[SG] The Book Cafe | great ambience with good desserts
Monday, January 06, 2014
It’s pretty rare that we’ve found a café worth recommending.
With the sprouting growth of so many hipster cafés recently, it’s almost a
different café to hop to that you’d hardly want to visit a place twice.
This gave me the impression of the cafés I’ve visited in Sydney though, bringing the essence of café- chilling over. To me, a café is always about good food with a relaxing ambience, and an image of reading over a cuppa never fails to pop up.
This was exactly what it was about, spotting comfy seats with shelves of magazines and books for you to browse freely. With the spacious and comfy seats, it’s no wonder that you can spot many propping their legs up, curled to enjoy a good read.
With so many self-service cafés around, I was quite surprised to find someone with all smiles, coming to pass us menus, clearing our tables and setting it.
After our super filling meal at Merry Men, we decided to just settle for desserts.
I’m a fan of fruity cakes and a strawberry shortcake as
simple as it sounds, it’s tough to actually find one that manages to satisfy.
This managed to do just right, with the right balance of light Chantilly cream
and fluffy soft sponge cake. It wasn’t too sweet, balanced with the fresh
strawberries. I’m usually picky when it comes to strawberry shortcake but this
has certainly impressed me enough to want to go back for seconds – and no
sharing this time!
We were served wrongly with the chocolate banana but they’d offered to replace it for us immediately. Though on hindsight, it looked more appetising and I’ll probably be back to try that!
This gave me the impression of the cafés I’ve visited in Sydney though, bringing the essence of café- chilling over. To me, a café is always about good food with a relaxing ambience, and an image of reading over a cuppa never fails to pop up.
This was exactly what it was about, spotting comfy seats with shelves of magazines and books for you to browse freely. With the spacious and comfy seats, it’s no wonder that you can spot many propping their legs up, curled to enjoy a good read.
With so many self-service cafés around, I was quite surprised to find someone with all smiles, coming to pass us menus, clearing our tables and setting it.
After our super filling meal at Merry Men, we decided to just settle for desserts.
Strawberry Shortcake
Verdict: 9.0/10
Berries Shibuya Toast
Thick toast with butter, chocolate sauce and a mix of berries, a first bite struck me as an odd piece though subsequently it became addictive with the savory butter going well with the sweet chocolate and sour berries. Though an ordinary dish, I liked how it was perfectly toasted, with crisp skin and warm insides, and served immediately that the centre wasn’t too soggy by the time it reached us. Well-executed dish, it was a hit for us!We were served wrongly with the chocolate banana but they’d offered to replace it for us immediately. Though on hindsight, it looked more appetising and I’ll probably be back to try that!
Verdict: 8.5/10
If you’re around the Robertson Quay area or looking for some
late night haunts to chill, this would be one of our top picks. Great to
nua/laze around, it’s quite packed though, and you might just wanna hang around
before getting some comfy seats. Else you can always visit on a weekday if
you’re looking for a quiet spot to finish up your work or do some reading.
They’ve got free wifi so it’s very student/work-friendly!
The Book Cafe
Seng Kee Building, 20 Martin Road #01-02, River Valley
Tel: 6887 5430
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