Hole-in-the-Wall CBD makan place

Passion Cafe, as it is called but not many people actually know about this, is a little cosy nook of a place located above Dudu Cafe of Tung Ann Association Building along McCallum Street, here in the Singapore CBD.

A small unassuming staircase leads you up to this “cafe” which you will be greeted by bustling servers & an elderly uncle or aunty that will help you look for seats and inevitably “chasing” dilly-dallying patrons away.

Very affordable Japanese dishes like bento sets, ramen, udon, side-dishes and others are served here, anything from S$3 to about S$12 at the very maximum.

Place your orders by filling up the white form found on the tables with a pencil provided, pay at the cashier, and wait for your food that will come very quickly.

Miso Soup - free flow

Help yourself to the free flow miso soup found in a humongous pot at the side of the cafe. Cutlery like fork, spoon, chopsticks are found at that area too. Each table is also provided with a box of facial tissues so you don’t have to worry about forgetting to bring your tissues to “chope” your seat.

There were 5 of us today but sadly 3 of them decided to order the same thing – the chicken cutlet with curry. So unfortunately I can only provide a total of 3 main dishes today. Not to worry, that will also mean that I will be visiting this place at least once more to snap more pictures.

Shishamo - deep fried pregnant fish

Very, very oily and it’s soggy as well. This time, they forgot to add a lemon wedge to the dish but I wasn’t fussy about it.

Chicken Curry with rice & potatoes

The above is apparently Passion Cafe’s signature dish (really?) with many tables having the same orders. I’ve never ordered this myself but with 3 of my colleagues ordering the same thing today, I guess there was no need to actually have one. Tried a bit of the curry today and yes, it is indeed pretty yummy. However to me, curry is only curry when it’s Indian. So unfortunately, while I love spicy food, Japanese curry will never satiate me.

Chicken cutlet with rice

The above rice bowl actually looks really good! Presentation is excellent with the colours well-balanced and the portion of the rice versus chicken versus vegetables nicely created. For me, the egg will be the winner but I didn’t feel like having egg today.

My choice for lunch today, which I regretted a lot, was the Softshell crab ramen. The crab was really not tasty, dunked into the soup unceremoniously until it was all soggy. The ramen today (unlike other days) were powdery and sticky at the same time, if that makes sense.

Softshell crab ramen

While it actually looks very pretty here, don’t be fooled though. Wouldn’t recommend the ramen but perhaps their Udon will be a better choice.

This hole-in-the-wall eatery is found at the cross junction of McCallum Street and Cecil Street.

Passion Cafe LLP is located above Dudu Cafe/ Ayesha’s Kitchen, at Tung Ann Association Building, 141 Cecil Street, Tel 63455644 – though I reckon you would never, ever need to dial this number for a reservation. Cash only please!