Group Therapy Coffee

Over the weekend, I managed to catch up with two of my favouritest people in the world – Diana and Zee - for a belated birthday brunch.

We visited Group Therapy Coffee, which is particularly apt as a session with these two ladies more often than not does wonders for the soul.

It paid to be 20 minutes early as the café was filled up by 11.30am.

Clearly the allure of Group Therapy Coffee was not lost on the vast majority as this mountain tortoise observed.

My birthday present from Zee. Should I ever feel tempted to spend on something frivolous, the print on this purse would no doubt remind me of the financial responsibility I have sleeping at home.

The Inaniwa Udon Salad was delicious, thanks to the ever-dependable Japanese sesame dressing and smattering of tobiko. Just filed this under “Dishes to Replicate at Home”. I’m glad my friends decided to order this as I would not have discovered it on my own.

Due to miscommunication, our smoked salmon sandwich arrived an hour after we had placed our order. What’s that? Hunger is the best sauce? Maybe … But the combination of smoked salmon, rocket, avocado and cream cheese make for a classically good sandwich. The coucous salad was tossed in the same tasty Japanese sesame dressing and the chips would please any naughty nibbler.

To be honest, I would have liked to order more savoury food but I didn’t feel like waiting another 45 minutes. Thankfully, we had quite a bit of dessert; or rather I ate more than my fair one-third share. Now that I'm no longer pregnant, I would like to use my 'Nursing' card.

 

I have read one shouldn’t pass up on their signature carrot cake for dessert and what can I say, I’m a law-abiding blog reader. It is, after all, a quarter decker treat, especially if you are a firm believer in the healing powers of cream cheese.

Toasted caramel brown, the Belgian waffle pretty light and delightful without the usual pile up of ice cream and fruits.

The staff were extremely apologetic about our wait unlike *cough* Wild Honey *cough*, and we actually felt compelled to cut them some slack. However, to our surprise, someone (one of the owners?) presented us with a lemon meringue tart for our long wait.

Blogger's note: Awesome service recovery. Perhaps this is what separates Group Therapy Coffee from the other so-called hipster cafés. From the minute I stepped into the café, my presence was welcomed and the service, though slow, was warm throughout our visit. 

The tart shell was rough around the edges, the meringue was more foamy than marshmallowy, and the lemon curd was kinda eggy. With the memory of the loveliest tart from Carpenter & Cook still fresh in my mind, this tart was frankly not that spectacular. Nonetheless, I wolfed it down as I was still hungry (hey, I’m pregnant nursing).

Good food, friendly service and awesome company ... I absolutely enjoyed my maiden visit to Group Therapy Coffee. Next up - poached eggs and flourless chocolate cake!