Entree Kibbles: Tolido's Espresso Nook Cafe @ Crawford Lane (Near Lavender MRT Station) [Singapore]

The first picture I uploaded for my blog review on Eat 3 Bowls showed a long queue; which I initially thought was for the Taiwanese eatery but turned out to be for its neighbour, Tolido's Espresso Nook Cafe.

I went back to Eat 3 Bowls a few weeks later and it was the same scene again with way more people lining outside the cafe. It left such a deep impression on me that I decided to check out Tolido's Espresso Nook on a quiet Tuesday afternoon, right after the busy lunch peak. Thankfully, no queue at all.

Due to safe distancing measures, the number of tables both indoors and outdoors was limited and that could have explained the queue on weekends. However, waiting time appeared to be long and impatient persons like me would have look around for alternatives (plenty in that area) unless the food were amazing.

View the menu online via the QR code pasted on the table. I think this should be the way to go; you save paper and ink, diners wouldn't have to fumble through dog-eared menu and most importantly for this pandemic, operators wouldn't have to disinfect the menu every single time you hand it to another customer!

Alex and his Sea Salt Caramel Latte - I forgot to ask him for his verdict on this but the cafe was said to be renowned for its coffee which isn't much to me as I very much prefer our local kopi.

Whatever the case, I had to drink something and decided on the Sea Salt Caramel Mocha (Iced); honestly, not much of a sweetness and as expected, I didn't think it's fascinating even though it's listed under signature drinks.

Starting with dessert - a slice of their signature Homemade Fudgy Brownie. There are actually a few textures when it comes to brownies and while this was fudgy as the name suggested and tasted pretty nice when served warm; my brownie preference is more for those with a crisp crust and crunchy pieces of walnuts hidden within.

Rosti with Cheesy Sausage - my general dislike for potatoes is known among my peers and my last rosti was likely at Marche, which I remember was pretty decent. Fried to a crisp and only lightly seasoned, this was actually good!

I have no idea what's that white, creamy butter-like stuff in the blue saucer although its cheesy flavour goes perfectly well with the rosti! The cheesy sausage didn't disappoint as well, despite its conventional appearance.

The Ultimate Combo - I love all day breakfast and faced with such a bombastic sounding name on the menu; I knew this dish comprising of "fluffy pancakes, pork bacon, cheesy sausage and sunny eggs" will be my order.

What are the two ingredients I die die must have for pancakes?

Maple syrup and butter! Both of which were provided.

Same sausage as the one for the rosti; juicy! Bacon was okay; frankly, I usually don't enjoy bacon that much as they are often too salty for my liking and I prefer it to be a tad sweeter like the irresistible gourmet bak kwa from Bee Cheng Hiang!

Pancakes were fluffy alright and tasted great with the maple syrup and butter; sadly, they were too heavy for me and I didn't manage to clean them up! If there's no queue the next time I drop by, I would likely return for the rosti instead of this ultimate combo though.

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