The Food Peeps Coffee and Deli: Rustic Cafe Moves to Chinatown
If you remember, I visited The Food Peeps Coffee and Deli at the tail-end of 2020, back when they were at Maxwell House. They had several interesting dishes, like Beef Rendang Toast. Food was simple but good, I enjoyed that they fused interesting flavours closer to home with typical brunch classics. And yet there didn’t seem to be much fanfare about them online, at least not compared to the shinier big boys.
Fast forward to 2022— they’ve now moved to Chinatown along Sago St, Tiktok has made multiple cafes go viral (and this one’s been making the rounds), Singaporeans have nowhere else to go, and this combination of factors made for a 1 hour wait for a table just before 12pm on a Saturday afternoon.
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The new location feels like the sign of a renewed energy.
The space is bigger, the decor more focused, word is buzzing, and visitors are flocking.
Back when they were at Maxwell House, the decor and theme was pretty standard. It was still a pretty cafe, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t different.
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This time, honing in to the storied streets of Chinatown, they’ve gone for an updated, more retro aesthetic (because there’s nothing more on trend than being vintage), with a courtyard decked out in a vivid shade of green and decorated with potted plants around.
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And it’s this sunlit courtyard that’s really pushed their virality factor, so good for them I say!
Surprisingly, the staff recognised me from all those years back, which was quite heartwarming.
In a world where cafe prices have risen further and further — often exceeding restaurant pricing — to be greeted with prices at about $15 nett for food is truly rare to find.
There’s still a decent range of food on offer, with toasts, waffles , breakfast plates, pancakes, bagelwiches, pastas and salads.
Last time, we tried the Rendang on Toast (S$12) and Spicy Garlic Prawn Burger (S$15), which are still on the menu, with the Rendang on Toast now setting you back S$14 instead.
This go around, we had the Rendang Pasta (S$15) and Omelette “Crepe” (S$15).
The Rendang Pasta features linguine topped with slow-cooked beef rendang and cilantro. While the plate may not look huge, there’s actually quite a generous amount of beef. Flavours are pretty consistent from my last visit, relatively simple but interesting dishes done well.
The Omelette “Crepe” is served with wilted spinach, creamy avocado, multigrain toast, and comes with a choice of either smoked salmon or mushrooms. Likewise, these are familiar flavours typical to most brunch plates, and it was good.
I tried the Iced Matcha Latte (S$6) and you can choose your level of sweetness here.
Overall, The Food Peeps Coffee and Deli remains a nice spot to have brunch and coffee. Food is straightforward and simple, they’re not reinventing the wheel with the menu but the touches of Asian flavours here and there are quite nice.
Prices remain fair; you’d be hard pressed to find a cafe in town these days that has food for around S$15 nett, so that in itself is a massive trump card. It’s nice to see how they’re now more popular than ever, with Tiktok really pushing them to the forefront of the current wave of new cafes.
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WHERE | 34 SAGO ST, #01-01, SINGAPORE 059026
