Chye Seng Huat Hardware @ Tyrwhitt Road

Been reading alot of good reviews regarding the food served at Chye Seng Huat Hardware (CSHH) Coffee Bar, and so I decided to head down to give it a try since I was in the area. Currently also on my quest to find good coffee places to meet up with friends instead of patronizing the over-commercialised ones like Starbucks. It is located relatively near Jalan Besar Stadium, in a rather unassuming street. In fact, I even saw Bangladeshi workers sleeping nearby. 

The cafe exudes a nostalgic charm, being true to its namesake, as you can see in the picture below. It occupies the first floor of the shophouse, whilst there is what I believe to be an Arts company on the second level. Seating in the cafe is mainly for a party of one or two people, with larger groups needing to head to the open air spaces outside. However if you are inside, you might want to bring a jacket as the temperatures are relatively low.

The picture below shows the alternate entrance to the one above, and you can see a long queue forming within the cafe even at 2pm.

Not the best image quality, but each of their placards has a phrase "Huat ah" which I found to my quite quaint. Also pictured here is the alternate entrance, which is not sheltered. However, the open air seating space boasts a canopy so you'll not get wet. However, winds do blow a little bit of rain splatter onto your legs, but personally I found it nice, if not a bit romantic.

Water here is free flow! And sugar comes in a common sugar jar as opposed to sachets.

View of the interior and some of the internal seating/retail space

Regular Espresso with Milk ($5.50) NO SERVICE CHARGE!! The staff referred to this as the "latte" and I found the milk to be semi-rich. The texture of the coffee was smooth, but I felt that the milk overpowered the taste just slightly (I like my coffee strong). 

Chocolate Brownie with Cranberries and White Chocolate Chips ($5.50). This was heavenly. I believe they used Valrhona Chocolate for this, which made it extremely rich and it had just the right level of sweetness. Delicious pairing with my coffee, which I took without milk and sugar. Reasonably priced given the size and quality of the brownie.

Almond Croissant ($3.50) This was another good selection, with the price being all right as well. Definitely cheaper than the overpriced Tiong Bahru Bakery. The icing and almonds made the croissant especially fragrant, and it was definitely comparable with the quality of the former.

La Cupula, or the Balanced Brew from Guatemala ($6). The description did not say much except that it was a origins brew. Hence I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was hand-brewed, and made through the filtration method. Waited 15 minutes for this to arrive, and I found the presentation of the coffee interesting. Personally I'm more of a "pressured-coffee" person, but I found this decent. The coffee was rather acidic but at the same time light on the palate. It was extremely smooth without the bitter aftertaste. 

La Minita, or the Bold Brew from Costa Rice. ($6). Prepared in a similar way to the coffee above, but I found this much stronger, which I liked. However, the coffee tasted more common when you compare how exquisite the taste is. 

More of the offerings in CSHH. 

An extremely good find tucked away in a quiet street, definitely a place I would bring my friends to. Probably the most charming cafe I've been to yet. They do serve a breakfast menu but I would probably stick with the drinks and pastries.

Expect to pay: $5-10 per person, depending on what you order. NO SERVICE CHARGE. and GST is included in the prices already. So they're literally charging you NETT.

150 Tyrwhitt Rd, 207563

63960609

Read about my second visit here!
http://eatwheresia.blogspot.sg/2014/01/update-chye-seng-huat-tyrwhitt-road.html