Black Dog, White Dog (Orh Gao Peh Gao At New Bahru): We Taste Test Orh Gao Taproom's New All-Day Concept With Asian Comfort Food & Local Craft Beer

Some of us are early risers - the folks who wake up before the sun rises, get some exercise in, then put on a well-fitted office attire before crunching numbers over a mug of coffee. Then there's the other folks who live to live, partying the night and heart out, indulging in great food, great drinks and great company. 

Most of us fall in between the two - getting through the work day, begrudgingly or not, then letting loose at the flip of a coin, or in our case today, the flip of a coaster. 

"Black Dog, White Dog" - as is what's the literal translation of Orh Gao Taproom's new concept unveiled to be Orh Gao Peh Gao. Orh Gao Taproom first opened at Serene Centre, off the side of Singapore Botanic Gardens. During the day, Orh Gao Taproom shared the venue with Killiney, a local favourite chain of coffee shops that sells Nanyang-style coffee, eggs, toast, and other breakfast-lunchtime typicals. When evening came, the coffee and kaya toast made way for craft beer pints and hearty dinner fare.

Orh Gao's Serene Centre branch features more chic mood lighting, outdoor dining pet-friendly spaces, and a new dining menu. 

For a short while, Orh Gao went on a hiatus, recently making a return when Serene Centre's renovation was complete (for a trip down memory lane, check out our escapade on the old Orh Gao). This time, however, both day time and night time concepts are rolled into one, completely done in-house. That goes as far as making the quintessential Singaporean breakfast - kaya toast - with made-from-scratch kaya! Old time fans of the beer taproom would know, however, that the greatest hallmark of Orh Gao is how familiar it feels, a reassuring comfort that simply great food and great community will always be the constant. 

Orh Gao Peh Gao (New Bahru)'s menu. I always loved the caricatures of Orh Gao's mascots on their printed menu.  

So imagine the excitement we felt when Orh Gao made the leap to New Bahru, an up and coming place for boutique shops and upscale casual dining! Compared to the original Serene Centre outlet, the outpost at New Bahru offers a slightly different menu. Nevertheless, we decided to head down to New Bahru for a tasting.

Situated at the 2nd floor of the Kapo Building (Factory Block), the centre bar strikes you immediately from the entrance: an island flanked with a row of beer taps on one side and a kaya toast prep line alongside a local coffee brewing station on the other. We were shown to our seats, seated right in front of Chef Frankie, a familiar face at Orh Gao (and sometimes Yeastside) - this time seen steadily spreading layers of the green coconut custard over freshly toasted bread.

We tried a range of dishes that best highlighted the offerings of Orh Gao's New Bahru outpost. Frankie also made note that whilst the menus at New Bahru and Serene Centre are different, there are some overlaps in food portions served, one of such being the aforementioned toast. 

One really cool feature was the flipboard display alternating between "Peh Gao" and "Orh Gao".

Starting out strong was probably my favourite breakfast item in the world: The Traditional Toast (Kaya Butter), which saw four slices of coffee shop style bread slathered in homemade kaya (a coconut jam), butter and accompanied with two soft-boiled runny eggs. Imagine my excitement getting to try this!

The kaya here is slightly different from the usual stuff you'll see being scooped up from tupperwares in coffee shops or those from the supermarket. The kaya here was much more like a custard, with a bounce and airiness that is folded into the jam itself. It's full of coconut and fresh pandan, but toned down a lot on the sweetness, really letting the freshness of the core ingredients shine - and of course the experience of dipping crisp bread with rich kaya and cold butter into those perfectly cooked but still very much runny eggs that were anointed with dark soy sauce. It's as comforting as it is familiar as it is nostalgic, but packaged in a less indulgently sweet manner. Awesome stuff!

Of course, I accompanied my toast with a cup of coffee (in my case, Kopi C: coffee with condensed and evaporated milk), which checked all the right boxes in texture, taste and strength. 

The other libation I had spins off from the Traditional Toast (Kaya Butter), instead turning the dish into a cocktail itself! The PG Kaya Toast Cocktail, whilst initially looks like coconut cream in a cup, isn't as heavy as I thought it would be.

A small gripe I have with other kaya or pandan-inspired cocktails is that they tend to be very heavy handed, either with its coconut element that makes the cocktail too creamy and dense texture wise, or with its pandan sweetness that borders on too sweet for enjoyment. Here, the kaya creaminess is balanced perfectly with the alcoholic strength, at the same time delivering its promise without compensating heavily with sugary sweetness. It really feels like a boozy milkshake, which in my opinion was really stellar!

And now, moving on to the mains from Orh Gao Peh Gao - a dish that has made sporadic appearances in the form of limited specials and staff meals, the Hokkien Mee Tai Mak that is made with Orh Gao's own prawn stock, mee tai mak noodles, pork lard, sambal belacan and calamansi. 

It's street food in the best way possible, oily, slurp-able, with an intense prawn flavour that compliments the pork lard. The sambal belacan mixed into the noodles is a no-negotiable, even if just a little bit for those who can't take spicy food, as it really adds a brightness to the deeply savoury and rich dish. If I had to pick one food item you had to absolutely try, I'll pick this dish - it's the perfect one-man beer pint and lunch combo. 

Next up was the Tobiko Prawn Fried Rice, egg fried rice topped with tobiko, tiger prawns and sambal. This dish for me hits all the right spots, a main entree that makes a great default option for sharing with company or if you're stuck in decision paralysis. It's egg fried rice, plain and simple, but done really well, with the pops of tobiko adding a great textural excitement and umami to the dish. Again, the dish benefits from a bit of spice, and I highly recommend mixing in some of that sambal in pockets of fried rice for a flavour contrast. 

We also got to try the Chimichurri Pork Chop, featuring a five-spice pork chop accompanied with Asian chimichurri and calamansi. I'll say this dish is great for a mid-day snack, or for the situation when you're peckish and require a substantial bite but not quite enough to make a full meal. The pork is satiating, towards the leaner side, and spiced just enough to make it a great pairing with your standard crisp lager or the heavier hitting IPAs on tap. Personally, I liked the chew the leanness of the pork gave, with the right amount of fat. 

And to end it off - it would not have been a trip to Orh Gao Peh Gao if I did not at least clock in a pint of beer. And upon Frankie's suggestion, I picked a pint of Orh Gao Peh Gao's Anniversary Beer: The Orh Gao x Rocky Ridge Seven Hop Masters New England IPA (6.7%) for celebrating Orh Gao's seventh anniversary! 

For its absurdly elaborate seven-hop recipe and slightly higher ABV, this is a very juicy but rather light-footed and refreshing interpretation of a hazy IPA. It comes in bright, crisp, with bright citrus flesh and tropical fruit, mango, mandarin peels. The body is soft, creamy with a finish of light barley notes, aromatic pithiness and a gripping citrus peel that cuts through the oil of the fried rice dish. 

This pint will be reviewed separately in another post (and an ode to Orh Gao itself) so stay tuned. But till then, what an amazing spread from Orh Gao, and I highly recommend visiting both Serene Centre and New Bahru when you get the chance!