Singapore's Best Cafes: Harbourfront's Cosy Scandinavian-Inspired 'Fuel Plus+'

Plenty are familiar with the hot spot areas of cafes in places like Duxton Hill in Tanjong Pagar, or the storied but cool neighbourhood of Tiong Bahru. Tucked away behind the main road under West Coast Highway, sandwiched between Telok Blangah and Harbourfront lies the unassuming Fuel Plus+, a Scandinavian-inspired cafe in decor with all your cafe favourites.

The best part of it all?

Prices on the menu won’t burn a big hole in your wallet, and some dishes on the menu are unique enough to offer a break from the usual.

If you’re driving over, parking is relatively easy to find along Morse Road right in front of the cafe, and some informal space by the road offers enough space so you won’t have to wait for a parking lot.

Once you enter through the doors of the cafe, the clean and bright cafe adorned with natural light will bring you comfort to the senses.

On a weekend for brunch, expect the cafe to pack out, and if you come in a group of 4 or more, you might struggle to find a space if you’re walking in without a reservation.

Once you’re in with a table, you might find yourself fairly close to the party on the table next to you, which is inevitable in order to accommodate everyone.

Scanning through the menu, there is quite a variety on there which is much appreciated.

If you’re up for something different, try the Soft Shell Crab Curry or Tom Yum Seafood Pasta, two of their specialties on the menu.

I ended up opting for the Soft Shell Crab Curry.

But first, some starters.

The Truffle Fries are served with grated parmesan cheese, which is pretty par for the course for most cafes these days, so this was a predictable and safe option.

If you’re after something good though, the Buffalo Wings are where it’s at.

Served with a dip, the buffalo wings are juicy and tender as you take your first bite, and though they aren’t spicy, are tasty and flavourful enough.

Moving on to the mains, we tried the Pork Chop and Sweet Potato Mash, which was beautifully plated and served with a topping of rocket and grated parmesan cheese.

The pork fillet was nice enough, but verged on a little too tough in texture for my liking, but the taste balanced nicely with the sweet potato mash.

Then we have the Soft Shell Crab Curry.

Served to your table and upon first sight, the dish does look rather impressive.

The crispy soft shell crab is served with potatoes and toast, as well as cauliflower to go along with your curry.

The curry here is well-balanced and not all that spicy, and complemented the crab the way you’d expect the country of chilli crab to excel at.

Despite it not being spicy, a curry’s a curry, and halfway through I found myself feeling a little warm.

The perils of having anything with spice in a tropical climate, I suppose.

The toast was quite a hearty slice as well, and with the truffle fries and buffalo wings already licked clean, the crab curry really topped things off.

The curry dish is definitely something not many cafes have ventured into, and I definitely appreciated the food presentation and the uniqueness of the dish if nothing else.

For an afternoon pick-me-up, I opted for the Citrus Iced Tea, a refreshing blend of flavours to offer respite from the tropical surroundings and hearty food.

All in all, Fuel Plus+ is somewhere I could see myself returning and making the trek out to, despite it being out of the way for many islanders.

The cafe’s simple and bright interior was refreshing, and I enjoyed the dishes I tried, and was pleasantly heartened by the decent prices, knowing more and more cafes are inching over the $20 mark as the market gets more and more saturated with cafes opening all around the city.

Of course, Fuel Plus+ isn’t a spanking new cafe, and started a couple years ago, in that time has earned itself a decent following considering it’s location.

It being the sister cafe of many Eastsiders’ popular haunt by the name of Refuel Cafe certainly helps.

But it’s not hard to see why many flock to this space, service was good and efficient, and the food was interesting enough to entice customers to return to try other dishes on the menu.

It could be easy to pass by, tucked behind a main road and largely hidden away, but if you’re craving for decent cafe food after a hike at Mount Faber for example, a trip to Fuel Plus+ wouldn’t go amiss.