Cafe Lavande  

Came for tea at 4pm. The tiny cafe was empty. The wooden tables and chairs that usually lined the streets were stowed away because of the impending rain. All was very quiet. When I went in there wasn't even anyone at the storefront so I just picked a seat at a snug corner and sat down. The shopkeeper came around shortly after and gave me the menu to look at.

Food:
There is a limited selection of teas, an extensive list of mocktails and a comprehensive list of coffee-based drinks. There are around 10 choices of cake on display at the fridge, not sure if all were freshly made but...cakes still taste great after a day or two. I was quite intrigued by this type of syrup they sprinkle on top of water to enhance its flavour. Well technically it's not an flavour enhancer...but I was thinking how awful it would taste. I ordered a Ginger lemon tea $45 instead. It was nice and hot - you get a little more than 3 full cups from the pot.

Blueberry cake $38Looked so good. Moist, cakey and dense, full of plump, juicy and sweet blueberries. The body of cake was quite sweet I thought. The cake came straight from the fridge. I wondered whether it would taste better if it had a few minutes in the oven before serving. But if might lose some of the moisture. It is a tradeoff. And is a very difficult decision to make.

Lemon tart $38The lemon curd was very tart and lemony. Tasty as it was I realized I cannot eat too much of this. Firstly because it's very filling, secondly because you know how much sugar has gone into the curd to balance out the sour from the lemon. It's much more intense than the starbucks lemon tart, which is much lighter, and milder in flavour. A matter of personal preference. But I must make a remark about the crust - which was highly disappointing. It was bland and flaky. I thought starbucks did a better job with the crust - which was at least, sweet, and dense, like cookie crust. I think a good pie crust should be yummy even if eaten alone. The one made by Lavande could not be enjoyed in and of itself. It must be accompanied by a forkful of lemon curd. I ended up scraping off the curd from the crust and eating that alone. Fail.

Mozzy, tomato, parsley and black olives $72L ordered this, expecting it to be some sort of toast. We didn't expect it to look like this. All ingredients tasted normal. Generous drizzle of EVOO.

Lavender cake
L bought a slice to go. The first slice carved out from the loaf was disappointingly thin, so L asked the shopkeeper for a more generous portion. The shopkeeper was slightly embarrassed by the request and reluctantly agreed to carve out one more thin slice for us. Heh. Tasted really strongly of lavender. So if you're a fan of eating lavender, you will really like this cake. It looks dry but is actually quite moist, and fragrant.

Conclusion:
Will come back again. Not that the food is exceptional, but the environment is so homey and inviting, and I like the quietness. It's just the decor and the laid-back atmosphere that attracts me. And of course, a thin slice of cake washed down with a cup of hot tea. Mm.