Drury Lane, Tanjong Pagar, Singapore

Drury lane 

Early Friday evening - the last of the days sunlight falls through a stairwell, landing on the dark wooden floors and furniture. The hustle and bustle of the traffic and the neon signage of the Korean BBQ places and minimarts are silenced by the tunes floating through the air, and the quiet murmur of conversations - it's its own little contained space, like a bubble of London transported to a shophouse in Tanjong Pagar. It feels like it could be anywhere - Rathmines in Dublin and Ximending in Taipei come to mind, to the extent where I would not be entirely surprised if I stepped out again and found myself in either one.

As interesting as the ambiance as, the whole point is (or certainly should be) decent coffee. A lot of places can pull shot as, but not all can pull customers back for more, particularly so in a market which appears to be approaching saturation point.

Fortunately, they delivered. 

Espresso - 40 mls that tells me a lot about what's happening behind the counter anywhere. Looking down, I could see the correct volume for a single, with a medium brown crema lining the rim of the cup. (No surprise there, one unintended consequence of the recent profusion of cafes is that any coffee place using stale beans simply won't last). It's an Interesting combination (I see exactly why the cappuccino worked) - potent without being burnt, robust without being overwhelming, acidic but not astringent. It might be too strong for some tastes though, or for anyone who prefers a less intense shot. From my point of view it's a good blend of beans for drinks as it's strong enough to retain its character when blended with milk. There's nothing wrong here - no grounds in the shot, no off flavours. Score one for the barista. 

The photo doesn't exactly do the cappuccino below justice - it was a beautiful pour, with intricate latte art 

layered over microfoam. It works as a combination of ingredients - strong potent coffee rips through the foam, no loss of flavour at all, milk hardly dilutes it - great combination of milk and foam working together. The latte art is intricate too. Serving size spot on. 

Also serves tea, if that's your thing. 

There is a small selection of cakes and baked goods downstairs, and the pricing is right where it should be - it's certainly not overpriced. One point if contention though - turkey bacon is used in sandwiches instead of real bacon, which might not appeal to everyone.

Overall, certainly worth a visit for anyone in the area, and tag late night opening means it's making regular appearances in my Friday nights.

Flat White, Berwick St, London

There was a stark contrast between the cold, grey and rainy London outside, and the bright primary coloured walls, with Beatles songs and the bustle of conversations in the background. 

Espresso - the volume was a double. There's a slight syrupy mouthfeel, and despite the volume, it doesn't feel watered down. A medium dark crema tells me that the beans are fresh. It's acidic but not hugely so, the aftertaste fades quickly, and gives rise to a more earthy flavour, but something's off - there's a noticeable aftertaste with each sip. Small, very fine particles of ground coffee in the shot are responsible - it's possible that the grind size in the grind size is responsible. I didn't finish the shot, which is rare. 

Latte - dark crema topped off with nice latte art, but some larger bubbles are present in some of the drinks, causing the foam to come apart, which affects the mouthfeel. There is very little smoothness imparted by the foam - although it is a latte so that's not what we are looking for. After a while, the foam falls apart entirely - steaming technique is not quite there.

The Piccollo latte suffers from excess acidity, it's quite sour, and the potency is not apparent through the sour taste. 

Overall it's not terrible but it does need work - fix the grind size and the acidity and this could be very good indeed. The potential is certainly there, the intent is there, the execution is slightly off though. It's a pity, because the effort that has been made is obvious, as is the potential for a hidden gem of a cafe.

Cafe Crema, Jurong

Cafe Crema is a new addition to the coffee scene in the West of Singapore, which until recently was lacking quality coffee (with Jimmy Monkey being a notable exception). 

Espresso - dark brown crema topped a potent and rich, syrupy shot. There was some acidity, but it was not overwhelming or astringent - this was a nicely balanced shot. The volume was just right, not over or under extracted, so that the intensity of the shot was not lost. In a nutshell, the baristas know what they're doing. They know the difference between a single and a double shot, with the barista correctly pointing out which was which when they were delivered.

Piccolo latte - this is advertised as a speciality of the cafe, with a prominent sign over the counter explaining what it is - even now, with an abundance of cafe's, they are not that common. Fortunately, the expectation lived up to the reality. The things that make up a good piccolo ate here - the correct size and layer of foam, smooth microfoam with competent latte art, with the foam imparting the correct mouthfeel and smoothness. Coffee taste is still there, as it should be in a Piccollo. 

One thing that I noticed - there are ristretto shots on the menu, which is something that is even less common than a piccolo. This tells me that there is a fundamental product knowledge amongst the staff - they know the difference between an espresso and ristretto - the basic building blocks of any coffee - it's harder to get a bad coffee when the fundamentals are correct.

I noticed two potential improvements though - there does not seem to be any drip / filter coffees on the menu. It would be good to have an option for V60 pourovers, Aeropress or Chemex coffees too - they don't take up a lot of space, and this will allow Cafe Crema to cater to a wider variety of tastes. Also, some of the serving sizes seen quite large - roughly around 7oz - so the coffee flavour may be lost. However, I have not tried those drinks, so I can't confirm that until I do.

This is definitely somewhere I'd come back to, and it's a pleasant surprise to find it amongst the usual selection of lookalike franchises. Simple, well crafted shots are all that I need.