked ricotta. The Ravioli comes with a pasta that is smooth, soft and silky; the insides being filled pumpkin puree that is earthy and sweet. The smoked ricotta does seem to form the sauce base here; aptly savoury without being overwhelmingly salty — creates this sweet-saltish medley of flavours with a slight buttery fragrance together with the sage butter when had altogether. The inclusion of toasted hazelnuts provide an element of crunch and nuttiness that further adds on to both textures and flavours of the dish.

We also managed to give the Confit Onion Speck Fontina Roll that is being listed on the All Day section of the menu a go – the menu describes the Confit Onion Speck Fontina Roll to come with elements such as sweet French onion confit, Fontana cheese and speck; all featuring a flaky laminated dough. The Confit Onion Speck Fontina Roll is shaped in the same format as a scroll much like a Kouign Amann — the pastry base itself being a pretty well-executed danish that is light, flaky and buttery, whilst it also comes slightly sweet from the addition of bits of confit onion, the pastry also features short strips of crisp bacon that adds on to the savouriness of the Danish for another contrast of flavours. The soft Fontana cheese that is shaved atop further brings all of the elements together, binding the savoury and the slightly sweet notes with its inherent saltishness that does not overwhelm the entire pastry.

One of the desserts which we had been hearing quite a fair bit from ÁTIPICO | ROOM #15 would also be the Gateau St. Honore — this was also the item from the Sweets section of the menu that caught our attention given our usual love for cream puffs. The menu at ÁTIPICO | ROOM #15 describes the Gateau St. Honore to come with elements such as caramelised feuilltage, choux puff, vanilla pastry cream and mascarpone chantilly. This does feel like a deconstructed version of a cream puff where the vanilla pastry cream and mascarpone chantilly now sits outside of the choux puff rather than within; all sitting above the caramelised feuilltage that resembles the pastry that one will find in a Mille Feuille. The pastry comes all flaky but with also has a firmness to it, while the vanilla pastry cream carries a soft, light yet creamy texture that hints subtly of a fragrance whilst the mascarpone chantilly provides a bit more depth in terms of both textures and flavours. The choux puff does come with a layer of hardened caramelised crust over the top that adds a textural contrast to the spongey and airy puff pastry. During our visit to ÁTIPICO | ROOM #15, we decided to go for the Piccolo to pair up with the various dishes and bakes that we had went for. The Piccolo comes with an earthy flavour profile with a medium body; pretty much a cuppa that one can go for as a weekday perk-me-up. We also found the cuppa to be pretty decently-pulled; this is especially considering that the cuppa as pretty smooth and creamy for the most part.

ÁTIPICO had always consistently left a mark with us every time that they have set-up pop-up stalls at weekend markets in the past — in fact, there has been pop-up events that we would purposely make a visit to after knowing that ÁTIPICO is part of. Whilst our last time having anything served up by ÁTIPICO was quite a number of years ago, ÁTIPICO | ROOM #15 still seems to embody the spirit of what we recalled ÁTIPICO to be — these folks have always placed an emphasis on the execution of their dishes that always makes it gastronomical with the use of premium produce whilst being especially inventive at the same time. Whilst seemingly opting for dishes which seem to be largely more predictable this time around, we still left ÁTIPICO | ROOM #15 more than impressed and satiated with how they have paid so much attention in detail to all aspects of their dishes to achieve that consistency that they intend to showcase to their patrons — not missing out on how the dish had been conceptualised as well. Prices of the food at ÁTIPICO | ROOM #15 is being priced in the mid-tier; slightly pricier than that of artisanal cafes that are part of the third-wave coffee movement with the items listed on the Lunch section of the menu ranging from $22 to $42 for individually-sized mains — the lowest-priced being the Ricotta Tartine while the priciest being the Beef Cheek 2.0. With all that being said, ÁTIPICO | ROOM #15 is still worth a visit to check out what they are all about!

And to get a taste of their sourdough, you have to get their beautifully plated lunch sandwich, the Ricotta Tartine ($18). So good! The toasted sourdough bread was topped with house made ricotta, chili jam, Charentais melon, confit tomatoes, toasted almonds, and basil. A literal mouthful, the refined combo was amazingly refreshing. Think burst of sweetness from the tomatoes and luscious ricotta with pops of nuttiness from the crunchy nuts and aromatic bites of basil.

A lighter, more delicate number, the Gâteau St.Honoré ($13) was lovely too. Stacked with velvety vanilla pastry cream, mascarpone chantilly and small caramelized choux puffs loaded with more smooth cream, the house-made feuilletage (multi-layered puff pastry) was so fun to eat texturally. Not cloying at all, despite the amount of cream.

If you are going New Bahru, you can’t miss ÁTIPICO! Although their New Bahru outpost promises a robust brunch menu, we just had to try the freshly baked pastries and bread that they are known for.

Marrying tangy fresh notes of raspberry from the fruity confit layer with distinct nuttiness from the pistachio almond cream, the signature French Kiss ($13) was simply exquisite. The colour of the pistachio ganache was kinda intimidating for me but it didn’t taste artificial. The tart texture was really crisp as well which was very complementary to the softer filling.

The lamination of the Pain Suisse ($7) is 👌👌👌

Absolutely prefer this over dearborn upstairs for similar price point ✨ different concept but Atipico execution of french pastries 🥐 is worth every penny!✨ especially their classic cakes which you can’t find anywhere else! 
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French kiss ($13) is a pistachio lover must try! rich pistachio base with raspberry filling and pistachio coating ✨