Holland Village has welcomed a couple of new cafés lately, and I sometimes lose track of which unit used to be what.
Cafe Idaki is one of the newer names along Lorong Liput (remember where Breakfast Club used to be?)
The café stretches quite far inwards, with the main coffee bar near the entrance, wooden tables through the middle and an in-house roasting room visible behind glass at the back.
While the name of the café is Japanese, I thought the vibes were somewhat Korean too, with wooden furniture, paper-style lamps, a stone-patterned walkway, and a bright red bench that gives the room a little colour.
(I did wish the flowers and plants were real though. Am I asking too much?)
There are a number of main espresso profiles. El Salvador Finca El Izotal leans towards nutty and chocolatey notes, while Ethiopia West Arsi Dew is described as fruitier and more floral.
The third option was Colombia Quebraditas Farm, with Brazil Santa Ines also appearing as a possible rotating selection.
Customers can then choose how they want the coffee served, including Espresso, White, Black, Dirty, Piccolo or as a tasting flight.
I went with the nuttier house profile for my White ($6.50), since that is usually the safer choice when milk is involved.
It was smooth and rounded, with the milk bringing out the chocolatey side without making the coffee taste flat.
There are also filter coffees from Kenya, Guatemala, Yunnan and Colombia, with tasting notes ranging from red currant and grape to osmanthus, peach, oolong tea, jasmine and passionfruit.
Other coffee options include Cold Drip and Cascara Cold Brew Tea.
The food menu is much shorter than the coffee list, covering a few pastries like Cinnamon Sugar Loaf ($6.50), Spicy Bacon Loaf ($6.50), Almond Croissant ($7), Muah Otah & Cheese Croissant ($7.50), Brownie ($7) and Grilled Cheese Sandwich ($14).
I had the Spicy Bacon Loaf ($6.50), whose outer folds were crisp and well browned, while the middle stayed softer and more buttery. It was okay, though nothing really to shout about.
The Almond Croissant ($7) was more straightforward, with almond cream baked across the top and sliced almonds scattered over it.
Interestingly, further inside is a dedicated work and study room, which is probably one of the café’s more useful features in laptop-heavy Holland Village.
It is available on a first-come, first-served basis, with early visitors reporting that one drink and one dessert give customers up to two hours in the room.
Cafe Idaki
17A Lorong Liput, Singapore 277731
Opening Hours: 9am – 6pm (Mon – Sun)
Other Related Entries
Joy Cake (Holland Village)
Cafe Gyoen (Club Street)
Hvala (111 Somerset)
Takara House (North Bridge Road)
KYŌ KOHEE (Labrador Tower)
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