Columbus Coffee Co Cafe near Thomson Plaza in Singapore

It's a fact that I am seldom impressed with cafe food so when a friend suggested dinner at Columbus Coffee Co; I was hesitant yet didn't want to sound rude. To me, what's the worst that could happen, except to prove my point?

Truth was further than that as I actually returned for another meal, and this time, I brought along my parents as the some of the food served would fall into the Asian category, which they generally prefer. 

Do keep in mind that the cafe was extremely popular and you may wish to scan the above to join the e-queue! I am putting it up here for ease of reference, for my next visit! 

Interior of the cafe, with options for outdoors. Latter might not be a bad option since there's a ceiling fan right above each table. For this visit, we were seated outdoors as the wait for indoor seating seemed quite long.

Cakes counter - nothing that quite caught my fancy. 

For desserts, we opted for something else. 

Complimentary water, and they provided a large bottle for ease of refill. This is something that's so uncommon and this cafe didn't even impose a service charge.

Order and pay via this QR code! 

Let's now proceed with our food. 

Unagi Donburi - my mom loves unagi and I assumed this would be a good enough dish for her. What I forgot was that she had tried really nice unagi before at Man Man Japanese Unagi Restaurant and Uya Unagi Restaurant.

As far as unagi was concerned, the unagi was okay, and definitely failed to win the epic ones from Man Man and Uya. Saving grace was the the flavorful rice, which was enhanced by the salty pops from the ikura (fish eggs).  

Beef Steak Donburi - if you look gyudon, this would be a strong competitor! Instead of slices of beef, the beef here came in generously large chunks that were already pleasing for the eyes. 

Taste wise, they were delicious with a touch of pepperiness. Texture of the juicy beef cubes was tender and I was so loving the the onions that were caramelized with teriyaki sauce! I accidentally ordered a second serving and it was still so good when I ate them a few hours later. 

Halibut & Scallop Pao Fan - honestly, I don't know what to make out from this as the the rice was definitely not soaked (pao). That's where the porcelain pot came into play. 

Drenching the ingredients! Since pao meant soaked, I am unsure how long we would need to soak the rice for. Whatever the case, my dad was hungry and he dug in shortly after I poured the soup. 

Soup impressed the taste buds with its umami flavor, albeit a tad spicy. Scallop was large and the fish meat was firm and fresh. This would be nice to have on the nice, cool weather we had today. 

 

Candied Bacon with Ice Cream Waffle - with options for maple & better, salted caramel with ice cream, and candied bacon with ice cream; I chose the third one as it's something that my parents had never tried before. 

Bacon was like gourmet bak kwa and I love the texture of the waffle; crispy added with a nice, buttery aroma. I would say some of you might not like the texture though as there's no chew to it. Not an issue for me. 

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I would be back for sure! 

Address

220 Upper Thomson Rd, 

Singapore 574352

(near Upper Thomson MRT Station)

Map

As above.

Website

https://www.columbuscoffeeco.com/

Operating Hours

Tuesdays to Saturdays - 9am to 10pm

Sundays - 9am to 7pm

(Closed on Mondays)

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Unagi Donburi - S$24.20

Beef Steak Donburi - S$24.20

Halibut & Scallop Pao Fan - S$25.10

Candied Bacon with Ice Cream Waffle - S$15.60

(Inclusive of GST)