Some weeks back, while on my way to my favorite childhood Hainanese chicken rice shop at Upper Thomson Road, I walked past this new cafe, Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters. The cafe now occupies the corner unit along the row of shophouses where Liquid Kitchen used to be. Pacamara caught my attention with its bright, clean and spacious layout, and I made a mental note to drop by one weekend.
Cafes are sprouting up like weeds in Singapore. Not a bad thing, but I can count with five fingers the cafes that are worth a repeat visit because I like the coffee or the ambience of the place. Assembly Coffee – great coffee, excellent salted caramel buttermilk waffles and pretty good Shibuya Toast; only negative bit is the decibel level when the cafe gets crowded. Loysel’s Toy – decent coffee in a relaxing outdoor-sy environment. Coast & Company – good coffee and I like that it is tucked deep inside the Siglap neighborhood which means I can usually find a seat most weekend mornings when I pop by. Flock Cafe – I almost always pop by for a Cortado when I am in Tiong Bahru.
This weekend, we made a trip to Far East Flora to get some freshly cut flowers and decided to have brunch at Pacamara.
That’s about $20. Like most cafes here, the food is over-priced, mediocre fare.
Red velvet pancakes with mascarpone sauce, granola and berries. This was poorly executed. The pancakes were dry and tasteless, and I stopped eating it after a few bites. Why would anyone combine granola with pancakes…? Our coffees were quite decent though.
If I happen to be in the Thomson Road neighborhood, I wouldn’t mind popping by Pacamara for a cup of coffee. Just not for the food. I would rather eat chicken rice at Nam Kee Chicken Rice several units away from Pacamara!
Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters
185 Upper Thomson Road
Singapore 574333
