Botanist at Neil Road

The cafe is housed in an old shop house in the Tanjong Pagar conservation area.  The sign is not very prominent.  We almost walked right past it without noticing it.

The place is quite small, with 5-6 tables in the alfresco area, indoors there was only the cashier, kitchen and product displays .  The alfresco area is just a stone's throw away from Neil Road, so sometimes it can be quite noisy when there is a lot of traffic.

You have to go the cashier to order your food and drinks, make the payment and then came back with a number plate for your order.  Surprisingly, there is no service charge, GST is included in the stated price.

Slow Cooked Beef Cheek, $24.00

I ordered their signature slow cooked beef cheek.  Well, beef cheek is the cow's facial muscle, which works really hard throughout a cow's life, munching grass.  This tough muscle transforms into tender stew after being cooked low and slow.  You could still see the coarse fibre-like tissues but it was pleasant to bite and chew.

Underneath the beef cheek was the truffle mash, which is mash potato cooked with butter and truffle oil.  Butter and truffle oil added layers of complex sensations to this otherwise common ingredient, in particular the fragrance, which enhances your appetite.

Piccolo Latte, $4.50

Other than food, this cafe is famous for its coffee.  They are by the Pacamara people.  Well, as if I knew what Pacamara are.  Frankly speaking, I have never heard of Pacamara, until now.  Obviously they are a well-known boutique coffee roaster in Singapore, providing good coffee to the Singapore connoisseurs.  At first, I wanted to try their cold brew, but then it was not available on the day of my visit (why?).  I ordered a piccolo latte instead.

I always wonder why there are so many different names for the same stuff, coffee is just coffee.  Piccolo latte is a kind of 'new' invention that became popular in Sydney about 10 years ago.  It is coffee with milk served in a small glass.

The milk tames the bitterness of the coffee, while retains the nutty flavor of the beans.  It is gentle to the stomach, stimulating to the brain, fresh for the nose.  It would be great to have it after meal, but too bad, they served it before my food arrived.  Still not bad.

Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience.  The staff were friendly, service with a smile.  The place can be noisy and hot sometimes, mostly due to its close proximity to the main road.  Food and coffee are both good.  My friend whose standard comment on food is always 'so-so', surprised me with an 'above average' comment for Botanist.