Was scrolling around social media and got to know about the opening of Reuben’s within First Eating House located at the foot of Blk 66 Kallang Bahru — this would be the very same coffeeshop which houses stalls such as that of an outlet of Hong Xing Handmade Fishball 鸿興手工鱼圆 • 肉圆面. Named after the very same person that is at helm in the kitchen here, Reuben’s is an establishment by Chef Reuben Koh; some might have heard of him during his time operating Reverie with a business partner at Clementi West before the change the coffeeshop has had a change of hands that also led to the stall’s re-opening after having closed subsequent to the change of ownership of the coffeeshop. Reuben’s does call itself an establishment that “redefin(es) western cuisine offerings in coffeeshops” — the menu at Reuben’s is split into sections dedicated to Pastas, Sides, Mains and Desserts; some of which being dishes that were also previously offered at Reverie at his time there.

One of the dishes that we had tried at Reverie previously during Chef Reuben Koh’s time with the establishment was the White Beef Bolognese Mafalda; considering how we were pretty impressed with the item previously, it was needless to say that we went straight for the Reuben’s White Beef Bolognese Mafalda during our visit to Reuben’s this time round — this item is also being marked as a Signature item at Reuben’s as well. The menu at Reuben’s describes the Reuben’s White Beef Bolognese Mafalda to come with elements such as beef bolognese, garlic cream emulsion, housemade chili oil, parmesan and chives — all that with Mafalda as the choice of pasta type to match with the dish. Digging into the Reuben’s White Beef Bolognese Mafalda, we really enjoyed how much of a flavour bomb this dish is; giving the Reuben’s White Beef Bolognese Mafalda a bit of a toss, we liked how the Mafalda was done al-dente to give the pasta a little bit of a good bite. The pasta does pretty much trap some bits of beef bolognese within; both the pasta and beef bolognese being laced with the garlic cream emulsion which wasn’t too creamy and gave a garlicky punch with a hint of herbs to counter that savoury and slightly gamey note of beef within the beef bolognese. The shaving of Parmesan does help to add a hint of savouriness to the pasta, but it was really the addition of the housemade chili oil that provided a flavoural contrast that cuts through the meatiness and yet complimenting the garlicky notes from the garlic cream emulsion that adds yet another dimension of textures to the dish.