Oriole Coffee + Bar – New Brunch Items for a Lazy Weekend!

Having just rolled out an all-new weekend brunch menu curated by Texas native Chef Randy Torres, Oriole Coffee + Bar is indeed a perfect spot for catch-ups with friends and families on weekends. It’s so conveniently located that you can get your breakfast and coffee fix before a full day of shopping spree (especially when it’s GSS now!). I’m certain that I will pop by this café just to chill with a cuppa coffee and watch the world go by on a bustling weekend. 

Previously, there were only six brunch items available. This time round, five more items are introduced! For the sweet-tooth, there is Mango French Toast ($16). Brioche egg battered toast is served with fresh mangoes, toasted sliced almonds, espresso mascarpone butter, maple syrup and mint mango coulis. This is a decent breakfast item but not impressive enough to motivate me to get out of bed for. I prefer my toast to be crisp on the edges yet, soft in the middle but Oriole’s didn’t meet my mark.

For the health-conscious, Wild Berries Oatmeal ($10) is the perfect dish for you! Organic rolled oats are cooked with Oriole M.A.D Milk, goji berries and brown sugar, before being topped with fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and gooseberry. The oatmeal is served with honey and chocolate chips on the side. Personally, I don’t fancy oatmeal. It’s lighter in flavour and great for those who wanted a healthy meal. But not for me. 

How can any café or restaurant exclude eggs benedict from their menu?! It’s one of the most instagram-mable dishes ever! So, here is Oriole’s version – Crab Cake Benedict ($22). Maryland-style crab cake with two poached eggs are placed atop toasted English muffins before being drizzled in lemon dill hollandaise and served with a side salad. My egg yolk wasn’t runny enough that day but the thick layer of crab cakes made up for it. 

For the savoury bunch of breakfast-goers, I highly recommend the Smoked Salmon Rosti ($16). Crispy potato rosti is topped with smoked salmon, capers, crème fraiche and fresh spring onions. The potato rosti is cooked to perfection, with a tinge of crisp while the smoked salmon enhanced the flavour of the overall dish. Salmon lovers, especially, will fall in love with this dish!

Finally, the highlight of Oriole’s new brunch items is their Grilled Truffle Cheese Sandwich ($14). Grilled buttery brioche bread is stuffed with truffle cheese, emmental cheese and oak smoked cheddar. I simply love how cheesy and flavoursome the sandwich is, even before I dipped it into the accompanying tomato cheddar soup. Oh boy! The flavours just explode in your mouth! This tomato cheddar soup is one-of-a-kind and so good that one of us was tempted to slurp it down in a gulp, instead of treating it as a dip!

Besides its five newly-launched brunch items, all of you should already be familiar with some of Oriole’s signature desserts. We tried the White Chocolate Yuzu Cheesecake ($8) and Waffle Mi’so ($12). The former is a light white chocolate cheesecake infused with citrus yuzu while the latter is made up of freshly pressed waffles topped with vanilla ice cream, served with miso caramel sauce, white chocolate and pecan nut sprinkles. 

There is also Oriole Coffee Cake ($14) and the Sticky Date Pudding ($12). The Oriole Coffee Cake is a coffee-textured cake infused with Oriole’s signature house blends, chocolate crunch sprinkles, chocolate jelly, crushed meringue and espresso crème anglaise core. It is presented impressively and you can taste the distinctively strong espresso flavour. I like the difference in textures created by the different toppings.

Having tried four different desserts (out of six) on Oriole’s menu, I like the Sticky Date Pudding most! A baked medjool date sponge cake with vanilla ice cream is drizzled with date and vanilla butter caramel. I guess I could have this as breakfast if I were a sweet-tooth!

Many of my friends have been complaining that Orchard Road lacks cafés. Oriole Coffee + Bar is a place I would recommend if you’re looking for a hearty breakfast and good coffee that doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket. Take a break from squeezing with the crazy weekend crowd and just indulge in good coffee, best if it’s with good company! Moreover, the weather’s heating up ridiculously at the moment so ice cream would be a very good remedy for cooling down! Their brunch menu is only available on weekends and public holidays from 10am to 5pm.