Ochazuke One of the cafes that had been featured quite a number of times around social media in recent weeks will be TO:YOU — these folks are actually located in a spot that is slightly off the beaten path even for folks whom are fairly used to visiting off-the-radar cafes. Located at Jalan Senang, TO:YOU is located within a stretch of shophouses in the middle of a private housing enclave — those whom are familiar with the area would also identify the address with the Boon Kee Kway Teow Noodle stall that is situated within the coffeeshop at the corner-most shophouses in the same stretch where TO:YOU is located. TO:YOU should be fairly easy to locate, considering how the facade of the shopfront is painted in a shade of dark green. One key feature about the space is how the entire space seems to have been segregated into two areas; the outdoor dining area is viewable from the outside of the shophouse — the space being a pet-friendly zone where owners can bring their furry friends alongside for a meal, while the entrance to the indoor dining hall can be found hidden towards the left. Entering the cafe, one will find a space that is well lit towards the end of the shophouse — natural lighting floods into the space from the sky roof from above, while the interior does feature a somewhat industrial interior design scheme with the use of metallic tables and chairs with green cushions and metallic accents; the use of some flora and fauna also helps to inject a bit of life into the space to help it look less sterile. The use of a turquoise counter for its cashiering area and espresso bar also provides a bit of a colour contrast to the space as well. The food menu at TO:YOU is segmented into categories such as To Share, All Day Brunch, Full Plates, and Sweets, while beverages are segmented into TO:YOU Iced Coffee, TO:YOU Iced Matcha, Coffee, Iced Signature Coffee, Matcha and Others.
Considering how TO:YOU was still in their soft launch stage when we made our visit there, it was noted that quite a number of the items that were listed on the All Day Brunch section of the menu was unavailable during the visit — with that in mind, we found ourselves gravitating towards the Ochazuke that is an item listed on the Full Plates section of the menu instead. The menu at TO:YOU describes the Ochazuke to come with elements such as grilled salmon, grilled short grain rice, pickles, Tamago, Yuzu Matcha Dashi, crispy rice puffs and Nori flakes. The Ochazuke does come in a fairly interesting aesthetic where the grilled short grain rice is presented in the form of an Onigiri; the Yuzu Matcha Dashi is also served in a separate flask that allows the patrons to pour in as much as they would prefer as well. We liked how the grilled salmon was done just right being flaky whilst carrying a somewhat crisp skin that carried a little bit of a smoky and savoury note apart from the fish’s natural flavours. Pouring the Yuzu Matcha Dashi over the rice, the short-grain Japanese rice does end up being pretty much distinguishable from each grain — the texture having softened a little from absorbing a bit of the Yuzu Matcha Dashi, while the Yuzu Matcha Dashi also adds a bit of a zing and umami savouriness from both the elements of matcha and Dashi for a flavour contrast that we found to be pretty comforting overall. Elements like the Tamago adds a sweet note with a fluffy, spongey texture that is sufficiently moist, while the pickles held to add a bit of crunch and zing for a textural and flavoural contrast.
Other dishes we have tried at TO:YOU during the same visit will include the Mentaiko Puffs — these were described on the menu to comprise of crispy potato puffs, Mentaiko sauce, Tobiko and Nori Flakes. We did find that the description of “crispy potato puff” to be a little over-exaggerated here considering how they turned out to be chunks of hashbrowns — all that drizzled with Mentaiko sauce and sprinkled with Tobiko and Nori Flakes above. We did feel that these were slightly over-fried; a little too crunchy and missing of the slight fluff and bite that the chunks of soft potato within would have come with if it were to be executed just about right — one thing that is worth commending would be how these folks had also included a saucer of the Mentaiko Sauce so that patrons can dip the hashbrowns into more Mentaiko Sauce if they so wish to. We also noted that the hashbrowns didn’t feel particularly greasy as well — a good thing for us. One of the things that have been mentioned for quite a fair bit about TO:YOU would be their range of croissants; we made our visit to TO:YOU during its weekend lunch service and found that they were only left with two (2) croissants sitting in the display shelf — these would be the Matcha Croissant and the Cream Cheese Croissant. We found ourselves going for the latter, which the menu describes to come with elements such as cream cheese and onion, mozzarella and parmesan. The only qualm about the Cream Cheese Croissant is how it was being served as-is — we did feel that this item would have likely done quite well if it was to be consumed warm especially considering the nature of it being a savoury croissant; a little cheesy on first taste, but we really liked the slight garlicky note that it carries in its finish that kept us going for more. We also opted for the Okinawa Cuppa which is an espresso-based specialty coffee item that is listed in the “Coffee” section of the menu — this cuppa comes with slight sweetness akin to adding brown sugar to a latte; the cuppa otherwise coming with an earthy flavour profile with a light body.
TO:YOU does seem like one of those specialty cafes that does have a slight Japanese influence in the dishes that they have to offer on its menu which has been seen in other specialty coffee establishments of the late; the Ochazuke was an item that we were pretty satisfied with based on how it was executed and the quality that it came in. Despite being a newly-opened establishment that seems to be dealing with some teething issues, we do feel that TO:YOU has managed their problems that they are tackling rather well — they are also also seemingly apologetic to the patrons whilst at it; an establishment that does seem to be keen to delivering a smooth dining experience to its patrons while getting used to their operations at the same time which we found to be commendable. Main dishes on the menu in the All Day Brunch and Full Plates sections are priced between $16 to $24; the lowest-priced being the Ume Shakshuka and the highest-priced being the Creamy Truffle Udon. Being hidden away in a private residential estate whilst featuring a small pet-friendly area outside, TO:YOU is likely a spot that pet owners from both within the neighbourhood and outside the neighbourhood would appreciate having as a spot to check out; somewhere that is worth visiting once just to see what they are all about whilst exploring a part of Singapore that very few would have likely to have visited at the same time.
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