Dinner at Chock Full of Beans Cafe

Tucked away in a hidden HDB block is Chock Full of Beans, filled with a steady stream of patrons coming and leaving. Tonight the Beau and I drove all the way to its location at Block 4 Changi Village Road #01-2090, Singapore 500004 having heard positive reviews about it from various sources. The number to dial is 6214 8839.

Done in warm, cosy earth tones and comfortable wooden tables, Chock Full of Beans exudes inviting vibes to passerbys as well as its current customers. It was not a huge cafe but its open location made for good traffic and is easy to spot.

We snagged a table and browsed the menu. I went around to explore, check out the delectable-looking desserts in the counter and got us glasses of iced-water + condiments at the self-service station. We chose to dine al-fresco since the weather wasnt meltingly hot this evening.

I had the Linguine Pesto with Chicken (SGD$16.00) - with chicken, pesto, garlic, cherry tomatoes and parmesan cheese. Before I sprinkled on the usual (obscene) amount of Tabasco sauce and chilli flakes, we tasted the pasta in its original form. It was surprisingly tasty despite the deceptively simple ingredients and name. The flavor was strong and came as a punch to me especially, expecting it to be bland or average. The pasta also held up well on its springy (QQ) texture despite the sumptuous (olive oil?) gravy it was draped in.

The Beau selected the Spaghetti and Beef Meatballs (SGD$17.00) - beef meatballs, tomato sauce, parmesan cheese and parsley. This was another palatable dish with a strong tomato-based flavor, bouncy pasta and meatballs that were succulent and chewy.

I had an Iced Rose Latte (SGD$7.90) which was pretty with the tiny rosebud sitting atop. Although my drink came with no latte art, we thought the swirl of cream resembled a rose, which was pretty enough. The aromatic flavor of roses was noticeably strong amidst the milky coffee's taste, but I still thought that its intensity lost out to The Little Prince Cafe's rose latte.

The Beau waited close to 20 minutes (we were informed of the waiting time) for his Ice Hazelnut Latte (SGD$6.50). The cat / tiger created out of foam was indeed very adorable, making it appear almost cruel to have to slurp it up eventually. The 3-D latte art is only available for selected iced beverages by the way. The hazelnut taste was very strong, its creamy nut flavor hitting us in pangs of deliciousness. After a few sips though, we thought it was a tad overwhelming.

Finally, to complete the meal, we had to try some dessert, and we tried the weekends-only special - Carrot Cake (SGD$6.00) - homemade light carrot cake layered with cream cheese. The cake was rather fine in texture but lacked the traditional flavor of carrot cakes. Also, the cream cheese used tasted a little odd - almost too "salty" in comparison with the light flavor of this cake. The chocolate art was very adorable though, to comment on a sidenote.