The faucet & I @ Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters Singapore

White, clean, minimalist.

Those are the 3 words Pacamera impresses upon a first time visitor. I want to write more about the clean lines, the white Synesso coffee machine, and the interesting test tubes.

I have been planning to visit Pacamera Boutique Coffee Roasters ever since I saw those gorgeous desserts on my friend's Instagram account. She is a dedicated cafe hopper so I find out new places through her feed. She was a  frequent Pacamera diner before she moved somewhere further north on the N-S Line.

Then...the service at Pacamera spoiled my lunch date. Was it my unlucky day?

Ant has always been stuck at home on Sundays whenever he is in town because I'm usually in training on Sunday mornings. Feeling sorry for him because we have not been cafe-hopping as much as he would have liked, I decided to make the journey to Upper Thomson to try this place out. 

It was around 2pm when we arrived. I did not expect the lunch crowds to still be there. The line 6 people deep. I was ready to apologise to Ant for making him accompany me on such a hot day and suggest somewhere else. Suddenly, a place for 2 opened up and seeing that everyone else had groups of 4 above, we were allowed in. 

If I had know what was to follow, I'd wished they turned me away instead.

I'm not sure if it was the gear or the clothes I was in but one of the waitresses did a double take when she saw me. I was in dri-fit clothing with a huge 7kg bag. I'm carrying a weapon in the bag, of course it looks secure. 

Everyone else who were there were in their Sunday brunch best. I decided to ignore her pointed look and followed another waitress to my seat. 

That's when the service just went baaadddd...

1. Ant and I were seated at the counter. I'm fine with a counter. But would you be happy to have a seat like this?

My tolerance level is pretty high. If I'm sitting facing a faucet due to space constraints, fine. However, Pacamera staff decided to use the tap in front of me to rinse their cups, rinse out the dish cloth and fill up drinking water. We were treated to a nice misty shower. We had no idea they were using that sink until AFTER we ordered out food. 

2. A lull in customers resulted in some tables being opened up. When I asked to change seats, explaining that we were sitting IN FRONT of their washing area, a (new) waitress tried to move things over before her senior told her that it wasn't allowed. I tried to speak to the senior to explain the situation but she dismissed me with a flick of her hair and hurried away to awaiting customers. Well! Blood pressure was really shooting up at this time. I tried to catch the senior waitress's attention and I know we made eye contact but she kept her distance. Seriously, that young thing needs a good smack for her rudeness. By the way, this "senior" is the same girl who gave me the look when I walked in with my training gear. 

I wanted to cancel my order and asked another staff for assistance. The service was ridiculous! We were told that the kitchen were preparing our others. It took another 30 minutes before the food finally arrived.

By now I gave dirty looks to staff who used the sink and in the process, splashing us. I'm not sure if they got the idea but nary a word of apology was given. 

Everyone who goes to Pacamera one time or the other would try the Salted Caramel Banana French Toast. The portion was generous and it is definitely meant for sharing if you don't have a sweet tooth. 

The coffee actually held my temper down from the ridiculous treatment we were subject to. The OZ Specialty Coffee had medium acidity and reminded me of the Melbourne cafes where I wiled away my afternoons.  

I'm not sure if I'll make a trip back there. They may sit me in front of the faucet again. If I do return, I have to dress up really nicely and it'll probably be to have coffee on the go. 

Maybe other cafe goers would have better luck. The coffee is worth making a visit for. Let me know!

Address: 185, Upper Thomson Road, Singapore 574333.

Opening Hours: Tues - Sun 9am-11pm 

Price: $-$$