@3: New Minimalist White Swedish Cafe at Kampong Bahru
In the Outram Park area, the streets of Keong Saik and Craig St have always been the more exciting part to be, with many established delightful cafes and bustling bars, whereas the stretch of Kampong Bahru shophouses have largely been a bit forgotten.
These days though, with Kream & Kensho, the newly revamped Strangers’ Reunion, and now @3, a new achingly aesthetic Swedish themed cafe, this street of rustic shophouses has become an up-and-coming spot for cafe hoppers.
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@3 is several doors down from the aforementioned Kream & Kensho and Strangers’ Reunion, and about a 5 minute walk from Outram Park MRT station.
With a mix of textured and clean white walls, light wood furniture and a wonderfully uncrowded layout, @3 feels like an immediately relaxing and inviting space to while away an afternoon.
Over on the menu, you can find a mix of salads, sandwiches, meatball dishes, and other relatively simple mains, possibly a limitation on the size of the kitchen if it’s anything like what the staff at Strangers’ Reunion mentioned before.
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Prices are mostly under S$20, like the Smoked Salmon Salad (S$15), Skagen Toast (S$18), Swedish Meatball with Potatoes (S$18), and the Daglig Lunch / Daily Lunch specials running from S$12 to S$16, and the Viking Frukost / Viking Breakfast available only on weekends for S$24.
We decided to opt for the Daily Special instead, which you’ll have to enquire about in-store, and we had the Swedish Cabbage Casserole (S$12) on the day of our visit.
I was expecting a baked meat dish in a deep pan, but in true Swedish style, it came plated with a side of mashed potatoes, salad, and lingonberry jam.
As a hearty meat dish, I definitely appreciated the side of salad the casserole came with. And whilst the dish was nice, and certainly not something you can find at just any cafe in Singapore, I would have liked a bit more jam just to balance out the flavours a little. The potatoes were just the right texture and were not too mushy.
Coffee here is provided by Gringo Nordic Coffee Roasters, a specialty coffee roasting company based in Gothenburg, Sweden.
However, I opted to go for the Iced Matcha Latte (S$6.50) which came in a unique and beautiful glass. Coupled with a cute little wooden serving tray, I definitely have to commend their effort in presentation.
The matcha latte was not sweetened with sugar syrup nor was it overly milky, striking just the right balance without being too bitter.
What surprised me about @3 is that it isn’t packed full just yet, perhaps due to it’s newness— but with such a beautiful space in a prime location, I will not be surprised if more discover this little hideout soon.
In terms of Swedish themed cafes, I do hold Fika at Beach Road in quite a high regard, especially since they’ve been around for years. Fika definitely does have a much wider variety of food on the menu, whilst @3’s dishes are a bit more simple and feel a bit more homely, but you do pay for that premium over at Fika so all in all, @3 is definitely a worthy competitor.
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WHERE | 63 KAMPONG BAHRU ROAD, SINGAPORE 169369
