Outram & Tanjong Pagar are great places to explore if you have a few hours on hand. There are many cafes, restaurants, boutiques and interesting shops along that stretch, and even if you don’t pop into any one of those, just strolling in that vicinity is therapeutic enough. I love to take a stroll there along with my camera in hand, and admire the beautiful vintage architecture and lovely street scenes there. On one fine day, I walked into two of the shops located just a few steps away from each other, along Duxton Road and had some soulful and quiet time by myself.
Department of Caffeine, or D.O.C, is a nice quaint cafe that serves coffee (of course), snacks and full main courses such as pastas, all-day breakfast set, waffles etc. The cafe’s located at one corner and it’s pretty easy to miss it if it’s not open. I say that because when I passed by the same place again late that day after it’s closed for the day, I realised that this signboard was gone! And the signboard was the very thing that helped me spot the cafe in the first place. So, be sure to check the opening hours before you head over.
The cafe’s not big, but cosy enough for small gatherings of friends.
The cakes looked not-bad too, but I’ve just had my lunch, I settled for just a long black and a basket of French fries. Both were not bad at all. The fries were sprinkled with paprika, which I liked.
After I’ve had my fill, I headed over to Littered With Books, which is a nice bookshop selling all kinds and all types of books. It’s extremely quiet on a weekday afternoon, and the staff basically just leave you alone to your browsing, so it’s a great place to hang out especially if you are a book-lover.
Littered with Books is a two-storey shop, and I like the 2nd storey even more. Lots and lots of treasures waiting for you to unveil, and there’s the smell of new books in the air everywhere. I can spend my whole afternoon there!
Department of Caffeine
15 Duxton Road
Littered With Books
20 Duxton Road
