Salut Coffeeshop is the hipster concept for a coffeeshop, located just opposite IKEA at Alexandra. It may not be the most convenient place, but just the tenant mix itself makes it worth at least a visit. It isn't your ordinary coffee shop so don't count on finding your fried carrot cake or chicken rice here. The "hawkers" here serve up international cuisine that used to be only found at restaurants at mid-range pricing. The place is often crowded once it opens at 6pm, especially on weekends, but you can make reservations in advance to avoid queuing.
Of note is the German stall Stew Kuche, which hawks German grub like the ginormous pork knuckle we witnessed served at other tables; Immanuel French Kitchen dishing out affordable French cuisine and also the stall Two Wings, serving up the crispy chicken wings that has helped Salute to become renowned locally. Most recently, a new stall called Juicy Lucy Burgers have also started operations there.
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| Jack The Ripper Menu |
Immanuel French Kitchen
Immanuel French kitchen is run by Chef Immanuel Tee, who previously worked for the now-defunct Keystone restaurant and the likes of Guy Savoy Singapore. Going by the price range of below $10 for an appetizer to less than $20 for most of its mains, French food here is a steal, if you are willing to do away with the chi-chi-ness of a French restaurant.
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| Immanuel French Kitchen Menu |
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| Burgundy Escargots ($12.90) with pickled cucumber and bread |
The garlic butter that accompanied the de-shelled baked escargots was delectable. The sauce is what makes all the difference for this two-element dish. It does not pale in comparison to the versions from restaurants, if not, even better than some.
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| Duck Rilette ($8.90) |
Rilettes are also on the menu. As basic as this dish is in France, it is uncommonly seen here, even in some 'French' eateries. What more, at a price below $10. Rilettes are French meats chopped, salted and then cooked to tenderness such that they can be spread but with a less smooth texture because of the meat fibers. Only my second time at rilettes, but my more experienced foodie companions tell me that these were more than decent. Spread on a crusty baguette, take a small pickle to accompany it and pop it in your mouth. Ooh lala.
Two Wings
As there is a lot of hype over the chicken wings here, a small part of me was bracing for disappointment, like so many times it has for over-hyped food. The golden chicken wings came presented in a 'hipster' style; on a brown wooden chopping board good enough for an Instagram shot. They are apparently fried fresh on order, so it explained the scalding wing. It is delightfully less greasy than we expected. A bite into it, and I could understand the hype. Crunchy, crispy, less greasy skin gives way to a tender, juicy meat interior. The seasoning isn't heavy, but it is sufficiently right to accentuate the chicken wing. I nearly couldn't stop at one, but I had to, because we ordered just sufficiently.
Worth every bit of the hype. This may possibly be the best chicken wings I have had, even though it may be pricey at $2+ a wing. The stall does sell other menu items like fries and finger food, but really, just order more of the chicken wings
In The Brickyard
In the middle of Salute is this cake stall opened by a former SHATEC-trained chef. The pastries are baked by the young chief baker himself, who graduated from At-Sunrice. On display are cupcakes, cake slices and also some other tea time nibbles such as cookies. The flavours here are tantalising, such as the Ondeh ondeh cupcake and Pulut Hitam cupcake.
The Ondeh Ondeh cupcake tasted just like ondeh ondeh would in cake form. In the middle, there is a slight flow of gula melaka from the cake core. As we were sharing, we chose to get the sliced cake instead of the cupcake for the highly-recommended Pulut Hitam. Pulut Hitam is a dessert made from glutinous rice and drizzled with a top of coconut cream. Our faces lit up around the table on the first mouth.
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| Ondeh Ondeh Cupcake ($3.50) and Pulut Hitam Sliced Cake ($6.50) |
His cakes have an even crumb and the frosting was light and fluffy without being overly sweet. This is easily one of the best cupcakes I have had and definitely worth returning for.
Note that you have to queue and get assigned to a table, not like your average kopitiam where you just walk in and plonk down. As a tip, go right when it opens at 6pm to avoid the long queue, which has become a common sight outside the coffeeshop.
- Salute Coffeeshop
- Blk 119, Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-40, S151119
- For opening hours, go to the respective stall's Facebook pages.
Immanuel French kitchen is run by Chef Immanuel Tee, who previously worked for the now-defunct Keystone restaurant and the likes of Guy Savoy Singapore. Going by the price range of below $10 for an appetizer to less than $20 for most of its mains, French food here is a steal, if you are willing to do away with the chi-chi-ness of a French restaurant.
As there is a lot of hype over the chicken wings here, a small part of me was bracing for disappointment, like so many times it has for over-hyped food. The golden chicken wings came presented in a 'hipster' style; on a brown wooden chopping board good enough for an Instagram shot. They are apparently fried fresh on order, so it explained the scalding wing. It is delightfully less greasy than we expected. A bite into it, and I could understand the hype. Crunchy, crispy, less greasy skin gives way to a tender, juicy meat interior. The seasoning isn't heavy, but it is sufficiently right to accentuate the chicken wing. I nearly couldn't stop at one, but I had to, because we ordered just sufficiently.
In the middle of Salute is this cake stall opened by a former SHATEC-trained chef. The pastries are baked by the young chief baker himself, who graduated from At-Sunrice. On display are cupcakes, cake slices and also some other tea time nibbles such as cookies. The flavours here are tantalising, such as the Ondeh ondeh cupcake and Pulut Hitam cupcake.
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