The Singapore Coffee Festival is back for its second year in a more spacious seaside venue at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre. Organized by The Straits Times and presented by the DBS Bank, this four-day festival from 3rd August to 6th August (3rd August opened to media and trade only) is where you can find some of the best cafes and coffees at one stop. To minimise overcrowding as experienced last year, this year they have two different timings, brunch and sundown to target for the different crowds.
Glad to be attending the media preview and this is my first time coming to the Marina Bay Cruise Centre. Thanks Alvin for the invite. When I alighted at the Marina South Pier MRT station, it was so quiet and isolated, I was the only one at the station. Back to the Singapore Coffee Festival, let me share some of the highlights here.
The directory of level 1, there's more booths at level 2. As we did not had lunch yet, we went straight to the outdoor Zone 4 for the cafes to have our lunch.
HYDE & CO - CHILLI CRAB PASTA $15
Signature Chilli Crab Pasta tossed in homemade spicy arrabiatta sauce served with linguine. It's a different kind of spicy taste and not the usual chilli crab sauce.
GARCONS - ANGUS STEAK AND FRIES $15
Served with double mustard, hubby said their steak is aboved average. Previously, I've blogged about the chef owner of Garcon too. Read my earlier post here.
THE COASTAL SETTLEMENT - WAFFLES WITH ICE CREAM AND FRUITS $10
After the main dish, it's time for desserts. A sumptuous lunch concluded beautifully with this waffle. In one bite, I taste the sweetness of the ice-cream and sourness of the berries and the yummy waffles.
SYMMETRY - COLD BREW COFFEE $FOC (REDEEMED)
Icy cold brew coffee with a little hint of lemon for the hot weather. Perfect.
After we filled up our tummy with food, we went back to visit the various exhibits. The Singapore Coffee Festival is presented by DBS with a message to Live Kind. This wall panels is made of waste newspaper pulp and eco-friendly bioplastic produced by Nupaper, a social enterprise that aims to reduce waste through upcycling. Nupaper also provides income opportunities for needy communities in Indonesia.
We attended an one hour talk on Marrying Business and Social. It's regarding social enterprise and how their business model is sustainable. We have two founders from different social enterprise, boxgreen and Krakakoa to share with us their journey in this unique business model. We also have Catherine from B Lab Singapore to introduce why social enterprise should be the new business model that everyone could follow. She mentioned on how social enterprise is like a middle child syndrome that is between commercial entity and charity entity. The mindset of the society may not be that welcoming on social enterprise and one of the founder mentioned that the biggest beef is on the products. The products must be able to stand out before they can pitch the angle of good to society.
Supported by Asia for Good by DBS Foundation. We also joined in the Live Kind Passport with the goal to collect stamps by completing simple tasks to redeem rewards. Got ourselves a DBS Live Kind tumbler.
One of the tasks was to recycle our plastic bottle in exchange for not only a stamp but also some treats.
Just some of the many booths there. Tried a few cups of coffee here and there and was so full.
Hattendo, Japan's most famous cream bun maker introduced a new product called the cream muffin which features three layers of deliciousness. A crispy biscuit exterior of crunchy almonds, pearl sugar and chocolate chips. Light and fluffy soft dough that melts in the mouth and the core of the muffin. I tried the kaya jam one and it's really awesome. No use of preservatives for this cream muffin and it only cost $3 each.
ANTOINETTE - COFFEE PORK CHOP BUN $10
Deep fried pork loin with coffee glaze and caraelized onion, lettuce served with a buttered crusty white roll. Another super delicious must-try.
Took a break at the outdoor DBS Sunrise Deck before we head back to explore level 2.
Let's enter level 2 to find out what's interesting inside.
THE COFFEE ACADEMICS - COFFEE IN A CONE $8.90
First in Asia. Ice cream was replaced by coffee. Interesting idea. Didn't try it cause was really too full.
THE LIBRARY - BLIND DATE WITH A BOOK
After posting a photo on social media, one get to choose a pre-pack bag with a book inside. The catch is that you do not know what's the title of the book instead you pick the bag based on the description of the book in 3 words on a sentence. I picked the bag that had these three words, Adventure, Magical, Secret.
MANDAI PARK HOLDINGS (MPH) - OWA COFFEE
Had a complimentary cup of wildlife-friendly coffee, Owa Coffee. The coffee beans are grown in a wildlife-friendly manner in Java, Indonesia - the result of a Coffee and Primate Conservation project. Since 2012, MPH through its subsidiary, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) has supported the project which works with the coffee farmers in the village of Sokokembang, Java. They practice growing coffee under the natural shade of trees thus no trees were being chopped down and this goes a long way in forest conservation. In a way, the natural habitat of the endangered silvery gibbons are being preserved. The Owa coffee is named after the gibbons. Proceeds from the sale of the Owa Coffee beans and "Wild We Can" coffee mug which was designed by social enterprise The Animal Project will goes to the regional wildlife conservation projects.
For more information and purchase of tickets to the Singapore Coffee Festival 2017 online, please visit
Each ticket comes with a festival goodie bag which includes an SCF Coffee Card for exclusive discounts at participating cafes until 31st August and 2 sampling drinks (for coffee only),
XOXO
2 comments:
Look interesting. I'll try to make my way there.
Thanks for sharing and excellent write-up đ
thank you , yes , you should check it out over the weekend :)
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