Wildcard

Savoury over sweet donuts any day but delivering the best of both, Wildcard’s Oxtail Donut ($12) was the perfect mid-day snack for me. Stuffed generously with luscious oxtail, the bomboloni was fluffy, light and not all that oily or cloying. The braised beef filling was really tender, well-seasoned and flavourful too. Embellished with chives and bone marrow crumbs, the donut was like an elevated (read: pricey but well worth a try) meat bun and the sweet-ish espresso bbq glaze made it even more moreish.

Can’t wait to be back to try their Prawn Sando and Sticky Toffee on my next visit.

Iced Cereal Milk Latte 2/5
Mocha 2/5
Sticky Toffee 4/5
Banana Bread 3/5

One of the newly-opened places that had seen much mention on social media of the late these days would be Wildcard — currently in its soft launch stage, there has already been quite a bit of coverage on the spot. For those whom are unaware about Wildcard, Wildcard is a new concept by the folks behind Maxi Coffee Bar — itself being a cafe at Ann Siang Hill and Between Buns; a pop-up concept best known for their burgers. Wildcard is located at Annex @ Furama at the Furama Riverfront Hotel situated at Havelock Road; the hotel itself being just a short walk away from Havelock MRT Station along the Thomson-East Coast Line. Taking up a shop unit that is located right beside the hotel lobby (though there is no access to Wildcard through the hotel lobby), Wildcard operates as a cafe in the day, while being a wine bar at night. The interior design can be said as pretty European; there is a flair of subdued elegance in its design language that is totally different from that of Maxi Coffee Bar — half height curtains drape across the glass windows around the entire space, while the dining furniture carries a retro-chic element in its design. The centrepiece of the space is no doubt the circular coffee bar located at the end of the space — the wood used in the furnishings and fittings towards the back of the restaurant bringing in particularly Scandinavian vibes. Given how we had made our visit to Wildcard during its soft launch phase, Wildcard was serving up quite a limited menu — apart from serving breakfast-y items such as Banana Bread, Kaya Butter on Milk Bun etc., there are a few small bites and larger plates (items suitable for one pax as a main) available from 11:00am as well. There are also a limited variety of desserts available, being the Cognac Brownie Bite and the Sticky Toffee. Specialty Coffee available at Wildcard includes mostly the usual espresso-based options, though they do have other “fun” concoctions like the Iced Cereal Milk Latte, as well as non-coffee and non-alcoholic options such as the Watermelon Thyme Soda and the Blackberry Fennel Kombucha as well.

One item that really popped for us (and probably many others as well) when we were skimming through the menu of Wildcard would be the Oxtail Donut — this is also one of the few items that are only made available from 11:00am onwards. The Oxtail Donut is described on the menu to come with elements such as braised oxtail, espresso bbq glaze and bone marrow crumbs — a pretty outlandish item which would intrigue those whom are adventurous with their food. It is noted from the physical aesthetics of the Oxtail Donut that the item is indeed a donut at heart — in fact, the Oxtail Donut comes in the format of an Italian-style Bombolone donut; the braised oxtail being the filling of the donut which effectively makes the Oxtail Donut a savoury offering. Taking a bite into the Oxtail Donut, the bread of Bombolone donut can only be said as light and fluffy — we really liked how the bread was not particularly dense here, while the donut was lightly crisp without feeling as though it was over-fried; still maintaining some sort of fluff whilst at it. Inside, the Oxtail Donut is filled with quite a generous portion of pulled braised oxtail — these were savoury and especially flavourful on its own, coming with a slight hint of gaminess that we felt was necessary for the dish itself. Whilst the bone marrow crumbs sprinkled on the top of the donut helped to add an element of crispness to the Oxtail Donut for a bit of contrast of textures, the rich, sweet and smoky espresso bbq glaze came with a slightly bitter undertone from the espresso — this further enhances those savoury notes of the braised oxtail filled within the donut, providing for yet another dimension of flavours that compliments the dish so well. A pretty unique savoury donut that sets itself apart from the usual.

Despite its affiliations with Maxi Coffee Bar, Wildcard seems to be an establishment that attempts to push the boundaries of what Maxi Coffee Bar had achieved even further. Whilst Maxi Coffee Bar has had gained a following over the years through their personable character and their specialty coffee, Wildcard can be said as their attempt in jumping onto the bandwagon of coffee-cum-wine bars — a trend that seems to have been taking place in the local coffee and wine scene with establishments such as that of FiftyFive Coffee Bar and ceres located at Neil Road and Circular Road respectively. Considering the following that Maxi Coffee Bar has built up over the years, there is no doubt that Wildcard would gain popularity just like how Maxi Coffee Bar did. That being said, it is still pretty early stages to tell how Wildcard will go; this is especially so considering how Wildcard is pretty much in early stages with the menu still being in its soft launch stage. Apart from the Oxtail Donut, we also went for the Kaya Butter on Milk Bun; an item that is only available in their day time menu, the Kaya Butter on Milk Bun is almost the same item ar Maxi Coffee Bar featuring Hainanese-style kaya and butter spread between a milk bun. With a beautiful interior, great specialty coffee, familiar items from Maxi Coffee Bar and novelty items fit for a wine bar being served up at Wildcard, Wildcard is a spot that is bound to become pretty crowded when they fully launch — definitely a spot to keep an eye out on!