Ms Skinnyfat

A Food & Travel Blog from Singapore

Tian Kee & Co.

By Saturday, July 05, 2014 , , ,

Apparently it seems like these days it's no longer hipster unless your cafe is in a remodeled old store (think My Awesome Cafe) operating from a mature HDB estate (think Tiong Bahru, Jalan Besar and the likes). Well, in that case, Tian Kee & Co. may be leading the pack on the hipster quotient. They are keeping it real in their 65-year-old provision-shop-turned-artisan-cafe which does not even have AC. But how do they really fare in the cafe test?

The vibe is petty much old provision shop with really sparse furniture and food offerings. Coffee is made using Dutch Colony beans. My Latte ($5) was a little acidic and not as full bodied as I like my coffee to be. Decent nonetheless.
You can bet that I'd order anything with coffee (and in this case tea included) in it and so it was the Yuan yang cheesecake ($6.50) that kept me company for a bit. The 2 layer cake consists of a lighter creamy top which had a citrusy taste (maybe there's earl grey) and the bottom half is the rich and dense coffee tea cheesecake. Flavor wise, I felt that it could be more intense. I tried to give them some credit because I thought my tastes buds were contaminated by the latte but S couldn't taste much of the YY as welll. It would have been better if there was more of that rich cheese though. The biscuit crust could also be improved.
The owners must really love cheesecake because that's all they offer for cakes now, but I LOVE! I had a tough time deciding because the toffee caramel salted cheesecake ($6.50) looked so amazingly rich and smooth. There's also the Mao Shan Wang durian cheesecake and milo dinosaur cheesecake! 

Muffins are available for $3.50 a pop but they looked very much homemade cupcakes instead of the rich NYC style I prefer so I skipped it. Savory black pepper chicken pies ($7.90) are also available. I heard rumors of a brunch menu coming up but I think it may be hard to compete with the Old Airport Road offerings that are way more old school.
I'm not sure how long Tian Kee would last in the cafe scene unless it really ups its game in the food department. I hope they really do it fast and soon. Hipsters can only provide you with that much initial publicity. Believe many would head to Maple & Market or Brawn & Brains for little bites with more variety and also a more comfortable dining environment. Well I would. 

Tian Kee & Co.
Blk 12 Dakota Crescent 01-48 Singapore 390012
Tue-Thu: 10am-7pm
Fri-Sun 10am-9pm 

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About the Author

C is a tiny food and travel blogger with a voracious appetite for life, a demanding eater who is on a perpetual holiday. expect her to intensify hunger pangs and exacerbate wunderlust. #MsSkinnyfat # TravelerinTransit

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