Coffee Trail - Oriole Cafe and Bar

I discovered this patronage card that makes you disloyal to the business. Interesting right? It's actually called a 'Disloyalty Card' and there's a 'BE DISLOYAL' written on the front cover of the card. If you decided to use the card, there's an adventure waiting for you. True! A food adventure. :)

Whoever the person who thought of this gimmick is a genius! I mean, where can you find an owner who would want his customers to patronize a competitor, right? But well, this trick works just fine. It not only promotes and supports indie coffee shops, but it also uplifts the spirit of the food and beverage field.
How the Disloyalty Card works? I have been to only one participating outlet so far, hence just gotten myself one, so I really can't be definite. But I can tell what I did to get myself this card. I went to one of the participating outlets - Oriole Cafe and Bar at Pan Pacific Serviced Suites - asked for the Disloyalty card and order a coffee drink. And voila! I can now start my Coffee Trail.

What benefits can you get from spending money for a few cups of coffee? Well, if you aren't a foodie like me there is nothing for you to gain. But if you like exploring and eating, then it's better if you try this. Once you get your hands on this card, you'll see that you need to gather eight stamps from the participating outlets, which are scattered all over Singapore (well not really all over). And surely, you would not want to drink eights cups of coffee and spend a huge sum in one day, right? So, this is a trail that you cannot finish in one day. This is making me excited. What's more? Each participating outlet is unique, so expect a different kinds of services, but it's still a coffee shop.

ORIOLE CAFE AND BAR
This is the outlet where I acquired my Disloyalty Card. The place is good in terms of ambiance and the space is not so bad. You'll get this cozy feeling o a modern coffee shop.

I went there with two friends - a close friend and an acquaintance. Actually, it was my friends idea to go there because she wanted to try the Coffee Trail badly. I was the one who discovered it but ended up being dragged there.

By the way, I ordered Mint Mocha but I really didn't get the taste of mint flavor. My friends ordered Sticky Pudding with rum and raisin which is I highly recommend. Upon serving this dish I smelled the flavor of rum too strongly but the when I tried it, the taste of the alcohol is not very obvious. The combination of rum and sugar is odd though, but I like it. I ordered Apple Strudel which is too big and I really did not like it. There is a place where I have tried the so-far best apple strudel I've ever had. That is on a certain place I cannot mention.

How to get here? You may take the MRT North-East Iine, a.k.a Red Line, and alight at Somerset Station. Oriole Cafe and Bar is located at Pan Pacific Serviced Suites and just behind Somerset. If you know where H&M is, that makes it a lot easier. Just go inside the alley beside H&M. You'll see lot's of restaurants. Just go further in and you'll see Oriole Cafe and Bar before entering Somerset 313.
(05.03.2012)