Bread Yard, one-north: “The Beef Shakshuka has so much razzle-dazzle for eggs & tomatoes”

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a major crisis over sharing this place. If sharing Urban Table was hard, divulging Bread Yard is ten times more difficult. Forgive me if I get dramatic. 

Bread Yard is incontestably my favourite cafe in Singapore, not just for the fact that I used to work here, but also for the food that never disappoints. A cosy family-run cafe at Fusionopolis, they’ve been growing in popularity over the past few months (much to my congratulations and chagrin).

In fact, on Saturdays, you’ll find an endless queue of customers clamouring for their brunch fix here. Luckily, they recently managed to expand to the shop space opposite the main cafe to accommodate more customers. Despite all the changes from the Bread Yard I knew last year, the food consistently maintains its delicious and palatable flare. 

Established by Ivan Ting in 2011, he initially visualised his business as a fish sandwich shop. Following his discovery of bread-making and a colossal amount of determination, Bread Yard was born. The rest, as they say, is history.

What I tried

To my delight, they brought out the Beef Kofta Shakshuka (S$16) that I’d been hankering to try. From their previous shakshuka that came with sausage, this Beef Kofta edition felt like a classy, juicy upgrade.

Still sizzling in the pan when it arrived, this dish was a chorus of spicy heat with the occasional creaminess. Grandly nestled smack in the middle of a tomato and red pepper sauce, the hunk of beef kofta reliably established itself as the main textural contrast here.

Poached eggs, pristine white cubes of feta cheese and a dollop of basil pesto flanked the meatloaf. For a final oomph, a deck of sumac onions crowned the dish with a drizzle of cilantro oil. So much razzle-dazzle for eggs and tomatoes.

Bread Yard has definitely thought through the flavour and texture combination well. I definitely satisfied my proclivity for spicy-sour flavours here, as the tomato base brought a mounting torrent of heat with each mouthful. For that, the creamy contrast from the feta cheese definitely came in useful to temper the fire. If there’d been a few more cubes of feta, it would have balanced the tang perfectly.

As the shakshuka cooled down, there emerged a slightly bitter note that I’d attributed to the red peppers. Though that might be off-putting to some, the bitterness does tie in to this dish’s fiendish flavour profile. 

For the vegetarians, you can switch the beef out for an equally satisfying Mushroom Shakshuka (S$16).

Amidst the acidic assault from the Beef Kofta Shakshuka, the Mushroom Bacon Truffle Alfredo (S$16) was a welcome balm. This pasta tasted as rich as its name suggests, with the full-bodied aroma of truffle oil permeating throughout the creamy sauce and clinging to the perfectly al dente linguine. As the sauce had a thick enough consistency that did not dry out, it was easy to savour even after it’d sat out for a while.

As scrumptious as this pasta was, though, its sheer richness definitely makes it one for sharing. Since the Beef Kofta Shakshuka and the Mushroom Bacon Truffle Alfredo complement each other like an old married couple, I highly recommend that you get both to share if you come to Bread Yard with someone.

Vegetarians also have the option to swap out bacon for more mushrooms here. We love us some herbivorous representation.

Of the whole spread, though, the Ham & Cheese Croissant (S$14) turned out to be the most enduring in terms of taste. While everything else had such strong flavour profiles that threatened to overwhelm at the delicate point of diminishing returns, this Ham & Cheese Croissant stayed reliable and trustworthy. 

My mother has repeatedly ordered the Ham & Cheese Croissant for every of our stay-at-home Bread Yard brunches. The ingenuity of this sandwich that keeps her so faithful—no matter how much she resolves to try something new each time—is the finely mandoline red apple slices tucked inside. Bite into the familiar ham and cheese combo to find a secretively sweet and crisp freshness hidden in the midst. 

Final thoughts

Addictive and scrumptious food aside, Bread Yard is very simply my happy place. I’m grateful for the caring and kind people I’ve met here; I think that makes up a large part of the Bread Yard lifestyle. Though they’re no longer the secret hideout I used to know them for, their growing popularity is warranted and I’d recommend them highly to anyone.  

If one-north is too out of the way for you, fall back on trusty delivery to treat yourself to brunch at home, or simply sign up for a bread and pastry subscription. That being said, Bread Yard is more than worth a round-island trip for. 

And now that I’m ruined for cafes, excuse me while I have a lie-down to compose myself. 

ChopeDeals: Save 15% at Bread Yard >

Expected Damage: S$10 – S$18 per pax