Oriole Coffee & Bar, Somserset

Glad to know that Oriole Coffee & Bar has finally re-opened its doors back in January after a refurbishment of 2 months. Been here twice before they revamped and wasn't really impressed with the food. But glad to know that the refreshed menu offers a wider range of food after the refurbishment as well as bringing back their signature Raven & Yellowbird blends. 

Big thanks to the Burpple community, I have the privilege to try most of the food from their revamped menu as well as their coffee brews.



Taisho White Coffee Brew $7 - It's rich and smooth, with a zest of nutty flavour.

Truffle Fries - One of the better ones out there, with a distinctive truffle aroma.

Chicken Tikka - This is well paired with an ice cold beer. Chicken bites were marinated in rich flavour and best thing is, boneless!

Steak Sanger $22 - Thick slices of sirloin steak with wasabi pickled onions, served between grilled multigrain bread. Sirloin were slightly dry but still a good eat.

B.L.T. $16 - Maple-glazed bacon and truffle cheese with fresh lettuce, tomatoes and brown sauce, served between buttered and grilled traditional white bread. Bacons overload!

Cubano Sandwich $17 (Not in pic) - Slow-roasted pork collar, seared sous vide pork belly, swiss cheese, pickled cucumber, green chilli mayo and mustard between grilled panini bread

Soba $9 - Chilled soba noodles tossed with kale & tobiko and a dash of Oriole’s special dressing. Quite an interesting eat especially if you're looking for something healthy and light.

Under the small plate segment of the menu, we have Fried Wild Rice $11. Crispy fried rice with smoked lap cheong and a not-so-secret onsen egg surprise hidden underneath. It's like a chinese-jap fusion kind of dish, pretty impressed with this one. The wild rice tasted like crispy claypot rice with a distinctive wok aroma.

Under the mains, we have Capellini Crabmeat $26. Fresh and big chunk of crabmeat with capellini and piquillo peppers, served aglio olio style. If you like spiciness in your pasta for an extra oomph, I would recommend having this.

Avocado & Toast $14 is under the All day breakfast menu which is available from 8am-6pm. Crushed avocado and smoked tomatoes on focaccia bread, topped with basil leaves. Interesting eat and no doubt healthier. You're able to change to gluten-free toast for additional $1.

Risotto fans, this is available in the main menu as well. Here's Garlic Prawn Risotto $25, grilled garlic prawns with arborio rice and asparagus in rich prawn bisque. A mixture of moist and flavorful soft grains, together with a crunch from the asparagus.

A usual take on salad, Caesar Salad $12. Grilled chicken with fresh avocado, romaine lettuce, sous vide egg, sprinkled with parmesan shavings and croutons. Nothing fantastic I must say.

From the All Day Breakfast menu (8am-6pm), here's Fully Loaded $20. Yes it's really full load with two eggs prepared in your favourite style (scrambled, sunny side-up, overeasy or poached), pork sausages, maple-glazed bacon, assorted mushrooms, air-dried tomatoes, baked beans and toast.

I find really worth value as cafes these days charging $20 over for less than half of these.

Mains at Oriole Coffee & Bar are available from 11am onwards. Here's Fish & Chips $20, battered fresh snapper fillets with Oriole-spiced fries and house made tartar dip. As per the description, nothing fanciful overall but not too bad.

Under the small plate, you will also find interesting eats such as Mantou Sloppy Dog $15. It's basically three juicy beef & pork wienerli minis served in deep-fried mantous, topped with green chilli mayo and belachan ketchup. Nothing impressive but a unique combination.

Moving to desserts after so much food, here's Chocolate Coconut Affogato $9. A scoop of vanilla ice cream, cookie crumble and a shot of espresso. Mad love this one, tasted like cappuccino float if you get what I mean!

White Chocolate Yuzu Cheesecake $8 - With a hint of yuzu making it refreshing with a slight citrus zest. But of course I would recommend going for the waffles and affogato!

Waffle Mi'so $12 - I was pleasantly surprised at how fluffy these waffles were and crisp on the surface. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce to add a level of sweetness. The candied nuts as the side dish gave an extra crunch.

I wasn't expecting high for waffles at Oriole with it's appearance but this just shows that looks are deceiving. This is because these quarter waffles were moist and slightly dense. Thumbs up!

Very pleased to find that Oriole's refreshed menu was nothing but impressive with a wide range of sides and mains to pick from. Some fell short in flavour while some were above average, I guess nothing is perfect in this world. And now, Oriole Coffee & Bar will be one of my destination for cuppa in town!

Oriole Coffee + Bar

96 Somerset Road #01-01

Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Orchard

Singapore 238163

Tel: 6238 8348

Opening Hours: Sun-Thu & PH, 10am-11pm

Fri, Sat & Eve of PH, 10am - 12am

http://www.oriole.com.sg/

*This was an invited media tasting.