Coffee or tea: 26 May 2012, Starbucks at Rochester

In Hong Kong, there is a Starbucks with interiors modelled after a Hong Kong cafe (click here for the branch); in Singapore, we have one that is housed in colonial black and white house.

 

I especially like the corridor seats at the second floor.

 

The next time I come, I will come with a book and of course, a camera.

Last coffee of 2011

While walking around and shooting on 31st Dec, I came across a cafe called Drips at Tiong Bahru. Not what you will expect at the old houses of Tiong Bahru.

The place looked inviting, and I do feel a need to end my year with a cup of coffee.

Greeted by a nice display of pastries.

The front part of the cafe has a retro deco while the seating area behind, near the kitchen, is of a modern minimalist style. Which is more your cup of tea? So apt to find such a combination at this neighbourhood.

I ordered a flat white. I would have preferred it to be stronger.

I didn't want any pastry at first, but when the lovely smell of crossiant kept drifting out from the kitchen, I just couldn't resist and ordered a cinnamon egg tart. (The crossiant with fillings would've been too heavy after a full lunch.) The tart was just of the right sweetness for me, but I think it is best shared with a friend as it is much bigger than your usual tart.

This is where the Drips cafe is. A walk down Tiong Bahru revealed that this old neighbourhood has really changed quite a lot over the recent years.

Starbucks

This morning, I ordered Starbucks as take away from the 'open concept cafe' at the link mall. Nothing special, but its nice to have a cup of latte on a cold rainy day.

When overseas, I try to pop by Starbucks too, not so much as to drink the coffee, but to see if the Starbucks feel any different.

a 5-storey Starbucks in Taipei

by Danshui River

Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to go into any of these two cafes for a cup of coffee. But came across a Starbucks that looks even better at Wolaramirez's blog. Could you believe this is Starbucks? Note: Below photos all via Wolaramirez.

A Chinese menu that looks so much like that of a local Hong Kong cafe.

This is cute, translated into English, it means, "please shoot as you please".

Will certainly try to drop by this Starbucks at Hong Kong Central if I go Hong Kong again.

A Taipei cafe

Several years ago, I went down Wenzhou Street at Taipei to have a sip of coffee at Norweigian Wood Cafe. It was an unforgetable afternoon, sitting at a corner of the cafe flipping through a local magazine, surrounded by locals drinking coffee. Some were engrossed with a book in their hand, while others were chatting with friends in between sips. There were also those who were simply drinking coffee and smoking at the time. It was a very different culture.

Norweigian Wood has closed down some years ago. The only reason that I suddenly thought of the cafe experience at Taipei was because I came across this blog, set up by the owner of Nido. Running through the lovely pics really make a cafe lover drool. It features not only cafes in Taiwan but also Hong Kong and Japan.

image by Nido

image by Nido

Am feeling the urge to fly down to Taipei, even if it is just to stay all day long in cafes.

Coffee or Tea. 15 May 11

It was a hot afternoon and I was dozing off in front of the computer. Rather than dragging through an eventless afternoon, I decided to meet a friend for coffee. We headed for Papa Palheta, a name that I've heard many online raves but have yet to try. By the way, this is also on my to visit list.

This is not a typical cafe. Firstly, you got to enter by the back door.

view from back door entrance

Secondly, you do not pay for your coffee, you give tips instead. Techically, this is not a cafe, but a coffee beans retailer, so that probably explains why they work by tipping. (Does that mean the service staff gets all the tips rather than the boss? But perhaps the staff are the bosses.) I didn't quite know how it works till I reach there, just simply tip as you please for the coffee you have tasted.

latte vs cappuccino

Perhaps it was a crowded afternoon, it took a bit of time for the coffee to come. I ordered latte while my friend cappuccino. The coffee tasted fine, not spectacular, but satisfactory to the extent that I do crave for a second cup.

a hot but leisurely afternoon

The seats aren't really comfortable (but they do not claim to be a cafe). The vintage and retro pieces do however give the place a nice feel, certainly something unique and unpretentious.

a surprising find, an old Mac

It was only after we left that my friend said he wasn't exactly satisfied with the coffee and the service. I felt something amiss but couldn't quite place it till much later, when I was wondering what was the coffee bean used. Given that they are retailing beans, it would have been nice if the staff give us some information on the coffee bean. Perhaps it was really a very busy afternoon for them...

Coffee or Tea. A mix of local and western

I never stopped my caffeine in-take, but I got busy and lazy...

Some shots I took before my overseas holiday.

Let's sweet weekday promo, coffee and desserts are average only...

cup looks nicer than the coffee, at a local eatery

My friend was late and I decided to have a cup of tea and read the papers while waiting.

At Obolo cafe, the cake is good but coffee very average.

at a local kopi tiam

a new drink that was too sweet for me.

at Coffee n ToastCheese & Tomato Crossiant

one of my favourites for teh c & kopi c

late lunch of hot lemon tea with prata

Seriously, I think it is hard to find good western coffee. Most often, when I just order from some place out of convenience, they usually turn out average or even below average. I guess its the same for local drinks too, but usually I stick to kopitiams I'm familiar with.

Coffee or Tea. 13 Mar 11 Second dose

I bought two discount coupons and enjoyed their tea set for half price at Heart Bistro. This used to be occupied by Marmalade Pantry, the layout looks pretty much similar and it remained a quiet place with a peaceful ambience.

Although the tea cup looks very pretty, coffee is still my preference. As usual, I find illy coffee rather strong.

The tea set is a bit too much for a person: carrot cake, chocolate cake, mushroom quiche with salad, tuna sandwich and chicken sandwich. The mushroom quiche is good.

My friend had the same thing as me (except for tea rather than coffee) while her husband had the brunch set, which is a salad, main course, sticky date cake with a scoop of ice-cream and coffee. This seems more like a full course dinner set. Looks like he enjoyed the food, except that the sticky date cake is too sweet for all of us.

After the tea, I was so full that I wasn't hungry for dinner even at 9pm.

Coffee or Tea. 13 Mar 11

Coffee or Tea. 11 Mar 11

I shared a cup of latte with my mum after lunch in a temple cafe. This is the first time she had latte but she didn't find it great. To be fair, this is not her usual type of coffee, neither is it my preferred type of coffee. I often find most places' latte too diluted.

Coffee or Tea. 9 Mar 11

Finally got to visit The Plain, one of the cafes on my to visit list. Nice interiors, lotsa space and interesting design and deco magazines. Not to forget, the flat white looked and tasted great.

Dessert that day was passionfruit lemon tart, scrap some passion fruit and add to the tart.

Oh, and I totally agree with the philosophy on this board.

Only shortcoming of this place is the ecohy wall.

Coffee or Tea. 8 Mar 2011

Sometimes, having coffee at a quiet corner of Orchard can be quite nice.

Coffee or Tea. 25 Feb 11

I managed to visit another of my to visit list today- Joe & Dough.

First time in this cafe, I decided to order a coffee I've never drunk before and that is Piccolo latte. It is only recently that I started to notice Piccolo Latte appearing on many cafe's menu.

Unlike the traditional latte, this comes in a smaller cup and is stronger, with a lower proportion of milk. Like it!

My friend ordered cappuccino. Though the coffee art is not very obvious, we were just as delighted to see a cute bunny face on the coffee.


This is my lunch. Grilled vegetables with cheese. Tasty crusty bread, with slightly peppery fillings.

Coffee or Tea. 24 Feb 11

after lunch tea

late afternoon break

Coffee or Tea. 23 Feb 11

A simple cup of flat white

Today, I had it with apple crumple.

Coffee or Tea. 22 Feb 11

JCO cappuccino with plain donut

The donut comes free with a drink. The drink is alright but tasted more like latte.

Coffee or Tea. 18 Feb 11

On 18th Feb, I seriously have a chocolate overdoze cause after the coffee with chocolate pastry at Swiss Bakery in the afternoon, I went for a chocolate buffet.