Highlander Coffee | 49 Kampong Bahru Road | Singapore

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It seems like nowadays; any row of shophouses will attract a couple of cafes to set up shop and along the row on Kampong Bahru Road, Highlander stands out with its green frame and hanging sign. The place clearly prides itself for its coffee and is decorated with all things related to it as well as pictures and articles of its owners who gave up a career in engineering to open the store.

Besides coffee, there is a small selection of sandwiches, cakes and salads in their display chiller but the main item on their menu is still coffee-related drinks. Do not fret if you are not a coffee lover, they do have the usual assorted tea, sodas, smoothies and chocolate drinks.

I tried a slice of caramel mousse cake ($4.90) and a cafe latte($4.90). The cake boasted two distinct flavours, a layer of caramel mousse and a level of hazelnut mousse providing the cake two different types of sweetness. The chocolatey hazelnut layer had crunch bits within that went very well with the comparatively bland caramel layer - the caramel flavour came through after each bite as the more subtle sweetness lingered on the tongue. The mousse melts in your mouth and is complimented by soft sponge layers in between each mousse layer. Overall, the cake tasted fine, nothing spectacular.

Their cafe latte was surprisingly creamy. Each sip had a rich mix of flavours from the slightly milky sweetness to the buttery smoothness and mild coffee aftertaste that accompanied the drink after each mouthful. Altogether, the drink didn't feel like it had a strong coffee flavour but the lack of coffee's usual tartness was a welcome change to the acidic bite other coffee drinks usually have.

This place also offers barista training, coffee appreciation classes and comes equipped with a classroom in the back. Those interested can check out the details on their website.