Cafe Fest is a new festival in Singapore pulling together cafes across Singapore to come together and serve up coffee and light bites. It is cafe hopping at it's best and hopefully on a day that is cool and windy in otherwise tropical Singapore.
And that's what we got today. Cafe Fest is located outside of Marina Bay Sands at the Waterfront Promenade (nearer the side of MBFC). We had such difficulty finding the exact location initially as no map was given.
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Waterfront Promenade
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| Cafe Fest Singapore at Waterfront Promenade |
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| Cafe Fest - Cafe Hopping in Singapore |
Upon arrival, we were met with hordes of people queuing for drinks and cakes/sandwiches. It was kinda cool to see such a festival happening in Singapore. However I don't quite understand why we needed to pay a $20 entrance fee when we still had to pay for drinks. I supposed it could be the event and set up cost. I absolutely loved the way each stall is designed, not in the usual white tentage one expects at events, but in wooden crates and pipes and even exposed bulb lighting. Benches (though insufficient) lined the street. It was indeed a cafe experience brought outdoors. Coffee and food was discounted at a dollar off.
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| Common Man - one of my a fav cafes |
We managed to try Jimmy Monkey - a lovely non acidic coffee, Necessary Provisions frozen ice cube espresso with milk which was super intense, and OZ Specialty Coffee in a bottle brew that looked like a beer bottle.
It was ice coffee all the way because of of the heat of the noon day sun. Since we came at lunch we were queuing for food. I tried the pulled pork burger from Toby's Estate. Lovely though needed 50% more fillings. We also tried the messy spicy jumbo (spicy hot dog in a bun) and mushroom chicken pie from I Am which was rather delicious.
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| I Am cakes are so popular they keep getting sold out! |
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| Some messy mambo jumbo - hot dog with spicy sauce from I AM |
It was lovely to sit by the benches and admire the lovely Marina Bay view with your coffee and sandwich. A pity is that the Cafe Fest event is exposed with little shelter from the elements of rain and sun.
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| Chilling by Waterfront Promenade with cuppa coffee |
My conclusion - a lovely event concept, just wished for more shelter, more cafes participating, more food choices, and perhaps a more exclusive an event that warrants the $20 entrance fee. Alternatively it should be free to the public with organizers finding a way to get more funding. Personally, I still prefer to go to the cafes to enjoy the ambiance and have a cuppa in a relaxed setting. Though such an event like Cafe Fest does help to make Singapore a more vibrant city to be in.
