Lunch at Restore Cafe by Restore Living

124 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088533

Tel: 6222 3510
Website: http://restoreliving.blogspot.sg/p/cafe.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Restoreliving

If one would like to be surrounded by vintage furniture, great music and a quiet respite, while sipping a cup of hot coffee or eating a nice dessert, Restore Cafe is the perfect spot to hit.

Yes, this charming little place consists of lovingly restored quality vintage furniture, transforming this place into a cosy, backdated little place for furniture lovers and cafe hoppers alike.

Amongst the quirkily lined furniture on the walls (since this is also a furniture shop), there are also books on sale - for the solo cafe hoppers to indulge in, or book lovers to bring home with them.

There are also many objet d'art and other home accessories for purchase and forming part of the decoration.

I browsed the limited menu and came up blank, so went to the counter to check out desserts. The Dark Chocolate Tart and Lemon Cake looked nice - and they were freshly baked on the spot!

I ordered something to occupy myself with first, while waiting for a close friend, *Nancy, to get here (like, an hour later??) This was the Dark Chocolate Tart (SGD$6.80) - with a crispy biscuit base that crumbled in the mouth deliciously. The ganache, though not moist enough - had a very rich dark chocolate flavor, a sticky sweetness which the palate warmed up to immediately. Best of all was that it was not too sweet, so it was really enjoyable to eat.

I also had an Iced Mocha (SGD6.00) - a lovely chocolatey drink that blended beautifully into the bittersweet coffee. I did not even need any of that sugar syrup.

A piece of Earl Grey Cookie was served a la "biscotti" style - this was one of the cafe's own bake as well. A crunchy delicacy resplendant of earl grey's ever-so-slight ashy fragrance - the perfect accompaniment to any beverage, hot or cold.

*Nancy finally got here, so we ordered the mains. I wasn't really hungry by then, but just ordered a sandwich to try it out, since it was stated to be  "freshly-made". Curiosity got the better of me, and I chose the Who Moo Sandwich (SGD$12.90) - out of three mere choices.

It consisted of hummus (mashed chickpeas), fresh rocket, feta cheese, tomatoes, olives, cucumber slices - drizzled with olive oil and served with corn chips. The ingredients seemed simple enough, and the hummus paste did not look appetizing, but after our first bites, *Nancy and I both had to admit the taste was good. The distinctive chickpea taste was not lost in its paste-like form, and went really well with the crispy toast, chips and even leaves.

*Nancy had the Chocolate, Almond & Banana Waffle (SGD$9.80) - served with freshly sliced bananas and toasted sliced almonds and Hershey's chocolate sauce, topped with icing sugar and freshly whipped cream. The waffles had a cripsy edge framing soft, buttery center. The ingredients again seem simple, but one could tell that efforts have been put into it to ensure everything's fresh - which undoubtedly made the waffle a sumptuous dessert.

We sat and chatted over more drinks, and both enjoyed the serenity of this vintage furniture-shop-cum-cafe. The food is undeniably good, but we both felt that the menu should be more extensive, so as to attract more people.