CAFE-ing

Last tried this pancake 4 years ago, when Populus just opened its door. It’s still soft and kinda fluffy but didn’t remember the pancake to be this thick and dense. Texture was more similar to banana cake than a pancake. That aside, we enjoy the refreshing berry compote and passionfruit curd lacing the top. The butter cube didn’t seem to add any flavour and you can definitely do it without the additional maple syrup on the side. Wouldn’t have been able to finish this all by myself considering how thick it is (and I got jelat after a few bites).

Wasn’t expecting the tangy flavour profile from the noodle salad, but it was welcomed especially to complement our sweet buckwheat pancake. Roasted cod was moist inside though the crust was a tad dry but still good nonetheless. The lime & sesame dressing helps to boost our appetite with its refreshing tangy kicks. Really enjoy this dish!

Understand that they want to have mochi-like texture, but the waffle becomes rather mushy for my liking. The waffle definitely didn't work for me. The sweet sesame brittle, however, was enjoyable, and went well with the salted speculoos softserve.

For the slightly hefty price tag, I was expecting a beautiful slab of salmon, but the dish came with salmon flakes buried in the mentaiko mayo. I couldn't really taste the mentaiko as the mayo was quite overwhelming. Opted for the quinoa salad for the base, but the quinoa barely exist. I would recommend taking the Japanese rice instead.

The cookies were not bad - crispy outside and slightly chewy inside, but they were a tad too thin that I could hardly appreciate the chewiness of the cookies as they quickly fell apart in my mouth. Would prefer a bigger piece of cookie to go with the salted speculoos softserve. The speculoos softserve was decent though.

You can hardly go wrong with karaage and rice, and the same goes here. Flavour was as expected though the karaage can work with a little more seasoning. A super safe dish to get here, but nothing to shout about.

Understand how they're trying to be innovative by incorporating chilli oil and cold noodles, but too bad it lacks the spicy kick that is essential in any mala dishes. Nevertheless, one of the better dishes I had here!

Came with homemade pickles, lots of peanuts, sliced cucumber and oozy egg. The chicken was far from numbing or spicy, which was my only gripe.

Comes in 5 levels of spiciness, the carbonara was surprisingly my favourite dish that day. We had the level 1 and 4 to cater to both non-spicy and spicy lovers. The al dente linguine was topped with a generous topping of bacons and mushroom. Level 1 was mild with a subtle tinge of spiciness, suitable for you who still want to enjoy the carbonara taste afterall. Level 4 was spicy and addictive (well, for me at least) but the carbonara flavour was overwhelmed by the chilli oil. It can get quite jelat especially with the pool of chilli oil at the bottom, but I will gladly choose level 4 over the mildly spicy bowl.

This lavender latte was surprisingly potent in flavour with a sprinkle of lavender petals too. Might be a little too gimmicky for some, but I'll pick this over rose latte anytime!

Their new menu introduces several interesting items such as Braised Beef Cheek with Carrot Kimchi and Peking Chicken Confit with Waffle. Kudos to them for the constant innovation and endless creativity; always enjoyed trying the interesting combination of flavours. My personal favourite was the Crab Aglio Olio Linguine with a surprisingly strong kick. Do ask for the special white habanero chilli if you feel you're up for a spicier dish!

The winning point was the generous glaze of honey coating the smoky BBQ sauce and it was made even more addictive with the Thai Chilli dipping on the side. We ended up dipping our fries into the chilli too 🙈