Toast Box Coffee House: Stalwart coffee chain Toast Box unveils new concept with old-school fare

Local Nanyang coffee chain Toast Box has launched a brand-new dining concept: Toast Box Coffee House, which opened earlier this week. 

Tucked away at a quaint corner along Seng Poh Road, the latest outfit by BreadTalk Group occupies the space that once housed Old Tiong Bahru Bak Kut Teh. 

This marks the brand’s 76th outlet in Singapore. 

The 100-seater store is a blast from the past. It’s fashioned after old-school kopitiams that used to dot the highways and byways of Singapore’s streets.

What’s new at Toast Box Coffee House

Toast Box Coffee House pays tribute to the local coffeeshop scene. Its premises are impeccably styled with curated vintage memorabilia and design elements that hark back to Singapore’s yesteryears. Just look to the store’s green glass accents, rustic rattan and wooden elements that evoke a sense of nostalgia among diners young and old.

Besides the usual Toast Box mainstays of toasted bread, fresh kopi and more, Toast Box Coffee House also serves up an extended range of food and drink offerings. 

Diners will find outlet-exclusives dishes that bring together familiar traditional Nanyang specialities and British-inspired fare, including treats such as old-school Hainanese pork chop rice and claypot Hokkien prawn mee.

Coffee beans for sale

Coffee connoisseurs can look forward to Toast Box Coffee House’s in-house coffee bean retail counter. It’s the only Toast Box outlet in Singapore that allows diners to choose their own blends.

There are six types of roasted coffee beans available, which include two Nanyang kopi roasts and four single-origin options. 

The latter includes the rich Sumatra Mandheling roast — which undergoes a 12- to 24-month aging process — as well as the Honey Processed Handpicked, which features robusta beans cultivated from Toast Box’s adopted plantation in Lampung, Sumatra. 

If you aren’t sure of which flavour profile to go for, don’t hesitate to chat with the friendly kopi masters manning the fort.

First Street Teochew Fish Soup

The outlet also plays host to First Street Teochew Fish Soup, a popular hawker brand under BreadTalk Group. The family-run stall is widely recognised for its hearty fish soup, prepared Teochew-style.

The main draw is its fresh fish slices, which are cooked with a secret recipe. They’re also simmered for 30 seconds, giving them a soft and tender texture. 

The beloved hawker eatery has rolled out a new menu that you’ll find only at Toast Box Coffee House. 

Soup-wise, there is the exquisite Chinese pomfret fish soup (S$16.90), which sees a sweet and tender pomfret in a refreshing, full-bodied broth. Alternatively, the garoupa fish soup (S$12.90) spotlights its namesake garoupa, a premium catch that is prized for its nutrient-rich flesh. 

Our favourite of the lot is the Chinese pomfret in Teochew-style (S$28.90). Alongside slices of fish, the dish is adorned with a medley of ingredients, such as marinated minced meat, Chinese mushrooms and silky tofu. 

The broth is also prepared with sour plum, which lends a welcome tanginess to the soup.

The food

Besides the fish soup, diners can also look forward to a wide range of dishes.

The old-school Hainanese pork chop (S$9.80 ala carte, S$11.80 with a medium-sized drink) is a treat to savour, with its crispy and succulent pork loin slices atop a bed of fluffy rice. The protein is dressed in a sweet Hainanese sauce, which complements the savouriness of the dish perfectly.

The claypot Hokkien prawn mee (S$7.80 ala carte, S$9.80 with a medium-sized drink) is a comforting option best enjoyed on a rainy day. Imbued with a smoky wok hei flavour, chonky prawns, fish cake slices and fried pork lard sit atop an umami-laden prawn broth. 

Here’s a tip: Enjoy the noodles with the fiery homemade belacan chilli sauce for an infusion of spice and zest.

Perennial breakfast favourites that you mustn’t skip out on are, of course, the traditional toasted bread that Toast Box is known for (S$2.60 ala carte, S$6.60 with two eggs and a medium-sized beverage). 

You’ll find that Toast Box Coffee House has put its own twist on old-school flavours, introducing modern takes such as toast with black sesame and lemon curd. Both are rich jams that go well with the crispy, toasted bread. 

For dessert, indulge in the deluge of old-school kuehs and cakes on the menu. The former touts selections such as kueh dadar (S$4.20 for three pieces) — a sweet pandan crepe chock-full of grated coconut and palm sugar — and kueh sago gula melaka (S$2.80 for three pieces), a decadent treat smothered in coconut shavings. 

The tea cakes (S$2.80 ala carte, S$4.80 with a medium-sized drink) are not to be missed, either. Layered with buttercream, it comes in a slew of flavours: Roasted peanut, black sesame, almond and more.

The drinks

There are also new concoctions to be had at Toast Box Coffee House. Definitely order the iced grass jelly teh or iced grass jelly coffee (S$3.50 each), which are injected with fresh tea and coffee brews, respectively. Teeming with QQ sago pearls, the iced teh sago and iced kopi sago (S$3.20 each) are unique riffs on boba drinks.

This was a hosted tasting.

For more eats, read our articles on what to eat at Tiong Bahru Market and popular spots for Vietnamese fare. 

For the latest on the food scene, check out our articles on The Coffee Code and TWG Tea’s 15th anniversary menu. 

Book a ride to Toast Box Coffee House’s new dining concept at Seng Poh Road.