Common Man Coffee Roasters (Anchorpoint)

I decided to get crossiant ($16) since a lot of people order it b4. I really like the crossiant got that crunchy and crispy after reheating at oven. Got cheesy pull from the crossiant and quite savoury taste. Good thing that they add salad with balsamic sauce to prevent jelak. I also order herb garden tea to complement well with crossiant.

For those whom have been cafe-hopping around the island whilst the third-wave coffee movement was in its heydays here, Common Man Coffee Roasters is a name that one would not be too unfamiliar with — being a cafe and a coffee roasters of its own, the brand is also one of the many F&B concepts that are under the Spa Espirit Group; the same group also operates other notable brands including that of Tiong Bahru Bakery, Bochinche, as well as GROUNDED by CMCR. The Common Man Coffee Roasters brand has been on an expansion spree of the late — while their very first outlet at Martin Road has been in operations for nearly a decade at this current juncture, they have only recently expanded their footprint across the island with one being located at Joo Chiat Road subsequent to the re-branding of Common Man Stan at Stanley Street into a Common Man Coffee Roasters outlet. Their latest location at Anchorpoint is the most iconic yet — taking over the former premises of Uncle Leong Seafood that was housed at the former Archipelago Brewery Company, Common Man Coffee Roasters serves up its usual brunch and lunch fare in the day, but pays homage to the building’s heritage in its night-time operations as Common Man Night Shift Wine Bar. The vibes at Common Man Coffee Roaster’s location at Anchorpoint largely replicates that of their original location at Martin Road — the elevated long brew bar resembles the same at their very first location, with the vast use of metallic and wooden elements that gives it an industrial and somewhat raw yet upscale vibe. Common Man Coffee Roasters at Anchorpoint serves up similar fare to that of their other locations — the daytime menu is split into sections dedicated to Breakfast, Lunch, Sides and Desserts, while the list of beverages includes juices and sodas, smoothies and alcoholic beverages; this is not forgetting both filter coffee and espresso-based coffee which it is also best known for.

We have had visited Common Man Coffee Roasters at their Martin Road outlet as well as GROUNDED by CMCR quite a number of years ago — we recalled giving some items like the Organic Eggs Benedict and the Chilli Chicken a try previously; the former being one of the must-order dishes for most whom have visited Common Man Coffee Roasters back then. Wanting to go for something that we have not yet tried before, we decided to go for the Turkish Common Man Breakfast, which is listed in the Breakfast section of their menu. The Turkish Common Man Breakfast is an item that is listed as a Vegetarian dish on the menu, and is one that comprises of elements such as phyllo wrapped soft boiled egg, crispy feta, pumpkin hummus, fresh cucumber, pomegranate & fresh herbs, pita bread and a drizzle of honey. We are usually pretty skepticism about how vegetarian dishes would turn out to be but the Turkish Common Man Breakfast did impress us with its execution as much as the creativity that went into the dish. Since the honey is being drizzled above the phyllo wrapped soft boiled egg, this made the dish felt very Kunefe-like with its crisp texture and mild sweetness. The soft boiled egg comes with a flowy, molten egg yolk — would definitely satisfy those looking to generate #eggporn content. The pumpkin hummus was an element that we utterly enjoyed especially when had with the pita bread; the pita bread is toasty with a lightly crusty exterior and yet being dense and fluffy enough to carry a bite, though wasn’t too heavy considering it did not come too thick. Being a hummus an heart, there is a familiar note of spices synonymous with Middle Eastern cuisine in the pumpkin hummus; the flavours of the mashed chickpeas went surprisingly well with the sweetness of the pumpkins that helped provide yet another contrast of flavours that brings it closer to the honey-drizzled phyllo wrapped soft boiled egg. Crispy Feta were like mini deep-fried cheese balls carrying a savoury note, while other elements such as cucumbers and pomegranate adds a crunchy texture whilst adding a refreshing note to the dish.

Common Man Coffee Roasters is a brand that had since been affiliated to the local coffee and specialty cafe scene — while the core focus at Common Man Coffee Roasters had always been their specialty coffee offerings, Common Man Coffee Roasters had never been a brand that compromises on their hot food offerings despite specialty coffee being pretty much their main gig. Common Man Coffee Roasters has been noted for their quality cafe fare; no doubt there has always been mention about how their food has always come at a price tag that is one notch above what other similar establishments would have charged, but there is no denying in how the produce used in the food offerings at Common Man Coffee Roasters does seem to be of a higher grade than what is served at other establishments as well. It is perhaps the notion of the quality of food matching the price tag at Common Man Coffee Roasters that makes them as reputable a name in the local coffee scene as they are now. Apart from giving the Turkish Common Man Breakfast a go, we had also tried the Okinawa Black Sugar Tiramisu that is listed on the Desserts section of the menu during our visit made to Common Man Coffee Roasters’ outlet at Anchorpoint — unlike the typical tiramisu that makes use of coffee, Common Man Coffee Roasters’ Okinawa Black Sugar Tiramisu features Houjicha instead; we did feel that it could have done with a stronger note of tea with some Houjicha tea powder dusted over the tiramisu, though the soy caramel was umami and pretty intriguing to say the least. Prices of the items on the Breakfast and Lunch sections of the menu range between $18 to $32; a bit higher than what some might be used to but the offerings do match up the price in terms of quality. Looking forward to be back to Common Man Coffee Roasters’ location at Anchorpoint for the Common Man Night Shift Wine Bar in the evenings — something which we find to be rather meaningful considering the heritage of the space it occupies.