The new Simplicité Café brings French chic to a part of Changi Road dotted by building material suppliers and hardware stores. It even has tables along the pavement so that, with some imagination, you can feel like you are sipping coffee in a Parisian sidewalk cafe.
Simplicité Café by FFL
Simplicité is located at the junction of Chnagi Road and Lor Marzuki, just opposite Lorong 101 Changi Road. That was where Fresh Fruits Lab (FFL) started out as a cafe with interior design which incorporated elements from the school science laboratory. The FFL Group now has 3 eateries – Platform 1094 in Serangoon, Herit8ge in Jewel Changi Airport and Simplicité – as well as Elements Cake, which supplies cakes to the eateries and also cater to customers looking for bespoke cakes.
If the old Fresh Fruits Lab cafe was a like a teenager with a cool grunge look, the new Simplicité Café would be a grown up young lady with a sophisticated style.
The black and white awnings and bistro chairs on the pavement create the feel of a Parisian street cafe.
The interior of the new cafe is a simple black and white space with pastel accents. Large glass windows give the place a beautiful glow that only natural light can give. There is a cosy corner with sofa seats and there are also counter seats for those who like to look out to the world outside but want to enjoy air-conditioning.
Menu of Simplicité Café
The menu of Simplicité Café is simple and decidedly modern European. There are French onion soup and Caesar salad as well as tapas, pasta and burgers.
There is a small brunch section and the fresh bakes are also interesting.
Lunch at Simplicité
Simplicité by FFL is a very nice cafe for a leisurely lunch. We ordered a few items from different sections of the menu – Orange Snail ($1.80), Fried Chickpea Balls ($8) and Chicken Fricassee ($19). We also had a hot flat white ($5.50) and iced flat white ($6.50).
The Orange Snail was a small light and airy pastry. It was buttery and slightly sweet. Although it is usually served as part of a continental breakfast, it is a good alternative to plain bread before the mains for lunch.
The Fried Chickpea Balls were served with honey mustard mayo dip. The vegetarian chickpea ball was like begedil, or deep fried potato patty, with a nice crust. It had complex flavours and was enjoyable.
Simplicité’s Chicken Fricassee was beautifully plated. It was a classic French comfort food – tender chicken pieces with a rich white wine cream sauce. The chicken was lightly grilled and then braised. It had little brown bits but was succulent and delicious. It tasted as good as it looked. We would order this again (and we did).
We rounded off lunch with a sinfully decadent Lychee Cake ($7.50). Simplicité’s signature cake looked beautiful. It was more mousse and cream than cake.
The coffee at Simplicité Café was good.
Simplicité Café Takeaway
Shortly after we visited the new cafe, dining-in became restricted as the Covid-19 Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) measures kicked in Singapore. We returned to Simplicité to take away a Duck Confit ($28) and Chicken Fricassee ($19).
We simply called the cafe to place our order and was told we could collect the food in 20 minutes time. When we arrived, the food was waiting for us. A 20% discount was given for self-collection
The duck confit was very good – meltingly tender with a slightly salty flavour. The chicken fricassee did not look as good in a takeaway bowl but was still delectable. No regret in ordering the dish again.
Simplicity Works
The new Simplicité Café at Changi Road proves that simplicity works. There is nothing complicated or gimmicky about their decor or menu. They just do the basic things well – they provide a pleasant space, good friendly service, good food and beverages at a good price.
Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 4
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 3
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs 
Simplicité Café
351 Changi Road, Singapore 419818
Tel: +65 6677 6741
Opening Hours:
Tue – Fri: 11 am – 10 pm
Sat & Sun: 9 am – 10 pm
Closed on Mondays
Takeaway: Just call 6677 6741 or WhatsApp 8834 8553 to order and enjoy 20% discount on hot food for self-collection.
The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog
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