Coffee Break

Coffee from JCO Donut & Coffee


I must have bought either an Americano or a latte and to my pleasant surprise, the staff gave me a small donut foc, to go with my coffee.



This is not raw sugar, but really brown sugar powder! It didn't interfere with the taste of coffee though, and I do like the understated but stylish packaging.



Local egg & kaya-butter toast set at a new small joint at SMU.


I happened to walk aimlessly to that area, not sure of what to have and when I saw they have soft-boiled egg... well, that settles it! :)

It was too light, so I went to pack a veggie subway for an afternoon snack. I'm still not sure why I got a discount for the sandwich. Did they think I was a SMU staff (I wasn't wearing any tag) or .... a student?!? :-O

Coffee with a friend at Espresso Bar, at Sim Lim Square


The sinful moussey, dark chocolate & banana cake was her idea!


Nice... and the prices are slightly cheaper than most coffee joints. Hope they stay around.

Egg & Kaya-Butter Toast

This is currently one of my favourite things to eat for breakfast, morning tea or afternoon tea.


The main attraction is the plate of soft-boiled eggs...so smooth and yummilicious! *DROOLS!!*

Sometimes, I'm even tempted to eat it for dinner or supper.

I wonder is it ok to eat one egg everyday? I can eat these eggs everyday if I could. See the masthead of this blog and you'll know liao... it's definitely egg-inspired! ;P


I tried this drink last week - grass jelly iced milk tea.


It's not bad, as long as the tea is good.

The SO wanted to have the normal grass jelly drink, but the cafe say don't have. I guess they only know how to make grass jelly tea...!?!


Also tried this drink many weeks' back.


It's got a lovely colour, and is a non-alcoholic beer.


But I think it tasted like bubbly juice...

Groceries

From recent shopping trip.



The salad spritzer (cabernet vinaigrette dressing) is pretty cool to use. Just spray it on salads, toss in other ingredients and voila, easy peasy; tastes good too.


The expensive Thai chilli made with fresh chillies was nothing to shout about though...don't buy again.

The Sun Fuji apple from Amori is back at "aunty lucy" mart. This time at a much cheaper price compared to the last time I bought it in Feb.


However, it wasn't as sweet or as tasty this time... hmm...


My best buys of the day...both on discounts. I'm sticking to this RT for my usual morning cuppa (to save time). The Nescafe from Japan is surprising, surprisingly very good, with a smoky flavour, without the bitter aftertaste. Definitely worth buying again... can forget about the UCC (?) Blue Mountain which, more and more, is machiam like wall-paper...hardly noticeable.

Office beverage

I need my coffee breaks to help me get through the 7 to 8 working hours at the office everyday.

Tried a new product...I think it's new.



Not bad leh...got the right foam texture; made with milk powder plus the unavoidable creamer.



It's a surprise to me that Nescafe can come up with a not-too-bad instant product. I will buy it again.



My other beverages...



My secret unfulfilled wish is to operate a kopitiam/cafe lor. Actually, I don't mine being a barista...if only the pay is more decent.

:P

Freeze dried instant coffee

Two of the freeze dried instant coffees that I've tried recently:

Robert Timms is cheaper and good, a good value for money blend. Beats the Nescafe, Boncafe Organic brands hands down.

Davidoff looks posher and costs more, but was not better in terms of taste. Better to stick to Robert Timms for everyday convenience.

I'd recommended RT to my colleague and she likes it too.

The hard-to-get tea

I've finally opened and drank the Lapsang Souchong tea that I'd bought during our Europe trip last November. I'd first heard of this tea many donkey years ago in my early career days when I worked at a motor company where some of the managers and directors have fat entertainment expense accounts. Of course, being a junior executive, I didn't have such a privilege, but I was often invited to join the numerous dinners meant to entertain the Japanese principals, and sometimes, to lunches that were meant to erm...entertain the managers themselves. ;P

Anyway, it was at Movenpick restaurant where my high-class, overseas-educated and more widely-exposed colleague introduced me to this Lapsang Souchong tea. This black tea has a unique smoky, earthy flavour that gives it more body than its plainer cousins - the Chinese tea. I thought the name "Soochong" sounds rather Chinese, but I realised later that "Lapsang" is probably Tibetan....but I was wrong. Actually, it originates from China, according to Wikipedia:

* Lapsang souchong (正山小种 or 烟小种): originally from Mount Wuyi, Fujian Province, China. Lapsang souchong is a black tea which is dried over burning pine, thereby developing a strong smoky flavour.


For many years, I had not been able to find this tea in Singapore, and I bought my first can of LS tea from Harvey Nichols in London while on a business trip to UK, many years later. Since then, I would occasionally ask friends who were visiting London to bring a can of this tea back for me, if it was convenient. Last year, I discovered (a bit too late!) that Harrods at Takashimaya actually carries this tea as well, so at least I now know where to get my supply locally.

Edit: Wikipedia's entry on Lapsang Souchong tea

The creme de la creme of coffee - Blue Mountain

This morning, I finally tasted the limited edition UCC Blue Mountain freeze dried coffee which I'd bought from Carrefour some time back. This is despite I still have not finished the bottle of organic Columbian freeze dried coffee. I think it is a limited edition because I haven't seen this blue mountain coffee anywhere else, not even at Isetan Orchard where there is currently a promotion on UCC coffee. This blue mtn version comes in a small bottle about half the size of the usual UCC freeze dried coffee, yet it costs almost double their usual price!



Anyway, the blue mtn coffee (with evaporated milk) tasted very very smooth, with no hint of bitterness at all. Whatever acidity there is in it was so very nuanced, that I think it can be drank black, and even a non-coffee drinker like that SO can drink it.

Notes about this coffee (from Wikipedia):
Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is a classification of coffee grown in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. The best lots of Blue Mountain coffee are noted for their mild flavor and lack of bitterness. Over the last several decades, this coffee has developed a reputation that has made it one of the most expensive and sought-after coffees in the world. In addition to its use for brewed coffee, the beans are the flavor base of Tia Maria coffee liqueur.