Lots of coffee places in Singapore, but at Level 2 of Orchard Gateway there's a cafe that offers cocoa, coffee and tea. For chocolate, there are 3 main variants of cocoa and these are criollo, forastero, and trinitario. Read it from wiki.
Was recently invited to Criollo Cocoa Cafe to try out its menu.
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| menu |
Cafe is spacious and there are tables by the window that are perfect for people-watching.
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| by the window |
First up, a refreshing cup of cold peppermint tea. Normally, one would not really care if the tea is cold/hot brewed, as long as it taste good, right? But what if by doing a cold brew, one could cut down on carbon footprint by reducing energy consumption needed to boil water, and gets to enjoy a cup of a lighter sweeter tea? Sounds good, doesn't it?
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| cold brewed peppermint tea |
For appetiser, try the chicken tortilla. It looked quite plain but those things on the plate, they worked!
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| tortilla with grilled chicken @$8.90 |
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| between the lines, yummy chicken and cheese |
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| dab on spicy salsa |
A good start. The spicy salsa was tangy and with just enough heat to wake you up. Dressing on the salad has a touch of sugar to it. Good to share.
Fancy a butter finger drink? Ingredients include peanut butter, shot of espresso and cocoa. Stir well before you drink. Had just a hint of peanut butter though. Tasted creamy, more of coffee and a little bit of peanut butter. Strangely, I felt that the taste is reminiscent of kopi peng.
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| butterfinger latte @$5.90 - cocoa, peanut butter, shot of espresso |
If there is one drink that you must try, I would recommend the frozen hot chocolate. Err, is that hot or cold? Keke, it is a cold drink that's chockful of chocolatey goodness!
Imagine mixing melted chocolate onto rich and creamy milk, and topped with a scoop of ice-cream. Sounds delicious? It is.
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| frozen hot chocolate @$8.90 |
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| deliciously rich |
Or, if you prefer the hot version of this (and minus the ice-cream), have a cup of dark hot cocoa @$6.50. Comes with two version of latte art. Personally, who could resists the cutesy bear?! Not me for sure.
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| cute bear hugging marshmellow |
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| kind of creepy. a face smiling at the broken heart? |
The food here are mostly western fare. Tried quite a number of pasta dishes.
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| smoked duck aglio olio @$15.90 |
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| seafood spaghetti @$15.90 |
The seafood spaghetti has prawns, squid, fish and mushrooms. Healthy tasting and mildly flavoured. On the other hand, the flavours of the smoked duck aglio was good though a tad oily and the duck was a tad too salty. Noodles were al-dente with just a notch leaning towards the softer side. If there's a term to it, I'll call this Asian-styled al-dente.
One last pasta dish, the bolognese. This is a befitting finale to all the pasta dishes that we had tried. Served piping hot, strands of pasta buried underneath bolognese sauce and topped with cheese and baked. Yums.
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| spaghetti bolognaise @$14.90 |
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| loaded with meat sauce, cheese and baked |
Did you request for meat? How about a chicken chop. A pretty plate of chicken chop, please.
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| chicken chop, side of greens and truffle fries @$15.90 |
Strong truffle smell from the fries. Sinfully fried and salted. Side of greens was refreshing with that slightly sweet dressing, and chicken chop was tender and enjoyable.
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| chicken thigh meat |
If the group has more meatatarians, then there's the meat platter to try. Looks like bar food but there is no alcohol here. Never mind, wash it all down with the frozen chocolate or iced-tea.
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| mixed grilled platter - chicken, bacon and chorizo sausage @$19.90 |
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| bacon and chorizo sausage |
If you prefer, there is fish and chips as well.
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| fish and chips @$15.90 |
Last course, desserts. Shop signature dish is chocolate waffle with chocolate ice-cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce. Triple choc!
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| chocolate waffle with a scoop of ice-cream @$14.90 |
The chocolate waffle has crispy edges, light tasting and tasted great with the ice-cream. If one prefers a more fruity waffle, they have a version of that as well.
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| waffles with fresh fruits - mango and blueberries @$14.90 |
The fruit waffle batter is not as crispy as the chocolate one, served with fresh mango that is sweet and a slightly sourish tang from the blueberries. Perhaps, this could also be served with ice-cream, or chocolate sauce or maple syrup as it felt a tad monotonous after a while.
Note that there is no GST and service charge.
Thank you HGW and Criollo Cocoa Cafe for the invite, especially to Mr Lam for hosting us.
Criollo Cocoa Cafe
Location: #02-01, Orchard Gateway, Singapore 238858Contact number: 67026568
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/criollococoacafe
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