Some cafes get our attention with their gorgeous, Insta-worthy dishes and others with their attractive prices. What’s Pide peaked our interest with their tongue-in-cheek name, and so we headed down to find out what exactly is pide.
Pronounced PEA-DAY, not PIE-DUH, What’s Pide is all ready to take on our food scene with their culinary creations . The eatery specializes in pide, a Mediterranean flatbread shaped like a pocket and filled with a range of interesting fillings inspired by various cuisines. To help you imagine what a pide will taste like, try to think of what happens when a curry puff and a burger have a lovechild – you’ll get a pide, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.
Originally from Korea, What’s Pide has recently opened its first overseas outlet in Singapore in China Square Central. Even if you think that you’ve tried it all at their 11 outlets in Korea, you’ll find that the menu here in Singapore is different as it was tailored to fit local tastebuds.
What’s Pide has a total of 5 different fillings on their menu, and we were fortunate enough to get to try them all! We ranked them, starting with our favourite first.
1. PRAWN STAR ($8.50)
We loved everything about this pide, from its name down to the soft, crusty bread. The Prawn Star actually comes with soft-shell prawns marinating in a kimchi mayo sauce with juicy tomatoes and fresh lettuce. It’s not everyday that you see soft-shell prawns and the fried prawns were really delicious – it’s pretty much similar to eating a soft-shell crab but without any pesky crab legs. The sauce was more mayo than kimchi, but it was spicy enough to bring the whole pide together.
2. HEY! LU LU ($6.50)
Hey! Lu Lu was a strong contender for our favourite filling, but the unique soft-shell prawns managed to win us over. That being said, Hey! Lu Lu delivers a punch of sweet, spicy, and savory in every bite with black pepper chicken and pineapple slices. The juicy pineapple slices gives bursts of sweet citrus, contrasting the peppery chicken. Not recommended for people who don’t like pineapple in their pizzas.
3. EDA-SAN ($7.50)
If you’re conscious about eating meat, look out for Eda-san. We originally thought these were meatballs, but it turned out to be vegetables! One look at the name, and we could already tell that it was inspired by Japanese food. The balls are actually fried edamame with diced shiitake mushrooms and tastes like a vege patty! There’s wasabi mayo, so those who don’t take wasabi might want to sit this out. Do note that while there is no meat in this pide, it’s not vegetarian as there are eggs used in the mayo.
4. MRS. PARK ($9)
Mrs. Park is probably the closest to What’s Pide’s Korean heritage with bulgogi slices and caramelized onions, with pickled jalapeños for little bursts of heat. You can’t exactly go wrong with bulgogi and onions and the beef was tender and full of flavor. Definitely go for it if you love bulgogi!
5. SOFIA’S MEATBALLS ($7.50)
Imagine a plate of meatball marinara pasta in a toastie, and this is basically what we thought of. Sofia’s Meatballs (we’re not sure who Sofia is either) is basically a pocket of beef meatballs and herbed tomato sauces. The meatballs were nice and chewy, but I still preferred my meatballs with a side of pasta, and not with lettuce and slaw.
BREAKFAST MENU
What’s Pide has a different menu for breakfast if you’re stopping by in the morning for your bread fix. Breakfast is served from 8am to 11am, and you can pick from two options on the very limited menu for now: Avocadabra ($5.50) and Oh My Otah ($4.50). The Avocadabra is stuffed with avocado slices and scrambled eggs, and is pretty much the pide version of that basic avocado toast, while Oh My Otah takes the classic Peranakan snack and pairing it with crunchy Japanese cucumber slices.
And if you’re into bread as much as I am, you might even consider getting plain pides without any fillings just to snack on. They also sell Rosemary pides, which is just the pide shell baked with rosemary herbs. You can then add in your own custom fillings or just dip it in some honey or virgin olive oil.
NITRO COLD BREWS & TIPPLES!
Because they are situated right smack in the CBD which is notorious for their coffee drinkers, you can also pick up a Long Black ($2.50) or a Latte ($3.50) together with your pide.
Or try something different! I’d like to bring your attention to their Nitro Cold Brew drinks, which also has a coffee option. Called Pide’s Brew ($5), the cold drip coffee is brewed overnight with Vietnamese coffee and coconut water, resulting in a fragrant cup of joe. Pide’s Brew doesn’t taste as bitter or strong as most Vietnamese coffee does, but it doesn’t lose out on complexities of flavor – if you’re a coffee aficionado, you’ll definitely enjoy it!Plus it makes for a refreshing drink if you’re craving cold coffee in this heat.
Tea drinkers will like the Vanda Nitro Cold Brew Tea ($3.50), a sweet, floral tea that reminds us of Singapore’s national flower, although we aren’t sure if it is the inspiration behind the tea.
Other drinks include AKA, a craft cola drink from Malaysia that tastes like a nuttier version of Coke but not as sweet, as well as beers like Blue Island and Mythos.
WHAT’S PIDE
Address: 22 Cross Street, #01-63, China Square Central, Singapore 048421
Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 8am to 9pm. Closed on weekends and public holidays
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