perfect eastie brunch spot (minus the sg heat 🥵)

i had a really long week at work and wanted a maximum decompress for my cafe adventures this week — and i think there's no better place to get that spatial decompress in sg than in the tanjong katong area since most cafes there tend to have the luxury of more real estate 🚪 from a quick sweep online, i noticed many people talking about seng house so i decided to give it a shot!

📍 214 Tanjong Katong Rd, Singapore 437007

🚶a bit of a walk from the mrt, closest to opp blk 461 bus stop

📆 daily 8am - 1030pm

— VIBE CHECK 🥔 | 4/5

like seen in the illlustrations plugged from their branding, seng house has a unique, quirky personality that differentiates them from other cafes these days. i briefly recall watching a video interview featuring the owner of seng house where they mentioned how the cafe was shaped to bring a western twist on local dishes — which explains the presence of things like hor fun and hainanese pork chop on the menu 🍴

the idea of being a second home also really came through with the service where the staff were pretty friendly; and the spot generally just felt like a fresh breather amidst #My9to5 since it has a substantial area dedicated to al fresco seating, be it along the pavement or at the bar counter. when we reached, there were no tables indoors - so we were more than happy to sit at the bar counter 🍸 i feel like it really added to the weekend relax vibes, but our only gripe would've been the sg heat 🥵 and the waves of hot wind that blew in our faces 🌬️ (which aren't things we can control, yes)

— BRUNCH GRUB CHECK | 3.5/5

we were pretty spoilt for choice when we browsed the menu — but we instantly gravitated towards the hainanese pork chop 🥩 ($22.5) which is an interesting spin that marries cafe vibes with familiar tastes. prepared with iberico pork deep-fried in cream cacker crumbs and green peas, the meat was super tender and juicy; and every bite wasn't dry or tough! it was also drizzled with a special hainanese sauce that reminded me of sweet-sour sauces. serving size was also quite generous where i had this to share with a friend and by the end of the meal, we were stuffed 😋

to go with the main course, we also got the charcoal grilled broccolini ($14.5) which is as the name suggests — charred, grilled broccolini with crushed hazelnut and topped with lemon zest. while this tasted like any regular broccolini you'd get elsewhere, i appreciated the serving size once again. we literally kept eating and getting surprised by how there was still broccolini left 🤤

our drinks of the day were pretty basic — where we opted for the secret black ($5.0) with tasting notes of strawberries, raspberries and pink fruits 🍓 and the iced white ($6.0). overall, their coffees were nice and balanced but tended to lean more towards the earthy and chocolatey end of the spectrum.

looking back on the experience, i think seng house definitely did feel special for the hospitality and overall warm vibes that they gave off; but the food didn't surprise as much as we expected it to. maybe it's because of the choice of menu item, but we just didn't feel very blown away by the main course and drinks to command its current price 💰

but i guess that's the price you pay for comfort and vibes? not sure about that. 🤷 nonetheless, i would still recommend coming by to soak in the vibes and give them a shot! i've heard amazing things about their desserts 🍬 so maybe i'll be back to try them too one day!

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