New Restaurants, Cafes & Bars in Singapore: September 2020

You might have come across King’s Cart Coffee during a party or corporate event - after all, these guys first started out as a pop-up coffee cart over three years ago. In their fresh new Joo Chiat digs, you’ll find a series of coffee-centric food, bakes and desserts, along with fab coffee concoctions. Burppler Gary Lim tried the Coconut Cold Brew ($9), which combines espresso with fresh coconut juice and coconut flesh. “It’s light and refreshing, and even complements the fruity coffee notes."

Photo by King's Cart Coffee

Live near Telok Blangah? Make your way down to JIAK SONG, a humble hawker stall by MasterChef finalist Aaron Wong, selling mee hoon kway, a type of thick-cut handmade pulled noodle. The star here is their Signature Dry Mee Hoon Kway ($3.50), which come with the usual minced pork, spinach, and egg. You'll want to give this a good mix, getting the egg to coat each slice of al dente noodle. Try the Signature All-In Combo Soup ($5) as well, which also comes with pork slices and shrimp balls in a rich pork broth!

Photo by Jiak Song

Butter Bean is the latest cafe to open in Funan Mall, facing the main road in its yellow and fragrant glory. Burppler Amanda Wong recommends trying the different open-faced toasts (from $2) here, as "the flavours of toasts were eggciting, bringing new twists to our traditional breakfast toast." Favourite include the PB & J, Omu Cheese, and Flossy Chick. As for drinks, you won't go wrong with the BBrûlée Kopi or Teh Latte.

Photo by Burppler Amanda Wong

If you're game for crazy long queues, hop on the bandwagon and try to get the popular egg tarts, bolo bao, and fish balls from Hoover Cake Shop, Kam Kee Cafe and Tak Hing Fishball Company respectively. Burppler Maureen Ow says "The Hong Kong pineapple bun is firm on the outside with a sweet, crumbly golden crust that resembles a pineapple and covers almost the entire exterior to provide crunch in every bite." As for Kam Kee's Milk Tea, Burppler Chubby Cheeks says it is "very, very thick velvety, creamy and aromatic."

Photo by Joy Luck Teahouse

Ahtti Korean Chicken has been making its way around social media lately - for good reason too. If our Burppler's reviews are any indication, this new Korean fried chicken joint in Jurong East is worth travelling for. Burppler Xing Wei Chua says the Honey Butter Fried Chicken "was pretty memorable and quite worth making the trip." Coming in servings of either half (8pcs) or whole (16pcs), you have a choice of boneless, whole bird, or wings and drumettes. He adds that "the batter is satisfyingly crisp without being overly thick."

Photo by Burppler Durianzz Jiak

Josh’s Grill is the latest newcomer to Singapore’s grill scene. It’s a fairly casual destination that draws inspiration from a modern cowboy ranch. Love a spicy kick? Get your hands on chef’s special Char-Grill Spicy Chicken Chop ($10.90) with a homemade dynamite sauce, cooked to succulent golden perfection. Burppler Julius Lim also likes the Prawn Aglio Olio "that totally wowed us for its flavour profile and huge prawns that come with it."

Photo by Burppler Julius Lim

Heart of Darkness V2.0, now at Keong Saik Road, brings the same good vibes and hospitality regulars have come to expect, in a bigger and better space! Enjoy 25+ craft beers on tap along with a wide variety of wines, creative beer cocktails from, and a full kitchen cooking up delicious western fusion dishes. Burppler Evan Mua's choice of poison is Brutal Instinct Brut IPA ($15.50 for standard size) was an intriguing brew — first greeted by bright fruity notes, which elegantly faded into an endearing dryness, before sliding down my gullet with a long and dry finish."

Photo by Burppler Evan Mua

Get your daily dose of caffeine with over 20 drinks at Beyond Coffee. And we don't mean just normal coffee. These guys go crazy with a unique marriage of flavours, such as coffee with fresh fruits, tomatoes, herbs, and even cheese. Burppler Stella TYT enjoyed the Something About Mary ($7.50), a "quite nice coffee-based drink akin to mocktail," with passionfruit, apple juice, and torched rosemary. Others to try include the Tomato Tango ($7.50), an umami burst with sweet cherry tomatoes, seaweed, and fresh mint.

Photo by Burppler Stella TYT

From the Bibim Naengmyeon (cold potato noodles in spicy sauce) to the black bean sauce jajangmyeon, these guys are the experts when it comes to Korean noodles. Burppler Gladys Tan says the taste and portions here do not disappoint. "Each bowl comes with a generous portion of chewy potato starch noodles, slices of pear, cucumber, pork and a hard-boiled egg." She also ordered the Daepae Samgyeop ($18.80), which is thinly-sliced grilled pork, "well-marineted and tender."

Photo by Burppler Xing Wei Chua

No one would have thought about serving baos at 200 metres up in the air, but here it is. BAO, located at SkyBar, is the latest concept by Ce La Vi. The concept was first introduced in their Tokyo outlet, and features a delicious fusion between the Asian bao bursting with meat, seafood, and signature sauces. Burppler Gary Lim recommends the Black Angus BBQ Bao ($16) with cheddar, caramelised onions, bacon, and BBQ sauce, and the Sichuan Eggplants Bao with pickled coleslaw and spicy mayo ($14) for vegetarians.

Photo by BAO by Ce La Vi