On Pause

Kovan has always been a fairly wholesome neighbourhood when it comes to F&B options in the area; the space seemingly coming with a good spread of hawker fare, cafes and bistros. On Pause. is yet one of the newest additions to the neighbourhood when it comes to specialty cafe joints; these folks had taken over the former premises of the now-defunct The Garden Slug Petite which occupied the a shophouse space at Lowland Road. With its location being set away from the usual stretch of eateries that are at Simon Road (i.e. the same stretch where Lola’s Cafe is located), the surroundings here are a little slower and more relaxed. On Pause. had kept the general layout of the space similar to how The Garden Slug Petite had previously set it up to be; most of its space is actually naturally-cooled, though there is an air-conditioned space set within the premises for diners who prefer to sit in a cooler environment. Considering so, the naturally-cooled area act as a space that allows pet owners to bring their pets along to dine-in; essentially making it a pet-friendly cafe. On Pause. serves up brunch during the morning and early afternoon; the cafe becomes more of ice-cream parlour by evening time, serving up ice-cream, waffles, açai and milkshakes. Beverages that On Pause. serves up include espresso-based specialty coffee and teas apart from the milkshakes that were mentioned earlier.

Skimming through the brunch menu available at On Pause., it seems that the menu has an emphasis on more breakfast-y dishes — this includes sammies (sandwiches), breakfast plates, Tartines and granola / acai bowls. One of the items they had attracted our attention was the Breakfast Sammie; the item featuring elements such as house milk buns, eggs, cheese, maple bacon, hashbrown and house sauce — it also does come with a side of garden salad as well. The entire composition of the Sammie felt more comforting than it is gastronomical; that being said, we did feel that the house milk buns was some effort made by the folks here that is worth mentioning since cafes, and especially those of similar nature as On Pause., would find themselves using buns sourced from other bakeries across the island than to make their own. Here, they seem to have created the bun that works best to their advantage; it is not particularly dense, yet fluffy — the toasting of the bun helps to provides a crisp texture to the bread as well. The egg comes in the form of a soft, folded omelette, while other elements like the hashbrown was more of a good-to-have for a breakfast burger being a commercially-made product — the maple bacon being thin and almost jerky-like with sticky glaze of maple syrup all around and felt close to that of the Chinese Bak Kwa. The cheese here seems to have been flame-torched to provide for a stretchy, melted cheese pull that would be a crowd-pleaser. All the elements here are bound together with bread by the house sauce which we found to be quite similar to that of sriracha mayonnaise with a bit of tang.

Apart from the Breakfast Sammie, we had also given the Banana Chocolate Bread a try; this would be part of the selection of bakes that one can find stocked in their display case at the counter. This felt really similar to another Banana Chocolate Bread that we have had from some other establishment previously — the Banana Chocolate Bread being warmed up upon order. The Banana Chocolate Bread here comes all soft; even the texture of the chunks of banana here matched that of the Banana Chocolate Bread — all that whilst the knobs of melted chocolate giving a slightly gooey texture accompanied by that familiar sweetness that chocolate brings which would pair well with a cuppa on the side. We had also went with the White (Hot); this came surprisingly well-pulled for an establishment for its type — the cuppa carrying a slightly fruity flavour profile with a medium body and an earthy finish. On Pause. does seem to be more of a cafe that is focused on serving up hearty meals for paw-rents rather than one that is more tuned towards what some would call “progressive contemporary” cuisine — its fare being comparatively simple as compared to what other specialty coffee joints serve up these days, but services its intended clientele well. Considering how they are a pet-friendly cafe, On Pause. would probably do well as a hangout in the neighbourhood with paw-rents that are looking for a spot to bring their pets along and enjoy a cuppa — a decent addition to the ‘hood.