My husband and I chanced upon this quaint little cafe while searching for a place to chill after checking out from our awesome staycation at Sofitel Singapore City Centre across the road (read about it here!). The signboard was so subtle and unassuming that I completely missed it, thankfully my husband did not (his coffee senses must’ve tingled, haha).
According to their website, Baristart Coffee originally started out in Hokkaido as a simple coffee stand. They’ve since expanded their offerings to a full-range lifestyle menu and is the first cafe in Singapore to use Hokkaido milk of exceptional quality (Biei Jersey Milk from brown Jersey cows). This premium milk is said to be rich and creamy with a hint of sweetness. They also use ingredients specifically sourced from Hokkaido in their main courses.
There was a substantial queue when we entered and not much seating space, but we just took our time to browse the menu and the interestingly designed items for sale on the shelves. I liked the clean lines created by the industrial and timber look of the interior, it made the place feel open and uncluttered. There was also a rather huge skylight over the seating area, which doused the space with loads of natural light. The ambience was nice and relaxing, and the best part was that it wasn’t too noisy even though the cafe was operating at full seating capacity.
I ordered the Chocolate Glace ($7.50) while my husband got himself the Brown Sugar Boba Rooibos Tea ($8.50). My drink was so-so, seemed like they may have skimped on the chocolate. My husband thought his tea tasted quite unique compared to the ones we normally get at the standard bubble tea shops.
We also got a Tamago Sando ($12.80) and a Strawberry Sweets Jar ($8.50) to share. The Tamago Sando came in a pretty good portion with straightforward flavours which I enjoyed, but for simple fare like this, it was unfortunately a tad pricey. What stole the show for me was none other than the Strawberry Sweets Jar! The cream made with premium Hokkaido Biei Jersey Milk was light, smooth, velvety and not overly sweet. Together with the strawberry slices and cookie crumble, this dessert was a refreshing mix of flavours and textures. I could really taste the difference in the quality, that made it worth every penny (:
My overall rating of the experience: 4 out of 5 stars. Nice ambience, good food and drinks (especially those made with the premium Hokkaido milk), friendly staff too – generally a pleasant and satisfying experience. Although the prices here can be considered quite average for a cafe in the city area, I felt it was still more than what I would pay for some of the items on the menu. With that said, I’m already planning my next visit here to specifically try out other dishes made with their imported Hokkaido milk (:
Dania Experiences 