“No Soggy Corners Here”
Inside PoMo resides the brand new, Sydney-inspired speciality coffee house, Montana Brew Bar. The laid-back coffee scene of Sydney is exactly what the cafe mimics in the otherwise busy city area bustling with schools and offices. Serving all-day brunch style dishes to appeal to the current cafe-hopping, brunch-eating, gourmet-coffee-drinking crowd.
The cosy cafe, complete with wooden furniture and dim lighting is a contrast to the bright shiny interior of the mall it is situated in.
Montana Brew Bar specialises in mainly gourmet brewed coffee and homemade sweet and savoury waffles.
You can choose from 2 brewing methods – the espresso bar and the slow bar, 4 kinds of coffee styles – 2 single origins for drip coffees, and 2 blends for espresso based coffees as well as some other flavoured coffees.
Coffee beans are locally roasted by Common Man Coffee Roasters and features the specialty Montana houseblend.
Mocha ($5), made with the Montana houseblend is an easy-drinking, medium-bodied coffee with mild acidity and just a hint of nuttiness. With very pretty latte art too.
I’ve never been one for savoury waffles, but the house special, the Southern Fried Chicken Waffle Sandwich ($10.50) has made me a convert. Juicy fried chicken with a crispy batter topped with a homemade wasabi coleslaw all sandwiched between two waffle halves. Despite being technically only half a waffle, this thing is a meal in itself. Carbs, protein and vegetables all in one right?
The crispy fried chicken batter is mildly peppery while having very tender meat. The wasabi coleslaw gently cuts the heaviness of the waffle and chicken with its tangy, creamy finish.
The other house special would be the Truffle Mac & Cheese Waffle ($9.50), which I heard was the most difficult to develop. Carbs on carbs, mac & cheese is encased in a much lighter and crisper batter without a soggy corner in sight.
The truffle salt gives the Mac and Cheese waffle plenty of flavour without being too overpowering, with each light bite of macaroni reminding you of this comfort dish we all love. There is a good balance between the waffle and the macaroni and it would have definitely been perfect if it were cheesier, perhaps with some melted mozzarella over it.
The waffles recipe at Montana all in general have a very crispy batter, but with slight chewiness within – the result of 3 different flours being used.
Chocolate Banana Waffle ($10.50). Homemade vanilla bean ice-cream and caramelised bananas sitting on top of a chocolate waffle, finished with a salted caramel sauce and truffle nutella powder. You would never expect truffle and nutella to go together but it was a nice finishing touch that adds that signature scent.
Chocolate, bananas, ice-cream, this is truly a dessert waffle deserving of praise with each ingredient complimenting each other.
Apple Pie Waffle ($9.50). Another classic combination of apple and cinnamon reminiscent of the comforting dessert. Homemade stewed apples and vanilla bean ice-cream. Rather plain Jane and an expected flavour, but still comforting nonetheless – you can’t really go wrong with this combination.
Red Velvet Stack ($10.50). Red coloured waffles with a tinge of cocoa layered with vanilla ice-cream drizzled with white chocolate rose sauce. I would have liked the classic cream cheese and cocoa combination instead rather than the rose syrup used, which came off a little heavy. This is a personal preference though, and I know many others who like the rose syrup flavour.
A very pretty dessert though, and only limited portions are available each day. Still, baked in the signature crispy waffle batter which never disappoints.
If you fancy a good crisp waffle (which I’m sure many of us do) and gourmet coffee, head down to Montana Brew Bar to get your fix. The savoury waffles do make good meals on their own and are definitely value-for-money.
While the waffle batter used for each waffle is slightly different, it’s consistently light and crisp which shows the R&D effort put in to create this batter. The waffles itself and the coffee are reason enough for me to be back.
Look out for special discounts seasonally while students get 10% off when you show your student pass too.
Expected damage: $15-$25 per pax
