Tucked within one of the shophouses along the popular Tanjong Pagar Road is a white minimalist café that you may just walk past without noticing.
(Also read: 20 Tanjong Pagar Cafes For Brunch & Desserts)
In a stretch lined with Korean BBQ restaurants and cafes such as Champion Bolo Bun, Roji Monster Ice Cream and Cake Spade (technically opposite), Haven Coffee the newest addition to the hood.
The 6 tables space is decked in primary white and MUJI-like tone, using muted colours and elements to fill up the space.
Yup, everything is white here, from the white Synesso S200 espresso machine to the coffee beans grinder, the coffee cups and V60 Coffee dripper – all reminded me of %Arabica.
When I probed further, indeed the owner was an ex-trainer at % Arabica, which probably inspires him to create his ideal dream cafe with similar look and colours.
Their menu is currently limited to a small selection of savoury food items, pastries, desserts and coffee.
For savory options, diners can look forward to Scrambled Eggs Croissant ($11), Ham & Cheese Croissant ($12), Scrambled Eggs Toast ($12) and Ham & Cheese Toasties ($14).
Pastries are sourced from The Bakehaus, with a selection of Butter Croissant ($4.20), Pain Au Chocolat ($4.50), Almond Croissant ($5) and Kouign Amann ($6).
3 different Tartelettes are available, namely Chocolate ($7), Raspberry ($7.50) and Citron Meringue ($7.80).
Sprinkled with icing sugar on top to counterbalance the citrus taste of the raspberry, there was a good balance of flavours.
Unfortunately, the tart crust was a bit too moist, crumbly and soggy, which fell apart easily when sliced.
Glow in the Dark blend (Guatemala and Brazil) from Homeground Coffee Roasters is used for their espresso-based drinks: Espresso ($4.50), Macchiato ($5), Black ($5), White ($6), Piccolo ($5.50), Mocha ($7) and Dirty Matcha ($7).
Customisation is also available with optional add-ons for Iced (+$1), Espresso Shot (+$1) and Oat Milk (+$1).
With a heavy body, and distinctive dark chocolate notes in the coffee beans, my cup of Iced Dirty Matcha ($8) was robust and well-balanced with earthiness from the matcha powder used.
For the serious coffee drinkers, filtered coffee using French Press ($7) and V60 Pourover ($7) are available with options of 2 single origin coffee beans: Ethiopia and Colombia.
The Colombia beans was bright and clean with detectable citrus notes from blackcurrant and red grapes, complemented by a fuller dark chocolate body.
If you “haven” had your coffee fix for the day, Haven Coffee can be the spot for that.
Haven Coffee
124 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088533
Opening Hours: 9am – 8pm (Mon – Sun)
Other Related Entries
LUNA Patisserie (Amoy Street)
Parallel Coffee Roasters (Duxton Hill)
French Fold (Telok Ayer Street)
Runes (Lau Pa Sat)
The Bravery (Amoy Street)
* Written by Nicholas Tan @stormscape who loves all things [NEW]. DFD paid for food reviewed unless otherwise stated.
