A cafe with an indoor playground concept, One Thing is the perfect place for parents to kick back and relax while their kids have fun inside.
The decor is simple and clean with a modern Korean theme, while the rather extensive menu is composed of coffee, frappes, toasts, cakes, muffins, and other desserts like waffles, bingsu and ice cream.
The Waffle here is the fluffy kind with a little bit of crisp to it (you definitely need to tell them to bake it longer if you want it to be crispier). Even then, it’ll still turn out too thick, soft and bready. The batter used has some buttery notes, but there’s no overt flavour to it apart from that. This waffle also gives off a slightly bitter aftertaste that I dislike, which could be a sign of too much baking soda being used to make it. Cute plating, though. 2/5
The Green Tea and Strawberry ice cream were serviceable but forgettable flavours. This is cheap, ready-made stuff that won’t burn a hole in your pocket, at least. 3/5
Bingsu is the highlight at One Thing, especially the pat (red bean) bingsu, and it isn’t as exorbitantly priced like Nunsongyee’s, though it isn’t exactly cheap either.
I’m generally not that crazy about bingsu, but there’s no denying that One Thing serves up an excellent and value-for-money Pat Bingsu. Even the smaller ‘cup’ version, at $7, is enough for two to share and comes loaded with red beans, almond flakes, condensed milk, roasted soybean powder and a generous scoop of your ice cream of choice. (A caveat about the Paddle Pop-looking flavour, though – despite what the staff might tell you, it actually tastes more like bubblegum.) 4/5
The Dutch Bingsu—made from sweet milk ice covered with chocolate syrup and crushed oreos, then topped with ice cream plus a concentrated shot of Dutch coffee—is a unique One Thing creation that I’ve never seen served at any other bingsu place. It used to be more chocolatey, though, and the version pictured above is rather neutered compared to what I had before. (Maybe they ran out of chocolate condiments?) 3.5/5
All in all: a really nice cafe to study or chill in even if you don’t have kids. Free wi-fi is provided and the coffee deserves special mention for using a Dutch cold brew method that’s rare to find in Singapore. It’s just too bad the waffle didn’t do it for me.
Address: 170 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, #B2-17, Singapore 588179
FB: facebook.com/OneThingCafe
[Note: This is an archived review posted in a chat group from before I got into blogging. I’ve since updated and formatted it for the site.]
