Backstage Cafe

I first learned about the existence of Backstage Cafe through Kevin Chia's instagram. It caught my attention because I thought 'backstage' was an unusual name for a cafe. Then again, all sorts of cafes with creative names are sprouting out in Singapore, which is good for us, but not very healthy for our wallets haha.

I found out later about the significance of its meaning, which is linked to its location at Safekeep Building. The building houses TV studios, so it's of no surprise that many celebrities have visited it and autographed the pillar, haha.

Visited this cafe with my boy on New Year's day at close to 3pm :) Located in at Kallang's industrial estate, it was relatively accessible for us as we had to take a few stops down from Kovan/Serangoon to Boon Keng MRT, then take a bus and alight 4 stops later.

Loved the fact that Backstage was large and empty, with a high ceiling that doesn't make you feel claustrophobic like some smaller cafes do. Wifi is also available, perfect for students like myself who want a place to study or carry out group discussions.

They have a wide selection of food on their menu, much to my delight, but many of the chicken items and caramelised banana french toast were not available that day. Read on another blog that we can top $1 for truffle oil when we order french fries, and I was quite hopeful that I'd be able to have truffle fries that I had been craving for soooo long! Alas..... the chef said they didn't have truffle oil :(

Another down side that day - we were informed that the coffee machine was down! Boohooooo what's afternoon cafe visits without coffee! :( We had to settle for hot and iced chocolate instead.

Credits: Wen Ming

Credits: Wen Ming

The chocolate drinks weren't as thick as I would've liked them to be, like that of Wimbly Lu's. Then again, the latter specialises in chocolate desserts so perhaps such a comparison wouldn't be fair.

Hahahhaa :P

Credits: Wen Ming

Doing what he does best

For mains, we got their ... Big Breakfast? (I didn't take down the name of this main) and a carbonara.

Credits: Wen Ming

I think my favourite out of the whole lot was the croissant. I chose to have scrambled eggs over poached eggs and sunny-side-ups, and it was a little too salty for my liking. The bacon and mushrooms were, well, your typical bacon and mushrooms.

Credits: Wen Ming

Wen Ming's carbonara! I like how the yolk flowed when cut open. This wasn't very gelat because it wasn't swimming in thick, creamy sauce like some other places' carbonaras tend to be.

I had wanted to order a dessert because their cakes and tarts looked so good, but by the time we were done, we were too full for more food, plus we had a movie to catch at The Cathay. Bill was about $40. 

I'd say that Backstage wouldn't really be a place where I'd visit just to have meals, but may be an option for group discussions and solo studying where we just order a coffee and dessert. That's if their coffee machine works.