[CLOSED] Senate Coffee

Served in a transparent, minimalistic plastic bottle, the white cold brew from Senate Coffee is smooth, rich and velvety, leaving a pleasant touch of lingering creaminess with every sip I took. I’m absolutely intrigued by how refreshing it tastes, with that subtle hint of sweetness 👌🏼 The silky texture further enhanced the robustness of this coffee, making it a perfect midday perk-me-up with its satisfying boost of caffeine 😍😌

This place is best known for their pulled pork – so obviously I had to choose that for my choice of protein 😚 The pulled pork, having claimed to be stewed/grilled for 8 hours, was immensely flavourful and well-seasoned! Although I found it a little too salty for my liking, it definitely matched my choice of base - the 3-grain mix - really well 😋 The 3-grain mix consists of quinoa, bulgur wheat, and pearl barley, which had a lovely gritty texture and was pleasantly addictive.

The main highlight of my bowl was certainly the glorious combination of pulled pork and grains, as I personally felt that their sides had nothing much to shout about.

The zucchini and herb salad came drenched in a citrusy sauce, giving it a tangy flavour, while the marinated mixed mushrooms were garlicky and juicy, which probably stood out best amongst the rest. The purple cabbage slaw was rather disappointing as I expected it to be well-marinated given that it’s supposed to be a “slaw” and not just plain shredded purple cabbage… and the broccoli could have been boiled for longer, as the ones served tasted a tad too raw.

Overall, the portion could have been bigger as this grain bowl did not fill me up… considering that I paid $15.50 for it, I believe they could be more generous with the ingredients.

Would I be back again? Hmm maybe, if I was in the vicinity, craving for something healthy and when I’m not too famished. Otherwise, I guess there are better and more substantial grain bowls out there.

Return to senate coffee because someone was craving soba and I remembered that this place served rly good grain bowls at an affordable price! I believe it has been a year or two since I visited originally so I was eager to see if the standards have risen or dropped. Sad to say, the portions seemed to have decreased from the last time, which makes me sad because I love full and brimming bowls :-( the taste redeemed it a little however, with the teriyaki salmon (at an extra dollar) being perfectly cooked and seasoned. The three grain base offered a pleasant texture to the entire dish and went well with the chili lime cashews (still my fave), zucchini, mushrooms and purple cabbage slaw. I personally think the zuchini and slaw were a tad disappointing because they were rather one dimensional. I expected a more in depth flavor especially since their descriptions made them sound rly tasty. However, the mushrooms were definitely marinated well. All in all, I think this was still a pleasant experience and a cafe that I will recommend to anyone who loves a chill ambience and affordable healthy food!

When I first came to know this place, I thought it'd be a cafe since it's by the folks behind Populus Coffee and Co but it is in actual fact, a stall in FIVE Square. It doesn't really matter though as long as the food doesn't disappoint. I ordered the Pulled Pork Senate Bowl but you're free to create your own bowl where you can choose your choice of base, protein and add ons, typical of many grain bowls out there. For me, I found the pulled pork a tad too salty for my liking but eating it together with the three grain mix (pearl barley, quinoa and bulgur wheat) makes it a tad better, hence, definitely not the best pulled pork I have (I love pulled pork but it's hard for me to like this because it's really salty!!!) The wholesome grains, however, is something I wouldn't mind having more (despite being on, ahem, low carb diet). The barley is addictively chewing, which stands out the most among all grains in combination. Carrot and herb salad was refreshing and took that saltiness away else this bowl would definitely put me in despair. Roasted cherry tomatoes have that hint of roasted sourness that bursts in your mouth when you chew on it, not for those who aren't a fan of sour stuff I reckon. Oh, but I think they forgot to put the baby corn in my bowl and I didn't remember until after the meal. But I guess it's... okay... (I mean what can I do now that I've already finished everything and left the place?!) Anyway, I guess this bowl is not bad even though the pulled pork could have fared better, like, please do not put too much salt or whatever is causing it to be overly salty. Otherwise, it's all good. (And please don't ever let me roam around alone during lunch hour because I end up meandering off to Ann Siang Hill to plan my meals for the next few lunches which means I'm going to be broke af at this rate I'm going. I'm such a spoilt kid that I end up having expensive lunch almost everyday now.)

Made our own bowl that was filled with chilled soba, roasted cherry tomatoes, nori seaweed, roasted mushrooms, onsen egg & pulled pork! This huge satisfying bowl, which was good for 2 to share tbh, was $16!
You can choose either from their fix combinations or create your own! Top up another $2.50 for a cup of coffee or $4 for cold brew!

The cold brew was on point & could easily be part of my top 5 favorites at the moment, with hints of nuts & caramel!

I'm always a big fan of filling bowls with ample meat and greens. Great place for a business lunch. Got a complementary piece of cake too!