Lunch at The Reading Room

I read about The Reading Room in a magazine at least a year back, but never found the time to visit till today. It is situated amongst a row of shophouses in Chinatown area, at 19 Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore 089833 and the number to stay eonnected is 6220 9019.

The outside is prettied up by plants and a distinctive maroon-and-white signboard, along with high bar tables and stools for those who prefer to have a glass of wine outdoors. The indoors is what really saps one's attention and leaves them awestruck - i never expected it to be this pretty. A combination of classic "library" combined with vintage charm, this comfortable cafe shall soon be my favorite spot to pop by.

As the name implies, there are lots of books for reading or purchase, it is totally my kind of place - savouring a good book over a good meal or drink! The cosy, pretty ambience is enhanced further by sultry country / olden pop music, I spotted songs by Marilyn Monroe even!

This is the cute menu - when the cafe manager handed it to me, I was a little astonished. Upon flipping through it, I was assured that it was indeed a menu. The food listed leaned heavily on the Spanish side - tapas, burgers and all.

My choice of book for the day was a psychological thriller about multiple personality disorders (MPD - my favorite topic) by Mary Higgins Clark. It was a great companion, needless to say.

I had a tough time deciding if I should go for the lighter Spanish bites, lunch set or one of these seemingly-delectable desserts.

In the end, I settled on the recommended set lunch (also in menu as a la carte) that cost SGD$14.90 (but I changed my drink to a Cuppuccino so all in all I paid SGD$18.50). The coffee was pretty all right - not like outstandingly aromatic, but flavorful enough that I did not add any sugar, and appreciated the simple coffee art.

My recommended TRR Burger was served just as I was starting to get acquainted with the chosen novel, along with the Garden Salad on the side. The salad was crisp, fresh and sweet, infused with a dark dressing that was light but saltish.

The TRR Burger came with bread that looked very freshly-baked, and it was almost crunchy at first bite. The beef patty was very delicious, well-marinated and succulent - the perfect juicy burger patty, save for tiny bits of hard fatty chunks. It was infused with the sapid flavor of cheese, enhancing the flavor. On top of that, the sweet crisps of lettuce, sour juiciness of tomato slices and crispy bacon elevated the texture and taste factors to very high notches on the sumptuous scale. I appreciated the quality recommendation.

All in all, I really enjoyed this place - a lazy afternoon of eating, sipping coffee, people watching and indulging in an exciting novel (without having to spend money buying one, or bringing my own!). The service was good too - they were constantly checking that we enjoyed the food and were comfortable enough. I wonder what took me so long to check this place out.