ABBEY: We were supposed to try Bacha Coffee (in Ion Orchard) Christmas 2020 but oh boy the queue is so long.
The next time we went, we got time to spare so queue it is.
The shop is Morrocan-inspired and you can see that in the all around like in coffee kettles, spoon, fork, knife, cup and saucers and decors. Felt like a royal sipping their hot drinks.
The coffee by itself has great flavor. Put a dollop or two of the vanilla bean cream and it will elevate to a new level. Add raw sugar or ground vanilla and you’ll be surprised. We also had their croissants. They are flaky outside and puffed inside. Perfect match for the coffee.
WILL: Cafe business here is Singapore is pretty vibrant! Cafes with different tricks to lure customers. The good thing is they have a levelled price point so you can dare to try them all.
Bacha is an international cafe from Morocco ans was established in 1910. In their store you will see the fascinating story behind the brand.
The difference? You will feel like a royalty! Why? Except of the staff’s uniform and royal blue/gold paint their service is exceptional. Staffs are so attentive and really do concern if you need anything.
Truly recommendable! Oh their coffee! Ahaha! It was served per golden pot and you can definitely taste the richness and body of the coffee. Yep! Not diluted by milk or water. Their coffee honey dip for croissants is not to be missed.
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Bacha Coffee
(W) https://bachacoffee.com/
(H) 930am - 10pm
(A) 2 Orchard Turn #01-15/16 ION Orchard Mall Singapore 238801
WILL: COVID-19 really alters everyone’s life. The three hour flight from Singapore to Manila became a “NO WAY”. We are missing our loved ones of course but for safety of all we intended to stay here in Singapore.
Aside from people, of course you will miss food that you are fond of eating since your childhood and one of those is TAHO. Taho is silken tofu with black sweet syrup.
Second Serving located at Tai Seng is the answer for our Taho cravings. It feels like I was thrown back into my childhood. Haha. I like it to be hot but i love it when it is COLD! You may see me hoarding more than 5cups of taho. Haha. That is for my COLD Taho fix.
WILL: Finally! The budget fits for us to stay to one of the most luxurious, oldest and one of the icons of Singapore…The Raffles Hotel! Is it really expensive to stay there? Hmmm. Yes! Haha! As Ms Sarah informed us, only Filipino businessmen or Presidents can afford the stay. Seldom a commoner like us. What can I say? I love to shoot for the stars. Haha!
So what happened why we managed and mustered our finances to have another luxurious staycation this year? Well, first of all the 40x40 goal was reached 2 years earlier than we planned, Abbey passed the ITIL Certification and I graduated the DOST’s Project SPARTA Analyst Pathway. We have a bunch to celebrate right?
Enough of us. Let’s talk about our Raffles Singapore Staycation Review.
ROOM
The first room was 133. The room is divided in three parts. Fist the parlour.
Parlour
Sitting Room is where you can just lounge after you reached your room. Here where you can find your “Hermès”-like luggage and when you open it you’ll realize that it is a box for your in-room coffee(Nespresso), tea(Raffles Tea by The 1872 Clipper Tea Co.), mini bar (chargeable) and some of the glasswears. That is well-organized food and drink for the Raffles Hotel Residents. The parlour has a dining table and equipped with TV. Stationaries are inside of a mini attaché case located below the iPad controller.
The Bedroom
This iconic four-posted bed is one of the main attraction on your stay with Raffles Singapore. This kind of bed is a centerpiece in English castles. Now you feel more like a royalty right? Haha! The bed is not that soft nor not that hard. You can request for a pillow based on your specification. A huge TV and two (2) usual size cabinets for your clothings are in front of your bed. You’ll be happy to see that their slippers are not paper thin. The Peranakan design compliments well with the bathroom tiles. The blower is not located in the bathroom! It is cutely hidden in a dressing table.
Bathroom
A soaking bathtub will greet you in your Perenalan tiled bathroom. It has a marble top his and hers sink and wooden drawers. They do not have bath salts in the room but you can request for it. The toiletries are superb! It is not flowery, it is not musky, the aroma relaxes your muscles. Haha!
RESTAURANTS
The Suite Vacay promotion includes welcome drinks, breakfast and $100 dining voucher.
The Courtyard
You can either redeem your welcome drink which is Singapore Sling at The Grand Lobby or at The Courtyard, we chose the latter. This is for us to soak in with nature and courtyard’s architecture. We are not wrong with our choice! We met Tom and we had a little chat and walllllaaaahhhh! He treated us with a Tommy’s Margarita.
Tiffin Room
Here we had our breakfast. What reminds us the most? The hospitality of Ms Sarah. She really made a point that we were taken care of. She have done extra mile for giving us a bento meal in Tiffin Room. She recommends us to have Crispy Pancetta, definitely lovelier than a bacon.
yì by Jereme Leung
We had dinner here in lieu of the $100 voucher. We had Wok-fried Sichuan Style Spicy Squid, Fried Rice with Char Siew, Pork Belly and Pickled Long Beans, and Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles with Minced Iberico Pork. Flavours are exploding! Abbey and I agree that it is worthy to have another visit in this restaurant.
OSTERIA BBR by Alain Ducasse
Abbey had a Wake-up Call and I had Alba Rossa. This is for us to maximize the $100 voucher. You will surely love the pica-pica here specially if you like olives.
FACILITIES
Gym and pool is located at the third floor of the main building. The gym is not fully-equiped but you surely have the basic needs for a good workout. Be careful on their pool, the depth is a constant slope. Oh they had told us that they are not using chlorine for cleaning it. Good job Raffles!
RAFFLES BOUTIQUE
Another voucher of $50 is for you to spend in their boutique store. you can find coffee, tea, postcards, wines and of course souvenir items. Abbey bought two packs of coffee.
We had some mishap but it is was well taken care of, maybe you’ll ask why we had to change to another room. Anyways, this is indeed a very memorable experience specially for me. If you want to stay in historical buildings this is surely for you.
Do watch out for their promotions. Now they have a package where the famous afternoon tea is included.
