The HashTag Cafe Adventure!!!

The HashTag Cafe Adventure!

Here's to another Halal blog post! This time around let's dive into the Cafe paradise of Bugis! Now, we all know Bugis is littered with cafes but not many of them are Muslim-owned and/or halal certified so this is great news for all my Muslims readers! They are one of the newest cafe around as they just opened their doors on 27th July 2018!

Getting there from Bugis MRT was not a problem as we all have access to Google maps and spotting this pretty little gem was not a problem because of the clean looking entrance. Really subtly eye-catching!

Upon entering, we were warmly greeted and were guided to our table as we had made a reservation (reservation not compulsory). The staffs were really helpful throughout and cared for our comfort in their lovely cafe. For example, we were asked if the aircon temperature was optimum as it was quite a warm evening. More about the staff services below.

The menu was wide enough to cover an array of palates and small enough to know that they painstakingly hand-crafted each and every dish. The price, however, was a tad on the high side compared to the average price of cafe foods in Singapore. The difference is the quality of ingredients used as their menu features premium items such as Wagyu Beef, Norwegian Salmon, Fern-fed Ribeye steak, premium Striploin beef & even Lobster! What's more is that there is no GST & service charge so the price you see is the price you pay. The menu can be found below, click to enlarge.

My friends and I decided to share the Has#tag I & YOU Platter before ordering our mains. The price point of $21.90 shared among 4 people is worth it as we get tempura fish, freshly made onion rings, tempura prawns & breaded scallops, all of which is accompanied with a home-made tartar dip. Highly recommended to get your tummy craving for the mains!

We got 3 mains and I am surprised to say the best of the three was the one I least expected! The 3 mains we ordered was the Has#tag Burgs ($38.90), the Szechuan NZ Ribeye ($36.90) & the Boston Lobster($44.90)! We also got a Wafflicious ($14.90) as what is a post without waffles? Before we get on to the mains, let's talk about the waffle. I was not expecting much from the waffle as I had some pretty good waffles and the bar was set quite high but to my amazement, the Waffleicious got my seal of approval as the waffle batter was subtly sweet & fragrant due to a hint of pandan I suppose. The waffle was of a beautiful golden & the texture was also just right as it was crisp on the outside & soft in the middle (qualities of a great waffle). This was seriously worth the try if you are here! #Worth

Now for the mains, the Has#tag burgs remind me of the Krabby Patty from SpongeBob as it is almost an exact visual representation of it. The fresh crisp vegetables with the stringy melty cheese atop the Wagyu patty is a delight to have as the patty is cooked to a nice medium rare. The buns are solid and hold its integrity without being stale and no flaws can be found with its sidewinder fries. In short, the Has#tag Burg is a nice burger with actual Wagyu beef in it but at that price point, I believe better burgers could be found.

The Szechuan NZ ribeye was the dish that surprised me the most as not only the meat was cooked perfectly rare as requested but that the ribeye was tender and juicy. The Szechuan sauce was to die for as it was well balanced and had just the right amount of spice. This delightful sauce with the tender steak only can mean one thing; this is a great steak dish. The accompanying sweet potato fries were also great and this only adds up to this dish! Highly recommend!

The Boston Lobster was the one I got as it is rare to encounter lobster in a cafe menu! The lobster was halved and coated with cheese & served with butter brioche and sweet potato fries. The brioche was fragrant and buttery while the sweet potato fries were the best thing on that plate and that is not a good sign as I found that the lobster was very dry & was not up to par with my expectations. The lobster meat was not sweet & in my personal opinion was overcooked. I gave them my feedback for them to take into consideration & improve the lobster. They took my feedback very seriously and I hope that an improvement was to be made to the lobster as I would not order it again if the standard of the lobster is still the same.

All in all, the food was very pleasing except the lobster but I strongly believe that they are putting in the effort to improve it. My best takeaway from the cafe was the attitude and the effort the staffs put for their customer's comfort & convenience as they were always ready to attend to the customers & are willing to go the extra mile for them. So Kudos to the service at the HashTag Cafe!!! Would like to re-visit the cafe in the future as they have all the traits & potential to be one of the best cafes in the area.

The HashTag Cafe
Address: 743 North Bridge Road, Singapore 198711
Opening Hours: Sunday-Thursday (11am to 10pm), Friday (3pm to 11pm), (11am to 11pm) 
Mobile: 9722 4628
Website: http://hashtagcafe.sg/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehashtagcafesg/
Email: hashtagcafesg@gmail.com