Burpple Tastings!

I've had coffee at many cafes but this is the first time the barista personally came over to help me appreciate my cuppa better. Plus the barista is really pretty to boot! 😁 It's so nice how Artisan C Specialty Coffee, newly renamed as The Art Space Specialty Coffee by Artisan C, tries to bring its patrons a more fulfilling coffee experience by recommending beans and suggesting different ways to enjoy our coffee. On this occasion, I had the Dirty, which comprised of espresso and chilled milk ($6++). Following the barista's suggestions, I got to experience the robust and bitter espresso in my first sip, a fuller and creamier second sip and finally, a silky smooth gulp of coffee. It was fun albeit slightly awkward at first. 😂 The coffee's also excellent - nutty and not too acidic, the way I like it. While you are here, do have some savoury bites. I personally recommend their Signature Seoul Beef Burger ($10.90++), which was beef bulgogi sandwiched in a crisp and tasty bun, and came with a side of yummy honey butter fries. If you like a good spicy kick, have the Art Spice Burger ($10.90++), which is a Korean-inspired pork burger. Very tasty as well but a little too spicy for me! Last but not least, if you just want something light to munch on, the Kimchi Croissant (about $6 😐) is an odd combination that worked surprisingly well. Oh and Artisan C makes its own kimchi! Very impressive. 😌 Thank you Artisan C for hosting and Burpple for the invitation! ☕️

I would never have thought to put sake in ramen 🍶 or to set my ramen on fire 🔥, but the chefs at Shin Sapporo did and these creative ramen turned out pretty well! My fave was the fire ramen ($15.80++), which is set ablaze with real fire so as to release the aroma and flavours in the oil that is poured over the ramen. This gave the creamy tonkotsu broth a really nice nutty aroma. As the fire ramen must be prepared by a professional chef (just look at the height of that fire 👀), remember to call up in advance to reserve it if you're keen. The sake ramen (also $15.80++) comes in dry and soup versions, and has been toned down to cater to non-sake drinkers. The soup version has a flavourful tonkotsu base and boasts a much stronger sake flavour than the dry version, which comprises of ramen noodles tossed in vinegar and sake and has a sweeter profile. We also tried several starters, including buttery scallops ($8.80++), which were everyone's favourite, and very yummy pumpkin croquettes ($4.80++). Thank you Shin Sapporo Ramen for your hospitality and the delicious spread, and Burpple for this opportunity! 😋😋😋

I wasn't a fan of the patty, which was a mixture of shrimp paste and beef. The resulting flavour was a little strange to me (sweet due to the shrimp paste and also a little gamey because of the beef), as was the texture, which was something between bouncy Thai fish cakes and hokkien wuxiang.

Yup, that sticker says it all. Thoroughly marinated chicken chunks are deep fried then tossed in a luxurious salted egg sauce and curry leaves. Very tasty! And in my humble opinion, this wins that salted egg pork chop from Far East. 😯 #sorrynotsorry

Some reviews from Som Tam's early days stated that the truffle aroma was undetectable, but I LEGITLY tasted both the tangy tom yam seasoning as well as a distinct scent of truffle oil. So...Lucky me! 😋😂 These fries also survived the long tasting and stayed crisp to the end!

Succulent chicken skewers that were flavoursome and smoky, and had a good balance of fat and lean flesh. These were essentially chicken satay, upsized! Not complaining~

Som Tam serves a huuuuge selection of Thai-fusion dishes that are very affordable (none of the mains cost > $15), especially with those generous portions. Generally, the savoury dishes were a tad too sweet 🍬 for my liking, and lacking that 💥 burst of spice and tanginess that is so characteristic of Thai cuisine. That said, I enjoyed the chicken dishes, namely the salted egg chicken (bottom-left), grilled chicken skewers (top-middle) and garlic chicken (not featured), which were fragrant and had good strong flavours, though I must say that there was nothing distinctively Thai about them. In contrast, the exotic ice-cream flavours (green curry and Thai basil with choc chip) that accompanied the "After You" toasts were intense and are definitely worth a try if you have tired of the usual sweet and creamy lot. If you aren't too adventurous (like me 😅), have the watermelon or sticky rice ice-cream (and perhaps the Thai iced tea flavour, which I didn't get to try) which are more mellow on the tastebuds. 👅 (From top to bottom, left to right: Tom Yam Koong, Gai Satay, Som Tam, Kapi Beef Burger, After You Toast, Oozy Chicken, Pasta X Chicken X Green Curry = ??)

Very moist, dense but soft cupcake paired with a very good cream cheese frosting. Definitely one of the best red velvet cakes I've had :)

Mmm... chicken satay SUPER UP-SIZED! Juicy, chunky pieces of chicken on a skewer with a side of an aromatic, peanut sauce that tasted more like a curry than the usual satay sauce. Yummy!

A better photo of the dripper (right most).

Here's the Kalita Wave dripper that Revolution Coffee stocks up. If you are interested in dabbling in some hipster coffee-making, you may wanna get one of these! Drip coffee wasn't as difficult to make as I had imagined - just pour your choice of coffee grounds into the filter, and add hot water slowly. The coffee to water ratio (I think it's called grammage :b) Ajie uses at his cafe is 1:10, but you can also try 1:17. You'd think the coffee will just be more dilute with a greater ratio, but noooo 😱 When we used more water with the Colombian beans, the fruity notes of the beans were accentuated. So interesting! Drip coffee is light-tasting, and more like a tea than the coffee we are used to.

I was busying myself with the corned beef hash and pancakes when this arrived, and I regret not eating more of this. Though the macaroni was baked in cheese and cream, there was still a bite to it, which I was really happy about because macaroni tends to turn mushy very easily. A mixture of 3 cheeses was used - mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan, which created a nice all rounded sauce both flavour and texture wise. I usually stay away from rich cheesy dishes (like quattro formaggi anything) so I'd advise sharing it :)