Scholastic Pleasures of Penny University

Just the other day, Cute Cute was just sharing with his beloved lioness how 18th century coffee houses in London used to be nicknamed "penny universities". One could simply spend a penny to enter a coffee house where ideas, information and conversations flowed freely and one could gain access to intellectual reads like newspapers, journals, pamphlets and bulletins. It was a place where you could meet the most eclectic bunch of people from all walks of society in a country where social class and status were vulgarly overvalued. You simply emerged more "enlightened" after that.  Imagine their delight when a penny university hit local shores.

Glorious bakes from Windowsill Pies at Penny University: Grasshopper, Cherry, S'mores and Pecan Pies on display.

Coffee from a vintage-looking white La Marzocco

Hitting the Lucky Numero Uno
for our order of the day!

Coffee Beans are sourced from Oriole and
Nylon Coffee.
Hmmm... rather disappointed at the overtly milky
latte.

Study time at Penny University?

S'mores Pie with milk chocolate pudding and sticky dark chocolate
fudge. Toasted marshmallows and graham crackers on top.
Divinely delicious!

Cranberry Rock Cake. Tastes like a scone
but prolly will be better warm and heated up.

Grasshopper Pie is Cuchi's favourite!
An after-eight delight with its peppermint cream,
dark chocolate shards and cookie crumbs.

Cute Cute's Long Black was rather watery
and forgettable. Oh dear, perhaps the frazzled
barista could not cope with the crowd that day.
It was a noisy and packed day for the cafe.

Ker-ching! Paid the bill! Wait a minute ... is this a type-writter?

Overall, the lions were disappointed with the coffee standard that day, hopefully an abnormality. But goodness, the sweet dessert pies beckon for a repeat visit! The lions understand that the cafe does some lovely tie-ups to bring in cupcakes, cookies and other bakes sourced from around the island. And penny does serve savoury brunch items too. This place deserves a second chance on a quieter day. It did not, quite honestly, live up to the lions' expectations and the decor is akin to those hipster industrial-chic coffee joints sprouting up here. Hey, how about a cafe done up in a vintage 18th-century style with dark wood accents and quality reads to suit the scholastic moniker?

Here is our review for Penny University:

Dessert Quality: 8.5 pawprints out of 10

Coffee Quality: 6.0 pawprints out of 10

Ambience: 6.0 pawprints out of 10

For those who are interested in going there, here is the address:

Penny University 

402 East Coast Road 

Singapore 428997