Department of Caffeine (D.O.C)

There are countless coffee joints opening every month or so. And I mostly tend to get to know them through my social media addiction - Instagram. Within days of Department of Caffeine's opening last year, I visited the place once with my cafe-hopping buddy to check out the uber new kid on the block. The place was still relatively unknown, and so, there were only one or two tables occupied in our time there. Unfortunately, all the photos taken on that day were lost due to some error in formatting when I transferred the images from my memory card to the laptop. Bah. Fret not though, I did manage to visit it twice more.

 Department of Caffeine (D.O.C)

I popped by the cafe on a weekday evening during my second visit, and it was quite empty then as most people probably aren't craving for their cuppa caffeine jolt at that late hour. I was meeting some friends for dinner, but it was early still, so a girlfriend and I had some time to spare. We decided to share a waffle (

My girlfriend loves the minions, so she carries at least one of her minion toys with her in her bag. Here's one making a cameo.

Buttermilk waffles with butter rum bananas and vanilla bean ice cream

The cafe's signature buttermilk waffles hit all the right spots. They were light and airy; a little soft, but with slightly crispy edges. The complementing sides of butter rum bananas and the creamy vanilla ice cream made this a must-order dish. In fact, if you check out Instagram, the page is most probably flooded with their buttermilk waffles pictures. Rightly so I might add, cos it's certainly Instagram-worthy.

I actually popped by the cafe in between my second and third (official) visit when I was cafe hopping on a Saturday afternoon with my pal. The place was PACKED and there was a waiting list (!) as informed by the staff. Needless to say, we left to head to another place. My third visit was an impromptu breakfast date with my friend and we met there at 10am on a Sunday morning. The place was relatively empty at the early hour, pretty much reminiscent of my very first visit. I didn't know they do reservations until I saw the reservations tag on one of the tables. So, if you're planning to head there on the weekends, I definitely recommend making reservations.

Morning cuppas

B.O.E

They had expanded their menu from my last visit, and there were now more selection of main dishes. We ordered the B.O.E and waffles to share. The B.O.E (Best of Everything) consist of two halves of an English muffins, one topped with an onsen egg wrapped  with serrano ham, and the other with smoked salmon and dill. It was pretty good (aside from the cured ham being too salty for my tastebuds as usual), but I just thought that with the price we're paying, it would be better if it had two eggs instead of one. But perhaps, I assume the price was mainly for the serrano ham and smoked salmon. Oh well, brunch in Singapore is certainly getting pricier nowadays.

The waffles were as yummy as ever, though one might ask, "Who eats ice cream for breakfast??" -shifty eyes-

D.O.C is probably one of my favorite place for waffles. I can't decide where has the best waffles - it's a tough fight between D.O.C and Strangers Reunion. D.O.C do make a mean cuppa coffee too. Their coffees are anything but weak. The cuppas pack a right caffeine punch and that's how I like my au laits. ;) Generally though, I would say I prefer D.O.C over Strangers Reunion (but only cos Stranger Reunion's coffee is too acidic for my liking).

A pity that both cafes are now packed with the crowds, thus I don't think I'll make it to both cafes anytime soon (unless it's during off-peak hours).