Warm Up Cafe

I chanced upon this cafe while looking for a place to settle quick lunch and we went straight for Warm Up Cafe as we saw empty tables and quickly grabbed it which was really rare during peak lunch hours

The cafe is eye-catching with its indoor and outdoor decorations focusing on greenery landscaping. The entire restaurant was designed like an outdoor garden with floor seating available for customers to choose from as well as the usual table and stools which reminds me of small restaurants in Thailand

The menu is really extensive and offers a lot of items which are typically Thai in style and flavour. I like the fact that they have lunch deals as well as a full menu for sharing in large groups. The pricing is really friendly as well. For starters, we ordered fried spring rolls which cost SGD 10. The spring rolls were fried till crispy and perfect as a small bite without being too greasy

We also ordered the grilled chicken wings which came with a nice smokey flavour and infused with a light lemongrass flavour. It is also a good snacking dish with beer or rice

The crispy grilled pork jowl was very flavourful and tasted and is perfect with the Thai glutinous rice. The flavours are authentic compared to the ones I have tasted in Bangkok and the price is also very friendly. The chilli is also great as it gives the meat a spicy punch but not too spicy which makes it hard to manage

One of the lunch specials we had was the creamy crab omelette which came served with rice, some cucumber and vegetables at the same to help balance up the meal. This was a really surprising dish as it was very tasty with the sweetness of the crab coming through with the creamy eggy flavours which was perfect with rice. They were generous with chunks of crab meat in the creamy omelette and the seasoning was also on point

One of my favourite Thai dishes is the basil pork with rice and I will always order this when I visit a Thai restaurant. We ordered the chicken version which was served with rice and topped with a sunny side egg. The chicken has a light spicy kick and light fragrance of the basil leaves but is slightly on the salty side. When paired with rice, it was ok but too salty on its own

They have many noodles dishes in the menu including the mixed seafood Tom Yam noodles which I ordered as I was craving for something soupy. I was slightly disappointed as it was the clear Tom Yam soup styled and not the creamy tom yam base. It has a very strong lime tangy flavour without the tom yam taste. There is a nice topping of minced meat, beansprouts and soft boiled egg. The noodle used is the egg noodles which was springy and great combined with the tom yam soup

One popular order is the boat noodles where you can go for the tasting portion which is just a mouthful versus the full version which is topped up with extra meat and vegetables. There are also pork lard which added another layer of savoury flavour. The noodles were good in picking up the broth which was deep, thick and flavourful

Overall, I like the atmosphere at Warm Up Cafe and the food they offer is very authentic with a very affordable price tag. I would return again to try out other items

Address: 1 Vista Exchange Green, #02-10/11 The Star Vista, Singapore 138617

Opening hours: 11 am to 3 am