tattler magazine

My friend SQ and I will go to great lengths for good food and charming eateries. But as we found last Saturday, maybe not to that great a length – it was a long, long, (long, long,) walk. Blame it on our usual lack of sense of direction, but boy, was it tough to find this place. When we read about it in Catalog magazine being ‘tucked away’, we didn’t figure it’d be that tucked away – I’d never even heard of the street before this (Rodyk St, anyone?). 2 helpful bellhops from Park Hotel and more walking later (hint: when you think you’ve walked to the end of Robertson Quay – just keep on walking), we finally found ourselves at Kith Cafe.

Soothing wood tones and muted lighting gave off a distinctly un-Singaporean vibe – which was basically the point as Kith’s menu was supposed to be a melding of tastes, aiming somewhere between Australian and Singapore palates – and it seemed to meet its mark judging by the popularity it enjoyed with the regular influx of foreigners on that humid Saturday afternoon.

… more after the jump!

Kith Cafe in a nutshell: A tiny (seats about 20 max) all-day breakfasty place (toast, sandwiches and the usual caffeinated beverages and juices) aimed towards people who stay around the area (read: mostly expats), as Jane, one half of the Cafe’s founders says she wants it to be a place filled with regular patrons and familiar faces.

So we plonked ourselves down on the specially designed wooden benches and contemplated the menu. Not being too hungry at that random hour, we eventually settled on a random selection to share:

Blended Ice Caramel Latte – $5

Egg Mayo on Sourdough (with avocado, tomatoes and a side of chips) – $7.50

Assortment of Cookies (Chocolate chip, Cornflake and…something else.) – $2.50

Lychee sorbet – $3.00

Honestly, the caramel latte didn’t make that much of an impression. I guess it was because we were so darned thirsty after the long trek that we sucked it down without it making enough of its obligatory rounds on our taste buds. I’m no coffee aficionado, but I am actually semi-obsessed with all kinds of caramel coffee – so I’ll have to say, this rendition won’t be threatening to usurp my all-time favourite caramel macchiato from Starbucks from its reigning throne anytime soon. (Oops, I guess I’m a fan of what Kith classifies as ‘the norm of coffee giants’ then.)

The sourdough was pleasantly crusty and tasted fresh – none of that over-chewiness that I associate with bread left out in our humid climes for too long. The egg mayo tasted homemade and rather comforting, something you’d expect from a place like this. And I loved the avocado in the sandwich – okay, I admit I love avocado in almost any sandwich (mm, yum), but perhaps they could afford to be a little more generous with it (there was only 1 sliver).

SQ loved the cornflake cookies, which tasted milky and the cornflakes gave a nice crunch. The rest though, were just passable to me (and I daresay, may have been sitting in those jars for a little too long.)

I enjoyed the lychee sorbet – it was pleasantly refreshing and had just the right level of sweetness. Choose from an interesting assortment of flavours of what they call, ‘Japanese artisanal ice cream’, including yuzu sorbet, soursop sorbet, honey chamomile (which seemed highly requested for – ok, I spied 2 people asking for it in that hour) and sweet potato chestnut.

All factors considered, I would say that this place is just okay – great if you are living 5 minutes away, but not especially worth the trek (or drive, for that matter) out there. Jane’s* vision met its mark for sure – it would definitely appeal to the expat or the tenant in the same block looking for a homely alternative (ergo my choice of title for this post), but not really for people like SQ and I who just want a quick yummy bite and a good cuppa at a convenient locale.

(*That said, I’m always a fan of young entrepreneurs, and not only is Jane only 25 this year, she was also an alum of our secondary school – so props to her!)

P.S. The seating isn’t designed for long periods of lounging either, a factor that SQ and I both rate highly in our choice of cafes…

which was probably why after an hour or so we defected to Caramel cafe.

Caramel deserves a review all of its own, probably an unabashedly biased one at that. Still, it deserves an honourable mention here seeing how our sudden craving for its unique concoction Vitaplum decreed that we should take a quick cab ride there to satisfy our tastebuds. The place combines two of my favourite things – my favourite hair salon (Hairloom) tucked in the back, and the whimsical, Alice in Wonderland inspired cafe out front. Colourful, custom-made furniture fills the place and its sweet treats make my day every visit.

But that, as I said, will be another post all together. (: