The Populus Coffee & Food Co.

Black Forest Sundae (~$18) on a Buttermilk Waffle (~$5): WORTH IT. The money, but more importantly, worth the calories 😋👌🏻
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Dark chocolate ice cream barely leaned towards bitter, with the hints of sweetness pairing nicely with the bitter cherry 🍒 Generous chunks of fudge cake could be more moist and dense, but it’s lightness was probably a good idea considering how heavy this dessert got 🍰
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Also there was popping candy?? Which was quite interesting addition in terms of texture/ gastronomical experience 🍦 Overall the whole dessert came together to fit the name — blackforest cake, with the Star being the drool worthy soft serve, of course. 😛 Waffles were nice and butter taste was strong, done just the way I liked it! Nice one, Populus 🤪👍🏻

Ig @goodfomood

No rum detected in the banana at all but the bananas were still AMAZING! Loved how it’s pan fried to let the natural caramelization of the banana out!
French toast was PERFECTly soaked, super love it!
Paired with berries and fresh yogurt (non sweetened), this is a french toast you can have as a main
Overall, as a french toast mania I’m GLAD GLAD GLAD I put this on my french toast bucketlist!

The Populus strikes gold a second time with their grain bowl. This limited edition seafood bowl ($22.50) was a work of art and tasted as good as it looked :)

The seafood consisted of roasted cod loin, Japanese scallop and flaky crab meat. It was garnished with ginger, pickled cabbage and cucumber and sat atop some Japanese brown rice with mixed grains (quinoa, bulgar wheat and barley).

It tasted really flavorful and just filling enough. The rice grains were just perfectly cooked with a significant bite to them, without being mushy. The cod was a tad dry but still flaked easily with a fork. The Japanese scallops were my favorite; aburi-ed to perfection, sweet and very flavorful. And the vegetables were a delicious medley of crunchy and soft, sweet and sour.

My dining partner was very impressed by this cafe indeed. As was I.

8/10

Visited Populus today to give thanks and to enjoy their amazing menu and award winning coffee. Their “Chicken Rice” Donburi was both super tasty and just the right portion. Their Pork Chop was super juicy while still crispy on the outside. Amazing coffee served up courtesy of 2 Degrees North Roasters where Yi Yang is also the Master Roaster. Great atmosphere to hang out with friends. Truly appreciated the conversation and to learn a bit more about speciality coffees from Yang himself!

This is very average for the price. Thankfully it was a lunch deal! The chicken is tender but lacks flavour and is not juicy. Fries is okay.

This colorful and aesthetically appealing bowl ($24) was so delicious and tasted so clean and healthy!

There was a generous slab of thyme-seared wagyu beef atop three types of grain (quinoa, bulgar wheat and pearl barley). The sides included roasted butternut squash and zucchini, blistered cherry tomatoes, carrot and cabbage slaw, sauteed mixed mushroom and furikake baby corn.

The grain mix was the major highlight for me. Just the perfect mix of textures and grain sizes with a beautiful bite. The sauteed mixed mushroom was super flavorful and juicy, the coleslaw not too heavily dressed, and the vegetables roasted to a sweet perfection. The cherry tomatoes were juicy and provided a good contrast to the crunchy raw slaw and the corn. I also loved the nutty flavors imparted by the sesame seeds in the furikake baby corn.

And the beef; so delightfully pink and tender. Not the best beef or the juiciest, but certainly enough to stand its own in this delicious bowl.

I rarely think grain bowls are worth the price tag because how good can a grain bowl get? Thankfully, Populus has showed me a shining example of a simple grain bowl executed well.

9/10