Craftsmen Coffee (Dunearn Village)

Hadn’t been to Craftsmen Coffee’s newer outlets in quite a long while — heard that they had recently opened a new outlet at Dunearn Village (previously Link@896 / Sime Darby Centre) which is a short walk away from King Albert Park MRT Station along the Downtown Line. Craftsmen Coffee’s outlet at Duneran Village is located right beside the outlet of Guzman y Gomez there — it does take up quite a prominent spot considering how it is visible from the main thoroughfare of Dunearn Road. As with the other outlets of Craftsmen Coffee, the Dunearn Village outlet does serve up a few exclusive dishes that are not found at other locations of Craftsmen Coffee; the menu is segmented into sections consisting of Classic Breakfast, Oats & Salad Bowl, Open Face Toast & Croissant Sandwich, Build Your Own Breakfast, Savoury Waffles, Mains, Pasta, Starters and Desserts — there is also a range of bakes and cakes that are stocked within the display chiller at the corner as well.

One of the items that had caught our attention earlier on when we were skimming through the menu would be the Chilli Con Crème Pork Tataki — this is actually described on the menu to consist of elements such as Tender US Pork Tataki, Linguine and a slightly spicy coconut cream; other elements that are not mentioned which we had observed includes a mix of different mushrooms, garlic and wok-fried curry leaves. Digging into the Chilli Con Crème Pork Tataki, the pasta does come with a gravy that seems to be inspired by that of Lemak Chili especially given the use of turmeric and coconut milk; it is not overly rich but definitely carried a slight kick of spiciness — all that with a slight garlicky note. The addition of curry leaves gave the gravy an additional aroma, while the pasta itself does come al-dente; the inclusion of the assortment of mushrooms provided an additional note of earthiness with a slight bounciness in terms of texture. Our favourite part of the dish was the Tender US Pork Tataki; the meat being all smoky and juicy whilst being easy to chew through — there is a slight hint of sweetness whilst there is no undesirable porky stench that comes along. A dish that would fit those whom are looking for a pasta that comes all meaty and packing a punch of flavours!