Great Cuppa @ Dutch Colony Pasarbella on 26Dec2014

flat white small - S$4.50

flat white small – S$4.50

family decided to go out for a cuppa on 26.12.2014.

ducth colony @ pasarbella

ducth colony @ pasarbella

grandstand at turf club road is nearby. we decided to go to the dutch colony @ pasarbella. it’s quite a hip joint, nice cosy place, great ambience. 🙂

banana cake with cream cheese

banana cake with cream cheese

banana cake with cream cheese

banana cake with cream cheese

flat white large - S$5.50

flat white large – S$5.50

i don’t go out for coffee often. the last time i had a nice cuppa with wife was at chye seng huat at tyrewhitt road on 17.9.2014.

i have a good coffee machine at home & recently i ordered 8x1kg caffe aurora from qbfood (it’s like 40% the price of lavazza coffee from culina! mostly when i had coffee outside it would be the “kopi-c go song tilok” aka kopitiam kind. ^^

we had flat whites & the children had some banana cake. like chye seng huat the coffee here was quite good. flavour was great, frothed milk was velvety smooth & combined well with the coffee. this reminded me also of the nice cuppa i had in london with my son-

at monmouth cafe in covent gardens on 22.8.2014, and

at melrose & morgan during our walk along regent’s canal to primrose hill on 24.8.2014.

the 2 in london were much better but that could also be the colder weather & we were doing a bit of walking & the mood was right & perfect for a cuppa.

by comparison i feel chye seng huat is better but really not by much. CSH place is cool but dutch colony is nearer if i really want to place with good coffee to chill.

c.h.e.f andy

Really Good Coffee @ Chye Seng Huat Hardware Coffee Bar on 17Sep2014

flat white @ chye seng huat coffee bar

flat white @ chye seng huat coffee bar

after taking kok kee wanton mee @ lavendar food square on 17.9.2014, we decided to walk over to chye seng huat hardware at tyrwhitt road for our cuppa. 🙂

flat white @ chye seng huat coffee bar

flat white @ chye seng huat coffee bar

flat white @ chye seng huat coffee bar

flat white @ chye seng huat coffee bar

the cafe CSHH coffee bar was located on the ground floor of a building with the name chye seng huat hardware and a cool shophouse facade.

the interior was a nice chill-out ambience. at 430pm there were quite many customers but not full & we sat at a corner wall with a ledge & tall stools & a wall mirror so you could see the whole cafe when sat facing the mirror.

flat white @ chye seng huat coffee bar

flat white @ chye seng huat coffee bar

we had a flat white at S$5.50 each.

the coffee flavour was good & the frothed milk was velvety smooth & combined well with the coffee.

i had 2 really great cuppas during my recent stay in london – one was at monmouth cafe in covent gardens on 22.8.2014, and the other when we stopped for a cuppa at melrose & morgan during our walk along regent’s canal to primrose hill on 24.8.2014.

a nice coffee makes all the difference. i have a jura machine at home. i used to get the rather expensive lavazza coffee at culina but later found caffe aurora at qbfoods that cost 40% the price, and for me they were very good (or good enough). i had nice nespresso at my friend’s house after our weekly jog, and also at my son’s apartment in london. all of them were better than the coffee one gets at starbucks, so if i want to get a coffee outside that is NOT a S$1.20 kopi-c, it has to be a good cuppa to make any sense in spending that money! 🙂

for me, CSHH cafe bar’s flat white falls into that good cuppa category. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Walk Regent’s Canal, Primrose Hill & Regent Park on 24Aug2014

10986_10152626660889494_1903041656635708592_n

regent’s canal from bridge along york way

this marks my last entry for the enjoyable time in london with my son 22aug to 27aug. we took easyjet to milan malpensa airport & took alibus to stresa at lake maggiore (a €12 55mins journey) on 28.8.2014. 🙂

we were staying at kings quarters apartment along copenhagen street, a short walk from york way & regent canal, which is right by king’s cross saint pancras station.

regent’s canal is 13.8km long linking paddington to limehouse basin in east london, running through the north end of regent’s park before the 78m primrose hill.  there is pleasure cruising & a regular waterbus service operating between Maida Vale and Camden, running hourly during the summer months.

with increase in cycle commuting  and increasing environmental awareness, the canal’s towpath has become a busy cycle route for commuters.

10632859_10152685321564494_2858638559332829939_n

regent’s canal from bridge along york way (evening)

10653708_10152685322214494_5494334003428910406_n

Arthouse apartment along york way, looking over regent’s canal

10599512_10152626661469494_8122326843523232449_n

king’s cross station from along regent canal access

10572139_10152631298904494_5091269426247526120_o

along regent’s canal outside central saint martins

10509737_10152631299044494_4846928229817743071_n

regent’s canal

we started from the terrace in front of central saint martins, university of arts london.

10646887_10152631299589494_42754884863815878_n

regent’s canal

10599433_10152631300669494_6360935433591432296_n

regent’s canal

10616094_10152631300239494_6660077365692663217_n 10641117_10152631300589494_7799630377697418104_n

10291146_10152631300949494_6673513553276399613_n

camden lock

10582915_10152631301299494_343890349329352196_o

camden lock

camden lock is located by the camden market. it allows the water crafts to traverse the canal across a change of water level.

10378918_10152631302664494_8621084865460949425_n 10501829_10152631301414494_1187121677264544345_n 10644998_10152631302514494_8890705098803628778_n1604946_10152631301694494_7629094773670452579_n 10631283_10152631302809494_6789163337858739439_o10537047_10152631303214494_1768277900839581241_n10535664_10152631303414494_1515456475197092445_o 10492366_10152631303564494_8389148959646527874_n
10570507_10152631303959494_4614374053423317737_n10592944_10152631304149494_4529908615446545033_n
 10616510_10152631303049494_3456735236612754961_n 10629719_10152631304299494_3601861306200185273_n 10646796_10152631302149494_8328100721880067430_n 10646780_10152631303779494_8758100429848773892_n

camden market refers to a number of adjoining large retail markets, including camden lock market & horse tunnel market (stables market).  it’s a treasure trove of new & old collectibles, arts & crafts, artefacts and daily use items.

gyros - greek kebab

gyros – greek kebab

we had a greek gyros (pronounced yee ro). it was really good for just £3, so much better & satisfying c/w the very poor £15.90+ cod fish & chips at poppies. my son ordered the chicken. i would have preferred lamb. still the chicken was very tasty & tender & the pita bread was good. even the potato chips were much better than poppies’. 🙂

10644863_10152632088224494_1994882408346513989_n 10649786_10152632089189494_2292880124087638263_n10610610_10152632088844494_2978558929813887378_n10473366_10152632089409494_7500662825282614059_o 10484453_10152632088434494_3611579179796928550_n 10644555_10152632088764494_3854543499875200263_o10610685_10152632089504494_1219870861661661478_n

after an unfulfilled lunch at poppies, we walked along the canal & came to the signage showing the direction of primrose hill.

we came onto gloucester avenue & stopped for a cuppa at melrose & morgan. it was really good. my son though tit was better than monmouth, but he was probably just having coffee withdrawal. anyway coffee was good! 🙂

10513484_10152632089879494_4498211369860234973_n

primrose hill

10431144_10152632090784494_7322261189825987994_o

primrose hill

10620124_10152632089804494_7421441218616711011_o

primrose hill

10628021_10152632091059494_5365327509050537715_n

primrose hill

primrose hill sits north of regent’s park. it’s only 78m. weather was good today about 22degC & the children, frisbees, dogs were all out & enjoying the sun, breeze, green fields, wide expanse of sceneries or activities. there was a board showing the various buildings on the skyline, from BT Tower to the Shard to Canary Wharf. 🙂

10570546_10152632108569494_6187278285969726972_n

regent’s park

10533391_10152632113199494_220129258580768224_n

regent’s park

10454215_10152632111839494_5396152517524287990_o

regent’s park

10557482_10152632107139494_757873240281724930_o

regent’s park

10592909_10152632093544494_1781636858142284753_n

regent’s park

after primrose hill, we walked through regent’s park, & took a bus back to our kings quarters apartment, had some nice nespresso, did some internet & then got ready for the pre-theatre dinner at joel robuchon. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy