Loysel's Toys

I'm sure Singaporean coffee lovers must know about Chye Seng Huat Hardware(CSHH), the special concept cafe which is cleverly disguised as a hardware store located along the streets of Jalan Besah. With their great offerings of breakfast, cakes and beverages it is almost the perfect rendezvous location for old friends to meet up and have a cuppa during the weekends. Unfortunately the place is always so packed with people, scoring a seat might just be to toughest thing to achieve when you're there. That is when I decided to venture into Papa Palheta's alternative coffee haunt, Loysel's Toys. 

This cafe is the brainchild of Papa Palheta(Creators of CCSH) situated nearby Lavender Station about about a five minutes walk away, also a hidden paradise that offers serenity unlike CSHH which is fashioned into a bar-style interior. Nah, just kidding. This place is fairly easy to find and is promptly beside the Kallang River at the end of Kampong Bugis.

Interior designs are kept to a bare minimum with wooden furniture alongside some simple decorative ornaments allowing the customers to immerse themselves in a calm and pleasant surrounding. Observations of the baristas doing their thing was made possible with the low tabletop they were working on. Perfect for a great "people-watching-session" if you will, especially when there are cute baristas on shift.

Papa Palheta is famous for their special blend of coffee beans; specially sourced and roasted in-house. During my visit, the blend they were serving was their famed Terra Firma, incorporating Brazil Alta Mogiana, Guatemala Antigua La Flor and Ethiopia Sidamo Suke Quto beans. It was conceived to bring out the special features of these three kinds of beans which is intended to produce a nutty flavour with rich, vibrant notes, zesty lemon overtones and a bittersweet chocolate finish. 

I ordered the cafe latte(S$4.50) and my friend had the macchiato (S$4.00). First sip was already quite disappointing. Too much milk and foam entirely covered the taste of the espresso. Needless to say I did not get to sample any characteristics of the Terra Firma. The only thing i appreciated was the delicious caramelised biscuit accompanying the coffee, a trait not practiced by the guys at CSHH. I did get to try my friend's macchiato (espresso with a dash of milk) which was not overwhelmed with milk. The coffee had a spicy note upon the first sip, which developed into a heavy flavour of a dark rost and ending off with a mixture sweet bright notes and bitter aftertaste. it was quite acidic as well. Did not really fancy it but was impressed by the complex taste that the blend had to offer.

In a nutshell, Loysel's Toys is a great place for breakfast brunch or afternoon tea with fresh coffee. Around a dozen of people can be seated inside and another dozen outside, but be prepared to enter a fully packed cafe on a weekend.

Coffee : 7/10
Price : 8.5 / 10
Ambience : 8.5/10

Brawns & Brains

This is my first attempt at writing about my adventures on sourcing for places which serve great coffee around the Island, and my hands-on experiements on my latest hobby being a home barista. I visited a cafe nearby my residential area, Brawns and Brains, a newcomer that settled in Mountbatten a few months back. The cafe is tucked away in a quiet corner which contributes to the serene atomsphere, just the right setting to enjoy a good cup of coffee or tea. Despite living in my current apartment for more than 10 odd years, i was never aware of the cafe's existence until recently.

It is located at the old Singapore Badminton Hall which underwent several changes in its tenants in the recent years, B&B was the latest addition. I learnt about this place by chance when i walked past this banner with a rather interesting name that caught my attention.

What is so special about this cafe is that they roast their beans daily. This can only mean that every cup of coffee they deliver to the customer is the freshest. They usually serve single-origin organic beans from mainly Sumatra and Brazil, but i was in luck today as they were offering the Honduras region coffee beans which I did not come across before.

First up is the Sumatra Linlong Latte(S$3.50) Upon the first sip, i find it to be quite a heavily bodied, with little to no acidity. It might be due to them roasting their beans darker or the special characteristics of the Indonesian beans. There was a hint of spiciness to it as well. I could describe it as a very earthy flavour and an overwhelming aftertaste which I did not fancy. 

I preferred the Honduras Latte(S$3.50) which i failed to identify the name, as it was smoother with a medium - heavy body and just a hint of acidity. The rich espresso taste was creamy and the frothed milk complemented the espresso really well. A nutty flavour was present in the coffee. One thing about B&B's coffee which i enjoyed was that their perfect milk-to-coffee ratio; not too much milk was added and thus doing the coffee justice by not covering their original taste.

All in all, it is a great place to hang out with your family and friends while hiding away from the bustling Singapore streets on a weekend and have a cup of great coffee made by a group of dedicated baristas who are serious about their work. I highly recommend it!


P.S. : I apologize for the lack of photos. Not used to taking so many pictures during a meal.

Coffee : 8.5/10
Price : 9.5/10
Ambience : 9/10