Located at Rochester Mall, which is about five minutes walk from the Buona Vista MRT station, Pies & Coffee, offers a wide selection of savoury and sweet gourmet pies, making it a first-of-its-kind cafe in Singapore to specialise in pies. It scores another first by brewing their coffees with an air-infusion coffee machine.
I was recently invited to a food tasting session and went away craving for some of their yummy pies.
Pies & Coffee opened in Feburary this year; pic © Pies & Coffee
The Vibe: Done up in black and white colour scheme, the cafe exudes cool, contemporary chicness. The indoor area sits 20 while the outdoor can accomodate up to 60.
I recommend heading out to the seats next to the water feature; it makes for an ideal spot for chillaxing. Not only is the area well shaded and surrounded by greenery, there's a constant breeze which is so welcoming a hot, humid day. We were told it's often this breezy. Looking at the building structure, it looks like the cafe is located at some sort of a wind tunnel and possibly explains the constant wind blowing through.
Soothing sounds of the water feature and constant breeze create a relaxing atmosphere at this outdoor sitting area; Pic © Pies & Coffee
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Grab a magazine from one these baskets and sit back to enjoy your food and drinks
The food: Pies & Coffee offers 14 delectable pies - eight savoury and six sweet. The savoury pies come in three sizes - K-pies (which is kid-size pies), 4.5 inches and 9 inches. Prices start from S$8.95 for 4.5 inches to $64.95 for the 9 inches pies.
Wagyu Beef Cheek Pie, pic © Pies & Coffee
For the food tasting, we tried the Wagyu Beef Cheek, Lamb Shank, Chicken Cheddar and Laksa Seafood Shepherd Pie.
First, about the pie crust. It is golden and crumbly and has a nice buttery flavour. However, it was slightly on the bland side in my opinion, but not something I would fuss over.
All the pies are packed with a generous amount of fillings. They are served with salad and mashed potato, which taste real and not like the soft, mushy kind you get at some fast-food joints; you can still bite into small bits of potatoes in this one.
Out of the four savoury pies we tried, I thoroughly enjoyed the Chicken Cheddar and absolutely love the Laksa Seafood. The former was creamy, flavourful and has an almost melt-in-the-mouth texture.
Laksa Seafood Shepherd Pie, pic © Pies & Coffee
The Laksa Seafood Shepherd Pie, which is served in a bowl and covered with a mashed potato crust, is probably the first in Singapore and as a laksa lover, I'm head over heels with this one.
Every bite gives you a mouthful of seafood chunks - I could taste scallop, prawn and squid - all cooked to perfection and the gravy is so fragrant and not too spicy. I love it so much that I couldn't leave without getting one for the hubby, which he enjoyed too.
As for the sweet pies, the Macademia Nut Cheese and Chocolate Almond make for good desserts.
By the way, I got to mention the Tomato and Feta Cheese Salad. Though not stated on its menu, the salad comes with pieces of watermelon and adds an extra sweetness and nice crunchy bite to the whole combination that is (much to my surprise) so refreshingly good! It definitely makes it to the must-try list.
Do look out for monthly special pies and festive pies which will be rolled out throughout the year.
Don't like coffee? There's Gryphon teas to gratify the tea lovers, as well as frappes, milkshakes and smoothies. I tried the Avocado Vanilla Cream Milkshake and Crunchy Peanut Butter Milkshake. While I normally love avocado milkshake, in this instance, I actually enjoyed the peanut butter one better. It was so yummylicious!
© Pies & Coffee
Family factor: There are some highchairs for the little ones. I'm told because of the Julia Gabriel school at Rochester Mall, there's usually quite a number of mums who hang out at the cafe. I would agree that it's definitely one of those places where mums can meet up and catch up with one another and the relaxing, laidback vibe certainly encourage that. It's great too, that the cafe serves kid-size pies.
Top right pic: the other outdoor sitting area; right bottom: highchairs for the little ones
Pies & Coffee practices self-service; customers will order, pay and pick up their food and drinks from the counter. That's fine with me. Beats being at some restaurants where they forgot about your orders until you start asking them after a long wait.
With good food and a quiet, relaxing ambience, I'll certainly be back - especially for that Laksa Seafood Pie.
Pies & Coffee
35 Rochester Drive,
#01-02 Rochester Mall
Singapore 138639
Tel: 6570 0080
Opening hours:
9am to 11pm daily
