BREAKFAST is the best meal of the day. It builds champions. The sizzle of bacon; the sight of eggs, cracked into a skillet and the aroma of coffee: these are what makes people happy.

At Habitat, it all started with the coffee. It wasn’t, of course, just any coffee. It was a cup of coffee made with passion. Singaporean owner Ryan was so inspired by Melbourne cafes, he’s taken his passion for coffee back to Singapore and started his own cafe Habitat in a neighbourhood in Upper Thomson populated with cafe-goers.

It is, however, and to the surprise of those who judge the hipster look too quickly, Habitat Coffee is the place to go for very good homestyle cooking. They have also recently launched some new dishes in the menu. From salads, sandwiches, pastas to most vitally, brunch, Habitat Coffee does it all. Given the popularity of the place, it’s clear that I’m not the only one who thinks the same that they have some wickedly conceived breakfast food. I went on to savour some of the dishes, including BBQ Pulled Pork ($13) with 9 hours slow cooked beef marinated in their house BBQ sauce, sandwiched between charcoal buns, and served with cajun fries. I wasn’t really interested in their fries, but the sexy pull pork wins the game.

In addition to usual breakfast suspects, there are also dishes which speaks about our asian roots such as Chilli Crab Linguine ($17). Most of the time, I am not impressed with such dishes because the chilli crab sauce is usually too sweet or too bland for my liking. But perhaps Ryan has got some peranakan roots, the rempah that was made for the chilli crab sauce has got depth – a little spicy, a little sweet and a little savour. Plus you get a generous chunks of fresh crab meat and some fried mantou to go along. This has got to be my favourite dish of all.

You can get an egg almost anywhere. But at Habitat, Ryan and his team tries to do something a little more unique. Truffle Salmon Scrambled Egg ($15) is a luxe way to start a day. An appealing plate of eggs scrambled with salmon and seasoned with truffle is another new item on the menu. But I think I was spoilt by Bill’s scrambled eggs in Sydney, nothing was comparable to his after eating it. Plus the truffle came across a little too strong for my liking.

Stuffed Berries Hotcake ($15) was a swell circle of sweetness. Using cream cheese instead of ricotta, the hotcake is kept light and moist, a nice complement to a maple syrup and seasonal berries.

Something that runs out fast is Pick A Date ($12), featuring warm sticky date pudding with cream butterscotch sauce. There is an unanimity of praise for this unassuming dessert among diners. While cream butterscotch sauce may sound sugary enough to make one’s teeth ache, strangely enough it is only moderately sweet. Trust me, this is definitely one of the best in town.

The cafe has just renovated and it looks as if a trendy Instagram feed has sprung off your phone and into real life. Plenty of clean black lines, white washed facades and raw concrete compose the space, accented with epic latte art and the chrome plated aesthetic of the espresso machine.

It was late afternoon when we finished. But the yolks of the eggs, umami flavours from chilli crab linguine and the bright berries hotecake refreshed everything and I felt as if I could begin the day again.

Habitat Coffee

Address: 223 Upper Thomson Road, Singapore 574355
Tel: 6456 2567
Opening Hours: Tue-Fri 11am-10:30pm; Sat-Sun 10:30am-10:30pm. Closed on Monday
Website: http://www.habitatcoffee.com.sg

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