Curiosity Killed the Cat, But Satisfaction Got Him Back

So we all know how curiosity kills the cat.

The team has been wanting to visit this little cafe for a while now.

What hindered this trip there were two things:

1. Location

This cafe is snugly hidden in one of the shophouses on Tyrwhitt Road (a little off Lavender Road). The location is the least bit convenient -especially in this Singaporean heat! But we borrowed a car and headed there. If you're traveling on foot, here's a brief description on how to get there.

Alight at Lavender MRT station (Take Exit B). Walk to V Hotel Lavender, then walk down to the end of Horne Road. Turn left onto Tyrwitt Road. And find this cafe! It's not hard to spot, you'll find out why. It takes about 8 minutes to get there. Direction description courtesy of SG Food on Foot. 

And so you may be wondering, why get it from another website and not the cafe's? Yeah, we wondered the same thing too. The website could be a little more helpful in providing more specific directions for those without local data to access Google Maps (and those who aren't familiar with local streets!)

2. Opening Hours

Or rather, opening days. I'm totally cool with the cafe being closed on Wednesdays. Or any other days for that matter. But what I'm not cool with is that it's not mentioned on the website. I checked it twice. Maybe I missed it, but if I missed it, perhaps it's a sign that it should be mentioned clearly on it. It's not very nice to show up on a Wednesday only to be greeted with closed, locked doors. 

But satisfaction gets him back. 

And thankfully, this is one such situation. 

The decor definitely earned this cafe some brownie points. Or tiramisu points. 

Yep, you guess it. This cafe is none other than The Tiramisu Hero. 

I told you the decor is something. 

It doesn't matter whether those chairs are functional or decorative. They kind of serve both purposes, but I can't imagine anyone wanting to be seated there before the sun goes down. 

The carpet grass is a nice refreshing look in our urban city. This cafe is surrounded by shophouses, hotels and more shophouses. It's nice to see a little green in our concrete jungle. 

What's even cuter is that little chalkboard in the centre. They call it a smarty pants challenge. The prize is a cup of iced tea. (A pretty smart idea considering how blazing hot the sun is as we are standing in front of the chalkboard reading the challenge.) 

Wait till you go inside. It's a really cutesy cafe -with fairy lights, ladders extended from the ceilings and walls, and wall stickers of the cafe's mascot, Sir Antonio. 

Sir Antonio is an aptly picked name. It's apparently a Roman cat. What better link can there be between one of the most common Italian names and the origins of this widely-eaten dessert? But I still have yet to figure out why the mascot is a cat. Or why this cat is addressed with "Sir". Or why it looks like Zorro. 

And then it hit me. 

It looks like Zorro because the cafe is called The Tiramisu Hero. Yknow, hero. That explains it. Sir Antonio is the tiramisu hero. And I have just confirmed this speculation with the website, one thing they have not forgotten to add, and is one of the important things I look out for. The reason behind the name, that is. 

So Sir Antonio's presence is definitely noted with the consistent wall stickers and cat-related decor (the washroom is called the 'Litterbox', and has little puffballs hanging from the ceiling, and I just realised the ladders are part of a cat's plaything. Oh, and there are cat collars too -I guess a door chime is another use for these.). But what's not consistent and I find really cosy is the furniture. Varying from lightwood benches, to dark-wooded ones, to long oak-looking tables, to plastic chairs, to... Yeah, you get it. Cafes often shun from inconsistent furniture, or decor in general, wanting everything to fit a common theme. But that's the thing. The inconsistency of the furniture is consistent. And besides, it gives a homy feeling, which is a plus point. You have homy furniture, homy music, and a house cat. 

Part of the functionality-cum-decorative concept are a little stall and a music station. This cafe has a stall that sells jewellery and Sir Antonio merchandise. This music station, I believe, is a promotion for a music movement. I didn't check it out, but it might be more efficient to publicise it if the music is played through the speakers. Or maybe it isn't a promotion for the music. Maybe it's for cat meows. 

And moving on to the tiramisu...

There are several flavours and packaging that customers can choose from. The really wacky flavours have to be pre-ordered online, where customers are able to customise their own tiramisu. Plus point for customisation!

And, me being me, I got the best-seller and most un-original flavour -original. AKA coffee. 

Honestly, I think how good the food is of any cafe or restaurant is dependent on how good the original-flavoured speciality dish is. Because anyone can come up with wacky, funky, unprecedented flavours. But what's tough is how to make an original unique. 

So yes, I got the original tiramisu. It came in a cute little jar. And I could somehow feel Sir Antonio laughing at me (and other patrons) for eating out of a jar -just like a can of cat food. Nice one, guys. But really, A for effort.

It's the signature packaging called MommaHero. And just look at it with a Sir Antonio stamp and sticker. All this cuteness is making me feel fuzzy inside. Wait, I think it's a hairball.

Coffee Tiramisu (Original), $7.50, T: 7, P:6

It's not too sweet and the coffee flavour is there. The jar is a cute concept, but even though it's glass and transparent, it's hard to see the different layers of the dessert, much less taste it. The jar restricts movement of the spoon, so when actually digging the tiramisu out of it, it's a mush of squished cake and cream. For that, the price of $7.50 is a little pricey. But the cream is foamy and light, a signature for a tiramisu dessert. So it's a 7/10 for taste, and a 6/10 for the price. 

T: 9, P: 8.5

We tried the latte too, and it's not bad. Really. It stands out from several other cafes. It's a 9/10 for taste, and a 8.5/10 for the price. I think this cup of latte is a promise for another visit to The Tiramisu Hero.

Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction got him back. And this cat is going back for another cup of that latte!

Overall Rating -Hot

1. Taste: 8/10
2. Price: Moderate Range, 7.5/10
3. Decor: 9/10
4. Service: 7/10