Thank goodness I reached Hoshino Coffee (星乃珈琲店，オフィシャルサイト) about 5.45pm, and shortly after I got seated, a queue started forming!
Dish model displays spread out on the table for those queuing to have a little glimpse of what they're in for:
Cafe surroundings:
One of my favourite features in a restaurant, bag storage trays!
One of the signatures of this Japanese cafe are their hand-dripped coffees, which are lighter and to me, less acidic in taste. I ordered a cup of their "Hoshino" Blended Coffee ($5.80), which is their signature coffee.
The coffee beans (premium Arabica beans), selected by the cafe's blend specialist, Master Kanno, were roasted over open fire. It is supposed to give a strong bodied flavour with "pleasant sourness".
To be honest, I did not taste too much sourness, but they were right about it being a pleasant taste. I derived at this conclusion without adding milk and sugar. Just pure black coffee! I loved this coffee for its clean and light taste. It was easy on the palate and smooth to drink.
Next served: the "Omu" Rice, a.k.a the Japanese Omelette Rice. I had the Tomato Cream "Omu" rice with Shrimp & Mozzarella. This was recommended to me by a senior wait staff and I think it's really good.
The mozzarella is of the right amount, such that it doesn't overcome the entire dish. I would have liked it the traditional style though, where the egg wraps over the rice. But the gravy - tomato cream - did not disappoint. It was flavourful. I would also have liked to have a little more ingredients, there were only 2 shrimps and 2 little broccolis.
Finally, the dessert. I was just chatting with someone who was in the queue, who came to Hoshino Coffee many many times, and Little Nice Miss Stranger told me that its Vanilla Souffle is a MUST HAVE. I tried asking the staff for recommendations again (just to be sure) and got the exact same answer.
So there you go, I went for it: The Vanilla Souffle ($10.80)!
It was so fluffy, so light that I could eat two in a row! There were 3 flavours for choice: Custard, Chocolate or Matcha sauce. I'm a green tea person, so I took the matcha flavour.
It was so good. The matcha sauce was just right, and was a good match with the lovely mushy inner of the souffle~! I could taste the egg whites for the inner souffle, and the top of the souffle was just lovely. It was a wonderful recommendation.
What I like about this cafe is that they don't have too many varieties, but their main focus is on doing what they have well. And I appreciate that about an eatery/cafe, because some of them get so fixated on having so much variety that they forget that taste is still the most important thing to deliver. I will definitely come back again to this place. :)
Hoshino Coffee
Location: 68 Orchard Road, #03-84, Plaza Singapura, Singapore 238839
Tel: +65-6338-3277
Directions: Take the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) to Dhoby Ghaut (Purple Line, NE6). Head upstairs to Plaza Singapura by Exit B. Head over to Plaza Singapura's new wing. Go up the escalator beside Nam Nam (Vietnam Noodle Restaurant) and turn right, where Hoshino Coffee is located (beside Bangkok Jam restaurant).
My Ratings (the higher the score, the better it is!)
Food: 4.3 / 5
Ambience: 3 / 5 (a little too noisy as it's an open concept, and in a mall at that.)
Bang for your buck (Value): 4 / 5
Service: 4.2 / 5
Average scoring via my F.A.B.S rating: 3.88 / 5
I know this post is about coffee but the thing that caught my eye was... your bag! I like the brown colour! Hehehehe. And hi! I think it's my first time commenting on this blog ya!
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