#007, s square cafe, 190110

company: Sh
conversation: Catching up, guys and evaluating the cafe.

I was going to start off with a keyboard bash to illustrate my disappointment and frustration, but decided that I have to compose myself and tell you, my fellow readers, about my worst cup of coffee so far.


After much debate of which cafe in Mong Kok to go to, Sh and I decided that S Square Cafe (the first one on the MK list that I had written) was the way to go. We were confused at first with the street signs and numbers, but managed to find our way up to the second floor of a dodgy looking building. That is the whole point of exploring and adventuring, right? As we began walking up the stairs, we saw a faded poster for S Square Cafe pointing to an elevator. My innocent and naive mind quickly asked: Is the cafe in the elevator? Alas, no. We walked into the lift and found that there was no second floor! So instead we chose the third floor and figured we'd walk down if we went too far. Once the doors opened, we realised that if we had just walked one more flight of stairs, we would have found the cafe. Fail.

We initially thought the cafe was closed because there was no one at the bar and the staff were all sitting down around one table. They told us to sit wherever we pleased and gave us quite a few menus. The seating, although limited was spacious and the view of the street below was interesting (I like to people-watch). The bare walls were a peach colour and the lights looked like they had been there for a thousand years. Nothing impressive, we settled in and began reading the menus.

I had a cappuccino, regular, HKD$45 (gasp, I know). She had a passionfruit tofu smoothie, HKD$44.

I should note here that I didn't order a cappuccino, but a cappuccio. Seriously.

If you haven't realised it already, this was my most expensive cup of espresso coffee. I almost hesitated ordering it because of its price. From Open Rice, I had seen that they use French Press' for guests who order their exotic black coffees (approximately HKD$40 - $60), so I had assumed that they took their coffee very seriously. And with their equipment on display, it seemed promising. Needless to say, with such a price, my expectations were very high.

Watching the barista at work was interesting, as he weighed out the coffee beans and then proceeded to grind them. This showed that the coffee beans were definitely freshly ground (and thus would not be oxidised as much as previously ground beans creating a bitter taste). He had no problem frothing the milk, although he had to stand on a platform because the coffee machine was taller than he was. This was strange but with the lack of space, I can understand them wanting to utilise as much as possible.

As the waitress placed my cappuccino, sorry, cappuccio, on the table, I noticed more bubbles in the froth in comparison to my previous ones. The latte art seemed half-hearted (get it?) and looked more like something else. Even though I did not use the sugar, I was disappointed that they gave me white sugar instead of brown (it provides a heavier flavour into the coffee). Unfortunately, the coffee was lukewarm to the touch, and when I tasted it... Gosh, a combination of sourness and bitterness filled my mouth followed by a punch of espresso. It was an incredibly bad experience. Thinking about it makes me shudder, the more I drank, the more I felt sick. But I felt guilty not finishing it with the price I paid for it. I kept thinking to myself: How could it taste this bad?

After drinking only half of my cappuccio I looked over enviously at the patrons coming out of Haagen Dazs with their yummy ice creams in hand.

We soon concluded it to be the coffee beans. Despite being grounded on the spot they were not treated properly. All the barista did was place a clip on the coffee bean package without expelling any of the air out. This oxidises the coffee beans itself. Creating a bitter and sour taste. Not to mention the fact that we didn't know how long those coffee beans had been on the shelf either.

Sh decided that my New Years Resolution of try new things was a good idea and decided to do what I like to call a "peanut butter and banana smoothie" (I ordered it on a whim because of my New Years resolution and after trying it I instantly regretted it but chugged it down anyway) basically, an attempt to try something new but failing because it tastes gross/bad.

I won't go into too much detail, but let's just say that she didn't finish it either. The first sip was a kick of artificial passionfruit flavouring, which was followed by a tofu aftertaste. Interesting to say the least.

S Square Cafe is a disappointment to say the least. No one else walked into the cafe, and with 3 waitresses standing outside of the cafe smoking definitely did not add to the already tainted first impression we had. The prices are crazy for an area known for its inexpensive food and drink. I believe that I am usually lenient with little cafes and give them the benefit of the doubt with their lack of training but I will not be returning, and I recommend any of you out there to steer clear. I don't know what to say... LSKDIE['.';.IRU8QO2J2!!!

address: 2/F, 66-68 Sai Yeung Choi Street South, Mong Kok.
旺角西洋菜南街66-68號2樓
phone: 2380 6588