Happy National Day holiday! Early dismall means time with friends for most of us, so cafe hopping was on thing we all agreed to go! 

Assembly Coffee, located at Evans Lodge beside Mr Prata, Hatched and Wine Company, was packed when we arrived. Luckily there were 4 empty seats on the high chairs which we gladly sat at :) 

Assembly Coffee serves brunch, ranging from savoury pies and burgers, all of which seemed great (especially the crossiaint with the scrambled eggs) and very popular about its patrons. We all decided to try the waffles, priced at $11.50 each. Not cheap, but well worth for the great atmosphere and excellent food and service. 

Assembly coffee doesn't serve a wide range of deserts- just a few types of sweet pies, some cakes and muffins, and 3 different types of waffles - chocoate and strawberry, earl grey caramel and salted caramel. I tried the salted caramel waffle (as pictured above). I was contemplating whether to try earl grey caramel, which seemed quite unique and special, but I decided salted caramel sounded more decadent haha.

The waffles were warm and crisp, soft and fluffy on the inside, and drizzled generously with a smoky salted caramel sauce and a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream. The salted caramel sauce had the perfect balance of sweet and salty- still sweet with a hit of saltiness. The vanilla ice cream was the perfect accompaniment- there will little specks of vanilla beans on the generous scoop and it started melting as soon as it reached my table. Perfect! 

I must say one waffle is enough for lunch, but my friends and I were greedy so we decided to try out The Missing Pan as well! 

Above is the French Toast, $19. We wanted to buy the kids version which cost $12, but oh well I think we didn't pass off as kids. 

The Missing Pan is a beautiful place, with two levels which you can access using the lift, and a little showcase of beautifully decorated cakes, which certainly looked professional and cute. We opted to share the French toast, which we heard were quite good. 

I wasn't impressed with the quality of the french toast, although my friends were, but the resents toon was indeed beautiful. The plate was adorned with colourful dragon fruit, kiwi, strawberries, banana and banana nuggets, with a little mini jug at the corner filled with maple syrup and strawberries. I especially loved the banana nuggets, which reminded my of goreng pisang. Crispy and fried- what's not to love. 

I expected the French toast to be a little crisp, but I found it a little too soggy. The egg on the french toast felt a little undercooked, but perhaps it was due to the moistness of the fruit on top. It was browned beautifully, though, and had a smoky flavour to it. I find the french toast on its own lacked a bit of flavour, texture and sweetness, but the fruit and maple syrup made up for it. 

Overall I have to say I liked Assembly Coffee better. I love it that it's situated in a quiet corner of Bukit Timah, tucked away from the noisy roads and clutter of school life, and how it's nice and cosy with friendly staff and simple but beautiful food. I think the best food in life is the simplest. Easy flavours, easy food, but perfection in every bite. The atmosphere in Assembly a Coffee is posh yet casual, filled with the chatter of happy faces enjoying the simple pleasures in life- what joy good food can bring through these little cafés to everyone's lives.