A Slow Cup

It does seem that spaces dedicated to specialty coffee within beauty parlours are still quite a thing these days — while places like that are rather rare to come across with examples pretty much limited to the likes of the now-defunct Candour Coffee that was located in Manicurious along Beach Road as well as Fahrenheit Coffee which is situated within Spa Club also along Beach Road, such places are still not considered part of the mainstream in the local specialty coffee culture. A new location of a similar nature had recently opened their doors within Robertson Walk along Unity Street; hidden within the second level of the building in a nail parlour named Painted Nail Bar is A Slow Cup — the cafe itself fronts the entire shop within the nail parlour being situated behind the area that has been sectioned off for the cafe, and is open to all and not just limited to the customers of the nail parlour. Given how the cafe is just a component that compliments the operations of the nail parlour, the cafe has a rather small seating area for dine-in; the space being limited to four small tables that are good for two to three pax each — the space being rather simply decked with wooden stools, cushioned benches and features a largely white and grey interior with a ceiling that is painted orange for a bit of visual pop. Considering the set-up of the space, this also means that A Slow Cup does not have a full-sized kitchen to serve hot food items; the only food items available here being the loaf cakes and cookies that are prominently displayed at the counter. For beverages, the main focus at A Slow Cup would be their espresso-based specialty coffee, though the menu does mention about having seasonal selections of Tea by Pot, as well as non-coffee drinks such as drinking chocolate, Chai Latte and a Babycino.

Skimming through the bakes which they have to offer, we note that there were only three items that one could opt for when we made our visit to A Slow Cup — patrons can either go for the Marble Carob Loaf Cake, Sourdough Walnut Banana Loaf Cake, or the Double Chocolate Cookie. We found ourselves opting for the Marble Carob Loaf Cake since it was the simplest item of the lot — this also seem to be the item that we were also craving for. Warmed up upon ordering, the Marble Carob Loaf Cake might look like a simple butter cake but we really absolutely loved the crusty exterior that comes with it when we had our first forkful for the cake. Inside, the cake comes with buttery notes with hints of chocolate that perfumes the taste buds as one lands their fork into a section that consist of both parts. Our Flat White is being brewed using their signature blend of beans which they dub as the Mellow Magic — the Colombian beans being of Brazilian origin, and is said to come with a flavour profile of stone fruits, Demerera Brown Sugar, Brown Sugar, Milk and Caramel. While our cuppa did come all creamy and smooth, it was one which we found to be a bit more on the milkier side; one with a light body and more suited for a mid-day cuppa — a cuppa with a earthy flavour profile in general. The various bakes at A Slow Cup are priced between $5 to $7; the various specialty coffee offerings being listed at $4 for an espresso all the way to $6.50 for an Iced Mocha — one can definitely say that the prices for the drinks and bakes at A Slow Cup are pretty much reasonable when compared across other establishments of a similar nature. For those looking for a small space to stop over for specialty coffee around the Fort Canning neighbourhood; A Slow Cup does provide some peace and solace with a cuppa as long as it does not get overly crowded once it gets discovered on social media.