Builders At Sims Review: Affordable French-inspired Dishes Under A HDB Block

Join the latest food fad under a HDB block

A 10-minute walk from Aljunied MRT station, Builders at Sims is situated under a old HDB flat amidst a kopitiam and mama shops. Opened by former Tiong Bahru Bakery head chef Joey Lim, this cosy cafe serves French-inspired food without burning a hole in your pocket.

With exciting options such as Crab Pasta ($12.90) made with crab bisque and a deliciously sinful Carbonara ($10.90) topped with sous vide egg, the menu here is tight but enough for us to spend ages deciding what to pick. Thankfully, we were asked to order and pay at the counter so no poor waiter was standing around waiting for us to make up our minds.

Mains at Builders at Sims

After much deliberation, we went ahead with Ratatouille ($10.90), a highly-raved vegetarian friendly option. The tagliatelle pasta was cooked perfectly al dente but the dish was a little too heavy handed on the butter. Taste-wise, it far surpassed our expectations as every bite was bursting with umami goodness.

We also went for a hearty burger. Made using Australian grass-fed beef, Wagyu Beef Burger ($16.90) came with a generous portion of curly fries that didn’t turn soggy and limp even after 30 minutes.

Sandwiched between soft brioche buns, the thick and juicy beef patty was topped with cheese, mayo, caramelized onions, gherkins, tomatoes and fresh greens to cut through the greasiness.

Drinks and desserts at Builders At Sims

This is definitely The Dish to order if you’re coming here. My favorite item of the day, French Toast ($9.80) came with 4 thick brioche cubes topped with a generous serving of berry coulis and a huge scoop of French Vanilla ice-cream at the side.

After cooking, each piece is coated with a thin layer of sugar and then brûléed, giving it a crisp, caramelized crust with a soft and fluffy interior. Sweet and crunchy, cold and creamy yet warm and comforting at the same time, this dessert was a party for our palates.

Builders at Sims is one of the first cafes in Singapore to hop on the global coffee in a cone trend. Highly instagrammable, Coffee Cone Latte ($7) is a crisp waffle cone with an interior coated with smooth, bittersweet dark chocolate before being filled with latte. Being the dark chocolate and coffee lover I am, this appealed to my adventurous taste buds.

We were advised to consume the coffee within 10 minutes otherwise the waffle cones would get soggy. For an optimal taste experience, I suggest waiting a couple of minutes to allow the heat from the coffee to slightly melt the dark chocolate before drinking it straight from the cone. I enjoyed the chocolate coated waffle cone much more than the coffee, which I felt was a tad too weak.

The Verdict

Being a resident of the West, the location of this cafe is not the most accessible. Also, they only accept cash so remember to pop by an ATM before heading down. Nevertheless, for the excellent service, delicious food and nett prices, this is one cafe that I would return to.

This is an independent review with all expenses borne by Eatbook.sg.