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Equate Coffee has officially opened its first concept store at Orchard Central.

Upside-down world

The concept store is designed as an upside-down world, with the centrepiece of the outlet being an installation of uprooted trees planted upside down.

This is the brand's second outlet.

Similar to its Tanjong Pagar branch, the space is designed to exude a minimalistic industrial feel.

Coffee and tea

In addition to a list of artisanal beverages, Equate created an exclusive drink -- 50s Brew (S$7) -- for the launch of the outlet.

The drink is a combination of cold brew Earl Grey tea with cold brew coffee, an atas Yuan Yang drink, you can call it.

As someone who doesn't drink coffee, I was pleasantly surprised by the concoction's light and fruity flavour.

It was lightly sweetened, with a good balance of fragrance from both the coffee and earl grey tea.

For such a unique and artisanal drink, the price point is quite reasonable, we think (or have we just been desensitised hmm).

In-house bakes

Café lovers will have a variety of food options to choose from at the new outlet, unlike the Tanjong Pagar outlet, which only has a small selection of bakes.

Another thing to note is that all their pastries, shokupan and sourdough bread are freshly made in-house daily.

Here's a look at some of the items:

Pastries

Ondeh (S$7.80)

Baked in the shape of a square, the croissant is filled with homemade gula melaka coconut crème and gula melaka ganache.

While the gula melaka filling was a little too sweet for my liking, I enjoyed the buttery croissant which wasn't overpowered by the crème and ganache.

The price may be on the steeper end for croissants, which may be something to consider before you decide to order one.

Hazelnut Chocolatine (S$7.80)

Sandos

Rueben (S$18.80)

Buttermilk Kimchi Chicken (S$15.80)

If you enjoy sweet-and-salty food combinations, you might like this Korean-inspired sando.

The sando comprises a generous serving of deep-fried chicken thigh drizzled with hot honey and tangy kimchi slaw, sandwiched between two slices of freshly-baked shokupan.

The freshness of the kimchi slaw complemented the rich taste of the chicken and hot honey, which made the sando very enjoyable to eat.

As compared to sandos from other cafes, I felt that it was much easier and more convenient to eat without having to make a mess.

All-day breakfast

Build your own breakfast (S$18.80)

Granola bowl (S$12.80) and Acai bowl (S$11.80)

Mains

Cold Truffle Pasta (S$15.80)

Fish Tortillas (S$14.80)

Shakshuka (S$13.80)

The Shakshuka is served with Equate’s house-made sourdough.

Sides

Brussel Sprouts (S$10.80)

Here's the full menu:

Equate Coffee @ Orchard Central

Address: Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road #01-17A, Singapore 238896

Opening Hours: 9:30am - 8:30pm, daily (last order at 8pm)