Breakthrough Cafe is run by a Christian based aftercare association, which provides skills to ex-convicts who face difficulties in employment due to their criminal record. This cafe is officially launched on the 27th of October 2007 by Associate Professor Ho Peng kee (former Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Law). At Breakthrough cafe it offers reformed drug addicts the much needed employment opportunities where they can further their skills and be better prepared in reintegrating into the society.
Other than array of dim sum, they also have homemade dishes such as curry chicken and curry fishhead served bubbling in a claypot which are very popular amongst patrons. And you could choose either bread or rice (or both) to go with it. But since our aim for that day was to try their dim sum I have to give those dishes a pass till my visit.
The four(3 adults plus 1 kid) of us ordered about 10 Dim Sum items plus Black Vinegar Pig Trotter and drinks which add up to a total of S$34.00 which was quite reasonable for it's value. The moment the Century Egg Porridge - 皮蛋粥 (S$3.00 per bowl) arrived I was quite stunned as this is my first time seeing "fishcakes" in dim sum porridge which makes it look so home cooked. We love the smooth texture of the congee which infuse with chicken stock and served with some shredded chicken, fish-cakes, century eggs, fried onions and etc.
Beside porridge we also tried their homemade fragrance "Steamed Glutinous Rice - 糯米饭" (S$2.00 per plate) that comes with generous portion of ingredients such as dried prawns and mushrooms together with their delicious Sambal chilli. Overall the texture of the steamed glutinous rice was still quite good as in not too overcooked or salty.
Similar to most Dim Sum restaurants or eateries, Breakthrough also offers different types of freshly made Chee Cheong Fun - 肠粉(S$3.00 per plate) with fillings such as Char Siew, Scallops and Prawns to meet their customers' preference. Personally I love the accompany sauce of the cheong fun which is fragrant and match with the right seasonings to bring up the taste of the steamed rice roll.
My aunty recommended us to try their Fried Dumplings - 锅贴 (S$4.20 per plate) and Steamed Yam Cake - 芋头糕 (S$1.50 per plate). Surprisingly their fried dumplings are not oily and the skin of the dumplings was crispy and definitely can taste it is made from those handmade dumpling skin. On the other hand, the steamed yam cake was rather good with hint of yam slices in between too.
Their Black Vinegar Pork Trotter - 猪脚醋 (S$6.00 per claypot with rice) is delicious which is not too sour or sweet towards our liking and it would be great to go with some rice during lunchtime as a meal. From a glance during lunch hour that day, I saw quite a number of tables ordered this Pork Trotter and Curry Chicken which I assumed are their signature dishes.
The environment of this cafe is quite comfortable even for a morning/afternoon tea session where you could order their toast and egg set and enjoy some chatting with friends. And most importantly the friendly services definitely added value to the place. To reach this cafe, you could take the North-East Line train and alight at "Chinatown" station, walk towards the exit to People's Park Centre. The cafe is at ground level facing the Singapore Subordinate Court direction.
Breakthrough Cafe
101 Upper Cross Street
#01-02C
People's Park Centre
Singapore 058358
Telephone: +65 6533 5977
Website: HERE
Opening Hours
Monday – Thursday: 7am – 7pm
Friday: 7am - 5pm; Saturday: 7am – 3pm
(Closed on Sun/PH)
Something meaningful to support and at the sametime filling your stomach.
ReplyDeleteAgreed!!! :)
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