Hidden hardware - a coffee adventure

Being from Melbourne, she's caught the trend towards coffee wankiness enthusiasm. Her friend Leonie likes coffee too (I like Leonie; she doesn't put me in a sock. Ever). So as well as savouring local cuisine, they decided to look for some of the new coffee shops that are springing up all over Singapore. Trendy little places that think about single origin coffee beans, and pourover techniques.  M & L had asked their friend Mark from Eureka Coffee (he's at the Farmers Markets and stuff) and another friend (Hi Eugenia) to make coffee shop recommendations.  There were a few and today they dragged me to one of them. Not sure why they bothered as I'm not a coffee nut like them. I guess they just love me for my witty conversation.

That's me in the bottom left hand corner.
Definitely not tall enough to require a ticket!

After yesterday's long and winding walk, we opted for the train. Singapore's MRT is pretty easy to use, we found out. I didn't need a ticket - we checked and I wasn't quite tall enough to warrant buying one.

Everything in the train system is clean and shiny. In fact I've been noticing that whenever they take me out of Miriam's handbag. No rubbish, no dirty dusty stuff. Even the building sites we pass have very little grime coming out of them. Miriam finds it a bit freaky. It's a bit of a theme-for-the-day (you know how she gets those... she'll get a topic into her head and just keeps coming back to it all day long, ad nauseum)

The coffee shop we went to today was in a part of town much less shiny and clean (Hooray, said Miriam) It had that steamy Asian smell, that she's experienced in Hong Kong and Bangkok. There were buildings that had weathered, roads that were cracked, some untidiness and mess. Still not much rubbish though.

Chye Seng Huat Hardware. Inside here be trendy coffee nuts.

The menu... a simple range of breakfast fare and small meals

The coffee shop was in a converted hardware shop (still bears its name Chye Seng Huat Hardware) It had a hidden doorway, and once inside, you could have been in any Melbourne coffee shop, with the pourover station, the propped up list of single origin-coffees-of-the-day, the earnest young twenty somethings turning coffee making into something between art and science.

The coffee was great, according to her nibs. She had her regular long black with cold milk. She chose the solid Blue Batak blend.

Leonie's coffee was good too... (Nuts and Bolts blend) a kind of nuttiness and natural sweetness with light notes that made it a delicious breakfast beverage. (gawd, now I'm starting to sound like a wanker enthusiast too!)

The scrambled eggs breakfast that Miriam had was not so exciting... white bread more dried out than toasted, sad snow peas that had been drowned in dressing and baked beans that looked suspiciously like they had come out of a can. The scrambled eggs were soft and light, though. Leonie's muffin was delicious.

They were both going on and on about how nice it all was. I have to say I liked it too. It was strange though, to have this little specialist restaurant / coffee shop right in middle of a street that feels not coffee-shop-ish at all...

Me hanging off a cup of coffee - lovely aroma

 With coffee and breakfast in their tummies, Miriam put me back in her handbag and we headed out into the steamy Singapore air...