twentythree y.o. geographer, barista, yoga practitioner. University College London. born and bred in the lil' island of Singapore. constantly searching for answers. extremely flawed, especially when it comes to imposing standards on others, expecting too much, not knowing when to close her mouth (to shut the fuck up or to stop eating). too crazy for her own good and has to be taken with a massive handful of salt. adores backpacking, hitch-hiking, hill-walking, red wine, whiskey, cocktails, fine food and good conversations.
REMINDER:
"open your heart. someone will come. someone will come for you. but you'd have to open your heart first."
|
| Saturday, September 27, 2014
◔ 7:56 PM // ✎ 0 comment(s) | ❝ Cafe Hit List ❞ |
The number of coffee places in Singapore has literally exploded ever since I've been gone. I came back to Singapore after being spoiled by good cafes and good coffee in London (especially with me being a barista of one) and I decided to attempt to visit as many cafes as possible.
It has not been the easiest task - with many cafes being inconvenient, moreover with a vastly different cafe culture in Singapore in comparison to London. In the motherland, cafes are to be visited when you have friends; it is a place for you to chill, hangout and talk while eating the ubiquitous dishes of pancakes, waffles, and Eggs Benedicts. On the other hand, London cafes are popular among the solo coffee addict looking for some peace.
This was a problem because I am a loner and I don't have friends :) but anyway here's to sum up the coffee places I've been to in the past month, so as to not spam your Instagram feeds.
ARTISTRY
I visited this place with Peiqi. Initially wanted to try Miam Miam (because it seemed to be popularly geotagged and I am not cool like that), but he insisted that we might as well visit Artistry. They used Liberty's roasts.
I regret not having the opportunity to try the food there, especially given the popularity of the Nasi Lemak burger (or something along those lines?)
COZY CORNER CAFE
Yes I will admit that the only reason why I came to this cafe was because Nylon Coffee was sadly not open. It was relatively empty, which means perfect for conversation, and I loved the very cute latte art which made up for the mediocre coffee. Their coffee was expensive too, from what I remember.
D'GOOD CAFE
Hit up this place with Ben for dinner :) it was extremely busy, and I did not try their coffee as I was craving for a matcha latte :P which was absolutely lovely, but then again I have never tasted a bad or terrible matcha latte. I adored the white chocolate raspberry cake though :Q
I loved the ambience - the rocking chairs and the swings overlooking Holland Village, together with the really awesome elevator that you can take to get to the cafe from the ground floor, which entertained me to no end.
DEPARTMENT OF CAFFEINE
Probably one of the better coffees in Singapore, and hence incredibly popular and crowded. We had the french toast which was decadent and very sweet, hence became a bit jelat afterwards.
FARM TO TABLE
They served Nylon Coffee, which was the reason why I did not try their coffee. Eunice and I ordered the gula-melaka Tiramisu, which was above average, but the fact that it cost *gasp* $12 probably makes it not worth the money.
Eunice had the onion soup, which was much too salty for consumption, which she complained and the cafe / restaurant (it is too atas to be a cafe, but not enough to be a restaurant) promptly refunded, which was very sweet of them. I loved how the place was quiet and bright and airy - perfect for an nice afternoon meet-up over coffee. Just do not order their Onion Soup :P
GROUP THERAPY
Another one of those incredibly popular, frequently-geotagged-on-Instagram places. The coffee was alright, and Jean said that their Eggs Benedict was one of the better ones in Singapore. I trust her taste :P
NASSIM HILL BAKERY
One of my last meals in Singapore with Lihui, Puikay and Luoyang.
If I remember correctly, they used Liberty coffee. Love how they gave a piece of Lotus biscuit, something that is very rare in cafes in Singapore. (Note: sorry I have no idea what the biscuit is really called; I just know it by its brand name :X)
Luoyang's Steak and Eggs which was essentially a tiny burger patty together with eggs. He requested for medium rare but it came close to medium done (to which he was very disappointed methinks). They gave a bread basket along with the steak though, and we all know how much of a whore for bread I am.
Puikay and Lihui ordered the Turkey Sandwich, and here's Lihui being her food-photography-expert self.
I ordered the Hot Reuben, which was a beer-soaked bread sandwich together with corned beef and sauerkraut. I have never been a fan of Western-style beef, but I decided to give it a go given that it was a popular dish. I found the idea of putting sauerkraut in sandwiches very interesting, but the combination of it all was very bizarre and I personally did not like it very much.
I initially wanted to order the granola with greek yoghurt, but I have been advised (correctly, I must add) by Puikay not to because it was a tiny portion and a mega rip-off. I was craving for granola with greek yoghurt because I remember, very fondly, of how I had it for my last meal in London at Caravan (which is one of my favoritest places).
NYLON COFFEE
It was claimed that this is the best coffee in Singapore. It is probably the truth (or at least pretty much up there because I cannot make a statement as bold as that).
Note: but then again, now that I have gotten back to the UK and having all this amazing coffee, especially Steampunk that I've literally just visited three hours ago, their coffee does not seem that great anymore :P
SERIOUSLY ICE CREAM
Before recommending this place to anyone, my first question will always be, "do you like local flavors?". We had the Lychee Rose, Miso Salted Caramel and the Ondeh-ondeh ice cream. Eunice especially loved the Ondeh-ondeh ice cream - it is a pandan sherbet with gula-melaka and coconut flakes. I on the other hand really liked the Lychee Rose.
I loved how the owner was so, absolutely camp - excitedly sharing with us his experiences with living abroad, together with being generous and giving us large portions of ice cream to sample.
SUNDAY FOLKS
Came here with Sam who very kindly met up with me despite her incredibly busy schedule. It was personally relatively disappointing, especially given the efforts I put in to try this place. The ice cream was average, while the waffles were definitely below average.
But yes, they have good looking, Instagram-worthy ice cream. That I give to them.
TSUJIRI
WILD HONEY
This used to be a favorite breakfast spot, specifically the one at Mandarin Gallery, but I soon realized how overpriced their things were. They used Common Man's roasts.
I probably missed out one of two places, but then... I regret not trying more, especially since I was in the Tiong Bahru area on my last day in Singapore ;__; but I am sure I will be back soon, next time hopefully with Oisin ;-)Labels: daily, days of summer, food
|
|
