VXX Cooperative stocks a variety of beans from world renowned coffee roasters: local favorite Nylon, but also Cloud Catcher from Malaysia, Tim Wendelboe from Norway, and Koppi from Sweden. While they were out of takeaway beans on the day we visited (boo! hiss!), we were delighted by the pretty pour-over setups and creative drinks, including a refreshing Cold Brew Sour made with Kenya Kagumoini beans, grapefruit and cardamom syrups, and a squeeze of citrus. VXX co-founders Joy Cheng and Aslam Yusoff refresh the food menu every three to four months, describing it as “80% comfort food, 20% noms for the adventurous.” From the current offerings, we’d file smoked duck Eggs Benedict with shallot hotcakes and caviar in the former category and the delicious chili crab-and-cheese omelet on sourdough toast in that latter.

VXX’s space is fairly compact, but a quieter alternative to nearby Chye Seng Huat Hardware… which, good luck ever getting any work done there. People watch your table like hawks, waiting for any sign that you might be wrapping up, and then swoop in to steal your seat before you’ve even pushed it in.

FYI if you go: VXX is a one-minute walk to the photogenic Tibetan Buddhist temple Thekchen Choling, which houses a giant mani wheel, an illuminated Medicine Buddha, and half a dozen sacred relics. It’s free to visit; just remember to take your shoes off before entering.

20 Foch St., Singapore; +65-8720-0093.