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[BENCOOLEN, SINGAPORE] Can't believe I ordered pasta at 10am in the morning, but it was definitely satisfying 😂

The Seafood Squid Ink Spaghetti 🍝 ($22) at @twentyeightcafe was well executed, as the pasta was al dente and well flavoured with prawn oil for a more intense seafood flavour 😍 the seafood ingredients may be frozen, but they were well cooked as they were still snappy 😋 although it was quite spicy, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I paired the pasta with an Iced Latte (around $7) which was also quite decent. It could have been slightly more intense, but the chocolate roasty flavours were definitely noticeable!

As it has a big space, this cafe is good for big groups or if you want to complete your work there. Will be back :)

Founded in February 2018, Twenty Eight Cafe is a casual cozy cafe serving large hearty portions of mains, all-day breakfast, and pastries. They're known for being a great place to work remotely, with plentiful seating, free wi-fi, and ample power sockets.
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The folks at Twenty Eight Cafe welcomed a new in-house concept in December 2022 of Catkin By Huishan, an artisanal gelato and plated dessert bar.
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The Seafood Aglio Olio (SGD $22) mixes it up with silky al-dente spaghetti pasta noodles tossed in hae bee / dried shrimp, garlic, and chili, giving it a distinct shrimpy savoury salty spice flavour that tingles the palate. Bits of juicy tomato and wispy alfalfa sprouts lend vegetal bitter sweet flavour, while chunks of tender deshelled crab meat within lend sweet savoury flavour.
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Completed with large crunchy shell-on prawns, which burst with smoky sweet salty savoury flavour when bit. A robust tasting dish with strong flavours that work well together.
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Twenty Eight Cafe
More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2023/11/twenty-eight-cafe-and-catkin-by-huishan.html

The Croissant Tuna Mayonnaise (SGD $12) features a large crisp outside soft inside croissant bread, filled with fresh crisp lettuce, juicy sliced tomato, and chunky tuna fish mayonnaise.
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Each bite carries lovely bready vegetal fishy savoury sweet flavour.
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Twenty Eight Cafe
More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2023/11/twenty-eight-cafe-and-catkin-by-huishan.html

This features a large crisp outside soft inside croissant bread, filled with thick tender slices of spam luncheon meat, and fluffy creamy soft scrambled eggs.
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Each bite carries a satisfying bready meaty salty eggy sweet savoury flavour.
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Twenty Eight Cafe
More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2023/11/twenty-eight-cafe-and-catkin-by-huishan.html

This features a bed of smooth chunky mashed potato with starchy sweet flavour, together with juicy grilled shiitake mushrooms and crisp wilted spinach with vegetal earthy sweet salty flavour, beside an add-on of fluffy creamy soft scrambled eggs with eggy sweet savoury flavour.
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Topped with a duo of juicy snappy crunchy pork sausages with robust smoky meaty salty savoury flavour, accompanied by a rich veal gravy with meaty salty savoury flavour, and thick tomato ketchup with vegetal sour sweet flavour.
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Twenty Eight Cafe
More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2023/11/twenty-eight-cafe-and-catkin-by-huishan.html

Got the Flat White (SGD $5.90) with low-fat milk, and it has a smooth velvety texture, with medium strength. Carries a toasty earthy milky flavour without any bitter notes.
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The Long Black (SGD $4.90) has a smooth velvety texture, with medium strength. Carries a toasty earthy flavour without any bitter taste.
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The Iced Earl Grey Tea With Strawberry (SGD $6.90) is served sugar-free, garnished with slices of fresh juicy strawberries, and is nicely refreshing. Carries an earthy fruity floral sweet flavour, yum.
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Visually, it's obvious telling apart the Latte Single-Shot (SGD $5.90) & Double-Shot (SGD $6.80), with the former being lighter and the latter being darker. Compared to the other coffee I've had here, this seems slightly stronger in depth.
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Twenty Eight Cafe
More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2023/11/twenty-eight-cafe-and-catkin-by-huishan.html

This is a unique artisanal creation, infusing the fruity sour salty sweet flavours of umeboshi / pickled ume fruit and the vegetal herbal earthy flavours of shiso / beefsteak plant, into the creamy smooth ice cream.
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Beautifully presented and alluring, this was a surprisingly intense treat.
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Twenty Eight Cafe
More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2023/11/twenty-eight-cafe-and-catkin-by-huishan.html

This is warm and soft, infused with addictive notes of lemon and butter. The cake carries a nice zesty tangy sour sweet fruity flavour, yum.
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Twenty Eight Cafe
More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2023/11/twenty-eight-cafe-and-catkin-by-huishan.html

This features a hand-made brown butter waffle, crisp dry and fragile in texture, with toasted bready sweet flavour. We selected the unique kaya toast ice cream, which was creamy soft and enhanced with a drizzle of pandan kaya / screwpine leaf coconut egg jam, resulting in a beautiful floral earthy sweet flavour.
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Served with thick maple syrup with floral honeyed sweet notes, and a knob of creamy smooth butter for luscious buttery salty milky flavour. Waiting time of about 15 minutes.
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Twenty Eight Cafe
More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2023/11/twenty-eight-cafe-and-catkin-by-huishan.html

We have been heading to Lowercase pretty often ever since Prodigal Cafe has sorta taken over some part of the operations of the cafe — the folks at Prodigal Cafe formerly from Blk 81 MacPherson Lane had been brewing cuppas at Lowercase for quite a while now, and that the Prodigal Grilled Cheese (i.e. Grilled Cheese Sandwich previously at Prodigal Cafe) has also got a place in the Hearty Mains section on the menu at Lowercase. One thing we would have to admit though — we definitely have not been ordering much of the hot food ever since the folks of Prodigal Cafe have occupied the space at Lowercase; there is a Specials section of the menu that sees a handwritten menu being slot into the regular menu that features some of their “out-of-the-ordinary creations” such as the Macedonian Malidzano Dip, EVOO Vanilla Gelato, Hummus Dip and Strawberry Lemonade — all of which not being permanent fixtures on the menu at Lowercase.

One of the Specials that really caught our attention during one of our recent visits to Lowercase would be the Fried Potatoes with Coffee Mayo — these are essentially fried potatoes (of which seemed more baked than actually fried) that is served with a generous drizzle of their house-made coffee-infused mayonnaise and some shavings of parmesan over the top. There is nothing too complicated about the Fried Potatoes with Coffee Mayo here; while the wedges of potatoes came with a chunkier bite rather than what would expect out of commercially-made fried potato wedges which are easily obtained from supermarkets, the coffee mayo was indeed the highlight here — the coffee mayo carried that slightly bitter note that one would associate with espresso, but it was especially umami and was quite a unique take to a mayonnaise that is dressed atop the potatoes which we took no time to finish. Yet another item which we found to be especially apt to be served by an establishment that is part of the third-wave coffee movement — one that is able to showcase their know-how in coffee, yet also a creative approach to how coffee can be incorporated into a food item that provides some character to the brand name itself.

Prodigal Cafe and its predecessor, Prodigal Roasters, are both establishments that are probably noted for their experimental creations in hot food way back in their day — often at times, one would be able to find some pretty unique food items which are being served on a seasonal basis, and this spirit seems to have been carried over to their operations at Lowercase. Needless to say, we are enthused with how they have since dedicated a section of their menu to include such Specials that they might offer from a time-to-time basis; a way to keep patrons and regulars excited to make a return visit whilst also having a creative outlet to whip up something that may seem to be experimental and out-of-the-box to some. We would definitely be paying a little more attention to what Lowercase has to offer in the Specials section of their menu — looking forward to what these folks would be able to create in time to come!

Cosy and discreet cafe at the bottom of Mount Sophia

Hadn’t visited Lowercase for a few weeks and found out that they are offering quite a number of new cakes that are being displayed in the display chiller at the counter. Apart from the Peach Terrazzo, there is also the Charlotte Cake and a Vietnamese Dark Chocolate Tart that we have yet to try during our previous visits here.

Being an individually-sized two-tier cake, the Peach Terrazzo deceptively looks like an entremet / mousse cake given its aesthetics but is in fact, a sponge cake within. The “terrazzo” in the name stems from the aesthetics of the cake — the exterior is decorated with flower petals, bits of peach, and herbs; all that together with pieces of meringue for that “broken tile” aesthetic. Frosted with pastry cream on the outside, slicing the cake into half reveals the sponge cake layers; what sits between the two layers would be a layer of pastry cream that comes with bits of peach within. Liked how the sponge was subtly sweet; the pastry cream further enhancing those flavours while the bits of peach provided a good bite, as well as a fruity tinge of sweetness that gives a bit of a flavour contrast to the cake. The broken meringue pieces on the exterior adds on to the textures of the cake; a soft crunch that disintegrates effortlessly — an interesting touch to what is otherwise a rather standard offering out there.

The folks of Prodigal Roasters are slowly making Lowercase a space that regulars of the now-defunct Prodigal Roasters / Prodigal Cafe somewhere that is familiar to the heart. Whilst they have kept the namesake of the cafe and retained most part of its decor, they have since brought back some of the favourites from the menu ever since their announcement of their “move” into Lowercase — think the Dirty (i.e. double ristretto on cold milk in a chilled glass), to the favourite Grilled Cheese Sandwich and the familiar Lavender Cheesecake and Chewy Brownie. Lowercase has since been a haunt for us ever since the folks of Prodigal Roasters / Prodigal Cafe have moved in here — would definitely make it a point to try the new Miso Cheesecake (which sounds like a spruced up version of the Miso Cheese Tart that we have loved) soon!