Located within Tanjong Pagar Plaza, Equate Coffee is the latest cafe to land in the Tanjong Pagar neighbourhood. The interior is minimalistic, sleek with a pinch of ruggedness. Equate Coffee might just be the next hotspot in Tanjong Pagar.
Hidden In A Corner of Tanjong Pagar Plaza
Located on the 2nd floor of Blk 1 of Tanjong Pagar Plaza, we first noticed the café’s signage from afar, which consisted of the basic mathematical signs. The cafe stands out amongst its neighbours, with its clean, minimal interior.
But that’s not all, there’s a concrete-looking arch with several bends near the entrance, almost as though as it’s telling you – you’re about to enter a different area completely.
And sure enough, once inside, you forget the crowded and noisy Tanjong Pagar Plaza you were just at. The coffeehouse provides a place of comfort, away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Menu At Equate Coffee
Equate Coffee has a relatively simple menu consisting of espresso-based drinks, filter coffee and tea. Interestingly, they also served Local Coffee such as Kopi-O and Kopi! ($2-$3)
White
We had the White, which comes in 2 sizes, Short ($5) and Tall ($5.5). Equate Coffee uses a house blend of Brazil and Sumatra beans which resulted in a minimally acidic coffee that’s well balanced and nutty.
Iced Chocolate
The Iced Chocolate ($6.50) would probably be a hit amongst dark chocolate lovers. The drink is not overly sweet and had a nice bittersweet chocolate flavour. The drink is far from diluted, one of the better chocolate drinks we had so far.
Canelé
Equate Coffee serves a couple of simple bakes, with the 2 main ones being the canelé and one called Mount Ondeh.
While canelés are pretty common in Korea cafes, it’s not a common menu item in Singapore cafes.
The canelé ($4) had a nice chewy interior, almost sticky to a certain extent, like a mochi. The slightly crusty exterior provided a slightly burnt fragrance, which reminded us of chocolate. No chocolate was used in the making of this canelé, instead, you’ll discover specks of vanilla bean and even a slight whiff of rum.
Mount Ondeh
Just like its name, Mount Ondeh ($7) looks like a mini mountain, one that’s overwhelming with pandan and coconut fragrance. In the middle of the cake, there was a tiny bit of hidden cream which tasted really milky and creamy.
Thanks to the addition of shredded coconut flakes, it was almost like eating an Ondeh Ondeh in cake form.
Insta-Worthy Cafe in Tanjong Pagar
Situated in an area filled with old-school bakeries and eateries, we would never have expected a third-wave coffee place such as Equate Coffee to open in Tanjong Pagar Plaza. We recommend dropping by Equate Coffee if you’re intending to visit one of the nearby Korean restaurants such as On Dol or Itaewon Jjajang.
Since the area is popular amongst the elderly as well, the addition of a local kopi menu was a nice touch.
Equate Coffee officially opens from 1st March, but if you’re in the area, you can drop by for takeaways. (10am-4pm except Sundays)
One more thing to note, the QR code payment mode works for PayLah but not PayNow accounts, so you might want to bring some extra cash if you don’t have a PayLah account. The NETS terminal should be ready from 1st March.
Equate Coffee
Blk 1, Tanjong Pagar Plaza, #02-25, Singapore 082001
Mon-Fri, 8.30am-5.30pm, Sat, 8am-3pm. Closed on Sundays.
*This is an independent review by MiddleClass.sg
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