With new cafes constantly popping up in Singapore, we sometimes get caught up in visiting and trying out the new places and neglect the ones that are good. We are glad to re-visit East Coast Commune as it celebrates its second anniversary with new menu items for brunch (available until 3pm), lunch (available from 11am) and all-day dining. We are happy to also find out that the cafe has extended its hours on weekends to include dinner service (6pm to 9pm) and are serving anniversary picnic sets too.
As we visited on a cloudy day, I opted for a cup of hot oat masala chai and my dining companion had the iced hibiscus passionfruit. The oat masala chai was brewed with black tea infused by strong spices – smooth and comforting. The iced hibiscus passionfruit, on the other hand, consists of swiss herb berry tea, passion fruit puree and honey.
From the brunch menu, the staff recommended the chicken and sourdough waffle, which we were told is one of their signature items – and it did not disappoint. It comprises sourdough waffle with Buffalo mozzarella cheese melted on it, spiced fried chicken, sriracha cream, chilli pepper paste, roasted watermelon, picked cucumber, paprika and scallions.
The chicken is deliciously tender and lightly battered. Try this if you like fried chicken. The sourdough waffle also complements the protein as the sourdough starter gives the waffles a denser texture.
We had two items from the lunch menu. The first was a Crispy Snapper. Marinated with turmeric and cumin, the snapper is served atop a bed of spelt and accompanied by Baba Ghanoush, fennel-cucumber salad, vanilla and yoghurt. A healthy and interesting take on “fish and chips” sans chips but replaced with a healthy grain. Similar to the fried chicken, the snapper is also lightly battered and not oily.
The second item from the lunch menu was the Crab Dashi Linguine. Eggless linguine is served with crab meat, dashi cream, pickled kombu in ponzu, edamame, sesame seeds and lemon breadcrumbs. The addition of ponzu helped to cut through the creaminess of the dish. We thought that this is a dish that is best shared given the generous portion of crab meat and linguine.
To end our meal, we had the Granny’s Apple Tart with Vanilla Ice-Cream. The waiting time for this dessert to be prepared is worth it. The combination of a solid tart crust, apples, cinnamon, frangipane, oat crumble and miso caramel was absolutely delightful. The added scoop of vanilla ice-cream was an indulgence that I could not pass up and no regrets for doing so!
East Coast Commune occupies a 3000 sq ft area and its high ceiling, scandi-themed furnishings makes it an aesthetically pleasing place to be at. I am already planning my next trip back as I wanted to try more items from their menu but was limited by my stomach space this time. Perhaps I will make a visit in the evening to try out their dinner menu and am certainly eyeing their signature sourdough waffles with ice-cream for dessert.
Special mention to the little touches that we noticed during our visit to show how family-friendly East Coast Commune is. Apart from having a play area for the kids to have fun whilst parents dine, there is also a nursing room and dedicated kids menu for the little ones. It is little wonder why the cafe was packed with families during our visit on the weekend!
Budget per person: $20 to $30 per person
