#002, crema, 080110

company: L
conversation: Too busy playing with my iPod Touch, facebooking (or lack thereof), invisible rope, university and life.

This was the first time that I had no idea where I was going. With a badly drawn map on a post-it note, the store's address and their phone number, I was walking (hopefully) in the right direction. Good thing L knew her way around so I think I might've taken her the long way if we had followed my directions. Once entering the store, the service was a little confusing. We assumed it was self-service because the layout was similar to any commercial coffee shop. For example: the handoff counter and condiments bar were clearly visible for self-service, but instead we were greeted by a waitress/barista (she made our drinks) who gave us menus and pointed to a table for us to sit.

The was a buzz in the atmosphere with quite a few coming in and out whilst we were there. We stayed for about an hour and a bit but I think one good thing about these cafes are that they don't give off any indication that they want you to leave (even though they might), they are designed to allow customers to stay, sit and chat for as long as they want. Quite a lot of the patrons were business people as it was a weekday that came in to have meetings or just grab something on-the-go. Seating was relatively spacious and comfortable, and with free Wi-Fi, I think I would've spent a lot longer in the cafe if only I didn't have to go.

I had a cappuccino, medium, HKD$30. She had a hot chocolate, medium, HKD$27.

Both of us had no idea what sizes the cups were even after spying on the couple next to us who had two different sized cups and the other table having another two different sizes, so we decided on a medium since it was the one in the middle (it seemed safe at the time).

But when the waitress placed our drinks on the table, I was amazed at the size of the cup! Almost as big as a rice bowl, the hot chocolate and cappuccino was filled right to the rim with two packets of brown sugar and a teaspoon on the side. I think the first words coming out of my mouth were: "Far out." Or at least it was something along the lines of exclaiming the monstrosity of the size. (Picture on below shows the size comparison to my iPod Touch).

I do remember my Mum being nostalgic and telling me about her trips to Rome andParis and how their coffee was SO big that it felt like you were drinking out of a mixing bowl. In a way, I might've felt the same here.

After inspecting the depth of the foam (cappuccinos have 1/3 espresso, 1/3 milk and 1/3 foam) and taking lots of photos of the cute bear on top (bonus points, if you ask me), my first impression was that the coffee was not as hot as what I'm used to. I'm a little bit of a wuss so scorching hot coffee = nono, but this was still a little bit cooler than I what I was expecting (although, it might've been the amount of time I took taking the photos, but I digress).

The consistency of the milk and foam was amazing though... Smooth and rich. The sweetness of the coffee was something else I wasn't expecting, I don't think it was the brown sugar that I had put in, but there was only a hint of the bitterness I usually tasted in coffees.

The hot chocolate was very much similar to ones from McCafe (which is a very good thing, I adore McCafe's hot chocolate) with just the right amount of sweetness and velvety milk.

Crema is the name for that thin layer of cream (technically oil that comes from the coffee beans during extraction) that forms after pulling a shot of espresso. Pull a shot too long and you can potentially destroy a perfect cup of espresso, with no crema, boo. Very often I am afraid of pulling my shots for too long so I end up staring at the coffee machine and watch as the dark brown espresso streams out of the group handle like runny honey and stop when the colour appears lighter (or approximately after 25 to 30 seconds). At least I think that's what I'm supposed to do!

Although not as intimate as Soulmate Coffee, Crema is larger in size and portions. With a greater variety of items on the menu, they provide tea sets as well as lunch and dinner options. The travelling distance was certainly further than I had expected, but if I am in the neighbourhood again, I don't think I would mind enjoying a cup of coffee and mooching off their Wi-Fi.

address: Shop G36, G/F, Peninsula Centre, 67 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.
尖沙咀麼地道67號半島中心地下G36號舖
phone: 2369 0338
credit: The Espresso Guy