You Can Grab Coffee And Shop For Vintage At New Zion Road Cafe Uptown.
The owner of this quaint River Valley hangout has channelled his love for cafe culture and fashion into one space.
Think of the last time you’ve been to a cafe in Singapore. Perhaps it was the night before, or earlier today for a quick lunch run. You know the drill – it starts with a wait in line. If you’re lucky, you stand in the queue underneath the sweltering sky for a couple of minutes before you’re ushered into the cool of the air-conditioned space.
A friendly staff hands you the menu, you order, and you’re reminded to finish up before the allocated dining time ends. The room is packed to the gills, and once you’ve finished downing the last drop of coffee alongside a very standard fare of avo and eggs, you’re out the door. The whole thing takes you 45 minutes, tops.
Opened in early August by former fashion buyer Timothy Koh, Uptown. is located at 55 Zion Road and opens from Wednesday to Saturday, from 8am to 6pm.
Now, think of the last time you truly wanted to stay in a cafe – to chat, to lounge, to commune. In an already-saturated cafe scene such as ours, making a mark can be difficult. You’re fighting against the big boys as well as a new cafe sprouting up every hour. That was Timothy Koh’s challenge when he opened Uptown. (yes, period sign and all) earlier this month.
The 31-year-old Koh meets us at the Zion Road outpost, a day before the grand opening. Rather than step into a madhouse of staff rushing to get the space ready for its hard launch, Koh and his team are completely at ease. Uptown. may be his first foray into the world of F&B for the former fashion buyer, but he’s had this vision for the space for a while now.
Uptown. has a bohemian and cosy vibe. The space is decked out in eclectic furniture such as Chesterfield couches and mismatched chairs, while an antique grandfather clock that is a family heirloom takes pride of space in the corner of the cafe.
“I’ve always had this in the back of my mind that I wanted to create a place that felt like a cultural meeting point,” Koh says. “I feel like we don’t have many of these spaces in Singapore. I can’t quite explain it, but sometimes when you step into a place that is thoughtfully created, it feels like it has a soul. It feels alive.” Ahead, we get him to distil what makes his business tick.
Kih cites several points of inspiration, the largest of them being his love for New York. Growing up, he had always listened to hip-hop, and was immersed in the idea and energy of the Big Apple from a young age. In creating Uptown., he’s brought that into the space. The walls feature exposed bricks painted over in a creamy white colour, while low tables, Chesterfield couches, Persian rugs and mismatched chairs dot the space. Over our heads, a pair of lamp sconces that once belonged to Koh’s grandmother hangs proudly by the coffee bar, with a pair of Air Jordans 6’s dangling from it. In the corner, an antique grandfather clock that Koh’s family kept takes pride of place.
Uptown. feels familiar, unpretentious and inviting. And it’s in this manner that Koh is bringing his space to life. The light-filled space feels like you’ve just stepped off Zion Road and into a friend’s home, and that’s exactly his intention.
“I didn’t want to start another commercial cafe. With Uptown., I was really thinking, ‘What if it looks like a home? What if the plates were all slightly mismatched, just like how they’d be in a home? What if every piece of furniture wasn’t just a cookie-cutter replica? And that’s what I wanted to achieve,” he explains. “I want people to come in here and be genuinely comfortable.”
The menu reads like something that you’d expect when you’re hanging out at a friend’s place too. Their Signature Sausage Muffin is a familiar riff of the – you guessed it – McMuffin from McDonald’s. Served with tater tots on the side, Koh explained that he wanted to try and recreate it but with fresher, more premium ingredients. The meat is seasoned perfectly, and a nicely charred crust gives way to a juicy bite. He cites Virgil Abloh’s three per cent rule – where if you change something that people know by just 3 per cent, you’ll get a result that feels new enough without being alienating – as the base inspiration in a lot of Uptown.’s DNA. From the reinterpreted classics on the menu to the SoHo-yet-not-quite decor, the 3 per cent rule applies.
Another hit is the Crispy Rice Tuna (right), which boasts generous slices of tuna seared and paired with creamy avocado slices on a patty of charred rice. Other dishes also feature Asian-inspired twists, such as a salad that subs out croutons for tempeh crisps and there’s even a version of the classic kaya butter toast. A nasi goreng-inspired rice bowl pays homage to Koh’s Indonesian heritage. His choice of spotlighting Asian fare is entirely intentional.
As Koh puts it, “Having lived in Australia for a couple of years, I experienced my share of racism, and I think that changes you. Either you hide who you are, or you stand proud of your heritage. For me, the discrimination made me prouder of being Asian, and so I wanted to infuse that Asian element into the food that we serve our customers.”
Beyond the food, there’s also a corner where Koh shares his vintage finds for interested shoppers. Having spent years working in fashion, his curation is a veritable bank of holy grail finds, such as a well-maintained vintage Celine overnighter and a reversible letterman jacket from the Chicago White Sox. Each piece is sourced internationally, and he aims to bring new products onto the racks each week.
It's also Koh’s dream to expand Uptown. into more than just a space to dine and shop. As Koh muses about his plans for the space, he mentions that one of his many goals for the cafe is that it is listed as a must-visit when tourists start Googling for the best hangout joints in Singapore.
“Uptown. is a place where people who appreciate culture can gather,” he muses. “So people who love fashion would recognise this as a place with great food and vintage finds. People who love hip-hop would stop in here because they enjoy the music. Sneakerheads would recognise this place because we celebrate sneaker culture. Ultimately, it’s a place where people from different cultures and backgrounds, with different passions and ideas, can come together and meet.”