Food Escapade: Tea Breaks @ DeConti

Notice how I placed an "s" at the end of the "tea break" because we actually had a few tea breaks or coffee breaks there. DeConti recently set-up an outlet at the Tampines 1 shopping center and has proven a popular place for many even though there were strong rivals near it such as the coffee bean and tea leaf just a level upstairs, another CBTL at century square about 200 meters away and a Starbucks at Tampines Mall just 150 meters away. It is successful to the extend that we always have a hard time finding for seats and we got to say the sitting area is rather small. For such a great place for coffee and gelato, surely more seating would be necessary. I am sure they have seating capacity of roughly 20-30 pax at most. That means many people are driven away just by the sight of the packed coffee house. Of course, the aroma of coffee would likely draw you back to the place only to be dismayed by the lack of seats. Fear not however, you just have to wait for awhile most of the time before you get a sit there. Besides, the staff there seem to be very friendly and I am sure they would most willingly help you to get a seat.

Deconti Store front @ Tampines 1

The Store front showing the different size cups for different types of beverages you order.

On our first trip there, we used a groupon voucher that enabled us to get 12 dollars worth of coffee and gelato. We happened to choose the same item as our first ever trail of deconti and had two affrogato. It is essentially vanilla gelato drowned in espresso. Since DeConti is good for their coffee and gelato as stated on their logo, why not have both combined together? So here, we present the Affrogato.

The gelato here was on the sweet side but the good thing about the affrogato was that the espresso shot was bitter due to the extra dark roast variety of beans that they use. So, the sweetness of the gelato complimented the bitterness of the espresso. The affrogato here is based on the standard ratio which promises three generous scoops of vanilla gelato coupled with a shot of espresso. Too much for you to handle? You can always order a smaller version which is typically half of this. The is the medium order which costs SGD$ 6.20. Not too pricey for 3 scoops of gelato and a shot of espresso. Actually, I think it's a great deal since one scoop of gelato costs 4.90.

Affrogato. 3 Scoops of vanilla gelato and a shot of espresso.

If you have trouble comprehending the menu, you can ask the staff or the cashier who are all more than happy to explain to you each and every of your queries (and even in detail) - from our own experience. Just don't blame me if you are stuck in a long explanation from the cashier for your query.

The second time we went there, we used the last of our vouchers. I had a cappuccino as always while my boyfriend ordered the dark chocolate coffee which is essentially a layer of melted dark chocolate, a shot of espresso and then finished with a layer of milk froth and dusted with cocoa powder.

This drink is a little of a weird combination. Firstly, the drink itself had a cold and warm mixture. The base is probably the dark chocolate gelato which later proved to be over powering to even taste the espresso shot. All I tasted was the chocolate not to say it is bad but coffee lovers probably wouldn't like this drink a lot. Chocolate lovers would like this drink especially if one need a coffee boost but don't like to drink a cup of cappuccino. This would awake the inner you that loves chocolate. Try it and you'll understand. It's kind of like a chocolate gelato affrogato.

Just today, after spending the last voucher, we sat down and both ordered a cappuccino each. At just 5.5 for a medium cup, it was decently priced. Though it would be better if I had added 70 cents for either a hazelnut, chocolate or pistachio gelato into my cappuccino. Overall, we enjoyed our experience there and that explains why we keep going back there (also because it is conviniently situated around the east area which we stay at).

Verdict

Ambience - Good

Food - Great!

Cost - $5-7 per pax

Overall - Must Try!

Address

10 Tampines Central 1, #02-K2

Tampines 1, Singapore 529536.

http://decontisg.blogspot.sg/

Opening Hours

9am till mall closing time

Food Escapade: Baci Reviews (Italian)

My boyfriend and I both are foodies. We love to cook, eat and find the best of the best food. Of course, our current allowance wouldn't allow us from getting food that are really worth their price. Which is definitely out of our reach given our weak financial backing. Anyways, we decided on one thing though, that we will try our best to complete the world food travel (around Singapore) which means we have to eat at least a meal at all types of food around the world, Turkish, Thai, Malaysian, Italian, Spanish, German, English etc. This time, we tried our hand at Italian cuisine.

And if you would mind me saying it was delizioso! I'm a maniac on saving money when it comes to eating and buying stuffs. This time, I bought a groupon voucher for $60 worth of Italian food that was in a serious sense, too much food for both of us to finish. I ordered a pork chop, he ordered a roast chicken for the mains. We had a country mushroom soup which came is a slightly too big bowl for anyone to finish. Trust me. It's not a starter. It's a main. Are they trying to feed a starving man or what? Ridiculous portions but seriously delicious and rather cheap food.

By the time we went there to get our food, it was already almost filled to the brim with customers. Being a walk-in and self-service cafe/restaurant, we sat down and contemplated what to order for dinner. I know my boyfriend was starving at that time given he usually eats at 5 30 in camp and it was closing to 6 30. My tiramitsu that I wished so much to try was sold out and so was the red velvet which left me with only two other choices: the waffles and the creme brulee. In which I chose the waffles which later turned out to be a very very very bad idea. My boyfriend also ordered a 10 inch pizza. That was basically the spread and it came fairly quickly. The restaurant was swarmed with people and I believe that they didn't expect their groupon voucher to sell so hotly. When I reach home to check, there was already a 1000+ people who bought the voucher. I was so packed that people who came in at 7 30 were turned away because they had run out of food.

The restaruant/ cafe door. The interior was designed in a rather modern and cozy place. Great for catching up with friends and a cheap place for a non-romantic date.

Porkchops that was seriously good. The sauce was amazing and the meat was juicy.

The roast chicken with sweet and sour peppers. A rip off of my recipe man! See my pork chops with sweet and sour peppers. Luckily my boyfriend said my sauteed peppers and onions tasted much better!

My boyfriend and his obsession with pizza. This pizza was good though.

The table spread. Missing the soup which came later. Wait! didn't the menu state the soup as a starter or was it... a filler?

This is the crazy soup and the cute coffees they serve. Soup: not worth it. You might as well spend the money on the pizza or more coffee. Too much milk and too little flavour.\

When the waffles came, we were so stuffed we didn't finish this humongous waffle. It was however very delicious with the crisp outer layer and chewy inner layers coated with flowery maple syrup and over-ripened strawberries and whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce.

Verdict

Ambience - Great

Food - Great

Cost - $30 per pax

Overall - Must Try!

Address

112 East Coast Road, #01-07

I12 Katong, Singapore 428802.

http://www.baci.com.sg/

Opening Hours

Not Stated