Chye Seng Huat Hardware is distinctly the pioneer hipster cafe that I heard of - through the frenzied explosion of excitement over 'visiting a cafe' on local Instagram scene. Do you remember what was the first hipster cafe you know of? Evidently, I didn't take much effort to keep up with visiting all the cafes I said I would (too many to count) and only got to visit this place years later.

Being one of the more famous roasters in Singapore, Chye Seng Huat Hardware has their own little glass brewery house and a central island where baristas mill away with their coffee beans to create delicious cups of coffee.

They obviously take mainstream and amateur coffee drinkers out of the equation in this space: no mochas are served here. -inserts sad face- So I went for the espresso grudgingly, feeling like I've been dragged out to gym for some exercise. It didn't exactly sit well with my palate. I'm not an expert on coffee, but I do know what I like and what I don't. This is too acidic for my liking and I couldn't concentrate on any other flavours beyond that. The caffeine kick is certified strong.

Chye Seng Huat has a pretty limited and pricey mains menu, the only thing that could catch my eye was a simple carbonara pasta. There was a nagging thought that tells me it's pretty easy to screw up the creamy paste like most cafes do - but I thought to give CSH a chance since their name travels far and wide. Can't be that bad, right? But then I couldn't be further from the truth: two mouthfuls into the dish I already felt the heaviness setting in. The synthetic processed ham and the tougher-than-al-dente pasta didn't make it any easier to stomach. I don't know about the rest of its menu, but at least, don't order this.

The whole place felt fancy and professional, but it doesn't come through their food. I might have ordered the wrong items, but there weren't a lot to begin with.

Chye Seng Huat Hardware
150 Tyrwhitt Road
Singapore 207563