Visited the new Fuel X over the long weekend — a new cafe that had recently opened its doors at The Venue Shoppes situated at the busy junction where MacPherson, Potong Pasir and Bendemeer intersect. If the name does some familiar, that is because Fuel X is by the same folks who have brought us concepts such as Refuel Cafe (at Bedok Reservoir), Fuel Plus (at Morse Road; in between HarbourFront and Telok Blangah) and Refuel II (at Jalan Bukit Merah).
The menu at Fuel X is rather extensive — with items ranging from the eggy dishes that one would expect from a cafe for brunch, to salads, burgers, pasta and entrees, there is definitely something for everyone. Off their “Eggs & Such” menu, the Cauli-Eggs Ben is one of the items that caught our eyes — a dish that is a spin-off from the usual Eggs Benedict that sees elements such as guacamole, fried spicy cauliflower, poached eggs, Hollandaise sauce and Feta Cheese served on naan bread, giving it an interest Asian twist. First impressions of the naan bread was that the bread felt a little dry, though we could see why the guacamole is being added — gives the naan a slight butteriness which improved its texture by quite a fair bit, whilst also being a vehicle to bind all the other elements together; the nuggets of fried cauliflower were crisp and not particularly greasy, whilst giving a soft crunch as one chews through the cauliflower within. That being said, despite its description of being spicy, we did not really detect much of a hint of spiciness with this one — could have been a easily brought out with a sprinkle of paprika and/or pepper. The poached eggs were a little disappointing in this one; cutting through the eggs only revealed soft yolks that do not seemingly flow (they did got it right for the other item we ordered though), and the Hollandaise sauce did felt a little too stark in its sourness and lacked creaminess. The arugula included helped to balance out the heavier fried items and the naan, but I did enjoy how the feta cheese cuts through the typical bitterness of the arugula for a more palatable note.
Despite the slight inconsistencies in this dish, Fuel X does serve up pretty decent cafe fare that were once-upon-a-time all the rage when cafes started to sprout up in neighbourhoods; dishes that cafe-hoppers are bound to enjoy and something which they are seemingly good in after all these while at their other locations. Given its relatively accessible and centralised location, Fuel X is a rather convenient spot to visit, though does require some walking from Potong Pasir MRT Station if one relies on the train to get around; do be prepared to wait a little for seats though — visited them on a weekend lunch service and we were placed on the waiting list with two other tables ahead of us when we arrived before 12 noon; just something to note if one intends to make the visit!
