Plain Vanilla (Neil Road)

Omgosh! My GM blessed us with a whole bunch of Plain Vanilla muffins! Awesome day! Sugar high! Get more work done of coz!

$5

$12 crispy toasted buttered (yes! 🧈) sourdough.

Pretty little place for cupcakes and coffee

Stopped by the cafe as I had some time to pass and ordered the earl grey lavender cupcake and a latte.

Have heard quite a fair bit about Plain Vanilla’s new outlet at Neil Road — a contemporary chic spot that also carries a clean aesthetic with the use of terrazzo-esque fittings amidst high arches and bricked/tiled walls and floors; the space being located closer to the Kampong Bahru neighbourhood than most of the other F&B establishments situated along the same road, which are closer to Maxwell Food Centre or The Pinnacle @ Duxton.

Saw many review online that features the bakes and the various brunch items but the highlight to me were actually the pasta — after all, I have heard quite a fair bit of the Pasta Bar’s handmade pastas and I was actually pretty stoked that Plain Vanilla’s pasta menu is made with fresh pasta made by Pasta Bar (also probably the only reason why I actually found myself here in the first place). Featuring elements such as sundries tomato pesto, basil pesto, chicken breast, olives, pine nuts, creme fraiche, and parmesan cheese, the Reginette with Chicken Pesto was something that impressed me the moment I started to digging into the plate of pasta. The Reginette is one of the most iconic offerings from Pasta Bar’s menu; a ribbon-shaped pasta with wavy edges that catches quite a bit of the other elements included in the pasta here — the pasta done al-dente carrying quite a good bite without being brittle. Tossed in a sundried tomato pesto, the pasta was tangy but also slightly richer and earthier than the typical tomato-based sauce, carrying a light hint of herbs in between, though the basil pesto wasn’t particularly evident here — probably there to enhance the ending notes more than to provide a contrast of flavours for the pasta. Felt that the chunks of chicken breast were on the drier side, though I did enjoy the addition to pine nuts for a soft bite in between the pasta and chunks of chicken that bridges those textures together for a more cohesive mouth-feel for the dish.

Plain Vanilla has grown quite a fair bit ever since my last visit — still remembered checking them out at the Cluny Court outlet when they had first opened there while I was still schooling nearby; the outlet being more of a small nook that carried simple sandwiches apart from the widened selection of bakes that they were offering back then — an extension of the cupcakes that they previously had to offer. The new outlet at Neil Road is a new beginning as a full-fledged cafe with items beyond brunch dishes; collaborations with other local establishments for a more cohesive experience than what they have started out as.