If you’re still contemplating whether to pay a visit to the iconic Bukit Timah Railway Station, a meal at 1932 Story Cafe should be good enough reason to start planning your visit. 

For the uninitiated, 1932 Story Cafe is a 1930s-themed cafe which has found its home in what used to be the Railway Staff Quarters at the Bukit Timah Railway Station. Apart from dishing up some pretty decent cafe fare, diners would also get to enjoy the nostalgic decorations and train memorabilia around the cafe. Best of all, 1932 Story Cafe does not charge GST.

Being the only dining option at the Bukit Timah Railway Station, 1932 Story Cafe can experience reasonably heavy foot traffic during weekends especially when the weather is good. Thankfully for us, we visited 1932 Story Cafe on a drizzly Saturday morning so the cafe was only about 50% occupied.

1932 Story Cafe offers diners the option to dine indoors or outdoors. Those who dine outdoors will get to enjoy the greenery (and a healthy does of Vitamin D), and those who dine indoors will get to enjoy the cafe’s tasteful nostalgic decor.

When you first step into 1932 Story Cafe, you will feel as if you’ve stepped into someone’s personal museum. The selection and placement of all decoration pieces felt intentional, and we especially loved the feature of the old-school ticket station in the center of the cafe — such a statement piece.

To pass the time when waiting for your meal, you can wander to the rear of 1932 Story Cafe to have a tour of their heritage gallery. Here, you’d find plenty of train memorabilia including an old railway telephone and tickets from the former KTM railway.

Apart from the usual coffee and tea offerings, 1932 Story Cafe carries a range of specialty drinks for the adventurous such as the Charred Smoke Latte (S$6) and Rose Latte (S$6). But for those visiting with young children, you can order as per what we did — a Piccolo (S$4.50) for dad, Matcha Latte (S$5.50) for mom and a Babycino (S$2.50) for the toddler.

What is brunch without some poached eggs? We ordered 1932 Story Cafe’s rendition of the eggs benedict — the Eggs Benedict & Honey Chicken Ham with Sourdough Bread (S$15.90).

On balance, we thought that 1932 Story Cafe did a pretty good job with the dish. The sourdough bread was lightly toasted and the poached eggs had an adequately runny yolk. That said, we thought that the Hollandaise sauce was slightly underwhelming and would have preferred for the sauce to have a slightly stronger egg flavour. 

If you’re keen to sample their local delights, we would definitely recommend ordering the Sesame Ball with Ground Peanut Filling (S$3.90 for 3 pieces). The sesame balls were freshly fried and the peanut filling was rather tasty.

Waffles are one of the best things to enjoy at a cafe. At 1932 Story Cafe, you can enjoy the Belgian Waffle (S$6) which comprises 2 pieces of waffles drizzled with honey and icing sugar. Whilst there wasn’t anything outstanding about the waffles, the waffles were crispy, light and fluffy.

1932 Story Cafe
1005 Bukit Timah Road,
Singapore 596121
Tel: +65 8766 4223

Nestled on the 8th level of Hillview Building at 48 Hillview Terrace, Coexist Coffee Co is a new hidden rooftop cafe with a striking red and white interior.

It has officially opened its doors to the public on 29 June 2021 and there’s an opening promotion of 10% off your bill from now until 9 July 2021.

The cafe is located on the rooftop of an industrial building in Hillview and it has a great view of the surrounding greenery.

On the menu, Coexist Coffee Co serves a selection of mains and all-day breakfast that are priced between S$14 to S$26 each.

Some of the more interesting dishes include:

• Rendang Wagyu Beef Burger (S$22)
• Sambal Fish & Chips (S$20)
• Seafood Coconut Broth (S$18)
• Bao Benedict (S$14)
• Kaya French Toast (S$16)

Photos credit: Coexist Coffee Co

Coexist Coffee Co provides an escape from the busy everyday life and it is a great addition to the growing list of cafes in the west of Singapore.

To reach the cafe, you will need to take the elevator to the 7th floor and climb the stairs up to the 8th floor.

Coexist Coffee Co.
Hillview Building
48 Hillview Terrace
Singapore 669269

Established in 2009 at Phoenix Park, Spruce has garnered a following for its burger, brunch and drinks over the past decade. It has opened its third outlet at HillV2, taking over the space vacated by Dean & Deluca.

Folks staying in the west of Singapore will be familiar with Spruce’s second outlet at the old fire station along 260 Bukit Timah Road. The new outlet at HillV2 is just a 5-minute drive away and it offers a similar menu of all-day dining favourites and brunch fare.

Enjoy a choice of house pour wines, spirits, or beer on tap at only S$7++ with the purchase of every main course (from Sunday to Thursday, 5pm to 8pm).

Spruce
4 Hillview Rise #01-01 HillV2, Singapore 667979
Mon – Fri: 10.30am to 10.30pm
Sat/Sun/PH: 9.00am to 10.30pm
Reservation Hotline: 9759 5790

When King Albert’s Park is mentioned, people normally think of the good ol’ days when McDonalds occupied the area. However, now, the place has been completely revamped into an up-and-coming mall space.

Just a walk through King Albert’s Park Mall, you will see several cafes and restaurants, including a new cinema. One such place that caught our eye was the sleek and simple Camaca cafe.

Camaca is a sugar-free dessert cafe, serving up indulgent treats that come without the guilt, along with a wide selection of single-origin coffees.

We ordered the Roasted Oolong Tea gelato (S$4.80++) and were pleasantly surprised by how creamy and flavourful the ice cream was even though it is sugar-free! The deceiving giant macarons on display were actually just packaging for the gelato inside.

The staff explained this keeps the gelato from turning too icy, hence maintaining a smooth texture. They even have a special machine to “de-shell” their gelato and to churn it out in a swirl after. One gripe we had was that it started to melt very quickly after it was served, but it was satisfying nonetheless!

Their gelato features all-natural flavours such as Pomelo Tea, Lychee Rose and even Musang King Durian. You can choose to have your gelato with an add-on of waffles (S$10.00) as well.

Camaca also serves a selection of pastries, and we managed to try their popular Vanilla Cheese Roll (S$4.00++), served with a splash of berry coulis.

It was truly one of the softest roll cakes we have ever tried—the texture of the cake and cream felt like cloud on our tongues. It was mildly sweet, with specks of vanilla bean running through the cream.

Lastly, we tried their Camaca SG Limited blend in the form of a Cappuccino (S$5.50++). It had a well-balanced flavour with hints of acidity and a lingering bitter note. The blend consists of 5 different beans from various origins including Ethiopia and Columbia.

They do serve up more varieties of single-origin coffees with other more unique tasting notes. Their staff were more than happy to explain the tasting notes of each of the bean varieties when we asked. They don’t provide any sugar with their coffee but you can request for some syrup!

Located just a stone’s throw away from King Albert’s Park MRT, Camaca is a great place to fight the increasingly warm weather with their gelato or to simply enjoy some cake and coffee. Keep an eye out for their bright green signboard; it’s hard to miss.

Camaca
9 King Albert Park #01-11 / #01-12
Singapore 598332
Tel: +65 6904 3811
Daily: 11am – 10pm
Nearest Station: King Albert’s Park

Nestled away in Bukit Timah about a 10-minute walk away from Beauty World station is FlagWhite, a cosy and minimalistic cafe that serves up your usual array of cafe noshes such as cakes, hand-brewed coffee and a hearty big breakfast.

Despite it looking like just any other new cafe here in Singapore, FlagWhite does have a few special things to offer that other cafes don’t. For one, their home-made cakes are stellar both in aesthetics and taste.

One thing that makes FlagWhite truly stand out from many of the cafes in Singapore is the fact that they make all their cakes and bakes in-house. Their delectable array of desserts will without a doubt leave you spoilt for choice and you can expect sweet treats such as their Signature Double Cheese Cake and Single Origin Chocolate Tarts. 

Here, they also pride themselves on their speciality coffee where they mainly use beans roasted by Quarter Life Coffee Roasters, a local micro-roastery. They believe in supporting local SMEs, so many of their coffee, chocolates and teas are sourced from local suppliers and artisanal coffee makers.

No cafe experience is complete without having a massive breakfast dish of sorts. At FlagWhite, they have a special build-your-own brunch meal where you can customise what you want to have on your brunch plate, which is a pretty interesting concept.

They also have mains like Burgers and Mash, FlagWhite Burger as well as their very popular Chicken Parmigiana.

FlagWhite 
106 Jalan Jurong Kechil
Singapore 598604
Mon, Wed to Fri: 10am – 9pm
Sat & Sun: 9am — 9pm
(Closed on Tuesdays)
Nearest Station: Beauty World

All photo credits go to FlagWhite Singapore.