Flock Cafe (Tanjong Katong)

Heard all about the new Flock located along Tanjong Katong Road — it has definitively been a while since we last heard of these folks considering how they have been operating quite silently out of their Moh Guan Terrace outlet in Tiong Bahru after the closure of their space at Ghim Moh several years ago. Taking over the former premises of Do.Main Bakery alongside the stretch of rather quaint-looking shophouses with a front porch area where an out of Oven & Fried Chicken and Punggol Nasi Lemak are located, Flock’s new location is just a stone’s throw away from the nearest bus stop from the cafe. With an interior colour scheme that mainly features black and white design elements with geometrical shapes and patterns alongside wooden furnishings and fittings, the look of their Tanjong Katong outpost is pretty aligned to that of their very first outlet at Moh Guan Terrace. The menu offered at their Tanjong Katong location is fairly similar to that being served at Moh Guan Terrace as well — segmented into several sections such as All Day - Breakfast - Brunch - Dinner, Classics, Salad, Pastas, Pancakes, Waffles and Desserts, one can expect a variety of brunch-y dishes to more substantial ones that include a variety of meats, as well as burgers on the menu here. Desserts and pastries such as cakes and croissants available are on display in the rotating display case located near the trance towards the ordering counter. The list of beverages here are also pretty extensive — apart from specialty coffee, Flock also serves up tea, fresh juices, frappe, smoothie, fizzies and alcoholic beverages in be menu here as well.

Having visited their now-defunct Ghim Moh outpost, we have had their Brioche French Toast back then — they have since reworked that dish and is now listed as the Banana French Toast & Crispy Bacon instead, which features elements such as brioche, caramelized bananas, maple syrup and crispy bacon. There was a point of time where the combination of French Toast, maple syrup and bacon was a pretty controversial one where many places seemed to have replicated — having this item in 2022 does somewhat bring us back to the heydays of cafehopping in 2013 to 2014 where times were much simpler with cafes sprouting up in various neighbourhoods in the heartlands. Here, the brioche for the French Toast was executed well; the slices of egg-soaked brioche were soft and fluffy — also sufficiently sweetened without being cloyingly so which explains why there isn’t quite need for one to douse the bread heavily in syrup. Topped off with an entire banana that comes with crystallised sugar over it, there seems to be an attempt to replicate that crispy sugary layer that one would find on a creme brûlée — the effects would probably be more prominent if they see decided to go for the banana sliced into half horizontally instead. The crispy bacon gives the Banana French Toast & Crispy Bacon it’s savoury touch; that hint of saltish-ness typical of cured meats that gives the dish a sweet-savoury touch — though crisp, it did came more with a chewy texture instead.

Flock has always been seen as one of the more underrated establishments in the cafe scene for a long while; pretty much overshadowed by more prominent brands within the Tiong Bahru enclave such as that of Tiong Bahru Bakery, the now-defunct Forty Hands, and Plain Vanilla Bakery — just to name a few. Whilst the variety of food items off their hot food menu are quite period correct if one were to look at what was being offered in cafes back when they were first established in 2012, most of their dishes do seem a little tired and outdated in this current era where most other establishments of its type are going for a more contemporary take of cafe fare that strays closer to their casual dining counterparts. That being said, Flock does in this way cater to those who are looking for comforting brunch fare that speaks to the soul — something a little less pretentious and also more on the simple side. We were actually pretty impressed with their Orange Cinnamon Mocha; a very well-pulled cuppa that was a balance of coffee, chocolate, orange zest and spices. With competition being so tight for the cafes in the East, Flock does feel more like an appropriate spot for those looking for brunch fare without the fluff and fuss.