Otters & Pebbles

There has been a fair bit of talk around town recently about a new cafe that had opened up around the Novena area. Situated within the grounds of Novena Specialist Centre is Otters & Pebbles — a cafe that had just opened its doors to the public within the month. Located at the grounds floor of Novena Specialist Centre, these folks are just a short walk away from Novena MRT Station via Square2; Square2 and Novena Specialist Centre being linked up via a overhead bridge that connects level three of Square2 with level two of Novena Specialist Centre. Otters & Pebbles can be found at the ground level of Novena Specialist Centre, being situated beside the outlet of The Marmalade Pantry over there. Otters and Pebbles takes over the former premises of the now-defunct UYA 炭焼活鰻料理; some may also recall the spot being home to an outlet of Real Food / Slow Bakes at some point of time. A concept by the same folks behind The Coffee Code (originating from Sarawak, Malaysia) which also runs a space along Neil Road, Otters & Pebbles adds on to the list of cafe openings all around the island in recent months. The interior of cafe hints of the theme surrounding the concept of Otters & Pebbles; the space is decked in a design theme that is straight-up Japanese — from the exterior, it does seem rather obvious that these folks are replicating the vibe of a Japanese-style garden with the design of its front porch area. Inside, the space sees the use of partitions of wooden and white accents as well as that of drape cloth to help evoke a bit of a zen vibe for the space. The food menu at Otters & Pebbles is split into sections dedicated to Dutch Pancake Series, Grain Series Onsen Style, Grain Series, Udon Series, Soufflé Pancake Series, Otter San (Sando Series) and Otter's Favourite Snacks Series. The variety of beverages available at Otters & Pebbles will include various types of espresso-based specialty coffee, including special concoctions such as the Wassupbi Miso and the Coffee Miso Caramel, as well as other non-coffee beverages.

One of the dishes that had caught our attention very on whilst we were skimming through the menu at Otters & Pebbles would be the Beef Patty Loco Moco that’s being listed under the Grain Series section of the menu; this item is being described on the menu to come with the elements such as white rice, Hamburg Beef Patty, special gravy and sunny side-up; other elements not mentioned in the menu description for the dish would include mushrooms, spring onions, red chili strips, and Katsuobushi. The portion size of the dish can be considered as pretty generous with both the portion of rice and Hamburg beef patty being pretty generous to say the least — there was also sufficient sauce that came along with the dish to give the rice sufficient moisture. What really made this dish work for us was the special gravy that was drizzled all over the other elements; the gravy can be described as somewhat of a demi-glade sauce that comes a little bit with a thicker and gloopy consistency whilst carrying a slight hint of savouriness typical to that of beef stock. The shiitake mushrooms included with the special gravy also provided a bouncy chew and a bit of earthiness to those savoury notes. The Hamburg Beef patty comes done with a pinkish centre; a hand-formed patty that comes where the patty that held up well with the slices from the knife, the Hamburg Beef Patty also doesn’t come with any undesirable veiny or fatty parts that were difficult to chew; all that whilst also not being too gamey as well — works well with the special gravy that gels it together with the white rice that comes beneath it. The sunny side-up here does come with the flowy, molten yolk that is a crowd pleaser on its own — there is also no undesirable stench of overused oil that came with the sunny side-up as well.

Another dish that we had tried during our visit to Otters & Pebbles would be the Kakuni Ochazuke – the Kakuni Ochazuke is an item that is being listed in the Grain Series Onsen Style section of the menu. This dish features elements such as pork belly, white rice, Tamago, Umeboshi, and broth in a jug that is served on the side. To enjoy the Ochazuke as it was intended, one would have to pour the broth into the bowl consisting of all the other elements of the dish — this is to allow for the rice and other elements to soak up the broth for another dimension of flavours to be added to the dish. We did note that the pork belly here comes slightly on the leaner side; glazed in a Japanese-style sauce that gave it a sweet yet savoury note. The broth itself does come with a light touch of Dashi that helps provide a bit of an umami flavour profile to the dish, further elevating the flavours of the Kakuni Ochazuke apart from the Furikake that is sprinkled onto the rice. The inclusion of strips of Tamago added a bit of a sweetness, while the Umeboshi came with a crunch and a slight tang to reset the tastebuds — the way it is plated above the rice helps to up the aesthetic factor of the dish as well. We also tried the Blue Cheese Tart from the Otter’s Cakey section of the menu — this section of the menu comprises of both basque cheesecake offerings and cheese tart items that comes with several flavours.

Surprisingly, Otters & Pebbles had went the way of serving up their cheese tarts in a form similar to that of what Queic by Olivia serves up — the tart base was firm and split off neatly when sliced with a fork without crumbling into a mess; held up from what is all above it well. Served to the table after being blowtorched over the top, the blue cheese curd above comes with a melty aesthetic and a slightly charred top — all that whilst still being all smooth, creamy and pungent; something that those whom absolutely love strong-tasting cheeses would likely be able to appreciate. We were fairly curious on the various special concoctions of espresso-based specialty coffee that they have to offer; we opted for the Coffee Miso Caramel which is essentially a latte offering that features elements such as that of Miso Caramel which we found to be a little bit of a twist from the usual salted caramel that we see elsewhere. Considering how it came with the use of Japanese miso within the caramel component, the miso caramel comes with a slight earthiness apart from the light hint of saltishness it carries — something that sort of reminds us of the now-defunct Prodigal Cafe’s Miso Cheese Tart, though we did wish that it came a notch sweeter to provide more balance to the cuppa.

Overall, Otters & Pebbles does seem to expand on what The Coffee Code has been for us — whilst The Coffee Code focuses on more conventional cafe fare that one would expect from such an establishment, Otters & Pebbles has maintained on the quality of what The Coffee Code has set for its Neil Road location whilst injecting a Japanese touch for its offering; all that in a peaceful and quiet corner within the Novena area with an equally zen setting to match. Prices of the individually-sized mains at Otters & Pebbles from the Dutch Pancake Series, Grain Series Onsen Style, Grain Series and Udon Series of the menu range from $17.90 to $24.90; the lowest-priced being the Baco-Mentaiko Udon, while the priciest would be the Beef Patty Loco Moco that we have had. Definitely one of those cafes that if worth making a visit once to check out what they are all about and if it suits one’s fancy.