A Toast to Toast

Words can never express the amount of love I have for Toast. It’s the place where I brunch at most weekends, and the place I always want to seek refuge in during the work week. No other place holds the position for serving the best turkey-cornbread stuffing- cranberry wrap, or sells the moistest chocolate-peanut butter-banana cake, or prepares the best iced tea I’ve ever tasted. It doesn’t drain out my wallet too bad as well. And the best part? Its baby pink girly walls just make me feel so loved. 

Once you’ve heard that Toast is managed by the Marmalade Group, you already know you’re in good hands. They’re the same people behind the Tai-tai-loved Marmalade Pantry, and the new, ultra-swanky Pierside Kitchen and Bar, both of which dish out very, very good food. 

The service at Toast is always prompt, efficient and friendly. They clear plates really fast, and ensure a high standard of quality and cleaniness. Always smiling, they welcome you when you enter its pink premises and thank you when you leave! I’ve also noticed a low turnover, and it’s so comforting to see familiar faces working at the store. This also pretty much ensures the consistency of your food.  

One word anyone would describe Toast – Cosy. Expect yellow lights, and minimalist chairs. And no one can ever forget the baby pink-tiled walls that is just SO Toast. With everything fused together, it feels like a café for a dollhouse, but just the place to hide from the crowd on a Saturday afternoon. It’s always so welcoming. 

Like most delis and cafes popular with the office crowd, Toast tends to get busy during breakfast and lunch breaks, so it might not be a good idea to pop in during these hours, unless you crave for their fast take-away items like cupcakes, teacakes and palm-sized chocolate peanut butter cookie ($2.20)  

Iced Tea ($2.50)
A frothy, icy, blended concoction. Tea is blended with lemon pieces, sugar syrup and ice. The result? An ingeniously-prepared, affordable Toast signature. Just the right sweetness and sourness, packs a bite too, as you can chew on the lemon pieces, which aren’t bitter at all. You might find an occasional lemon seed or two but somehow you don’t really give a hoot. It tastes THAT good. A perfect accompaniment to Toast’s heavy items, especially when you don’t desire to load up on dairy. 

Cupcakes ($3.50)
Nutella – A chocolate cupcake with a fine crumb, more chocolatey than it might seem, overthrown by a thick sticky layer of Nutella, the chocolate spread that everyone hates to love, but loves anyway. 

Elvis – We all know Elvis Presley and his undying (ok we exaggerate) affection for banana and peanut butter. Relive this kid-like indulgence with a moist, dense chocolate banana cupcake (with a banana slice baked inside!), and spread with the yummiest, stickiest peanut butter frosting.  

Limonata – The pairing of sour and sweet has hardly ever gone wrong. (think: sweet & sour pork, preserved plums, WARHEADS!) Similarly, a lemon-zinged butter icing would never do any harm to a piece of butter cake. A perfect choice if you prefer something not too cloying for tea. 

Cloud 9 – A chosen few favour coconut in their desserts, and God created this to thank them. A cream cheese frosting layer sprawls on a bed of fluffy white coconut cake, awaiting for their move into their second home – your stomach. 

Pie

I’ve only tried one pie at Toast – the apple pie ($5+). Frankly, I didn’t like it. But only because apple pie is split into 2 groups – sweet, or sour. And since I grew up on awesome chemical-infused sweet apple pies from the king of burgers and the golden arches, my apple pie sensors are tweaked towards favouring the sweet. And Toast’s is sour. 

Pie crust is also a factor of pie appreciation, and although Toast’s pie crust is flaky and buttery enough, it also tasted a bit like the plastic container it was previously stored in… not that I eat containers for lunch, but you get the picture. 

Sandwiches

There’s a wide range of fillings to go on either a fluffy ciabatta, panini, multigrain or a tortilla wrap. Opt for the latter if you want something less heavy on the stomach. You’re ensured the freshest, highest-quality food you can expect at a hi-end deli. It’s a bit pricey, but well-worth the price tag for its balanced, fulfilling flavours. 

I’ve tried 4 sandwich fillings at Toasts so far, and the two that really blew me away were Smoked Turkey, and Grilled Vegetable. 

Grilled Vegetable ($6.90) – Grilled eggplant, butternut, and red peppers with hummus.

Toast’s Grilled Vegetable sandwich was better than any I’ve ever tried, and that includes Cedele’s. Although the veggies in the sandwich were prepared beforehand and rather cold, it was very flavourful and paired well with the hummus spread. The ciabatta, with its warm crisp exterior, fluffy innards, and more-than-substantial size, pleasantly rounded off the entire sandwich. 

Smoked Turkey ($6.80)– smoked turkey ham with cornbread stuffing, cranberry relish, and romaine lettuce.

Try this one with the tortilla wrap.  I have a perpetual and insatiable craving for this, because the salty turkey goes so extremely well with the sweet cornbread stuffing and cranberry relish. The plops of indulgent mayonnaise makes this a rich treat.  

Roast Beef ($7.50) – Juicy, bloody meat sheets with caramelized onions and wasabi mayo

As thoughtless as the pairing of wasabi mayonnaise and roast beef slices may sound, everything works around the combination of salty (mayonnaise) and sweet (caramelized onions). There’s also a difference in texture which provides a very pleasant mouthfeel experience.  

Masala Chicken ($7.50) – Indian-spiced chicken with sweet, juicy mangoes, mayonnaise, romaine lettuce and mint leaves.

This was just average, but if you like a little spice and ethnicity in your lunch, try this on for taste. Toast only adds in the ripest, sweetest, yellow-est mangoes, which goes really well with the rich, savoury mayonnaise. 

Savoury Tarts ($6.80)

2 kinds of savoury tarts are sold at Toast: Field mushroom with spinach and red onion, and leek and bacon with goat cheese. I’ve never tried the latter, but both come in substantial portions just enough for a light meal. There’s just enough gourmet additions in them, like truffle oil and goat cheese to make yourself feel extra special and pampered.  

Toast also whips up a fantabulous and wide selection of salads ($5 - $6.50) and soups ($5.50 - $6.00) (only 2 are available each day, but the range changes by day).  

As if we don’t have enough reasons to love this place already, Toast offers a Tea Time promotion—$5.50 will get you any of their moist cupcakes, tea cakes or selected pastries, and a choice of either coffee, tea or iced tea. 

Wake up early for breakfast, and get complimentary coffee or tea with any breakfast item. Those on the recommended list include Toast’s peanut butter and banana toasties ($4.80) and the scrambled eggs platter ($6.50), with sausage, crispy bacon, roasted tomato and multigrain toast. Sure beats the golden arches any day, don’t you think?