Learnt about the existence of the new Space23 when we were going around the Jalan Besar neighbourhood whilst dropping by the favourite place — Space23 is a fairly new addition to the local F&B scene, having taken up quite a prominent shophouse unit along Jalan Besar that is quite impossible to miss. The cafe is located along the stretch of shophouses situated right across from Hoa Nam Building; the row of shophouses also be the same one as where one can find other notable dining establishments such as the likes of the outlet of Abundance, Two Blur Guys and The Canteen by Enjoy. Just like most other cafes that have opened in recent times, the interior decor of the cafe features a minimalist decor theme with a slight Japandi influence — there is the use of pretty solid-looking wooden dining furniture against the slightly concrete-esque walls and terrazzo-esque floors of the space. There are some folks whom have mentioned the cafe decked in a space theme considering the name of the cafe being spray-painted on one of the utility boxes, while the logo of the cafe also features an astronaut — there isn’t much connection to it being space-themed apart from those elements however. It is noted that tables at Space23 are configured in a manner that accommodates for patrons visiting in pairs to groups of four (4) pax; there is a larger sized table that is able to fit in groups larger than four (4) pax that comprises of a combination of bench seating and proper dining chairs as well. We visited Space23 during their soft launch phase — the food menu offered comprised of sections dedicated to Brunch Avids (All-day breakfast), You're sweeter, trust me. (Sweet), Indulgences (Fried items) and Pastry; the list of beverages available at Space23 will include espresso-based specialty coffee, tea and some canned beverages — just to name a few.

Skimming through the menu, one of the items that seem to have gotten our attention whilst doing so would be the Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes that is listed under the “You're sweeter, trust me. (Sweet)” section of the menu. The menu does not exactly describe the elements that had gone into the item for the making of the Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes; that being said, it can be observed from our order that the Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes does resemble that of the Ricotta Pancakes that was a pretty trendy dish way back in the early days of indie cafes in the local F&B scene where establishments like the now-defunct Paddy Hills and the now-defunct Stranger’s Reunion were serving it. The version of the Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes at Space23 is made simpler however; the Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes coming as is in a stack of three (3) pancakes rather than being a single large-sized pancake without the addition of other more “decorative” elements such as nuts and icing sugar. It does come topped with some fresh blueberries atop, whilst coming with whipped cream, butter and maple syrup on the side. The Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes does require a little bit of a waiting time of around 20 minutes to be served as the item is being made from scratch. Slicing into the Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes, the first thing that we noticed is how the pancake is especially soft and especially moist; the interior of the pancake carrying a shade of blue that is from the infusion of blueberry into the batter. One can also find studs of blueberries speckled throughout the entire pancake as well. The inclusion of blueberries within the batter helps to add a teensy bit of sweetness to the pancake. Amongst the whipped cream, butter and maple syrup that were being served on the side, we had a preference of pairing up the Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes with the whipped cream — the soft and fluffy cream does carry its own inherent sweetness that further helps to enhance the flavours of the dish even further.

During the same visit to Space23, we also decided to go for the Chef’s Guilty Pleasure which is listed as an item under the Indulgences (Fried items) section of the menu. Space23 describes the Chef’s Guilty Pleasure to come with elements such as Curly Fries, “Big Mac” sauce, pickle relish and dill pickle; it is also being mentioned in the menu that it is “inspired by Chef’s favourite supper”. We do reckon that the dish does need a little improvement in the way that it is being plated considering the presentation of the dish does feel like the various elements are just strewn all over the dish. That being said, it could be easily describe that the Chef’s Guilty Pleasure as a cheeseburger-inspired fries dish. We did feel that the curly fries were a little bit over-fried where they are crisp and not too greasy; though a little bit to crunchy and losing that slightly soft texture within that they tend to usually carry. That being said, the inclusion of burger sauce and various pickles does help to replicate those flavours where one would expect to find in a classic cheeseburger — perhaps just missing of the notes of caramalised onions and cheese which were more towards our own preferences. The exclusion of cheese here likely is a decision made for the Chef’s Guilty Pleasure to not come overly heavy as a side, whilst we especially love the dill pickles considering how it comes a little chilled to provide a temperature contrast whilst carrying a tang that also resets the tastebuds. The White (Hot) at Space23 is actually pretty decently-pulled; ours does come with an interesting latte art that seem to involved a unicorn but we liked how the cuppa does come with a medium body and featured an earthy and nutty flavour profile that works well as a perk-me-up.

On first look, Space23 does seem like one of those typical cafe startups that is run by folks who do not seemingly have the experience of running a F&B business ; that being said, it does seem that there is quite an emphasis at Space23 where items are made from scratch — this would include their items being listed on the Brunch Avids (All-day breakfast) section of the menu that features in-house Shokupan, as well as the line-up of Pastry that they have described for some in their social media pages that are freshly baked daily. We weren’t expecting much for the Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes, but we did feel that it quite hit the spot for us and probably is one of the signature items that they have to offer. Prices of the items listed in their Brunch Avids (All-day breakfast) and You're sweeter, trust me. (Sweet) sections of the menu are within the range of $14 to $24; the only exceptions that are priced at $9 are the 70% Valrhona Brownie with Vanilla Ice cream and the Madeline Trio. The Jalan Besar area is one that is especially saturated with many of such cafes being run by more established names that had been in the F&B scene for quite some time; hopefully there would be some room within this buzzy neighbourhood for these folks to operate in the long run given the current economic climate and competition surrounding them.