Quite a number of new openings for the weekend — yet another spot that had officially launched over the past weekend is Homeground; would be Homeground Coffee Roasters previously at Joo Chiat Road that we are talking about here, which is not to be confused with Homeground Grill & Bar that is situated along Serangoon Road. Having moved out of their former home that has been through quite a number of revamps previously, Homeground had since expanded their operations with the opening of their Teo Hong Road space. Occupying two shophouse units (i.e. 13 and 15 Teo Hong Road), Homeground is located along the same row of shophouses where 99 Old Trees and Mad About Sucre are both located. With a rather big interior space, the decor does remind us of what most trendy cafes serving up specialty coffee are going for these days — terracotta and brick tiles in its design elements; all that with furniture and fittings that has a metallic and wooden accent which gives the space a bit of a clean, yet “un-basic” look that isn’t overly minimalistic. Whilst 15 Teo Hong Road is dedicated as a space for their cafe operations, part of the shophouse unit at 13 Teo Hong Road is purposed as “Playground” — essentially a space meant for retail of their roasted coffee beans and other coffee-related peripherals that is still linked to the main dining area at the back. Whilst Homeground Coffee Roasters is a spot known for all-day brunch and specialty coffee, Homeground seems to be moving in a different direction with the opening of their new space. Their emphasis of specialty coffee is still pretty strong — the specialty coffee section dominates the first few pages of their menu here. This is followed by the section that is dedicated to their small and large plates — basically where one would be able to find all the hot food that they serve up. A “sweets.” section comes thereafter; essentially the dessert section of the menu. Diners can also opt for a menu that is an “omakase” of sorts; 7 curated dishes for the price of $60++ per pax — something that we found to be rather refreshing for a change, but also unexpected for a cafe known for its specialty coffee previously.

One of the dishes that left a pretty strong impression for us during our meal at Homeground would be the Burnt Rice Coconut, which is a dessert item that is off their “sweets.” section of the menu. The Burnt Rice Coconut features elements such as burnt black rice pudding, pandan, and hazelnut crumble. Being a play on the local black glutinous rice dessert (i.e. Pulut Hitam), we liked how the Burnt Rice Coconut here was a dish that had so much to bring to the table where texture is involved. While the burnt black rice pudding resembles the Pulut Hitam in terms of flavour, what we really enjoyed was how they have also included bits of burnt glutinous rice that provides a good crunch that gives it so the pudding so much texture against the smooth, rich and dense Pulut Hitam. As though that wasn’t enough, the addition of hazelnuts provided a nuttiness and a good crunchiness that further elevates whatever that was going on in the rice pudding even further. The inclusion of Pandan-infused oil was a smart move; one which gave the burnt black rice pudding an extra “oomph” in terms of flavour considering the use of coconut milk in the pudding, while rice crackers over the top add a light crispness that complimented the crunchy textures that are going on here. A really well-designed and well-executed dessert with an interesting local element here.

Apart from the Burnt Rice Coconut, we have also tried other items such as the Quinoa Tofu Fritters as well as the Chorizo Kimchi Stew — the former saw a Middle Eastern influence with the use of homemade hummus and garam masala, while the latter had Spanish chorizo, kimchi, silver fish, baked eggs; though that it could do better with a tangier note of the kimchi that would give it a punch. To be fair, the current rendition of Homeground is probably the most ambitious one yet — their foray into serving up contemporary cuisine almost akin to that of a bistro / gastrobar or even fine-dining establishment is a fairly bold move. Prices of the food here can also be particularly pricey depending on the items ordered — the large plates being in the range of $20++ (i.e. the Roasted Butternut Pumpkin, and the Cauliflower Steak) to $62++ (i.e. the Boston Lobster). That being said, Homeground would definitely need to look into refining some of the items to better match the price tag that they are asking for. Waiting times for a seat to dine-in even with two pax can also take particularly long during weekend lunch hours — we found ourselves waiting for a seat for nearly two hours with twelve groups ahead of us even though we were told to expect to be seated for around slightly over an hour; something that one should take note if they intend to visit Homeground. With such high prices for its food now, it is certainly more difficult to comment if we would be making a return visit soon since they are less affordable than what they used to be; still, probably a spot that cafe-hoppers would be more than happy to check out at least just once.