pacamara boutique coffee roasters, upper thomson.

i've been wanting to try pacamara for the longest time, but it's so out of the way! finally had the chance to try it on a weekend when my friend was driving. we went on a sunday, and of course, we had to wait for a table. the queue system is a pretty efficient one. they had an ipad at the door, where you could key in your phone number, and they'd contact you once they got a table. this means that you could just go off and do your thing while waiting, though we chose to hang around. thankfully we didn't have to wait very long. it was probably just a fifteen minute wait, tops.

they mostly have communal tables, so there being the four of us, we shared a table for eight with another group. no service charge- ordering was done at the counter. i was there for the duck confit hash ($19.50), which meant... no decision making required. spied another table having one of their salads, and it looked pretty good! that made us decide to share a winter salad ($15). my friend was initially set on the pulled pork burger ($17.50), but on seeing another table have the beef burger ($19.90), decided to change his order to that instead.



while placing our orders, we were told that the food was going to take a while since the kitchen had lots of orders, but it turned out to be just a brief wait. (or maybe because we were talking and were distracted.) the winter salad came first- a glorious medley of baby spinach leaves, butternut squash and parsnip cubes, crispy roasted kale, dried cranberries, shaved fennel and avocado. it was an excellent starter- really fresh and delicious, tossed with just enough yuzu vinaigrette. i'd happily order another of their salads to share.



our mains came when we were about halfway through the salad. i'd asked for the hollandaise to be served on the side, which was a good choice because it turned out that the hash didn't actually need the sauce. it wasn't a hash in the traditional sense; i think they'd just called it a hash because it was a dish comprising meat and potatoes. it was more of a eggs ben + hash fusion. not that i'm complaining, because the combination worked. crispy rostï, shredded duck confit, greens and beans for that pop of freshness, topped with perfectly poached eggs- what's not to love? the only part i didn't get was the slightly stale brioche toast- not sure how that worked with the hash, given that the rostï provided enough carbs for me. the dish was generous enough without the toast, anyway. still, i loved the dish, and would order it again in a heartbeat. i cleaned everything up.



my friends loved their food, too, and we were excited about making a return trip really soon. the only complaint that they had was regarding the drinks. my friend got a tea for $7 and was expecting it to come at least in a teapot so that it was refillable... but it came in a small single serve glass jug. no complaints about the mains though! pricing is nett, which makes it even better. this has to be one of best cafés i've tried this year. i want to go back soon!


pacamara boutique coffee roasters
185 upper thomson road
http://pacamara.sg/#home