Symmetry Cafe - Must Try Crab on Toast and Lamb Shakshouka

There are cafés that pick a lane and stay in it. Then there’s Symmetry — and Symmetry does not pick lanes. Tucked into a heritage shophouse along Jalan Kubor, this all-day dining institution has been quietly defying categorisation since 2012, building a loyal following on the strength of a single, deceptively simple premise: do everything well, and genre becomes irrelevant. From a Singaporean kaya toast to a Japanese ochazuke to a European big breakfast loaded enough to silence a table, every dish here carries the same quiet confidence of a kitchen that knows exactly what it’s doing — even when what it’s doing refuses to make sense on paper.

Walking into Symmetry is a minor act of visual whiplash, and that’s entirely the point. Mismatched chairs, cascading hanging plants, French windows that seem borrowed from entirely different eras — the interior has the feel of somewhere that collected things it loved without worrying too much about whether they belonged together. It shouldn’t work. It does. The result is a room that feels genuinely lived-in rather than designed-for-Instagram, and that same instinct — bring together what you love, execute it properly, let the logic sort itself out later — extends directly onto the plate.

Symmetry Big Breakfast

The Big Breakfast is the statement here. Reviewers have called it one of the best in Singapore, and it’s not hard to see why. The spread brings together eggs cooked to order, avocado mash, glazed bacon, chicken sausage, sautéed mushrooms, and golden hash browns — every component individually executed, from the scrambled eggs to the avocado mash, with the Brussels sprouts drawing particular praise for their caramelized bite. The portion is genuinely generous, positioned for sharing but habitually devoured solo. Pricing sits in the mid-thirties range, which reads steep until the plate arrives.

Eggs Benedict

The Eggs Benedict at Symmetry already has a reputation — poached eggs cooked to perfection, hollandaise with the right balance of creaminess and acidity, each component strong enough to stand on its own. The Crab variant pushes the dish further: fleshy chunks of crabmeat tucked beneath the hollandaise, served atop a lightly toasted muffin with avocado purée and tater tots on the side. The crabmeat is generous enough to reframe the dish entirely — this is not an Eggs Benedict with a token flourish.

Crab on Toast

The Crab on Toast is one of those dishes that consistently surprises first-timers. Reviewers note it delivers far more than expected, with multiple layers of flavour anchored by a wasabi mayo that cuts cleanly through the richness of the crab. The crabmeat itself is sweet and generously portioned, with a spicy mango salsa alongside that adds brightness and a touch of heat — a combination that reads distinctly Symmetry, leaning into the kitchen’s instinct for unexpected but coherent pairings. It’s a strong sharer, though ordering one between two requires a certain willingness to negotiate the last bite.

Lamb Shakshouka

The Lamb Shakshouka is where Symmetry’s cross-cultural instinct makes the most sense. A Middle Eastern foundation — eggs poached directly in a spiced, slow-reduced tomato stew — gets deepened with the addition of tender lamb, turning a brunch classic into something with genuine substance and heat. The eggs arrive with just-set whites and still-runny yolks bleeding into the sauce beneath, each spoonful pulling together braised meat, acidic tomato, and warm spice in a way that makes it hard to stop at one mouthful. It’s the kind of dish that reads comforting but eats boldly — and on a heritage shophouse terrace with a coffee in hand, it’s close to the ideal Saturday morning.

Waffles

The waffles have attracted their own following, thick-crusted and crisp at the edge, served with mixed berry compote, peanut butter, chocolate hazelnut, and blueberry ice cream. A medley of textures with crunchy granola adds a layer that prevents the dish from reading as straight dessert. Order it between meals, or as a closer — it holds up either way.

Coconut Cold Brew
Symmetry’s Coconut Cold Brew is the kind of drink that makes the alfresco terrace worth lingering on. Built on a base of coconut water rather than milk or cream, it arrives studded with delicate shavings of fresh coconut flesh — light, slightly sweet, and cooling in a way that feels considered rather than gimmicky. The cold brew base keeps it grounded and caffeinated; the coconut lifts it somewhere closer to refreshment than a straight coffee. On a warm Jalan Kubor afternoon, it reads less like a beverage choice and more like the obvious one.

Symmetry is easy to explain in a single sentence — a heritage shophouse café on Jalan Kubor with an eclectic, genre-blind menu — and nearly impossible to reduce to one. Established since 2012, it has built its identity around all-day dining that moves freely between cuisines and time-of-day conventions, and the kitchen’s execution remains consistently strong enough to make that ambition land. Come for the Big Breakfast, stay for the ochazuke, order the Crab Eggs Benedict in between. The space will hold you comfortably for all of it.

📍 9 Jalan Kubor #01-01, Singapore 199206
📞 +65 6291 9901
🕐 Mon–Tue: 9am–9pm | Wed–Fri: 10am–11pm | Sat: 9am–11pm | Sun: 9am–7pm
🌐 symmetry.com.sg