Brawn & Brains Coffee (GrandLink Square)

For those whom had been following us for a while, Brawn & Brains Coffee had been one of those cafes that is pretty much a staple for us — whilst these folks had been around for quite a while with outlets situated at the back alley of 673 Geylang Road, the lobby of Pico Design Centre and also at Hamilton Road, they had recently also made their return back to Guillemard Road. This does feel somewhat like a homecoming for the brand especially since Guillemard Road was the address of their first and second locations — both within the building currently known as Singapore Badminton Stadium; their latest outlet is however situated within Grandlink Square with a frontage that faces the back alley of the shophouses along Geylang Road. The Grandlink Square location sits between their Geylang Road location and Hamilton Road outlet in terms of size; seating is available around a communal table that sits in the middle of the entire space, while there are also plastic chairs lined up along the shopfront which doubles up as outdoor seating as well. Currently in its soft launch phase, the Grandlink Square outlet offers the same line-up of tea cakes, brownies, quiches, donuts, and Korvapuusti (i.e. Cinnamon Rolls) as their other locations — beverages available are split into categories dedicated to Coffee, Kombucha & Fizzies, and Matcha & Choc.

The Kaya Donut has been something which we had found ourselves having during some of our visits to their other locations over the years — the Donuts being an offering that is made in-house with the Kaya jam filled within being similarly made from scratch. Coming in the form of a Bombolone, the Kaya Donut features a soft and fluffy consistency that isn’t too dense; all that whilst being dusted in sugar on the exterior. The Kaya itself comes with a more runny consistency than that of commercially-made Kaya; the Kaya coming with a green hue typical of that of Nonya-style Kaya that makes use of Pandan as one of the ingredients involved. There is definitely a prominent hint of Pandan fragrance coming through — pretty much the element emphasised here whilst the Kaya was not overly sweet; definitely still familiar and comforting, and works well to be paired with a Long Black on the side!