Moussaka Keppel Road is one of those areas in Singapore that hasn’t been much mentioned about in the local F&B scene, with most of the F&B establishments in the area being located within the PSA Tanjong Pagar Complex itself — this also meant that it was pretty surprising to hear about the existence of the new South Side (not to be confused with Southside Interim Market; a “market hall” akin to a hawker centre featuring hipster F&B stalls located near the now-defunct Underwater World in Sentosa). Turns out, South Side is located within the Coliwoo property that is at 1557 Keppel Road; itself being a co-living space that also houses a number of offices and retail businesses within the compounds. South Side had taken over the space that was vacated by the now-defunct outlet of Wildfire Burgers there, with the main door of the establishment facing the junction between Cantonment Link and Spottiswoode Park Road. South Side has pretty much left the furniture and fittings from Wildfire Burgers pretty much un-touched; expect dine-in furniture that utilises high chairs and tables, with tables of wooden accents and padded seating that compliments the concrete-esque walls which are paired with wooden flooring and carpentry around the counter. South Side calls itself a “neighbourhood cafe” on its social media pages — that being said, it is noted that South Side serves up a Brunch menu that is available till mid-afternoon, as well as a Dinner menu that runs from 5pm to 8:30pm, segregating its day-time and night-time operations. Apart from the separated Brunch and Dinner offerings in the menu, the menu at South Side features sharing plates, as well as pastries and desserts. Beverages served up at South Side includes a variety of espresso-based specialty coffee options, beers and non-alcoholic drinks from the tap, craft beers, as well as other non-alcoholic bottled / canned drinks.
We made our visit to South Side on a weekend dinner service; while the menu is being segregated into one that is meant for its day-time operations and another for its night-time operations, there are items such as the Switz Rosti that are listed in both the “Brunch” and “Dinner” sections of the menu. After skimming through the menu on what they have to offer, we found ourselves gravitating towards the Moussaka. The Moussaka is listed as an item that is Vegetarian on the menu, and is an item that can only be found on the “Dinner” section of the menu. The menu also mentions the Moussaka to come with elements like roasted eggplant, zucchini, tomato concasse, béchamel, mozzarella and parmesan. It is interesting to note that the Moussaka came to the table with a cheese disc that sits atop the Moussaka — an element which helped to further add-on to the aesthetics of the dish. Digging into the Moussaka, we liked how balanced the dish was — while we have had variants of Moussaka where it could come with an overwhelming amount of cheese or layers that are seemingly a little too thick, we liked how the Moussaka here is easy to cut through even with the stretchy, melted cheese and the soft eggplants that came with it. The béchamel here acted as a neutral element that brought the eggplants and tomato concasse with the melted cheese; the melted cheese being sufficiently savoury while the tomato concasse provided a tangy note that cuts through the heavier elements and textures. The cheese disc is essentially like a cheese crust — some might find this to be pretty reminiscent to the cheese skirt that was trendy from burgers served up at Skirt & Dirt at Tiong Bahru Food Centre (there was also a hamburger patty pasta that came with a similar cheese crust at Brawn & Brains previously as well); we liked how the cheese disc isn’t too soft and limp here. Instead, the cheese disc came all crisp with a saltish note; suitably adds on to the flavours of the Moussaka.
While South Side sorts of calls itself a “neighbourhood cafe”, we did feel that the description is a little misleading in itself — this is especially so when one considers its night-time operations and the variety of beverages-on-tap does make it feel closer towards a neighbourhood gastro-bar of sorts. That being said, we do feel that the vibes at South Side are pretty on point; located slightly away from the buzzy Central Business District, there seems to be a relaxed vibe at South Side that feels quite leisurely — the set-up can also be said to be pretty suitable for day-time drinks as well. Service was pretty commendable — considering how we were served by a staff member that is pretty young, we were actually fairly impressed by how sincere and friendly she was; definitely a notch above some other establishments where the service by staff of a similar age group can be pretty pretentious, cold or reactive at times. Apart from the Moussaka, we had also given the Cajun Tempeh and the Lychee Rose Tart in the “Sharing” and “Pastries and Desserts” section of the menu a go. While the Cajun Tempeh was rather decent though also in a way, unmemorable, it would have made for a good snack to pair with the range of beers that they have in the menu. Meanwhile, the Lychee Rose Tart comes with a Lychee Rose-infused pastry cream that features nibs of lychee flesh sitting atop an almond frangipane layer within the tart base; there was an evident floral note amidst the nuttiness, with the tart base crumbling down neatly with the slice of the fork. Main dishes at South Side for both the “Brunch” and “Dinner” sections of the menu are priced in the range of $10 to $24, with most dishes being listed with a price closer towards $16 to $20. For those looking for a neighbourhood cafe that serves up a food at a quality that corresponds with the prices with a range of alcohol to go for, perhaps South Side is a spot that is worth hitting up!
