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I used to think only of the famous white bee hoon in Sembawang, until I discovered Common Chefs Bistro. Run by a young couple who aim to provide quality comfort food that will not hurt your wallet, these dishes will definitely keep you coming back for more.
Situated just opposite the white bee hoon stall, Common Chefs has a comparable queue-time. When we arrived at the cafe at 1pm, it was already brimming with people, and more hungry customers joining the queue outside.
It wasn’t our first time at Common Chefs, but they are launching a new menu soon, so we had to make our way down to try the new dishes.
The grey and woody walls and furniture inside make for great backgrounds for your photos. This cosy space can surprisingly fit up to 40 people and boasts a great ambience for a chilled out brunch.
If you’ve never had (or heard of) a wazza, you’ve come to the right place. A wazza, as the name suggests, is a waffle + pizza. We tried two variations of this fusion comfort food.
The Okonomiyaki Wazza ($11) comes with a waffle base, topped with a generous amount of tuna flakes and mozzarella cheese before a blanket of tamago covers it all. The classic Japanese Tonkotsu sauce and mayonnaise was then slathered on along with a garnish of Bonito flakes.
For its price, the amount of tuna given was pretty generous. The dish tasted authentically Japanese and there was no fishy taste at all. However, do note that the waffle base slants towards being more fluffy and soft instead of crispy, so if you’re a fan of the former, you’ll love this.
The Big Breakfast Wazza ($12) is perfect for hearty brunch eaters who like their food with the sweet and savoury combination. The waffle had a strong maple taste, giving the entire dish a bit of sweetness.
This sweetness was then balanced with crispy bacon, sauteed mushrooms and mozzarella cheese. The sunny-side up egg served on top also made for an Insta-worthy shot.
I personally preferred the Okonomiyaki Wazza as I am not a fan of the sweet-savoury combination. If these two wazzas do not tickle your fancy, there is also a meat-free option, the Go Green Wazza ($10) for vegetarians.
If wazzas are too “out there” for you, try the Rich Man ($16) which comes with two buttery brioche buns sandwiching a homemade chorizo patty, sauteed mushrooms, smoked cheddar, caramelised onions and truffle scrambled eggs. A pitcher of nacho cheese sauce is also served with it (talk about hearty!).
The crispy tater tots were a delight — perfectly crispy little pockets of joy. I was never a fan of chorizo due to the blend of spices used, but this chorizo patty did not have that overpowering taste.
The truffle taste really came through in the eggs as well, so you know they’re not using any of that cheap, fake stuff. The portion of nacho cheese sauce was huge and it was almost too much for the entire dish. Almost.
We also tried the Fish Goujons Taco ($12) which comes with crispy dory fish nuggets on a bed of lettuce, before being topped off with tomato salsa, raisins and a special Mexican mayonnaise. We felt that the raisins were out of place though, and the dish would have been perfect without it.
The Prawn Taco ($14) comes with the exact same mix-ins as the fish taco. The prawns are seasoned with smoked paprika that gave them quite a bit of kick and were grilled to perfection. We could also tell that the prawns were fresh, none of that mushy, powdery nonsense.
All these dishes left us extremely satisfied and happy. Make your way down to try these yummy flavour combinations and do make sure to try some other dishes from the existing menu, which are just as delicious!
Expected damage: $12 – $20 per pax
