Ex-part time lawyer sells selfmade brioche & espresso at Amoy Street Food Centre

If you’re employed within the Telok Ayer space and also you’re seeking to seize a cup of espresso, Mad Roaster at Amoy Street Food Centre is the place to be. Not solely do they serve an excellent cup of espresso, a part of the proceeds from each cup of espresso offered goes to refugees in Asia.

You can discover Mad Roaster on the 2nd ground of Amoy Street Food Centre, tucked away alongside one of many center rows.

Mad Roaster was based by Madeline in Feb 2022. The concept for the stall happened as Madeline’s work as a part-time lawyer then concerned serving to refugees with asylum purposes in Thailand. 

Wanting to assist them with their much-needed supply of revenue, Madeline opened Mad (which is brief for Madeline) Roasters and provided them work alternatives by commissioning tiny artworks, reminiscent of its brand and stickers.

Each espresso cup encompasses a distinctive hand-coloured brand by a refugee in Asia, and when you flip the cup round, you’ll additionally discover that there’s one other sticker naming the actual refugee behind the paintings and his/her life story.

What an actual heart-warming initiative!

What I attempted at Mad Roaster

The very first thing I made a decision to get from Mad Roaster was its Coffee Brioche Set (S$5.90), which got here with a slice of Chocolate Babka (S$2.20) and your alternative of espresso. I went with the default Latte (S$3.90), although you possibly can actually go for different choices reminiscent of Flat White (S$3.90) or Americano (S$2.90).

Just trying on the Chocolate Babka made my abdomen growl— have a look at that flaky, smooth brioche bread with its beautiful chocolate swirls, in addition to the extremely liberal sprinkling of chocolate crumbs.

Mad Roaster’s brioche was so smooth that I had issues lifting the bread whereas guaranteeing the chocolate crumbs stayed on high!

Just a good warning that there’s merely no strategy to eat this with out spilling some crumbs, so make sure to have some tissues on standby.

This was heaven in a single chew. The brioche was splendidly buttery, heat and amazingly smooth. I additionally seen that that they had utilized a skinny layer of custard on high of the brioche earlier than topping the bread with chocolate crumbles, making every chew all of the extra creamy and indulgent.

And in fact— the chocolate crumbles. It was barely salted, extremely crunchy, and utterly addictive. This introduced me again to my childhood, and a pair of reminiscences immediately popped up in my head: topping bread with milo powder, and chocolate cereal. How nostalgic.

The one factor I liked essentially the most about Mad Roaster’s Latte was how well-balanced and easy it was. It additionally wasn’t very candy, which was an enormous plus in my books.

As a kopi o kosong fan, I’d have positively favored if the flavour of the roasted espresso beans had been extra distinguished moderately than the milk, however all in all, a really first rate cup of espresso, particularly for the inexpensive worth of S$3.90 when you’re getting it à la carte.

Apart from candy toast like its Chocolate Babka and Cinnamon Brioche (S$2), Mad Roaster additionally provides grilled cheese sandwiches. 

I ordered the Kimchi Grilled Cheese (S$6), and was pleasantly shocked to see that every grilled cheese was ready recent upon order. I additionally determined to accompany it with a cup of Matcha Latte (S$4.20).

One chew in, and I used to be there making glad noises to myself. 

You’ve received the crunch of the crispy, flaky brioche bread, the tangy and umami-filled kimchi, and the oozy melted cheese which added a barely salty contact. 

It was made all of the extra satisfying as all the things was recent out of the toaster, so every chew was heat and comforting. I additionally liked how there was simply the correct amount of cheese and kimchi, such that each component melded collectively completely and didn’t crumble.

Mad Roaster’s Matcha Latte makes use of first-flush matcha powder from Nisho, Japan. What which means is that the matcha was floor utilizing the primary tencha leaves plucked throughout tea harvest, thus producing matcha of a better high quality.

This shortly turned certainly one of my favorite Matcha Lattes. Despite being barely candy, the drink was nonetheless delectably wealthy, earthy and easy. 

Final ideas

Did this make me want that our SethLui.com workplace was in Telok Ayer in order that I might have this for breakfast each morning? Most positively. Mad Roaster even has a Traditional Set (S$4.70), which comes together with your alternative of kopi or teh, and kaya toast, however you possibly can guess that I’ll be again for its Chocolate Babka and occasional choices.

The social trigger behind Mad Roaster can be commendable. I spent an excellent portion of my meal studying the sticker in the back of my espresso cup, which advised the story of Jasmin, a refugee who was persecuted because of her faith.

Yummy meals, nice espresso choices, and all for an excellent trigger— I actually couldn’t ask for something extra.

Expected harm: S$1.50 – S$8 per pax

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