There was a time, ten years ago to be precise, when we regularly went cafe hopping around Singapore. But ever since I started making coffee regularly at home, we haven’t sat down in a local café for drinks.
We do still visit coffee shops in Singapore though, but the only thing I buy from them are freshly-roasted beans. Primarily for our daily V60 pour over, but occasionally for lattes using espresso “squeezed” out from my Picopresso.
It’s not for the lack of good quality cafés here.
On the contrary, the growing popularity of specialty coffee has spawned numerous shops all across the island. Some of which have even produced baristas that have established their names in global competitions.
If I had to pinpoint a reason, it all comes down to cost. Or more accurately, cost/performance.
At home, I can make a cup of pour over for S$0.80 and a latte for S$1.20. In cafés, cups of similar quality and quantity can easily cost S$6.50 (8.1x) and S$5.50 (4.6x) respectively. With price differentials that high, the choice is clear.
There is one exception though, and that’s when we’re travelling overseas. Since I don’t have my usual coffee equipment or beans with me, having a drink at a coffee shop feels like an acceptable alternative.
And that’s how we found ourselves joining the queue to enter Mil Toast in Ikseondong.
There’s an abundance of cafés in Seoul, and particularly so in touristy areas like Ikseondong. As you walk down the narrow alleyways in the dense and compact neighbourhood, you’re bound to come across numerous places serving drinks and desserts.
We had a couple of hours to burn before heading over to nearby Jongno 3-ga for the Lotus Lantern Parade. Our original plan was to park ourselves at Cheese Industry and try their cute little cheesecakes, shaped uncannily to resemble wheels of Gouda.
But the wait to get in was at least an hour, and a local Korean phone number was required. On to Plan B then, which was nothing more than wandering around aimlessly to find a place that didn’t have too long of a queue.
Ending up at Mil Toast was totally coincidental, but the shop itself wasn’t totally unknown. When I was searching for interesting places to visit, it popped up when I was planning our itinerary.
Their signature item was soft and fluffy buns served in a Hong Kong dim sum-style bamboo steamer, as can be seen in the Instagram reel below. However, it didn’t make the cut.
So, in a way, you could say that it was fate that led us there.
There were only a few people in front of us, and we didn’t have to wait long to get seats. It was an open kitchen, and we could see the staff preparing drinks and food as we were standing outside.
They went about their work smoothly and unhurriedly. Perhaps the bright and breezy interior imparted a feeling of calm. Or the quiet and hushed tones of customers’ conversations encouraged a certain sense of zen.
It seemed like a pleasant place to while away a lazy afternoon.
The menu was short and focused.
Food-wise, it consisted of just the steamed buns with different fillings, toast with various toppings, and some hot soups.
Similarly, drinks were a limited to a small selection of coffee, tea, flavoured milk and cold drinks.
Logically, I should have ordered a black coffee to go with our sweet desserts. But I still couldn’t overcome the mental barrier of paying for something that I could have easily made at home.
Eventually, I chose an iced Almond Mocha Cream Coffee. It was, for all intents and purposes, effectively a dessert, only in liquid form.
The Wife went with a hot Strawberry Tea, not knowing exactly what to expect but confident that it was a good choice. South Korea was, after all, famous for their high quality strawberries.
When her drink came, it was clear that it was not some sort of flavoured tea. In fact, it didn’t seem like there was any tea at all. What she essentially got was a cup of smushed up strawberries, roughly muddled in hot water.
And it was totally delicious.
So delicious that she mentally added Korean strawberries to her shopping list. She eventually bought a box several days later, and hand carried it all the way home to Singapore.
As for the steamed buns that Mil Toast was famous for, we didn’t end up ordering any.
When we were queuing up outside, kitchen staff were brûlée’ing thick pieces of French toast right in front of us, and then dusting them with fine icing sugar.
To finish assembling the plate, they added a slice of cheesecake and glooped on a generous amount of blueberry jam, making sure that it dripped enticingly over the edges.
It looked oh so pretty, and just like that, I was influenced.
So when it came time for us to order, resistance was futile.
I knew that the Soufflé French Toast with Blueberry Cream Cheese was going to be too sweet for us, especially when paired with the cream coffee and strawberry tea, but I just couldn’t help myself.
As we were nearing our last few bites, I could feel heart palpitations arising from the sugar overdose. Reminiscent of the time when we were able to finish an entire cake by ourselves.
I guess those days are long gone. Just like when we used to go café hopping all around in Singapore, back in the olden times.
