Plain Vanilla

Since the opening of its first outlet in Tiong Bahru, I have not eaten at their outlet once due to the overwhelming crowd. I have only managed to try their cupcakes a few times when I bought them as takeout for tea breaks in the office

Finally on a weekday when I took leave to run some errands in Tiong Bahru, I decided to pop by for some drinks and dessert. The cafe was quite empty when I visited and has undergone renovations as it looked very different from my memories ( my last visit was in 2018) I realised I did not take any frontal photo shots only after I left the area so I grabbed this photo from their Facebook

This is the current look of the grass area when I visited where they shifted most of the merchandise out of the main cafe and displayed them on nice wooden shelves. They also included more floor tables to accommodate customers who like to sit in the grass area. With the huge ceiling fans, it is actually quite cooling to be lazing in this area even during the afternoon

The interior is now much more streamlined with the service counter and pastry counters pushed to the right and more shelves for decorative items on the left. Singular tables are placed along the walkway with more private booths towards the end of the shophouse. With this current layout, the interior area can house much fewer customers as there are only 3 booth seats at the back and 3 single tables towards the front. There is also some additional seating outdoors at the side alley

Somehow I feel that the pastry counter has reduced in size with much fewer pastries on display as a reference for your orders. They have quite a substantial menu for proper meals as well as light snacks for different customer needs

For drinks, we ordered the strawberry banana smoothie as well as the summer fruit iced shaken black tea with mixed summer berries. The smoothie was served in a cute milk bottle glass container with a huge metal straw. The consistency was thick and milky with a strong banana flavour. The summer fruit tea on the other hand was very refreshing in the warm afternoon with a tinge of sweetness from the berries

As we visited after a heavy lunch, we opted for 1 savoury pastry as well as 1 sweet cake. For the savoury option, we had the roasted pumpkin with sage and pine nuts which was warmed up on my request. The tart was flakey but not buttery enough for me but the roasted pumpkin filling was cheesy, savoury and slightly sweet. For the cake, we ordered the flourless chocolate cake which was topped generously with cocoa powder which made it very messy to eat. The cake was not too sweet with a bittersweet flavour. I liked the cake except for the fact that the cocoa powder was slightly dry for my throat and it got all over the table and clothes

Overall, the atmosphere at the cafe was very chill and relaxing with warm and comfortable decorations and lighting. The drinks were nice but the size was quite small for its price and while the 2 items I had during my visit this round were not the best, I have tried other items from their bakery and they were satisfying bakes. It would be a nice place to chill for brunch when it is not overcrowded with customers

Address: 1D Yong Siak St, Singapore 168641

Operating hours: 7.30 am to 7 pm