New Heartland Cafe In Singapore Has Seasons-Themed Decor, Sakura Lattes, Romantic Swan Desserts
If you live in Sembawang or the north region of Singapore, we're very happy for you as there's a new Insta-worthy cafe in your hood - Lalaland Cafe.
Keep reading to check out our review of the cafe!
Located at Sembawang Shopping Centre, Lalaland Cafe looks like it'll be the new hangout spot for Instagrammers in the north. Although the cafe isn't particularly big, they've managed to squeeze in multiple photo spots themed after the four seasons.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
You can start with this whimsical photo backdrop located outside the cafe. Rather than wallpaper or a mural, the cafe owners have gone for a 3D lavender field and hot air balloons.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
A coveted seating spot is this spring-themed corner with pink booth seats, a cherry blossom tree and butterflies. P.S. check out Brown Butter, a cafe that's completely filled with faux sakura trees.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
Another photo-worthy spot is the autumn-themed seating area with cascading fall foliage.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
A sought-after seating area is a stunning bird cage-like booth seat decorated with flowers. It's best to dine in during off peak periods or make a reservation if you're keen on snagging these romantic seats.
When it comes to the food and drinks, Lalaland Cafe's strong suit is presentation. Take their finger food ($5.80 - $6.80) for example. They seem fairly standard with choices like popcorn chicken and cheese sticks, but their appeal goes up a notch as you can opt to get them served on a mini bicycle or ferris wheel.
A particularly Insta-worthy specialty is the sakura items.
The Cherry Blossom ($16.80) is made of four mini choux pastries delicately arranged in the shape of a sakura tree with melted chocolate and cream. The choux pastries were light and airy but lacked crispiness, while the sakura-flavoured cream was overwhelmed by the strawberries. In the end, the sakura factor was mainly in the aesthetic and the pastries were basically regular strawberry choux pastries - still enjoyable but we were expecting at least a hint of floral.
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Continuing the sakura theme, the Flower Blossom Latte ($8.50) is made with sakura syrup and topped with dried raspberries and sakura flowers. Once again, this drink tasted like a regular latte, but the good news is that the espresso is decently strong and rich. It comes with two marshmallows that have sakura patterns hand painted with chocolate.
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Third time's the charm as Spring ($7.50), a sakura lychee fizz, does have a hint of cherry blossom flavour but is mostly a refreshing fruity soda. This pink drink contains real edible flowers and is served with lychee on a stick to look like dango, giving it a Japanese aesthetic that's very Instagrammable.
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There are also three other drinks ($7.50 each) inspired by and named after the other seasons. Summer is a non-alcoholic Blue Lagoon that took us back to tropical holidays, our favourite of the four, Autumn, is a passionfruit mojito, and Winter is a strawberry yoghurt sparkling drink.
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If the sakura aesthetic doesn't move you, we'd recommend Loving Swans ($28.80) instead. For $12 more than the Cherry Blossom, you get two large swan-shaped choux pastries instead of four mini ones, which are filled with ice cream and finished with three macarons and strawberries.
The choux pastries are cleverly dissected to form the "wings" of a swan with the two "heads" facing each other - a perfect sharing plate for a romantic date.
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Lalaland has an extensive variety of ice creams but we decided to go with the classics, chocolate and vanilla. The ice cream was rich and creamy but a tad sweet for our liking when eaten on its own. The macarons came in three flavours: chocolate, white chocolate rose and lavender. The former two were, again, sightly too sweet. They nailed the crispy outer of the macrons but didn't get that slightly chewy, marshmallow-like texture I was looking for.
Other than these novelty items, the cafe has good ol' waffles ($7.80 - $20.80) with a large variety of toppings from ice cream and biscoff crumbs to macarons and cheesecake.
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An ingenious item that's a must-try is the adorable iced coffee topped with a bear that's made of frozen espresso. This espresso bear gradually melts to maintain the coffee flavour as the ice melts. Other menu highlights the cafe owners recommend are their bakes, cookies, affogato and Lemon Ribena which is also topped with a cute bear.
Photo from Lalaland Cafe
The cafe is also set to be a future affordable brunch spot as they're planning to launch savoury dishes like pasta at $9.80 each. The menu contains no pork, lard or alcohol and is Muslim-friendly.
Lalaland Cafe
Address: #02-25 Sembawang Shopping Centre, 604 Sembawang Rd, 758459
Opening hours: 10am - 10pm daily
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More new cafes & restaurants in Singapore:
- Moin Moin Gelato: Minimalist Gelato Cafe At Yishun Opens Till 12am
- Pocha in a Forest: Bistro with Pojangmacha Setup
- Hello Kitty Mini Shabu Shabu Pop-Up Cafe
- Museum Of Ice Cream Singapore Review: Unlimited Dessert, Photo Ops & A Secret Room
- Joya Onsen Cafe Review: Japanese-Style Bathhouse w. Hokkaido Milk Parfaits
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Text by: GirlStyle SG
