Columbus Coffee Co - Newly opened cafe at Upper Thomson

Columbus Coffee Co is the third establishment opened by the owners of Atlas Coffeehouse and Lunar Brewer Coffee. They are the latest to join the bustling cafe scene at Upper Thomson. The cafe is located opposite Sin Ming Plaza Condo and has a very spacious interior.

Given that the cafe is only a month old, the food blogosphere is buzzing with activity and there's been numerous reviews of the wide selection that Columbus Coffee Co offer. It got me quite excited to try out this place given all the positive hype. My dining companion opted to try their fresh bakes and ordered the almond croissant ($5). She paired her pastry with a piccolo latte ($4.50). As I just got back from London, the benchmark for fresh bakes is still set pretty high. In London, the almond croissant even had almond cream oozing out of the bread but that'll be a story for another day. We both found the croissant to be over toasted and a little on the dry side. According to my dining companion, when a bread is over toasted, moisture collects onto the bread surface quickly thus making the bread less crispy and more towards the soggy side when you take too long to finish the food.

You can't go too wrong with lattes or I'll really judge them. I found the latte to be nicely done. I made a mental note that this is probably an ideal place to read with a cuppa coffee if I'm ever around the Thomson area again. (haven't been to Thomson area in ages because I dread the parking there)

I always have a soft spot for hotcakes and I really like the one at Atlas Coffeehouse. The Butterscotch Banana Pancake ($18.50) looks exactly the same so I simply had to have it. Sad to say, my impression of the dish is totally different this time. To be fair, the pancakes are really soft and fluffy (just like the description on their menu) to the point you feel like you are having an awesome sponge cake. The maple syrup still goes really well with the ice cream, bananas and the honey coated cornflakes. The trouble was my ideal version is crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. This one skipped the crispiness. The dish tastes cakey after a while and despite the ice cream, I struggled finishing half.

The sun was scorching outside so I had the Milky Way ($7) which is pretty much white cold brew. Again the coffee passed with flying colours and it's probably the saving grace for my overall experience.

I noted that the food took a while to be served probably due to the high traffic flow. The food on our table, the next table and the next next table were all plated in delicious fashion. It really left my companion and I scratching our heads if we ordered the wrong dishes. We weren't impressed by the food at Columbus Coffee Co and really should I return it'll be for the coffee and no food.

Columbus Coffee Co
220 Upper Thomson Road, S574352

WORD.

This week is all about balloons. I started a hobby on balloon sculpturing and have been spending a lot of time twisting various patterns, taking my lessons from youtube. Also, I've found less pleasure heading out for food on weekends and gain more satisfaction enjoying good food and meet ups on weekdays when the rest of the world is working. I foresee more food reviews to be coming from weekdays in future!

WORD. was recommended to me by a friend whom I was asking for recommendations on budget food. Honestly, I don't think WORD. falls in the category of budget. My friend must have grown atas after she started working this year. WORD. is founded by the people who did the Rainbow Bagel at the Ramadan Bazaar. The restaurant is halal and the name of the restaurant I surmised is catered to the menu's play on words. This visit was made with the brother.

We kick started the meal with one of their quirky drinks called the Word Concoction ($7). It's a home-made drink which is refreshing, ingeniously presented in a light bulb and in my view expensive. Worth a try and I like it that it's camera friendly.

For mains, I chose the Mother Cluckers ($14), which basically is a whole baked chicken leg with potato puree and grilled vegetables. It's surprisingly good! The chicken was tender, easy to eat. The meat peels off the bones freely and the seasoning made the taste rich and aromatic. I'll eat it again!

My brother picked the Seafood Marinara ($18). Such a safe choice made me a little disappointed because I thought it'll be boring photos and food quality. Again, we were pleasantly surprised by the plate brought before us. The portions were generous, it was aromatic and the taste lingers in the mouth. Awesome!

In short, WORD. is a hidden gem. Its ulu location is making it bad for business. When we arrived, we thought the place was closed because we were the only patrons on a Sunday afternoon. The food really is a winner but obviously not many people know that. The MRT Springleaf station will only be ready in 2020. By then, I doubt WORD. would still be around. Please visit it while you still can. It's worth the hassle :)

WORD.
906 Upper Thomson Road