PUBLISHED April 17th, 2017 11:05 pm | UPDATED December 13th, 2020 08:47 pm
From the people that brought us 28 Hong Kong Street, Crackerjack is yet another crackin’ (pun intended since the name of the joint is a North American term for being exceptionally awesome) concept – made better because they focus equally on coffee, food, and cocktails. Located on the bustling Tanjong Pagar Road, this all-day venue is created with quality, affordability, and accessibility in mind and we’re happy to report that they’ve hit the bullseye on all three.
A 9am opening time on weekdays means you definitely can get fueled up with coffee. Their custom CJ Blend ($4-$5, by local roasters 2degrees North) is a mix of Brazilian, Ethiopian, and Colombian beans, resulting in a fruit and nut-forward cup of coffee. Crackerjack’s Coffee Director Bronwen Serna also works with other roasters to bring in single origins for filter coffee. For something more fun, try the Breakfast of Champions ($7), an espresso coffee with cereal milk (think milk infused with Fruit Loops and Fruit Pebbles). Oh, and they’re using Holland Organics full cream milk from grass-fed cows so you don’t get a chalky aftertaste like some coffees do.
Those who don’t or can’t take caffeine can look forward to a tea selection by Rare Tea Cellars and Australian Tea Masters ($6), slow pressed juices ($6), superfood shakes ($8), and their delicious French-style Drinking Chocolate ($6), which contains 70% dark chocolate powder. We haven’t tried them but breakfast options feature the likes of granola, muesli, Horchata Pancakes ($12) and Bourbon Mashbill Grits ($14)
Comfort food with a twist would be the best way to describe Chef Alysia Chan’s (she was previously the sous chef at Meat Smith) philosophy behind Crackerjack’s menu. They’ve recently included one-plate dinners so you can hang out solo, but most of the dinner menu caters to communal dining. We started with the Housemade Flatbread ($8); thin and crispy, this came with a moreish black-eye pea hummus flavoured with a touch of preserved lemon.
I highly recommend the Zucchini Farro Salad ($8). With ribbons of zucchini tossed with farro (crunchy wheat grains), almonds, dates, sesame and sour cream dressing, it definitely whets the appetite for the mains. If you’re dining in a group of three or more, the Whole Roasted Chicken ($58) affords quite good value since it comes with three sides plates of veggies or carbs. Thankfully, the bird wasn’t overcooked and was well complimented with a side of Smashed Potatoes ($8 a la carte) with black garlic vinaigrette and garlic chips.
The Local Barramundi ($20) arrived well-cooked and accompanied by a delightful romesco sauce (made with roasted bell peppers). The Brandt Bavette Steak ($28) was also a perfect, juicy medium rare and was served with a roasted grape salsa to take the edge off the fat and the intense beefy flavour.
For dessert, the winners are the definitely the Peanut Butter Chocolate Tart ($12) with pretzel crust and caramel – it tastes as amazing as it sounds – and the Apple & Pear Hand Pie ($12) with creamy butter pecan ice cream.
As for cocktails, the folks at Crackerjack pre-batch certain ingredients and are proud of it because consumers get their drinks drinks faster and it allows them to lower their prices as compared to other craft cocktail bars. Their Highballs ($16) might be lower in alcohol percentage but you’ll definitely be able to appreciate them for their flavour alone. Our go-to picks are the Grape with cognac and jasmine and the Pineapple with rum and angostura bitters. Alternatively, Wall of Sound ($18) is a sweet-skewed and fruity whisky cocktail comprising of Highland Park 12, peach, lemon, burnt honey, and thyme. Everything is Awesome! ($18) is a refreshing twist of the classic French 75 with gin, biaco vermouth, basil, clarified watermelon bubbles, and garnished with watermelon gummies and basil cucumber gummies.
In short, Crackerjack has all you ever wanted in an all-day dining space and its affordable enough that the minimum spend can be as low as $50 per person for a damn good meal.
Crackerjack is located at 43 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088464, p. +65 8121 1462. Open Mon-Fri 9am-12am, Sat 10am-12am, Sun 10am-4pm.