slosh down the pepper!

Food for Thought

Tempest brought my attention to this post in ieatishootipost. I made a note to visit this cafe for its Old Fashioned Red Velvet. [Initially I thought the red velvet was some sort of carrot cake, but after looking up wiki, it's just a type of sweet cake.]

And so it happened. I was on leave yesterday, and after an hour of beginner's pilates and half hour of jogging (an attempt to burn off the excess calories which I was going to pile on later), I trotted in anticipation to the cafe, 'Food For Thought'. I briefly recalled that it's located somewhere near the national library at Bugis. Failing to remember its exact address, I strolled around the library compound and even going through the levels inside the library! Just as I was about to give up and head to Han's instead, I peered across the road and yippee! It was there, so inconspicuous that it takes a trained eye, or in my case, a lucky sighting to notice it.

The inside of the cafe was as wide as its exterior. There was some sort of bar-like counter in front of the kitchen. Customers can seat themselves in those high chairs and watch the chef prepare their food. Next to the bar counter lined a row of round tables with 2 chairs each. Pretty cramped. I was hoping to read my book while I sipped coffee and eat cake, so I went on further and found myself a quieter corner.

Nobody attended to me from the moment I stepped in. I showed myself to my seat and was speculating how to make my order when I chanced upon a chalkboard sign saying: 'Please order and pay here'. I see... Like I promised myself as early as last night, I ordered the Red Velvet and a cup of expresso.

Aptly named 'red velvet', it boasts of a rich red colour akin to that found in beetroots. Accompanied with relatively thin layers of cheese, it's a pretty piece of food art.

Dense and slightly dry, the red-colored cake is mildly sweet and does not leave an oily lingering aftertaste. I could even taste the textured bits (dunno what they are). Though the cake portion can be easily separated from the cheese, it does not crumble in the process. The cheese is a pale cream color, somewhat like philadelphia cheese. It's of a smoother and softer texture than those found on traditional cream cheese carrot cakes. I even thought that I could taste a snatch of butter. Unlike its red-colored counterpart, this one is cloyingly sweet and has little hint of milk. Initially, it tasted quite nice, especially when mixed with the cake. But as I had more bites, i got the feeling that I am eating butter! I guess I prefer my cheese to be colder, harder and more milky. I would still rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars. For its bright alluring hues, at least.

Honestly, I was a little shocked to learn that my expresso came in a ultra mini cup (The pic below shows the life-size). I am used to having my coffee in bigger cups of at least a 100ml. This one is at most a mere 20ml. Probably one shot. No milk was given. Instead, I was given two types of sugar, brown and white. I hesitantly stirred in half a teaspoonful of brown sugar into that tiny cup, doubtful that it would help much to reduce its bitterness. I took a couple of tiny sips and decided to gulp it all down since it didn't taste as bitter after all, and it wasn't much to continue sipping. BUT i was wrong, the coffee liquid seemed to stick onto the tongue and wind its way into my tastebuds, as if punishing me for not being able to appreciate its bitterbitter aftertaste. I almost thought I would get a headache from it. I would rate it 2 out of 5 stars. For its sheer size, at least.

For the 45 minutes I was there, there weren't many eaters, probably because it was only 3plus. There was a lot of bantering amongst the staffs who concentrated in the small kitchen and bar counter. They were even making more noises than the visitors. Only a guy went around clearing tables. Not exactly a conducive place for reading. Plus the lights were pretty dim in the corner I was sitting.

I paid $2.50 for the expresso, $5.50 for the Red Velvet and 45 mins of my time trying to achieve a likable experience.

posted by slingwoof @ 4/19/2008 02:33:00 AM