I got absolutely excited, I tell you, when a friend told me about this place 'somewhere along Kovan' that served waffles, ice cream, cakes, and coffee.
Not merely because I happened to know Lola's neighborhood (fairly) well, but because I take a great fancy to waffles, brunch foods, ice cream and coffee, and I love having them whenever I've got a chance to be there.
The excitement of going to Lola's, however, didn't begin only after I arrived at the cafe.
It began with the journey attempting to get there.
Come to think of it, it was rather silly, actually.
Most people will just hop on a bus to take them to their destination especially when they want to do lunch, but gey kiang me decided that since we were already close to the stadium, hey, might as well walk through Florence Lane, go via the road near All Saints' Home, and get to the cafe on Simon Road the other side.
In the end, a much longer walk it became, and instead of late morning, it was almost lunch by the time we got there.
But, well, we did.
And what a wonderful meal it was we had.
You know, there was something about Lola's that reminds me of Tiong Bahru's Forty Hands.
Maybe it was the environment.
Maybe it was the menu.
Maybe it was the water jug they used.
I don't know.
But the menu here at Lola's is a rather extensive one.
Never mind that the dinner menu was off the cards at the hour of 1215pm, there was the Bacon and Mushroom Truffle Cream Linguine, there was the Crab Cake Benedict, there was the Pulled Pork and Avocado Eggs Benedict, there was the Mushroom Grilled Cheese Sandwich, and the Shakshuka.
I was attracted by the Lola's Breakfast.
It looked so extensive, with Light Buttered Sourdough, Tater Tots, Bacon Steak, Pork Sausages and Scrambled Eggs.
But we had already ordered a bowl of Nacho Cheese Tater Tots from the All-Day Menu, and we couldn't have that many of those little fried potatoes anymore.
After a bit of discussion, we decided on the Tsukune Sando.
To tell the truth, it was a tough decision between the Tsukune Sando and the Pulled Pork Avocado Eggs Benedict- I mean, a sando is really just a well-stuffed sandwich- but then this sando came with one of my favorite breads- the Brioche- and besides the Chicken Tsukune, there were interesting accompaniments like the Tamagoyaki, the Cheddar Cheese and Furikake aioli.
So the Sando it was.
And we didn't regret it.
There're two ways one can go about eating this sandwich.
Either have it in a single big bite- a mouthful of chicken, tamago, brioche and aioli all at the same time- or, like me, separate everything out, and eat each one on its own.
I think I actually had the brioche toast with my hands.
Nevertheless, a delicious sando it was, very filling, very satisfying, and I think we would have been enough with it together with the tater tots and the Uji Matcha Green Tea latte, but then we had come here for the waffles, and the waffles we would have.
This made for an even more difficult decision, because on one hand I was interested in the Strawberry Cheesecake Waffle, but on the other hand, there was also the Hazelnut Waffle and the Pandan Coconut Waffle.
I didn't know which to choose.
There were two that I particularly wanted- the Strawberry Cheesecake and the Pandan Coconut.
But by then we were full, and we could only order one.
So Pandan Coconut it was (because of the gula melaka drizzle) and a most fantastic choice it turned out to be.
I loved the crusty crispiness of the waffle.
I loved its aesthetics with two pieces on the plate, and two pieces arranged upright like a pair of wings.