I have been working on a business plan (DIY Cafe) for my Entrepreneurship class this semester and my group and I have decided to visit Nook Cafe & Bar for some cafe-hopping fun, as well as to gain some insights of the DIY concept.
I have been to Slappy Cakes before which is a similar concept to Nook Cafe, so I have always wanted visit this place. I didn’t know that it was just a 5 minute drive from school @ 21 Lorong Kilat! Turns out that Carpenter & Cook is located just beside Nook. I have to try it out soon!
Anyway the parallel parking lots were all unavailable, but luckily we found a public carpark just along Jln Seh Chuan Street.
First impression: The cafe was really empty (We’re the first customers) and it’s a little dark.. I would prefer a more brightly lit place.
Maybe we’re not tall but the table seems to be a little too high especially with the pancake machine on top of the table, it was not very comfortable to do the pancake art while sitting down.
Nook Cafe & Bar Menu
DIY Pancakes Menu
Nook Cafe definitely has more colours in their pancake batter choice, including red, green and pink. Unfortunately, the 3 of us is too small of a group to try out all the flavours and colours. So we decided to just pick Dark Chocolate & Banana, because it would make more sense for having a darker colour for the outline of our drawings.
I was kidding with my friends that I should have brought my own piping bags and food colouring.
The batter is $10 each with one free topping (sweet). It seems expensive but if the cost is spread out among a group of friends, I think it’s pretty alright.
I really like the banana pancake as the taste is quite overpowering with banana flavour. But we felt that the dark chocolate was way too “dark”.. it actually tasted bitter instead. Dark chocolate on its own is my favourite type of chocolate, but I just didn’t fancy this.
The batter is runny which is a huge pity because texture plays a big part when it comes to details of drawing. The batter spreads when piped out which makes it difficult to draw certain designs..
My very first drawing.. Minions! Instead of drawing the “yellow part” first, the trick is to get the details first. Not an expert at pancake art, but I kinda got the idea from videos online.
1. Adjust to the lowest heat
2. Use the dark coloured batter to draw the eyes, mouth and hair.
3. Let it cook for a minute or so
4. Fill up the rest of the colours with the lighter batter
(It doesn’t matter if the lighter batter covers the dark coloured one, because you will flip it over later)
5. Adjust to a higher heat and let it cook for a few minutes
6. Flip it over and TADAH
BakeCrafts is our business plan name, but apparently I failed at this hahahah.
This giraffe is probably the best out of all my pancake art.
Thai Iced Tea (original)
$3
They have it in other flavours like rose and green tea ($3.5), but the waitress recommended original as the best. I really like how they place the bottle of milk tea into a small bucket of ice to prevent dilution of the drink. It resembles the HK version of 冰镇奶茶. I think it’s really cute too.
Truffle Fries
$8/11
This is the $11 portion which I thought was more than enough for 3 people if you are ordering pancakes and mains. The fries were pretty decent and the truffle taste was evenly distributed.
Tom Yam Seafood Pasta
$12
I was immediately attracted to the word “Tom Yam”. I think I’m really a fan of Thai food. Unfortunately, the pasta was mediocre as the texture was a little overcooked. Personally, I don’t really enjoy the chilli powder decor on the food plating because I’d be a little afraid that it will make me sneeze haha. #paranoid
Cheeseburger Pasta
$9.8
Both my friends ordered the Cheeseburger pasta which was recommended on the menu. The concept and name was interesting but they weren’t very satisfied with the dish though. Partly because there were no meat and the pasta is too thick. (Too gelat)
Overall, I felt that Nook Cafe has an interesting menu concept with special dishes like Mentaiko popcorn chicken, cheesy waffle fries, cheeseburger soup, donut burger, red velvet latte and more. Unfortunately, the taste and quality of the food are not on par with my expectations. I would probably revisit Nook for their DIY pancakes but I’ll probably just stick to the appetizers and drinks.
