Tag Archives: Latte

Cafe, Singapore

Bakerz@Work – Macpherson, Singapore

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I discovered this place recently near where I work and I believe it commenced business not too long ago. Located just below Citimac Industrial Complex, opposite the huge Cross of Trinity Church, this bakery cafe shop is quite a saviour for me especially when I need my fix of caffeine at the end of a busy day.

This place has not just gourmet coffees but also crafted breads and cakes for customers. On top of that, they have a good range of baking equipment for sale in their little shop. Further in, there is a room for baking workshops that can fit easily 20 pax.

Chef De Boulanger William Woo conducts such classes and he is also one of the owners for this place. Chef Woo is from Penang, Malaysia, and has a long work history in F&B and baking. His deep passion (just like me for food & coffee!) is then realised in Singapore after setting up Bakers@Work to let more people try his breads and teach them how to bake at home. Despite the high rentals, he is persevering to brand Bakers@Work as a quality baking school/cafe/shop at reasonable prices. Check out the pics below:


Rating: 4.5/5.

Taste: Latte was good, espresso was pretty well extracted. Cakes are definitely good, that’s their forte isn’t it? Bought a pumpkin loaf before, damn awesome. Lunch they have sandwiches/paninis etc. with cured meats and veg.

Portion: Average.

Service: Pretty good.

Ambience: Not a full cafe with only around 4 round tables and some bar stools but comfy. I caught up with some colleagues here over coffee and cakes one evening.

Price: $4.50 for latte and $4 for cake slice. Prices differs from types of cakes.

RTE: Few times already!

Location:

Chiang Mai, Pai, Thailand

Chiang Mai To Pai – What We Ate Along The Way

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Continue from the previous post http://wp.me/pCcuC-KZ:

So we left Chiang Mai and headed towards Pai, which is a mountainous village 3.5 hours north of CM. You know, it’s terribly hard to write about places when you’re on the roads. So I can only lump them together and let the pictures tell the story. Below are pics that we ate and what the locals eat.

About 1.5 hours out of CM, we stopped for toilet break here…
Spotted a Ramino Coffee… this place is quite chilly! Love it!
Inside the coffee shop
No latte art but the coffee is pretty darn good!
Nice little landscaping
An alter with an elephant statue
I seriously dunno what word is that but I reckon it’s the name of the place. Anyone translate?
Halfway up the mountain we stopped for toilet break here…
It’s like a eatery kiosk thing
Wah Simonelli machine leh… don’t play play… Coffee is not bad but Ramino was better.
Strawberries galore! Not sweet and quite sour.
Our charity group’s all time favorite… strawberries with assam!
Strawberry wine!
Strawberry juice!
Braised pork knuckles for pork leg rice.
Very informative… Only left or right anyways.
Lunch/toilet break!
Very beautiful view…
Selfie!
Huainumdang National Park
They even have an espresso machine here! But the bar pressure is not high, hence coffee is ok only.
Photo place
We bought our own lunch to save time
Fried pork skin, pork ribs, chilli and glutinous rice… quite nice actually
China, Xiamen

Sun Dance – Xiamen, Guangdong, China

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This last entry wraps up my write ups for Xiamen good foods. Too much to eat, too small stomach! Will definitely be back!

Anyways, came to know about this place as it’s much talked about in Xiamen. So I decided to check this place out for lunch before I head back. Went in the place, pretty empty on a weekend lunch, found a table near the door as I had my luggage with me. And boy did I regret that. It was warm near the door and the air-condition was not strong enough during summer. Nevertheless I placed my orders and went around snapping pics of the place. Check out the pics and review below:

Cafe front
From the door
Inside the cafe
I think this is a smoking area
Many books for reading
Stage for ad hoc performances at night
More CDs
Loads of CDs… some are super classics
PC for surfing
View from the other end
Sweet basil pizza, quite unique and tasted pretty good
Spaghetti Bolonese – tasted pretty good also and the sauce is nice and thick.
My latte… a total disappointment… auto machine.
Loads of coffee specks at the bottom
My damage RMB$140, discounted RMB8

Rating: 3.5/5.

Taste: 4/5. Food was good. Coffees really bad. I reckon they sell more alcohol at night than coffees.

Portion: 3/5.

Ambience: 4/5. Very homely feel. Not very comfy though.

Service: 2/5. Very short handed and slow.

Price: RMB140

RTE: Not very likely… Xiamen has got too many good food places.

Location: 思明区鹭江道254号国贸海景. Tel: 0592-2390538

Australia, Margaret River, Western Australia

Cottage Cafe @ The Berry Farm – Margaret River, Western Australia

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Was here in 1995 and 2008 and this time I finally am writing about this place. Reason because I haven’t started this blog back then. ;P. This place changed a lot since and a lot more well laid out and more spacious. Few things didn’t change though; that is the freshness of the food and the company of the birds. 🙂 This is a must-go location for a nice brunch and buying back in house made relishes, jams, ciders, vinegars, fruit ports, friut wines, etc., for family and friends!

You’ll see this signage outside the farm before entering
Opening hours
Really nice ambience for brekkie or lunch.
This board shows the specials of the day… there is another menu
Ambience
Me cam whoring
Berry Farm Taste Plate For Two @ AUD$40
Taste Plate comes with Turkish bread
Sausage & Mash Potato
Ham & Cheese Sandwich
Didn’t finish, I packed back actually
Birds will come and beg for food…
They have friends and come really close
Berry Farm shop
Berry Farm Shop… they have evolved to many product lines.
Jam samples for tasting
Sampling for relishes and sauces

Rating: 5/5.

Taste: Taste of nature. And the sauces and relishes are made by them. Really awesome!

Portion: Slightly above average.

Service: Very good.

Ambience: AWESOME!

Price: Total around AUD$75. The Taste Platter was AUD$40.

RTE: As always!

Location: https://www.theberryfarm.com.au/index.php/contact-us

Cafe/Coffee House

MQ Coffee Slayer Lab – Shanghai, China

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After reaching Shanghai in the afternoon today, I rushed to check out this cafe which has a roasting factory, 2 cafe outlets and a training center for aspiring baristas. I found them online and know that they roast their own beans. I took the cab and headed to their training center and realized they don’t serve coffees there after I made a call to them. Then I headed to their outlet at fengxian lu which is the only outlet that opens on weekends.

The walk under the 39 deg celsius sun is no joke even though it’s like only 3 blocks away. When I reached the cafe, I was drenched. The cafe is really a very small shop and when I was there there were already some customers there occupying the inside of the shop. So I had to sit the outer area which was serious super warm!

I first ordered the Mandheling which has mild acidity and quite a medium-high body. But tasting the dripped coffee in such a warm space is really uncomfortable.

Shortly after, some of the customers inside left and I moved my ass inside to catch some aircon… And I had to give some lesson on ‘how to adjust the aircon to cool mode’. I then ordered a latte, which was made from the branded Slayer espresso machine. The latte has some acidity, fruity and pretty full body. I found the milk they used is a little on the sweet side like the HL milk in Singapore and Malaysia. Nevertheless, it was a pretty good combination for their House Blend No.5, which is a mix of 3 different beans that I shall not disclose.

The cute thing about the small shop is that they have a vintage typewriter there for customers to type in their greetings! Very innovative!

Rating: 4.5/5. The temperature control in the cafe is very important.

Taste: Great!

Portion: Average.

Service: Excellent. The barista over the counter offered me a cup of water when I came into the cafe, all drenched. And she keeps refilling when I sat inside. Very good conversationalist too!

Ambience: Inside is alright but outside is not cool. Very small space but in a very prime area.

Price: RMB28 for the Mandheling and RMB25 for the latte.

RTE: I don’t mind if I’m in town next.

Location: 2 outlets

Australia, Bannister, Western Australia

Riverside Roadhouse – Bannister, Western Australia

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Whenever I drive down to Albany from Perth, I would stop by this place for their homemade burgers and soups. They have loads of pies and sausage rolls too. This petrol kiosk basically is a place for people commuting along the Albany Highway to take a break and refill their tanks and stomachs. This trip, I stopped here again to have my favourite burger and to pay my visit to Andy and Robbo as well.

On the left side towards Albany
Awesome burger with loads of veg
Like having a picnic with my latte…
This is either Andy or Robbo… ;P

Rating: 4/5.

Taste: Burgers are awesome. Homemade soups are awesome too! Latte is a let down though.

Portion: Burger is big. It fills me up.

Service: One person at the counter and 2 in the kitchen. Pretty friendly though.

Ambience: You can sit inside or outside like I did. Nice and serene. Toilet’s nearby where Andy and Robbo is.

Price: Affordable. AUD$5.80 for the burger I think. Can’t remember.

Location: Albany Highway, Bannister WA 6390, Australia. It’s on Googlemap under same name. About an hour drive from Perth City at 110km/h.

Australia, Perth, Western Australia

Jean Pierre Sancho Cafe – Perth City, Australia

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Was here on my second day in Perth after my grueling first day at the coffee school. It was a Sunday so many places were closed. I spotted this place while driving and all really by chance. So I parked the rented car on the side of the road and went into the cafe to place my order. To my surprise, this cafe has many awards for their bakery and also some business of the year for 2012.

Store front
Alfresco sitting on the outside
Yeah got steps up to the counter… quite a weird design inside actually
Look at all the pastries!
Our orders
My latte
Website

Rating: 4/5.

Taste: Pretty good but could be better if they can heat up for us. The raisin and croissant were good!

Portion: Slightly bigger than normal.

Service: Could have given a 4.5 or 5 rating ‘cos they refuse to slice the organic loaf which we ordered for takeaway. And the pastries were not reheated for us but I understand some bakeries/cafes feel that reheating will spoil the taste and texture of the pastries.  But I believe light reheating is ok. Latte also took quite long to brew.

Ambience: Seating for 3 or more mainly on the outside. Inside are catered for 1-2 pax seating mostly. Weird staircase in the middle that leads to a shopping mall I think.

RTE: I would if on a Sunday again. 🙂 Otherwise will try other places.

Location: They have 3 outlets but I went to this one at 878 Hay Street, Perth City. Check out their website see last picture.