Probably one of the most visited cafés by Singaporeans in JB in the past year or so, Keijometo is an industrial-themed café and gallery serving Japanese dishes and drinks. The Grab ride from JB Sentral took just about 15 mins.
Surrounded with stone and gravel landscaping details and concrete tile-paved paths, the tall concrete café is designed like an art exhibition space with mismatched furniture. Though we did not manage to get to the café when it opened at 11am, we were lucky enough to score the empty seats by the window around 11.30am. Shortly after we were seated, a queue started to form.
Ordering is done via a QR code while payment can be made by cash or card. In view of the weather, we wanted a refreshing drink and tried the Watermelon Matcha Iced Latte (RM14, SGD4.10). A pity that the watermelon overpowered the matcha – it felt like watermelon juice for the most part of it, despite the even pink-green visuals.
As a side, we had one of the most popular items here, the Mentaiko Tamago Sando (RM20, SGD5.90). Three huge chunks of deep-fried tamago were each sandwiched between 2 pieces of fluffy white toast and topped off with a generous serving of aburi mentaiko sauce. This was sinfully tasty, but I recommend sharing it between 2 pax so it does not get overwhelming.
The Salmon Ochazuke (RM30, SGD8.80) was quite a steal for its price, featuring 2 pieces of grilled onigiri with a slab of pan-fried salmon and hot green tea on the side to steep the rice in. The salmon was not the most tender or moist I’ve had, but it was overall a comforting dish and I loved that the tea helped to ease the greasiness of the sando.
We ordered the Hojicha Burnt Cheesecake (RM21, SGD6.20) as it sounded promising. Though it was not quite burnt on the exterior, the interior was rich and not overly sweet. A decent end to our brunch.
Before coming, I heard mixed reviews and did not expect much but I left pretty satisfied from the ambience, service and food.
3, Jalan Chengai, Taman Melodies, 80250 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Tues – Sun 11am to 7pm
Have you not known about my obsession with all things white? My day-to-day wearables, the places I like to immerse myself in, my photo-editing style of always increasing exposure. For me, it is synonymous to cleanliness, to light, to minimalism. As opposed to the antonymous dirtiness, darkness and clutter. Three words that put my mind to unrest, that sometimes put me in fear.
In consistency with my white obsession, I therefore like daytime – mornings, especially. Mornings where the sun is unobstructed in a cloudless sea, where the most part of my room is naturally lit up through translucent curtains, where light and shadows are juxtaposed appropriately for a photo. Such mornings are days where I gain more drive and inspiration to live more fulfilling-ly (moment of shock as I realise that this word does not exist).
On such mornings, there are a few options:
Recently, one of such mornings was spent at Apartment Coffee. It was my third time at the white-washed, minimally-themed coffee house since its opening in late 2018. On usual afternoons, the space is packed comfortably with customers and conversations spill across everywhere. All the more I have to be pressed to reach as early as possible, best if at 9am when the closed sign is flipped.
Like the previous two visits, I had perched myself on the wooden high stool for the coffee bar counter and called for my usual order of White. I am always fond of the smoothly textured milk + espresso here, though those who prefer very strong and robust flavours may not. One day I will get the filter. Oh, no takeaways here unless you bring your own tumbler.
Whilst waiting for my coffee, I would swoop up my phone and camera for a good round of photo-taking. This time a few people got caught in my photos, for I arrived an hour past 9.
Interior-wise, I dare say this space is my best-loved. The white walls, ceaseless coffee bar, brown wooden stools and tables and large windows put together remind me of Scandinavian design. Due to its location and windows, sunlight enters and leaves, creating brief moments of contrasting light and shadows that I so love to admire.
Despite gloominess from that global health situation which I will not go on to elaborate on, the first quarter of 2020 has seen a pretty fair boom in new cafes in Singapore. This is after a lull in the previous 2 years that had more than slightly depleted my usual excitement in café-hopping.
Opened last November without much fanfare is Double Up Coffee, located along Jalan Klapa in an enclave that houses several other well-known cafes. Just recently, it started to gain attention from social media postings.
Stepping through the glass doors, I was first greeted by the concrete coffee counter, followed by another sitting area furnished with small stools and tables. The minimalist concrete-themed setting was predominant.
Small and simple, the menu is has 3 sections – Business (i.e. coffee), Pleasure (i.e. non-coffee) and Chow (i.e. pastries). Having always been more of an espresso person (vs. filter), I opted for the Spro with Soy Milk ($5.50), while my friend got herself the Iced Spro with Milk ($6). Spro here refers to espresso. Though my soy espresso was a tad limp, I loved the iced espresso with milk for its smoothness and non-acidic aftertaste. I later found out that beans here are sourced from Bearded Bella.
The sole pastry available that day was the Blueberry Crust ($5.50), which I thoroughly enjoyed for its lightness and flakiness.
Rather than a comfortable spot to do “work from home” whilst sipping caffeine, I see this spot as one where I can hold light conversations and, from time to time, empty my mind and daydream.
