The Assembly Ground is no stranger to the local cafe scene. They have a retail arm and both their cafe and retail store can be found next to each other on the ground floor of The Cathay. 

I've been to their cafe more than a year ago and I think they have recently added new stuff to their menu. Their lunch menu can be found here. It features a few interesting chinese fusion food such as Hae Bee Hiam Aglio Olio, Laksa Pasta Mai Hum (i.e. without cockles) and Rendang Mac & Cheese. 

My friends and I opted for more traditional options however, but I would like to return again to try their fusion food (subject to reviews of course). 

Food: 3/5

Price: $/$$$ 

(everything is below $20 which is decent for brunch food)

Service: 3.5/5

Ambiance: 3.5/5

Tip: One for one mains on the Entertainer app!

Well I will say this- this isn't my first time at The Assembly Ground. I've been there twice in the past year + and I don't remember having anything worth raving about. The food was average but not spectacular. To be honest, with the vibrant cafe scene in Singapore, the competition is stiff and it is not easy to come up with impressive and/or memorable brunch food that doesn't burn a huge hole in your pocket. 

Which is why I am thankful to have the one-for-one offer on the Entertainer app when I decided to give their food another go after seeing their truffle carbonara featured on social media. It makes the meal a lot more worthwhile. 

Truffle Carbonara- $18

The only reason why I visited their cafe. Thank goodness it did not disappoint. The pasta was lighter than usual (because it is egg pasta), and the carbonara sauce was light and not cloying. The addition of the onsen egg adds moisture and creaminess to the pasta. Thankfully I could taste the truffle flavour. (I had terrible truffle risotto & truffle fries at platypus kitchen the night before where I can barely taste any truffle and the fake truffle slices tasted like flour. Please do avoid at all cost).

Eggs Zoey - $16

Both of my friends were feeling all brunchy and ordered the same dish, which is essentially poached egg with smoked salmon, homemade hollandaise and brioche bread. They had asked for the hollandaise sauce to be served at the side, by the way, thus the Eggs Zoey here looks different from the usual. 

This is one average Eggs Zoey though. The brioche bread is toasted and slightly crisp, and the smoke salmon and poached eggs taste like they should. Nothing fantastic again. To be honest, I feel like all poached eggs brunch dishes taste about the same. I haven't found one which stood out and made me want to go back for more. 

Suggestions anyone? 

Iced Bandung Latte- $8 (bottom left corner)

I believe this is a National Day special and may no longer be on the menu. Thank goodness though because I didn't realise I was paying $8 for literally a glass of bandung. I thought it was going to be coffee infused with bandung. Okay, to be fair, latte just means with milk, but then bandung already means rose syrup with milk. Why is there a need to add the word latte if it isn't going to contain coffee? Plus if it's going to cost me $8, I expect coffee in it. Or something fancier than just milk with rose syrup. Okay fine, it came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But still a total rip off. 

Overall, I am not impressed, especially after my bloody bandung latte. But the truffle carbonara is decently good to try. But I'm still bitter over my bandung latte, if you can't already tell. 

And damn it, but I really want to return to try their fusion pastas because I am a sucker for fusion food like that. Sigh. 

Also note to self: My friends and I have stomachs equivalent to an ant. We don't eat much actually. I need more friends to try more food at a go. 

Wow, this turned out to be a semi-depressing post.

The Assembly Ground

Address:  2 Handy Road, #01-21 The Cathay, Singapore 229233