Cafe Colbar - A Journey Back In Time to the Colonial Bar @ 9A Whitchurch Road [Next to the Upcoming Mediapolis]

Straying from the recent explosion of cafes in Singapore, i found myself standing in front of one that could only be described as the illustrious elder of cafes in Singapore; Cafe Colbar.

Everything about it reminded me of the days when i was still living in the Nee Soon Village; where wooden planks were used for walls and partitions, concrete flooring was all we needed and fans were the only way to cool us down on a bloody hot day!

Even the cafe's interior screamed of rustic character; from the wooden study tables to the old fashioned cupboards cluttered with rusting trophies, photo frames and numerous memorabilia sourced on overseas trips.

There's even a retro weighing machine in the premise! Now, that's a pretty weird equipment to have in a food establishment. Put it this way, there are two likely scenarios; first, i weighed myself, i was aghast with the spot that the needle pointed to and i decided to have only salad (loss of a higher value sale). 

Two, i ate a full lunch, i weighed myself, i almost fainted when i checked out the actual weight and swore never to dine there again (loss of repeated sale). 

To play safe, i did neither. 

Some historical bites of Colbar - opened for business in 1953 as a canteen for the old British Army Barracks, the land it stood on had to make way for construction of an access way to Queensway from Ayer Rajah Expressway. However, the historical house with the 'Colbar' name had a strong presence in the area; resulting in intense calls for preservation. 

It was eventually decided that the building be taken apart and rebuilt in a nearby plot of land. What you see above was four sections (out of quite a number known collectively as the heritage wall) of the original timber boards salvaged from the old building. 

Hungry?

Fried Rice

That intense wok hei fragrance hit me as soon as the waiter placed it on the table! 

It was similar in taste to those offered by better tze char stalls except that the chef in Colbar was much more generous with the prawns and chicken meat. I am uncertain if i would come back specially for this as the asking price was definitely not of the economical tze-char standard. 

Pork Cutlet Chips and Mushrooms

At S$13, this didn't come cheap although there were two humongous chunks of pork cutlets that took me quite a while to finish! Nothing impressive from the chips (hate wedges by the way) and mushrooms. 

Foodies who dislike thick crusts that are full of flour would like this thinner version! The meat was compact and not as oily as others in the market. The flavour was a bit weak which i attributed to meat which could do with a bit more juice! Comparatively, i thought the pork cutlet from Ang Mo Kio S11 was better. 

Chicken Merry Land

With such a chirpy name, my NUS colleague found it to be too irresistible! Once again, i am neutral to the sides except for the fried banana which had a nice batter and sweet gooey insides, and the strips of bacon which tasted horrible! 

Saving grace (besides the banana), was the deep fried chicken patty. I could not say it was the best i ever have but in comparison to my pork cutlet, the chicken was much juicier.

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Location

9A Whitchurch Road, Wessex Estate 

[Next to the upcoming Mediapolis]

Map

As above

Price

Fried Rice - S$6.50

Pork Cutlet Chips & Mushrooms - S$13.00

Chicken Merry Land - S$16.50

[NETT!]

Menu

As above

Additional Information

With so much greenery, do expect mosquitoes.