If visiting ulu cafes is the order of the day, don’t miss out on Be My Guest that is located at Tai Seng.
Catering to the lunch crowd, this place serves very affordably priced cafe food with a twist.
Unpretentious with a simple design, Be My Guest has a cosy and brightly lit interior but the air-conditioner could have been cooler.
With such a pro-beer propaganda decor, it’s almost impossible to hold yourself back from ordering some booze in the middle of the day.
We started off with the Homemade Spicy Hollandaise Sauce on Tater Tots ($8.50), crispy and sinful with a slight zest from the capers and gherkins that were mixed ins.
The tangy Hollandaise sauce was excellent, slightly spicy thanks to the jalapeno, and wished I could tapao the sauce home to drench my poached eggs in it.
The generously portioned Green Curry Seafood Pasta ($13.80) was made up of linguine, mussels, small prawns, clams and squid. There was a strong aroma of coconut reminiscent of laksa, with a distinctive hint of kaffir lime leaves.
The taste of green curry was definitely present and it was a decently spicy pasta dish.
For fans of mala, try the Lion Prawn Mala Mee Kia ($13.80) that was made from capellini and tiger prawns sauteed with garlic, chilli padi, Sichuan pepper and prawn roe.
I wasn’t sure it hit the perfect spot for its mala-ness but it was spicy (to me, at least). While the seasoning can be improved, I loved that I was having a great prawn to pasta ratio, plus the savoury prawn roe added an interesting mouthfeel to the entire dish too.
I was quite impressed with the Homemade Western Style Pork Belly Bun ($8), served with curry mayo, pork floss and lettuce.
Although it did not look like much, this “modern” version of the traditional kong bak bao (braised pork bun) was pretty unique. The pork’s skin was perfectly crispy without needing much jaw work. Along with the sweet curry paste, pork floss and soft bun, the combination tasted like a match made in heaven.
For an off-menu dessert, we tried the Earl Grey cream puff ($1.50) that often comes with the lunch sets.
Similar to a Hong Kong-style bolo bun, this cream puff has a cookie-like crust on the top, which was quite a new experience for me.
The cream texture was light and had an intense Earl Grey flavour and I am quite sure I haven’t tasted a better cream puff so far (with the same price point).
Inspired by the cafes in Taiwan, Be My Guest have decided to hybridise classic Eastern and Western desserts, which resulted in this Wolfberry & Osmanthus cheesecake ($4.80).
The pleasant mix of floral and herbal ingredients in the whipped cream cheese managed to refresh the palate.
Who would ever think about mixing a Chinese herbal dessert into an indulgent cheesecake? Kudos to the team at this cafe, the end product tasted better than I’ve imagined it to be.
While the location is a little bit out of the place for those who don’t live or work in the East, the affordable prices are nett and the food here is pretty different from mainstream cafe stuff. Plus, the cream puff, crispy pork belly bun and Hollandaise sauce are exceptionally good as well.
I feel like this place has the potential to get crowded pretty soon, so I reckon to check it out while it’s still “hidden”.
Expected Damage: $15 – $25 per pax