Interesting way to present this jelly-like dessert in the form of a raindrop cake. The lemongrass flavour was refreshing, with a subtle citrus aroma along with the minty flavour from the peppermint leaves. The light flavour contrasted well with the vanilla creaminess of the creme anglaise. Surprisingly the overall taste was a well-balanced one without being overly sweet despite the caramelized pineapple, elderflower watermelon and chocolate soil.
An Indian cuisine-inspired main dish on Coalesce's menu. I like its presentation and pairing of the pan-seared fish with the tower of Tumeric infused pilaf rice. The fish was pan seared till crispy on top while still tender fresh underneath. Drizzling curry foam on it worked wonder for adding an earthy savory flavor to the fish, yet not masking the original freshness of the fish as in the case if a sauce was poured over. The pilaf rice was moist, had a spicy tumeric aroma and sweet from the brown raisins.
Laksa pasta seems to be one of the hot favorites at Coalesce. A whopping plate of linguine tossed in mild spicy laksa sauce, where you can even taste the chopped laksa leaves. I would have liked it better with a stronger laksa taste though. Served with chewy squid and juicy prawns, they aren't stingy with the seafood at all. A familiar laksa ingredient, tau pok, could also be found, just that there's no gravy to soak it up. You could also create thickness in the pasta by breaking the soft poached egg and let the oozy egg yolk flow.
My first try on a vegetarian version of chili crab pasta! Tastes really similar to a non-vegetarian version, alike to the usual pasta sauce of a sweet spicy tomato base, except that there was no crab meat. Unexpectedly, it got pretty spicy gradually, leaving tongues on fire. Linguine was a good choice of pasta to absorb the flavour of the chili crab sauce. Probably added for its unique and intense peppery taste, the wild rocket helped in balancing the thickness in texture and flavour of the sauce but I would still think that it's an acquired taste as I am really not a fan of it. What's uncommon was the addition of deep fried croutons slices, which were rather greasy and tasted like deep fried mantous. I enjoyed initially, but was too oily towards the end. The pasta was finished off by topping a jiggly poached egg.
Generally an all right attempt in creating a vegetarian chili crab pasta, but being a seafood lover, I would still stick to the conventional chili crab pasta for my crab meat.
Like a recreation of the Teochew Orh Nee, using similar ingredients, if you realised. It's also not the usual parfait one would expect. The coconut yam parfait melts in the mouth, blending its creaminess with the light flavor of the gingko nuts and the fried pumpkin mochi. The fried shallots crumble may seem out of place, but the mild oniony flavour cuts through the creaminess perfectly, with a crispy addition to the texture.
I like the concept of Coalesce, the inspiration behind their innovative creations is to stay true to the Singapore heritage despite the influence from various cultures.
#burpple #burpplesg #sgfood #sgfoodies #foodporn #coalescesg #dessert
Sounded interesting but was too light for me. Mango outer shell basil cream centre and basil sponge base. Interesting combination especially if you want a cake that isn't too heavy after a rich main. However the red velvet? crumble was way too dry.
Iirc all their cakes go for 5.8++ usually
They have an insane dessert selection and I was so interested in everything but I eventually had to narrow down to two lol. If smooth oozing pandan cream with caramelised sugar sounds good to you, get this amazing tart. Only gripe is that because of the oozing cream it's slightly difficult to eat but the taste and calories were so worth the effort
Yeah I quite like it even tho I usually can't really tell if it's homemade or not
U get either coffee tea or soft drinks to go with the main for the power lunch
Not sure if every power lunch set gets it or only the pasta but oh well not gonna complain
Chicken was stringy and tough but the soup was really light and a great opener to the meal
They got both the 8.8++ and the 16++ lunches but by now everyone knows about their seafood linguine
I srsly don't understand how they sell the laksa linguine at 22++ when this 8.8 pasta is around( isn't it just laksa vs sambal balacan lol)
I didn't particularly like it lol the seafood was ok, the sauce was spicy enough but there wasn't nearly enough flavour and oomph for me.
Though to be fair this is absolutely amazing at its prize point there's really nothing to pick at when it's 8.8++
Much like a deconstructed Teochew Orh Mee, the parfait comes with a fried pumpkin mochi, topped with gingko nuts and fried shallot crumble. Presented in small block forms instead of the usual paste, it is certainly less starchy and cloying but just as “intensely yammy” (following the words of @that_dex 😂). The addition of the crisp pumpkin mochi was a nice touch with a slight chewy bite and the fried shallots along the side provided an intriguing savoury element to the dish as well.
Coming up with a whole new take on fusion food, Coalesce, at NTU@One North Alumni House aims to serve you the world on your plate. And by putting a touch of something new, something innovative to a familiar dish; two good examples were the plated desserts that used our local flavours as base - the Iced Coconut Yam Parfait ($12) and Corn Hoon Kueh off their Weekend Set Lunch.
A balanced dish, the Corn Hoon Kueh was served with fragrant Pandan Crumble, bits of Toasted Coconut Flakes accompanied with a scoop of Coco Sweetcorn Gelato and drizzled with Burnt Miso Butterscotch Sauce. Crunchy, sweet and soft, the textures and flavours really tied in together. The firm yet soft hoon kueh being my favourite item on the plate.
Thank you @Burpple for the invite and the team at Coalesce for hosting us!
Coalesce has a bar bites menu that isn't widely advertised, but with an item like this plate of char siew on it, the bar bites should really get a lot more love than they do right now.
Thin, tender slices of pork belly are slowly sous vide till the meat is properly cooked, before Coalesce dabs on a good measure of their special char siew sauce and blowtorches the pork till the outside attains a nice, beautiful char. Following the trial by fire, they slather on yet more of their sweet, savory and addictive sauce before sliding it right under your nose.
Pair up the stunningly splendid slices of char siew with the mild but savory chili on the side, and you've just booked yourself an express trip straight to Flavortown.
This was a hosted Eatup, courtesy of Burpple and Coalesce!
Y'know what? I'm just gonna say it. Coalesce's Yuzu Roasted Half Chicken isn't spectacular or mindblowing. It is, however, very decent, and is a safe, stalwart option if you haven't got a clue as to what to order.
The chicken is expertly roasted, with the skin being roasted to a glorious golden brown hue, while the meat within stays pleasantly moist and juicy. There's a mild zest from the yuzu glaze liven up and inject a little variety into the savory flavors, but everyone present at the table agreed that the notes of yuzu could've been a lot more pronounced.
However, we were utterly and hopelessly hooked on the absolutely addictive house made potato chips. Potatoes are thinly sliced before being deep fried and seasoned in an irresistible mix of olive oil, herbs and salt. It may be a little oily, but I'd be lying if I said I was put off by that.
This was a hosted Eatup, courtesy of Burpple and Coalesce!
With lunch sets starting at $8.80++ for a 2 course set (yes, forealz), one of the standout dishes that we tried was Spicy Balacan Seafood Linguine Pasta.
Surrounding the pasta was plump and succulent prawns and squid, tossed in spicy balacan. For all spicy food lovers out there, this definitely hits the right spot. With balacan that's sweet, yet packed with a spicy punch, every mouthful could bring you to tears, if you can't take chilli that is, but it's perfect for me.
Thank you @burpple for inviting us to the eatup and the team at Coalesce for hosting us!
#burpple #aroundwithamd #burppletastemakers
Coalesce's signature dish is their Ground Beef Rendang ($24++), which is essentially a piquant portion of ground beef that's been fried in a redolent rendang that everyone will relish. It's all loaded into a behemoth of a bowl that's filled to about halfway before it's sealed beneath a layer of buttery, addictive puff pastry.
The rendang itself is thick and less on the gravy-like side, and it cocoons every single element of the beef rendang, from the ground beef to the chunks of potatoes. The inclusion of arugula leaves within was a brilliant play, as the peppery flavor of the arugula counterbalanced the rich, heavy flavors of the beef rendang. Of course, the buttery, flaky puff pastry just made everything just so much better.
However, Jin, the manager, explained to us that while experimenting with their dish, the team at Coalesce decided their dish just felt lacking in satisfaction somehow. The immediate solution was the addition of the potatoes into the luscious mixture. After chowing down on this bowl of beef rendang, I can quite confidently identify the fault. The replacement of the traditional, stewed-till-tender hunks of bovine with ground beef resulted in a lack of bite and character to the dish, and as such, satisfaction levels plummeted.
It really is quite unfortunate, because this dish is flawless in terms of taste. Perhaps Coalesce could look into replacing the ground beef with cubes/slices of beef instead.
This was a hosted Eatup, courtesy of the good folks at Coalesce and Burpple!
A nice starter to share (or hog to yourself) would be this Pork Tsukunne! It fulfills all the meaty, creamy, eggy (there's an onsen egg hidden under there!) requirements to a foolproof dish that'll satisfy me. Add in a couple spears of asparagus and I'm sold. Slightly pricy though but I hear they're planning for some possible adjustments so keep a lookout for news from them! 🙌
Tucked away inside NTU's Alumni Building in One North, this casual dining restaurant serves tasty Asian fusion plates that hit the spot, and its spacious interiors make it perfect for large group gatherings. Try the Ground Beef Rendang Pot Pie ($24), which features the time-tested combination of flaky and buttery pastry with tender ground beef. According to Burppler Jonathan Teo, the beef was well-spiced and mixed through with rocket and potatoes for extra bite. Another winnning plate is the Laksa Linguine ($22), which comes topped with a generous helping of springy squid, peeled prawns and tau pok, as well as a perfect onsen egg. Break the egg and stir it through the pasta for extra lusciousness. It's also only mildly spicy, which makes it ideal for those with a low threshold for spice. If the tongue still burns, cool things down with the Iced Coconut Yam Parfait ($12), a variation on local yam paste (orh nee) that combines yam parfait, fried pumpkin mochi and deep-fried shallots (yes you read that right) — yum! Pro tip: Check out their affordable weekday set lunch ($8.80). For that price you get a main (consider the Spicy Balacan Seafood Linguine), a soup and a drink.
Avg Price: $25 per person
Photo by Burppler Veronica Phua
Coalesce's legendary laksa pasta now comes in a new version, the Sambal Belacan Seafood Linguine. It actually comes as one of the options for mains in the 2-course power lunch set meal at Coalesce, which is going for $8.80++.
The sambal was moderately spicy, as evidenced by fellow Tastemaker Vanessa immediately reaching for her drink. The spice wasn't enough to mask the rest of the flavors present, fortunately enough. If you brave the heat, you'll be rewarded by a vast ocean of savory, luscious flavors thanks to the sambal belacan that adorns every last linguine.
While the squid could be fresher, the seafood was cooked just right, and there's quite the bounty of them swimming around in this plate eagerly sucking up that sterling sambal belacan.
This was a hosted Eatup, courtesy of Coalesce and Burpple!
Coalesce takes all things Singaporean and puts their own spin on it! One of the desserts that caught my eye was this variation on orh nee (one of my all-time favourite desserts!).
By using a parfait that was quite intensely yammy (is that even a word), they managed to recreate the flavours of the classic dessert. The fried shallots certainly added an element of surprise to the sweet dish but my favourite was the fried pumpkin mochi which was crispy on the outside and chewy inside.
