cafe

If you are born in the 1970s or before, chances are you would have had some of these delightful pastries if you are living in Singapore or Malaysia.

I remember my childhood days, I would always follow my parents to old coffee shops along Balestier Road area to have a hearty breakfast of hard-boiled eggs, traditional brewed coffee (coffee in long socks), butter cakes, pineapple tarts etc. Those were the days a coffee was about 40-50 cents, a gigantic pineapple tart (8cm diameter, with a big lump of pineapple paste goodness) for about 60 cents, a whole butter cake for perhaps $1.50. These were nothing spectacular at that time, till time moves on Year 2000 and beyond.

With the avalanche of ‘hippy cafes’, ‘traditional themed kopitiams’ sprouting all around this tiny red dot, one will have no problems finding a cuppa coffee brew, cakes of the past as well as fanciful nature, but these typically will set you back the price of your lunch.(typical $5 by 2015 standards) Not all the coffee and pastries you have had will be fabulous, some are just so so, some are outright horrible (why are they still there?), some are pretty good, but the price tag is prettier!

So where will you go for a nice traditional style coffee, with traditional pastries that will not cost you an arm or a leg?

I stumbled upon this coffee shop (I should call it cafe by today’s standards) at Kandahar Lane early 2014. I was around the area for a client meeting, and I needed a good coffee before heading back office. I went in, had my cuppa, a couple of pastries and I was hooked.

Typically, I will write my review after 3 times at a dining place, to make sure of the consistency of the food, drinks etc. Fast forward, 2015, I just realized I had been to this place almost 6 times already!

From far, you should be able to see the big blue canvas branding, which means you are at the right place…

The entrance to your long-awaited journey back to 1970s!

The counter of goodies and yummies!

Today I will recommend you 3 of the traditional childhood treats.

1. pineapple Tarts

You need not wait till Chinese New Year to get this awesome goodness. Prices of pineapple tarts will inflate easily by 25% if you decide to have it by then….lol

Here, the pineapple tart is shaped like a sampan. Typically, this means the boat is wooden, with a little shelter on top, as you can see from the pineapple tart picture.

Freshly baked daily, the crust is not too crumbly, which gives one a good bite alongside with the sweetness of the pineapple. This gives one a fulfilling aftertaste, with the sweetness lingering in the mouth. Yum!!

Ratings:5/5

For sweet tooth people like me, this is heavenly stuff! Mind the calories though, not recommended to have 2 or more at one go!

2. 3 Hole Cookie

Another of my childhood favorite. Which kid can resist this eye candy, colorful, yet fluffy biscuit?

This is actually 2 pieces of biscuits baked, poke 3 holes and fille them with sweet color gels that are used in old school butter cream cakes. Nice bite crunch, with the sweetness that envelopes your mouth. Every kid’s fantasy snack. Still my favorite after pineapple tarts. ^^

Ratings: 5/5

Dream fantasy snack for all kiddies and adults who wanna relive the good old days.

3. Coconut Candy

This delightful long candy bar is hard to come by and not always available. I had been to this place 6 times, and only managed to savor this delight twice! Apparently, it must be so popular that once you set your sights on it, do not hesitate!

About 15 cam long, this bar is wrapped in baking paper. Do not be fooled by this plain appearance! Once you open it, a delightful pinkish bar of grated coconut, milk and plum goodness await the diner!

On first bite, a flavorful punch of grated coconut hits you, followed by the sweetness of milk and the tangy plum. (the red bits as seen on the pics) One might be overwhelmed at the first instance, but will grow to appreciate it.

Ratings: 4/5

Not a pastry for everyone as it may be confusingly too sweet for many people, but this is a rare delicacy to come by; savor this while it’s still available!

Coffee is the usual old traditional coffee you get from the typical old school coffee shops, nothing much to wow about… you can opt for one with butter in your kopi, if you are really in for the ‘grandfather time style coffee’. Be warned, that is not for the faint hearted! 😛

So if you are bored with the usual Starbucks or Yak Kun, why not try some old school pastries and enjoy the ambience?

The address to this cool place:-

Dong Po Colonial Café
56, Kandahar Street

My very first post …. what started off as a holiday trip with my buddy 5 years back, to business trips after 2 years, and currently residing here short term, Bangkok had opened my eyes quite a bit. The food, the culture (it’s still a culture shock for me sometimes), the people, everything, makes me wanna stay here forever. 555

I am a sucker for good and unique cafes, so I will dedicate my first post to a very unique cafe I visited last weekend. Here we go!

We all know Bangkok is a mecca of interesting food these days, other than your usual Pad Thai and coconut ice cream.

Now, how many of you would really know of a hidden gem, hidden smack right in a residence area, a cafe that opens everyday, from 7.30 a.m, to midnite? Maybe less than 5 of you.(Even Starbucks close at 10 p.m!)

After my Thai buddy Khun Puritat heard me complaining about lack of cafes that open till late nights at the area I stay,he decided to bring me to a place which was near his home, and was a ‘hidden gem’ among the residents there. Baan Hom Glin Dao – which literally means Star Coffee House, is being helmed by a lady barista (in her 40s I believe), and a spectacled man.

The lady barista is super knowledgable about coffee and gave me some tips about drinking espresso. Puritat and I ordered an Espresso Doppio and an Espresso Conpanna each respectively.

Espresso Doppio refers to double shot espresso, and Espresso Conpanna refers to double shot expresso topped with whipped cream. This is something new to me, as in Singapore, Espresso is just Espresso, so this is a new learning experience for me!

We were advised by the lady barista to slurp our espresso every 10 seconds, in order to appreciate the different flavours that bounces in one’s mouth. Typically, 4 to 5 slurps and your espresso is down your throat.

One may get hints of full burst of creaminess (for Espresso Conpanna), to chocolate, spice and the bitter finishing. One needs to try this himself to herself to understand this feeling, and taste varies from person to person.

I asked where the coffee beans were sourced from; the lady barista told me the beans were sourced directly from the suppliers in Chiang Rai, delicately chosen by the cafe owner himself. After selecting the beans, they were traditionally roasted before being stored and ready to be used to brew different types of coffee as requested by customers. Basically you can be assured that the taste is definitely of the highest quality.

Ratings:-

Ambience: 5/5 A cafe furnished from one’s home, how cool is that?

Price: 5/5 You get premium stuff from 45 baht onwards, isn’t that worth your money? ^^

Food: Not yet tried, but will go again. Look out for another review soon!

The address to this one of a kind place is :-

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