True Breakfast (初早餐) -Taiwanese Breakfast Cafe @ Cuppage Plaza (Near Somerset MRT Station) [Singapore]

3rd time lucky - that's my exact thought when I joined the queue to enter True Breakfast Cafe (初早餐) as my first two visits had been unsuccessful and I was almost on the verge of giving up! 

Located along the bustling orchard road in the almost 40 years old Cuppage Plaza, the revised operating hours of True Breakfast, ending at 2pm, and its rest day on Sundays, means a narrower bandwidth for me to check it out. 

Thankfully, I do have a lot of annual leave to clear and decided to make use of one day! I thought 11.00 am would be a good enough time but as you can see in the first photo; there were still about 10 persons in front of me. 

It took us almost 40 minutes to reach the start of the queue; the eatery wasn't big and can sit only about 24 persons. I was mindful of the space constraint and was prepared to quickly order, eat and then go. 

Owner must be a lego-lover. The display was eye-catching and added a splash of creativity to an otherwise pretty plain cafe setup. p.s. photo taken after I ordered and was waiting for my food.

Food was served fast! According to my receipt, the order was made on 11.44 am and the time-stamped for the above was 11.50 am. Honestly, a bit too hasty and I was prepared to lower my expectations. 

Milk Tea - at 50% sugar, I was thinking this would be similar our usual teh png. Turned out it tasted more like bubble tea with its more rounded sweetness and stronger tea fragrance. Me like! 

Cheese and Eggs Taiwanese Omelette - I don't know what to make of this after taking a bite. It was more batter than eggs, with a chee cheong fun texture that was thicker. I can taste the egg but the salt in the cheese was off-putting. Maybe I should have opted for pork floss and eggs instead. 

Pork Chop and Egg Toast - I fondly remember the Taiwanese toast I had at Fong Sheng Hao and decided to have this even though I was initially split between this and the also chef recommended thick toast.

The layers appeared simple; a skinny slice of pork, a lean piece of egg and an assembly of thinly sliced cucumber sandwiched by pieces of toast. A perfect combination with two things that stood out; the freshness of the cucumbers and the special sauce that was delicious! This would be something I would love to eat for breakfast every morning! 

Braised Pork Rice - as mains are only available during lunch, starting from 11.30am on weekdays, I had to make use of the opportunity to order, after waiting for so long! 

The main comparison for braised pork rice (known affectionately as luroufan) is the level of savory-sweetness but this one here had an additional curry flavor that made it distinctive from the rest! Only two issues; I prefer pure pork fats although it was already good enough in the Singapore's context, and there were those small pieces of irritating soft bones! p.s. loving the pickled vegetables! 

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I would love to order more but with Alex as my dining companion; I need to be a lot more conservative! Would love to be back for more although the 40-minute wait was a major deterrent.

Queue when we left a little past noon. 

And it was a Monday.

Address

5 Koek Rd, #B1-19/20, 

Cuppage Plaza, Singapore 228796

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

As above. Check Facebook for updates. 

Website

https://www.truebreakfast.sg/

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Milk Tea - S$2.50

Cheese and Eggs Taiwanese Omelette - S$5.30

Pork Chop and Egg Toast - S$5.80

Braised Pork Rice (S) - S$4.80

(No Service Charge, No GST)