Champion Bolo Bun, Tanjong Pagar

We're closing on 3/4 of a year since the Singapore-Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble Corridor has been announced. Well if i were to satisfy my dimsum fix in Hong Kong, i would have starved to death already. Thankfully Singapore has decent dimsum and we even have some really good bolo buns now. Champion Bolo Bun at Tanjong Pagar is a specialty bun store which pivoted from an online business to its current 3 storey shophouse space serving only bolo buns and Hong Kong style milk tea and coffee to go accompany the snack.  

Yes only these pineapple looking buns are sold here and basically they only have 2 variants of it, the regular type, and a filled one. Go on a weekend and be prepared to be faced with a snaking queue even though the Muji-esque space is huge for dining in. Why? Because Champion doesn't differentiate their dine-in customers from the takeaway ones. So yes, everyone gotta wait in line for the precious buns. The buns are baked fresh every 15 mins and it's recommended to eat within 20 mins. You could even replace your buns if you don't eat it within that time but WHY WOULD ANYONE DO THAT?

For the regular variant, you could have the Classic ($4.50), the Classic with Butter ($5) featuring an added slab of chilled New Zealand butter, or the Mini of 4 ($4.50) if you wish to split (over my dead body). For a sweet-savory one, there's also a curry potato filled bolo ($6). Unfortunately, it was one me so i can only stomach one bun and of course it had to be the one with butter. 

Firstly, the bun is gorgeous. A brown streusel crust tops the soft pillowy bun below and a butter tongue peeks from between the fluffy bread. As you take a bite into the huge square, you get the crunch of the cookie shell, which gives way to the pillowy soft bun and moist center. I loved the mix of sweetness and savoriness in each bite. And boy it is a big bun. 

The Champion Milk Tea ($5.50) is a perfect accompaniment to the bun. How could you not have the Hong Kong style milk tea with a bolo bun? That's the quintessential pairing. I went with the hot milk tea as the sweetness could be adjusted. While I typically have mine unsweetened, which could be a wild card depending on where you have it, I went with slightly sweetened this time and it was just the right mix. Rich smooth tea with a lovely fragrance with just a tinge of tannins. I'd probably go with unsweetened next time to lessen the guilt from the sweet bun. The cold drinks come sweetened so you don't really have an option. HK style coffee and lemon tea are available, and they also serve espresso-based drinks.

Champion Bolo Bun serves the best bolo bun i've eaten in Singapore, and also Hong Kong. The craving is kicking in as i'm writing the review. Damn i need to go now. 

Champion Bolo Bun

92 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088513

Tues- Sun: 11am - 5pm

Common Man Coffee Roasters, Joo Chiat

Another exciting addition to the quickly gentrifying Joo Chiat area is Common Man Coffee Roasters (CMCR). No stranger to the cafe scene in Singapore, CMCR was established in 2013 with its flagship at Martin Road. The cafe-coffee roaster has been championing specialty coffee since and is one of the OG third-wave coffee places in Singapore. 

Specialty grade Arabica coffee from their partner Five Senses Coffee Australia is roasted, sold, and served at CMCR. Our flat white was full of bitter dark chocolate, which could do with a tad more acidity. 

The Joo Chiat outpost is a lovely breezy 2-unit ground storey shophouse which would not be out of place in Flinders or Hardware Lane, except that it is in the heart of colorful Joo Chiat where its neighbors are KTV pubs and Vietnamese restaurants, which is very charming imo. 

Bakes are from Tiong Bahru Bakery as CMCR's other partner is Spa Esprit Group. Bite into a buttery pastry or pick from the all day breakfast items. The Savory/Sweet sourdough pancakes were unfortunately unavailable when we were there for breakfast. As usual, we order a sweet and a savory dish to share. 

The Croissant Croque Monsieur ($18) was a brainless choice for me as it's a combination of my 2 favorite things- flakey croissant with the creamy cheese flavors of a Croque Monsieur. The béchamel had earthy, peppery, and garlic notes which cut through the richness of the cream. Lovely. 

For sweets, we had the not too sweet Brioche French Toast ($22) with a coffee toffee salted caramel with a light bitter note, banana, and a thick sticky whipped-vanilla ricotta. The brioche could be a tad dry-ish on the corners but the center was perfect fluff. If you need a bit more moisture/sweetness, you could swap the cheese for ice cream (which was too indulgent for us at 9 in the morning, but no judgment if you do). I enjoyed the layered flavors in this one- some spice, some citrus, and definitely mint. 

Big eaters could obviously go for the Common Man Full Breakfast ($29) which is the full English fry-up or the vegetarian version of that in the form of a Veggie Wonderland ($28). Even the "Lunch" items are served early from 10am so if you could wait a bit, there's the Smash Burger ($28) or Cubanos Sandwich ($27). 

Lovely spot, lovely addition to the hood, and more options for me (yay)!

Common Man Coffee Roasters

185 Joo Chiat Road, Singapore 427456

Daily: 7.30 am – 5.30 pm

Little Rogue Coffee, Tanjong Katong

You’ll not go hungry at Tanjong Katong- the entire street is practically a stretch of eateries ranging from roast meat to Wanton mee and Nasi Lemak. Little Rogue Coffee is a welcomed addition to the mix, bringing an end to the dearth of brunch offerings (though i heard the 6 Letter Coffee is pretty decent) in this enclave.

An impromptu breakfast calling had me call my trusty early bird friend B who was already out cycling since god knows what time. Just as well, Little Rogue Coffee has a bike rack within the cafe where B's expensive bike could be parked (i guess there is really a growing bike community in the East). For families, there’s even a little playground to occupy the kiddos while the adults eat.

The newly opened cafe is already drawing a crowd but thanks to the spacious interior, the queue moved rather quickly (the wait is of a diff sort). Breakfast is served all day with more substantive mains like Beef Cheek Linguine ($24), K-pop Chicken Burger ($23), Steak and Eggs ($30) dished out from 11am.

Breakfast is more Australian-cafe style with various egg options. The dish which has made its grand tour on social media is the Soft Scrambled Eggs & Ikura ($14), featuring wet creamy eggs with small curds, with a scoop of uber umami truffle cream and pops of ikura and chives. I wouldn’t recommend stirring all the cream into the eggs as i felt that it overpowers the dish but feel free if you're a fan. The sourdough was flawless on its own, lightly chewy and perfectly buttered and toasted. The dish speaks for itself and the bonus is its IG-worthy appearance.