Cafe Culture

A dinner-meets-breakfast "burger", the Wagyu Beef Patty Egg Benedict consists of a split English muffin that is pan-fried with eggs and topped with thick wagyu beef patties. It is completed with perfectly poached eggs sitting atop with some drizzle of the duo mustard hollandaise sauce. This eggs benedict variation had a much stronger taste and flavour, and it was disappointing as it felt too heavy and greasy after a while. The sauce was also salty though the beef patties by themselves were juicy and flavourful, and the eggs were poached perfectly.

The Seafood Sando brings together a crispy shrimp and potato katsu and some creamy mayo dressing sandwiched in between two toasted fluffy bread. Topped with tobiko and chunks of shrimps, the scrumptious seafood sando was a burst of flavour and texture. Overall a very solid and satisfying sando.

Instead of the usual smoked salmon, the Eggs Benedict version here is heavier as it comprised of braised ox cheeks served on a crusty sourdough bread and topped with two organic poached eggs that were drenched in hollandaise sauce. The braised ox cheeks were fork tender as the meat pulls off without much effort and very well-seasoned that it was packed full of flavour and wasn't gamey.

It's difficult to find decent baked eggs (i.e. shakshuka) in Singapore and I'm glad that the Baked Eggs with Mushrooms here did not disappoint. The dish had runny poached eggs in a rich, flavourful and slightly spiced chunky tomato sauce with baked beans and  generous serving of mushrooms. Served with toast bread, it was a savoury and  satisfying one-pan meal made complete with a cup of White that was smooth and medium-bodied with a nutty undertone.

Breakfast Your Way ($9)
The set comes with choice of bakes and eggs with add on options such as cheesy sausage (+$5). The croissant was decent though it was a bit chewy and wasn't as fluffy nor buttery as the croissants sold at cafes known for their bakes; while the eggs were moist but could do with more butter.

Chicken & Egg ($19)
The dish consisted of sunny side up egg placed on top of an orange infused chicken steak and served with broccolini. The sauce was light and tangy with a subtle taste of orange, and perhaps could be stickier and sweeter like a glaze so that it coats the meat.

The bakery-cafe offers a selection of breakfast toasts, and the Crab Aglio Scramble ($11) was probably the creamiest and most buttery scrambled eggs I've ever had. I could taste the flavour of aglio olio that was infused in the eggs and enhanced by the drizzle of chilli oil.

The Steak Sandwich was loaded with a generous portion of ribeye that were a little tough and chewy. Meat was well seasoned and tucked between crusty country bread with smoked cheddar, caramelised onion, truffle aioli and rocket, it was overall a hearty good sandwich.

The Level Up Kaya Toast ($10.50) is an atas version of our local traditional kaya toast and served deconstructed. Their house-made kaya was thick, creamy with a custardy consistency. Subtly sweet and coconutty, it was thoroughly enjoyable when slathered on the crusty milk toasts. The sous vide eggs were aka soft boiled eggs with slightly jammy yolks. It's a little pity that the toasts were crispy throughout without any softness to dip and soak up the eggs.

And rounding off with their signature roasted in-house Vanta blend (50% Brazil, 50% Colombia). The 6oz White ($6) was smooth and with a chocolately, nutty tone.

Apricus Cafe is opened by the same folks behind Populus and one can expect some inventive fusion dishes on the menu. Starting off with light bites, the Tater Tots ($14) were one-bite flavour bombs for potato lovers like me. Infused with maple syrup, the potato bombs were crispy, salty, sweet and absolutely tasty.

The flavours of the Hummus & Pitta ($14) were quite unexpected with its combination of flavours and texture. Paired with foccacia bread, the spiced mash-up hummus was smooth and had a slight charred taste to it with a pinch of tanginess. Adding to the blend for textural contrasts were the crispy chickpeas and bits of pomegranate with pops of freshness and sweetness. Definitely a must-try!

The sando was simple and filling that came with deep-fried ebi cutlet, fried egg, lettuce and spread with mayo. The ebi cutlet had a thin crisp breadcrumb layer and slightly moist inside. Overall it was a light balance of creaminess and subtle sweetness.

The signature Firebird is a Korean-inspired sandwich where it has fried chicken glazed in gochujang, sweet purple slaw and a sunny-side up egg. The sandwich was extremely thick with a generous amount of chicken and has bold flavours - sweet and savoury and could do with more spiciness for an added kick.

The menu is relatively extensive with food options that are considerably more affordable than the usual hipster cafe. A plus point is that it's GST and service charge free. With a love for good rosti, I had the 6 Letter Brunch ($21) that came with a crispy rösti, smoked salmon, sunny-side up egg, shiitake mushrooms, mashed avocado, mixed salad, and fresh fruit. The rösti was seasoned with pepper and had a nice crisp. It's a good rösti though it lacked the buttery flavour and crispy texture of a perfect rösti, and it pulled apart too easily. I wished it was served with a dollop of sour cream although I liked the mashed avocado that substituted it

The Honey White Cold Brew ($7.30) was smooth, not too creamy and naturally sweetened from the honey. I liked that it was only slightly sweetened which allowed the chocolate undertones of the coffee to come through.