The Coffee Academics (Raffles City)

Honestly, this is nothing much to write home about. The portion was quite small and the food was mediocre and not piping hot when it reached our table; suspect it was the lunch time crowd. The only thing that’s stood out on the plate was the cheese but other than that it wouldn’t be worth it without the burpple beyond 1-1.

Also tried the pizza but did not take a picture of it. Their truffle portobello mushroom pizza, on the other hand is a whole different story. It came right from the kitchen and was thin and crispy while being quite hearty at the same time. Would return to have the pizza.

One of the recommended items on the TCA menu are the Crispy Fish Fillet Tacos ($23). I’d tried this on a previous visit to the Scotts Square outlet and recommended this to my dining partner when she asked what’s good.

The tacos come with locally-grown snapper and chipotle mayonnaise topped with fresh mango salsa, and is served with seasonal greens and curly fries. This dish is also eligible for redemption with Burpple Beyond and Entertainer, so we got this for free!

TCA serves up some extremely crispy taco shells, which makes this dish quite messy to eat as it breaks into a gazillion pieces when you bite into it. The filling sort of spills out everywhere too. Although we would’ve preferred the taco shells to be softer, the taco fillings were 10/10! I love the slightly sourish mango salsa, and the snapper was fresh and tender. The curly fries were also not bad, although it would’ve been better if they were crispier and served hot (they did come a little lukewarm)!

Overall a nice and very filling dish! It tends to get messy to eat so don’t order on the first date unless you want to eat it deconstructed or something!

TCA is on both Entertainer and Burpple Beyond - yay! Their Main Dish redemptions include the All Day Breakfast, Big Bites, Pasta & Grain Bowls & Pizzas. Unfortunately the salads aren’t included or else I’d be in crab avocado heaven!

It seems TCA updates their menu from time to time, which is great! They even have the Impossible Burger launching next month. Exciting times.

Went for The Academics Breakfast ($25) which comes with an English Cumberland sausage, Pio Tosini Prosciutto di Parma Ham, Homemade baked beans, sautéed mushrooms, halloumi cheese, cherry tomatoes, eggs of your choice with shaved black truffle (scrambled, poached, sunny side up) served with toasted bread and seasonal greens.

It’s a sizeable portion for one person and a very filling but satisfying lunch! I loved everything on the plate, especially the halloumi cheese, and assembling your own toast with the ingredients is super fun. In addition, the eggs are topped with shaved black truffle - what a way to make you feel like royalty! The only thing I didn’t fancy was the sausage, which was too hard and dry in my opinion.

Wjth 1-for-1 deals on Entertainer & Burpple Beyond, the mains are definitely worth it. We spent $25 per pax for a main and an artisan cuppa each, which is reasonable. TCA is a place I keep coming back to, and will continue to revisit time and again!