Canton Scramble The folks at Guerilla Coffee are still going on strong despite their very short stint with their space in Gillman Barracks that was known at Ida’s x Guerilla Coffee — despite the closure of that location, Guerilla Coffee had recently opened yet another new outlet. Being an outlet which can be described as a spiritual successor to Ida’s x Guerilla Coffee, the latest outlet of Guerilla Coffee is located at the ground level of Kallang Riverside Condo which also happens to be a publicly-accessible space where one can also find a few retail shops and F&B establishments operating at. Unlike their space at Gillman Barracks, most of the dine-in seating at their Kallang Riverside Condo location is situated indoors — the interior is being decked in a cosy an almost European style seeing the use of red brick counters matched with marble table tops; all that matched against styled concrete walls and dine-in furniture with wooden accents. There is also a vast use of greenery within the space that helps to spruce up the space with a bit of life. Outdoor seating is also available, though these would be limited to a few and that the area isn’t very well-sheltered from the rain should there be a heavy downpour. Just like how things had been at Ida’s x Guerilla Coffee, the Guerilla Coffee location at Kallang Riverside Condo offers hot food — the menu is being split across categories such as Breakfast, Toast, All Day Starters, Greens, Mains, Sides, Just for Kids, Sweets and After 8 Bites. The list of beverages that Guerilla Coffee offers at their Kallang Riverside Condo location includes artisanal teas, coolers, fresh juices, smoothies, canned drinks, alcohol, drinking chocolate, as well as espresso-based specialty coffee.
One thing that had caught our attention very early on whilst skimming through the menu at Guerilla Coffee would be the Canton Scramble that is being listed on the Toast section of the menu. It is noted that items listed in the Toast and Breakfast sections of the menu are only available from 10am to 5pm daily; the menu describes the Canton Scramble to come with elements such as Cantonese pork & liver sausages (Lupcheong), scrambled eggs, housemade mushroom, ketchup and sourdough. Served atop a single slice of sourdough, the Canton Scramble does seem to be pretty reminiscent of a brunch-style toast item that comes with scrambled eggs; the scrambled eggs blanketing the sourdough toast whilst one can find the Cantonese pork & liver sausages being plated above the scrambled eggs — the dish also does come serve with a garden salad that is served on the side. The Canton Scramble doesn’t really much reinvent the wheel here if one considers the flavour profiles of the elements it comes with, though we did find it a bit of a refreshing change from the usual considering the oriental elements that they have included with the dish. Whilst the sourdough does come with a bit of tension to pull apart while still remaining fluffy with a slightly chewy crust, the sourdough also came with a slightly tangy note that one can attribute to the fermentation process in the making of the bread. The scrambled eggs were fluffy and sufficiently moist; still a wee bit runny and is executed fairly decently to say the least. The addition of the Cantonese pork & liver sausages provided a firm, meaty bite and a slight note of sweetness typical of Chinese-style waxed meat that gives the dish an interesting twist of flavours different from cured meats such as ham, bacon and sausages that one would usually expect. Despite the mention of elements such as mushrooms and ketchup, we didn’t really detect the flavours of these with the Cantonese Scramble that we were served with.
We had also given the Grilled Pork Jowl from the Mains section of the menu a go during our visit — this was said to have featured elements such as pork jowl, watercress salad, and Nam Jim Jaew (i.e. Thai chili dipping sauce). A dish likely to have been inspired by the Thai-style grilled pork collar dishes that can be found at Thai eateries, the Grilled Pork Jowl features sufficiently thick slices of juicy pork jowl that seemed to have been seared — dipping them into the Nam Jim Jaew provided a slight zippiness that takes away the meatiness and makes it really easy to have. Our choice of dessert during our visit to Guerilla Coffee was the Steamed Cassava which involved the use of Coconut Chantilly Cream and Crispy Mung Beans. Essentially a warm dessert, the steamed cassava a served in chunks which carried a soft and chunky texture almost akin to that of other root vegetables like potatoes; the addition of Coconut Chantilly Cream providing a rich fragrance to the steamed cassava while the crispy mung beans added an element of crunch. We had managed to try the Straits Latte a go; something that we had missed out on during our visit to the now-defunct Ida’s X Guerilla Coffee earlier this year — essentially a latte that is infused with Gula Melaka and topped with desiccated coconut, this was a cuppa that came with a medium body and a earthy and nutty flavour profile that comes with a slight hint of earthy sweetness that one would associate with Gula Melaka. The Singapore Latte will be the more interesting of the two; one that comes sweetened but also with a dash of salt and pepper which is inspired from that of the local Hainanese-style breakfast of soft-boiled eggs and toast — something which would be for the more acquired tastebuds or for folks looking for something more adventurous.
One thing we really liked about Guerilla Coffee is its vibes; there is a really idyllic vibe around its space at Kallang Riverside Condo which makes it quite a spot that we didn’t want to leave especially with its tasteful decor and comfortable dining environment. With that being said, its food offerings can be said to be rather similar to how they left things off at Ida’s x Guerilla Coffee — the individually-portioned Mains and Toasts are definitely priced on the higher side, being listed at the price point between $15 to $46 with most dishes being priced above $20; we did feel that the quality of the dishes were slightly mismatched with the price where one would expect more finesse and gastronomy especially given how specialty cafes have pretty much gone into a “progressive contemporary” style of cuisine since a while ago. Still, Guerilla Coffee’s new location at Kallang Riverside Condo is one that is worth checking out if one particularly likes the vibes of the area; a spot in the fringe of town that is a little bit off the beaten path where it is also away of the hustle and bustle of the city; a spot to just slowly enjoy a cuppa and watch the world go by on a weekend afternoon for those who don’t mind the slight trek needed to get to Kallang Riverside Condo.
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