Professor Brawn Cafe (Velocity)

Visit back to Prof Brawn.

Pumpkin Soup - A bit too thin for my liking but I guess it is the healthier choice. The taste and flavours of the pumpkin is quite subtle, good for those who don't  really like pumpkin but still want the full goodness of the golden fruit.

Chicken chop in truffle sauce - A quick sidenote. The wedges are absolutely fantastic. I am not sure if they are made fresh or from frozen packages. But a delight. Chicken chop is well cooked. The skin is crispy and do not have the burnt taste that comes from cooking on a "too-hot" surface. Truffle taste in the sauce, tasted weird to me. I love truffles, but somehow this sauce did not work out for me. And I can't put a finger to it.

Fish and Chips - Good old dish. Love the batter and how nicely the fish is fried. Still moist and cooked to perfection. Seldom do you find fish and chips of this great quality. Simple but hard to master and Prof Brawn got it right.

We shared a double scoop. Absolutely delicious ice cream from New Zealand. Most of the flavours are awesome.

For photos please visit here.

happened to be in the novena area and was a little lost on what to eat because i hardly ever come to this area.

was walking along and chanced on this place. it was just at a corner and sort of felt like makeshift (carved a space out for a cafe). i was attracted by the set menu which wasnt expensive (less than $20) came with drink (orange / lemon), main course (steak, chicken, fish & chips) and cake. also the decor sort of intrigued me, it felt like Harry Porter style, bookish, brawny as if you were dining in an old fashioned library.

i had the steak and orange juice, chocolate cake and extra added a coffee to go with my cake.

the steak was a good sized portion, done nicely with wedges and quite filling already. but as im always greedy, i had the warm chocolate cake. it was nice but it felt like it was nuked in the microwave 'cos it was warm outside and hot inside. it was nice with coffee though.

overall i had a nice dinner by myself and it was quite a quirky nerdy experience. service was OK, nothing especially good or bad, wouldnt mind going again to try the set dinner again. quite an enjoyable meal by myself.

With a nephew who is autistic, I just need to visit this cafe and lent my support.

This cafe is founded by parents and friends of those with special needs, especially, Autism.



What is Autism?

"Autism comes from 'Autos', the Greek word for 'self', and a person with autism is often referred to as someone who lives in a world of their own.

In medical terms, autism is a brain-based developmental disorder that affects a person's ability to communicate, be with other people, and engage in developmentally appropriate behaviours.

Autism is a life-long developmental disorder, and as yet there is no cure. Children do not "outgrow" autism but symptoms may lessen or change as the child develops and receives educational interventions." (Source: Autism Resource Centre, Singapore)



My Tea-Break / Meeting (2pax)

Set / Ice-Cream on Waffle with Tea : $6.90 (Ice-Cream: a NZ Premium ice-cream brand.)



Set / Warm Carrot Cake with Tea: $6.90

Clam Chowder: $5.90 (The soup came with a serving of warm rosemary Foccacia. The bread was lovely.)

Conclusion: To rest your tired feet after shopping at Novena Sq / Velocity, or to have that quick meeting over coffee, this cafe is a great place to visit to support a worthy cause. 

Professor Brawn has a social mission, which is to empower the downtrodden of society. Special needs people are given employment opportunities here, and to be honest, you can't tell the difference.

Most importantly, the food is more than decent. I had the black miso cod, which was slightly charred yet melt-in-your-mouth smooth - just the way I like it. The mashed sweet potato was interesting, but I've never liked that particular vegetable.

The wife had grilled chicken with truffle sauce. The chicken was nicely grilled and the sauce was flavourful without being overpowering.

The only disappointing dish was the calamari we shared. The batter was strangely powdery; perhaps the oil was not hot enough? The meat was also too chewy.

Anyhow, set meal offers ensured we got free dessert, drink and soup. The vanilla-choc ice-cream reminded me of Ben & Jerry's Rocky Road, and the soup was delightfully swimming with munchy mushroom bits.

All in all, this is a very promising venture, with some profits going to help those at Pathlight School.

I came to know Professor Brawn cafe through eat omy. This cafe is founded by parents & friends who want to make a difference to the special needs of the community.

The cafe is located at the alfresco area where mingles used to be. Their misson is to provide good & affordable foods by an inclusive workforce comprising people of different abilities, ages & socio-economic background.

I feel that the cafe is very well-decorated, with chalk scribbles on the walks and pictures. It is very colourful and eye-catching.

The menu is printed in a form of a diary. They have daily set lunch from $12.90++ (choose from 5 sets) and specials of the week. There is also an ice-cream parlour which you can get ice-cream.

I decided to get the Set lunch – Weekly specials as it is quite affordable for $21.90++. The set comprises Pan-grill black cod miso, a soup of the day and a drink.

The fish took about 20 mins to arrive . I was a little taken aback by the huge portion that is served. A huge fillet of cod fish marinated with sweet black miso and pan-grilled. I have requested to omit the clam chowder soup since I do not like it and replaced t with more asparagus.

The fish is over-grilled,resulting the meat to be a little tough but the black miso marinate is quite good, a little salty and sweet (mirin). They served it with 8 fat spears of asparagus,nicely grilled.

I am not a fan of potatoes but the mashed sweet potatoes that is served together with the fish is actually not bad. The sweet potato is mashed and I had it with some salt and pepper. I didn’t realised that I finished the whole portion!

For the choice of berveage, I just had a cup of green tea. The ice-cream flavours looks interesting. But I’m simply too full after finishing that plate of mashed sweet potatoes, I shall leave it to the next visit.

The service here is not very professional as the servers are just students, probably from pathlight school. Anyway, I didn’t care as long as the food is good

Just opened at Novena Square, Professor Brawn Cafe is a social enterprise run by parents that have sought to raise awareness on children with special needs. My need though, was dinner and hence my hunger drove me to the cafe for something quick and easy.

I ordered the Spaghetti Vongole Set Meal ($12.90), which comes with a soup and a drink (orange juice). Starting with the tomato soup, it was clear that there was no intense red coloring as it came out orange-looking. Nice and slightly tangy.

The main course was the spaghetti vongole that did not turn out to what I expected. The clams were there, but the spaghetti was mixed with butter and some cream. It was tasty and unique, and I always appreciate it when restaurants take risk - provided it comes out well of course.

For desserts I had a slice of the chocolate cake which was really rich.

Service was alright. I like the quaint private dining feel which is probably due to the smaller Novena crowds at night.