Update: Kara Café & Dessert Bar is permanently closed
I had absolutely no plans of doing this review but I feel like good things ought to be shared so here it is.
Recently, we had to go to Coronation Shopping Plaza in the Bukit Timah area. At the last minute we decided to turn it into a short family outing by going for brunch afterwards. It happened to be a Saturday and we realized that most cafes and restaurants in the area would be filling up soon. Being fairly familiar with the area, Choupinette, Crown Bakery and Atlas Coffeehouse were the first three cafés that sprang to my mind. But once I started checking the availability of several of the F&B establishments in the vicinity, I felt that we were possibly a bit too late. As I was checking, I came across Kara Café located a stone's throw away from Coronation Shopping Plaza and realized that I hadn't check out the place yet. Fortunately, there was a table available for our chosen timeslot and so I made the reservation right away.
Kara Café is a café and dessert bar by the frozen yogurt chain Sogurt. The café is tucked within a row of shophouses along Bukit Timah Road.
Although small, it is a quaint and cozy establishment. The pleasing botanical-inspired wallpaper caught my eye immediately. The light wooden furniture gives the café a simple and homely vibe. The mirrors on one side of the wall help to brighten up the café and the pastel colors and soft lighting imparts a warm rose gold tint to the space.
The menu features a reasonable array of comfort foods. You have a few main dishes, snacks, grain bowls, grilled toasties, in-house desserts, smoothies, coffee and specialty teas to choose from.
To be honest, we weren't very hungry to begin with so we ordered a few beverages and dishes to share.
Cappuccino
Kara Café uses Throwback beans from Papa Palheta with tasting notes of Darcy chocolate and rich hazelnut. I love latte art and I love coffee in general so this cappuccino gets the thumbs up from me.
Smoothies
The smoothies at Kara Café are made in-house using fresh fruits, yoghurt, milk and honey. No syrups or preservatives are used.
Tropical Peach Mango Smoothie
The Tropical Peach Mango Smoothie was simply delightful - thick, sweet and fruity. The peach and mango flavours came together in perfect harmony. Our kids loved this drink.
Peanut Butter Brekkie Smoothie
The Peanut Butter Brekkie Smoothie was also thick and nutty but it wasn't very sweet. My husband liked it nonetheless. This is a good drink for those who don't like their cold beverages too sweet.
Truffle Cheese Tater Tots
For a snack, we ordered the Truffle Cheese Tater Tots. This one was something unexpected yet delicious.You have a generous portion of crispy tater tots drizzled with creamy mayonnaise, truffle cheese and spring onions. I loved the different textures and flavours which made this snack moreish.
Recommended.
Grilled Toasties
We ordered two of the grilled toasties to share
Classic Grilled Cheese
We all love a good grilled cheese sandwich. The cafe's rendition had toasted thick sourdough bread encasing a gooey signature Kara cheese blend with a zesty sweet pickle relish to give it a little something extra. I liked the side salad with crispy salad leaves, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds with a balsamic vinaigrette.
This was a winner for me and I would definitely order it again.
Truffle Shroom Pesto
This one is for the mushroom lovers folks. This grilled sandwich is filled with mushrooms, kale and cashew pesto, truffle sauce and gooey melted Brie. It also came with a side salad of side salad comprised of salad leaves, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds with a balsamic vinaigrette.
Homemade Mochi Waffle
For the dessert, our kids said that they would like a waffle. We opted for the Banana Nutella option. This dessert came beautifully presented. You have a golden waffle that is chewy on the inside, crisp on the outside and it is topped with sliced bananas, cacao nibs, Oreo crumbs, almond slivers and a runny Nutella sauce. There is also light and refreshing swirly vanilla froyo on the side. You really can't complain folks. My daughters went absolutely gaga over this dessert.
Recommended.
My verdict:
If you are in the happening Bukit Timah neighbourhood, you can stop by Kara Café which is less crowded compared to some of the other F&B establishments in the area. We happened to stumble across Kara Café quite by accident. What I liked about the place was the cleanliness, casual and peaceful ambience, generous portion-size and quality of the dishes. I can honestly say that we liked whatever we ordered. Since I was completely unaware of the café before this, I did not know what to expect and ended up being pleasantly surprised. I would like to go again to try the Gratinated Mac & Cheese and the S'mores Sensation.
I would recommend this café for students, couples, families and small groups of friends.
My rating for this café is
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