Moonchild Review: New Aesthetic Cafe In Jalan Besar With Cereal Prawn Pasta And More

Moonchild is a new Jalan Besar cafe with dan dan noodles and more

The newest kid on the cafe block in town is Moonchild, the latest in a slew of cafes under the Atlas Coffeehouse group. They’ve gone the intrepid explorer route with Columbus Coffee Co., and celestial with Supernova and Neptune; this latest cafe takes on a hippie energy that is just characteristically at odds with the Jalan Besar ‘hood.

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Food at Moonchild

The menu is split into two: The Morning Situation, which runs from 9am to 3pm, and Midday To Close, for the rest of the day. From the first, we tried Potato Stack, Smoked Salmon & Poached Eggs ($21.90++), which departed from your typical eggs Benny and rosti dishes situation.

Unlike rosti, which sees shredded potato fried into discs, these potato stacks comprise layers of thinly sliced potato stacked and—most probably—confit and pressed, before they’re sliced and fried to crisp, flaky ends.

It was an excellent pairing with perfectly poached eggs, savoury smoked salmon, and light Hollandaise sauce. Further flavour came in the form of fresh dill and a caper vinaigrette, which added bursts of brininess.

While the potato stack eggs Benny is still somewhat classic a cafe dish,  the Pork Dan-Dan Scallion Noodles ($21++) most definitely aren’t. You’ll first and foremost smell the Sichuan pepper in the mala crisp pork that goes on top of the noodles, though the mala isn’t obvious when it’s all mixed in together.

Accompanying the mala pork are braised shiitake and grilled mushrooms which add earthy depths to the noodles, while julienned cucumber and diced long beans bring freshness. The knife-cut noodles are said to be dressed in a scallion sauce, but we felt this leaned more gingery instead, which was interesting nonetheless.

When we were served our order of Cereal Prawn ($20.90++) spaghetti, we were taken aback by how it looked—rather carelessly put together, with a generous sprinkle of cereal crumbs, and small-ish IQF (individually quick frozen) prawns somewhat hastily thrown in on the side.

However, we must say that this tasted a whole lot better than it looked, with the pasta being just the right touch of al dente being a nice plus.

There’s a comprehensive selection of drinks at Moonchild, of which we went for Earl Grey Iced Tea w/ Milkstache ($7.50++)—a fabulously refreshing drink, aromatic with bergamot. We also tried their Einspanner ($7.60++), a Viennese classic.

Ambience at Moonchild

It’s hard to miss the cafe in its corner unit right on the main road with its hanging lightbox signs, pixellating in and out of the bright red Moonchild logo, in its 1960s hippy font.

There’s both an air-conditioned dining area and a concrete-and-wood al fresco space which you can choose between—both are gorgeous in their own ways. Ordering is done via QR code on each table. Moonchild is a nine-minute walk from Bendemeer MRT Station.

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The verdict

As far as cafes go, Moonchild does have unique dishes, as well as classic items such as buttermilk waffles and more. It doesn’t hurt that the space screams #aesthetic, and is spaciously appointed so you won’t feel cramped even when it’s full. We enjoyed the drinks and the potato stack, while the Asian-inspired dishes weren’t too shabby—but our bill came up to almost $100.

If you love cafe hopping, we’ve got a roundup of the best cafes in Singapore to visit. If you’re in Jewel, check out the newest Keong Saik Bakery outlet there!

Address: 351 Jalan Besar, #01-01, Singapore 208988
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 9am to 10pm, Sun 9am to 7pm
Tel: 6592 4755
Website
Moonchild is not a halal-certified eatery

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Photos taken by Casandra Nicholas.
This was an independent visit by Eatbook.sg