So many cafés, so little time! I love when I find a new place and these three, I have never been to before. I went to one for a meeting, the next was to catch up with a friend and the last was a quick escape from a house full of kids during school holidays. See if you can guess which one was which. Enjoy!
Drury Lane
I love a good entrance and this little space along Tanjong Pagar Road has exactly that. Bright red frontage you can’t miss and once you step inside, you know you’re in a place that loves their coffee by the wall display of coffee bags from everywhere.
I love the red doorway and the crooked sign.
It seems like they have been everywhere looking for good coffee.
Don’t be worried about the small, confined space on the ground level. While it would be nice to sit along the bench on tall stools and drool over their baked goodies display, you can head on upstairs for a quieter, more private area where you can sit for a chat or just get a lot of work done (free wifi – hooray!).
As you all know, I’m a huge fan of sticky buns and the one here was gooey, oozy and soft and doughy. The coffee was great and I’d really like to go back and try their brunch menu.
The sticky bun at Drury Lane. Just look at that oozy caramel!
94 Tanjong Pagar Rd, Singapore
Tel: +65 6222 6698
Facebook: drurylane.sg
Instagram: drurylanesg
Opening hours:
Mon to Tue: 8am to 6pm
Wed to Fri: 8am to 10pm
Weekends and PH: 9am to 6pm
Carpenter and Cook
The blue swing seat makes me feel nostalgic almost immediately.
Carpenter and Cook is tucked away in Upper Bukit Timah and as I parked right in front, I was immediately taken back to my childhood and playing on swings with friends. That’s because of the bright blue swing at the front.
I was so tempted to buy a couple of these because, in my view, tea always tastes better in fine China.
Once you enter, it’s like a step back into time and another country. Forget the hot, humid, tropical weather outside. I felt like I had wandered into a cosy cafe somewhere in the outback of Australia.
Good coffee and rather nice sandwiches, Carpenter and Cook was an escape from modern life for me and made me miss weekend drives to the Blue Mountains of Sydney and cold, clean air. I had to dash out of there because I lost all track of time and was late for my next appointment.
A display of things from the past.
19 Lorong Kilat, #01-06, Singapore 598120
Tel: +65 64633648
Facebook: carpenterandcook
Instagram: carpenterncook
Opening hours:
Mon to Fri: 10am to 10pm
Sat: 9am to 10pm
Sun: 9am to 9pm
Knots Living
If you like it, buy it. What you see is on sale.
I feel like there are evil geniuses in this world whose sole purpose is to part me from my money! This place was kind of like that. I had gotten up one morning and while scrolling through Instagram, a pic of this place popped up and I had to go. Right away.
These owls are so cute. Both could live quite happily in my house.
Once there, I got a coffee and a muffin (which was demolished by my todder). They serve Toby’s Estate so the coffee was excellent. I need not say anything about the muffin because the proof was in how quickly my little Jedi ate it.
This place actually started as a florist, then went into furniture. Now they have added a café to their offering and what a great place to hang out. Besides the fact that I was in terror of my little one breaking something, I really loved the ambience. The location is a little bit random as it’s tucked away in an industrial area next to Scanteak in Paya Lebar. On that day, though, it was just what I needed to get away from chaos and have a bit of quiet (even with Jedi in tow).
www.knotsliving.com (furniture)
160 Paya Lebar Road #01-07 Orion@PayaLebar, Singapore
Tel: 6817 0383
Facebook: knotscafeandliving
Instagram: knots_cafe_and_living
Please note that I pop into these cafes randomly and pay for my own coffee and food.
Cover photo at Knots Cafe and Living. All images by Angela Manners. This article was originally published on vanillabeige.com and may have been edited for this platform.