The Coffee Academics – Perfect for a Coffee Break in City Hall

The heart of Raffles City lies in its basement which is filled with countless island-like eateries. Sneaking in last month without a huge hoo-ha is The Coffee Academics, which has been labelled as one of the best cafes in Southeast Asia. Many have been going on and on about their coffee, and their mains have taken a back seat. Let’s find out if they are as good with their pans as they are with their beans.

The Mess ($20) is a dish exclusive to TCA at Raffles City. A 63-degree egg is buried in a mini well formed by crispy potatoes and sautéed spicy chicken sausages. The richness of the egg complements the other elements well, making the dish extra pleasant. This dish turned out to be a good mess after all.

Let’s taco about their Crispy Fish Fillet Tacos ($23). I was hoping for a beautifully-battered fish that, when bitten into, will reveal a tender white flesh that flakes apart easily. However, all I received was disappointment which stemmed from the dryness of the fish.

You know it’s a bad sign when I only reach out for the curly fries. The incoherence of the dish was so overwhelming that one bite was all it took to say no. What can I say, tacos are just not their thing.

The Seafood and Mentaiko Cream Pasta ($18) is another dish that I probably won’t return for. The pasta and sauce were under-seasoned for me, with an apparent lack of mentaiko. Too heavy a sauce, that it almost caused my stomach to sag.

The Chocolate Cocoa ($6 hot, $6.50 iced) gave us nothing to shout about, as it kind of reminded us of the average chocolate milk.

I guess now I understand why their mains are not in the spotlight, because they are just not that amazing after all. Continue sipping on their coffee, but hop off to anywhere else in the foodie basement to grab a bite.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the cafe featured here.

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