This Katong café looks set to pack in the crowd pretty soon, as it is opened by the same group behind Atlas Coffeehouse at Bukit Timah, Lunar Coffee Brewers at Downtown Gallery, Columbus Coffee Co. at Upper Thomson and Apollo Coffee Bar at Serangoon Garden.
Neptune is the latest brainchild, taking over the defunct Firebake at 237 East Coast Road.
The “East Coast Plan” certainly gets more exciting with the recent openings of The Brewing Ground, Seng Coffee Bar, and Sundays Ice Cream.
Old-school confectionery Chin Mee Chin just further down the road is also scheduled to open later this month.
Named after the farthest-known plant in the Solar system – Neptune (sadly Pluto is no longer a planet), all their cafes have a strong “universe’ theme, from Atlas, Lunar, Columbus to Apollo.
Perhaps people staying in the East may also be reminded of Neptune Court and Neptune Dim Sum at Marine Parade Food Centre.
The 70-seater space is divided into both indoors and alfresco dining, with an interior decked in white and Neptune green in colours.
The Neptune green tiles and wooden framework consisting of tables, benches and cupboards give off a clean, sleek, natural and Japanese zen-like touch.
It also feels bright and cheery with ample sunlight pouring in through the glass windows.
Focusing on Japanese-inspired dishes in this outlet, 3 different menus are available starting from 9am and 11am for their morning and afternoon menus respectively.
Dinner menu will start at 5pm focusing on Pasta ($19.20 – $24), Seafood Somen ($22.90), Steak ($32.90) and Pork Nikomi & Fried Rice ($25.90).
The outlet exclusive items on their morning menu include plates of Big in Japan ($16.90) and Chilli Crab & Chorizo ($22.50).
Other items on their morning menu include Granola Bowl ($13.90), Banana Bread ($13.90), Chorizo, Eggs, Avo ($20.90), French Toast Standard ($19.80) and Buttermilk Waffles (Plain $11.20, Salted Caramel $13.40, Candied Bacon $15.50).
The recommended favourite Big in Japan ($16.90) came with grana panado scone with three different condiments served on its side: yuzu jam, honey mascarpone and cold shrimp & salmon in dill sauce.
The cold shrimp & salmon in dill sauce was well balanced, flavourful with a refreshing and addictive kick, enhancing the savour and nutty flavour of the grana padano cheese infused within the scones.
For a different experience, dip the buttery and crumbly scones into the yuzu jam or honey mascarpone for added sweet indulgence.
The Chilli Crab & Chorizo ($22.50) was served with shredded Harissa chilli crab meat, scrambled eggs and grilled chorizo on a sourdough toast.
While the scrambled egg was well executed with a smooth and creamy texture, both the chorizo and chilli crab had a similar spicy taste profile, which felt too safe and “flat” after a few mouthfuls.
The Afternoon menu starts at 11am with a selection of Summer Chicken Stew ($19.30), Meatballs & Toast ($19.30), Bacon Kedgeree ($23.50), Shrimp Scampi ($21.90) and Crab & Scallop ($24).
Another outlet exclusive item is the Shrimp Scampi ($21.90) with cream-based tagliatelle tossed in generous amount of garlic butter shrimps and shallots panko.
Each strand of tagliatelle is generously coated with a slightly spicy and tangy (due to the lemon juice drizzle) cream sauce and an aromatic fragrance with a nice textural contrast from the shallots panko.
What I wished for was the tagliatelle to be more al dente instead of being a tad too soft and lumpy.
Another dish worth mentioning is their Buttered Broccoli Bowl ($12.80) that seemed unassuming but packed a whole bunch of flavour.
Blow-torched to give it a light crisp and a smokey taste, each broccoli is well-seasoned with kombu (seaweed) sauce that was oishii.
2 different blends are used for their espresso-based drinks, namely Mr. Cuddles (2-beans blend of Brazil and Guatemala) with nutty, caramelised milk chocolate taste and Mr. Brightside (2-beans blend of Ethiopia and Colombia) with Cherry, nectar and Nougat taste.
Their espresso-based drinks come in 2 cup sizes, 6oz for single espresso shot and 9oz for double espresso shots.
The usually selections can be found, namely Espresso ($3.80), Espresso Macchiato ($4.80), Long Black ($4.80), Affogato ($6.40), Magic ($5.40), Flat White ($5.40), Latte ($5.40), Mocha ($5.90) and Toffee Latte ($6.40).
My large cup of Flat White ($6.40) was medium bodied, smooth, chocolatey, nutty and was satisfying.
Neptune, welcome to Earth, I mean Katong, which will be the next popular place on this East Coast Plan.
Neptune
237 East Coast Road, Level 1, Singapore 428930
Opening Hours: 9am – 10pm (Tue – Sat), 9am – 7pm (Sun), Closed Mon
Other Related Entries
The Brewing Ground (Joo Chiat)
Seng Coffee Bar (Changi Road)
Sundays Ice Cream (East Coast Road)
Firewood Chicken and Bagel (East Coast Road)
Kings Cart Coffee Factory (Joo Chiat)
* Written by Nicholas Tan @stormscape who loves all things [NEW]. DFD paid for food reviewed unless otherwise stated.
