I know, Carpenter & Cook has been around for ages and I've been raring to go since its inception. The only thing that really puts me off from going is the distance, but I can safely tell you that this cafe is one of the rare few worth travelling for. Or at least for people who appreciate the same things I do in a cafe (ambience! food!), and would not mind about the other elements (how detailed they are with coffee).
I have to say I adore their whimsical Elizabethan theme of floral teasets, wooden tables, all things vintage and rustic kitchenware. It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland, and not being in puffy frocks made me feel quite out of place. The grey hues cast across the cafe by the rainy weather contrasted with the warm glows from the lighting made the cafe a fantastic hideout from the rest of the world. I can already foresee myself coming here, equipped with a good read in hand.
The glob sister and I at this cafe, finally. We've been wanting to go since forever... and almost put it off yet again because of the rain. But procrastination has to stop. You bet we didn't regret going forth with plans we've previously agreed upon with such a lovely setting.
The Ham & Cheese Croissant is seemingly predictably good as this is already a winning combination. The croissant blew me away quite a bit as it exceeded my expectations. The croissant had an extraordinarily buttery fragrance melded with the savoury cheese and bacon that are really chewy. The croissant were also finely layered in fettered crisps when the knife goes through. Definitely better than average... I would recommend this, but first of all you can't leave C&C without trying their tarts.
As our stomachs have limited space and cafe budgets, each of us chose only one tart. C&C tarts go at $6.50 each. This is one of the toughest decisions in a while. Finally, glob sister chose the Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Tart while I went with the Passionfruit Meringue Tart. The decisions were weighed with different priorities in mind: for her, it was chocolate; me, photogenicity of the food (uh, duh). I would have chosen the Lemon Cream Tart based on my imagination of how they taste, but it was sadly pretty ugly-looking with this squishy yellow paste on the tart structure. Back to our orders: the Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Tart turned out to be pretty interesting in that each of its components are unmistakable and distinct, especially the saltiness. The dark chocolate aftertaste came on fast and furious thereafter, but it's not too imposing nor sore-throat inducing. I won't recommend this unless you are feeling adventurous. On the other hand, my Passionfruit Meringue Tart was spectacular in that it tastes as awesome as it looks. I often don't have much faith in good-looking food but this proved me wrong. The meringue is actually quite soft and not too sweet, and complemented the sour tones of the passionfruit (which looked like the lemon cream tart) stuffed generously under the meringue soft spikes. I really liked it. I wonder what the Lemon Cream Tart would taste like. The tart base is quite ordinary, but I guess that is not the main highlight.
The hot mocha didn't impress me as much as the tarts did, though I must say the caffeine kick is very substantial. To me, the mocha felt neither here nor there, resting in a comfortable range of a decent, smooth, predictably good coffee. I enjoyed it even though I'm sure people who are picky about their coffees may not rank C&C with the really good coffee-driven cafes. I definitely loved the experience here at Carpenter & Cook, and a second visit is in order.
Carpenter & Cook
19 Lorong Kilat #01-06
Singapore 598120
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