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

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

Polished, elegant and intimate, Kaunta is a new Japanese restaurant in Tanjong Pagar that aims to provide diners with an authentic and lavish dining experience that’ll leave a lasting, memorable impression.

The modern 20-seater Japanese restaurant is by the same team behind The Sushi Bar—the popular sushi joint that first started at Far East Plaza.

The Sushi Bar is a restaurant for casual dining on a daily basis, but Kaunta, on the other hand, is more upmarket and made for occasions. They pride themselves on using only the freshest and most premium produce from Japan available to create their gastronomic masterpieces.

Allow the skilled chefs to take you on a multi-sensory journey; each and every bite of their meticulously crafted creations will open your eyes to the world of food from their point of view

You know that a meal visually exceeds its expectations when you dread tucking into the dish. It was almost too decadent to eat, especially after watching the chef painstakingly and meticulously assemble the entire dish.

That is how we felt before we began eating these bowls of art; each and every dish was created with so much poise and precision that it almost felt sinful to so much as move a single piece of uni.

Seafood aficionados will appreciate Bara (S$35)—a bara chirashi don featuring a medley of cubed seasonal fish, scallops, anago, unagi and ikura atop a bed of burdock gobo sushi rice.

This vibrant assemble was as pleasing to the palate as it was to the eyes and we love how the kaleidoscopic colours of the fish were further enhanced by a speckling of edible flowers and greens which made the dish almost too pretty to eat.

The seasonal fish, as promised, were exceptionally fresh, and every component provided its own unique element to the dish. Each bubble of ikura also added a lovely burst of flavour while complementing the tastes and textures of the other ingredients.  We also love how the sweetness of raw fish and ikura also paired contrastingly well with the earthiness of the burdock gobo sushi rice.

A special menu item that is available during lunch for a limited period is their A5 Wagyu Beef Bowl (S$50). This divine creation features perfectly seared chunks of the Rolls Royce of all beef, buttery foie gras, white truffle shavings and creamy uni that was balanced on a soft-boiled egg.

The impeccably tender beef paired well with the melt-in-your-mouth foie gras, creating a decadent combination of flavours that were packed full of umami. The uni added a nice briny touch to the dish without overwhelming its other components and together with the soft boiled egg, it provided the entire dish with a creamy texture that pulled all the dishes different elements together.

Kaunta Singapore
11 Kee Seng Street #01-12
Singapore 089218
Tel: +65 8788 3535
Mon to Sat: 11.30am – 3pm, 5.30pm – 10pm
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.