Anatta Restaurant

It has been a while since we had dropped by Anatta Bakery & Specialty Grocer at Bukit Pasoh Road — that being said, we had recently found out that the same folks behind Anatta Bakery & Specialty Grocer whom also run Anatta Culinary Academy had also opened a new cafe concept as well. Located within The Domain — a condominium development in the Siglap area, Anatta Restaurant takes up a publicly-accessible shop space around the perimeters of the property; the same development also houses another F&B establishment named La Saigon Cafe as well. Unlike La Saigon Cafe that occupies a space that faces East Coast Road, Anatta Restaurant occupies a unit that faces Siglap Road instead — one can easily locate the establishment from its distinct yellow awnings outside. Inside, the establishment stays consistent with the calm and zen vibes that one would find at Anatta Bakery & Specialty Grocer, though it is notable that there are more use of wooden elements in its furniture and fittings whilst a huge concrete slab that doubles up as seatings would be the centrepiece of the establishment — the concrete slab also being one with planter boxes that has plants that help spruce up the entire space as well. Anatta Restaurant opens from 7:30am to 9pm; the menu is being spread across several categories such as Breakfast, Mains, Sharing and Desserts — the Breakfast menu available from 7:30am to 11:30am. A variety of bakes and also breads that are offered at Anatta Bakery & Specialty Grocer are also prominently displayed at the counter. Beverages available at Anatta Restaurant espresso-based specialty coffee, special concoctions listed under the “Crafted by Anatta” section and teas — just to name a few.

One of the items that had caught our attention whilst skimming through Anatta Restaurant’s menu would be that of the Sea Bass Porridge — a dish that is listed in their Breakfast menu available only from 7:30am to 11:30am. Anatta Restaurant’s menu describes the Sea Bass Porridge to come with elements such as fish broth, spring onion, homemade shallot & garlic oil, ginger strips, premium light soya sauce and white pepper. One reason on why we actually found ourselves going for this item was for the sheer fact that it was interesting to find a dish of local Chinese origins to be served up in a place like Anatta Restaurant, that being said, there are also other similar items such as that of the Lu Rou Fan from the Breakfast section of the menu, as well as the Curry Chicken, Dong Po Rou and Spinach Egg Tofu from the Mains and Sharing sections of the menu here. It is worth noting that Anatta Restaurant does pride themselves as an establishment that does not use ingredients that contain preservatives in their food. The Sea Bass Porridge does not really differ much from what we had initially expected of an item of the same type when it first arrived the table — that being said, it does come with prettier dining ware and does come intricately plated as compared to the usual porridge that we are used to getting from stalls ar hawker centres / food courts / coffee shops. Giving everything a good mix, we did notice how the porridge does come at a good consistency where the grains of the rice are almost similar to that of Hong Kong-style congee; pretty soft and smooth, while the ginger does provide a light touch of contrast of flavours that does not dominate the tastebuds with its usual sudden burst of spiciness.

All of the elements do feel rather delicate in a way that it integrates with the light-tasting porridge; this includes the premium light soya sauce that adds a rather soft hint of savouriness to end things off nicely for those whom need the additional note of saltish-ness for their porridge. The slices of sea bass were sliced not too thin nor too thick; itself not carrying any undesirable muddy notes, while the fish remains flaky in its texture. Overall a dish that we enjoyed more than we thought we would have on first impression. During our visit, we had also went for the Sweet Potato Rosti for the Breakfast menu a go as well; patrons to get an option to choose between the poached, scrambled and sunny side-up for the choice of eggs for the dish — we went for the scrambled eggs for our order. The menu describes the Sweet Potato Rosti to come with elements such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, pasteurised eggs and yoghurt, and comes accompanied with a side of mesclun salad & cherry tomatoes drizzled with a dressing of honey & lemon vinaigrette. Whilst Rosti tends to be crisp
on the exterior with some element of bite within, the Sweet Potato Rosti differs from the usual Rosti in a way that it does seem to lack crispness on the exterior and technical came with a “mashed” texture within — likely due to the mix of potatoes that included sweet potatoes. With that being said, the flavours do get a little interesting with a hint of sweetness coming from the sweet potatoes that went well with the pasteurised eggs and yoghurt — the latter seemingly replicating the notes of sour cream. We had also managed to give the Snow Fungus & Longan from the Desserts section of the menu a go as well — similar to the items listed on the Mains and Sharing sections of the menu that are available from 11:30am to closing, the Snow Fungus and Longan came with Goji berries, red dates and rock sugar.

A pretty refreshing dessert to have, we especially loved how the dessert came with an adequate level of sweetness and also how the snow fungus came with a bouncy chew that kept us going for more. Much like their breads, the Pandan Tart here is baked fresh daily — an item that one can find displayed prominently in the display case at the counter. Done in the style of an egg tart, this was an item that truly impressed; the pastry shell being closer to that of the cookie-based pastry but these held up well whilst being rather loosely-packed — crumbles effortlessly in the mouth. One can also definitely tell that the Pandan curd was made from scratch with Pandan juice — it does come with a taste similar to that of beancurd in its base, but also does come with an evident whiff of Pandan at the same time. Both the Flat White and the Mocha were surprisingly well-pulled, this is especially considering how Anatta Bakery & Specialty Grocer serves up their coffee via the sort of espresso machines that one can find in hotel buffet lines or in office pantries. Between the two, we did really enjoy the Mocha a lot more than most Mochas that are served at specialty cafes around the island — there was a balance of bittersweetness from the chocolate in between the punchy espresso here. With prices of the items listed in their Breakfast section of the menu priced between $12 to $22, it does seem that the offerings in its Breakfast section of the menu are more accessible to the individual diner as compared to their Mains that are available for lunch and dinner. Their level of service is still particularly impressive, with their servers being observant in the finer details and also constantly getting feedback on their food — all that whilst being approachable and able to introduce their concept well. With all that said, Anatta Restaurant does really well as a concept to showcase what Anatta Culinary Academy can offer to those interested to take up a culinary course or two — also one spot that Siglap residents would likely start to hit for a comforting breakfast in a zen environment on weekends as well!