Being weekend the place was rather crowded. Lucky I had the foresight to make a reservation before coming. But there was no reservation counter at the place, so I decided to join the queue to place order. It was quite a long wait as the queue moved quite slowly. Most will wait until its almost their turn to order then quickly grab a menu. The problem was most had not decided their order when it was their turn at the cashier. Wish that people had decided their order before queuing, not queuing because other people were queuing.

When it was my turn to order, I told the staff about my reservation who gave me a as if not my business look. The other staff standing next to him, heard me and went out to look for a table. Interestingly it was my turn to order, the staff seemed to be busy with other stuffs. Took awhile to get his attention. One would be given a pager which acted more like a table number for the staffs to bring the dishes to you.

This month the cafe just added a YAYOI Special Food Menu which consisted of an Appetiser ($12++), Main Dish ($25++), Dessert ($12.50++), and Bobba Tea ($7.50++).

Main Dish ($25++)
Pan-seared chicken, quinoa, fregola, pumpkin puree, pickled seasonal vegetables, shimeji mushroom
The serving looked a tab too small. Overall not bad except for the slightly too salty over seasoned chicken.

Dessert ($12.50++)
Coconut mousse, mango curd and cubes, pumpkin sponge, pumpkin biscuit
Nice presentation with the pumpkin item served on a gold dusted black colored plate. The sponge was rather thin that one could barely tasted it. Overall it was overwhelmed by the coconut taste. The mousse was soft and light.

Bobba Tea ($7.50++)
black tea, passion fruit syrup, strawberry syrup, chia seeds, dragon fruit balls, tadpole IQ balls
The drink was quite pretty in look. The drink was too sweet, lacking of the tea flavour. The tadpole balls gave bouncy texture.

The place was not crowded during lunch. Was showed to a table at the end. From the menu, was attracted to the Great Value Set Menu which was available from Monday to Friday.
Sticky Caramel Chicken (S$12.90++)
Perched on a bed of sautéed potato and finished with French caramel sauce, this seared tender chicken fillet is topped with melted cheese , shimeji mushrooms and served along petite salad. Served with a cup of freshly brewed ice tea.
The first mouthful of the meat was a tab saltier than expected but was balanced off by the potato cubes. The spicy taste came in the aftertaste.

The place was dark and empty for a weekday lunch time. One had to press the bell for service. There was a note stating that the staffs were busy in kitchen.
Pasta J's Nitro Coffee ($6.90+)
Cold-brew coffee infused with nitrogen gas is released through a pressurized valve with tiny holes and as high pressure forces the cold brew past a disc, it creates a creamy, stout-like effect. Smooth, clean, lovely cold coffee with a much silkier mouth feel and there's a cool factor to a nitro pour when you see the coffee cascading. Winey sweet with a bit of prune and chocolate. Absolutely delicious!
The coffee was light and chocolaty in taste. It really looked like stout.

Mad Mac & Cheese 3.0 with Pork Sausage Patty ($16.90+)
Beloved bacon and caramlised onions cheese sauce with short pasta and a sausage patty base.
Not the usually kind of mac & cheese, as it was not the cheesy type that one was expecting. But it was kind of rich and creamy meaty sauce. Felt that the patty was a tab dry.

The Ultimate Kaya Toast ($6.50+)
Home-made kaya made with only coconut cream, not cocnut milk, egg yolks, no egg whites and so much pandan leaves. Smooth, velvety, eggy, coconutty and oh so fragrant
The toast was light and crispy. The filling was kind of savoury but not the usual butter taste. It was more of a unique taste.

Service was not bad with ice water refilled regularly.

The restaurant was very old school, offering western dishes. The restaurant was changed hand and went through upgrading. It reopened with a refresh in the classical look. The place was still served by mostly elderly staffs, who now use ipad to take orders.

For weekdays, there was lunch set at $16.80++ which consisted of the main of the day, soup and a choice of soft drink, coffee or tea.

Borshch (a la carte $7)
classic Russian broth with a Hainanese twist, served with chunks of beef shank, slow cooked to perfection
It was served with sour cream. The soup was very rich and creamy with pieces of meats in it, unlike the watery stuff which one usually found in the cha chaan teng cafes.

Although butter was served, there was no bun served with it. Not sure what was the butter served for?

For Wednesday, the main course was Oxtail Stew (a la carte S$32, only available on weekends).
Hearty Hainanese Heaven. Enjoy the melt in your mouth experience with each chunk of the 36 hour slow braised oxtail.
The dish was served with boiled carrots, broccoli and potato. The oxtail was very tender and flavourful. The serving was huge.

I ended the meal with a cup of coffee (a la carte S$4), which was strong and bitter. It just brought one back to a coffee shop. None of the modern cafe style taste.

Very old school traditional coffee shop, where the owner made the drinks in singlet and draw string pants. The must order drink here is the coffee served with a piece of butter on top. Also served in other hot drinks such as holicks with butter (S$1.30).