8 Interesting Cafe Food Taking Singapore by Storm

Cafe culture is a global widespread, and it’s no longer surprising to hear your friends and family hopping from one cafe to another over the weekends. With so many cafes popping up nowadays, chefs have to constantly offer something unique and different to attract the diners. We’ve sussed out 8 interesting items that are currently trending at cafes in Singapore.

Everyone say CHEEEEESE

Molten Lava Cheese Burger ($25) from The Benjamins allows you to pick your choice of beef, fried chicken or soft-shell crab to be served with ciabatta buns. As you split the ciabatta buns apart, a small amount of nacho cheese flows out. It isn’t as creamy and savoury as we expected, and the taste of cheese isn’t overwhelming. Pair your cheesy items with an awesome glass of ice-cold Coca-Cola for that perfect finish.

Anything with Mentaiko

Salmon Samurai’s Salmon Mentaiko with Udon ($9.90) has 5 slices of fatty salmon sashimi sitting atop the thick, chewy udon. The salmon sashimi are sliced to the right thickness, and taste very fresh. However, the highlight for us is the gloriously torched mentaiko cream, which gives the dish a rich flavour. For a heartier meal, you can add other toppings such as onsen egg ($1), half an avocado ($1.50), or ebiko ($1).

Going Local

Some cafes, such as Revolution Coffee, are bringing local food into the hipster scene. Nasi Lemak here is steamed with fresh coconut every day, instead of being thrown in a rice cooker with coconut milk. Only the best Fragrant Jasmine rice is used and each grain of rice is distinct and fluffy but richly lemak. The Nasi Lemak rice sets feature dishes such as crispy pork, crispy fried chicken, 5-spice pork confit, beef rendang and chicken rendang.

Each set comes complete with the Nasi Lemak rice, omelette, ikan bills, homemade sambal belachan and coffee sambal on cucumber slices. The price of nasi lemak ranges from $4.90 to $9.90. The sambal caused us to perspire through our meal. Hence, we like having this Nasi Lemak with a glass of ice-cold Coca-Cola as we felt that it helps us bring the level of spiciness down.

Gyu-Don

Grilled beef (medium or well done) and onsen tamago sits atop Japanese rice for this tantalising dish. There are a couple of cafes serving gyudon, but we really like the one from 9² Coffee House & Bar which is affordably priced at $13.90. The beef is nicely grilled, such that it still retains its juiciness and tenderness. It is also marinated quite well. Our favourite is the runny egg yolk that oozes out so seductively! However, even after a good toss, the rice still tastes bland and its texture is too mushy.

Everything Matcha

Chocolate, it’s time to move aside as Matcha has taken over most of our tastebuds. There’s been an increase in Matcha Latte and Matcha Pancakes at cafes islandwide, and we even found Matcha Burger at I AM Cafe.

Charcoal-Grilled ‘The Quest’ Burger ($18.90) consists of I AM’s signature charcoal-grilled beef patty marinated with 7 different herbs, topped with turkey bacon, in-house special spicy avocado spread, a dash of truffle mayo and BBQ sauce stacked between Matcha infused buns. You can’t really taste the Matcha, but the buns are fluffy with crispy edges, done just the way we like. We enjoy having a glass of ice-cold Coca-Cola with this juicy, sumptuous burger, imagine the refreshing rush of a fizzy glass of Coca-Cola as you relish the potpourri of flaours – simply great.

Fusion Food

Besides introducing local delights at cafes, some cafes are infusing local flavours into their western dishes for that unique twist. This East-meets-West creation can be found at Redpan. The ‘Bak Chor’ Foie Gras Pasta ($19) is more savoury than tangy as there isn’t much vinegar added in. Topped with minced pork, with a luxurious touch of foie gras, our ordinary mee pok just got more decadent. The tagliatelle manages to absorb the pasta sauce, and the foie gras and seared pork belly are really tender.

Pulled Pork Dishes

Pulled Pork Pancakes ($14) from Stirling Highway is made in-house. Pulled pork is piled between three buttermilk pancakes, and served with house made BBQ sauce and whiskey infused maple syrup. The pancakes are well prepared – buttery, a little moist, and not too dense. It’s great on its own, even without pulled pork. But, those who prefer savoury over sweet food will like this pulled pork version. Savour these pancakes with a can of fizzy Coca-Cola, the ice-cold drink completes our meal on a good note.

Rainbow Food

Having a rainbow burger at Word Bistro makes you dream of riding a unicorn, and dancing with fairies. The eye-catching Handsome Burg ($20) consists of bacon, onion, kale, and a thick succulent beef patty slathered with house-made spicy peanut butter sauce stacked between 2 colourful buns with texture resembling that of bagels. This savoury delight is a comfort food, and the vibrant colours puts us in a good mood.

Doesn’t matter what time of the day it is, Coca-Cola® can be enjoyed anywhere and everywhere. This bubbly beverage is nice to have, especially when the weather gets unbearably hot and humid. Head over to Coca-Cola® SG’s Facebook and Instagram to find out more about other great eats that can be enjoyed with Coke®.

This article is brought to you in partnership with Coca-Cola®, the opinions are of the writers’ own.