In this month's edition of Hot New Cafes: Caffe Vergnano, Little House of Dreams, COO Bistro, Epiphyte and more
November is the month of Thanksgiving, and it’s hard not to feel thankful (especially for true javaheads like us!) for the smorgasbord of cafes in Singapore! As we’re about to hit the last few pages of 2016, we’ve discovered a few more coffee houses and dessert spots that will definitely aid you with your much-needed caffeine fixes and your sweet-tooth tendencies – you’re welcome! From Dempsey to Orchard Road, here’s this month’s list of Hot New Cafes in Singapore.
Sugar Lips
Craving for sinfully sweet delicacies? Sugar Lips at Orchard Gateway will help you hit that sugar high. Its décor is cheekily wacky – blobs of colourful paint are splattered all over, contrasting against harsh concrete walls and exposed pipes – and this dessert parlour’s treats are just as over-the-top. The menu here lets you pick a standard-size dessert with one topping ($12.90), a medium-size dessert with two toppings($14.90) and a large-size dessert with three toppings ($16.90). Choose from 10 different types of artisanal cakes such as chocolate truffle, blueberry cheesecake and ondeh ondeh cake, as well as four various flavours of handcrafted waffles such as chocolate, red velvet and charcoal. Our recommendations? The Chocolate Seduction Truffle Cake, Red Velvet Fluffy Waffle, and Rainbow Fantasy Cake. Told you this was a sweet deal.
Sugar Lips, #02-01, Orchard Gateway, 277 Orchard Road, Singapore 238858, p. 6386 6387. Open daily 11am-10pm.
Caffe Vergnano South Beach, Singapore
Welcome to the world’s 100th Caffè Vergnano 1882 concept café in Singapore, where you can immerse yourself in authentic Italian espresso culture. Apart from offering the concentrated, bittersweet brew from its signature 1882 Espresso blend, this cosy and friendly cafe – situated in the basement of South Beach Avenue – also provides other heavenly espresso-based beverages including Caffè Gianduja (Italian thick hot chocolate topped with whipped cream), Marocchino Speciale (foamed milk topped with chocolate powder and chocolate cream) and Delizioso (foamed milk topped with nutella and whipped cream). Enjoy a great cuppa here, while admiring its aesthetically-pleasing, Italian-inspired and eco-friendly interior.
Caffe Vergnano South Beach, Singapore,#B1-17, South Beach Ave, 26 Beach Road, Singapore 189768, p. 6385 5579. Open Mon-Fri 8am-9pm; Sat-Sun 9am-6pm.
Little House of Dreams
Decked with a lit-up floral canopy by Ektory and fairy-lights by Midnight Sparks, this bakery-bistro at Dempsey Road doesn’t shy away from embracing a whimsical and fantasy concept – making it a perfect venue for romantic dates. Your date here will be further elevated with its offerings of flavoursome cakes from the bakery, such as red velvet cake with cream cheese, citrusy sweet tart, vanilla sponge cake with butter-cream and macarons. Yet, a must-try here is definitely its photogenic Mess Jars – a glass jar filled with soft moist cake (based on a secret in-house recipe!), covered with light buttercream in various flavours, then topped with fanciful toppings and finally trickled with decadent homemade sauces. But if you’re feeling peckish, they offer a bistro menu too where you can indulge in savoury options such as ham & egg, beef lasagne, ribeye steak with salad, spaghetti laksa prawn and many more scrumptious bites that will have you floating on a dream.
Little House of Dreams,#01-14, Blk 8 Dempsey Road, Singapore 247696, p. 6472 4977. Open Mon-Fri 11am-11pm; Sat-Sun 9am-11pm.
COO Bistro
Tucked within a beautiful design hostel, COO Bistro at Tiong Bahru offers a contemporary ‘Glocal’ menu that – as you might’ve guessed – draws inspiration from both global and local cuisine. At this hip bistro that lures both backpackers and foodies, you can find two menus: an All-Day-Brunch menu, as well as a Dinner menu that offers more sophisticated options of mains. The stars of its menu include the Tiong Bahru Platter ($28) that comes with roasted pork belly, grilled chicken satay, salt & pepper fish and mackerel keropok; and COO’s Prawn Noodles ($18), a mod-Sin interpretation of the local hawker dish that’s made of fettucine, tiger prawns and chilli sauce. And if you’re searching for a healthier option, the COO Bistro Quinoa ($14) should be right up your alley; the quinoa is boiled to perfection, and is then complemented with other fresh and wholesome and ingredients like pomegranate, raisins, toasted pistachio, carrot purée and lettuce – an appetising, guilt-free meal!
COO Bistro, 259 Outram Road, Singapore 169056, p. 6221 7060. Open Mon & Wed-Sat 11am-10pm; Sun 10am-5pm. Closed on Tue.
Epiphyte
Inspired by an epiphyte (a plant that grows harmlessly on another plant), this café at Neil Road embodies the perfect amalgamation of food, art and nature. Step into this cafe, and you’ll be greeted by a gorgeous indoor vertical garden filled with orchids, as well as a display of curated artworks from the co-owner’s personal collection. Keeping in line with the green theme, the menu here consists of eco-inspired food fare such as the pink risotto ($22), chicken with Indonesian spices ($21) and crab cakes ($13). But what captures our attention are definitely its Insta-worthy desserts, especially the Twilight, a ‘galaxy’-glossed chocolate cointreau mousse cake ($10); and Terrarium, a floral-garden dessert that’s made of green sponge cake, dark chocolate soil, fresh mint custard and apple compote and served in a whisky glass ($8).
Epiphyte, 47 Neil Road, Singapore 088827, p. 9451 8873. Open Mon-Thu 10am-11pm; Fri-Sat 10am-1am. Closed on Sun.
Kumoya
Taking over the now-defunct Karafuru Desserts, Kumoya at Jalan Klapa is another go-to spot for your monthly sweet fix. Made up of a combination of two Japanese words – “Kumo” which means clouds, while “ya” refers to house – Kumoya is where you can relish in delightful desserts that will have you ascending to Cloud Nine in no time. What to expect here? This white, minimalist cafe offers bite-sized Petite Éclairs ($3 each, $8.50 for three pieces, $16.50 for six pieces, and $31.50 for 12) and yogurt parfaits in four different flavours: matcha ($15.90), yuzu ($15.90), sakura ($14.90) and hazelnut ($14.90). Here, you can also find both sweet and savoury pancakes – we’re obsessed with the tiramisu ($15.90) in the former camp, while the tempura soft shell crab ($17.90) and Breakfast pancake ($18.90) with turkey bacon, sauteed mushrooms and baked beans suit us for the latter.
Kumoya, 8 Jalan Klapa Singapore 199320, p. 6297 3727. Open Tue-Fri & Sun 12pm-10pm, Sat 12pm-10.30pm. Closed on Mon.