Design Orchard, if you haven’t heard, is the cool new hotspot for local labels on the shopping stretch. Its previously-empty cafe space, now occupied by a pop-up concept combining food and fashion, is the brainchild of two homegrown brands.
Open only on weekend afternoons, the not-your-typical collaboration between indie apparel designer Ying the Label and sugar manufacturer Jewels Rock Sugar by Cheng offers shoppers a place to unwind for a bit during those hours between lunch and dinner.
An art installation by Ying is set up in a corner of the cafe, taking viewers on a behind-the-scenes look at her artworks and prints, while Jewels provides the colorful, sugary dipping candies for you to sweeten up your drinks. If you’re after a light nibble, the menu has a small selection of cakes and pastries such as pandan or teh tarik mini chiffon cakes ($5) and butterfly pea lapis slices ($6) by Rainbow Lapis, as well as durian crème brûlée ($9) and tiramisu ($10) from The Quarters.
Six Four Coffee provides the java here, and you can get brews like cappuccino ($6.50) and flat white ($6.50) served with Jewels’ rock sugar sticks in flavors such as hazelnut, peppermint, coconut, or raspberry. They’re hailed as a reinvention of traditional rock sugar, created by Cheng Yew Heng Candy Factory, the oldest (and only one) of its kind in the country since 1947. You’re encouraged to do a little taster before you dunk ’em in your drinks, then taste again for a different experience.
To try something on the healthier side, order a couple kombucha drinks by Kombynation Co — the fermented teas come in variations like Berried Peaches ($7) and Gingeric Passion ($7).
FIND IT:
Design Orchard’s pop-up cafe is on from now till Mar 17; Fridays 2pm-5pm, Saturdays and Sundays 2pm-7pm at 250 Orchard Rd.
MRT: Orchard
Reader Interactions