GRAIN TRADERS: Grain Trading In A Casual Lunch-time Cafe
Today, my friend and I visited a newly opened cafe located at Market Street - Grain Traders. We had a hard time finding the cafe (but that's because we're losers), eventually finding it at CapitaGreen Building. So if you are making a trip to Grain Traders soon, remember to keep a lookout for a office building called CapitaGreen Building. It's quite hard to not spot (but because we're blind, we didn't) so finding it should be quite easy. If not, you can ask around for directions and it should be at the side facing Market Street.
This cafe was started by the folks behind Kilo @ Pact, one of the places I have only gone once and have yet to blog about but holds an extremely special place in my heart for their Donburi Bowls. This reminds me of the fact that I have to go back soon. ASAP. Below is the write-up about the cafe, quoted directly from http://www.grain-traders.com/.
"Grain Traders is more than your typical, casual, lunch-time joint: it serves hearty comfort food for the everyday worker, providing variety, quality, and an experience for the senses and soul in a cosy, comfortable experience. At the heart of Grain Traders is a belief in feeding and treating people right, without compromise.Grain Traders is more than your typical, casual, lunch-time joint: it serves hearty comfort food for the everyday worker, providing variety, quality, and an experience for the senses and soul in a cosy, comfortable experience. At the heart of Grain Traders is a belief in feeding and treating people right, without compromise."
THE PLACE
The interior of the cafe was brightly lit with many small tables and some tables facing the road for those who like that kind of view. There were also tables outside for those people who so happen to enjoy the hot afternoon heat from the sun, or those people who would like to burn some extra calories standing up while eating, or those people who want some extra 'liao' in their food (i'm joking).
This cafe was started by the folks behind Kilo @ Pact, one of the places I have only gone once and have yet to blog about but holds an extremely special place in my heart for their Donburi Bowls. This reminds me of the fact that I have to go back soon. ASAP. Below is the write-up about the cafe, quoted directly from http://www.grain-traders.com/.
"Grain Traders is more than your typical, casual, lunch-time joint: it serves hearty comfort food for the everyday worker, providing variety, quality, and an experience for the senses and soul in a cosy, comfortable experience. At the heart of Grain Traders is a belief in feeding and treating people right, without compromise.Grain Traders is more than your typical, casual, lunch-time joint: it serves hearty comfort food for the everyday worker, providing variety, quality, and an experience for the senses and soul in a cosy, comfortable experience. At the heart of Grain Traders is a belief in feeding and treating people right, without compromise."
THE PLACE
The interior of the cafe was brightly lit with many small tables and some tables facing the road for those who like that kind of view. There were also tables outside for those people who so happen to enjoy the hot afternoon heat from the sun, or those people who would like to burn some extra calories standing up while eating, or those people who want some extra 'liao' in their food (i'm joking).
Menu plastered all over the walls above the counter! I really like the minimalistic look, the brightness and the sprawl of this cafe! The staff are also relatively smiley (though not extremely friendly) but that's enough for me considering that they have a lot of customers to attend to (wah, the cafe was seriously packed due to lunch crowd from all the offices in the CBD area).
However, I liked their efficiency! One staff each was allocated to one type of category, namely: grains, proteins, hot veggies, cold veggies, topping and sauces. Even though this requires quite a lot of manpower, it does indeed help to speed up the queue by a lot. Though there were three to four people in front of us, we managed to be served within less than 5 minutes.
THE MENU
Their breakfast menu is available from 8am to 11.30am, their lunch menu is available from 11.30 to 8pm, while their coffee menu is available all day. (All menus are taken from: http://www.grain-traders.com/.)
Breakfast Menu
THE MENU
Their breakfast menu is available from 8am to 11.30am, their lunch menu is available from 11.30 to 8pm, while their coffee menu is available all day. (All menus are taken from: http://www.grain-traders.com/.)
Breakfast Menu
Lunch Menu
Coffee Menu
THE FOOD
Build-Your-Own Bowls ($16): 4/10
Since we were there for lunch, we wanted to try out their Build-Your-Own Bowls rather than their Signature Bowls. The Build-Your-Own Bowls are made up of one grain, one protein, one hot deli, two cold deli, one topping and one sauce.
THE FOOD
Build-Your-Own Bowls ($16): 4/10
Since we were there for lunch, we wanted to try out their Build-Your-Own Bowls rather than their Signature Bowls. The Build-Your-Own Bowls are made up of one grain, one protein, one hot deli, two cold deli, one topping and one sauce.
I must admit, this cafe is one of the prettiest I've ever been to. The simple white walls are quite similar to that of Kilo @ Pact. I was pretty satisfied with all the pictures I took today because of the whiteness of the walls and the aesthetics of the food.
I got the bulgur wheat (grain), lentils patty (protein), roasted butternut squash & sweet potatoes (hot veggie), wafu tomatoes and apple kimchi (cold veggies), roasted mixed nuts (topping) and beetroot feta yogurt (sauce). My friend got the bulgur wheat (grain), lentils patty (protein), wild mushrooms (hot veggie), mixed bean pico de gallo and beansprout salad (cold veggies), crushed peanuts (topping) and miso caramel (sauce).
Our bowls also came topped with some mixed greens such as julienned cucumber, spring onions and parsley. I also topped mine with a bit of chilli powder provided at the side.
Our bowls also came topped with some mixed greens such as julienned cucumber, spring onions and parsley. I also topped mine with a bit of chilli powder provided at the side.
I must say I really enjoyed the bulgur wheat! But that may just be because I like all kinds of grains in general - quinoa, couscous, rice... But it's good that I explored a new food option! It's now something I can order at a restaurant knowing what it tastes like! I also enjoyed the roasted butternut squash and sweet potatoes, which still held their shape though they were soft and moist upon biting into them. I specially preferred the sweet potatoes as they were of a creamier texture and sweeter taste as compared to the butternut squash.
Despite all these positives, there are also some negatives I must highlight. The lentils patty was, simply put, dehydrated lumps of sadness. There was really not a single hint of flavour inside the patty and it was so dry and hard, if I fling it at someone hard enough, the person could potentially get injured. Yes, that is how un-moist it was. My favourite vegetarian ball/patty would still be the falafel balls from Pita Pan. Crispy little balls bursting with green fluffy goodness - my description sounds gross but yes, it is heavenly. But that is another story (I will share another time).
The apple kimchi was another letdown. It tasted like sour apples, nothing more. Furthermore, I don't think that the apples would go very well with kimchi dressing since apples are sweet and crunchy, while kimchi sauce is sour and acidic. Well, that may just be my own opinion though. The wafu tomatoes were just chopped cherry tomatoes soaked in wafu sauce, perhaps. I wouldn't know since I never tasted any wafu dressing. Nope, not at all.
Lastly, let me talk about the dressings. Before visiting this cafe, of course I had to stalk the location tag for at least a while. And of course, I saw this beetroot feta yogurt dressing in the Instagram photos. And of course, I knew I had to have this pink girly sauce in my bowl. Well, let's just say that the main purpose of the pink dressing is to beautify your photos (it obviously beautified mine, HAHA). There was not much flavour to the dressing as the feta was not pungent enough to give the yogurt a characteristic taste. In fact, if you simply added a truck-full of salt into some yogurt and added some artificial pink food colouring, I would probably be convinced that it was the same dressing.
As for the miso caramel dressing (which was recommended by one of the staff), I find it not bad! Other than the fact that my friend and I did not enjoy it too much because of it's over-saltiness, but at least there is a distinct caramelly flavour to it! Well, I am a person who can handle sodium levels quite well though, which is possibly why I could stand its taste. But overall, not a very good sauce in my opinion. I would rather have some sweet chilli dressing or some citrusy vinaigrette in my bowl instead of these sauces any day. So I wouldn't recommend this dressing, especially if you're highly sensitive to sodium-rich foods.
The apple kimchi was another letdown. It tasted like sour apples, nothing more. Furthermore, I don't think that the apples would go very well with kimchi dressing since apples are sweet and crunchy, while kimchi sauce is sour and acidic. Well, that may just be my own opinion though. The wafu tomatoes were just chopped cherry tomatoes soaked in wafu sauce, perhaps. I wouldn't know since I never tasted any wafu dressing. Nope, not at all.
Lastly, let me talk about the dressings. Before visiting this cafe, of course I had to stalk the location tag for at least a while. And of course, I saw this beetroot feta yogurt dressing in the Instagram photos. And of course, I knew I had to have this pink girly sauce in my bowl. Well, let's just say that the main purpose of the pink dressing is to beautify your photos (it obviously beautified mine, HAHA). There was not much flavour to the dressing as the feta was not pungent enough to give the yogurt a characteristic taste. In fact, if you simply added a truck-full of salt into some yogurt and added some artificial pink food colouring, I would probably be convinced that it was the same dressing.
As for the miso caramel dressing (which was recommended by one of the staff), I find it not bad! Other than the fact that my friend and I did not enjoy it too much because of it's over-saltiness, but at least there is a distinct caramelly flavour to it! Well, I am a person who can handle sodium levels quite well though, which is possibly why I could stand its taste. But overall, not a very good sauce in my opinion. I would rather have some sweet chilli dressing or some citrusy vinaigrette in my bowl instead of these sauces any day. So I wouldn't recommend this dressing, especially if you're highly sensitive to sodium-rich foods.
Overall, I would say the bowl came together okay. Was it good? Average and not worth the hype. Is it worth the price? Definitely not. In my opinion, it is just a bowl of overpriced western mixed vegetable rice which you can purchase at a fraction of the price at local food courts.
LAST WORDS
Ultimately, would I ever come back here again? No. If I was craving for a nice hearty bowl, I would well rather spend my $16 on a Donburi Bowl from their counterpart, Kilo @ Pact, as the latter contains so many well-seasoned ingredients with a signature taste that combines the flavours of all the components together very well. However, if you happen to be in the CBD area and feel like trying out something new, I guess you could give it a go. For all you know, you may like your combination! But overall, this experience was quite a disappointing one for me, even though it could be attributed to setting my expectations too high.
RATINGS
Location: 3/5
Taste: 3/5
Value: 2/5
Service: 4/5
Overall: 5/10 (Not Recommended)
GRAIN TRADERS
Address: #01-01/02/03 138 Market Street CapitaGreen Singapore 048946
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday: 8AM - 8PM, Closed on Saturday & Sunday.
LAST WORDS
Ultimately, would I ever come back here again? No. If I was craving for a nice hearty bowl, I would well rather spend my $16 on a Donburi Bowl from their counterpart, Kilo @ Pact, as the latter contains so many well-seasoned ingredients with a signature taste that combines the flavours of all the components together very well. However, if you happen to be in the CBD area and feel like trying out something new, I guess you could give it a go. For all you know, you may like your combination! But overall, this experience was quite a disappointing one for me, even though it could be attributed to setting my expectations too high.
RATINGS
Location: 3/5
Taste: 3/5
Value: 2/5
Service: 4/5
Overall: 5/10 (Not Recommended)
GRAIN TRADERS
Address: #01-01/02/03 138 Market Street CapitaGreen Singapore 048946
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday: 8AM - 8PM, Closed on Saturday & Sunday.