These days, I would think of checking out cafes when I spot promising ones. I checked… The last I went cafe hopping was 6 months ago! And from what others shared on instagram, Botanist Singapore caught my attention with their food. It looked appetizing. And from their website, I learnt that Botanist Singapore is opened by the same group behind Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters and Alchemist.

Instead of heading down over the weekend, my colleagues and I decided to take half-day leave to check out the cafe on a weekday afternoon. December lah. Office is quieter during Christmas period. So we could afford to apply leave with very short notice. Keke.

Botanist Singapore is a 15 to 18 minutes walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT station. One could easily identify the corner unit from the graffiti on the wall. And to enter, one had to come through the side entrance.

The stretch of shop houses along Neil Road had long yards in the front. So although my colleagues and I arrived at the cafe at off-peak timing of 1.30pm, the few tables within the small air-conditioned unit were fully occupied. We were led to the ‘front yard’ where an awning was installed to shield patrons from the strong blazing sun. Thankfully, they invested in a floor standing air-conditioner too，else it would have been stuffy. And one should manage one’s expectation to share table as the 4 long tables were communal tables.

And from the menu (pages 1, 2, 3, 4), we ordered:-

1) Truffle fries, $8 (above)

2) Corn fritters, $18 (above) – Pan fried corn fritters, sweet tomato salsa, hummus, guacamole, poached egg, baby spinach tossed in yuzu vinaigrette. I didn’t really like this though. Maybe for $8, but not $18.

3) Baked egg, $19 (above) – Chorizo iberico, tomato relish, feta cheese, bacon, toast, baby spinach, egg. This was really good. I kept digging in with my fork, trying to get more mouthfuls of the bacon. Haha.

4) Meat of the day, $22 (above) – Pan roasted duck breast with szechuan pepper.

5) Seafood aglio olio, $23 (above) – Spaghetti with prawn, clam, squid, garlic, chili, basil.

6) Salmon & egg, $23 (above) – Pan seared sous-vide salmon, cauliflower fritters, sous-vide egg, saffron cauliflower puree. I ordered this because it was highly recommended by a friend. “The salmon is very good. You must order before it’s sold out,” he said. And indeed, the salmon was grilled to perfection. But it was hard to tell it was ‘salmon & egg’ that we ordered as the big plate just emphasized how small the salmon portion was. And I did not like the sides. It was written on the menu that there would be sauteed pea and asparagus, but ours got replaced with sauteed onion and long bean (without being informed). And the sliced long bean were too raw.

7) French toast, $18 (above) – Fried brioche, rhubarb berry marmalade, fresh berries, almond flakes, poached pear, vanilla ice cream.

8) Maple pancake, $18 (above) – Traditional pancake infused with maple syrup, creme fraiche, nuts, bacon, fresh berries. This smelled crazily good when it was served. Thick fluffy pancake with pieces of walnut within. A must order, although I would have preferred if they kept it as a pure sweet dish without the bacon, and used less powdered sugar.

9) White coffee, $5 (5oz) (above) – Latte.

Would I recommend Botanist Singapore? Well, only if one is in the area. I wouldn’t make a special trip to Botanist Singapore just to eat, considering that they are not conveniently located near any MRT station. And I reckon it may be hard to continue chilling at the cafe to chit chat with higher volume of traffic expected on weekends than weekdays. Yes, one would need to vacate for other patrons.