Anna's X The Soup Spoon Union (Punggol Coast Mall)

Anna’s might be a brand that some might be fairly familiar with especially for those whom either work in the Central Business District or reside around Punggol. A brand that is started by the same folks behind The Soup Spoon / The Soup Spoon Union, Anna’s made its first appearance in the local F&B scene with their very first outlet situated in Oasis Terraces in Punggol; this was a brand that was born at the very height of the sourdough craze when almost every bakery or cafe were hopping onto the bandwagon creating their own sourdough bread. The third outlet of Anna’s has just opened their doors; this would be an Anna’s x The Soup Spoon Union concept that is situated within Punggol Coast Mall; these folks should be relatively easy to find considering how they are located at the ground floor near the podium around where the entrance to Punggol Coast MRT Station is. This outlet is decked a little differently than that of the Anna’s that is located at Oasis Terraces; the interior decor scheme does seem to see the use of colours more tuned towards that of The Soup Spoon Union’s; think walls within the main dining hall that comes in shades of earthier tones matched with The Soup Spoon’s signature mix of orange, red and grey, while the dining furniture comprises of rattan elements for a slightly more tropical look — a dining hall that is located deeper inside the store bears a slightly more brown colour scheme features more wooden furniture and fittings, with booth seats that features geometrical shapes for more fluid lines throughout. Most of the seating located within the establishment are configured in a way that best suits patrons visiting the store in groups of four (4) pax. Despite the use of Anna’s branding at this outlet, the Anna’s x The Soup Spoon Union location at Punggol Coast Mall does not serve up the entire range of offerings that Anna’s offers at Oasis Terraces; instead, Anna’s x The Soup Spoon Union serves up menus segmented into the various concepts that they run — the categories being Anna’s, The Soup Spoon, The Salad Fork, The Grill Knife, and an extra category listed as Sides. Anna’s menu is further split into Healthy Start & Toasties, Sourdough Bakes and Anna’s Bakes. The beverage line-up at Anna’s x The Soup Spoon Union is split into sections dedicated to Sourdough Fizzes, Sourdough Smoothies and Coffee & Tea; all of which sits within the Anna’s section of the menu.

Considering how we dropped by Anna’s x The Soup Spoon Union for a meal wanting to give the items from Anna’s a go, we found ourselves having to opt for the Smashed Avo on Sourdough Slice from the Healthy Start & Toasties sub-section of Anna’s menu — the only other more substantially-sized item from Anna’s menu aside from the Granola and More!. which was a more suitable dish for us to have as a dinner item. Coming with smashed avocado atop a slice of sourdough loaf that is also baked by Anna’s and also featuring hard-boiled eggs, this was a breakfast classic that is difficult to go wrong. Slicing into the sourdough toast, Anna’s sourdough slice does come with quite some tension when it came to the interior of the bread, while the exterior does come crusty with a bit of bite — the bread itself does also come fluffy with a slight hint of tanginess that comes from the fermentation process taken in the preparation of sourdough bread. The smashed avocado does provide a smooth, creamy and buttery mouthfeel that gels the sourdough slice with the hard-boiled eggs atop; the hard-boiled eggs coming with a jammy egg yolk that further adds on to the dish texturally. There does seem to be an addition of not only the usual Dukkah spices that gives the dish a bit of a middle eastern flair, but also the addition of granola (?) that somehow adds a little more bite for a textural contrast as well.

One item in which that we had been fairly interested to dry during our previous visit to Anna’s at Punggol Coast but had not managed to do so was the range of Sourdough Muffins that they carry. There are a total of three (3) different variants for these muffins and we found ourselves opting for the Cinnamon with Mixed Fruits Sourdough Muffin. The menu describes the item to come with elements such as dried cranberries, raisins, lemon curd and citrus peel. The mention of “sourdough” with muffin might come across as strange to some but the Sourdough Muffin doesn’t share too similar a trait to the typical sourdough slice that we usually come across. Still a muffin at heart, one thing that we did notice about the Cinnamon with Mixed Fruits Sourdough Muffin that we have had was how the batter was less dense and less greasy than a typical muffin; this does make the sourdough muffin a lot easier to eat — we also noted that there really wasn’t any hint of tanginess that one would expect to find in sourdough bread from the fermentation process of the dough, though the muffin does seem to carry flavours on the sweeter side. The use of elements like dried cranberries, raisins and citrus peel provides a bit of a bite much like that of a Christmas Fruitcake, though we did feel that the lemon curd felt a little dried-up and lacked any noticeable flavour that could easily be done away with considering the little difference it made to the item.

During the same visit, we had also given the Iced Hazelnut Latte a go; the menu does mark this item as an newly-introduced item and this does seem like Anna’s rendition of an Einspanner with hazelnut-infused cream foam that sits atop a layer of a hot long black. Taking a sip into the coffee, the cream foam wasn’t too dense and exudes a slightly nutty fragrance to the entire cuppa; there are also some bits of hazelnut that provides a good, nutty bite — we liked how they are sized about right that refrains the Iced Hazelnut Latte from feeling particularly gritty as well, while the coffee itself does come with a medium body with a fruity flavor profile that gives quite a good caffeinated kick for a perk-me-up.

For those whom are familiar with Anna’s especially from their Oasis Terraces location, one would probably need to manage expectations whilst visiting Anna’s x The Soup Spoon Union — it is interesting to see how the team behind The Soup Spoon has kept Anna’s as a accompaniment to The Soup Spoon Union brand; it doesn’t offer the full-fledged Anna’s experience but instead compliments it The Soup Spoon Union with its focus in bakes and specialty coffee, bringing a more cafe-like experience to the The Soup Spoon Union whilst also exposing the Anna’s branding to the wider audience. It does also seem like a move for Anna’s food items to not cannibalised by the offerings served up under The Soup Spoon Union’s brand. Given the limited number of items that we had tried off Anna’s menu, we did feel that Anna’s offerings are rather competent to that of other specialty cafes out there; definitely one that might be appealing to those whom reside in the area that would like to have something brunch-y once in a while. Prices of Anna’s Sourdough Bakes and Anna’s Bake range from $4 to $8, while the items on the Healthy Starts and Toasties range from $10 to $13. Nonetheless, for those whom are looking to enjoy some part of what Anna’s has to offer with familiar items from The Soup Spoon Union to fall back upon, Anna’s x The Soup Spoon Union might just be the establishment to hit.