Pancakes and Friends: Hidden cafe in Far East Plaza with souffle pancakes, loaded rostis and sweet-savoury bagelwiches

Orchard boasts a cornucopia of food gems — multiple luxurious malls dot the district, offering a variety of upscale restaurants, wallet-friendly eateries and hidden bars.

It’s Singapore’s main dining and retail belt for a good reason, with up-and-coming joints popping up every now and then. And if you ask us, Far East Plaza is a favourite dining destination of ours, since it houses a trove of highly underrated food spots. 

Take Pancakes and Friends for example. A cosy, hidden cafe tucked away on the first floor of Far East Plaza, it whips up decadent fare along the likes of Japanese-inspired souffle pancakes, rostis and bagel sandwiches (or bagelwiches, for short). 

But here’s the best part: Most of its dishes are priced under S$15 nett, with a handful of outliers served in larger portions. The folks here don’t skimp on quality either, so you’re definitely getting quite the bang for your buck!

Made from scratch 

The food at Pancakes and Friends is prepared in an open-concept kitchen, so diners have a behind-the-scenes look at their orders being made from scratch. 

The souffle pancakes are a delight to watch, as the staff meticulously whips the batter by hand, then piles fluffy mounds of the velvety mixture on a hot, flat grill.

After a couple of minutes (and some flipping), the bottoms of the pancakes brown to a nice golden shade. They’re ready for the final touches — some decorating, plating and ta da!

The rostis and bagelwiches are made to order, too. You’ll catch the staff milling around in the kitchen as they swiftly slice and dice ingredients.

When we swung by Pancakes and Friends at noon, we expected a lunch crowd and service to be slower than usual. However, the dishes were all prepared rather quickly — and with detail and precision, too — which was greatly appreciated.

The menu at Pancakes and Friends

The first dish that caught our eye was the fish and egg rosti (S$17) — albeit one of the more expensive items on the menu — which we ordered to share. 

When it arrived at our table, we were pretty impressed. The portion was adequate for feeding two, with plenty of premium ingredients atop a nest of rosti — we felt it was worth our money, for sure. 

For this price, you get a variety of toppings on crispy rosti: Smoked salmon slices, two sunny-side-up eggs and a garnish of crunchy arugula. There is also a dollop of sour cream and lemon on the side, which you can pair with the rosti for a zesty, acidic tang. 

Not only were the ingredients fresh, but they also added both texture and flavour to the crunchy shredded potato. Overall, we found the dish delicious and substantial (not greasy, either, which is a plus point) — it had all the fixings for a great brunch meal.

The bagelwiches at Pancakes and Friends come highly recommended by the staff. These are stuffed with your pick of sweet and savoury fillings. Think egg mayo (from S$7), Mediterranean hummus (from S$7), strawberry chocolate (from S$6), and several others. 

You can also opt for a closed sandwich (two halves of a bagel with ingredients nestled between) or an open-faced bagel (two flat slices of a bagel crowned with toppings). The latter is adorned with a myriad of ingredients — which makes for a better picture —  but we prefer the former as it has an even ratio of bread to ingredients. 

We got the smoked salmon cheese bagel (from S$8) that’s loaded with juicy slabs of smoked salmon and spruced up with rich cream cheese and arugula. We really enjoyed the addition of sweet cream cheese, as it went surprisingly well with the savoury, smoky flavour of the protein.

Signs of a souffle pancake done right are its wobbly jiggle and pillowy soft body — both of which the chocolate banana souffle pancakes (S$12) at Pancakes and Friends had in spades. 

The dessert sees a jiggly stack of pancakes slathered in a decadent, homemade chocolate cream and accompanied by chunky slices of caramelised banana and crunchy almonds. 

Biting into the fluffy chocolate banana souffle pancakes was just like tucking into an airy cloud of chiffon. It’s light on the palate and not too cloying — a sweet end to the otherwise savoury meal.

Coffee and non-caffeinated brews are aplenty here, so feel free to pop by for a quick pick-me-up during lunch. 

Our top pick is the iced mocha latte with oat milk (S$6), which is a fragrant blend of oat milk, a single-shot espresso and sweet chocolate sauce. 

There is also a range of Vietnamese drip coffee, if you prefer a cuppa that’s bolder in flavours and aroma. The V-Milk coffee (from S$4.50) — an aromatic black Vietnamese  coffee mixed with milk — is quite popular, too.

For the latest eats, read about Taiwan bubble tea Kebuke’s opening in Singapore or popular brunch spot Lola’s Cafe’s third outpost at Tampines. Alternatively, check out the newest openings in Singapore here. 

Pancakes and Friends is on the GrabFood Delivery Service and offers free delivery (up to S$3 off with GrabUnlimited). 

You can also book a ride to Pancakes and Friends at Far East Plaza to savour its hearty fare. 

Do explore the GrabFood Dine-in service for awesome deals.