#029, barista caffe, 110112

company: JL & CN

conversation: Life, shopping and movies

**It's been too long. Despite my lack of updates on this blog; I have continued to drink coffee, visit coffee shops and perfecting my coffee making skills (latte art? Heck yeah). Nevertheless, I'm excited to be back.**

After walking up three flights of stairs, of course we needed to get a drink! Situated in the midst of many restaurants and office buildings, I was surprised to find a table available for us in the middle of lunch hour.

With approximately 35 seats, the area was spacious and didn't feel packed even when all tables were filled. I noticed that the majority of patrons were ladies, probably from the offices surrounding the area, a stack of magazines on the side were well-utilised by these ladies waiting for their food. I, on the other hand, was a little preoccupied by the different types of coffee-making equipment and pictures of farmers picking coffee beans which added to the coffee shop atmosphere, but I couldn't help but observe how it much more it seemed like a restaurant.

I had a cappuccino, $28, JL had a double espresso, $18 +$5 and CN had a mocha, $30.

Drinks ranged between $28 to $35, with quite a few interesting flavours of coffee (Caffe Banana, Macadamia Nut) and unique teas available (Sangria Tea). There was also a set lunch menu available with pastas, curry, pizza and burgers ranging between $45 to $52, inclusive of drinks (although iced and specialty coffees were an extra charge).

I recently visited another coffee shop in Sheung Wan where the barista kindly taught a couple of friends and me how to prepare a cup of coffee using a syphon coffee maker, (go check out Knockbox Coffee Company if you have the time!) which I assume is how Barista Caffe would make the specialty coffee they offered. Maybe next time.

We did have to wait a bit before our coffees arrived; there was only one coffee machine in the kitchen, and maybe it was because there were quite a few tables in the restaurant, I can understand. CN's mocha arrived first, looking impressive. As much as I would like to admit that my latte art has improved drastically since the last time I posted, I do have to say that it is never consistent!

My cappuccino arrived next. I noticed that it was actually in a smaller cup than the mocha, but that suited me better because I prefer my coffee to be less milky. Yum! The temperature was almost there, although we did spend quite a while taking photos and waiting for JL's double espresso.

We were quite disappointed in the fact that they didn't offer a macchiato for JL, so I went ahead and scooped some of the foam off my cappuccino and gave it to her. I was a bit sad not to have any chocolate powder on top of my cappuccino but it's okay. I remember once at work we ran out of chocolate powder but we got slammed for coffees, so we didn't have time to transfer the chocolate powder into the sprinkler. I ended up trying to sprinkle the powder onto the drinks with a teaspoon... Needless to say, it didn't look as delicate.

Barista Caffe, was a pleasant surprise. The coffee was up to par with other more well-known coffee shops, the interior light and welcoming, and staff not too overbearing. It never got super busy or crowded and made for a nice little place for us to rest our feet and chat.

JL also pointed out that this place allows people to book the whole restaurant for a minimum charge of $3,000 and can fit approximately 40 people. Although there is no view, it seems to be quite an affordable venue for parties. I think Barista Caffe would be a good backup coffee shop to visit if I'm ever in the area, although I'm always on the look for new places to try out!

address: 3/F, E.A. Tower, 18 Ashley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

phone: 2511 0998

#010, first cup coffee, 230110

company: L
conversation: Guys, museums, Autumn's Concerto (Taiwanese Drama), giving up and getting lost.

**I would just like to point out that the interior of the 'cafe' was so dark that all my pictures ended up really fuzzy and dark. My apologies.**

Let's just say that if I were Christopher Columbus on a voyage to discover America... I probably wouldn't find it. Maybe it was a combination of tiredness, not reading the address right and even Open Rice giving me the wrong address; we walked an entire circle around buildings and crossing roads only to find ourselves back at square one when the coffee shop was hidden away on the next street the whole time.

L was the first to see the sign, whereas I just walked right past the store. In retrospect, I would have continued walking if she hadn't stopped me. It was so dark that it verged on the creepy side of things. But an explorer does not give up even if the place looks dodge, so I went in and accidentally thought a regular guest was the waiter... My bad. After being handed the menu, we decided the prices were fair enough (L's treat!) and then came the dilemma of sitting near the entrance where there were many smokers or sit near a suspiciously potential drug deal in the corner. Hmm...

The furniture was mis-matched and some of them were poorly kept. If the place hadn't been so sketchy, I think I would have appreciated it more. The bar looked readily stocked and everyone was ordering coffees so that must have been some indication towards the quality.

Whilst the menu was approximately 10 pages long, I realised they had made the "Hot Drinks" and "Cold Drinks" separate when they were essentially the same beverages. Although I did see something else that I had not noticed in other coffee shops: coffee drinks with alcohol. I only skimmed this section but an example was a latte with Baileys (an Irish cream based liqueur, yum). Whilst this raised the price quite a bit, this is an excellent combination. I can only imagine the creaminess of the Baileys working with the latte to create an extra layer of sweetness.

Breakfast food items as well as wraps and sandwiches were also available, we saw one of the employees make a wrap which smelt quite good.

I had a cappuccino, small, HKD$28. She had a mocha, small, HKD$32.

The drinks came relatively fast and they were hot. The barista understood what she was doing but the frothing of the milk was quite noisy and this was evident in the quality of the foam on my cappuccino.

Although it might not be obvious in the photo, but as I was taking photos, more and more bubbles appeared. This made me remember my cups of coffee (the few that I made) which had visible air bubbles and craters because I did not froth the milk enough. This does not take away from the taste of the cappuccino but nice froth makes the cappuccino more visually appealling. Usually I can just sprinkle lots and lots of chocolate powder on top to hide the imperfections.

With the first sip of the cappuccino, I noticed it was very strong. Like, very strong. It reminded me of S Square Cafe's espresso punch, but this was not sour. The great thing I realised about this coffee was that there was no aftertaste. Even as we left the cafe, I asked L if she had any sourness in her mouth, we both marvelled at the fact that whilst we could still slightly taste the espresso, it was a nice aftertaste and not something you needed to cover up with gum.

A mocha is basically a variation of a latte, except with a teaspoon of chocolate powder dissolved inside. Thus making it less bitter and strong. L's mocha was visually appealling and what surprised me was that when I tasted it, I could actually tell the difference between the espresso and chocolate! Although I did not regularly drink mochas before, when I did, I thought the espresso was so powerful that I could not taste any chocolate whatsoever.

In comparison to the cappuccino, the mocha was much sweeter (although my sweet tooth wasn't complaining) but still had a good balance with the coffee.

First Cup Coffee, the name, makes me think of ones first ever cup of coffee. Honestly, I don't remember mine, but I don't think it was anything special. I think this store was more of a bar than a coffee shop which disappointed me. If I was walking by, I might even cross the street because I felt intimidated to go in.

The wide entrance allows smokers to sit and smoke but causes the smoke to drift into the shop. The barista ended up sitting down at the bar and lighting up, so I would definitely not recommend this place to any non-smokers. It was unpleasant and I ended up smelling like smoke myself. With the wide entrance, the cold wind could easily come in, making our coffees lukewarm about halfway through. I understand that coffee starts getting cold the second you drink it but the lack of heating did not help.

Despite boasting coffee in their name, the interior definitely says otherwise. It is not some place I would return to even though the graffiti seemed cool and the coffee was not half-bad. It obviously means something when L and I were discussing further plans to eat at a restaurant nearby and then re-visit Crema instead.

address: G/F, Chevalier Bldg. Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui (look for Prat Avenue).
尖沙咀漆咸道南45-51號其士大廈地下C及D舖
phone: 2316-7793