Popular homegrown bakery Elijah Pies is opening its first-ever dining concept with its new cafe at Tanjong Pagar Plaza.

Established in 2014 as a takeaway shop, Elijah Pies is a specialty pie shop that is known for their famous nutella pie as well as an array of gorgeous pies. They opened a baking studio at 803 King George’s Ave in Lavender in 2021.

The new Elijah Pies cafe will be officially opening to the public on 6 May 2023. They will be giving a free box of Mini Pies (S$26.90) for the first 50 customers (who spend a minimum of S$20) on their opening day on 6 May 2023.

The design of Elijah Pies’ new cafe is intended to imitate the cozy ambiance of a residential home and has been thoughtfully created to accommodate 20 guests across 5 sections – the porch, living room, dining table, fireplace and daybed.

The central feature of Elijah Pies’ new location is a 4-meter long island table situated within an open kitchen, where founder-baker Elijah Tan and his team of bakers will serve a thoughtfully selected menu of pies that are crafted by hand and offer comforting and familiar flavors.

The menu will include popular sweet and savoury pies such as the Nutella Pie, Yuzu Meringue Pie , as well as new creations like the Seaweed Chicken Pot Pie and Mac N’ Cheese Pie.

Fans of Elijah Pies will know that they serve some of the best tarts in Singapore and they taste just as good as they look.

Get a table at the counter and catch a glimpse of founder-baker Elijah Tan and his team assembling and preparing the final touches at the open kitchen.

There are three new savoury pies which are available exclusively at the new cafe:

• Mac N’ Cheese Pie (S$12.90)
• Tomato Prawn Bisque Pie (S$14.90)
• Seaweed Chicken Pot Pie (S$13.90)

We had the chance to try all the savoury pies which are generously filled with lots of ingredients and our top picks are the Black Truffle Mash Pie, Mac N’ Cheese Pie and Scallop Chowder Pie. The savoury pies are great as a light snack during lunch for those who are working in the Central Business District.

In addition to the pies, there is also a range of beverages available that have been created using baking methods. These include the Vanilla Pistachio drink that is blended with genuine nut butter, and the Grapefruit Elderflower soda that is infused with locally farmed organic flowers.

You can also grab a cup of coffee to go along with your favourite tarts.

Elijah Pies
7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza
#01-102 Singapore 081007
Tel: +65 9855 9480
Monday to Wednesday: 10am – 6pm
Thursday to Sunday: 10am – 10pm

Established in 1989 by Michael Allpress in Auckland, New Zealand, Allpress Espresso has become a renowned specialty coffee roaster for independent cafés worldwide including Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Singapore.

Allpress Espresso Singapore is opening its first pop-up cafe in Singapore at 73 Duxton Road on 2 May 2023 for 6 months.

To celebrate its opening, Allpress @ 73 Duxton will be having a 1-for-1 promotion for all espresso-based coffees for a week from 9 to 14 May 2023

Allpress Espresso Singapore will be serving its signature drinks such as Espresso (S$5), Long Black (from S$5), Flat White (from S$6) and Latte (from S$6).

It has partnered The Dark Gallery team to curatee a food menu to enhance the coffee experience, which includes delicious savory bagels, pastries, cake, and ice cream.

Photos credit: Allpress Espresso Singapore

Some of the desserts include Coffee Basque Cheesecake (S$8), Vanilla Espresso Cake (S$9), Allpress Dirty Caramel Chips ice cream (from S$6), as well as a vegan-friendly Allpress Cold Brew Sorbet (from S$6).

Fans of Allpress Espresso can also get limited-edition merchandise such as t-shirts and tote bags that are specially-designed for this pop-up, as well as Allpress Espresso’s range of products are also retailed at the shop.

Allpress Expresso Singapore @ 73 Duxton
73 Duxton Rd, Singapore 089532
Tuesday – Sunday: 8am – 5pm

Le Matin Patisserie is opening a new full-fledged cafe at 77 Robinson Road by mid-April.

Helmed by Chef Mohamed Al-Matin who has previously worked at Noma, Restaurant Andre, Black Star Pastry, Zumbo, Le Matin Patisserie first started as an online pastry shop during Circuit Breaker, and it has also opened a physical shop at Raeburn Park.

We love their classic pastries such as Kouign Amann, Pain Au Chocolat and Brioche Feuilette.

Laminated with lots of butter, the Brioche Feuilette—a croissant-brioche hybrid—was truly outstanding with an extremely buttery and crispy pastry. The signature Kouign Amann was equally buttery, flaky and had subtle hints of vanilla.

Chocolate lovers will love the Pain Au Chocolat which was stuffed with Valrhona dark chocolate and came with a molten chocolatey center.

At Le Matin Patisserie’s new cafe, you can look forward to the full range of sweet and savoury pastries including croissants, Kouign Amann, tarts, eclairs, soft serve as well as speciality coffee.

And on top of that, Chef Matin will be introducing a new set of Breakfast Cakes—individually sized Petit Gateaux that resemble your favourite Breakfast dishes.

Fans of Le Matin Patisserie will be happy to know that they are also having a pop-up cafe at Paragon Orchard. They have taken over the cafe in Porcelain Origins and they are serving their classic pastries, bottled cold brews, seasonal kombuchas and pour-over coffee.

Le Matin Patisserie
77 Robinson Road
Singapore 068896

Equate Coffee is a new minimalist coffee shop in Tanjong Pagar that focuses on coffee and pastries which include Canele and Ondeh cake.

One of the owners behind Equate Coffee is from Habitat Coffee and it is currently still in soft launch and will officially open to the public on 1 March 2021.

Choose from Espresso (S$3), Black (S$4.5), White (S$5), Chocolate (S$5), Mocha (S$5.5) as well as Filter Coffee (S$7). On top of that, Equate Coffee also offers traditional Kopi (S$2.5) and Kopi-O (S$2).

Enjoy your coffee with their caneles (S$) and ondeh cakes (S$7) which are baked in-house.

Photos credit: Equate Coffee

Equate Coffee is definitely a great addition to the speciality coffee scene in Singapore. Do check it out when you are around the area.

Equate Coffee
1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza, #02-25, Singapore 082001

Joining our local café scene is Farmers and Chefs, who has just taken over the premises of former Toast Box at Singapore Conference Hall in Shenton Way! The quaint al fresco establishment resides in a canopy tent, where diners can expect to be close to nature.

Think wood and grass: the entire place is set up with wooden elements, ornaments, plants and birdhouses. It almost seems as if we were transported to a magical garden!

Here, they believe in serving wholesome foods with quality ingredients, and their menu synonymously matches the nature theme.

First up, we had their Traditional Breakfast Set (S$3), which consisted of kaya butter toast and two onsen eggs. We love how the folks here have spun their own modern twist to our old-school soft-boiled eggs and toast set, replacing it with onsen eggs that were simply runny perfection.

The marriage between the silky yolk mixture and crispy toast was heavenly; we dipped the latter with the eggs, and upon biting into it, the toast would ooze salty, yet slightly sweet yolk. The kaya on the toast wasn’t cloyingly sweet either and complemented the saltiness of the eggs.

Of course, we had to try their signature Farmers Breakfast (S$10). Though quite small in portion, it was still a substantial dish served on a platter full of carbs, proteins and crunchy vegetables.

The chicken was juicy and tender, and we could taste the slight char on the skin. The sautéed mushrooms were also crispy and burst apart in our mouths, oozing luscious shroom flavour.

The scrambled egg was also creamy with a hint of milk, making it the perfect, goey topping to the buttered ciabatta! The softness of the eggs was also a nice contrast to the tough crust.

But our favourite component in the dish is the pan-seared rosti! It was crisp on the outside, but melted in our mouths, leaving us craving for more of that potato-ey goodness.

Lastly, we had the English Breakfast Tea (S$4.50/cold). It had a fragrant aroma with floral notes. It also had an earthy, mellow flavour, going beautifully with the rich, hearty meal. There was no lingering bitter aftertaste too.

Farmers and Chefs is one café in CBD that serves quality food at affordable prices. During lunch, they offer rice bowls that are priced between S$8.80 to S$13.80, while most of the pasta dishes are between S$8.80 to S$12.80. You will also be happy to know that they do not charge GST and service charge.

Expect to busk under the canopy and munch on delectable dishes while you escape the hustle and bustle of the city when you are here!

Farmers and Chefs
Singapore Conference Hall
7 Shenton Way #01-04
Singapore 068810
Tel: +65 8535 7555
Mon to Fri: 8am – 8pm
(Closed on weekends)
Nearest Station: Tanjong Pagar

The cafe scene in Singapore is saturated with a plethora of cafes that more or less serve up grub that’s pretty mainstream, namely typical brunch items such as eggs Benedict, french toast, granola bowls and the likes. Newly-opened Kafe Utu, however, stands out from the crowd.

Proudly proclaiming themselves Singapore’s first Afro-themed cafe, they dish out brunch-style classics underscoring heavy influences from African cuisine that are sure to trump your typical eggs and toast any day. Aside from that, they also brew seriously good coffee.

Upon entering, we were blown away by the gorgeous, rustic interior of the cafe. Period.

The place has a modern African theme going on and is beautifully furnished with wooden counter tops, metallic fittings, warm colours and breathtaking paintings.

Our first order of business was the Utu Plate (S$18). This colourful ensemble features two slices of sourdough toasts that were topped with marinated goat cheese, cumin roasted tomato, raw garlic, curried avocado, arugula and a side of butter and jam.

The idea of eating raw garlic doesn’t really sound that appetising but surprisingly, it worked. It also added a nice sweet yet spicy flavour to the mix and really complemented the creaminess of the curried avocado.

From the Mama Africa section of the menu, which features some of their more traditional African dishes, we had a go at their Swahili Fish Curry (S$29). The curry consists of tender slices of red snapper fillets and coconut rice that was doused in a sauce made from tamarind, coconut milk, house curry paste and habanero.

The curry packs a punch and massive amounts of flavour without being overly spicy.

A visit to Kafe Utu would be a wasted trip if you left without trying a Mandazi, which is a classic African fried bread that originates from the Swahili Coast. These doughnut-like treats have a sweet and slightly savoury taste to it which make them incredibly addictive to munch on.

The ones here were also sprinkled with a generous amount of coconut flakes and cardamom, which added a subtle sweetness and spiciness to the bread.