Department of Caffeine ( D.O.C )

After our brunch at Symmetry, we headed to Tanjong Pagar for our next stop, the Department of Caffeine! It is tucked inconspiciously at the corner of Duxton Road; a couple of stores away is Littered with Books and Group Therapy, both worth checking out too.

Do I have your attention now? 

Where do I start? The food, the coffee or the place itself? Since every part of this humble place exceeded my expectations. Hm, let's start with the place then!

The brew station.

It is a very small cafe, sitting approximately 20 - 30 people, but it was relatively empty when we got there since it was a late weekday afternoon. I really like their wood panelling and bare light bulbs decor, which in hindsight, I should have taken more photos of. The best part has to be the reading materials that they have on hand, they have Lucky Peach! ( It's a quarterly food journal created by Momofuku's David Chang, check it out here. ) 

On to the caffeine then. I ordered the mocha and I think that this might be the best latte art that I have ever seen yet. I am still waiting for the day when I get a bear latte art though!

I need to learn the latte art skill too!

Isn't the latte art gorgeous? If I have the dough, I will like to sign up for a crash course on coffee roasting / brewing and latte art too. Not only does it look pretty, I think it might be one of the best cup of coffee I have had thus far. I'm no coffee connoisseur, so I can't really describe it very well, all I can say is that this has to be what liquid gold tastes like. Smooth and velvety, definitely not overly acidic or bitter, it is a pure shot to the heart caffeine fix. 

Butter Rum Banana Waffles - $12.50

We had the Butter Rum Banana Waffles and I'm happy to say that it lives up to the hype. If I'm not wrong, the waffle batter is cooked with mashed bananas itself, as like a banana cake, so the taste of bananas is prominent. The soft waffles are topped with fresh caramelised bananas and ice cream. 

I can't say the same for the Lavender and Honey Tea Cake we had though. 

Lavender and Honey Tea Cake - $5

The glaze is where the strong floral taste of lavender lies and it hits you like a punch in the face on the first bite. It's not necessarily a bad thing if you like the flowery taste of lavender, it was just that I was expecting light floral notes and not the intense taste of lavender essence. The cake itself is baked with little bits of lavender in it and I think it will taste better without the glaze.

Department of Caffeine is a place that I NEED to go again, for the coffee and to try their eggs and bacon waffles the next time around.

Address:

15 Duxton Rd, 089481
62233426

Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar

www.deptofcaffeine.com/‎