Cafe O is one of those places which we had used to visit quite often in the past — the establishment first opened at Woodlands MRT Station along the walkway that is linked to Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange a number of years ago. It wasn’t too long before they had expanded with a second outlet at IMM Building; the outlet at Holland Village in Raffles Holland V came about as a replacement of their now-defunct Woodlands MRT Station location when they had moved out. Having walked past their outlet at IMM Building after all these while, we had been fairly intrigued by their Nian Gao Prata offering; this is especially so considering how we have been quiet on an expedition looking out for mamak establishments around the island in recent times. Between the two outlets, the Cafe O outlet at IMM Building would be the bigger one — the interior of the eatery is decked in a style similar to that of - Hainanese-run coffee house with nostalgic elements from tiled flooring to old-school furnishings that have worn down having been in use for several years by now. Apart from Roti Prata, Cafe O does serve up All Day Breakfast, Soft Bun, Putu Mayam, Chee Cheong Fun, Mee Rebus, Mee Siam, Laksa and Nasi Lemak — just to name a few; the list of beverages includes local-style Kopi and Teh, as well as Milo, Iced Lemon Tea, canned drinks and other cordial-based drinks such as Bandung and Calamansi. Cafe O is also a halal-certified eatery as well, for those who need to know.

We were pretty much thinking of hitting Cafe O just for their Kopi but we just could not help but to think about having the Nian Gao Prata that we have eyed on for quite a while now. Turns out, Cafe O now offers a Mini Nian Gao, which is offered as either a 1 piece or 2 piece portion priced at $3.80 and $4.80 respectively. It is obvious how the regular-sized Nian Gao Prata differs from the Mini Nian Gao Prata here — the Mini Nian Gao Prata sees the Nian Gao being served atop a piece of coin prata, while the regular-sized version would come with a usual piece of Roti Prata beneath. Apart from the fact that the Nian Gao is being served atop of the Coin Prata, there is not much correlation between the two elements unless one decides to portion the Nian Gao and Coin Prata and wrap the Nian Gao using the Coin Prata. It is also noted that the Mini Nian Gao Prata does not come with a saucer of curry or sugar served on the side — not that it requires it either. The Coin Prata here comes with some density; pretty much expected given its thicker nature — the exterior being a little crisp whilst the interior is chewy, with the Coin Prata carrying quite a hint of fragrance from the dough actually. Having the Nian Gao together with the Coin Prata, it does add somewhat of a stretchy and chewy texture — adds a bit of sweetness to the Coin Prata. That being said, the Nian Gao does feel a little bland on its own; albeit of an over-steamed rice cake that just did not carry that earthy sweetness of brown sugar that it should have.

Cafe O has always been that sort of establishment that isn’t really about having a gastronomical experience — it’s offerings are generally safe, though can be a little bit of a hit-and-miss situation at times. In the case of the Mini Nian Gao Prata, it is an item that we would pretty much sit in the fence about — the Nian Gao in particular was something that did not feel quite as well executed as it could have been, though kudos to Cafe O in its attempt in styling the Nian Gao in the way that they did. As a whole, the Mini Nian Gao Prata wasn’t an item which we found to be particularly offensive — in fact, it did feel like an interesting attempt to bring to the masses a combination that is rather unheard of that has not been widely attempted at the time of writing. That being said, we would think that Cafe O’s other offerings such as that of the Malay Ginger Fried Chicken with Chicken Rice, which sounds like their rendition of the Ayam Goreng Berempah, are items that are more representative of the usual quality of food that is served up at Cafe O — familiar fare that speaks to the soul of locals looking for something close to the hearts without much of a fuss. Prices of the food at Cafe O can be a little steep for some considering how they are pretty much an establishment similar to the likes of Toast Box and Ya Kun Kaya Toast / Ya Kun Family Cafe — most mains excluding Roti Prata being priced at upwards of $7 with the Coin Platter from the All Day Breakfast section of the menu being the priciest at $13.50; the Plain Roti Prata being priced at $4 for two pieces, which is the minimum quantity to order. We wouldn’t really make a special trip down to Cafe O to give them a try; that being said, it does work as a decent dining option to consider for those not too picky about their food in general.