Necessary Provisions

I’ve followed the Necessary P folks through their F&B endeavours since 2011 — starting with Henry Congressional, Homebodies and now Necessary Provisions. So I might be… slightly biased.
Necessary P has been a bit of a once-​in-​a-​while indulgence for me, not just because I do think of coming here as being a bit of a treat, but also because its just so damn out of the way. I stay a good 15 minutes walk away from this place, and I still find it out of the way. Best if you drive, else, look forward to a nice 15-​minute brisk walk from Beauty World MRT.
Coffee is alright — I’d hesitate to call it Third Wave, simply due to the lack of alternative brew options. They do have cold brew, but then you find that in other non third wave places like TCC and the like, so I’ll discount that. Espresso based coffees are de rigeur, and they do their brew well. I’ll sound a warning about the postmodern deconstructed ice milk coffee though — its basically a lump of frozen coffee in a glass of milk. It actually gets stronger as you drink it… you’ve been warned.
Food is rather tasty — and I am particularly a fan of their pasta, which is cooked al dente, and the calamari starter is lovely. Sandwiches are a tad larger than I expected, but definitely satisfying.
They do have a fine selection of beer. Rotating bottle selection — Mikkellers and Moor primarily. Taps are dominated by Moor, and is exclusive to Necessary P — one of the biggest reasons for dropping by.
Staff are always polite, always pleasant at all hours of the day — despite other reviews to the contrary.
Well worth a trip here, even if you don’t stay 15 minutes away.

Seriously out of the way, make sure you drive/​come with someone who drives. Parking can be a little hard to find, when you find parking in the little estate around it, grab it and walk to the café.
Came on a Saturday afternoon with a companion about 1pm, and wanted to sit inside. We waited about 10 minutes for a seat to free up. We got the spicy edamame, prawn salad, winged bean fried rice, and a special, the rosemary chicken sandwich, with an espresso and flat white for him and an iced Valrhona chocolate for me.
Spicy edamame — spicy, xo-​style sauce on it, can be oily
Winged bean fried rice — my favorite, lots of veggies, enough wok hei, visibly oily but great mouthfeel
chicken sandwich — meh, I did like the greens that came with it
prawn salad — yummy prawns, yummy greens, great dressing
iced choc — was not overly sweet, and yes, good quality chocolate, but small for its price ($ 6.50)
coffees — were apparently not bad, but I don’t drink coffee
As much as I think the food here is decent, what I want to highlight is the ambience. We chose to come here because of the free wifi, and we hung out here from 1pm to 430pm. We were not pressured to buy extra drinks or made to feel unwelcome for staying so long at any point, and we sat at the giant circular table in the middle of the café, which seats about 10. At this table, there are tonnes of magazines for you to peruse. I really like how this café is really a café, and not just one where you eat and drink, and someone chases you away to make room for another.
Come here for a late lunch, bring a book or your laptop, and spend a relaxing day here.

Read about this place online while we were looking to somewhere to go for some late night dessert & drinks. It had really good reviews so I was kinda shocked by the experience.
Aesthetically, the place looked tastefully done. I loved the idea of having lots of windows because it really brightens the room.
As far as service went, it was sorely disappointing, it took the waitress a while to notice that there was a group waiting even though it was about 2230hrs & there weren’t that many people there. She wasn’t very friendly either.
The Iced Valrhona Chocolate wasn’t very fantastic; it tasted like 70% cocoa powder, 20% water, 10% milk. Perhaps its just the style of making hot chocolate, but personally I wished it were creamer.
The apple tarte tartin tasted okay, but it looked like a rushed job. It was like literally half a poached apple, and crust. (Though again they could just be going for that look)
The banana Nutella panini was delicious, & I liked how zesty the whip cream was; and probably the one saving grace.

Coffee is good! With nice magazines to read. Just a little noisy as it is crowded, even for a weekday afternoon.

Ho ho ho, I finally made a trip down to this much-​talked about place on my FB and IG feed since like… last year?
Heard that the place will be packed during brunch time and though we arrived slightly after brunch, it was still pretty packed. Managed to snag a seat right at the corner in front of the glass store-​front — great for people-​watching!
Verdict:
–Gooey Cinnamon Cake — caught my eye with the word Cinnamon! And no, it is not as gooey as its name makes it out to be. In fact, it has just the right balance of sweet and ‘spicy’ making it a perfect companion to my cold brew tea
–Hojicha Cold Brew — thought that the glass was a tad small for the price I’m paying but no complains on the depth of the tea. Cold no doubt, but not diluted at all. Pleased with my choice.
This place is probably good for those who are driving. Again, parking is hard to find and we managed to snag a lot right behind. It’s a pretty cool joint and unless you are seated at the big, round communal table in the center, the size of the tables and chairs are not comfy enough for you to stay long — guess that’s their objective!

When this place opened at Eng Kong Terrace, it has caused much hype (as this place is located in a rather inaccessible place). Since then, I had wanted to come here.
You can choose either 4oz, 6oz and 8oz for the Flat White ($ 5) (which I chose the 6oz variant). It tasted strong and thick and the right amount of milk added makes this one of the coffee that should be ordered here.
The Banana Nutella Panini is also great. Despite having it at night (like why would anyone not order food from the dinner menu instead?), the panini is nicely baked. The result is a nice tasting bread with sliced warm bananas covered with Nutella spread.
This is a suitable place to relax in with a cup of coffee in the day. Make sure not to visit during weekends if you are doing that (as they’re almost always full).

A real hip and happening coffee hangout in the middle of a residential estate. A best kept secret!

Great ambience, friendly and attentive staff. Cosy & homely kinda café. You don’t feel rushed. Have your coffee, sandwich, their famous mini cheese scones and watch the world go by. How not to love this café!!! Love it.

How do you not love this space? It is BEYOOOTIFUL. When you have a little corner shop in housing estate, and you take care to make sure it looks and feels as inviting as cool as a Monocle mag feature, you know the people behind this joint have thought things through.
The dark interiors are a refreshing change from the stark white Scandinavian Ikea walls, and to me, this makes me want to step in even more. Coupled with the very adeptly-​manned Spirit Duette, coffee (machine) nerds will want to come just to check this baby out.
They are well-​stocked for coffees, since the Smitten crew roasts on premises, and in keeping with their first joint, they also have a solid selection of teas. Building on their Henry Congressional experience, they’ve also saved space for a beer tap — ask what’s piped in! I’m no connoisseur, so you need to try this out for yourself.
Don’t forget to pick up a slice of pandan chiffon cake when you’re there. It’s good stuff.
On the savoury front, the sandwiches do enough to satiate your hunger, but it’s the night time menu that’s really caught my eye. I’m waiting to come back to have that buta-​don sambal fried rice. Yes, that’s one dish. Doesn’t it make you want to try it?