Fame Coffee

Croissant with an Asian twist
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Topped with coconut flakes and drizzled with gula melaka
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This was too crispy for my liking and also I couldn't really taste the gula melaka

Singapor Coffee Festival Special
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Fame Coffee x MILKLAB
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Using MILKLAB Oat Milk
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Overall, a nice mix of toasted and nutty black sesame and creamy oat milk

Heard all about the new Fame Coffee which had recently just opened at Middle Road — one of the few new additions to the local coffee scene considering how there are also news of other establishments that have opened in the same period of time. Turns out, Fame Coffee is an establishment that is opened by the same folks behind Unity Coffee — a small specialty coffee shop that had been operating for a while at The Promenade @ Pelikat which we had only visited fairly recently. It is noted that with Fame Coffee’s opening, Unity Coffee has been listed as temporarily closed for the time being — seemingly a move to stabilise operations at Fame Coffee at this current juncture, though it does seem that nothing official has been announced about Unity Coffee at this current juncture. All aside, Fame Coffee takes over the former location that was being occupied by Mellower Coffee — the outlet of Mellower Coffee that it takes over being the iconic two-storey outlet that was located right beside Bugis+ (or opposite Bugis Junction, if one may). It does seem that Fame Coffee had pretty much kept the interior of the space largely intact; this meant that the furniture and fittings remains largely similar with a bit of reshuffling around — that being said, the second storey of the space was closed and used a storage during the time we had made the visit (some of Mellower Coffee’s branded decor can still be seen intact as well). The food menu at Fame Coffee seems to be fairly limited at the point of time when we made our visit — one will be able to view the food items which they offer in the display case located at the counter, which comprises of a few pies, sandwiches and brownie for those whom are looking for something sweet to go along with their coffee. For beverages, it is needless to say that Fame Coffee places an emphasis on their specialty coffee offerings here; this means a menu of espresso-based specialty coffee as well as filter brews to choose from. Apart from these, Fame Coffee also serves up drinking chocolate, tea lattes as well special concoctions such as their Singapore Latte and FML — Fame Latte, as well bottled cold brews and a line-up of teas as well.

Skimming through the variety of pies which they have to offer at Fame Coffee, it seems that the Prawn Lemak Chili Padi Pie was the item which stood out to us the most even amongst the various sandwiches which they have to offer — this was perhaps due to the fusion element which the pie comprises of, even though there is also one with an Indian fusion element as well (i.e. Butter Chicken Cottage Pie) that is also in the display chiller. The pies are being warmed up upon order here; patrons will be called out by the name given to the baristas at the counter when making their item to collect their order at the counter once they are ready to be served. Digging into the Prawn Lemak Chili Padi Pie, we found out that the Prawn Lemak Chili Padi Pie was a cottage pie with a fusion element to it — this also meant that there is no pastry element to the pie considering how the pie filled with potato and covered with a layered of melted cheese over the top.

Considering how these were already made beforehand and heated up only upon order, the cheese had pretty much lost that stringy cheese pull when we dug into it. That being said, it does provide a slight savouriness to the entire pie; the pie also comes with soft chunks of potato with some pieces of potato skin that attempts to adds a bit of texture to the dish. Mixed with the soft chunks of potatoes within are small pieces of shrimp — there are actually quite a number of these and they seemed to have been mixed with a Lemak Chili Padi sauce that provides for a creamy, coconut-y note with a spicy kick similar to the gravy of Ayam Lemak Chili Padi that adds on to the natural sweetness and the bite of the prawns and potatoes; quite addictive on its own. The Singapore Latte that we have had is essentially a Latte that comes with a pink-coloured Bandung foam (i.e. rose syrup foam) over the top. Only served in iced form (i.e. no hot variant available), the Latte comes fairly strong with a medium body with a fruity body and an earthy finish — quite a cuppa that carried a kick while the Bandung-infused foam acts like a “macchiato” layer as one would be familiar to the same served at bubble tea establishments; carried a sweet floral note as one would expect from the beverage that it is being inspired from. Overall, quite a spacious location with some interesting though limited food options to go for; a spot that is well worth considering for a cuppa and light food if around the area — perhaps somewhere that is suitable for one to get their stuff done if not too crowded as well.