South Union Park - new neighborhood cafe in the East

South Union Park is a new neighborhood cafe that has just opened in March 2016. Tucked away in the middle of Jalan Kembangan, it is located in a row of shophouses in the predominantly private residential area. From afar, it may not be obvious from its name in big black lettering on plain white walls that it is a cafe. However, go closer and the large glass frontage of South Union Park gives you a glimpse of the inside of a cosy cafe. Push through the glass door and you will enter a neat comfortable space inviting you to grab a seat and unwind with cup of coffee or a bottle of beer. The immediate thought that came to mind was that every neighbourhood should have a cafe like this.

The black and white theme of the exterior continues into the inside with clean white walls adorned with a few small paintings. Dark wood provides contrast and warmth in the decor. The lamps and light bulbs used in the cafe are interesting. There is an eclectic mix of wooden furniture. A bar counter faces the open kitchen.

The menu is simple and we understand that changes are still being made to the menu. Essentially, South Union Park offers coffee & tea, beers & ciders, desserts and light bites. Pastas and a few mains are available.

We went to South Union Park for lunch and ordered Fried Chicken ($9), Crabcakes ($12) and Duck Confit Pasta ($19). No GST or service charge was added to the bill.

A bottle of iced water was served together with a complimentary portion Pork Crackling.

The Fried Chicken with BBQ sauce was enjoyable. The chicken was succulent and tasty and the sauce complemented the flavour of the marinated chicken rather than overwhelmed it.

Crabcakes were served with a red pepper based dip on the side. The crabcakes were fried to a golden brown on the outside. The crab meat and binder inside were sweet and tender with the taste of the crab clearly discernible. Eaten with or without the dip, the crabcakes were very tasty and enjoyable.

The Duck Confit with Tagliatelle and hazlnut sauce had an interesting mix of flavours and textures. The al dente tagliatelle was quite thick and a little harder than the way we liked it. The sauce was smooth and very pleasant. On the whole, the dish was not bad.

For once we left some room for dessert. The Lemon Tart ($6) was recommended to us. We asked for a scoop of ice cream ($3.00) to go with the tart and coffee. A Long Black was $3.50.

The big slice of lemon tart had good smooth lemon custard with the top caramelized brulee style. The crust was sweetish and not too thick. The tart was very nice except that we thought that it was just a little too sweet for us.

We had a delightful lunch at South Union Park. We think that South Union Park has everything we would like in a neighborhood cafe: clean comfortable space, relaxed atmosphere, affable staff, good service, nice desserts, good coffee and some tasty food.