FiftyFive Coffee Bar

pipagao syrup, milk & espresso

One of the number of new cafes opening in the Tanjong Pagar area in the past month or so is FiftyFive Coffee Bar. Its opening hours are, amusingly, 9.55 am to 5.55 pm.

The specials are what caught my attention. Pipagao is a viscous, black cough syrup that I took as a child. Here, it is used to concoct the 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗼 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲 ($8.50). Unfortunately the Pipagao’s minty flavour was too strong and I could hardly detect the strawberry milk or espresso.

The 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗸𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗼 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲 ($7.50) fared better. Initially I only tasted the sweet scent of the honey, but as I drank further, the savoury profile of the miso milk shone through. The combination was very palatable.

Perhaps I’ll stick to a normal coffee; the Pipagao drink isn’t my cup of tea… or cough syrup.

Oat White (Narino Aponte) 2/5
Manuka Honey Miso Latte 2/5

Neil Road has been quite the spot for new cafes to open up of the late — the neighbourhood has already seen the opening of Fieldnotes by Zee & Elle in late 2022. Soft-launching to much hype in recent weeks, Fifty Five Coffee Bar is just one of the few new additions to the neighbourhood recently — located at 55A Neil Road, Fifty Five Coffee Bar occupies the second level of the shophouse. The staircase leading up to Fifty Five Coffee Bar is pretty noticeable, considering how it is behind a glass door that is labelled with the establishment’s name. Taking the flight of steps up to the second level, one would be greeted with a counter table that would do well for those who are grabbing a quick cuppa — an area that is dedicated for those who do not mind standing to have their cuppa, and also can function as a holding area for guests waiting to be seated. The space is decked in a rather clean and zen atmosphere; the usage of plants giving quite a bit of life to the otherwise somewhat cold environment that uses quite a fair bit of wooden elements amidst concrete-esque floors and white walls — there is also a multi-sensory installation and photographic work being displayed in the space to spruce up the space even further. The space also has a mezzanine level that is linked to the main dining area at level two via a spiral staircase as well. Being a concept that is a coffee bar in the day and cocktail bar at night, we only checked out the coffee bar menu since we made our visit on a late afternoon during the weekend — the menu at Fifty Five Coffee Bar mainly features specialty coffee; there are both espresso-based coffee and filter coffee to go for, while there are also Single Origin Cold Brew such as the Black, White and Oat Black as well. For those who are not into coffee, there are also Non-Coffee options (think Chocolate and Matcha Latte) and Tea available; they also do have a range of Specials which includes the Strawberry Pipagao Latte and Dirty-Spiced Lemonade. Only light food is being served up at Fifty Five Coffee Bar; the food items being bakes which are made fresh in-house daily — think items like the Homemade Apple Tart and the Chocolate Babka listed on the Bakes section of the menu.

Between the Apple Tart and the Chocolate Babka, we found ourselves going for the latter — the Chocolate Babka is being described in the menu to be a “Buttery Brioche wrapped in Chocolate with a touch of herbs and spices”. Coming as a slice being served on a plate, the Chocolate Babka does come with a centre of what seems to be melted chocolate in the middle as it first arrives the table — this would eventually be absorbed into the Chocolate Babka itself. Digging into the Chocolate Babka, it is noted that the Chocolate Babka here comes with a cake-like texture that was fairly consistent throughout the slice that we have had. Swirls of chocolate within the brioche adds a sweet contrast against the inherent sweetness of the brioche itself, though we did find it pretty interesting that notes of what seems to be cardamom was particularly prominent here without overwhelming the entire flavour of the babka — instead, being a flavour that somehow runs at the back of the tongue. A great accompaniment to the Chocolate Babka would be either the Black from the espresso-based specialty coffee menu, or the various Filter Coffees which they have to offer — something which would be able to help wash away the sweetness of the Babka without clouding the tastebuds.

Given how Fifty Five Coffee Bar is a space that is meant to provide a multi-sensory experience through different forms of art whilst also being a coffee bar by day, and a cocktail bar by night, we would reckon that the experience at Fifty Five Coffee Bar would vary depending on the time of which one decides to patronise them during the day. As a coffee bar, its location at the second level of the shophouse brings some form of serenity to the space itself; isolated from all the hustle and bustle at the street level — probably a quiet spot to hang out or get productive especially when the initial hype dies downs. Whilst the interior decor of Fifty Five Coffee Bar is less loud than what we have came across of the late — this would include establishments like Equate Coffee’s outlet at Orchard Central and Cloud Co at Duxton Hill, we do foresee some instagrammers finding the space pretty aesthetic in its own right. One thing we quite liked about Fifty Five Coffee Bar is how they have seem to integrated mixology into their coffee offerings —something that seems to be influenced by their operations as a cocktail bar at night with items like the Manuka Honey Miso Latte which we had tried; an interesting cuppa with the base of a latte that carries a sweet and earthy undertone in its finish. While Fifty Five Coffee Bar is a spot less likely to attract those looking for a full cafe experience with brunch items to go along, they are most certainly that spot worth giving a go for those looking for something a little different with bakes that are lovingly made in-house to accompany their drinks.