Brunch at Legundi (Sembawang)

For most whom know about the local cafe scene in Singapore, it can be widely agreed upon that the North is probably the least likely spot for a specialty cafe serving up brunch offerings to set up shop around — while there have been few that had done so in the last couple of years, those are often short-lived to say the least; otherwise, most of the cafes around the said area in the North do seem to be those that are more gelato / ice-cream centric or those that are part of big name brands. We weee rather surprised to learn about the establishment of Brunch @ Legundi within the grounds of Victory8; the mixed-development located right across from Sembawang Shopping Centre where the very first location of The Better Scoop (known back then as Just Because Creamery) had set up shop at. Turns out, Brunch @ Legundi is a concept that is set up by the guys behind Dad’s Corner that is located at the Civil Service Club in Bukit Batok; Brunch @ Legundi actually takes over the former premises of the now-defunct Ayam Penyet Ria that used to operate out of Victory8. The interior of the cafe exudes some really Balinese vibes, considering the large use of earthy tones as well as wooden and rattan elements in its furniture and fittings — this provided the space with some really chill and relaxing vibes that is great to settle into. Serving up a soft launch menu on the weekend evening that we had dropped by Brunch @ Legundi, there is actually quite a good variety of food items that are being served here; the menu being segmented into categories such as Starter, Main Course, Pasta, Legundi Flame Grilled, and Toast. Desserts, pastries and cakes are all stocked up in their display case at the counter, while the beverage menu includes espresso-based specialty coffee brewed using beans sourced from Tanamera Coffee & Roastery hailing from Indonesia; they also do offer iced teq and tea in a pot as well. Brunch @ Legundi is a Muslim-owned establishment, if it matters for those whom need to know.

Brunch @ Legundi seems to take pride in how they do offer quite a number of items that are seemingly Spanish in nature — this includes that of the Paella, as well as the interesting inclusion of Octopus Tail as an item listed in the Legundi Flame Grilled section of the menu. While that sounded interesting, we were more drawn towards the slightly more reasonably priced pasta items on the menu — the Ong Bak Rigatoni seemingly being a Thai-inspired flavour given its namesake. The Ong Bak Rigatoni is described on the menu as a Creamy Tomyum Seafood Pasta; the dish does look rather plain and void of the creamy Tom Yum sauce on first look, but it does get rather apparent when one takes a closer look since most of it can be found at the bottom of the entire plate. As what one would have expected from the namesake, the item comes with Rigatoni as the type of pasta that it comes with; this also meant that the pasta here comes with a little bit of bounce and some bite considering the wide shape of the pasta. When tossed around the Creamy Tomyum Seafood sauce, the pasta carries a flavour similar to that of Red Tom Yum, though there is also a bit of a richness alongside the tangy and slightly spicy flavours that it carries — this being seemingly from the addition of cream to give the item a thicker flavour. The level of spiciness here does come pretty manageable for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness.

Seafood that was included with the Ong Bak Rigatoni includes that of prawns and clams; we like how the clams did not carry any fishy notes here nor carried a gritty, sandy texture — the prawns were a little bit of a confusion for there were three prawns that came with our order. Of the three prawns included, there was one that came with the tail shell intact though the other two were completely de-shelled; something which we hope that they can lay more attention to. That being said, all the prawns were actually pretty fresh and went well with the dish overall. We also noted small chunks of cherry tomatoes as well as coriander that was also added to the dish; the cherry tomatoes providing a refreshing tang with a chew as one bites on a piece, while the coriander cuts through all of that heaviness with its distinct note. We also gave the Lychee Mille Crepe Cake a go here; this comes styled rather closely to that of Lady M’s Lychee Rose Mille Crepe with flower petals topping off a pink layer atop the Mille Crepe. Interestingly, the Mille Crepe holds up quite well to the demolition of it using a fork; the Mille Crepe keeping to its shape well without sliding back and forth in between the layers; one can also find nibs of lychee in between, while the cream layers in between comes with a floral note that makes the entire cake work out quite well. Also tried their Kerisik Maktini — Kerisik translating to Toasted Coconut Paste in English from Bahasa Melayu, while Maktini is probably a wordplay on “Martini” given the mocktail nature of the beverage. Described to be a “Legundi Special coconut infused iced coffee”, it comes in a fancy drinkware (refusing to call it glassware since it is made of plastic), think of it as a shaken latte with a lightly sweet and coconut-y note.

The North has always been said as a spot that “no good cafe exists”; it does seem that the folks behind Brunch @ Legundi is probably here to set the note differently. For one, Brunch @ Legundi does serve up quite a good variety of dishes that is not commonly found in the north — all that whilst also delivering in terms of quality. Sure, we wished that they can be a little bit more detailed in the preparation of the food especially considering how we had found the sole prawn with its tail shell still intact in the Ong Bak Rigatoni; that being said, the team does seem rather new here and the service staff were trying their utmost best to make patrons feel welcome — even providing patrons with quite a bit of a rundown on how things work and their recommendations as one takes a seat at the table. Prices of the food here — in particular the Main Course, Pasta, Legundi Flame Grilled and Toast dishes range from $12 to $38; the lowest-priced item being the French Toast and Croffle from the Toast section of the menu, while the priciest would be the Grilled Lamb from the Legundi Flame Grilled section of the menu. Considering where they are located and the quality of the food, it does seem that Brunch @ Legundi is one location that the Northies will be very proud of having in their ‘hood — definitely a spot to visit especially for those whom are residing in the North region of the island, especially given how they do seem pretty promising based on the items that we had tried.