Life as a Bon Vivant: TW Coffee Concept

Saturday, June 13, 2009

TW Coffee Concept

Hoping to find a casual place for lunch around TST with my friend, TW Coffee Concept came to mind thanks to kilolo's (小漏漏) review last month. I pass by this place several times a week but never got the chance to visit. I noticed that this place is often half full (or half empty) and the same condition applies for today. I personally find this place rather cozy due to its simple, clear-cut decor and its various simple paintings on the wall. When the construction site across the street is gone, the atmosphere would be even better.

The menu is pretty simple and straight forward with a decent selection of pasta, pizza and coffee drinks. We didn't really want to think on a Saturday afternoon so we ordered set lunches to make things simple. We ordered the following food items & drinks: (1) Fish Soup, (2) Pasta with Mussels in Tomato Sauce, (3) Pasta with Ox tail Stew, (4) Cafe Mocha & (5) Cappuccino.

(1) Fish Soup

The soup was better than I expected with very rich fish taste and not too creamy as well. I am not sure how to explain but once you tasted the soup, you will know that this place serves Hong Kong / Taiwan style western dishes. I would not called it fusion because they are unique in their own ways and deserve a standalone category of their own.

(2)

Pasta with Mussels in Tomato Sauce
I did not try this pasta myself but my friend told me she liked it and the quality was better than she expected. According to her description, the sauce was not too sour and the pasta was al dente. She liked the mussels as well due to the fact that they came without the shells. Again, this helped to illustrate what I meant by a Hong Kong / Taiwan cooking style because similar pasta dishes usually come without those mussels shells under this style.

(3) Pasta with Ox tail Stew

The spaghetti was a bit be undercooked but the Ox tail was a surprised. It was very delicious. It was very chewy while tender. A well prepared stew in my opinion. However, wished the sauce can be a bit more richer and thicker as well. Again, I am judging it with the fact that this is a Hong Kong style dish and not of traditional Italian cuisine. (I wonder if there is such an Italian dish ... humm) For a casual quick lunch, I am pretty happy with what I am getting so far.

(4) Cafe Mocha & (5) Cappuccino
I guess good things never last. My friend ordered Cafe Mocha which accordingly to her was TOO sweet and I believed her. Why? She asked for some more skim milk to add into the drink in order to dilute the sweetness but it did not help. Then she added some water into the drink as well and still did not help. I then ask her to stop because the drink has turned into something not drinkable already with all those additions. As for my Cappuccino, it tasted more like Americano with excess amount of water ! The foam was alright, foamy (instead of creamy) and strong coffee flavor; but the coffee was very disappointing because it was just not the way I imagined it especially from TW Coffee !! (a coffee company !!)

Anyhow, I do have to give them credit on their services. There was a fly flying on top of our food and I waved my hand trying to divert it somehow. The lady staff saw my waving and immediately came over and told us that the fly must have came in while the door was opened. Then she went over to the entrance, opened the door and helped me to wave the fly towards to entrance. That's what I called good services !! Food quality is important but not the only factor to be considered when reviewing a restaurant. What this place lacked in food / coffee quality, it excelled in services and environment.

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