Covered 4 cafes within the last 3 weekends.

1) Penny University, 402 East Coast Road

Stel moved to the East after the split and she invited me over to explore the East which she always claimed to have a very different "feel" as compared to the West. (Sidetrack, the traffic engineer within me couldn't help but feel that the east is a pretty difficult area to manage whilst on my way there lol) Anyway, read online reviews that this place is usually very crowded during weekends but the reviews are really good so decided to give it a shot. Turns out it is really crowded and noisy so not at all conducive for chilling. We were lucky to get a seat the moment we entered the place, but eventually after finishing our coffee we gave up on it. Just used the free wifi to look out for other places in the vicinity that we can go to, ended up in Batter Fluffy Flaps, a pancake house which was a lot quieter. 

Drinks wise, I had an iced chocolate which was a so so drink that you can't really go wrong with. But honestly I wondered how the place is minus the crowd. Felt like the deco and ambience there should be quite good..but really, had tons of issues with the crowd. 

2) Creamier, 128 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh

Right in my new neighborhood and I have made it a point to visit it (in fact ever since I took over my work area I have constantly heard reviews of it). One fine Sunday (really fine, sunny with no clouds) I braved the sun and walked there from my place. It's main attraction is ice cream, the flavours there sounded really interesting and good, but I figured it wouldn't last very long and my intention was to hang around there for a bit. So ordered an iced latte in the end and just sat at one of the window seats facing The Peak (while trying not to think of the buggers staying there).

It got rather packed too eventually but I feel that it is a lot more tolerable as compared to Penny U. Am no coffee expert so I shall not judge on that. But I do agree its rather picturesque, I think thanks to The Peak. Apparently you have to choose the correct timing to go there to avoid the crowd, and I think it will be rather relaxing during that time. Made it a point to return there and try their ice cream and waffles, which lots of people ordered and looked really good.

3) Commune Cafe, Millenia Walk

Reviewers raved about the cakes there which I didn't try..feels kind of pricey to me. Had an iced mocha which lasted me 3 hours, partly coz I think it was a bit too strong for me. It's housed inside a mall, but I actually liked it a lot because of it is not confined within a small space and thus background noise is quite low. Halfway through a band just appeared out of nowhere and started playing. It's definitely a place where I can spend one whole afternoon in and just read a book (like the woman sitting next to me), or surf (though downside is I had to use Wireless@SG and it was extremely unstable) or just plain people watching hahaha.

May try their cakes one day though.

4) L'Etoile Cafe, 160 Owen Road

Another cafe in my area lol. I wanted to have a look at the Sunday evening traffic in Little India so this was a perfect place to spend an afternoon at. Quite nice atmosphere too with nice background music and although it is full, the patrons are not noisy at all. Sat comfortably at one of the low armchairs (nicked the seat after a couple left, originally my table was an old school sewing machine =.=). The lower floor had the typical tables and chairs, the upper storey had all sorts of random furniture which was really fun. And plenty of natural light too which I liked a lot. They provide lots of books and magazines too, but I had my now trusty ipad so didn't need any of those. Iced mocha was also in my opinion better than the one at Commune. And it had free wifi too!

Upper storey is really a nice place to hang out whether alone or with friends.