Average Service

For those whom have been looking through social media for a glimpse of what the local F&B scene has to offer of the late, one establishment that folks probably would have noticed would be that of Average Service. Being one of the latest entrants to the local cafe-hopping scene, Average Service is located along Jalan Besar — these folks are located right across Asylum Coffeehouse on the other side of Petain Road; the former tenant of the space that Average Service being that of fȳr which has since ceased all operations in Singapore (their Boon Tat Street location closed a long time before the closure of the Jalan Besar location). Despite being just a recent opening, Average Service does seem to already skyrocket itself to an establishment attracting the attention of cafe-hoppers and it is little wonder why — Average Service is decked in a way that is a little rustic with a hipster touch; the playful decor seems to see the use of different geometrical elements in its furniture and fittings; all that whilst featuring earthy tones from the wooden accents from the dining furniture that is matched against a bold shade of dark blue for a quirky contrast that is strangely easy to the eye. The whole interior can be described as funky, yet oddly retro; the use of warm lighting in the evening creates an intimate atmosphere for diners. Most of the seating within the establishment caters for groups of two (2) to four (4) pax, though there are counter seating available for single diners as well as the “pit” area that can accommodate larger groups of guests. Average Service is one of those cafes that seemingly serve up progressive contemporary cuisine as some establishment so like to call it — the menu is segregated into categories such as Mains, Pasta, Sides, Pastries and Dessert. Beverages that Average Service offers on its menu includes espresso-based specialty coffee, Matcha / Houjicha-related offerings, as well as Mocktails. There is also a lineup of cocktails, craft beer and wine for those whom would prefer to have alcoholic drinks.

We visited Average Service on a weekday evening during its initial opening phase — these folks were already sold out of many of its items that are listed into Mains, Pastries and Dessert sections of the menu; the Mains section comprising of mostly brunch / breakfast dishes that were heavily featured on social media. That being said, skimming through their menu before making the visit to Average Service, the Mentai Handkerchief Pasta was a dish that captured our attention long before we made our visit down to Average Service itself. Average Service describes the Mentai Handkerchief Pasta as an item that features elements like Handkerchief Pasta, In-house mentaiko sauce and Bacon on the menu. The reason behind why the item is being named the Mentai Handkerchief Pasta is relatively simple — the pasta used for the dish is of an entire square with jagged edges; pretty much like a folded handkerchief that is topped off with bacon. One thing we did note about the Mentai Handkerchief Pasta is how it is a simple dish with a somewhat easy execution but presented in a rather interesting manner — a theme that we had noticed with the offerings that Average Service has to offer. The Handkerchief Pasta is perhaps an element that boils down to personal preference; think of it as a pasta that is rather similar to that of the pasta used for lasagne — this also means that it does carry some bite since the pasta comes with a substantial thickness, which we would reckon some to find it a little tough, dense and heavy especially considering how it comes with a cream-based sauce. The In-house mentaiko sauce would be that cream-based sauce that comes spiked with just a bit of Mentaiko for a light, briny touch with the cream-based sauce that is emulsified for a lighter, airier texture — it’s slight creaminess and saltish-ness does keep things fairly interesting for us whilst being less jelat than the typical cream-based sauces food in more conventional pasta dishes elsewhere. The chunks of bacon provided quite a bit of bite with the usual saltish-ness that one would expect out of cured meat that has been pan-fried; does make the dish come with a note that subtly reminds us of a Carbonara dish.

Since all of the Pastries and Dessert items were sold out by the time we made our visit to Average Service, our attention turned towards having an item off the Sides section of the menu instead. We have heard quite a fair bit about the Potato Pleasure which is a dish that comprises of Homemade Potato Puree, Organic Onsen Egg, Furikake and Spring Onion Oil based on the description of the dish on the menu. The dish is presented in a way that the Homemade Potato Puree blankets the Organic Onsen Egg, with the latter being a little bit of a “surprise” element when one digs into Homemade Potato Puree with the molten egg yolk flowing onto the Homemade Potato Puree. Yet another dish that is simply executed whilst incorporating a slight twist in its presentation, the addition of the Organic Onsen Egg does provide quite a bit of depth of flavours to the dish when mixed together with the smooth, light and airy potato puree which has been spiked with a bit of salt for a bit of taste; the other elements such as the Furikake and Spring Onion Oil adding a savouriness and umami factor to the Potato Pleasure. Whilst Espresso Tonic is an item that is easy to find across the menus of some specialty coffee joints, Espresso Coke is a something that is quite unheard of. The Espresso Coke comes features Coke Zero and espresso — think we will stick with the usual Espresso Tonic for this one, though this might work out better for those whom aren’t into that “siap” flavours that Espresso Tonic inherently carries since the sweetness of the Coke Zero does round things off a little differently. What we aren’t too big of a fan of is the bitter undertones of the espresso in the finishing notes after the sweetness of the Coke Zero that strikes to us as being a little off — though we do still think that there might be folks whom are into this.

It is a little of a pity that we aren’t able to give many of the dishes that we wanted to try out at Average Service a go considering how they were sold out of those items during the day that we had made our visit there. That being said, we do feel that Average Service does serve up some well-executed dishes with a bit of a playful touch that would work well with the cafe-hopping crowd — its creations being mostly being something familiar but with a slight twist that gives them a character that is uniquely “Average Service”. Service from the crew at Average Service was also actually slightly more than just being average as well; we do feel that the crew does put in a bit of effort more than what a typical specialty coffee establishment would to make their patrons feel a little more at ease — definitely more than the usual serve-and-go nature that most establishments adopt these days. With that being said, prices of the individually-sized plates from the Mains and Pasta sections of the menu are priced slightly on the higher end — the lowest-priced dishes being the Average Salad and Average Chili Egg Toast at $20 from the Mains section of the menu, while the priciest would be at $32 for the Steak & Eggs also from the Mains section of the menu; not too much of a surprise considering how some other establishments do charge around the same for similar dishes, though definitely not as wallet-friendly as some. Irregardless, Average Service is definitely one of those establishments that avid cafe-hoppers would be happy to add to the list of places to check out; we do feel that we would be returning to try some of the dishes that we had missed out a go — this would include items like the Scallion Croissant, Average Maple Toast and the Strawberry Shortcube. Given how these folks seem to be already off a good start in the early days of their opening, Average Service is a name to look out for in the local cafe-hopping scene in time to come!