Ristretto Roasters, Portland

Ristretto Roasters closed its Beaumont branch and opened its doors at Couch Street just yesterday! Like when we were there at about 6pm, they were literally just opened for business, for like 3 hours or so?

Normally we go to the Nicolai branch but heard that RR was opening one at Couch St and we were pretty excited about it, because it has the latest opening hours, until 8pm, so you can grab a cuppa and chill later into the evening. Myself and T have found a lack of good coffee roasters that open past 6 in Portland, so needless to say, we were stoked to know of the new Couch St RR’s opening hours.

The place sits at a lovely corner of NE Couch and 6th Ave, and is apparently designed by Bamboo Revolution; the avant garde wooden furnishings are telling of that, and they serve awesome coffee, no less. And their iced coffee/cold brew comes in Ball mason jars, how cool is that?

Another cool place to chill with great coffee, hurray!

Ristretto Roasters
555 NE Couch Street
Portland, OR 97232
(503) 248-6767

Sweedeedee, Portland

Sweedeedee is a really cosy brunch place with a predominantly hipster clientele (at least that was when i was there this morning), and it is a blink and miss kinda place but I am glad we found it! They spin records, have pretty-looking cakes and pastries, and serve pretty decent brunch dishes! It’s evident lots effort went into the decor of the place, with shelves of neatly arranged jars and utensils, wooden touches and specials scribbled on a huge paper roll, for ease of refresh.

Breakfast Burrito (scrambled eggs, avocado, fried potato, lettuce and guacamole)

We had the breakfast burrito (scrambled eggs, avocado, fried potato, lettuce and guacamole) and potato plate (potatoes, fried egg and smoked trout)… both packed with goodness and weren’t too over the top (nor too oily).

Potato Plate (potatoes, fried egg and smoked trout)

However, the wait time was a bit of a gripe so it won’t be an ideal place if you’re in a bit of a rush. Also, there is the protocol of ordering before being allocated seats, which doesn’t work well for everyone. But it worked out well for us because it wasn’t that long a wait when we were there this morning.

Overall, great brunch place with a nice and lively atmosphere!

Sweedeedee
5202 N Albina Ave
Portland, OR 97217
(503) 946-8087
Opening Hours:
Mon, Wed-Sat 8 am – 4 pm
Sun 8 am – 2 pm
Closed on Tues

Patisserie G, Singapore

3D Latte Art but no 3D Glasses required!

Chic japanese themed cafe located in Millenia Walk. Not a typical place that I would head to for a cup of cuppa. Heard and saw pictures of the 3d latte art totally made me want to check it out myself. Coffee beans are from local roastery Liberty Coffee was definitely a plus! Be sure to try out the desserts from the Cordon Bleu pastry chef Gwen Lim who has apparently worked under Pierre Herme himself! Pretty Awesome!

Cappuccino and Triomphe
Burnt salted caramel mousse and hazelnut sponge

Patisserie G
9 Raffles Boulevard,
#01-40 Millenia Walk,
Singapore 039596
Tel: +65 6338-7578
Opening Hours:
Mon – Thu: 8:00 am – 9:00 pm
Fri: 8:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sat: 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sun: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm

Maneki, Seattle

Whenever I do a Seattle weekend trip, I never fail to make a reservation for Maneki for a quick Japanese fix. Located in a secluded corner of international district, with all the construction going on, you will often drive by and totally miss it. Street parking ard the area during dinner time isn’t easy to find. Without a reservation, you either have to head there right when they open or after 8.30pm. So be sure to make your reservations dayS in advance. All that aside.. the restaurant is pretty cozy and the food at Maneki is GREAT! never fails to perk me up after every meal at Maneki 😀

Sashimi

2 things not to miss! black cod collar miso and sashimi! The black cod collar miso is probably the best black cod miso i ever had! As for sashimi, I usually just pick what I like and they will lay it out in that gigantic plate. They also offer a chef choice for those that aren’t as picky.

Black Cod Collar Miso

Some Maneki trivial.. Apparently, the elderly woman that serves you at the front desk is the daughter of the owner. And they have been in operation since 1904!

More Sashimi

Maneki
304 6th Ave S
Seattle, WA 98104
Tel: (206) 622-2631
Cell: (425) 954-6469
Hours: Tue-Sun 5:30 pm – 10:30 pm

Broder, Portland

Scandinavia? Sounds pretty familiar. Ikea’s furniture and café? Saab? No I am talking about Broder. Food pretty impressive. The wait is pretty impressive too. 1 over hour wait for brunch on a Sunday morning at 9am. The café is really tiny with a little more than 10 tables on SE Clinton Street. They probably rented the space from Savoy Bar beside as a waiting room so guests don’t have to freeze and get drenched in the cold and wet weather. Plenty of seats and Stumptown coffee served in the waiting room @ $2.50 Bottomless! *thumbs up*

Aebleskivers (Danish Pancakes) were probably the best thing I had there. Completed with housemade lemon curd, lingoberry jam, syrup and housemade applesauce. Usually served with a choice of 2 sauces but server gave us all 4!

Their signature dish, Pytt I Panna, Smoked Trout Swedish Hash in the mini cast iron skillets was good too!

Smorrebrod: Trio of Open Faced Sandwiches

Lefse (Norwegian Potato Crepe)

Staff is friendly and amazing! Definitely will be back again!

Broder
2508 SE Clinton St
Portland, OR 97255
(503) 736-3333
Opening Hours:
Mon-Sun 9 am – 3 pm
Wed-Sat 5 pm – 10 pm

Chye Seng Huat Hardware, Singapore

*Drum rolls* CSHH is the flagship store of Papa Palheta. If you like PPP, you will definitely love this place featuring a Coffee Bar, Coffee Retail, The Roastery, The Workshop and The Annex. The roastery and coffee bar is exactly what it means, the annex is where the tasting happens (call and reserve in advance! 23 bucks!) and the coffee retail is where they display the coffee gadgets and add ons some of which are really interesting.

Jalan Besar is definitely not the easiest place to get to but I went there twice without driving. so its not impossible lol. Don’t be fooled by the front of the store, it may look closed due to the shutter grills but the “main entrance” is actually on the side, just like how PPP’s entrance was behind. Pretty cool concept and it definitely fits well into the entire row of shophouses in the area.

Check out the menu too. its really simple.. espresso + milk, espresso + water and brewed coffee. no coffee jargon involved. with a really interesting drink that I didn’t get a chance to try.. the beer (& coffee) moment where the description was something like Jungle Beer x Papa Palheta if I am not wrong. maybe someone who has tried that can let me know if its awesome 😛

Espresso + Milk

Smooth, creamy with no residual bitterness.. Coffee junkies.. u know where to head to for your next caffeine fix.

Chye Seng Huat Hardware
150 Tyrwhitt Road
Singapore 207563
Tel : +65 6396 0609
Tue-Thu: 9am-7pm
Fri-Sun: 9am-10pm

Toby’s Estate, Singapore

Toby’s Estate, is a pretty renowned coffee chain in Australia. Originally in Toby’s Mum garage in Sydney now expanded to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Singapore, and even Brooklyn. They were also in the Union Square Holiday Markets in NYC. I kinda like the Robertson Quay area as its usually not too crowded and there’s plenty of dining areas. There’s also a couple of coffee places where you can sip your coffee by the river. Of course when the weather permits..

Cappuccino

Sat by the river for a bit and it started pouring.. Coffee on a weekday afternoon was awesome nevertheless. *Thumbs up*

Toby’s Estate
8 Rodyk Street
Singapore 238216
Tel: +65 6636 7629
Daily: 7.30am – 6.00pm

Barista, Portland

Latte

Barista
539 NW 13th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97209
Weekdays 6am to 6pm
Saturday & Sunday 7am to 6pm

Coava Coffee Roasters, Portland

Updates: Latest addition in town! Coava just opened a new branch at
2631 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard
Portland, OR 97214
Mon – Fri: 6am – 6pm
Sat – Sun: 8am – 6pm
Definitely check it out when you are in the area!

Packed with people with or without rain, though most of the time it’s the latter. This place is huge, but seats are still really limited. They seem to occupy about half the space and the other half is a huge empty space with several planks of wood. Unique and interesting design. They have a sleek counter table in the middle of the café where everyone seems to have a MacBook in front of them while they are sipping on their coffee. Apparently, their baristas, Devin Chapman and Sam Purvis, won the North West Regional Barista Competition (NWRBC) and Brewers Cup for both 2011 and 2012. Devin made my cappa that day, totally recognized him. On a side note, the baristas are really friendly! Definitely worth a visit if you do drop by Portland!

Cappuccino

Coava Coffee Roasters
1300 SE Grand Ave
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 894 – 8134
Weekdays 6am – 6pm
Saturday 7am – 6pm
Sunday 8am – 6pm
Coffee, Pastry & Wi-Fi

Strangers’ Reunion, Singapore

Where can you can a better cup of coffee in Singapore than from Ryan Kieran Tan, two time National Barista Champion (2011, 2012), 2nd runner up of the World Latte Art Championship 2011 and owner of Strangers’ Reunion?

Theres a coffee on the menu thats unique and never seen in Singapore cafes, Magic (flat white with a double ristretto base), highly recommended by Ryan himself. On a side note, they recently started serving weekend brunch from 9am to 5pm.

Cappuccino

When I first saw the cup of cappuccino, I felt the cup looking strangely familiar (no pun intended)… Apparently, Papa Palheta and Loysel’s Toy are sisters cafe which explains the similar looking cups. What then is there not to like about Strangers’ Reunion? Coffee lovers should definitely pay this place a visit for the next caffeine fix.

Strangers’ Reunion
37 Kampong Bahru Road
Tel: +65 9368 3610
Opening Hours:
Monday – Sunday: 9am – 10pm
Closed on Tuesday