Tanjong Pagar Plaza is pretty much a treasure trove for hidden F&B establishments even outside of the hawker centre component of the complex — while most of the establishments in there have been operating for a while, Bill’s 8 Cafe had recently opened at the second level of Blk 1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza. They are conveniently located right beside one of the staircases / lift lobbies of the HDB block; they are also neighbours with Chef Yamashita which is best known for its Japanese-inspired bakes that has been operating in the same block for a while. Bill’s 8 Cafe does have a long history in the F&B scene in Singapore — the establishment is by the same folks behind Eight Cafe & Bar at Bukit Pasoh; they had also previously ran the previous iteration of MOD Cafe within MOD Hair Salon at Kuo Chuan Avenue before returning to BBC — Beats Bites Cocktails that had taken over the former premises of Eight Cafe & Bar for their afternoon operations. Bill’s 8 Cafe in its current iteration at Tanjong Pagar Plaza is a tighter space — this is also in line with their vision of being a simpler establishment serving up less complex food whilst still focusing on their espresso-based specialty coffee offerings. The food menu here is split into sections dedicated to Light Lunch, Bread and Toast, and Sourdough Waffle during our visit — beverages available are split between Coffee and Non Coffee sections.

The Smoked Tomato Chicken Melt is an item that is listed under the Light Lunch section of the menu. It can be observed from our order that the Smoked Tomato Chicken Melt is served in a format of a sandwich. It can be observed from our order that the Smoked Tomato Chicken Melt comes with elements such as lettuce, melted cheese, smoked tomato puree, chicken breast slices and some chickpeas — all that in between sourdough toast that is baked by themselves which is also a specialty here. Sinking our teeth into the Smoked Tomato Chicken Melt, it does seem like the sourdough here is done on the lighter side; easy to chew, softer and fluffier than most other sourdough bread that we have had elsewhere — it also carries a lighter tang that stems from the fermentation process in the making of the sourdough as well which does not interfere with the other elements within the sandwich. The sliced chicken breast does come in thin slices which makes it easy to chew; each slice also smothered in the smoked tomato puree for a zesty, tangy and refreshing note that adds flavour to the otherwise plain chicken breast. The addition of melted cheese gives the sandwich an added touch of savouriness but it is the inclusion of chickpeas which was particularly interesting — gives a soft bite and a hint of earthiness that adds more flavour complexity to the entire sandwich as well.