#14 Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters Review

Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters is a new cafe that opened just weeks ago at Upper Thomson Road. In fact, the brightly lit cafe had already caught my attention even before it opens it's door when the public bus service I took passed by the area somewhere around mid-October.

A wooden standing board outside the cafe

I arrived at the cafe around 12.30pm on a busy Sunday afternoon. There was already a handful of customers lingering outside the cafe for a seat and we were advised to leave a name and contact number on a waiting list.

Within the next ten minutes, the table was ready and we were told to place our order first.

Menu to die for with such nice typography

Prior to the visit, we had done some research online and found some reviews of "must-try" food dishes. That said, we went ahead and asked the waiter for recommendations.

"Truffle Benedict and Salmon Royale are the more popular choices for brunch".

So we went ahead and ordered the two items.

Fully Packed

At the same time, we were told that the wait for the food could take an hour. I looked around and saw that the cafe was totally packed! However, since we were not in a rush for time in the relaxing Sunday afternoon, we didn't mind the wait.

We were then ushered to sit at the table directly in front of the kitchen. As the seats were rather limited, we had to share the table with another group of customers. This was also the moment when we discovered the reason for the wait.

The kitchen has only 2 chefs, 1 of them even have to plate the dishes.

Truffle Benedict and Salmon Royale

So exactly after an hour of wait, with our stomach growling, the food arrived! Presentation wise, they were fabulous.

The Salmon Royale ($18) was good. There was a generous portion of smoked salmon served on top of the toast. I also loved the asparagus and spinach as they were well-cooked.

Some of the poached eggs were however slightly overdone/undercooked (keyword - "slightly"). That said, I loved the dish.

On the other hand, the truffle hollandaise sauce of the Truffle Benedict ($18) tasted really good as well. The combination of truffle and the hollandaise sauce was pretty amazing!

Service at Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters was acceptable. The handsome waiter at the cashier counter had warned all customers of the waiting time beforehand, so if you choose to wait, don't ever complain and show your displeasure to the working staff (I've witness some customers showing terrible attitude to the waiters. One of them didn't even volunteer to move the dish of pancake that was smack in between the table for sharing out of place for the waiter to place another dish when he was clearly holding onto a new plate of food and having difficulties reaching out to clear space for another plate).

So, if you are those who can't really wait too long for food, or if you plan to visit the cafe together with your family, choose a better timing or approach the staff to enquire how long it takes for the food to arrive.

Do note that the last order for brunch ends at 2:30pm.

Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters
185 Upper Thomson Road
S(574333)

Opening Hours
Tue - Sun: 11:00am - 11:00pm
(Closed on Monday)

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Shawn 14:00  1 comment

#13 NOM (No Other Meaning) - Bistro & Bakery Review

NOM (No Other Meaning) - Bistro & Bakery is a cafe located at MacPherson Community Club. In fact, if you happen to pass by the Community Club, you would have most probably caught attention of the cafe's outdoor seating area (as well as their huge signboard!).

I visited the cafe at around late afternoon during a weekend. Surprisingly, it was rather cozy and not too crowded. You can choose the dine in the indoor area or choose the outdoor area (which has more greenery and the background music that was playing was comparably softer compared to the indoor area).

NOM cafe offers quite a huge range of selections ranging from Light side dishes, Pizzas, Main Course (consisting of Burgers, Fish & Chips, Ribs and Steak) to Desserts. They also offers an 'All Day Breakfast' menu.

Drinks wise, they have coffee (duh!), a range of teas, beers and chocolate.

Oh! And before I move on, they do not charge any additional Service Charge or GST. (*Punch fist in the air*)

I ordered the Iced Mocha ($3.90) and it was rather well executed.

The top layer of whipped cream with the drizzle of chocolate syrup and cocoa powder was a perfect combination with the coffee.

The Iced Latte ($3.90) however was just alright! The coffee could have been stronger.

Introducing the main cast, Salted Caramel Rainbow Cake ($7.90)! The cake that can be seen posted by Instagrammers. They have another different variations on that day, which is the Chocolate Rainbow Cake.

Of course, judging by its looks, the rainbow cake was yummy enough already! But when I took the first bite (which I can't bear to do so even after taking tons of pictures of the cake), I literally saw a rainbow appear in front of my eyes.

It was really delicious. The salted caramel buttercream wasn't too sweet nor too thick and the rainbow sponge itself was pretty dense. Overall, an item not-to-be-missed!

The Fries ($2.90) was also worthy for a mention.

Service at NOM was really good as well. The waiters and waitresses were attentive and kept a lookout for you even though you may be seated at the outdoor area.

Last but not least, I would certainly recommend you to visit NOM if you haven't drop by the cafe yet.  Next up, I would love to try their Main Course items as well as their Pizzas.

On a side note, do check out their instagram page as they will be regularly posting updates of any private events happening in the cafe throughout the week which might lead to a closure of the cafe in the afternoon on certain days.

NOM - Bistro & Bakery
400 Paya Lebar Way
Macpherson Community Club, Level 1
S(379131)

Opening Hours
Mon - Sun: 11:00am - 11:00pm

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Shawn 01:22  No comment