Swee Lee (Clarke Quay)

Those whom have been reading up about the new F&B openings around the island might probably have heard about Swee Lee’s latest outlet at Clarke Quay. Clarke Quay had been through quite a little bit of a revamp as a lifestyle location, and it does show at the spot right where Swee Lee is located — Swee Lee can be found just next to the outlet of Fairprice Finest which had just opened its doors there. For those whom are unaware, Swee Lee is probably better known for being a multi-brand musical instrument retailer in the island — that being said, this store isn’t their first foray into the local F&B scene; Swee Lee also does run Swee Lee Cafe (previously known as Swee Lee Social Club) at its retail shop at The Star Vista as well. With all that being said, Swee Lee’s cafe operations at their Clarke Quay retail shop can be described as the brand’s most ambitious attempt for now; it also would not be wrong to describe it as a further extension of Swee Lee Cafe at The Star Vista. Adopting the approach of running it as a vinyl cafe, Swee Lee’s cafe operations at Clarke Quay takes up the first half of the space — there is also a stage area with a DJ booth amidst the dining area where live music performances can be held as well — this is also the same area which one can also find the vinyl bar and vinyl players, as well as lifestyle goods such as apparel and fashion accessories being retailed at. The inner part of the space is reserved for the retail of musical instruments and peripherals, where food and drinks are prohibited. The food menu at Swee Lee’s location in Clarke Quay is segmented into sections such as All Day, Waffles, Premium Ice Cream and Snacks. Meanwhile, the beverages menu is split into categories such as Specialties (which include unique concoctions of espresso-based specialty coffee), Coffee, Non-Coffee, Tea and Alcohol.

We visited the Clarke Quay location of Swee Lee in the evening on a public holiday; considering how there is considerable hype over its opening with various media outlets reporting on its existence, it is needless to say that they were almost sold out of all items on the All Day section of the food menu when we made our visit there. Considering the circumstances, we found ourselves going for the sole item that is available for the day — the Roasted Mushrooms. The menu describes the Roasted Mushrooms as an item that features elements such as sunny side up, shiitake & kelp vinegar, roasted miso garlic and toasted sourdough on the side — itself coming plated just like how one would expect a breakfast / brunch plate to be. On first look, the dish does come meeting the expectations of an all-day breakfast platter; the sunny side-up looking particularly enticing with its runny yolks. Digging into the platter, we went for the mushrooms first; the mushrooms do seem to be sautéed — carried an earthy and garlicky note presumably from the roasted miso garlic and does also come with a slight hint of spiciness to tickle the tastebuds, though would probably do just about right for those whom are not tolerable to most levels of spiciness anyway. The best way to enjoy this dish is to have a little bit of that toasted sourdough with a bit of the sunny side up that came with soft whites and a runny egg yolk — pairing all of them up with a bit of the sautéed shiitake, just so that one can have the best of all worlds; the toasted sourdough here does seem rather easy to chew with crusted edges that provide for a little bit more bite. The garden greens on the side adds a predictable but familiar refreshing crunch to provide a good break amidst the more flavourful components on the plate.

Noticing how they do offer quite a wide variety of special concoctions of specialty coffee here, we found ourselves going for the Gula Melaka Tonic — the menu describes the Gula Melaka Tonic to come with elements such as homemade Pandan Gula Melaka sauce, double espresso, tonic and Gula Melaka foam. We were initially expecting the beverage to come a little sweeter but we were rather impressed with how balanced it felt — the combination of espresso and tonic water much like the usual Espresso Tonic is still pretty much the soul of the beverage here, but the homemade Pandan Gula Melaka sauce and Gula Melaka foam adds a slight earthy sweetness that adds on to the Espresso Tonic albeit subtly to say the least; overall an interesting concoction that involves the use of espresso-based specialty coffee with an element of local fusion. It does seem that it is still early days for Swee Lee’s Clarke Quay location; that being said, we do wish that some operation matters can be smoothened over time since things like these do come only with a bit more experience after a while — this includes the availability of food items to dinner time (slightly bummed considering how it was supposed to be an All Day menu but all items except the Roasted Mushrooms were out of stock for the day), as well as more prompt action in clearing the tables when patrons leave the establishment. The prices of the items on the All Day section of the food menu range between $12 to $18; the lowest set priced being the Scrambled Eggs & Toast, while the priciest would be the Roasted Mushrooms that we have had — prices of the waffles in the meanwhile are from $13 to $17 for half-portion (great news for single diners) and $13 to $20 for full portions. Given how most cafes are pretty much almost one and the same these days, Swee Lee’s concept of a vinyl bar does indeed bring some novelty and character to their concept even though they aren’t the first ones to execute it — a spot that is worth checking out to experience the vibe.