Breakthru' Cafe

"Officially launched on the 27th of October 2007 by Associate Professor Ho Peng kee (Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Law), Breakthrough cafe offers reformed drug addicts the much needed employment opportunities where they can further their skills and be better prepared in reintegrating into the society.

The cafe's delightful menu of local delights in a cozy setting makes it a regular choice for many working in its vicinity. As a ministry of Breakthrough Missions, the cafe provides 12 of its selected residents the hands on experience and responsibilities, allowing them to build confidence and becoming the salt and light at work to bless their families and the society."
(copied & pasted from Breakthru Missions' website)

101A Upper Cross Street
#01-02C People's Park Centre
Tel: 6533 5977
Opening Hours
Mon-Thurs: 7am–7pm
Fri: 7am–5pm
Sat: 7am–3pm
Closed on Sunday & public holidays.


This was the second time I eat at this Dim Sum cafe. Even it is not considered a restaurant, the food it serves sure goes up to the standard of one. Apart from the dim sum menu, they also serve breakfast sets and homemade burgers. As for the beverage, I recommend Eight Treasure Herbal Tea.


I really like menu with pictures of the food on it, like this:

These are what I have ordered, plus a char siew pao which has not arrived yet and a second serving of the pork ribs:

虾饺皇 Steamed Prawn Dumpling
烧卖 Steamed Siew Mai
虾仁肠粉 Prawn Rice Roll
咖啡 Coffee with Sweet Milk
八宝清凉茶 Eight Treasure Herbal Tea
桂林风爪 Steamed Chicken Claws
排骨 Steamed Pork Ribs


Let's start with the Steamed Prawn Dumpling first.

The skin of the har kaw is not extremely thin, but very delicate. Under the skin, there're 3-4 fresh prawns packed tightly together. The har kaw tastes good enough on its own, but i prefer mine with some soy sauce to enhance the sweetness of the prawns :)

I'm not a big fan of siew mai, but I sure love the one they serve here. The siew mai skin is thin enough and the filling is not flour-ish at all. There're chopped prawns inside as well.

Another prawn dish I ordered. The rice roll, or what we normally refer as chee cheung fun, is a satisfaction from every mouthful. The first thing you'll taste the moment you put it into your mouth is fried shallots. Then as you chew through, the fried shallots' taste will be dramatically brought down to as subtle as the cheung fun sauce.

My all-time favorite dim sum dish, apart from har kaw, is chicken claws. When I first saw this, I was quite unhappy that the claws were so big. From past experiences, I've developed a mindset that big chicken claws mean thick fats. Surprisingly, the first bite I took of this chicken claw proved otherwise. The chicken feet skin is so thin and no thick, hard fats at all! The skin and whatever under it detaches easily from the bones. The sauce coating is also not very sticky.

This steamed pork ribs took away the spotlight from my all-time favorite har kaw. The meat is very tender, yet you can still feel its texture. Seriously, the best pork ribs I've ever eaten :D

I was too engaged savoring the fluffy bun, that I've actually forgotten exactly how the char siew tasted like. Either way, this char siew bao deserves two thumbs up!

I like the overall ambience of the cafe, and the staffs are very friendly. This cafe holds quite a story too. To find out more, go down to Chinatown and check it out yourself. You can ask the staffs or you can read a about it on the prints pasted near the entrance.

Feel free to also drop by Breakthru bookstore two shops away from the cafe :)