Food Review: Necessary Provisions At Tanglin Road | Popular Cafe From Eng Kong Terrace Reopens Within Pilates Studio

Posted on November 29, 2020 by theRantingPanda in Food

The Place One of a strong contender in the cafe scene in Upper Bukit Timah at Eng Kong Terrace previously, Necessary Provisions closed back in 2018 and I am happy to see the familiar cafe brand reopened few days ago along Tanglin Road. The new space of Necessary Provisions is tucked within SmartFit Pilates Singapore, a pilates studio, in a soothing earthy and wooden tones for its interior. If you were to drive, parking at Tanglin Mall or Regent Singapore works, otherwise the nearest MRT station is Orchard which is about 10-15 minutes walk away.

There are a couple of outdoor tables, while indoor tables are quite limited. The space is very cosy, and it offers a very different vibes as compared to its rustic and spacious look of its previous space at Eng Kong Terrace.

The Food Though the cafe space is not big, the menu is relatively decent, as there are cooked food options other than some of the bakes on display at the counter.

Food options include the likes of French Toast (S$19), Eat Your Spinach (S$19) which comes with onsen egg and toast, various salads and quinoa and granola. For light bites, there are options like Savoury Scone (S$5) and Cake (S$4).

I went for the Croque Kinoko (S$15), a crispy toast with bits of shiitake mushrooms and gruyere cheese. The serving is not big and is a perfect light grub with coffee.

I couldn’t resist trying the Pandan Cake (S$4) as well – light texture with a fragrant taste.

In terms of drinks, I had both the Flat White (S$6) which uses single origin beans from Smitten Coffee. I quite like the intensity and smooth flavour of the coffee, even though it was my second cup of the day.

I also had the Matcha Latte (S$8), which uses matcha from Ujj, Japan. The matcha latte is relatively intense and decent, though I must admit that I hardly come across a very good matcha latte in Singapore.

Rants Very limited tables, which doesn’t help if you make your way here specially for it only to be greeted by a waiting list.

Will I Return Again? There is finally a decent coffee space in Tanglin, and Necessary Provisions warrants a necessary return visit if I am in the vicinity again. Grab a window table if you can, and people watching is not a bad idea on a lazy afternoon.