Review: Touchwood Breakfast Bar is a weekend-only Joo Chiat spot worth waking up early for

The backstory

Does the name Brotherbird Bakehouse ring a bell?

The popular bakery, known for its mochi croissants and its outlets in Tampines 1 and Raffles City Shopping Centre, are the ones behind Touchwood. Case in point, the Instagram account for its now-defunct cafe concept Brotherbird Coffeehouse has since been taken over by Touchwood since its opening in March.

We understand that it’s a weekend-only concept for now, as the Crane Road premises are used to produce croissants for its outlets on weekdays, with a bit more capacity for the team to explore something different — that is, the breakfast bar — on weekends.

Touchwood’s setup is largely geared toward takeaways, and whatever seating there is, is mainly outdoors on camping chairs, with a few standing tables inside for a quick bite, giving the whole place a breezy outdoor market kind of charm.

The menu is small and organised in a way that makes ordering easy.

Rather than Brotherbird’s signature croissants, Touchwood wants to — in its own words — “make English muffins great again”, and spotlights the English muffin alongside other standard bakes such as scones and Danishes (from S$5) displayed at the counter.

Its more substantial English muffin breakfast sandwiches start from S$10, and the concept offers combos, too, coupling a regular bake or sandwich with one drink. 

Our verdict

I like Touchwood and how casual it feels — like a more personal, stripped-back (menu-wise) side project compared to the mainstream Brotherbird brand. The reputation behind it gives you confidence before you’ve even taken a bite. 

The staff are helpful and great, the branding is charming, and the whole whole experience feels refined, yet still has that no-frills, unpretentious quality.

That said, come early, right when it opens at 8am if possible! It has been known to sell out of more popular bakes, so arriving after lunch could leave you with fewer options than you’d like. 

It’s worth mentioning that Touchwood occasionally opens on selected public holidays as well — my visit was on Good Friday, for example — so you’d want to stay tuned to its socials for the latest opening schedule. 

What it’s good for

Take what you know about English muffins and toss it out the window. (Yes, I love my McDonald’s breakfast muffins, but this is in a different league.) 

Touchwood’s corn-crusted English muffin (S$5.50) is so good that you can eat it on its own — but once you try it with Touchwood’s housemade spreads of garlic cream cheese and raspberry jam which come free with the muffin — you’ll be very glad you did so, too.

The exterior is crunchy and golden, coated in coarse cornmeal that adds a sandy, slightly rustic texture against the soft, well-risen insides. The crumb is light and fluffy with a bit of chew, perfect with the rich garlic cream cheese and tart raspberry jam.

If the corn-crusted muffin tells you what Touchwood can do with just its bread, the egg, bacon and onion English muffin sandwich (S$10) shows you what happens when it builds on that solid foundation.

Think egg mayo sandwich but elevated. 

Here, you get crisp and savoury bacon bits, spring onion, and sauteed onions, all smashed together with soft creamy boiled egg and just the right amount of tangy-spicy-sweet goodness from a bit of chilli jam and lemon aioli. 

It’s hearty and everything I basically like in a sandwich.

Some might scoff at paying $5 for a single scone, but the maple malted scone (S$5) is one of Touchwood’s signatures, so I had to get one for the road. 

Built on buttermilk and maple syrup, this is very well done with a scone’s characteristic crumbly crust, but the insides are more fluffy and buttery than many scones I’ve had that are sometimes dense and dry.

Onto its more substantial bakes: I’ve always liked the Danishes at Brotherbird, but those have always been quite simply sweet. Touchwood’s tomato and cheese Danish (S$6), however, feels a bit more considered. 

The pastry has proper crisp, distinct layers on the outside that shatter slightly when you bite in, while the inside stays soft and buttery. 

Sitting in the middle is a bed of cheddar filling, a soft, savoury, and cheesy base that anchors everything without being heavy. It’s topped off with a handful of fresh cherry tomatoes — including a yellow one that’s noticeably sweeter than the rest — that adds on to the umami of the cheddar base.

If you need something sweet to counter the savoury bites, don’t sleep on the lemon pound cake (S$5.50) that sits quietly at the corner of the display.

Fragrant and bright with lemon throughout, this is a well-balanced moist and soft pound cake with fairly large crumbs, and there’s a light glaze over the top that adds a light touch of tangy sweetness without going too far. 

This is one of those food items that goes so far when paired with coffee… which brings me to the drinks, which is essentially a very small menu of orange juice, black or white coffee, and English breakfast tea.

When it comes to pairing with bakes, an iced black (S$6.50) is always the go to for me. Touchwood’s version punches with blueberry notes upfront — sweet, herbaceous, and a little jammy, followed by a chocolatey finish. 

The flat white (S$6) is the quieter option — milky, mild, and nutty, with just a hint of fruit in the background. Both are simple but very well-made.

Yes, the fresh orange juice (S$6) costs a lot more than the S$2 ones from the Ijooz machine probably a short walk away, but the difference is immediately obvious. 

This is proper freshly-squeezed juice. It’s smooth, balanced, and refreshing without too much sweetness or sharp tartness that you might find elsewhere. 

This goes down easy and is just so good on a hot day, or anytime really.

What it could improve on

Not much, honestly. I do find myself wishing there was more on the menu, but everything here is of good quality, so I understand why they’ve kept it tight. 

Plus, being a weekend-only spot combined with a somewhat short opening window (8am to 2.30pm) means everyone converges at roughly the same time, and it can get quite busy. 

If the team is willing to extend its opening hours, I can already see what a great mid-week spot this could be — quiet street, good coffee and bakes, and chats with a friend on a cloudy afternoon. 

But for now, you’ll just have to save it for the weekend (or public holidays!)

Our quick takes

Is it conducive to conversation? The camping chairs are strangely comfortable to lounge on, but the outdoor heat might make it hard to linger for long chats. Maybe when the heat wave is over?

Is a reservation necessary? Walk-ins only.

How to get there? Touchwood is a 10-12 minute walk away from Eunos MRT Exit A.

HungryGoWhere paid for its meal at this restaurant for this review.

For more ideas on what to eat around the Eunos area, check out Sanwichio bakery and Cream and Custard with the viral watermelon-strawberry cake patisserie.