Five & Dime Cafe Review

If you’ve read my latest article on the 45 Singapore cafes you have to visit once in your lifetime then you would know that I’m an avid fan of cafe hopping and the laid back atmosphere they provide for their diners.

And so we decided to pop by Five and Dime for brunch yesterday! It was a pretty arduous trek from Somerset station to their branch, especially in Singapore’s heat.

Five and Dime has a really simple menu boasting dishes from the all-day breakfast menu, sides, drinks and desserts. It didn’t take us long to choose what we wanted.

The Food

Mentaiko Pasta

First up! Mentaiko Pasta ($18)! I was so eager to get this from the menu cos it seemed like a crowd’s favorite and it’s pretty rare to see in menus. It was tossed in mentaiko sauce before further topped with fish roe.

Forgive me but I wasn’t really a fan of their version of mentaiko pasta. The spaghetti was al dente alright, but it was too salty for me I raised the white flag after a couple of bites. My dining partner agreed too, but for the sake of not wasting it, she cleared the plate.

If it was less salty, this dish would be fab.

Big Brekkie

Of course we had to order their Big Brekkie ($22) with it’s stellar description on the menu.

I loved toasts. Furthermore theirs came thick and nicely toasted, of course I digged their version. Mushrooms were done well, not tasteless like some other places and so I cleared my partner’s and my portion (whoops!). I actually loved the beans, ‘cept for the fact that they were too salty (again).

Banana Tart

Since we were staying for the afternoon, we decided to give their desserts a try and the Banana Tart ($12) written on their blackboard specials sounded interesting to me. So we got one! I was expecting a tart like the usual small round ones. I didn’t expect it to come presented in a pie version and topped with vanilla ice cream which was perfect for the hot weather.

Think custard topped on buttery pie crust topped with creamy bananas and finally a ball of cool ice cream.

We also got a Matcha Milkshake ($12) because we love all things Matcha.

Yes, you did not see it wrongly, the milkshake IS 12 bucks. That’s what i couldn’t believe too when I received the bill. We didn’t expect the price for just a cup of milkshake to cost us what could get us a breakfast dish elsewhere. Same applies for the banana tart.

Both were blackboard specials and the price wasn’t written down so we weren’t aware. But anyway, back to the milkshake. It actually tasted like Spinelli’s green tea creme drink to me. My dining partner commented that the Matcha taste wasn’t very pronounced *sighsigh*, maybe we should have tried their coffees instead.

I love the details Five and Dime made to set the whole cafe in a christmas-sy mood. The staff were dressed with reindeer and santa headbands which I found too cute to resist. *inserts crazed hearts-in-the-eyes face*